There was a lot of angst as to why AF/BG did not pull the trigger for an OF or closer last week. They seemingly had the prospect capital to make something happen. They chose not to. I do not want to rehash the trade deadline, but instead look at the prospect capital that was and will be available again this winter.
During the AF era, the Dodgers affiliates have been devoid of impactful OF prospects over the years. The last time an OF was a #1 LAD prospect was Alex Verdugo in 2019.
2019
- Alex Verdugo #1
- DJ Peters #11
- Jeren Kendall #16
2020
- Luis Rodriguez #10
- DJ Peters #13
- Andy Pages #14
2021
- Andy Pages #8
- Luis Rodriguez #13
- Jake Vogel #17
- DJ Peters #21
2022
- Andy Pages #4
- José Ramos #14
- James Outman #17
- Jake Vogel #29
It was not until 2023 when LAD had two top 10 OF prospects:
- Andy Pages #7
- James Outman #9
- Josue De Paula #12
- Jonny DeLuca #22
- José Ramos #23
- Damon Keith #27
- Samuel Munoz #30
That continued into 2024, but the names were starting to change:
- Andy Pages #3
- Josue De Paula #4
- Kendall George #12
- Eduardo Quintero #20
- Zyhir Hope #21
- Samuel Munoz #25
- José Ramos #29
In 2025, LAD not only has more OF prospects in top 30, but the talent level has also significantly increased. LAD has 10 top 25 prospects, 7 top 13 prospects, 5 top 10, and 4 of top 5. One of the prospects who has been pushed out of top 30 is still considered a decent OF prospect…Samuel Munoz. The issue as I see it is that there are no top prospects in AAA, 2 in AA, 5 in A+, 2 in A, and 1 still in rookie league. The OF talent may be deep, but it is also concentrated at the lower levels.
- Josue De Paula (20 years old) – #1 LAD, #20 top 100, Great Lakes (A+)
- Zyhir Hope (20 years old) – #2 LAD, #29 top 100, Great Lakes (A+)
- Eduardo Quintero (20 years old) – #4 LAD, #77 top 100, Great Lakes (A+)
- Mike Sirota (22 years old) – #5 LAD, #88 top 100, Great Lakes (A+)
- James Tibbs III (22 years old) – #7 LAD, Tulas AA
- Kendall George (20 years old) – #12 LAD, Great Lakes (A+)
- Ching-Hsien Ko (18 years old) – #13 LAD, Rancho Cucamonga (A)
- Brendan Tunink (18 years old) – #20 LAD, Arizona Complex League (Rookie)
- Jaron Elkins (20 years old) – #23, Rancho Cucamonga (A)
- Zach Ehrhard (22 years old) – #25, Tulsa (AA)
Munoz is also 20 years old, and has just been promoted to Great Lakes (A+). Great Lakes has 5 top 12 OF prospects, and one more knocking on the Top 30 door, trying to climb back in. Only Sirota is older than 20 at Great Lakes. He is out for the year due to injury.
I have no idea which one of the 5 Great Lakes OF will be a star, and which will flame out. I am not paid to know. They cannot possibly hold on to every one of them, can they? Every one of the OF on the Great Lakes roster (save Munoz), could reach MLB by 2027, and maybe late 2026.
Yes, they have an OF surplus. If the Dodgers had a record of promoting and keeping their youngsters, this may not be a big problem. But there could be the Ryan Ward concern of holding on to the players too long before their trade value has disappeared.
- Diego Cartaya
- Ryan Ward
- Kody Hoese
- Jake Vogel
- Jeren Kendal
- Luis Rodriguez
- Maddux Bruns
- Landon Knack
I was tempted to include Bobby Miller, but he may have found new life as a reliever.
Each and every one of these players were highly drafted or signed as significant IFA. And yet they have lost that luster. Ward was an 8th round pick (not high), but he has had the best MiLB career, and still could not get the call.
I will be shocked if AF/BG keep all of the OF prospects this winter. Perhaps AF/BG thought they could put together a better package for players this winter. What if they could trade for Jarren Duran, or Ceddanne Rafaela, or Royce Clayton. Is Gunnar Henderson totally unavailable? Baltimore is not going to be able to extend him. Masyn Winn? Jeremy Peña? Dansby Swanson?
