Miguel Rojas is not what I thought he was
Every week or so during the spring MLB.com updates their projected starting lineups for 2018. It is an interesting read and this nugget popped up on my radar.
Old friend Miguel Rojas is slated to be the opening day starting shortstop for the Miami Marlins. Are you as shocked as I am about this news? Are you as shocked as I am to find out that Miguel Rojas was really good in 2017?
Rojas got his start with the Dodgers in 2015 when he was pressed into service due to injuries. At the time Rojas showed an excellent glove playing shortstop, second base, third base, and even a game in the outfield. For all this great glove work he was horrible with the bat posting an OPS of .464. It seemed fairly certain that his career arc would be a major league utility infielder bouncing back between AAA and the majors from team to team. The Dodgers started him on that journey when they included him in the Dee Gordon trade. Rojas didn’t have that journey, instead, he has stayed with the Marlins major league team all three years and his bat improved enough that he is now a starting shortstop. In fact, his OPS of last year was a sterling .736. His glove is so good that even with only 306 plate appearances, he earned a 1.4 in fWAR. To put that in perspective Brandon Crawford had over 550 plate appearances and only earned a fWAR.
Rojas has no power but his great contact skills have allowed him to post a very decent wOBA and combined with his defense he has turned himself into a bonafide major league baseball player.
| Name | PA | WAR | BB% | K% | ISO | wOBA | wRC+ | Def |
| Corey Seager | 613 | 5.7 | 10.90% | 21.40% | 0.184 | 0.364 | 127 | 12.6 |
| Zack Cozart | 507 | 5 | 12.20% | 15.40% | 0.251 | 0.392 | 141 | 8.6 |
| Trea Turner | 447 | 3 | 6.70% | 17.90% | 0.167 | 0.338 | 105 | 5.2 |
| Paul DeJong | 443 | 3 | 4.70% | 28.00% | 0.247 | 0.359 | 122 | 5.4 |
| Javier Baez | 508 | 2.2 | 5.90% | 28.30% | 0.207 | 0.326 | 98 | 3.9 |
| Jose Reyes | 561 | 2 | 8.90% | 14.10% | 0.168 | 0.312 | 94 | 1.1 |
| Brandon Crawford | 570 | 2 | 7.40% | 19.80% | 0.151 | 0.301 | 86 | 13.2 |
| Freddy Galvis | 663 | 1.6 | 6.80% | 16.70% | 0.127 | 0.298 | 80 | 10.7 |
| Addison Russell | 385 | 1.4 | 7.50% | 23.60% | 0.179 | 0.305 | 84 | 8.6 |
| Jordy Mercer | 558 | 1.4 | 9.10% | 15.80% | 0.151 | 0.308 | 88 | 4.9 |
| Miguel Rojas | 306 | 1.4 | 8.80% | 10.50% | 0.085 | 0.318 | 96 | 5.5 |
| Trevor Story | 555 | 1.3 | 8.80% | 34.40% | 0.219 | 0.323 | 81 | 7.6 |
| Asdrubal Cabrera | 540 | 1.3 | 9.30% | 15.40% | 0.154 | 0.338 | 111 | -3.4 |
| Orlando Arcia | 548 | 1.2 | 6.60% | 18.20% | 0.13 | 0.309 | 85 | 4 |
| Wilmer Difo | 365 | 1 | 6.60% | 20.30% | 0.099 | 0.293 | 76 | 6.3 |
| Chris Owings | 386 | 0.4 | 4.40% | 22.50% | 0.174 | 0.313 | 85 | -3.1 |
| Aledmys Diaz | 301 | 0.2 | 4.30% | 14.00% | 0.133 | 0.291 | 78 | 2.2 |
| Dansby Swanson | 551 | 0.1 | 10.70% | 21.80% | 0.092 | 0.276 | 66 | 6 |
| Jose Peraza | 518 | -0.2 | 3.90% | 13.50% | 0.066 | 0.273 | 62 | 3.1 |
| Erick Aybar | 370 | -0.2 | 7.60% | 15.40% | 0.114 | 0.282 | 74 | -2.5 |
I felt he was headed for the Oscar Robles career arc so big time hat tip for proving me wrong.
Eight years ago today the Dodgers held a memorial for Willie Davis
One of the greatest Los Angeles Dodgers of all time passed away on March 9th, 2010.
