Yamamoto tells Blake Snell to hold his Saki
Just yesterday we talked about the greatest Dodger NLCS pitching performances and Yoshinobu Yamamoto decided he wanted his name on the Dodger NLCS leaderboard. Pitching the first complete game in a Dodger NLCS since Orel Hershiser in game seven of the 1988 NLCS against the Mets, Yamamoto not only stamped his name on the NLCS leaderboard but now has the 3rd highest game score in Dodger NLCS history.
Below is the Dodger NLCS Game Score Leaderboard:
Player GmSc Gm Date Opp Result IP H ER BB SO Blake Snell 90 1 2025-10-13 MIL W 2-1 8.0 1 0 0 10 Don Sutton 84 1 1974-10-05 PIT W 3-0 9.0 4 0 1 6 Yoshinobu Yamamoto 83 2 2025-10-14 MIL W 5-1 9.0 3 1 1 7 Tommy John 81 2 1978-10-05 PHI W 4-0 9.0 4 0 2 4 Orel Hershiser 80 7 1988-10-12 NYM W 6-0 9.0 5 0 2 5 Clayton Kershaw 78 2 2016-10-16 CHC W 1-0 7.0 2 0 1 6 Don Sutton 78 4 1974-10-09 PIT W 12-1 8.0 3 1 1 7 Jack Flaherty 77 1 2024-10-13 NYM W 9-0 7.0 2 0 2 6 Fernando Valenzuela 77 5 1981-10-19 MON W 2-1 8.2 3 1 3 6 Zack Greinke 75 1 2013-10-11 STL L 2-3 (13) 8.0 4 2 1 10 Tommy John 75 4 1977-10-08 PHI W 4-1 9.0 7 1 2 8 Clayton Kershaw 74 5 2018-10-17 MIL W 5-2 7.0 3 1 2 9 Hyun Jin Ryu 74 3 2013-10-14 STL W 3-0 7.0 3 0 1 4 Rich Hill 72 3 2016-10-18 CHC W 6-0 6.0 2 0 2 6 Vicente Padilla 71 2 2009-10-16 PHI W 2-1 7.1 4 1 1 6 Clayton Kershaw 70 2 2013-10-12 STL L 0-1 6.0 2 0 1 5 Don Sutton 69 2 1977-10-05 PHI W 7-1 9.0 9 1 0 4 Tim Belcher 68 2 1988-10-05 NYM W 6-3 8.1 5 3 3 10 Burt Hooton 68 4 1981-10-17 MON W 7-1 7.1 5 0 3 5 Jerry Reuss 68 1 1983-10-04 PHI L 0-1 8.0 5 1 3 3 Orel Hershiser 66 1 1988-10-04 NYM L 2-3 8.1 7 2 1 6 Clayton Kershaw 66 5 2017-10-19 CHC W 11-1 6.0 3 1 1 5 Burt Hooton 65 1 1981-10-13 MON W 5-1 7.1 6 0 3 2 Fernando Valenzuela 65 2 1983-10-05 PHI W 4-1 8.0 7 1 4 5 Fernando Valenzuela 65 5 1985-10-14 STL L 2-3 8.0 4 2 8 7
Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 10/15/2025.
Did Blake Snell just pitch the greatest NLCS game in Dodger history?
Blake Snell takes over first place with the top Los Angeles Dodger NLCS game score with his masterpiece last night on 10/13/25. It had been fifty-one years since a Dodger had pitched that great a game score but was it the greatest NLCS Dodger game ever?Snell, Sutton, John all pitched brilliantly but they were either games one or two. Orel Hershiser pitched his brilliant game in game seven against the Mets to close out one of the greatest NLCS series in history. Don Sutton pitched two fantastic games giving the Dodgers the wins in game one and game 4 in the 1974 NLCS. You won’t find anyone else on this list that pitched two brilliant games (game score over 75) in the same series. Fernando closed out the Expos in 1981 when the series was only five games. The strangest name on on this list might be Vincene Padilla. I’d think everyone else on the list is a household Dodger name. Hey, it was just a year ago that Jack Flaherty shocked everyone with his game one NLCS gem. For my money, my top game list would go like this:
1 – Orel on 10/12/88 to close out Mets in game 7
2 – Fernando on 10/19/81 to close out Montreal in game 5
3 – Don Sutton’s brilliant 1974 NLCS series in game one and game 4
4 – Blake Snell for sheer dominance in an era where getting 24 outs is a rarity
5 – Clayton Kershaw for dominating the eventual World Champion Cubs in Game 2 / 2016
Player GmSc SeriesV Gm Date Opp Result IP H ER BB SO Blake Snell 90 NLCS 1 2025-10-13 MIL W 2-1 8.0 1 0 0 10 Don Sutton 84 NLCS 1 1974-10-05 PIT W 3-0 9.0 4 0 1 6 Tommy John 81 NLCS 2 1978-10-05 PHI W 4-0 9.0 4 0 2 4 Orel Hershiser 80 NLCS 7 1988-10-12 NYM W 6-0 9.0 5 0 2 5 Clayton Kershaw 78 NLCS 2 2016-10-16 CHC W 1-0 7.0 2 0 1 6 Don Sutton 78 NLCS 4 1974-10-09 PIT W 12-1 8.0 3 1 1 7 Jack Flaherty 77 NLCS 1 2024-10-13 NYM W 9-0 7.0 2 0 2 6 Fernando Valenzuela 77 NLCS 5 1981-10-19 MON W 2-1 8.2 3 1 3 6 Zack Greinke 75 NLCS 1 2013-10-11 STL L 2-3 (13) 8.0 4 2 1 10 Tommy John 75 NLCS 4 1977-10-08 PHI W 4-1 9.0 7 1 2 8 Clayton Kershaw 74 NLCS 5 2018-10-17 MIL W 5-2 7.0 3 1 2 9 Hyun Jin Ryu 74 NLCS 3 2013-10-14 STL W 3-0 7.0 3 0 1 4 Rich Hill 72 NLCS 3 2016-10-18 CHC W 6-0 6.0 2 0 2 6 Vicente Padilla 71 NLCS 2 2009-10-16 PHI W 2-1 7.1 4 1 1 6 Clayton Kershaw 70 NLCS 2 2013-10-12 STL L 0-1 6.0 2 0 1 5 Don Sutton 69 NLCS 2 1977-10-05 PHI W 7-1 9.0 9 1 0 4 Tim Belcher 68 NLCS 2 1988-10-05 NYM W 6-3 8.1 5 3 3 10 Burt Hooton 68 NLCS 4 1981-10-17 MON W 7-1 7.1 5 0 3 5 Jerry Reuss 68 NLCS 1 1983-10-04 PHI L 0-1 8.0 5 1 3 3 Orel Hershiser 66 NLCS 1 1988-10-04 NYM L 2-3 8.1 7 2 1 6 Clayton Kershaw 66 NLCS 5 2017-10-19 CHC W 11-1 6.0 3 1 1 5 Burt Hooton 65 NLCS 1 1981-10-13 MON W 5-1 7.1 6 0 3 2 Fernando Valenzuela 65 NLCS 2 1983-10-05 PHI W 4-1 8.0 7 1 4 5 Fernando Valenzuela 65 NLCS 5 1985-10-14 STL L 2-3 8.0 4 2 8 7Provided by Stathead.com: Found with Stathead. See Full Results.
