Rotation update
The Dodger rotation is the strength of the team and unlike many years it comes into spring with everyone healthy. Not only are the top five rotation options healthy but everyone except Julio Urias is also healthy.
Which is a good thing because the team doesn’t go as deep this year as they have in the past. No longer on the depth chart are Scott Kazmir, Brandon McCarthy and Trevor Oaks. The depth this year belongs almost solely to young pitchers instead of recycling major league retreads.
If any of the top five go down, the options are all wild cards. Stripling, Stewart, Font all could be credible back end rotation starters but none are someone you want to replace Kershaw if he needs to miss another two months this summer.
Also, four of the five top options have all had numerous health issues over the past several seasons so you have to expect some or all of them to miss some time this summer.
As you know I like Wilmer Font but I like him as someone who can take his starter skills and pitch well out of the bullpen. I’m not nearly as confident he can succeed as a major league starter but with the starters only expected to go through a lineup twice a game, maybe he can.
I also like Brock Stewart as someone who can fill out a rotation.
Ross Stripling should be able to do the same.
Not long ago Henry Owens pitched for the Red Sox and was considered a prize prospect. Now he’s just a wild ass lefty who has to learn something from the Dodger coaches and turn that into something before his career careens over the cliff. So far this spring he has not had success but hopefully he can still get something going. I’m holding out hope that he will piss of Red Sox fans at some point this summer.
Walker Buehler is expected to help in the rotation this summer. Dave Roberts said they would hope to get 140-150 innings from him so how they manage those innings will determine how he fits into the rotation. I could easily see him getting some starts with the Dodgers this summer and converting back into relief in Sept as they get ready for October.
I don’t expect to see Dennis Santana get any starts with the Dodgers this year until Sept unless things really go off the rails. He is also someone who could transition into a relief role if they need him to this summer.
Mitch White and Yadier Alvarez probably have to wait their turns but this being baseball you never know.
You also have Julio Urias hoping to get back on the mound by late summer. I hope he shows something before the season is over so we can get more of an idea of what to expect next year.
Am I okay with this rotation and the depth? Yes, but they could easily upgrade and if I was the Dodgers I would certainly be making a play for Chris Archer. It would not surprise me at all if the Dodger front office pulled off a deal for a frontline starter before the start of the season. Wouldn’t Kenta Maeda make financial sense for a team like Tampa Bay? Great contract, under team control for years. Throw in the right prospects and make it happen. Or don’t. As I said I’m okay with the rotation as it is but by August 1st they probably need an upgrade to fill the Yu Darvish role of 2017 without the World Series missteps.
Next year at this time, you could envision a healthy competition between Urias, Buehler, Santana, White, and Alvarez for one or two spots in the Dodger rotation. The arms are coming.
| First Five | Notes |
| C Kershaw | Healthy |
| R Hill | Healthy |
| A Wood | Healthy |
| K Maeda | Healthy |
| H Ryu | Healthy |
| MLB Options in Bullpen | |
| Wilmer Font | Healthy |
| Ross Stripling | Healthy |
| Best Options in AAA | |
| Brock Stewart | Healthy |
| Other Options in AAA | |
| Henry Owens | Still a WAL |
| M Banuelos | Still a WAL |
| D Baker | Making sure he’s on radar |
| Prospects Who Might Help | |
| W Buehler | Struck out side in 1st inning of work this spring today |
| D Santana | Pitched one inning, think he’s impressing |
| M White | Minor League Camp |
| Y Alvarez | Minor League Camp |
| DL Help | |
| Julio Urias | Just started throwing |
Bullpen Update
Tom Koehler the pitcher many hoped would replace the arm of Brandon Morrow had his season flushed when he hurt his right shoulder and will be out a minimum of two months. This will have a trickle down effect on the Dodger bullpen since Koehler was already penciled in as a lock.