I do not expect any of the above named to be available, but AF/BG can perhaps entice the teams to move with the wealth of OF (and infield) prospects they have, not to mention the MLB ready pitchers they can dangle.
AF does not like to lose trades, which may be why he did not overpay for players at the deadline. He may not have been able to acquire the talent many of you wanted, but he did improve the team (and organization), and did not lose on any of the trades.
I do not see AF committing $400MM-$500MM for Kyle Tucker. He will not get to the Vlad Jr. contract of 14 years and $500MM, but the estimates I have seen are around 11 years and around $450MM.
I think the same is true for Bo Bichette who seems to be looking at $200MM. That may be more palatable for AF, but how many large contracts will be signed the year before the new CBA and the expected lockout? This one looks as if both sides are viewing with more trepidation. Will the Dodgers and the NY teams be taken to task because of their spending? Will the deferrals be subject to a cap of sorts? IMO, deferrals are going to take an impactful hit.
The financial impact is a big question mark, so trades may be where AF/BG are looking to focus on. And they have the prospect capital to make a significant trade. A difference making trade. Where will they look? Offense? Defense? Maybe even SP?
One thing we do know is that AF/BG have decided to try and develop an internal OF list they can pull from or build from. If the Dodgers are willing to trade from their 4 top 100 OF prospects, we could see different faces on the 2026 roster.
MiLB GAME SUMMARY REPORTS
OKC Comets 6 – El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego) 4
Esteury Ruiz, Ryan Ward, and José Ramos each drew a BB to load the bases with one out. Nick Senzel reached base on a fielder’s choice with Ruiz scoring and the other two runners moving up to keep the bases loaded. Ben Rorvedt hit a sac fly to score a 2nd run.
OKC’s SP, Matt Sauer, issued a BB and run scoring double to cut the lead in half.
OKC got the run back in the 2nd. Chris Okey got a 1-out single, moved to 2nd on a ground ball, and scored on a Ryan Ward single.
Ryan Ward with RBI No. 1️⃣0️⃣4️⃣ with this rope back up the middle‼️ pic.twitter.com/RC2vREfpbJ
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) August 10, 2025
OKC picked up a pair of runs in the 3rd. Senzel hit his 10th HR for one. Austin Gauthier hit a 2-out double (17) and scored on a Kody Hoese single.
Nick Senzel with 💣 No. 1️⃣0️⃣ on the year!!! pic.twitter.com/IBS7QF0Q8e
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) August 10, 2025
A double, WP, and sac fly gave the Chihuahuas a 2nd run in the 4th of Sauer.
With Will Klein relieving Sauer in the 6th, he gave up a lead off double, and 2 ground outs scored a run and made it a 5-3 game.
CJ Alexander homered (14) in the 7th for the Comets’ 6th run. With Zach Penrod on the bump, El Paso answered with a run of their own. A single, sac bunt, and single scored El Paso’s 4th run.
Garrett McDaniels and Julian Fernández each pitched a scoreless inning with Fernández getting his 5th save. The duo did not allow a hit, but walked 1 and struck out 4.
- Nick Senzel – 3-5, 1 run, 2 RBI, double (11), HR (10)
- CJ Alexander – 1-5, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (14)
- Austin Gauthier – 1-4, 1 run, double (17)
Tulsa Drillers 3 – Corpus Christi Hooks (Houston) 0
Jackson Ferris tried to come back on four days rest. He lasted 4.0 innings, but did not give up a run. He allowed 3 hits, issued 3 BB, and registered 3 strikeouts. He threw 75 pitches. Kelvin Ramirez (2.0 IP), Carson Hobbs (2.0 IP), and Robinson Ortiz (1.0 IP) completed the 4 hit shutout. The trio allowed 1 hit, 1 BB, and struck out 5 in 5.0 innings. Ortiz got his first save of the season.