Generated 10/14/2025.
Blake & Blake bookend the Dodgers to 2025 NLCS game one victory
Game one of the 2025 NLCS was a game that will be talked about forever in both Dodger and Brewer lore.
You had Blake Snell throwing the greatest NLCS game in Dodger history
You had the craziest baserunning blunder by the Dodgers since the 2005 NYM fiasco.
You had Freddie Freeman hit an actual moon scraping fly ball home run
You had Kiké Hernández trying and failing to bunt only to drop a single into right field
You had Blake Treinen close the game with pure luck
Let’s starts with Blake Snell who throw the greatest game of great career. Snell finished his eight innings facing only the minimum 24 batters giving up one hit and quickly erasing that runner by picking him off. He struck out 10, he walked zero. He was fabulous. His game score will tell just how fabulous. These are the best non World Series Postseason Los Angeles Dodger game scores:
Player GmSc Series Gm Date Opp Result IP H ER BB SO Blake Snell 90 NLCS 1 2025-10-13 MIL W 2-1 8.0 1 0 0 10 Don Sutton 84 NLCS 1 1974-10-05 PIT W 3-0 9.0 4 0 1 6 Tommy John 81 NLCS 2 1978-10-05 PHI W 4-0 9.0 4 0 2 4 Clayton Kershaw 81 NLDS 2 2018-10-05 ATL W 3-0 8.0 2 0 0 3 Orel Hershiser 80 NLCS 7 1988-10-12 NYM W 6-0 9.0 5 0 2 5
While Blake Snell does have a higher game score than the 2020 Wildcard game by Clayton Kershaw, I would still rank the Kershaw game above what Snell did yesterday for one large reason. Kershaw did it in a Wild Card format where you lose you go home, while Snell did it in a game one of a best of seven series. Over 50 years ago, Don Sutton shut out the Pirates in the 1974 Game One NLCS when that was the only postseason series before the World Series. Until, last night, that game was greatest NLCS pitched game in the Dodger history, but I think you can safely slide Blake Snell into that number one seat now because the margin of victory was one run, and the Dodgers needed all of those eight near perfect innings to beat the Brewers.
I’m not going to compare any of these games against games pitched in the World Series because the World Series is the World Series. So even though Blake Snell does have the highest game score in Dodger postgame history, I’m not going to pretend that an NLCS game one can be measured against pitching a game seven in 1965 against the Twins, or shutting out the vaunted 1963 Yankee’s.
As a Dodger fan I never thought I’d see a postseason blunder that could compare to two Dodgers being thrown out at home plate against the NYM, but the 2025 Dodgers surprised me and all their fans by doubling down by somehow having a bases loaded ball bounce off the fence and have their runners forced out at both home and 3rd base. Luckily, the Dodgers won this game, unlike the loss to the NYM.
Freddie Freeman got the Dodgers on the board with a high high high fly ball to right field that stayed up in the air long enough for many Dodger fans to chug a whole beer before it landed in the seats to give the Dodgers a 1 – 0 lead.
Kiké Hernández continues to make his case as the greatest LAD postseason hitter. This time it seemed like a very simple single to right field but there was nothing simple about it. Kiké tried to bunt and failed. Twice. Down in the count 0 -2 against one of the better relief pitchers in baseball he somehow managed to punch a single into right field which was the key hit to getting that second run which would turn into the winning margin.
Blake Snell pitched just about a perfect eight innings, but Dave Roberts went to his new closer Roki Sasaki who struggled for the first time in the 2025 postseason. Outside of one hard hit ball by Bauers which might have been caught if the Dodgers had been playing a normal no doubles defense in the 9th he wasn’t really bad. Sasaki appeared to be squeezed on the walk to Collins for ball four but nonetheless, Sasaki departed with two out and two on. I would venture a guess that less than one percent of Dodger fans were happy that Roberts turned to the 2024 Postseason hero Blake Treinen to get that last out. Blake walkd Contreras after getting a head of him 0 – 2 to load the bases. He also got in front of Brice Turang 1 – 2 before throwing ball two right at the back leg of Turang who is now being mimicked all over Los Angeles for kicking his leg out of the way instead of letting his leg give the Brewers a tie game. None of this would have mattered if Brice had then delivered, but instead, Brice swung at a pitch so high, that it would have been a ball even to Aaron Judge.
Of course, this game will only be remembered if the Dodgers win the series, next summer we can get the Dodger Bobblehead showing Brice Turang doing everything he could do to avoid getting hit by a pitch that would have tied a NLCS game one in the bottom of the 9th.
Such is postseason baseball.
About that pitching depth
The famous line “You can never have enough pitching” was once again proven true for the Dodgers in 2024. The rotation appeared loaded, and along with the pitchers in AAA, and other key pieces eventually coming off the IL you didn’t think this would be a season in which Brent Honeywell would be making the last start before the All-Star game.
In January I wrote about the Dodgers pitching depth and oops, that depth sure got tested.