With Dave Roberts announcing this weekend that five of his relief pitchers are going to be Kenley Jansen, Pedro Baez, Tony Cingrani, Scott Alexander, and inexplicably Ross Stripling that leaves three spots for the remaining candidates.
Dave Roberts named five of the eight relievers he believes will be part of #Dodgers bullpen: Kenley Jansen, Tony Cingrani, Pedro Baez, Ross Stripling, Scott Alexander. Roberts added “To get too far ahead of things doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.”
— David Vassegh (@THEREAL_DV) March 3, 2018
I can understood the four of the five having near locks in the bullpen but I’m not sure why Ross Stripling is a lock. Especially since he has two options and it might be more prudent to have being stretched as a starter in AAA.
David Hood wrote up JT Chargois and I still don’t understand how the Twins released him. As David noted he is now the highest ranked pure relief pitcher in the Dodger system.
This leaves Brock Stewart, Wilmer Font, Yimi Garcia, Josh Fields, J.T. Chargois, Edward Paredes, and Adam Liberatore fight fighting for those final three spots.
Brock Stewart – should be starting in AAA which is where I’d also put Ross Stripling but we have to work with the idea of Ross being in the bullpen since Dave Roberts already said he’s a lock. Brock Stewart’s future may be in the bullpen but for now he should be stretched out as a starter and be part of the backup starting depth.
J.T. Chargois should start out in AAA to prove he’s healthy and get some innings under his arm after barely pitching the second half last year
The Dodgers have two lefthanders in the bullpen right now with Cingrani and Scott Alexander so the team doesn’t need either Liberatore or Paredes to make the team but I think one of them will. Liberatore is having an outstanding spring so far and looks like the guy who dominated the National League in the first half of 2016. A healthy Liberatore would go a long way to helping solidify the bullpen.
Josh Fields has yet to pitch this spring but I’d expect him to make the bullpen unless he’s not healthy.
Thus leaving the last spot between Yimi and Wilmer. I’ve stated before that Font will get a spot because he’s out of options. Yimi has one left and given he didn’t pitch last year it makes sense that he’s headed for AAA.
The dark horses or pitchers who will be in AAA are Pat Venditte the dual throwing relief pitcher who last pitched in the majors in 2016. Y Sierra who at times has looked like a major league relief pitcher but nothing like the pitcher the Dodgers are paying $3.5 Million to for 2017. Maybe now is his time. Justin DeFratus last pitched in the majors in 2015 with the Phillies. He has pitched more innings this spring than any other Dodger pitcher and at one time was an effective major league relief pitcher. Manny Banuelos can pitch his way into bullpen contention but he’ll have to do it from AAA. The big armed pitcher has plenty to prove this spring and not enough innings for it to happen this spring. Brian Moran was picked up last year from the Independent League and excelled in AA the final month of the season. He has pitched four innings already this spring so the Dodgers are giving him a look. His career was interrupted by TJ in 2014 and he is the longest of shots but 27 K’s in 19 innings with only 3 walks in AA does get your attention as does the fact the Dodgers have run him out there three times this spring and he’s been fantastic. Remember the career arc of Edwardo Paredes and you can see a light for Moran.
There is concern that the Dodgers need to trade for another bullpen piece or sign one via free agency. They might do it, but I think they will wait until the season starts and see how this group works out. The back four in Jansen, Alexander, Baez, and Cingrani could be very strong. Liberatore has been dominant when healthy so it would be wise to see which one shows up this season. Josh Fields isn’t anything special but he gets the job done most of the time. Font is a wild card, as is Yimi. If that group does not do the job or Pedro Baez isn’t up to snuff, they can make a move but I don’t see any reason to do one right now.