Sean McLain hit his 3rd HR of the season in the 3rd for a 1-0 lead. Chris Newell slugged his 14th HR of the season in the 6th inning for a 2-0 lead.
The Drillers got an insurance run in the 8th. Zach Ehrhard opened the inning with a single. With one out, Kyle Nevin singled and Ehrhard moved to 3rd. A WP brought Ehrhard home and a 3-0 lead.
Chris Newell and Nelson Quiroz both had 2 hit games.
Great Lakes Loons 4 – Lansing Lugnuts (A’s) 1
Adam Serwinowski started his 2nd game with Great Lakes, and while it was not as dominating, it was another good game. He retired the side in order in the 1st, his only clean inning.
He pitched the 2-4 innings without allowing a run, but he did strand 5 runners. In the 5th, he gave up a one out single, issued a BB, and then a run scoring single. He got a flyout and a K to end the inning and strand the runners.
Ryan Brown, Reynaldo Yean, Joseilyn Gonzalez, and Cam Day followed Serwinowski to the mound and each pitched a perfect 1.0 inning, with a combined 5 K.
In the 3rd inning, Frank Rodriguez led off with a double (5). With one out, Eduardo Quintero got a RBI single. Quintero stole 2nd and moved to 3rd on the catcher’s throwing error. After back to back walks to Zyhir Hope and Elijah Hainline, Cameron Decker hit a sac fly for the 2nd run.
In the 5th inning, Hainline hit a double (4), and Decker slugged a 2-run HR (5) and a 4-1 lead.
Decker sends one out! 💥Loons up 4-1! pic.twitter.com/FgViqEwtNz
— Great Lakes Loons (@greatlakesloons) August 10, 2025
The Loons had 6 hits, with no GL batter having a multi-hit game.
Lake Elsinore Storm (San Diego) 7 – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 6
The Quakes let one slip away on Sunday night, as the Storm roared back to score five runs in the ninth inning, taking a 7-6 win over Rancho.
A two-run, two-out, two-strike single from Alex McCoy gave the Storm their first lead of the game, costing Rancho a fifth win in the six-game series, ending the Quakes’ three-game winning streak.
Rancho built a 3-1 lead, thanks in part to an Eduardo Guerrero two-run homer (3).
Leading 3-2 in the eighth, the Quakes looked to have put it away, scoring three times to take a commanding 6-2 lead.
But in the ninth, the Storm came out swinging against Rancho reliever Marco Corcho. With the Quakes up 6-4, Dilan Figueredo came on with one out and walked the first man he faced, making it a one-run game. He recovered to get Ryan Wideman for the second out, before giving up the two-run single to McCoy.
Trailing 7-6 in the ninth, Guerrero singled to give Rancho a chance against Adam Conrad. Emil Morales and Jaron Elkins were retired though, as the Quakes left the tying run at first base.
- Emil Morales – 2-5, 1 run, 1 RBI
- Eduardo Guerrero – 2-2, 2 BB, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR (3)
Great piece. I’m guessing we tried to get Kwan without giving up Hope or DePaula and failed.
That could be. Or perhaps Cleveland wanted Jackson Ferris. Or maybe two or three top prospects.
Kwan would have been a nice addition, with both the bat and the glove. I’d have offered De Paula. A proven all-star for a guy who might be a future all-star …or might be the next Cartaya. Why not?
Jeff’s comprehensive report underscores how these prospect rankings seem to be more art than science. Jeren Kendall was a first-round pick with an impressive college resume (Vanderbilt I think) who was thought to be a 4th outfielder at worst. But he flamed out in a few years.
To Jeff’s list of OF prospects we need to add one more name: Charles Davalan, the 41st player chosen in the recent draft. (The Reds dealt Sirota and this “competitive balance pick” to acquire Gavin Lux.)
From DodgerBlue:
“Davalan was ranked No. 54 on MLB Pipeline’s MLB Draft prospect list. The left-handed hitting outfielder projects to have a strong hit tool with solid power, running ability and good defense.
During the 2025 season, Davalan hit .346/.433/.561 with 14 home runs, 60 RBI, 71 runs scored and 10 stolen bases across 65 games.”