In January of 24, the Dodgers had an expected major league rotation of: Tyler Glasnow / Yoshinobu Yamamoto / Bobby Miller / James Paxton / Emmet Sheehan With Walker Buehler supposed to ready sometime in early May. Gavin Stone/Landan Knack/Kyle Hurt/Nick Frasso/River Ryan were all supposed to be minor league depth. Clayton Kershaw was being talked about hopefully being ready in late July or early August. That is twelve pitchers and you’d have thought that would have been enough depth that you don’t end the first half having to start Brent Honeywell who you just picked up on waivers.
What went wrong?
So much, so let’s start at the beginning.
Nick Frasso, one of the Dodgers top pitching prospects and expected to be ready to contribute in 2024 was the first to fall and is now out for the year with TJ surgery.
Emmet Sheehan who was supposed to be part of the rotation until Walker Buehler was ready never pitched in spring training, and eventually he also had surgery and is out for the year.
River Ryan who was probably last in the depth chart, is also shut down during Spring Training, but at least he didn’t need surgery but he won’t pick up a ball again until late June.
Still you had Gavin Stone step in the breach so the Dodgers entered the season with the rotation of Tyler Glasnow / Yoshinobu Yamamoto / Bobby Miller / James Paxton / Gavin Stone. Not so bad, and that worked for the month of April.
Meanwhile Kyle Hurt who was supposed to be a depth piece in the rotation or a solid bullpen piece got hurt and hasn’t pitched in months.
Bobby Miller has a brilliant 2024 debut game but struggles after that and hits the IL but it isn’t expected to be serious.
Not a problem as Walker Buehler is ready to jump into the rotation. Except the Walker Buehler who jumps back into the rotation is broken and after a few horrible starts get shuts down. Walker flies off to Florida to try to figure out what is wrong but at this point you can’t count on him for 2024 anymore.
The Dodgers roll into Yankee Stadium and in front of a national audience Yamamoto pitches the game of the year for him. Throwing harder than he has all year he shuts down the formidable Yankee lineup. Everything is looking good………..except that will be the last start Yamamoto will make until sometime in August.
So, now you have Tyler Glasnow / James Paxton / Gavin Stone / Landon Knack in the rotation and Bobby Miller shows up off the IL. Except, just like Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller is horrible and they shut him down.
Shockingly, among all these injures, James Paxton is still standing, but just before the All-Star break, Tyler Glasnow goes on the IL which is how Justin Wrobleski joins the rotation. Wrobleski started the season in AA and you’d been hard pressed to think he might be needed, but here he was making multiple starts in July just before the break.
So, among the original twelve pitchers counted on for the 2024 season, the Dodgers had exactly four still standing at the break, and not the four you really wanted. James Paxton, Gavin Stone, Landon Knack, and Justin Wrobleski. Which is why Brent Honeywell made the last start before the All-Star break.
That all sounds real bleak and that the Dodgers need some pitchers. However, there is some real good news in all of this. Gavin Stone pitched like an ace for most the first half. He faltered a bit in has last few starts, but he had a real All-Star case and had some of the best games of any Dodger starter. Gavin basically gave the Dodgers what they expected Bobby Miller to do. Landon Knack has had to plug the rotation holes, and he did just fine, usually giving the Dodgers a chance to win his starts. Justin Wrobleski shouldn’t be making starts in 2024 but when pressed into service he gave the Dodgers some good work and looks like he can be a very nice future rotation piece. River Ryan finally started throwing in June and by the All-Star game had made enough re-hab starts that he’s ready for his Dodger debut following the All-Star game. River is currently considered the Dodgers top pitching prospect so he could give the rotation a nice shot in the arm.
As the Dodgers head into the 2nd half, things might get better. Tyler Glasnow will come off the IL and pitch in the first series out of the All-Star game. Clayton Kershaw after some early issues in his rebab is scheduled to make one more rehab start this Friday and join the rotation next week. Without any trades the Dodgers will enter the second half with a rotation of Tyler Glasnow / Gavin Stone / Clayton Kershaw / James Paxton and one of River Ryan/Landon Knack/Justin Wrobleski.
The Dodgers still have three major question marks for Yamamoto / Miller / Buehler. Yamamoto has started throwing and will start a rehab in a few weeks and is expected to be able to join the rotation in August. Yet, we don’t know how his arm will respond once he starts throwing from a mound so you can’t really count on him. Bobby Miller was bad when he came off the IL. Was it mechanical or physical? Hopefully mechanical and they can get him straightened out, but again, no guarantee so still a question mark. No one even knows what Walker is doing in Florida to figure out why his velocity was lacking when he tried to pitch earlier this year. He’s the biggest question mark.
Because of those three question marks, the Dodgers will undoubtedly add a pitcher or two before the trading deadline.
Pitching / Pitching / Pitching
The Dodger rotation at the end of the 2023 season was basically Kershaw / Miller / Lynn and possibly Pepiot if they needed that fourth starter. Which was one broken pitcher, a rookie, a home run prone fill in, and another rookie. Now, that wasn’t how they started 2023, the expectation for the 2023 rotation was Urias / Kershaw / May / Gonsolin / Thor. Only Kershaw was still standing in October but it was not the Kershaw who pitched great during the summer but a broken Kershaw who immediately had surgery on his shoulder after the season ended. Urias was in his walk year but was never they guy who was one of the best pitchers from 2021 – 2023. Instead he was average, and eventually his time with the Dodgers came to a thudding end with the news of his domestic abuse charges. Both May and Gonsolin succumbed to arm injuries, while Thor was about as bad as any Dodger rotation pitcher has ever been.
Yet, the 2023 team survived all of that rotation turmoil to win 100 games again. With the signing of James Paxton (Big Maple) the 2024 rotation looks to be in its final shape with only one big name still missing. Clayton Kershaw has yet to sign a deal for 2024, but I and most people expect Kershaw to sign with the Dodgers once they can put players on the 60 man IL so that they Dodgers don’t have give up a spot on the 40 man roster. That would look like this, May and Gonsolin go on the 60 Man IL, thus freeing up two spots on the 40 man roster. The Dodgers sign Kershaw and immediately he goes on the 60 Man IL, thus still leaving two 40 man roster spots available.