With the help of the Eric Stephen payroll sheet which is a handy place to find out how many minor league options each pitcher still has we can look at the bullpen this way.
| First Five | Options | Role |
| Jansen | Closer | |
| S Alexander | 2 | LH Setup |
| T Cingrani | 0 | LH Setup |
| P Baez | 2 | RH Setup |
| R Stripling | 2 | RH Early |
| Next Three | ||
| J Fields | 1 | RH Early |
| A Liberatore | 1 | LH Early |
| W Font | 0 | RH Early |
| AAA Depth | ||
| Y Garica | 1 | AAA Depth RH |
| E Paredes | 1 | AAA Depth LH |
| J.T. Chargois | 1 | AAA Depth RH |
| Brock Stewart | 1 | AAA Depth RH |
| Y Sierra | 2 | AAA Depth RH |
| More AAA Depth | ||
| Pat Venditte | AAA Depth RH/LH | |
| Justin DeFratus | AAA Depth RH | |
| M Banuelos | AAA Depth LH | |
| Brian Moran | AAA Depth LH | |
| Prospect who might help | ||
| W Buehler | ||
| D Santana |
MLB Pipeline unveils LAD top 30
MLB Pipeline just unveiled their LAD top 30 prospects. No surprises at the top with Walker Buehler / Verdugo / Ruiz taking the top three spots.
New additions to 2018 from the 2017 spring list who were drafted in 2017 are Jeren Kendall, Connor Wong, Morgan Cooper, James Marinan, and Donovan Casey. Interesting that Wong was drafted in the 3rd round but is ranked 15th compared to 2nd round pick Morgan Cooper who was ranked 21st. Cooper did not pitch professionally in 2017 so he has yet to pitch in the Dodger organization while Connor Wong had a very successful professional debut.
New additions from 2018 that were not ranked in the 2017 spring top 30. Cristian Santana goes from being unranked to number 14. That is quite a jump. Caleb Ferguson goes from unranked to 16th. Errol Robinson, Tony Gonsolin, Matt Beatty, Kyle Farmer, Romer Cuadrado, and Luke Raley round out the players new to the 2018 top 30 ranking.
Players falling from the list that are still in organization are Omar Estevez, Josh Sborz, Carlos Rincon, Johan Mieses, and Andrew Sopko. I have to admit I’m surprised at the exclusion of Omar Estevez. He didn’t wow anyone last year but at the same time he was very young for his league. David Hood was also not impressed with him so I guess baseball doesn’t think much of him. That is to bad because he cost the Dodgers six million back in Nov of 2015. If he blows out that will be another Cuban signing that has not panned out.
Players who are no longer on the list because they graduated to the majors are Cody Bellinger and Brock Stewart.
Players no longer on the list because they are no longer in the Dodger organization are Willie Calhoun(2nd), Trevor Oaks(15th), ONeil Cruz, Brendon Davis, AJ Alexy(16th), and Jacob Rhame.
I put their current ranking from their new team in parenthesis.
Biggest jumps – Dennis Santana 15 spots, DJ Peters 13 spots, Dustin May 12 spots, Keibert Ruiz 10 spots.
The 2016 number one picks had some big drops. Gavin Lux went from 7 to 13 and Jordan Sheffield from 9th to 18. However other 2016 draft picks are moving up such as Mitch White, Will Smith, DJ Peters, Dustin May.
