As STB mentioned, Gus Varland is going to have his contract purchased by the Dodgers to join the team today. He is coming to LAD to replace Joe Kelly. Some speculated that it would be Emmet Sheehan to get the call. I suppose that it is due to the Dodgers wanting Sheehan to continue to start at OKC. Same with Pepiot and Stone. It is wait and see on Michael Grove once he returns from the IL. Will he start or relieve? Long-term, IMO, Michael Grove could be a worthy multi-inning reliever.
As a reminder, Milwaukee selected Varland in the 2022 Rule 5 draft, somewhat of a surprise. He had a somewhat of a decent ST, and made the opening day roster. He did not allow a run in his first four MLB appearances (4.2 IP). He allowed 2 earned runs in his next 3 appearances (3.1 IP). He then got rocked badly in his next outing (May 15); 9 runs (all earned) in 0.2 innings. Next day he was DFA’d, and once he was passed over by all 30 teams, he was offered back to the Dodgers (per MLB rules). The Dodgers brought him back into the fold, assigned him to OKC, where he has been very good, though not elite or dominant.
Varland has appeared in 30 games for OKC, 33.1 IP. He has 5 holds, 2 saves in 5 save opportunities. He allowed 12 runs (8 earned) for a 2.16 ERA. He allowed 29 hits and 8 BB for a 1.11 WHIP. He had 36 K.
- 10.53 K/9
- 2.16 BB/9
- 0.54 HR/9
- 13 inherited runners – 3 scored
- 3 bequeathed runners – 0 scored
He has a 3-pitch arsenal mid 90’s four-seamer, slider, and change (almost exclusively to LH batters). His four-seamer is his best pitch, and his slider was not very good his 1st time in MLB.
I have no idea what to expect from Varland, but am hopeful. He seems to throw strikes. Pounds the zone. If his command is on, he should execute.
Here is an 12/05/2021 article from Casey Porter (Dodgers Daily) on Gus Varland.
https://dodgersdaily.net/2021/12/05/gus-varland-staying-above-the-radar/
The Dodgers drafted 22 players in the 2023 amateur draft. They signed 19. First look at where each of the draft picks have been assigned. Do not put much stock (positive or negative) in their 1st look at professional ball.
1st round – Kendall George – High School OF – Assigned to LAD Arizona Complex League (ACL) – 42 PA, .412/.500/.471/.971, 2 doubles, 6 SB, 3 CS, 7 BB, 8K.
2nd round – Jake Gelof – Virginia – 3B – Started in ACL (4 games). Hit his first professional HR while in the ACL. Now assigned to Rancho Cucamonga – 37 PA, .242/.324/.424/.749, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 4 BB, 11 K.
3rd Round – Brady Smith – High School – RHP – Assigned to LAD ACL – Has not appeared in game as of yet.
4th round – Wyatt Crowell – Florida State – LHP – Assigned to LAD ACL – Has not appeared in game as of yet.
4th round compensatory – Dylan Campbell – Texas – OF – Started in ACL (4 games). Now assigned to Rancho Cucamonga – 18 PA, .176/.222/.176/.398, 0 BB, 4 K.
4th round compensatory – Eriq Swan – Middle Tennessee State – RHP – Assigned to LAD ACL – Has not appeared in game as of yet.
5th round – Joe Vetrano – Boston College – 1B – Started in ACL (2 games). Now assigned to Rancho Cucamonga – 56 PA, .308/.357/.423/.780, 3 doubles, 1 HR, 4 BB, 14 K.
6th round – Bryan Gonzalez – Puerto Rico Baseball Academy – SS – Assigned to LAD ACL – 23 PA, .200/.259/.200/.459, 1 BB, 6 K, 2 SB.
7th round – Patrick Copen – Marshall – RHP – Assigned to LAD ACL – Has not appeared in game as of yet.
8th round – Jaron Elkins – High School – OF – Assigned to LAD ACL – Has not appeared in game as of yet.
9th round – Ryan Brown – Ball State – RHP – Assigned to LAD ACL – Has not appeared in game as of yet.
10th round – Sam Mongelli – Sacred Heart University – SS – Started in ACL (2 games). Now assigned to Rancho Cucamonga – 43 PA, .225/.279/.250/.529, 1 double, 2 BB, 13 K.
11th round – Carson Hobbs – Samford University – RHP – Assigned to LAD ACL – Has not appeared in game as of yet.
