While the dust has finally settled on top of the Washington Nationals and the NLDS, the Dodgers have turned the page to the next chapter of the 2016 postseason by announcing the 25-man roster for the seven-game championship series against the Cubs on Saturday morning.
Continue reading “Dodgers Announce 25-Man NLCS Roster Against Cubs”
For those of you keeping a very close eye on the Dodgers‘ expanded roster, you’ll know that the club currently lists a whopping 35 players, and depending on a few classifications that could go either way, 14 of those players could more or less be considered relief pitchers.
Continue reading “Dodgers Roster: The Story Behind the 14-Man Bullpen”
On a day when bad news from the injury department seemingly rolled in waves, manager Dave Roberts admitted before Wednesday’s game that lower back surgery isn’t being ruled out for Dodgers‘ ace Clayton Kershaw.
Continue reading “Dodgers Not Ruling Out Surgery for Kershaw”
As the seconds tick closer to the non-waiver trade deadline on August 1, without even having to pick up the phone or sacrifice a top prospect, the Dodgers may receive their own instant infusion of talent in the form of several key players returning from the disabled list.
Continue reading “Dodgers Injury Notes: Pederson, Kershaw, Ethier, Ryu & More”
With 71 games remaining on the schedule and the hot stove just beginning to percolate, many fans of the Dodgers are wondering if the squad has what it takes to make a playoff run in the second half of the year — most specifically in the starting pitching department.
Continue reading “Can Dodgers Field a Formidable Starting Rotation for Playoffs?”
If we all took a brief moment to drift back to this past offseason, many would find it tough to believe that the Dodgers are already dipping into the plentiful stash of pitching at the Triple-A level. After all, at the point when the calendar flipped to 2016, quite a few of the more impulsive fans were hastily calling for a trade of lefty starter Alex Wood.
Continue reading “The Current State of the Dodgers’ Starting Rotation”
The Dodgers took another small dose of bad news on the injury front on Wednesday when the club learned that outfielder Andre Ethier‘s original timetable to return from a cracked tibia has essentially become null and void.
Continue reading “Andre Ethier’s Potential Return Pushed Back”
If the current five members of the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ starting rotation can find a way to battle and stay effective for about another four to six weeks, veteran help may be arriving to provide some much needed vigor and support. However, if one or more of the present starters takes a turn for the worse, the club may have to turn to the farm as an alternative in the interim.
Continue reading “Dodgers Injury Notes: McCarthy, Ryu Nearing Rehab Starts”
It was only about a week ago that almost every writer in the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ blogosphere expressed an opinion about Alex Wood and what type of role he would play in the upcoming season.
Now, with Brett Anderson having had back surgery and expected to miss three to five months, Wood has been quickly ushered to the fourth spot in the starting rotation, while the Dodgers are left scrambling to swiftly determine which pitcher slots into the fifth spot.
The popular opinion, at least among many of the Dodgers’ beat writers in attendance at Camelback Ranch, is that the best option is to lean towards one of the three players who have MLB experience — Mike Bolsinger, Carlos Frias or Brandon Beachy.
Depending on the overall spring training evaluations, Bolsinger could very easily be the safest choice of the trio, despite having several glaring inconsistencies.
In 2015, Bolsinger ended up contributing 109 innings over 21 starts for the Dodgers, compiling a 6-6 record with a 3.63 ERA, a 8.1 K/9, and a 3.91 FIP. For those unfamiliar with FIP (fielding independent pitching), it separates a pitcher’s performance from the ballpark and defense around him. Generally if a pitcher’s FIP is higher than his ERA, it usually means the ERA is on the upswing.
Indications also suggest that Bolsinger’s lack of velocity has a bearing on his performance when facing opposing hitters the second and third times through the batting order. Not that a pitcher with a lower velocity can’t have success, but somebody with an average fastball of 89.2 mph and a slider floating in at 80.6 mph who can’t precisely hit his spots makes it much easier for the opposition to succeed.
Frias, on the other hand, has an electric arm and a very high ceiling based on his velocity alone. He made 17 appearances, including 13 starts, for the Dodgers last season, hurling 77.2 innings to a tune of a 4.06 ERA.
The knock on Frias is that the separation of speeds between his hard stuff and his breaking pitches is so small, that it allows opposing batters to make better reads. Last year, for example, both his fastball and sinker averaged in the 97-98 mph range, while his changeup averaged 91.8 mph. Until Frias can develop and command a more effective arsenal of breaking pitches, he may be better suited for the bullpen.
There’s really not much recent data to make a fair assessment of Beachy. After returning from Tommy John surgery last season, he pitched 47 innings over 10 appearances at Oklahoma City. When given the opportunity with the Dodgers, he surrendered 10 hits and seven earned runs in the two games he started.
One concern with Beachy is that he altered the mechanics of his delivery to avoid additional problems with his elbow. In his old delivery, he threw across his body to generate better spin, whereas now he throws more in a straight line towards the dish with less rotation. Whether this proves to be beneficial and effective in the long run remains to be seen.
While the safe bet may be to ride the shoulders of one of the aforementioned pitchers, the brain trust here at TBPC believes that one of the second-tier options — José De León, Zach Lee or Jharel Cotton may be the better alternative.
De León’s fastball, which has nasty, late movement and sits in the 93-96 MPH range, is by far his best weapon. His slider rates a little above-average but continues to improve. His changeup is by far his best off-speed pitch — he’s not afraid to use it when behind in the count and often uses it as his strikeout pitch. He’s considered to be MLB-ready and possesses the most raw talent of the three.