Thus, the Dodgers 2024 is looking like this as we get ready for the kick off of the 2024 season.
Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Bobby Miller, James Paxton, and Emmet Sheehan. Walker Buehler is expected to be ready for the rotation in May. You can see spots starts being doled out to Gavin Stone or Landon Knack if anyone comes out of spring training ailing. Dustin May is expected back around Aug 1st, and we don’t really know when Kershaw might be ready if at all in 2024. Gonsolin and Ohtani are expected to miss the whole season.
If and when Glasnow / Yamamoto / Buehler are all in the rotation together, you will be hard pressed to find a more talented threesome in any rotation. If they can make it to October, the sky is the limit for the Dodgers 2024 season.
But, it gets better. 2024 is just the prelude to what could be an amazing rotation in 2025 even if Walker Buehler walks. Both Bobby Miller and Emmet Sheehan will be ready for big roles in 2025, and who isn’t excited about seeing Shohei Ohtani make his rotational debut? You bring back the big arms of Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto you already have a formidable rotation. Yet, it could be even better if the reports are true that Japanese super star Rōki Sasaki wants to join Yamamoto and Ohtani in Los Angeles. Plus, you still have Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin in your hip pocket as they come back from their surgeries, and of course you still have the bevy of kids who will all be knocking hard at the door by the spring of 2025. Look at the possible choices for the 2025 rotation if they let Walker go but sign Sasaki.
Shohei Ohtani, Rōki Sasaki, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan
Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Gavin Stone, Nick Frasso, Kyle Hurt, River Ryan, and Landon Knack
Along with the wild card that is Clayton Kershaw if he signs up for 2025
Or they don’t sign Sasaki but do extend Walker Buehler
Shohei Ohtani, Walker Buehler, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan
Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Gavin Stone, Nick Frasso, Kyle Hurt, River Ryan, and Landon Knack
Along with the wild card that is Clayton Kershaw if he signs up for 2025
Or they don’t extend Buehler or sign Sasaki. Not as sexy but still plenty of potential, and more realistic room for Kershaw if wants to pitch for the Dodgers in 2025.
Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Bobby Miller, Emmet Sheehan, Clayton Kershaw
Dustin May, Tony Gonsolin, Gavin Stone, Nick Frasso, Kyle Hurt, River Ryan, and Landon Knack
I’m a huge fan of Emmet Sheehan, and expect him to be a force for the Dodger rotation as he battles Bobby Miller for the title of best young Dodger pitcher. If health permits, those two should hold down two rotation spots, leaving little room for any of the other prospects outside of some spot starts when needed.
Thus, I fully expect that Stone/Knack to be traded sometime between 2/2024 and 8/2025 while hoping that Ryan and Hurt become part of a very formidable Dodger bullpen. Hurt as soon as 2024, and Ryan in 2025. Frasso is still a depth piece but as we head into 2026 more pieces should be coming into play.
In 2026, Jackson Ferris the key piece of the Michael Busch trade should be ready to tip his toes into the show. Justin Wrobleski and Maddux Bruns should also be where Frasso/Knack/Hurt are right now. It is possible that all three of the talented lefties flame out, but I’d expect at least two of those three to start knocking on the door. Ferris is the most talented, and Bruns the least likely but I do like Wrobleski a lot. Ronan Kopp is another big arm pitcher, but most see him as a bullpen piece so for now, I’ll just expect him to join Hurt/Ryan in the bullpen by 2026, if not sooner.
The Dodgers pipeline isn’t done yet. By 2027 Payton Martin and Hyun-Seok Jang could be the next big things in Dodger blue.
Other pitchers of note in the pipeline are tean-agers Jesus Tillero, Brady Smith and some other system arms such as Peter Huebeck, Hyun-il Choi, Jermino Rosario, Ben Casparius, Jared Karros, and just returning from TJ surgery Edgardo Henriquez.
Outside of 4th round pick Brady Smith we have yet to get a look at what they drafted in 2023, and in the last few years, they always have a nice surprise from their domestic drafts. Justin Chambers was acquired for Bryan Hudson winter when the Dodgers needed to clear a space on the 40 man roster. The last two times the Dodgers made a deal like that they traded Mitch White for Nick Frasso and Matt Beatty for River Ryan. Both of those pitchers were much older than Chambers, but they are now both top ten Dodger pitching prospects, so I wouldn’t discount what they might have picked up in Justin Chambers.
Anyway you cut it, unless the Dodgers incur multiple catastrophic injuries, the pitching should be in good hands for the next few years.
Braves / Dodgers double down on Boston Lefties
This is just fascinating to me. The top two organizations in major league baseball did the following this winter. They both acquired a 34 year old very talented when healthy hard throwing oft injured lefty who were both featured in the Red Sox rotation last year.
Braves trade a highly regarded 40 man player who was expected to be their starting SS in 2023 but lost the job to to Arcia. He will now be the starting 2nd baseman for the Red Sox.The Red Sox included 17MM in the deal to get that caliber of player, and the Braves then signed Sales to a two year deal worth 38MM over the next two years negating the current deal he had in place before the trade.. Chris Sale has pitched about 150 innings over the last three years with 105 of those coming in 2023.
The Dodgers simply sign James Paxton to what looks like a 11 – 12MM one year deal. Paxton has thrown 97 innings over the last three years with 96 of those coming in 2023.
It might be a 50 / 50 bet on which pitcher is the most effective in 2024. Sale was once one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball but the last time he was great and pitched over 100 innings was 2018. Paxton has had only one great season and that was in 2017. Neither team though is looking for great, I think both teams would be happy with 100 innings and an ERA Plus of about 100 – 115.
Kind of what the Dodgers were hoping to get from Thor as this time last year.
A Triple A bonanza of riches
Having followed the Dodgers for 55 plus years now, the winter of 2023 is unique to me in that the Dodgers have a plethora of actual pitching prospects who are banging on the major league door. By plethora I mean TEN, we are lucky to usually have one or two. Several of these pitchers have already shed their rookie status, and several others did spend some time with the Dodgers in 2023, but they all have one thing in common. Every single one of them spent some time in AAA this year and every single one of them is a viable future major league pitcher.