12th round – Noah Ruen – Tyler JC – RHP – Assigned to LAD ACL – 1.0 perfect IP, 1 K. Only Dodger pitcher draft pick that has appeared in a game.
13th round – Alex Makarewich – Northwestern State – RHP – Assigned to LAD ACL – Has not appeared in game as of yet.
14th round – Jaxon Jelkin – South Mountain CC – Did not sign.
15th round – Jordan Thompson – LSU – SS – Assigned to LAD ACL – 18 PA, .118/.111/.118/.229, 0 BB, 4 K.
16th round – Javen Coleman – LSU – RHP – Did Not Sign.
17th round – Luke Fox – Duke University – LHP – Assigned to LAD ACL – Has not appeared in game as of yet.
18th round – Sterling Patick – South Hills HS – Same school as Jacob Amaya – Assigned to LAD ACL – Has not appeared in game as of yet.
19th round – Spencer Green – Richland HS – RHP – Assigned to LAD ACL – Has not appeared in game as of yet.
20th round – D.J. Uiagalelei – Oregon State – Two Way Player – Did not sign.
August:
6.62 runs scored
2.92 runs allowed
Can that pace be maintained to the finish line?
Not likely, but what a stretch.
Maybe that 3.7 run differential will shrink to 3.0. Only 12 games played in August so far so a small sample size. I like this team. Only Muncy and Taylor are three outcome players.
I, even in retrospect, to be mystified by this draft. I can’t figure out what the philosophy or thinking was.
obviously, through comments, we know all the players they wanted with the first pick were taken, but….
who knows maybe it’s because they have optimism over the International market?
shrug
I think we are starting to see the impact of drafting so low every year. These last two drafts were considered to be top heavy with incredible prospects. Then a fairly deep drop off. 2 of the players drafted are top 5. 6 of the top 7 players drafted are top 50 prospects, and 11 of the 2023 draft picks are in the top 100.
3. Paul Skenes, RHP, Pirates (No. 1 overall pick)
4. Dylan Crews, OF, Nationals (No. 2)
13. Wyatt Langford, OF, Rangers (No. 4)
15. Max Clark, OF, Tigers (No. 3)
16. Walker Jenkins, OF, Twins (No. 5)
44. Rhett Lowder, RHP, Reds (No. 7)
60. Noble Meyer, RHP, Marlins (No. 10)
64. Chase Dollander, RHP, Rockies (No. 9)
82. Jacob Wilson, SS, A’s (No. 6)
88. Kyle Teel, C, Red Sox (No. 14)
97. Aidan Miller, 3B, Phillies (No. 27)
Only #8 of top ten is not in top 100. It was curious on the day when KC took HS catcher Blake Mitchell at #8, when it was clear that Kyle Teel, Virginia, was the top ranked catcher in the draft. Teel made the top 100 prospect list at #88. Even though not in the top 100, Mitchell is the Royals #1 prospect. This gives a clear indication as to how bereft KC is of top prospects.
The biggest surprise was Aidan Miller, a Florida HS 3B lasting until #27 for Philadelphia.
This year the Dodgers selection was moved to #36 because they were more than $40MM above CBT. All of the Dodgers top picks were gone, and the Dodgers had to drop to their prospective 2nd round pick, Kendall George. They obviously did their due diligence and liked George, but would have preferred him as their 2nd round pick. Instead of grabbing at someone they were not as familiar with, they decided to draft their preferred 2nd round pick, and save some $$ for later rounds.
With the “can’t miss” prospects out of the way, the Dodgers tend to look at a specific skill they can work with. In Kendall George they have an extremely fast batter with good hand/eye coordination, who can also develop into a plus fielder, even with a below average arm. George knows who he is. He knows his strength is his speed and not power, so there is no use trying to develop him into a power hitter. IMO that is where Jeren Kendall went wrong. He wanted to be a power hitter. Unfortunately too much swing and miss and not enough pop.
I said it for Jeren Kendall and I will say it for Kendall George. Hire Brett Butler to be his coach and teach him to be a throw-back Brett Butler leadoff CF. He is 3.4 seconds to 1B from the left side on a bunt. With Muncy at 3B, he might have a double. 😂
The Dodgers are not going to get to draft the likes of Paul Skenes or Dylan Crews anytime soon. So they are going to need to hope their development team can enhance the skill they were trying to hone in on. They may not get complete everyday regulars, but they may be able to develop a couple of platoon players/bench role players that may contribute down the line. When you continually draft as low as the Dodgers do, it is going to be draft for depth instead of chasing elite talent.