The 3 Dog holds so many Los Angeles Dodger records:
Individual:
Triples (16) , Longest hitting streak (31)
Career:
At Bats (7,495), Runs (1,004), Hits (2,091), Triples (116), Total Bases (3,094), XBH (585), PA (8,035)
From 1960 – 1973 Willie Davis put together one hell of a career. He was considered a chronic underachiever, and for most Dodger fans in the 1960’s will be forever remembered as the center fielder who made three errors in game two of the 1966 World Series,
The Orioles were the first to break through with three unearned runs in a terrible inning for the Dodgers’ Willie Davis. First, the centerfielder dropped consecutive fly balls (after losing both in the sun). Then he threw a wild ball past third base after the second drop.
Yet, just as Clayton Kershaw should not be measured by his failure to hold two four-run leads in game five of the 2017 World Series, Willie Davis should be measured by his decade-long excellence as the Dodgers starting center fielder for two World Championship teams.
As the numbers above show he was Mr. Los Angeles Dodger, a constant in Chavez Ravine as his team changed about him over and over. He saw the highs of the great teams from 62-66, then stuck around to see the wretched teams of 67, 68, followed by the slow youth movement that was capped just after he was finally traded to the Expo’s for the final piece of the puzzle in Iron Man Mike Marshal.
Through it all Willie Davis did his thing never quite reached stardom but certainly putting his stamp on the Los Angeles Dodgers. Willie was one of those ballplayers who did things easily so lazy got pinned to him. There was no kinetic energy to Willie, he simply flowed through a baseball game. I’ve always found that the more graceful the player the easier it is to pin a tag that they are lazy or don’t care when the truth is, things just come easily for them.
The first time I saw Willie Davis, Mr. Ed was giving him hitting advice.
The next time I saw him was at the Ravine in 1970. He quickly became one of my favorite and most exasperating Dodgers. At times he could do it all, other times average was all we got. His speed allowed him to patrol CF well enough to win three straight gold gloves between 1971 – 1973. He hit well enough to become the only LA Dodger to eclipse 2,000 hits.
I was lucky enough to see Willie Davis play, more importantly, I was able to see WIllie Davis run. Boy could the 3-Dog run. Who needs home runs when the 3-Dog is sliding into 3rd comfortably ahead of the throw.
Run Willie Run
Willie Davis Legendary Baseball Player and Golfing – WTF Golf Episode 14 (via wtfgolf)
In 2006 he was honored by his high school alma mater Roosevelt High. In the video Willie explains exactly the roots of his 3-Dog nickname. Lot of great photo’s in this video from his high school track star days and his Dodger baseball cards. Also some nice video of Willie playing Dodger baseball. This is a cool video I really recommend you take a look at it.
Willie Davis – Alumni Roosevelt HS Hall of Fame (via
Eventually it will be Archer time
Last summer the Dodgers knew they would need to augment the rotation of Kershaw,Hill, Wood, Maeda, and Ryu for the postsesaon and they turned to Yu Darvish.
This year they will need to do the same. The rotation is solid but not great and it is hard for me to believe they won’t be adding a pitcher this summer. The name that comes up the most is Chris Archer.
I read an interesting column by Jeff Sullivan over at Fangraphs discussing the Gerrit Cole trade. Many felt that the Pirates didn’t get a good haul because they didn’t get the best Houston prospects but Jeff points out that Houston is so loaded you can get their second tier prospects and players and still make out very well.
I think the Dodgers are in the same boat. They have a glut of outfielders right now and real space for them. Just like Houston, the Dodgers can’t find a spot for their best positional prospect. Not only is Alex Verdugo blocked in LF, he is blocked by three players. He is blocked in RF by Puig. He is blocked in CF by Taylor who is under team control for years. Puig could walk at the end of next year. Taylor could take over second by 2019. Verdugo might be better than either Toles or Pederson.
At catcher the Dodgers have a future jewel in Ruiz but some scouts like Will Smith even more.
On the pitching side you can look toward 2019 with Walker Buehler, Mitchell White, Dennis Santana, Yadier Alvarez, and of course Julio Urias.
My point is the Dodgers have plenty of assets to trade for Chris Archer using the same blueprint of a deal that Houston did to acquire Gerrit Cole.