| ProspecName | BirthDate | AGE | MLB Spring 2018 | MLBSpring2017 | POS | Draft | League |
| Walker Buehler | 7/28/1994 | 23 | 1 | 5 | SP | 1/2015 | AAA |
| Alex Verdugo* | 5/15/1996 | 21 | 2 | 3 | CF | 2/2014 | AAA/MLB |
| Keibert Ruiz | 7/20/1998 | 19 | 3 | 13 | C | Int/FA | A+ |
| Mitchell White | 12/28/1994 | 23 | 4 | 10 | SP | 2/2016 | AA |
| Yusniel Diaz | 10/7/1996 | 21 | 5 | 6 | CF | Int/FA | AA |
| D.J. Peters | 12/12/1995 | 22 | 6 | 19 | OF | 4/2016 | A+ |
| Jeren Kendall | 2/4/1996 | 22 | 7 | ND | OF | 1/2017 | A |
| Yadier Alvarez | 3/7/1996 | 21 | 8 | 2 | SP | Int/FA | AA |
| Will Smith | 3/28/1995 | 22 | 9 | 14 | C | 1/2016 | AA |
| Dennis Santana | 4/12/1996 | 21 | 10 | 25 | RHP | Int/FA | AA |
| Dustin May | 9/6/1997 | 20 | 11 | 23 | SP | 3/2016 | A |
| Edwin Rios* | 4/21/1994 | 23 | 12 | 22 | 1st/3rd | 6/2015 | AAA |
| Gavin Lux | 11/23/1997 | 20 | 13 | 7 | SS | 1/2016 | A |
| Cristian Santana | 2/24/1997 | 21 | 14 | NR | 3B | Int/FA | A+ |
| Connor Wong | 5/19/1996 | 21 | 15 | ND | C | 3/2017 | A |
| Caleb Ferguson* | 7/2/1996 | 21 | 16 | NR | SP | 38/2014 | A+ |
| Starling Heredia | 2/6/1999 | 19 | 17 | 12 | OF | Int/FA | A |
| Jordan Sheffield | 6/1/1995 | 22 | 18 | 9 | SP | 1/2016 | A+ |
| Imani Abdullah | 4/20/1997 | 20 | 19 | 15 | SP | 11/2015 | ExtendedSpring |
| Errol Robinson | 10/1/1994 | 23 | 20 | NR | SS | 6/2016 | AA |
| Morgan Cooper | 9/12/1994 | 23 | 21 | ND | RHP | 2/2017 | DNP |
| James Marinan | 10/10/1998 | 19 | 22 | ND | RHP | 4/2017 | |
| Matt Beatty | 4/28/1993 | 24 | 23 | NR | INF | 12/2015 | AAA |
| Tony Gonsolin | 5/14/1994 | 23 | 24 | NR | P | 9/2016 | A- |
| Kyle Farmer | 8/17/1990 | 27 | 25 | NR | C | 8/2013 | Majors |
| Drew Jackson | 7/28/1993 | 24 | 26 | 18 | SS | Trade | AA |
| Romer Cuadrado | 2/12/1997 | 21 | 27 | NR | OF | Int/FA | SS |
| Ronny Brito | 3/22/1999 | 18 | 28 | 20 | SS | #N/A | A |
| Luke Raley | 9/19/1994 | 23 | 29 | NR | OF | 7/2016 | A+ |
| Donavan Casey | 2/23/1996 | 22 | 30 | ND | OF/1st | 20/2017 | Rookie |
| Cody Bellinger | 7/13/1995 | 22 | 1 | 1st/OF | 4/2013 | Majors | |
| Willie Calhoun* | 11/4/1994 | 23 | 4 | 2nd | 4/2015 | Texas | |
| Brock Stewart | 10/3/1991 | 26 | 8 | SP | 6/2014 | Majors | |
| Omar Estevez | 2/25/1998 | 20 | 11 | 2b/SS | #N/A | A+ | |
| Josh Sborz | 12/17/1993 | 24 | 16 | SP | 2/2015 | AA | |
| Trevor Oaks | 3/26/1993 | 24 | 17 | SP | 7/2014 | AAA | |
| Oneil Cruz | 10/4/1998 | 19 | 21 | 3rd | Int/FA | Reds | |
| Carlos Rincon | 10/14/1997 | 20 | 24 | OF | FA | A | |
| Johan Mieses | 7/13/1995 | 22 | 26 | SS | #N/A | AA | |
| Brendon Davis | 7/27/1997 | 20 | 27 | SS | 5/2015 | Reds | |
| Andrew Sopko | 8/7/1994 | 23 | 28 | SP | 7/2015 | AA | |
| AJ Alexy | 4/21/1998 | 19 | 29 | RHP | 11/2016 | Rangers | |
| Jacob Rhame | 3/16/1993 | 24 | 30 | RP | 6/2013 | AAA |
Spring Training has lost some luster
This will be an old man rumbling. One of the beauties of spring training for me was getting the first look at a prospect you may have read about but had no way of ever seeing them play unless you watched their minor league games. There was no Baseball America telling how good they were, there were no youtube video’s up the wazoo showing you the skill set. No MLB pipeline.