Another disappointing loss. Bullpen blew it late and the offense just could not get that one big hit all day.
I would have bunted with Call in the 9th with runners at 2nd and 3rd after Freeland sac bunted them over. Go for the tie right there and then leave it up to ohtani and Betts.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Roberts publicly faulted Ohtani for the ill-advised decision to steal third with two outs and Freddie up. He was thrown out–and perhaps that failure led Shohei to press in his final AB.
The Blue Jays’ color guy said Shohei obviously wanted to hit a game-winner–but a walk would have tied the score. The AB was a battle, but Fluharty prevailed by getting Shohei to chase a sweeper that was down and away. It would have been ball four and a tie game.
I wonder what sort of conversations that Roberts and Shohei have.
Ohtani has been chasing those all year, so it was no big surprise to me that he did it again. Was not a team oriented at bat. He deserved the criticism Roberts laid on him after the game. Betts hit the ball hard, but not in a good spot.
Ohtani, in bases loaded situations (7 PA,) has a .984 OPS, .328 BA. He’s quantifiably much better in high leverage than low leverage.
Might be, but he still played right into the pitchers hands. Chased some pitches just prior to the third strike pitch. With a full count this year, he is hitting just .190. 35 Ks in 93 at bats and 30 walks. How could he not recognize that pitch was going low and away? They do that to him all the time. He was in full swing mode. Not a good at bat. He totally deserved the criticism Roberts had after the game.
Yeah the entire team is better in high leverage situations, they are one of the best with hitting with runners in scoring position.
Very disappointing swing by the Great One on 3-2 with the ball not even close to being a strike. How many times have we seen that swing against a lefty with a curve ball? Maybe next time we should pinch hit for him and put a RHB up instead.
/sarcasm off
A VERY disappointing loss indeed. How do you get 13 walks, 10 hits, and only score 4 runs?
I have a bad feeling LA is going to regret not acquiring a top closer like Padres and Phillies acquired. I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of those two teams represent the NL in the World Series. I hope not….
Yes, it’s true Ohtani and Betts failed at crunch time, but 3 home runs in the span of 6 hitters is what lost that game.
At best, starters go into the 6th and the bullpen is asked to go through the lineup, often facing the top and middle of the lineup multiple times. Last night it was 15 hitters. 3 of them went yard.
Whatever happened to starters handing 6, or even 3 outs to the bullpen for the win? Yeah, what happened to 300 inning starters. The last one? Steve Carlton in 1980. The last Dodger to do it? Sandy Koufax in 1966. I didn’t see any of that. I was in boot camp and infantry training until October.
If this offense doesn’t get 5+ runs the rest of the way it could very well be .500 baseball to the finish.
Agree with starting pitchers.I am so sick of this sorry as bullpen,I can’t hardly watch a close game once a starter comes out.Why take a starter out if he is pitching good.Wait til he gets in trouble because our bullpen is terrible and I am not a negative guy.I have no confidence in anyone except for Vespa and well u saw what happened last night.I am very disappointed.
We’ve been told “help” is arriving to “save” this present Dodgers bullpen. We’ll see. But until it happens, your last sentence is the way it’s gonna shake down …for awhile anyway.
Yates, Kopech, Sasaki, Scott, Graterol, Hurt, Ryan etc. Who actually comes back and when they do will they be Treinen for a few games or get batters out immediately?
This staff could be dominating in September. Or… Whatever, it’s going to be interesting down the stretch.
In the bigger picture, we had a great team (better record than us) come in for a weekend series, and we won 2-3 games. I would’ve taken that Friday morning, and I”ll take that Monday morning.
Now, winning at least 2-3 in Anaheim is a must. Can’t lose the series to this crap team, before the Padre games.
Shohei is not clutch whatsoever this season (.234avg with RISP). I was not comfortable with him up there. Was anyone surprised he swung at a horribIe pitch that wasn’t close to being a strike??
I actually had more faith in Mookie, who’s been swinging so much better the past week, but he could not come thru.
It’s now Aug 11, and Conforto, even with his better July, is still hitting .190. Stop this madness already and try somebody else out there.