What those assets will be on July 31st will be interesting.
Alex Verdugo or Joc Pederson or Andrew Toles or Yusniel Diaz or DJ Peters
Austin Barnes or Kyle Farmer or Will Smith or Keibert Ruiz
Dennis Santana or Brock Stewart
I don’t know but I do suspect that at some point this summer it will be Archer time in Los Angeles.
The deregulation blues
Baseball has to take a back seat for a few posts.
I get it. I really do. I hate regulation, maybe more than the next person because I hate being told what to do. The reality of our world is that humankind has a certain percentage of deplorables and if you don’t regulate them, their worst instincts run rampant making our world a lesser place to live as those who control commerce go down the easiest path.
President Trump has done exactly what he has said he would do. While this 3rd world despot is making news every day with his chaotic regime his cabinet members are dismantling numerous regulations that were put in place to protect our world.
I’m old enough to remember when our rivers caught on fire, our air was unbreathable, our waters undrinkable. People died by the thousands because of the lack of car safety regulations, bike regulations, work safety laws, and of course nicotine. Imagine the world in 1965 where 45% of Americans smoked and permeated everything you did. For 55% of us, our rights and health were being trampled by the 45%. Our pristine lands were being abused by the loggers, the developers, and anyone who saw a way to make a buck. The wildlife was being exterminated with chemicals.
The 60’s and early 70’s were a fucking mess. Think of it as living in the Simpsons Springfield with C. Montgomery Burns doing whatever he wanted with Homer in charge with only Lisa serving as the conscience of the country.
This is what Trump wants again. Anything that stands in the way of commerce must be dismantled in his mind.
I’d love to think we could live un-regulated, that the humankind choice would always be the best choice for his/her neighbors and a certain percentage of us would make that choice but it only takes that small percent that will screw up our world.
The safety nets are being shredded and sure within every safety net there are abusers but should those in real need due to circumstance have to pay the price for those who abuse a system put in place to give the people who need the help the most?
Trump will eventually be impeached but the damage his administration is causing will haunt us for a long time because removing Trump will not remove the movement of this administration. The termites are already in place it will take years to root them out.
In time I do expect this new movement started by the high school kids to overtake a majority (electoral majority) but that will take a few years. This won’t end up being just about guns, it will be about everything.
More minor league re-assignments
The Dodgers cleaned up their house again on Monday afternoon moving six more players to minor league camp and releasing one. They now have 38 in major league camp.
Mark Lowe was given his release.
| Name | Pos | Status | Notes |
| Walker Buehler | SP | Prospect | Will be back before you know it |
| Edwardo Paredes | SR | Help | Could play the same role he played last year. |
| Will Smith | Catcher | Prospect | At least a year away |
| Manny Banuelos | SP/SR | Help | Joins Henry Owens as he tries to go from a WAL to something useful |
| Rob Segedin | 1st/3rd/OF | Help | Sadly for Rob he is strictly DL insurance. |
| Max Muncy | 1st | NTBSA | Depth |
Dodgers who are en fuego
First the hitters. Even though Keibert only has nine at-bats I wanted to include him because six for nine with only two strikeouts in his first taste of major league camp is outstanding. Estevez got no love from anybody when prospect lists were announced but he played a solid 2nd/SS and picked up four hits in only eight at-bats.
The king of the spring so far has been Kyle Farmer who has been on base twelve times in just twenty-two plate appearances and leads the team with an OPS of 1.45 for players with double-digit at-bats. Farmer is doing his best to push himself onto the roster but he faces an uphill battle because of the short bench. Lot of talk this spring that Farmer worked on creating flexibility with his hips to help with his catching but maybe it has also paid off with his bat. He has looked great at the plate. For a guy who can catch and play 3rd base, he’d be a nice piece on the bench.
Matt Kemp leads the team in home runs and sports a robust 1.43 OPS.
Andrew Toles is having a great spring with an OPS of 1.11 but he has struck out nine times in only 28 plate appearances with just one walk.
Jake Peter has slowed just a bit but his bat has been making big sounds this spring with three booming home runs. Maybe we got him cheap because of his defense, as yesterday he let an easy ground ball go right through his wickets. Still, hard to figure on why Chase is here with a player like Jake Peter. He’s left-handed, cheap, plays 2nd/3rd. Seems like more of a bench person than Chase but you know, Chase has those intangibles.
