Scott Schebler doesn’t do much but when he does, he does it big
Scott Schebler was always one of my favorite Dodger prospects, not because I had high hopes for him but simply because of the triples he hit while in the minor leagues. I’ve watched a lot of prospects come and go but his was a particularly unique skill.
Scott has just average speed, with good power but somehow managed to snag 62 triples in his minor league career.
- 2011 – 8 – 3rd place
- 2012 – 8 – 9th place
- 2013 – 13 – 3rd place and also 2nd place in home runs with 27
- 2014 – 14 – 1st place and 1st place in home runs with 28(this is why I liked him)
- 2015 – 9 – tied for 1st place
- 2016 -8 – tied for 1st place in only 289 at bats
Who leads the league in home runs and triples? Let me know if you have someone. I’ve always been told by men of baseball that triples are simply doubles turned into triples by desire. Anyone can job into 2nd on a ball into the gap, and we see every day, but to get a triple you have to bust your ass from the get go. To get double digit triples you have to be busting your ass every time you hit a gapper. No admiring the possible home run.
That is why Scott Schebler was one of my favorite prospects.
Things haven’t gone well for Scott for the Reds yet, but he has directly won two games for them. Many players will go a career without a walk off, but Scott already has two in limited action this season. His bomb below was just crushed and it came off a pitcher who had been dominant until that moment.
Before that bomb, Scott won the game for the Reds on April 6th with his bases-loaded double
or how about this grand slam while playing for the Quakes
Joey Votto – best player on a bad team in the NL?
Joey Votto has been one of the best hitters in baseball for almost a decade but in those ten years, his team has had limited success. Only three times have they won at least 81 games and most of the time are out of the pennant race by August 19th, just as they are this year.
Other players on bad teams over the last nine years could be Mike Trout, Giancarlo Stanton(though that has changed this year), maybe Freddie Freeman. I guess I could take each player and figure out the average wins for them per season.
Nah, I’m just going to say that Joey Votto is the best player on a bad team in the National League. That way I don’t have to play with Mike Trout and show how bad the Angels have been, even with the best player in baseball on their team.
Votto’s calling card has always been an outstanding combination of power and patience.
Votto became a regular in 2008 so that is the timeframe we are going to use:
hmm – I’m going to have to expand the criteria because when I look for players who have hit at least 200 home runs and walked 800 times all I come up with is Joey Votto.
I guess I’ll just show the leaderboards for OPS+ since 2008:
If you use OPS+, Joey Votto has clearly been one of the most productive offensive players in baseball in the past nine years. He has 100 more walks than anyone else in baseball during his run of 2008 – 2016.
That list has some heady company. Hey look, Yasiel Puig right next to Matt Carpenter. Not bad for a AAA player.
From 2008 – 2016 – sorted by OPS+, with OPS+ > 130, with PA > 1000
| Player | OPS+ | HR | BB | PA |
| Mike Trout | 169 | 162 | 445 | 3388 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 161 | 297 | 668 | 5760 |
| Joey Votto | 156 | 207 | 837 | 5168 |
| Manny Ramirez | 153 | 65 | 204 | 1422 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | 150 | 134 | 448 | 3181 |
| Albert Pujols | 147 | 300 | 618 | 5667 |
| Jose Bautista | 142 | 270 | 728 | 4787 |
| David Ortiz | 142 | 264 | 652 | 4992 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 142 | 206 | 397 | 3390 |
| Kris Bryant | 142 | 56 | 134 | 1176 |
| Ryan Braun | 140 | 243 | 434 | 5178 |
| Jose Abreu | 140 | 80 | 121 | 1803 |
| Andrew McCutchen | 139 | 168 | 590 | 4988 |
| Lance Berkman | 139 | 107 | 417 | 2687 |
| Bryce Harper | 139 | 118 | 368 | 2615 |
| Buster Posey | 139 | 114 | 329 | 3527 |
| Josh Donaldson | 138 | 132 | 318 | 2938 |
| Adrian Gonzalez | 137 | 241 | 614 | 5896 |
| Matt Holliday | 136 | 191 | 567 | 5142 |
| Prince Fielder | 135 | 239 | 696 | 5462 |
| Edwin Encarnacion | 132 | 262 | 534 | 4768 |
| Freddie Freeman | 132 | 128 | 391 | 3619 |
| Nelson Cruz | 132 | 257 | 386 | 4538 |
| Chipper Jones | 132 | 82 | 360 | 2471 |
| Kevin Youkilis | 132 | 113 | 324 | 2788 |
| Jim Thome | 132 | 105 | 288 | 1886 |
| Yasiel Puig | 132 | 53 | 147 | 1686 |
| Matt Carpenter | 131 | 68 | 349 | 2850 |
| Shin-Soo Choo | 130 | 143 | 585 | 4837 |
| David Wright | 130 | 145 | 515 | 4557 |
| Robinson Cano | 130 | 218 | 416 | 5933 |
| Anthony Rizzo | 130 | 127 | 337 | 3040 |
Not everything the Giants do turns to gold, it just seems that way
Last year in a deadline deal the Giants traded Adam Duvall to the Reds for Mike Leake. Leake was unable to help the Giants run down the Dodgers and has since taken his pitching skills to the Cardinals via free agency.