Might be the wrong decision, but personally, I would have let Dean hit instead of pinch hitting Conforto. Why? Dean’s speed for one thing, and he is more of a contact hitter than Conforto. I think Roberts was looking for a big blow at the time. A single would have been fine. Treinen not ready for prime time yet, and Vesia made one bad pitch. But all those runners, 1-10 with RISP and 16 runners left on base? Unacceptable at any level.
I’d have liked to see Dean as well. But I think Roberts was doing a straight LHB vs RHP.
I totally get that, Doc plays the odds. But he is often wrong. I still think you give the kid a shot at it.
Thank you
When the alternative is Conforto, it was a bad decision by Roberts.
He still had Rushing on the bench. But I don’t think he wanted to use him in that situation.
Good piece Jeff. Thanks
Sunday’s game was exciting I guess but to me it was the most frustrating loss of the season.
Jeff Hoffman was awful and we let him off the hook. He had a blown save and got the win with an outing lasting 2/3 of an inning with 33 pitches and 5 walks.
Mercy, 10 hits, 13 walks and 16 LOB in a 1 run loss
.
Ohtani had an interesting afternoon. Can anybody explain to me why he gets thrown out in the 6th trying to steal 3rd to take the bat out of Freddie’s hands?
Damn, 3 walks in the 9th inning, and nice sac bunt by Freeland to set up the Butter and Egg Men and Ohtani and Betts spit the bit. Brutal
HPU Sean Barber was miserable. He missed 9 strikes that he called balls. He makes pitchers throw it on the dryer form 60 feet. He has a bad set up behind the dish. He squats extremely low on the inside portion and can’t see pitches low and away. The National League Style of positioning doesn’t suit him. He would be better served to get more over the catcher’s head to see the whole plate. That’s the position old American League umpires took when they had the balloon chest protectors, and it would allow Sean to see all the quadrants.
Glasnow struggled through the first 2 innings. It looks to me like he nibbles too much. He has great stuff so trust it. Challenge hitters. 4 walks is too many in 5.2 innings.
Treinen hung a couple of breaking balls and didn’t get away with either.
Very frustrating loss.
Frustrating loss to say the least. The Dodgers seemingly have a glut of talented young outfielders in their system. In fact, they added two more (albeit AA outfielders) at the deadline. While I am not a proponent of overpaying for relief pitching at the deadline, this may have been the year to do so given the amount of young talent in the farm system. There is a difference between trading for Jhoan Duran and trading for Josh Fields or Tony Watson. That being said, I don’t know who the Twins, A’s, or Indians were asking for in return. Also, this bullpen looks different if some of Yates, Scott, Kopech, Sasaki, Hurt or Graterol return to form. We will see but the last ten days have given more credibility to those who thought the Dodgers did not do enough in the bullpen at the deadline.
In past years the Dodgers have mentioned the “passing the baton” approach to their line up where no one guy felt pressure to force an at bat. Ohtani’s impatience at the plate with RISP does not reflect this approach. Not sure if that says more about Ohtani or Betts, at this point.
Since July 30th, Conforto is 4 for 28. The Dodgers have been beyond patient with Conforto. 367 plate appearances with a .190 average and 9 home runs is what it is. Popping up a 3-1 center cut fastball with the game on the line is emblematic of his season. Unfortunately, they do not have a lot of options until Edman comes back. Unless they play Call every day, which is not likely. Looks like they will cross their fingers and use a Conforto and Call platoon, hoping for Conforto to be something different.
Definitely going to be interesting and entertaining last 7 weeks.
Enjoyed the article Jeff. Knowing I’m not a talent scout or an evaluator, I wonder if some of these outfielders can be converted to first, second or third base. Though Muncy and Freeman are still going to be around and producing for a few more years, the clock is ticking. Another thing I’d like to see, can Ryan Ward hit MLB pitching. Not necessarily as a bench player but as a pinch hitter in the playoffs. Remembering back in the day knowing we had Manny Mota or someone similar that could come up and put the bat on the ball.as a fan it’s discouraging to get runners in scoring position with less than two out and not finding a way to score the run.