There was only the sporting news or sometimes the local beat writer who gave out nuggets about the prospects. Back then I don’t think beat writer paid any attention to the minor league system. It sure didn’t feel like it.
For most fans when Candido Maldonado made his first appearance in major league camp in spring training of 1981 it was the first time anyone had glimpsed him. I was already 23 years old and yet getting a glimpse of Candido made my day back in the spring of 1981. That is why I watched spring training for those moments, getting the first look at the future.
I don’t miss that.
I like having all the information about the prospects from the time they are drafted or signed, but it has taken away a big part of why spring training was an exciting part of my journey as a Dodger fan.
Sometimes a prospect will still make spring training worthwhile such as the 2013 Puig version who blew minds after a pedestrian start to his professional career in 2012.
Those stories are few these days for anyone who pays attention to the prospects.
Can someone blow our minds this spring who isn’t exactly on the radar? Chris Taylor did it last spring.
Does this come back to Wilmer Font again?
Big moments for players equals blah for fans
The first few spring training games are big moments for a number of players in camp who will never sniff the majors with the Dodgers in 2018 but it is hard not be bored as a fan when viewing these games. The Dodgers have a bazillion players in camp and thus they all need a moment to show off their skills in game situations but it is hard to imagine any of them having an impact on the season.
It is easy for me to get excited about watching the prospects play but as die-hard as I am I can muster no interest in seeing the likes of
Daniel Corcino, Andrew Robinson, Brian Moran, Ryan Mosely, Justin DeFratus, Brian Schlitter, Guillermo Moscoso, Jordan Jankowski, Tony Gonsolin, Malcom Culver, Parker Curry, Cesar Ramos, CC Lee.
I wish all of them good luck but none of these guys are pitching for a spot on the major league roster. They are pitching to make the organization and while that is cool for them, it isn’t much fun for the fans who make the trek to see the Dodgers play in spring training. Which is why I’d never go to Arizona for the 1st week of spring training games.
When I go, I would target the exact time the minor league games open. The pitchers are more stretched out and management is now only looking at pitchers that will either break camp or who have a shot at breaking camp or at the good arms in the system they want to get a look at. Plus you have the advantage of watching the major league game and the minor league games.
Kevin Smith almost died today
and I was already writing this column when I read about it on twitter. On Sunday I met a parent of one of my wives students and he was why I was writing an article about heart attacks and luck.
We were at a youth Hockey game Sunday to watch one of my wives students play. We met his dad and started talking. He was between 30 – 40 and seemed in great health but it turned out he had escaped death by a matter of luck. Several years ago after his own hockey game he felt light headed when he got home. He laid down on the couch and noticed that he couldn’t see out of the bottom of his left eye. His wife didn’t ignore the symptom and took him to the emergency room. At first they treated it like a stroke but luckily for him the emergency room doctor went further and ordered some tests. Those tests required more tests and before he left the hospital after several days of tests he had learned he had the same heart condition that had killed John Ritter and Allan Thicke.
Thicke had also been playing adult hockey when he had his attack. They had actually played in the same Burbank adult hockey league.
Eventually he flew to Cleveland where they performed open heart surgery to fix his Aorta and is now ready to live a longer life. Why does the best surgeon for Aortic dissection work out of Cleveland? I have no idea but I’d love to ask him this question. Rumor has it that he does 500 of these surgeries a year with each surgery taking an average of five hours. Luckily he has a team who does all the prep work and he swoops in and performs his magic. Not everyone is going to survive. It is after all open heart surgery.
We we talked about luck. What if he had fallen asleep and had missed the eye symptom and never went to the emergency room? What if his emergency doctor had simply treated him as a minor stroke victim and hadn’t pressed for more tests? I thought of the people where these tests simply aren’t an option in our health care system.