Of course, the Dodgers won’t have room for all of them, either this year or future years. It is possible that only three of these nine pitchers will ever see significant time in the Dodger rotation either due to opportunity, production, injury, or having been traded outside the organization. Which is why I want to write about them today, because any day now, several of them may no longer be in the Dodger organization. Even if they aren’t future rotation pieces, you could make a case that Grove / Hurt / Frasso / Vanasco could up being valuable bullpen pieces.
Who are these guys?
We will start with the one pitcher everyone already knows. Bobby Miller. Coming into 2023, Bobby Miller was the consensus top pitching prospect for the Dodgers but he wasn’t number one in the rotational depth chart. That belonged to Ryan Pepiot, Michael Grove, and Gavin Stone. Unlucky for the Dodgers, but lucky for Bobby Miller, Pepiot got hurt, Grove and Stone struggled, and so the Dodgers turned to Bobby Miller who was himself struggling in AAA. Miller made four starts for OKC and had a 5.65 ERA in just 14 innings when the Dodgers brought him up. Miller would show why he was the Dodgers top pitching prospect and would stay in the Dodgers rotation from May 23rd until the end of the year, and would even pitch the 2nd game in the NLDS. At this point Bobby Miller is expected to be in the Dodger rotation on opening day, and based on pitchers currently in the system, he has the 2nd most experience in the major leagues. It is safe to say, that Bobby Miller will be a Dodger for a while. What isn’t safe to say is that Bobby Miller is the best of the bunch. Right now he looks that way, but Emmet Sheehan or Nick Frasso or even River Ryan might have something to say about it.
Twenty-Six year-old Ryan Pepiot has now made thirty two AAA starts and he likely will not make any more outside of some rehab starts if he gets hurt in 2024. Pepiot was having a dominant AAA in 2022 so he made his major league in 2022 but he failed to build upon that AAA success and had some question marks coming into the 2023 season. He was expected to compete in the spring for one open rotation spot and he did more than that, winning the rotation spot with an impressive spring. Sadly, however, Pepiot suffered an oblique injury at the end of spring training. This injury lingered much longer than expected and Pepiot wasn’t able to take the mound until mid July, making his first appearance of 2023 on July 15th with AAA OKC. Pepiot would make 6 starts for OKC and with his final start on August 13th Pepiot showed he was ready for his major league 2023 debut by striking out 11 with zero walks during his 20 out start. Ready he was, Ryan Pepiot flourished in the Dodger rotation, giving them six games as either the starter or the bulk inning pitcher. Pepiot also made two appearances as a multi-inning mid game relief pitcher. In only one of these eight games did Pepiot struggle, he was mostly dominant, and it was a far cry from what he showed in his 2022 debut season. In 2022, Pepiot dominated AAA, but in his seven starts for the Dodgers his control completely left him as his walk rate was 6.7 per nine innings. In 2023, that walk rate in 42 innings was a miniscule 1.1. Due to his impressive 2023 season, albeit in a small sample size, Ryan Pepiot is currently ranked 3rd in the Dodgers rotation behind Walker Buehler, and Bobby Miller.
Now it gets murkier. Right now if you look at the Dodger rotation, you see Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller, and Ryan Pepiot. That is all you have that you can legitimately pencil in. Dustin May is out for the year. Tony Gonsolin is out for the year. Clayton Kershaw is out until at least mid-summer, and he may not even be a Dodger in 2023. It is expected that the Dodgers will acquire at least two more starters via free agency or a trade between now and opening day. Yet, the Dodgers have plenty of talent that could conceivably be used in the 2024 rotation. It is going to be a fine line that the Dodger front office is going to have to walk to fill the rotation while at the same time, not blocking their young pitching prospects. I’m expecting at least one or even two of the names below to get traded for that veteran pitching. A younger team could take a chance and let the multiple young arms listed below battle it out for the final two open rotation spots, but not a team with World Series aspirations. They will want some certainty, even though, you rarely get any kind of certainty with pitching.
One little caveat before I continue. In the past, you would see scouting reports that so and so doesn’t have the stamina or the stuff to go through a lineup three times. Is that still relevant? The guy who just won the NL CYA only averaged 17 outs a start. The minimum bar for outs per start is so low now that you are only hoping for fifteen outs, even though you’d take 12 – 14, and hell, eighteen outs would be fantastic.
In 2022, Emmet Sheehan never got past High A ball but the Dodgers did ask him to pitch in the Arizona Fall League where he excelled. Sheehan had shown good stuff as a 22-year-old in 2022, but no one was prepared for the step up he would take in 2023. He dominated AA so much that the Dodgers skipped him from AA right to the major leagues. In his major league debut, Sheehan threw six no – hit innings but he struggled with his control throughout his seven major leagues starts. As the Dodgers added some rotation help at the trading deadline they moved Sheehan down to AAA where he made three starts, and like Bobby Miller, didn’t exactly wow anyone. Yet, the Dodgers brought him back to big club in Sept, where he made four more starts. In his last three appearances in 2023, Emmet pitched 17 2/3 innings, gave up only three runs, while walking only 4, and striking out an amazing twenty three hitters. Before Emmet exhausted his rookie status, he was being ranked as one of the top pitching prospects in baseball, and those last three games, showed why. It would not be unreasonable to see Emmet be successful in 2024 if the Dodgers simply penciled him into the rotation. He might have the highest ceiling of any one in the system including Bobby Miller and Ryan Pepiot. I’m positive that Dodgers will not trade Emmet Sheehan, his ceiling is simply to high.
Gavin Stone had the season in 2022 that Emmet Sheehan had in 2023. He came out of nowhere in 2022 jumping three levels to rival Bobby Miller as the top pitching prospect in the system. Yet, in 2023, Gavin Stone struggled not only at the major league level but at AAA, the level he dominated in 2023. He simply wasn’t ready. He just turned 25, and he looks ticketed for another season in AAA.
MLB Pipeline has ranked Stone as the Dodgers 5th best prospect and 2nd best pitching prospect.
Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 70 | Control: 50 | Overall: 55
With his twenty five AAA starts over the last two years he has the most experience at AAA of any of the pitchers being mentioned today outside of Ryan Pepiot. Stone looks like a starter to me, so unlike Pepiot or Grove or Hurt or Frasso I can’t really see him helping the Dodgers in the bullpen.
Michael Grove is being listed here because he has made seventy seven starts in his professional career including twelve with the Dodgers and two in AAA in 2023, but I only view him as multi-inning relief pitcher or opener going forward. Grove might have a future on another team as a rotation piece, but for the 2024 Dodgers I think his value lies in the bullpen. As a starter, Grove simply struggled, but as a relief pitcher he ended the season on a high note with five scoreless appearances, twenty two outs, one hit, one walk, and eleven strikeouts. I have high hopes for Grove in the Dodger bullpen in 2024.
Nick Frasso is the Dodgers 4th best prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
Scouting grades: Fastball: 75 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50 | Overall: 55
He was just added to the Dodgers 40-man roster, and he only has four AAA starts under his belt. Just like Sheehan, Kyle Hurt, Landon Knack, River Ryan, and the now traded Nick Nastrini, Frasso was part of the unheard of Tulsa rotation that started the year in 2023. All of them had some level of domination in 2023, and thus all of them ended up in AAA with Sheehan and Hurt even seeing time with the Dodgers. Frasso just turned twenty-five this past October, and has made only forty-three professional starts. He is clearly looked upon as a starter as every professional game he has been in, has been as a starter. Yet, many see his floor as a high leverage back of the game bullpen piece. Given the Dodger options in the rotation, maybe that is where he makes sense for the Dodgers. The Dodgers acquired him in 2022 for Mitch White, at the moment it looks like a great deal, but only time will tell. Mitch White seemed to find something at the end of this year, enough so that Toronto added him back to their own 40-man roster after dropping him off of it during the season.
Kyle Hurt might have had the most impressive minor league season among all the impressive pitchers in 2023 in the Dodger organization. The Trojan struck out one hundred fifty two hitters in just ninety two innings which I believe was the best in professional baseball for over 75 innings pitched. Hurt made fifteen starts for AA Tulsa but once he was promoted to AAA OKC, he only made one start in seven appearances. His lone dynamite appearance for the Dodgers was in relief where he looked like vintage Jonathan Broxton, striking out three of his six outs. I don’t know if Hurt can be a rotation piece, the Dodgers don’t seem to know either, but man, his floor looks like a heck of a bullpen piece. Maybe as soon as the summer of 2024.
At twenty -six Landon Knack is the oldest of the pitchers mentioned today and was just added to the 40-man roster last week. Knack was named the Dodgers minor league pitcher of the year which I thought was odd given the seasons that Sheehan and Hurt had. Maybe it was a trading ploy? Knack had a good season and he is a solid depth piece headed into 2024, but I’d think that Sheehan / Stone / Frasso / Hurt are above him in the rotational pecking order. MLB Pipeline likes him more than Kyle Hurt, but I think they are the only publication that thinks so. He seems like a likely candidate to be traded
Rickey Vanasco is a wild card. The Dodgers got Vanasco last summer when he moved off the Rangers 40 man roster. Even though Vanasco had a solid season the Dodgers moved him off the 40-man roster. This move surprised most of us who follow the prospects because Vanasco had a solid end to his 2023 minor league season. Then, the Dodgers surprised us again by signing Vanasco to a major league contract and bringing him back onto the 40-man roster. Vanasco was a starter for the Rangers but he excelled this summer after moving to the bullpen. Just wanted to get his name in here as he did pitch in AAA for OKC this summer, albeit as a relief pitcher.
All of the above pitchers are on the Dodgers 40 man roster, but the next name is not, even though he has also already pitched in AAA. Luckily the Dodgers didn’t have to protect River Ryan, and because of that, it is unlikely the Dodgers will need him in 2024. That said, there is one guy who I respect who thinks that River Ryan might be the most talented pitcher in the Dodger system. That person is Keith Law of the Athletic who listed River Ryan as the 41st top prospect in baseball during his mid-summer update.
The Dodgers made him a full-time pitcher and he’s taken off, working at 95-99 with a four-pitch mix highlighted by a hammer curveball. I saw a plus changeup from him in spring training but he’s barely used it this year, and he’s shown some platoon split as a result, allowing a .385 OBP to lefties. He’s used each of the curve and the slider more than the changeup to left-handed batters, which doesn’t make much sense given how those pitches typically work and the results he’s having. He’s very athletic with an excellent delivery, while his command and control remain below average, especially to left-handed batters. There’s No. 2 starter upside here with improved command and a different pitching plan.
River was traded to the Dodgers from the Padres in 2022 as an infielder. The Dodgers immediately converted him to a pitcher so he has only pitched two professional seasons. It is highly unusual for an 11th round draft pick, to make it to AAA with only 39 professional games under their belt, but that is what River Ryan has done so far. He only made two starts in AAA but those two starts were enough to get him into this article.
So, as you can see if you got this far, the Dodgers have many young pitchers who are already either pitching for the Dodgers like Miller / Pepiot / Sheehan / Stone / Grove or or just about ready to in Frasso / Hurt / Knack / Vanasco. Which one’s will be with by this time next year?
60 years later, Don Drysdale still tops Los Angeles Dodger Postseason Game Scores
As we look to the 2023 LAD postseason, let's take a look at the top LAD postseason game scores again. I did this back in 2014 right after the Dodgers had lost to the Cardinals in the NLDS and the best pitcher in baseball at the time did not make the list.
Nine years later, Clayton Kershaw not only made the list, but he came within one game score point of knocking the leader Don Drysdale off the top of the LAD postseason game score leaderboard. In 2014 only nine games were on this leaderboard, but as we head into the 2023 postseason there are now twelve, with Clayton making the list twice and his teammate Walker Buehler joins him.
Before we show you the leaderboard here is how a game score is calculated.
Start with 50 points.
Add one point for each out recorded, so three points for every complete inning pitched.
Add two points for each inning completed after the fourth.
Add one point for each strikeout.