Good question on the OF perhaps converting to infield. Hope, De Paula, Tibbs III are all LH throwers so that is not going to happen. Quintero has already moved from catcher to CF, so maybe? Zach Ehrhard is 5’10” and throws RH, so maybe? Davalan is also a 2B, so maybe? After all the Dodgers did convert Davey Lopes and Bill Russell from OF to INF. That worked out well. But the Dodgers are also well stocked with middle infield prospects: Kellon Lindsey, Emil Morales, and Joendry Vargas, all top 12 LAD prospects, with Morales inching toward top 100 status. And that does not include Alex Freeland.
It has to be a logical move for LAD to DFA Conforto and give Ryan Ward his 40 man and 26 man spot, right? Could he really do worse than Conforto? It is time for AF to say he made a mistake with Conforto and pull the bandaid off. I guess there is also all of those who wanted LAD to re-sign Kiké to wait for his return in October. That is why he was signed for, right? Just do something different than Conforto.
Kike might not be back. According to some stories I have read, his elbow is just not responding to treatment. His weak bat this year is not missed. Kim and Edman can cover his playing time quite well.
The latest on Kiké:
As Jeff wrote the highly ranked prospect outfielders are in the low minors. Currently, the Dodgers have only Teoscar and Pages beyond this year. No way Conforto returns. Edman could fill the CF spot next year or Pages could return there and then maybe a 2-3 year contract for a new left/right fielder. The big question is if any of the youngsters will ready to added to the Dodger roster by 2028. Or how many of the OF prospects will still be in the Dodgers system for the 2028 season. By 2028 two OF spots may be open for the youngsters.
Here’s possible Dodger regulars in 2027:
Player/ Position/ Signed thru/ Age 2027
Ohtani DH 2034 32
W Smith C 2032 32
Rushing C/? 2031? 26
Freeman 1B 2027 37
Betts 2B/SS 2032 34
Kim SS/2B 2029 28
Freeland (’27) 3B 2031? 25
Muncy 3B 2025 (’26 option) 36
Teoscar LF 2027 (’28 option) 34
Pages RF 2032? 26
Edman CF 2030 32
So, in the 2027 season the Dodgers could have six starters 32 and older. We see how some the stars are now hitting. What’s it going to look like in 2027?
But, that’s not a concern currently. How are the players they have or will have on return from the IL going to perform for the rest of the regular season and the postseason? It’s a constant churn of who’s hot and who’s not. Freddie is back to being Freddie. Mookie has started to be productive. Max has returned with a strong showing. But, Will is now slumping. Teoscar has had a couple of good games and again looks lost at the plate. And, they get two more years of this from Teoscar. Ohtani is becoming a three true outcome player which isn’t ideal for a leadoff hitter IMHO. Pages has been the most consistent so far this season. Nothing exceptional lately, but making contact with soft hits with an occasional clutch hit.
Carry on.
Austin Nola DFAd by the Rockies.
I am frustrated as well, and I believe in this team. I believe in Blake Treinen. He made Bichette look foolish with the sweeper. And now we know, all he had to do is be patient and Treinen would hang a sweeper for him. He had Vlad Jr. 0-2 and made him look bad on his 0-1 sinker. Then he hangs a sweeper and the game is tied. Two pitches later, he hangs another sweeper to Barger. Both pitches were straight 85 MPH sweepers sitting on a tee, screaming hit me. Batters obliged.
I really do not have a lot of knowledge on pitching mechanics, but it is clear that whatever Treinen is doing with his sweeper, it is not working. He knew it. He did not throw a sweeper to either of the next two batters he faced, and got both out. He relied on his sinker (3 pitches) to France and his cutter (2 pitches) and 4-seamer (2 pitches) to strikeout Varsho. He also got Bichette on his 4-seamer for Strike 3.
I would like to know who was pushing for the sweeper. Was it Treinen? Did Smith call for something other than the sweeper and Treinen call him off? Or did Smith keep calling for it? We will never know, but it was obvious that his sweeper was not working. Even the sweepers he threw to Bichette weren’t even close to being strikes. Obviously Treinen did not want to put that sweeper where he put it, but he had zero command of that pitch.