Many people will never get those tests and will die of their unknown Aortic dissection. Supposedly 15,000 people die of Aortic dissection every year. Because of luck, our new friend will not be one of them.
This column doesn’t really have a point, but I continue to marvel at how luck plays such an important part in our lives.
Maybe one of you reading this has the condition but you’d never know until you die from it because a normal physical would never uncover it.
Some would say it wasn’t luck but that God played a part in this but that won’t play with me because…………Nah, I don’t want to go there today.
Anyway, I’m glad they fixed his condition. He’s a great parent, is raising a great kid, and the world will be a better place with him still in it.
J.T. Chargois could be a diamond in the rough
I don’t know what the Twin front office was thinking or the 28 teams that passed on J.T. Chargois but I do like that the Dodgers scooped him on waivers from the Twins. The Twins took a chance on putting Chargois on waivers and it almost paid off as 28 other teams passed on him but ultimately they lost the gamble and an arm that you would normally want to keep within your organization even if it has been through the ringer.
The once highly regarded Chargois may never pitch for the Dodgers but this is the right kind of arm to take a chance on. It was just July of 2016 that he represented the Twins in the Futures game after being their 2nd round pick in 2012. The Twins had three first round picks in 2012 and two second-round picks. The first two picks were Byron Buxton and Jose Berrios who are expected to be part of the core of this year’s Twin roster.
Chargois was made available because of his arm problems including a bizarre stint last summer but if he can healthy (can any Rice pitcher get healthy?) he could be exactly what every team is looking for these days, a hard-throwing setup man who can dominate a lineup one time through. The Dodgers could take the chance because he still has an option left, I’m just shocked the Padres or Marines or Angels weren’t able to figure out a way to do the same.
One year ago Fangraphs felt Chargois had a shot at being the best relief pitcher in the Twin system.
The final damage for Chargois in September was a 2.84 ERA and 13-3 K/BB ratio in 12.2 innings. Opposing batters hit just .205/.255/.273 against Chargois, while his swinging strike rate jumped to a much more stomachable 12 percent. In fact, if we lop off Chargois’ brutal first outing of September, he closed the season by allowing one earned run over his final 11.1 innings (0.79 ERA) with a 10-2 K/BB ratio and a .421 OPS against. He told me in September that it basically boiled down to him getting his legs underneath him and finally feeling comfortable on the big-league mound.
Course they were talking about 2016 and 2017 was a lost year for Chargois. Sometimes that lost year becomes someone else’s lost treasure.
Bill Plunkett has a nice story up about Chargois.
“This place is crazy, man. This is awesome. It’s like Disney World or something,” he said, sitting at his locker Monday morning in the clubhouse at Camelback Ranch.
“Look at this place – it’s so bright and merry. Even when I was playing catch yesterday I was like, ‘The ball is so light. Why is everything so light and fluffy here?’”
The Bison is back
I won’t be doing a breakdown of every spring game but game one had plenty to talk about, including the return of the Bison to Dodger blue.
Wilmer Font is a huge man and buzzed right through the six hitters he faced. He was the best pitcher on this day for either team though Edward Paredes gave him a run for his money by striking out the side in the 8th. At least Orel got it right when he said that Font was out of options and the team would have to find a way to keep him on the roster. Ned Colletti did not as he said during the pregame that they could use Font up and down this year. The only way that happens is if the Dodgers don’t put Font on the 25 man roster and every team takes a pass on him. I don’t see that happening.
The Bison is back. Matt Kemp hit a hard single up the middle in his first at-bat, slugged a home run in his second at-bat but more importantly the man looks great. We can finally remove those horrible images of Matt in the Padre and Brave uniforms looking very much like an over-the-hill designated hitter instead of the Bison we remember so fondly. During his multiple interviews with Alanna, he appeared to be very comfortable and even with blinders on, it didn’t take much imagination to see the Matt Kemp of old. The smile, the eyes, the hat on backward. It can’t be what it was, but for one day it sure felt like it.