Then you rely on FA, trades, and International market for the stars.
It’s my opinion #36 is a second round pick. And we are both lucky and good to maintain such high organizational rankings when picking behind everyone else round after round. It’s good to be a Dodger fan.
I think it’s about body type and psychological makeup, The Dodgers draft clay and mold it into what they want. Pitchers are tall and strong, position players are athletic. Everyone is fast twitch and all take the Myers-Briggs-Dominique test, the T.M.E.E. test (Timmons Moron Evaluation Exam) and RVOS exams (Reliability, Validity, Objectivity, and of course Standardization. It’s science. And it’s all been peer reviewed.
T.M.E.E. Has it ever been self-administered by the originator? Would the results vary based on how the day was going?
Yes and Yes.
Varland has appeared in 30 games for OKC, 33.1 IP. He has 5 holds, 2 saves in 5 save opportunities. He allowed 12 runs (8 earned) for a 2.16 ERA. He allowed 29 hits and 8 BB for a 1.11 WHIP. He had 36 K.
53 K/916 BB/954 HR/913 inherited runners – 3 scored3 bequeathed runners – 0 scoredAbove is what you posted for Gus Varland in your opening article, could you explain?
That was already interpreted yesterday by Singing The Blue. It means “spectacular”. Bluto embellished that analysis with “real and spectacular”.
53 K/9. ?16 BB/9 ?54 HR/9 ?13 inherited runners – 3 scored3 bequeathed runners – 0 scored????
For whatever reason, when I copied and pasted from Word, the decimal point and numerals to the left did not paste. I cannot answer why that happened. I went back and looked at my Word document, and it was there. So I have no idea, but thank you for letting me know. I have fixed it in the article above.
The numbers should read 10.53 K/9, 2.16 BB/9, and 0.54 HR/9.
No, thank you for conducting a beautiful site with a lot of information.
Ya gotta admit, 53K/9 is pretty spectacular.
Looks like Marisnick will be moved to the 60-day IL to make room for Mr. Varland on the 40-man roster.
So is 54 HR / 9 😝
even 5.4 is pretty spectacular👎
See response above.
Tampa Bays’ chances at an AL pennant just got shorter. LHSP Shane McClanahan is going to have TJ surgery. Yet another SP with a 100 MPH fastball. There certainly seems to be a trend. The Rays might try to trade Tyler Glasnow next winter for at least two MLB ready SP with control. Just speculating, but LAD can assume Glasnow’s full 2024 salary ($25MM) and give Tampa Bay what they might need. Even with assuming the full salary, the AAV would be $15.175MM, and that would not be out of line for CBT purposes.
Question is would we be ready to trade something like Sheehan, Cartaya plus Pepiot/Knack/Grove for one season of Glasnow? That’s what the Simulator says it would take. Glasnow is a local guy and might be very happy to let AF extend him or at least sign back here in free agency but that’s a steep price to pay for one year since, as we all know, pitchers get hurt.
I think the Dodgers lose Urías next year. I think that it is 50-50 that Kershaw is back. The Dodgers will not exercise the $18MM club option on Lynn. I know Buehler will be back, but how good will he be coming back from a second TJ surgery? I do not think there has been an Ace bounce all the way back from 2 TJ surgeries. Maybe Buehler will be the first. Is Gonsolin a starter? Dustin May will not be ready, and when he does return, he may not be in the rotation. The Dodgers are going to need elite pitching next year, unless you are prepared to go to battle with Buehler, Gonsolin, Miller, Sheehan, Pepiot, and Stone. Then Knack, Frasso, Hurt, Ryan.
You cannot keep all that pitching bottled up in the MiLB. Make a decision on Cartaya or Rushing. Make a decision on Busch and Vargas.
identifying what guys can do to expand their weapons.”
“It’s just amazing what they do,” Hill said. “They identify what guys do well, and have them do what they do best. They just have the ability of opening players’ minds to a little bit of creativity. Sometimes we get shoe-boxed in certain ways of doing things whether a hitter or a pitcher, but they do a really good job identifying what guys can do to expand their weapons.”
Who is Hill in that quote?
Looks like Yarbrough is becoming our version of Andrew Miller. If he can keep this up, he’ll be a huge addition to the roster.
I find it super interesting that the Dodgers don’t immediately put draftees on minor league teams. Instead it seems they take them to Arizona and prep them. Do all organizations do this? I know the Angels of Anaheim are known for rushing players to the majors, what about other clubs?