Is the sweeper the last of the pitches for a pitcher to be able to command when coming back from injury? I do not know the answer, but he needs to shelve that pitch until he can command it.
Like Bear, my wife was all in on letting Justin Dean hit for himself in the 8th instead of Conforto. “Let the young pup have a chance. We know Conforto will not get it done.” After Conforto popped out, my wife got out of her chair and stormed off saying, “I hate this team”. We don’t know what Dean MIGHT have done. It cannot be a LH hitter vs RHP because Conforto has been better against LHP this year than RHP.
What screamed put in Conforto in that situation?
Per Doc:
He has not succeeded all year in that spot, why are you expecting him to change? It is you that has to change. He cannot be counted on in those situations and he has to be the last player off the bench to PH or with the game on the line.
I agree with Phil on Glasnow and his apparent nibbling. His stuff is there. He had 13 whiffs on 86 pitches (53 strikes). But it looks as if he is looking for that chase that has not been there all year. He is in the 1 percentile in chase, meaning worst in MLB. Quit chasing the chase, and get the whiffs in the strike zone or the soft contact ground ball, which he also is very good at.
Based on his statcast page, it is the slider that is not working. It is being hit at a .300 BA, and it is not a put away pitch. His other three pitches are outstanding. I acknowledge that pitchers want that slider to be their out pitch, but it isn’t for Glasnow or Treinen.
Glasnow is walking 4.6 batters per 9 innings. He has not had that many BB since his days in Pittsburgh.
Boom
The better question might be, why are so many Dodger pitchers, and MLB pitchers as well throwing so many sweepers now?
I’ve never liked the pitch, and it’s hard to see it being effective unless it is setting up something else.
It’s hard to understand why Conforto plays at all, let along is still on the roster.
I believe the answer is that pitching, especially over the past decade or less, is more and more about vertical and horizontal break. The sweeper is checking at least one of those boxes.
In my opinion and this is just my opinion, the foundation of strong pitching is a good fastball with a bit of movement. Give me a good 2-seamer any day.
I don’t think any Dodger pitcher views the sweeper as fundamental, useful is a better descriptor
I believe there are a lot of pitchers who throw the sweeper well. Evan Phillips has a very good sweeper. Ohtani’s sweeper is also good. Treinen’s sweeper in the past was outstanding, just not yet this year. Can he get the command back?
Conforto has been a total bust and AF will not admit it and cut him loose for the benefit of the team.
My one criticism of AF is that he is slow to get rid of his mistakes on the roster. Hell, he kept Tyler White for almost two weeks.
Yep. I can live with some mistakes. No GM/POBO is perfect. But refusing to admit the mistake and move on is maddening.
Yep, it will send you too the looney bin. Game starts at 6.38 PST.
If I were AF, this is who I would target in the winter to be the LAD starting SS for 2026. It will cost a lot to be sure and it will require an overpay, which AF can doif he chooses. He is a plus defender, with a cannon arm, and while with limited power, he does not strike out much (17.4%).
Like Wynn, a lot.
Doesnt feel like he fits into the Superstar or value mold that the front office uses for Free Agents. And I know he won’t take a one-year, Conforto special.
He is not a free agent. He is not even arb eligible until 2027. He is actually about 7 months younger than Freeland. I do not see why St. Louis would trade him, but IMO he is worth an overpay, and AF has to at least ask, right? He would get St. Louis more than Gorman Thomas who reports indicate is the one they will trade.
He definitely impressed me when the Cardinals were here.
That dude has a ridic arm! I recall thinking the first baseman might need a extra padded mitt over there.
Freddie can handle it. It is a wonder he hasn’t hurt himself digging errant throws out of the dirt.
If I were in charge, I would be pushing Jackson Ferris to get promoted to AAA. He is up to 100.0 IP this year, and they can manage his innings in AAA just as well as AA. But he is not being challenged in AA (except for his control) so a step up to AAA seems warranted.