In terms of mental makeup, Lee is probably the most mature prospect in the organization. His command is very sharp, which was made evident by his 1.5 BB/9 last season. His sinker is consistently solid, resulting in a 50% ground ball rate. His slider is still developing, which will eventually compliment his four-seamer, changeup and sinker. Lee still shows plenty of velocity with the heater, having the ability to reach up to 94 mph.
Cotton probably has the best changeup in the Dodgers’ entire system, and projects much better as a starter after a short stint as a reliever in Triple-A last season. His fastball is still somewhat of an enigma, sitting in the mid-90s at times then sitting 90-91 other times . His breaking pitches are his best weapons, leading him to a 10.7 K/9 in almost 100 innings of work last year.
Of course, any rookie could have the finest skills on the diamond, but ultimately head downhill when given a shot in the bigs. Psychological fortitude is critical at the major league level — having the ability to see past a rough outing, having the mental endurance to stay strong the entire season and having the capacity to be coachable are just several attributes that are paramount for success.
While their performances on the field at spring training will have the most influence on who gets the eventual call to be the fifth starter, option years and 40-man roster implications aside, it very well could be time for one of the kids to step into the rotation and shine above the rest.
(Photo Credit: Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
Nowadays, typical fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers never seem to be satisfied. Understandably, it is tough to blame them, being that it’s been 27 years and counting since the team’s last World Series championship.
And the same typical fans can sometimes be a bit delusional — as we all very well know. Usually, it’s the constant criticism of the front office not spending more money, trading away a player who was a fan favorite, or not making that blockbuster deal just moments before the trade deadline. The psychological progressions and maddening obsessions eventually lead to the fans’ own personal greed and uninformed opinions coming to light, instead of realizing what’s best for the team in the long run.
The same can be said for Dodgers’ pitcher Alex Wood, at least up until several weeks ago. The moments after the team signed free agent pitchers Scott Kazmir and Kenta Maeda, the unenlightened fans began to work their glamour, calling for an immediate trade, only because the starting rotation was now overloaded with players who were more talented than Wood, and the bullpen already had two left-handed pitchers and two long men.
The fans had somewhat of a right to be critical, though, as Wood’s time in a Dodgers uniform after being acquired from the Braves resulted in a bit of a roller coaster ride.
His decreased velocity led to a plummeting strikeout rate. In 2014, he flaunted a respectable 8.91 K/9, while his overall numbers last year produced a mere 6.60 K/9. His 116 ERA- and 106 FIP- for the Dodgers were well below his career averages. And the home and away splits were also extremely noticeable.
Wood made five starts at Dodger Stadium, and all five were quality starts, reeling out a 2.41 ERA, a 3.25 FIP, a 20.2 percent strikeout rate and a 4.1 percent walk rate.
On the road, however, Wood made seven starts after joining the Dodgers, and just one was a quality start, resulting in a 6.14 ERA, a 4.88 FIP, a 14.3 percent strikeout rate and a 10.7 percent walk rate.
And to boot, a pitcher with a fastball topping out at 89 mph, an extremely low arm slot and a very strange delivery is never overly appealing to the typical fan.
All that being said, it came to light about a week ago that Wood has spent his whole Dodger career playing with a bone bruise in his right foot.
LA Times beat writer for the Dodgers, Andy McCullough, was first to report the details of the injury on February 22. In his final game with the Braves, Wood rolled his right ankle on a play covering first base. A bone bruise developed in his foot, which pained him every time his foot landed when he threw.
Wood used almost the entire winter letting his foot heal, and once he was able to throw pain-free, began to polish and fine-tune his mechanics.
“I had already gotten into some bad habits mechanically,” Wood said. “So it was a long offseason full of trying to get back to where I needed to be.”
The news of Wood’s injury, coupled with the actuality of Hyun-jin Ryu‘s delayed return, left fans more forgiving and forced them to realize that Wood is much more valuable to the team than what they perceived originally.
As for the beginning of the season, Wood will more than likely slot into the fifth spot in the rotation, at least until Ryu is ready to return, which could extend into May.
It’s been a number of years since the Dodgers’ main starting rotation stayed healthy for the bulk of a season, and Wood will remain on alert to fill any need when an injury does occur.
Early estimates for the usage of Ryu were calculated at the 20-start and 150-inning range. No projections were given for Maeda; however, both Maeda and Ryu are accustomed to throwing once per week rather than every five days, which may leave another door open for Wood.
It could be easy enough to sculpt a potential six-man rotation, where Wood would pitch on Maeda and Ryu’s scheduled fifth day, stretching time between starts and giving Maeda and Ryu the required rest that was common in their homelands — a large enough role to warrant Wood a spot on the 25-man roster.
As for the future, so long as his numbers stay stable and consistent, Wood is more valuable to the club than many fans realize. Brett Anderson is signed only through the 2016 campaign, while Kazmir’s contract involves a potential opt-out after this season. Brandon McCarthy, who is expected to return at some point during 2016, is only signed through 2017.
In terms of team control, Wood will not be eligible for free agency until the year 2020, and has all three option years remaining on his contract — a scenario that is valued very highly by today’s front offices.
Nevertheless, utilizing an option and being sent to the minors for any length of time isn’t an alternative in Wood’s eyes.
“I’m going to be in the rotation,” he said. “That’s the plan. That’s the thing I hate about the offseason, about spring training. I’m more about action than about talk. I plan on being in the rotation. And I don’t plan on leaving.”
Think Blue Planning Committee 