Duvall was already twenty-six and appeared to be a AAAA player who could hit a home run or two. He had hit 130 career minor league home runs since 2010 so the power wasn’t in question, but he sure didn’t seem like someone who would be playing in the 2016 All-Star game but there he was hitting home runs at Petco in the home run derby.
Duvall got to the all-star game because of his power. On July 10th he had already hit 23 home runs. That does seem to be the only part of his game, but if you are only going to have one skill, hitting home runs is a good one to have.
It is possible that the first half for Duvall might be the best streak he will ever have. He has slumped quite a bit in the 2nd half, and even more so in August. The Reds sat him down for a few games to clear his head, I’m not sure if he’ll play against the Dodgers or not, he has not played since August 15th.
However, it turns out, I’m glad Duvall is hitting home runs for the Reds and not the Giants in 2016.
| Period | TSL | OPS | Home Runs |
| First Half | .249 | .288 | .551 | 0.839 | 23 |
| Second Half | .222 | 316 | .414 | 0.731 | 3 |
| August | .208 | 304 | .375 | 0.679 | 2 |
Willie Smalls goes yard, Tulsa Trio start raking again
Willie Calhoun slugged his 26th home run for the Drillers, Alex Verdugo collected three hits, and Cody Bellinger just hung out.
Let’s check in on how the Tulsa Trio have done since the trading deadline left them in the Dodger organization. I’m going to add in Edwin Rios and Johan Mieses because it will be fun to see their stats. And for good measure let’s also take a look a look at Yusniel Diaz and Yusiel Puig.
Alex Verdugo is the only one of these slumping right now. At one time Verdugo had the most home runs for a 20-year-old in the Texas League but he has not hit a home run since July 16th.
As you can see everyone else is smashing. These are just surface numbers and don’t go into what is behind these numbers such as K rate, walk rate , and BABIP but they are fun to look at. Much like Brock Stewart and Trevor Oaks on the pitching side, Edwin Rios was barely a blip on the prospect radar headed into this season, but he has put himself firmly in the prospect conversation. He might be an AL type player, doesn’t seem to have the footwork for 3rd base, to slow for the outfield, so 1st base or DH might be his ultimate future. Possibly a Wilson Alveraz comp without the number one pick out of college that Alveraz carried with him to the Pirates. Alveraz never lived up to the lofty status of his draft pick, and now simply hits home runs for the Orioles without doing much else. That could be what Rios can be.
August Splits:
| Player | Month | Level | Age | AB | HR | OPS |
| Alex Verdugo | August | AA | 20 | 62 | 0 | 0.665 |
| Cody Bellinger | August | AA | 20 | 58 | 5 | 0.951 |
| Willie Calhoun | August | AA | 21 | 57 | 4 | 1.023 |
| Edwin Rios | August | AA | 22 | 58 | 4 | 1.003 |
| Johan Mieses | August | A+ | 21 | 55 | 8 | 1.326 |
| Yusniel Diaz | August | A+ | 19 | 54 | 4 | 0.926 |
| Yasiel Puig | August | AAA | 25 | 34 | 3 | 1.336 |
Meanwhile, A.J. Ellis still can’t score
In one of the stranger going on’s in 2016, A.J. Ellis has moved into second place among the LAD leaderboard for position players not being able to score. Ellis moved past Dodger great Mike Scioscia during his last start and has now been unable to score in his last 101 at-bats.
You can see why it has been hard to score Ellis since May 2nd, he doesn’t get on base much. His TSL since May 3rd is .186 | .273 | .216. With only three doubles since May 2nd, he simply doesn’t put himself in scoring position very often.
Ellis is now only chasing Doug Camilli who set the record back in 1964. With a four-game set against the Reds, Ellis is sure to get into one game. This weekend would be a good time for me to end this foolishness, but you can be sure that Doug Camilli has some champagne on ice because this is one record he’d love to not own.