Subtract two points for each hit allowed.
Subtract four points for each earned run allowed.
Subtract two points for each unearned run allowed.
Subtract one point for each walk.
In Clayton Kershaws first start of the 2014 postseason he entered the 7th inning with a game score of:
50 + 18 + 6 + 8 – 4 – 8= 70
Three more outs in modest fashion and who knows what Oct 2014 would have brought Dodger fans, but as Dodger fans learned the hard way, post season baseball is not six innings.
You can also bet, that no starting pitcher for the Dodgers in 2023 will crack this list, as we will be lucky to see any of them, even go six innings.
Player GmScV Rd. Gm Date Opp Result IP H ER BB SO
Don Drysdale 89.0 WS 3 1963-10-05 NYY W 1-0 9.0 3 0 1 9
Clayton Kershaw 88.0 NLWC 2 2020-10-01 MIL W 3-0 8.0 3 0 1 13
Sandy Koufax 88.0 WS 7 1965-10-14 MIN W 2-0 9.0 3 0 3 10
Sandy Koufax 88.0 WS 5 1965-10-11 MIN W 7-0 9.0 4 0 1 10
Orel Hershiser 87.0 WS 2 1988-10-16 OAK W 6-0 9.0 3 0 2 8
Don Sutton 84.0 NLCS 1 1974-10-05 PIT W 3-0 9.0 4 0 1 6
Clayton Kershaw 81.0 NLDS 2 2018-10-05 ATL W 3-0 8.0 2 0 0 3
Tommy John 81.0 NLCS 2 1978-10-05 PHI W 4-0 9.0 4 0 2 4
Walker Buehler 80.0 WS 3 2018-10-26 BOS W 3-2 (18) 7.0 2 0 0 7
Jose Lima 80.0 NLDS 3 2004-10-09 STL W 4-0 9.0 5 0 1 4
Orel Hershiser 80.0 NLCS 7 1988-10-12 NYM W 6-0 9.0 5 0 2 5
Burt Hooton 80.0 WS 2 1977-10-12 NYY W 6-1 9.0 5 1 1 8
Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
Generated 10/4/2023.
Have to admit, this list surprised me just a tad. I fully expected Sandy Koufax to top the list with either his legendary game seven victory over the Twins in 1965, or his very first World Series start against the Yankees in 1963 when he struck out 15.
Yet it is a different HOF who tops the list. Don Drysdale by the skin of his teeth takes the top honors with his 1 - 0 whitewashing of the Yankees in game three of the 1963 Yankees.
Game score tells you who statistically pitched the best game but it does not have any idea of context. When Don Drysdale whitewashed the Yankees in 1963 the Dodgers already had a 2 - 0 World Series lead, and the game was hardly a must win. What was significant, is that the game was the first World Series game ever played at Dodger Stadium, and what a way to break in a stadium that would eventually host a number of World Series games in the latter part of the 20th century. Sandy Koufax and Johnny Podres had already dominated the 1962 World Champions, as they had only given up a combined three runs in the first two games. Don would take that a step further and win 1 - 0. Sandy would finish up by beating Whitey Ford a second time 2 - 1 in game four. The other point of interest in Don's game was that his opponent was Ball Four author Jim Bouton. Bouton only gave up one run, and that came in the first inning on a single by Tommy Davis, who drove in Jim Gilliam who had reached second on a walk and wild pitch. That would be the last mistake Jim Bouton would make but it would be all Don Drysdale would need.
If you want a more detailed look at the game, this is a great read
In the 1963 World Series the Dodgers made four starts, and only one relief pitcher saw any action. Only four pitchers pitched in the 1963 World Series. Four. Three of those games are on this list of all time postseason games. It would probably be understating the obvious to say the Dodger rotation of Koufax/Podres/Drysdale owned the Yankees. The Dodgers did to the Yankees what the Orioles rotation would do to the Dodgers in the 1966 World Series. If you want more info on the 1963 season, Eric Stephen has been doing a running series on the 1963 season, and today he wrote about this particular game.
Eventually I will get to my point, while Don Drysdale is on the top of this list, I don't think anyone would argue that Sandy Koufax in game seven of 1965 actually pitched the greatest game in LAD history. He not only shutout the vaunted offensive Twins in game seven. He not only shutout them out in Minneapolis . He did it on three days rest, after shutting out the Twins in game five. Sandy pitched three games in eight days, two of them shutouts, and saved his best for last, winning the World Championship game with the second highest game score ever recorded by a LA Dodger in the postseason.
There is a reason Sandy Koufax is a legend. He earned it from April - October.
While very few can say they saw Sandy and Don do their magic, the majority of us can point to 1988 and remember Orel shutting down the bash brother Oakland A's. The A's were still a potent team, when Orel carved out their heart in game two. He would later finish the job in game five, earning World Series MVP honors.
HOF Don Sutton had a reputation as big game pitcher. He started that reputation with his shutout of the Pirates in the 1974 NLCS. Don would also win the close out game four. Note of interest, future Dodger Jerry Reuss was Don's opponent in the first and fourth game. In game one Reuss did well only giving up one run while losing 3 -0. Game four was a different story as the Dodgers pounded a multitude of Pirate pitchers for a 12 - 1 victory.
The Jose Lima game has been covered many times.
Leaving Burt Hooton, who always seems to be forgotten when discussing significant Dodger starters. I'll be honest, I remember Burt being chased by the Phillie fans in game four of NLCS more than I remember this gem he pitched against the Yankees in 1977. Probably because the Dodgers would eventually lose the 1977 World Series and Hooton would be a big reason why when he was hammered in the game six elimination game. If fans of Burt Hooton would like Burt remembered more fondly, Burt probably should have pitched better in that game six. The Dodgers were able to bail him out in the NLCS game when his nerves abandoned him, but they could not do it a second time.
Walker Buehler was the 2nd LAD to crack this list since 2014 with his brilliant game three in the 2018 World Series. It would be the only game the Dodgers won in 2018.
So many other LAD have had great postseason games, so here is the extended list using a game score of 75 as the criteria.