Kiké Hernandez is picking up right where he left off against the Cubs last October. Power and patience as he is second on the team in walks with six. Hernandez has played a lot of shortstop this spring as Seager gets his arm ready, and he has looked good. Matt Kemp is messing up the storyline of Hernandez being the right-handed side of a left-field platoon.
Chris Taylor leads the team in walks with eight which is exactly what the Doctor ordered for a leadoff man. Chris did not make this list because the cutoff was an OPS of 1.00 and he was only at .957.
| Player | Pos | OPS | AB | H▼ | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
| Estevez, O | SS | 1.5 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Farmer, K | C | 1.45 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| Kemp, M | LF | 1.43 | 26 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
| Ruiz, K | C | 1.33 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Forsythe, L | 2B | 1.33 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Hernandez, E | CF | 1.21 | 21 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Peters, D | CF | 1.18 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Rios, E | 1B | 1.14 | 22 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| Peter, J | 2B | 1.13 | 25 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 1 | 3 |
| Toles, A | LF | 1.11 | 27 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 9 |
| Turner, J | 3B | 1.07 | 25 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| Verdugo, A | CF | 1.03 | 25 | 8 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
Onto the pitchers. Walker Buehler is the talk of the spring right now after his brilliant two inning stint the other day but that could change quickly. Font was the talk until he made his 3rd appearance. Walker has made only one appearance so far.
Pat Venditte is always the most intriguing player in any camp as the two-way pitcher is as unique a pitcher as there is in baseball, but this spring he has also been an outstanding pitcher. He is tied with the team lead in strikeouts with 10 sporting an excellent K/BB ratio of 10 to 1. Hard to see a spot for Venditte but he’ll be ready in OKC if one shows up.
Moran has already been re-assigned to minor league camp but he did everything he could do while pitching in games this spring. The lefty showed fantastic control and is ready to be the Dodger loogy if they need one.
Rich Hill usually struggles in the spring but he’s been outstanding so far.
J Chargois joined the team right after spring training started and I fail to see how the Twins didn’t have a spot for him. He looks good. Josh Fields is lucky that Chargois has some options left.
Matt Culver made this list and is still in major league camp but he’s only thrown four innings. Those four have been just about perfect.
| Player | IP | H | ER | BB | SO▼ | AVG | WHIP |
| Venditte, P | 7.1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0.21 | 0.95 |
| Moran, B | 5.2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 0.11 | 0.53 |
| Hill, R | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0.09 | 0.29 |
| Culver, M | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.21 | 0.75 |
| Buehler, W | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0.14 | 0.5 |
| Stripling, R | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0.12 | 0.4 |
| Chargois, J | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.08 | 0.5 |
2018 Spring Roster re-assignments to minor league camp
The fun time is over and as the Dodgers get closer to opening day it was time to move the players from major league camp to minor league camp so that players expected to have a shot at making the opening day roster could get more playing time.
All of the players in the table below have been re-assigned to minor league camp but they could still see time in spring games if they are needed.
The big surprise to me was Brock Stewart being re-assigned so early. I didn’t see a way for him to make the roster because he has options and others do not but I thought he’d last longer on the major league side. I guess this way he can start getting starts in the minor league games, something they couldn’t do with him on the major league side. Same with Dennis Santana who certainly opened some eyes this spring. I expect this will be the last minor league camp that Dennis Santana and Brock Stewart are part of.
I broke the players into three groups.
The first group are NRI players who I think could help the team this summer. Brian Moran was impressive and the independent league refugee looked like he has the repertoire to be a Loogy even though his history is spotty. Moran struck out nine with zero walks. The other nine pitchers that were re-assigned walked 21 and struck out 20. Brock Stewart would be one of the top pitchers on the starting rotation depth chart. Henry Owens has a lot of work to do to get another chance at a major league gig. He is being moved to the bullpen for now as he starts the transition to the next Andrew Miller.