- Camilli – 105 at bats / 18 hits / 6 walks
- A.J. Ellis – 101 at bats / 18 hits / 10 walks
- Mike Scioscia – 96 at bats / 20 hits / 8 walks
- Len Gabrielson -95 at bats / 20 hits / 4 walks
- Steve Yeager-86 at bat / 17 hits / 3 walks
- John Hale-80 at bats / 10 hits / 12 walks
- Wally Moon-78 at bats / 15 hits / 3 walks
- Jeff Torborg-73 at bats / 10 hits / 7 walks
- Juan Samuel– 73 at bats / 19 hits / 2 walks
- Don LeJohn – 72 at bats / 18 hits / 4 walks
Yazmani Grandal slugs 20th home run, last Dodger catcher to hit 20 was Paul Lo Duca in 2001
LoDuca hit 25 home runs in 2001, but only 20 as a catcher. All 20 of Grandal’s home runs have been as a catcher this year.
At one time it was very common for Dodger catchers to hit at least 20 home runs. From 1993 to 2001 they did it eight times by three different catchers.
Below is the chart. Under the HR column, the first number is the total number of home runs for the season, and the second number is the number of home runs while catching.
The one year missing is 1998 in that run from 1993 – 2001 but Dodgers catchers still hit 20 home runs only it was divided between Piazza with 9 and Charles Johnson with 12.
| Player | HR | Year â–´ |
| Joe Ferguson | 25 / 20 | 1973 |
| Joe Ferguson | 20 / 14 | 1979 |
| Mike Piazza | 35 / 35 | 1993 |
| Mike Piazza | 24 / 24 | 1994 |
| Mike Piazza | 32 / 31 | 1995 |
| Mike Piazza | 36 / 36 | 1996 |
| Mike Piazza | 40 / 40 | 1997 |
| Todd Hundley | 24 / 24 | 1999 |
| Todd Hundley | 24 / 24 | 2000 |
| Paul Lo Duca | 25 / 20 | 2001 |
| Grandal | 20 /20 | 2016 |
Jose De Leon dominates again while waiting for his chance
As the Dodgers turn to Bud Norris, Ross Stripling, and Brett Anderson over the next three games, they all better be on their game because Jose De Leon is putting everyone on notice.
He’s ready for his chance.
On Wednesday night Jose pitched another strong seven innings, striking out ten without a walk while giving up two earned runs. That is four straight starts of at least six innings, and never more than two runs given up. In total over those four starts, 27 innings, six earned runs, four walks, and twenty-three strikeouts.
Jose De Leon, rhp, Dodgers. The Dodgers’ No. 2 prospect at midseason, the former Southern ace is positioning himself to help the big club later this season. He struck out 10 Wednesday in Triple-A Oklahoma City’s 3-2 win over Albuquerque (Rockies). De Leon allowed just six hits and two runs in six innings, walking none. De Leon has a fastball that sits 92-93 mph and touches 95 with a great spin rate. He throws a tight slider but the difference-maker is his double-plus changeup.
Everyone can’t get hot at the same time, can they?
Do you remember thinking when one or two Dodgers got hot, how great it would be if they could all get hot at the same time? Don’t look now but I think it has been happening for a few weeks, and this is why they are able to continue to win while the rotation pitches barely more than half a game everytime out.
- Chase went crazy
- Cory continues to make a case for MVP
- Justin Turner continues to make a case for hottest three-year run for any LAD 3rd baseman in history
- Adrian Gonzalez has been Rod Carew for ten weeks
- Yazmani Grandal is clearly the best hitting catcher in the NL over the past two months
- Joc Pederson is En fuego
- Howie Kendrick has been the 2nd best hitting left fielder in the NL since the all-star game
Who am I missing?
Oh yeah – Josh Reddick – well you can’t have EVERYONE hitting at the same time. That would be unfair.
I’ll put some real numbers to these runs after they win tomorrow 10 – 5 or something but for now here is the fangraphs link for the past 30 days.
It is easy for me to look at the rotational shortcoming, but as someone pointed out to me, the offense more than makes up for it? Can they continue to do so? Are they this good? I don’t know, but it sure is fun to watch while it is happening.
As the Dodgers head into Thursday they have four players who could get consideration for NL Player of the Week if they continue to build on what they have done on Tuesday/Wednesday.
Chase Utley, Adrian Gonzalez, Yazmani Grandal, and Joc Pederson. Oh hell, make it five with Justin Turner.
Funny thing is that I predicted that Josh Reddick would go off this week, and he’s the only one who hasn’t.
Having Mark Grace for a few months was great but it is better to have Adrian Gonzalez back
On June 27th Adrian Gonzalez was hitting .264 | .337 | .372 a far cry from his normal slugging percentage. Adrian was heard to decry the shifts and to this fan it felt a bit like whining. I mean a forty-year-old David Ortiz was having no problem with the shift, and if you are a power hitting first baseman just hit the ball where they can’t catch it.