The players competing for the LF job were all over the lineup today. Kemp was the starting LF, Hernandez was starting at SS while Seager rests his arm, Thompson was starting in RF, and Alex Verdugo came off the bench. They combined to hit two home runs (Kemp, Hernandez), one double (Verdugo), three singles (2 by Thompson, 1 by Kemp), and one stolen base by Thompson.
They said Cody Bellinger had added muscle and I believe it. He was on 2nd when Kemp hit his home run and the view from TV of Cody leading off of second showed off his massive shoulders.
DJ Peters looks just like wild man Jayson Werth. More similarities, both right-handed, both tall and lanky, both with power, both have long mountain man like hair. Has to just be a matter of time that Peters grows a beard or breaks his wrist.
Pat Venditte is the guy who pitches with either arm and in getting his five outs today he used both his arms to excellent effect. Pat came into the game with two on and one out. He struck out the first hitter, then got out of a bases-loaded jam after Cody Bellinger made an error on a simple ground ball to 1st base. He retired the side in order the next inning.
Noted above, Edward Paredes struck out the side in the 8th.
Dodgers kick off Cactus League play today
In a few hours, the Dodgers will start their Cactus league play as they try to defend their National League title.
Wilmer Font the forgotten man, when rotation depth is discussed, will start the game and probably embarrass me given how much faith I’ve put in a guy I’ve never seen pitch.
Much more interesting is that Matt Kemp will be protecting Cody Bellinger in the lineup.
My twitter feed has been fascinating as each day Matt Kemp is a Dodger more and more Dodger fans are coming out as being excited about Kemp being a Dodger again. This is a bold move as Kemp has old-school counting numbers but sabermetrically was one of the worst players in baseball last year. Matt has come into camp in great shape and appears to have a great attitude. Dave Roberts has said they feel they can mitigate his defensive weakness with proper positioning. The last time Matt Kemp was a Dodger was in the 2014 NLDS series against the Cardinals. postseason. Kemp went out with a bang posting a .882 OPS in that series.
Since being a Dodger Matt Kemp has had hot and cold spells but has yet to put together a full season of above-average offensive production. When he was traded to the Braves in the summer of 2016 he ended the season on a high note as a Brave posting a .855 OPS in 214 plate appearances. He followed that by starting 2017 on fire with an April OPS of 1.077 and a May OPS of .962. So for 380 plate appearances as a Brave, he was a great hitting left fielder. But………..baseball is 162 games and Matt Kemp from June 1st – Oct 1st was horrible.
His non-Dodger stats look like this:
Year Tm PA 2B HR RBI BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ 2015 SDP 648 31 23 100 .265 .312 .443 .755 109 2016 TOT 672 39 35 108 .268 .304 .499 .803 113 2016 SDP 431 24 23 69 .262 .285 .489 .774 106 2016 ATL 241 15 12 39 .280 .336 .519 .855 126 2017 ATL 467 23 19 64 .276 .318 .463 .781 103 12 Y 12 Y 6283 308 259 920 .285 .338 .488 .826 123 LAD LAD 4496 215 182 648 .292 .349 .495 .845 128 SDP SDP 1079 55 46 169 .264 .301 .462 .763 108 ATL ATL 708 38 31 103 .278 .324 .482 .805 110
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/23/2018.
How bizarre is it that Andre Ethier is gone and Matt Kemp is a Dodger?
If Kemp was to somehow win the full time left field job it would have huge ramifications on the 2018 roster as the team is full of players trying to gain part-time work in LF with Joc, Toles, Hernandez, Verdugo, and Thompson. Though I hope Matt Kemp makes the Kemp haters eat some crow, baseball being baseball I expect Matt Kemp to have a great spring and just as he has given Kemp fans new hope, he will come up lame and we will be right back where we were on Jan 1st.
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 