The second group are the prospects. Keibert Ruiz looked every bit the Dodgers best position prospect banging out hit after hit. Edwin Rios has no place to play, and may end up with the Willie Calhoun path this summer. His bat looks strong but being blocked by Bellinger at his best position and probably not able to handle 3rd on a full-time basis it will be hard to picture him with a major league job on the Dodgers when the team expects to carry thirteen pitchers. Same might be said for Matt Beatty. I would not be surprised to see Dennis Santana this summer as either a bullpen piece or emergency starter. DJ Peters showed off his power and Diaz looks like a major league outfielder but this is just no spot for them this year and maybe not even next year. Alex Verdugo is still on the major league side but he should be joining them shortly.
The other group is called NTBHFA (Never to be heard from again) and I don’t mean to be mean, but I don’t think any of them will see the majors with the Dodgers. I wish them all the best but they have long odds to beat.
| Name | Pos | Status | Notes |
| Brian Moran | SR | Help | Had great spring, could be LOOGY |
| Brock Stewart | Starting | Help | Surprised he was already cut |
| Henry Owens | Starting | Help | You just never know |
| Edwin Rios | 1st/3rd | Prospect | Great spring, no spot |
| Matt Beaty | 1st/3rd | Prospect | behind Rios |
| Tim Locastro | 2nd/SS | Prospect | Speedy Infielder, no spot |
| Keibert Ruiz | Catcher | Prospect | One or two years away, great spring |
| DJ Peters | OF | Prospect | great spring, 2019? |
| Yusniel Diaz | OF | Prospect | Looks like a player, 2019? |
| Yaisel Sierra | SR | Prospect | 2019, contract is a problem |
| Dennis Santana | Starting | Prospect | Great spring, could help this summer in bullpen or rotation |
| Travis Taijeron | 1st/OF | NTBSA | Depth |
| Shawn Zarraga | Catcher | NTBSA | Depth |
| Drew Jackson | Infield | NTBSA | Prospect but don’t see a future |
| Henry Ramos | OF | NTBSA | Depth |
| Brian Schiltter | SR | NTBSA | Depth |
| CC Lee | SR | NTBSA | Depth |
| Daniel Corcino | SR | NTBSA | Depth |
| Joe Broussard | SR | NTBSA | Depth |
| Zach Neal | SR | NTBSA | Depth |
At Common Space Brewery, dreams do come true
All of us have dreams, but how many of us take a risky plunge to make that dream come true? Brent Knapp had a good job but he had been dreaming of his own micro-brewery, so several years ago he put in place the mechanisms to make his dream come true. This involved quitting his job a year ago, finding investors, finding the ideal location, and of course finding a brewmaster.
This came to fruition last week when his Common Space Brewery had their grand opening. A group of old TrueBlueLA friends got together last week to try out his new brews. I tried his PILSNER 006, DRY HOPPED HELLES 010B, and the LIME LAGER 009. With me were David Young, Craig Minami, Hollywood Joe, Josie (who also works there), Matthew, and Josh. I’m not a beer connoisseur but I enjoyed each of them, with the Pilsner being my favorite. Brent told me his opening day blew the door off of expectations and hopefully, this will continue for him and his investors. I’ll be kicking myself for not being able to be one of those investors. Not for the capital accumulation of such an investment, but just because how cool it would have been to be an investor in a micro-brewery.
I met Brent via True Blue LA, a Dodger based blog that I used to write for. Since that time we have played baseball together, softball together, and gone to Dodger games. When he first told me his dream was to open a micro-brewery I shrugged it off. I have heard many a dream from many folk, but rarely (Jay Stalling is one) does it turn into reality. I didn’t know Brent that well, or I would have taken his talk more seriously.
He dreamed it, he did it. A big Woo Hoo to him for making his dream come true.
The Common Space Brewery is located in Hawthorne just a few blocks from a Metro stop at Crenshaw via the green line and is ideally located right next to Space X so it can quell the thirst of many a rocket scientist who needs a respite from the mind-numbing work they do. The beer vats are splendiferous in sparkling silver as you enter from the back with multiple common space tables set up for your drinking enjoyment. Food is provided by food trucks. They are a Spectrum customer so all Dodger games will be on full display, so if you need a Dodger place to hang out, and you live on the Westside or below this should be a go-to place for you.
Unfortunately for me, it is almost thirty miles away so I won’t be frequenting it as often as my good friend Dave Young will be who works just a few blocks away. I used Uber Pool to make the trip and it took a good two hours to get there. I was lucky enough to have David Young give me a ride home. Maybe I’ll use that tactic a few more times. Just don’t tell David.
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 