Anyway, something changed and for the next ten weeks, Adrian Gonzalez turned into Mark Grace. Forget that, for the next ten weeks, Adrian Gonzalez turned into Rod Carew. The Dodger 1st baseman from June 28th – August 16th hit a blistering .354 | .425 | .517. The home runs were still missing but he was doing everything else. All those one time hits that were being gobbled up by the shift found hole after hole, gap after gap. I’ll let someone else show you the hit spray chart on why all of the sudden Adrian got hot. For me I’ll just talk about the aesthetics of the hit parade.
It was beautiful to watch.
They say all good things have to come to an end. In this case, they ended tonight, yet I think the return of Adrian Gonzalez will end up being a great thing. Adrian powered two home runs today after hitting only four in his last 167 plate appearances. Adrian is a streaky home run hitter so don’t be shocked if the guy who only hit ten home runs in his first 410 plate appearances of 2016, doesn’t still reach 20 plus home runs this year.
Sit back and enjoy, the rockets are about to be launched.
Apologies are due Dave Roberts and Howie Kendrick
I have been hard on Dave Roberts in his stubbornness to make Howie Kendrick the starting left fielder and in my own stubbornness to acknowledge my ignorance I was wrong. Roberts was right in continuing to give Howie the at-bats in left field, and I was wrong that Howie wasn’t up to the task. Not just a little wrong, this was a huge whiff on my part.
I just never felt the elderly career 2nd baseman would hit enough to warrant playing in a position noted for offense. I particularly made fun of the fact that for one 100 at-bats, Howie only drove in one run, and that was himself with a home run. But I can’t deny that Howie has hit. and hit. and hit.
Baseball Reference gives us a snapshot for the whole year for Left fielders with at least 300 plate appearances:
| Player | OPS+ | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Ryan Braun | 151 | 0.325 | 0.388 | 0.566 | 0.954 |
| Christian Yelich | 138 | 0.316 | 0.386 | 0.494 | 0.88 |
| Starling Marte | 122 | 0.316 | 0.373 | 0.461 | 0.834 |
| Adam Duvall | 111 | 0.243 | 0.295 | 0.518 | 0.813 |
| Angel Pagan | 110 | 0.291 | 0.344 | 0.438 | 0.783 |
| Jayson Werth | 107 | 0.255 | 0.346 | 0.443 | 0.789 |
| Yasmany Tomas | 106 | 0.264 | 0.304 | 0.5 | 0.804 |
| Howie Kendrick | 106 | 0.283 | 0.341 | 0.421 | 0.762 |
| Matt Holliday | 103 | 0.242 | 0.318 | 0.45 | 0.768 |
| Melvin Upton | 99 | 0.256 | 0.304 | 0.439 | 0.743 |
| Michael Conforto | 89 | 0.218 | 0.297 | 0.414 | 0.71 |
Sure, he hasn’t been great compared to peers but he’s right smack in the middle which is pretty good for a 32-year-old second baseman playing LF. Left field only has two elite players right now in Braun and Yelich, with Marte knocking on the door. I’d have lost a lot of money if someone had bet me on May 1st the Howie Kendrick would be out hitting Michael Conforto. I didn’t see that coming either way.
Yet that above chart is misleading because that involves the whole season, while Howie has been ripping since about May, we are going to use Fangraphs to tell how Howie is doing since the All-Star break compared to his peers:
BOOM
Yup, Howie is having a better second half than MVP candidate Kris Byrant, and folks, it ain’t even close. Not only has Howe been adequate in LF, at this point, Howie Kendrick is one kick ass left fielder – again, my apologies to Howie and Dave Roberts for doubting them.
| Name | | | wRC+ | | | wOBA | | | PA |
| Ryan Braun | | | 203 | | | 0.482 | | | 102 |
| Howie Kendrick | | | 168 | | | 0.419 | | | 116 |
| Yasmany Tomas | | | 152 | | | 0.408 | | | 100 |
| Starling Marte | | | 139 | | | 0.376 | | | 115 |
| Christian Yelich | | | 136 | | | 0.377 | | | 135 |
| Angel Pagan | | | 133 | | | 0.362 | | | 132 |
| Jayson Werth | | | 129 | | | 0.367 | | | 106 |
| Kris Bryant | | | 127 | | | 0.365 | | | 132 |
| Alex Dickerson | | | 110 | | | 0.331 | | | 94 |
| Adam Duvall | | | 93 | | | 0.316 | | | 114 |
| Willson Contreras | | | 80 | | | 0.295 | | | 99 |
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 