For July and August 7 starts, 38.1 IP, 1.64 ERA, 17 BB (too many), 38 K, 1 HR, 51% ground ball rate.
I would replace Ferris at AA with Adam Serwinowski who sure does not look challenged at A+.
Emil Morales could get some push to be LAD’s #1 prospect pre-season 2026. He will not get there, but he has to be pushing the envelope.
Nice controlled swing.
Jeff,
If you had to define how the Dodgers treat their AAA team, how would you do so?
Are you sure they view it as a step up for competition?
I have no clue not only on how the Dodgers use AAA, but most MLB teams.
If the Dodgers believed some of their AA players were capable of playing at the AAA level, I think they would promote them. They did so with Lux, Vargas, Pages, Busch, Feduccia, Rushing, and Freeland. This year they promoted José Ramos, Ronan Kopp, and José Rodríguez. But most of their players in OKC are AAAA players from other organizations.
Unless there is a specific prospect the Dodgers considered MLB ready, they are far more likely to sign AAAA players for AAA because they are closer to helping out the MLB team.
One other thing that cannot be discounted is that the OKC Comets are owned by Diamond Baseball Holdings, and not LAD. The Dodgers owe the ownership group to put together a competitive roster. That means signing guys who would be a draw in OKC. Why not push the 20 year olds Hope and De Paula to AA? I wish I knew the answer. Then Newell and Keith could be moved to AAA instead of Ruiz and Dean. That is easy for me, Newell and Keith are not AAA players and they are not close to being MLB ready as Ruiz and Dean are.
Speaking of our minor leagues, MLB just released their updated Top 100. We have 5 guys on the list, highlighted by DePaula at 12 and Hope at 19:
https://www.mlb.com/milb/prospects/top100/
Time to be a Giants fan for the next few days. SF is hosting SD while we go down south to play the Angels.
And just in case you’re thinking that should be an easy series win for us:
Bill Plunkett
@billplunkettocr
Dodgers v Angeles Freeway Series history:
All time record — Angels 78, Dodgers 73
At Dodger Stadium — Dodgers 52, Angels 35
At Angel Stadium — Angels 43, Dodgers 21
Yep, that’s right, we’ve won less than half our games played in Anaheim.
The Dodgers have lost five times since moving to LA when they have been gifted both 10+ hits and 10+ walks:
Yesterday, vs. TOR (10H, 13BB)
3/29/2019, vs. ARI (11H, 12BB)
5/11/1982, at PHI (13H, 10BB)
6/9/1978, at MON (10H, 10BB)
6/29/1959, vs. SF (11H, 10BB)
Tonight’s lineup vs Soriano. Ohtani DH, Betts SS, Freeman 1B, Smith C, Muncy 3B, Pages CF, Conforto LF, Freeland 2B, Call RF, P Yamamoto. Angels have some pop, 3 guys over 20 homers, Trout, Adell and Ward. Neto, the SS has 17.
Annnnnnnd naturally Conforto starts tonight
Fucking hell
RHP so yep. With Kim and Edman on the shelf, he is the only LH outfield option. Call and Dean hit RH.
Conforto has had a longer runway than any other free agent signing in the Freidman era. He has not gotten above .200 since the first couple of weeks of the season. Time to cut bait and bite the bullet. He simply needs to be gone.
At least not start or pinch-hit!
I don’t get it.
Perhaps he will be cut loose when Edman, Kim, or Kike return.
I don’t get it either. I didn’t get it with Chris Taylor, although he wasn’t a one year expense. And I surely don’t get it with Conforto.
The only thing I could see, is that it is a one year deal and the money is already spent, they obviously think very little of Ward as a prospect and it’s not gonna cost him anything to keep him for any longer.
Maybe?
Don’t count on Kike. His elbow is not responding to treatment. Kike is also RH, he doesn’t help in the power department and he is hitting below .200 anyway.
Conforto obviously has some incriminating pics against Doc/Friedman.
I just cannot stand bad umpiring. It takes away from the game. Dan Iassogna is just plain incompetent. There has to be consequences for this level of incompetence.
So the new Dodger on base move is to flip the bird? You’re better than that Mookie
YUK!