It is nice to see that Kershaw is on the list two more times after being on it only once when I first ran the numbers in 2014. Other newcomers to the list since 2014 are old fan favorite Hyun Jin Ryu, not so much a fan favorite Max Scherzer, and Walker Buehler.
Rk Player GmScV Rd. Gm Date Opp Result IP H ER BB SO
13 Sandy Koufax 79.0 WS 1 1963-10-02 NYY W 5-2 9.0 6 2 3 15
14 Sandy Koufax 79.0 WS 4 1963-10-06 NYY W 2-1 9.0 6 1 0 8
15 Don Drysdale 78.0 WS 4 1965-10-10 MIN W 7-2 9.0 5 2 2 11
16 Clayton Kershaw 78.0 WS 1 2017-10-24 HOU W 3-1 7.0 3 1 0 11
17 Zack Greinke 78.0 NLDS 2 2014-10-04 STL W 3-2 7.0 2 0 2 7
18 Don Sutton 78.0 NLCS 4 1974-10-09 PIT W 12-1 8.0 3 1 1 7
19 Clayton Kershaw 78.0 NLCS 2 2016-10-16 CHC W 1-0 7.0 2 0 1 6
20 Jerry Reuss 78.0 NLDS 5 1981-10-11 HOU W 4-0 9.0 5 0 3 4
21 Fernando Valenzuela 78.0 NLDS 4 1981-10-10 HOU W 2-1 9.0 4 1 1 4
22 Jerry Reuss 78.0 NLDS 2 1981-10-07 HOU L 0-1 (11) 9.0 5 0 2 3
23 Hyun Jin Ryu 77.0 NLDS 1 2018-10-04 ATL W 6-0 7.0 4 0 0 8
24 Fernando Valenzuela 77.0 NLCS 5 1981-10-19 MON W 2-1 8.2 3 1 3 6
25 Claude Osteen 77.0 WS 3 1965-10-09 MIN W 4-0 9.0 5 0 2 2
26 Clayton Kershaw 76.0 NLDS 1 2013-10-03 ATL W 6-1 7.0 3 1 3 12
27 Max Scherzer 76.0 NLDS 3 2021-10-11 SFG L 0-1 7.0 3 1 1 10
28 Orel Hershiser 76.0 WS 5 1988-10-20 OAK W 5-2 9.0 4 2 4 9
29 Jerry Reuss 76.0 WS 5 1981-10-25 NYY W 2-1 9.0 5 1 3 6
30 Zack Greinke 75.0 NLCS 1 2013-10-11 STL L 2-3 (13) 8.0 4 2 1 10
31 Walker Buehler 75.0 NLDS 1 2019-10-03 WSN W 6-0 6.0 1 0 3 8
32 Tommy John 75.0 NLCS 4 1977-10-08 PHI W 4-1 9.0 7 1 2 8
33 Ramon Martinez 75.0 NLDS 1 1996-10-02 ATL L 1-2 (10) 8.0 3 1 3 6
Provided by Stathead.com: View Stathead Tool Used
Generated 10/4/2023.
Dodgers Bautista win 2023 Dominican Summer League Championship
by beating the Pirates two games to one in the three game Championship series. The Dodgers lost the first game of the series 7 – 5, but won the 2nd game 7 – 5 by scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th. In the final game, they scored 4 quick runs, and broke it open with four more runs in the 6th to win handily 9 – 5. In this case, the best team won the championship as the LAD Bautista team had 42 wins and a .792 winning % for the season. The closest team in winning % to them was the DSL Padres Gold team that they beat in the semifinals.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsJoendry Vargas, my No. 10 #Dodgers prospect, hit an absolutely electric homer in yesterday’s DSL championship clincher
— Bruce Kuntz (@Bnicklaus7) September 2, 2023
Vargas, still just 17, posted a .952 OPS and 0.97 BB/K ratio in an impressive first pro season pic.twitter.com/8SBWPr05VE
Angel Diaz was the hitting star of the postseason, but it was top shortstop prospect Joendry Vargas who slugged the team to victory in the final match with a single, double, and homerun. Eduardo Quintero also chipped in three hits as the dynamic top of the lineup picked up six hits between them. The pitching stars were Jholbran Herder and Angel Cruz who combined to pitch seven innings of one run ball, with ten strikeouts.
But does it matter? Back in 2017, the Dodgers not only won the Championship Series, they had the last two teams standing. When you read the highlights of the that series you won’t recognize one single name. Will that be the same fate of the 2023 Dodger Champions? If you were to stumble across this little story in 2029 would you know who Joendry Vargas, Eduardo Quintero, or Angel Diaz are? Probably not, but the odds got a little higher yesterday that you might.
The star of game three, Joendry Vargas is already the highest rated SS in the Dodger system even though he hasn’t played one professional game on the mainland so you would think he has a good shot at having a major league career, however, Wilman Diaz was that guy two years ago, and Wilman is now facing very long odds about being a major league baseball player.
Scott Boras and his people are considered very smart when it comes to the business of deciding who they will represent and yesterday, they announced that one of their two new Dodger clients is Eduardo Quintero whose season I wrote about last week. If Scott Boras and company want to represent you, they expect you to earn them some money.
Those would be the two Dodgers from the Dominican Summer League I’d be betting on to have major league careers but it could be series hitting star Angel Diaz or infielder Elias Medina, 1st/OF Yofran Medina, 16-year-old infielder Harold Gonzalez, or pitcher Jesus Tilero. Or none of them, there is no bigger step then the step from the Dominican Summer League to Mainland baseball, but it does seem that the Dodgers have a bigger crop than usual who might make a Mainland impact.
Last year Josue De Paula was the hitting star of the 2022 DSL teams and in 2023 he already made an impact in A ball, and is now considered the Dodgers top outfield prospect. If you compare what De Paula did in 2022 at the same age as Eduardo Quintero did this year, you have to think that Quintero just might be the Dodger outfielder who might give De Paula a run for his money as the Dodgers best outfield prospect. Scott Boras hedged his bets and signed both of them yesterday.
Other players from that 2022 DSL team that have made an impact in 2023 on the mainland are Jeral Perez and Alexander Albertus. Derlin Figueroa was one of the players traded for Ryan Yarbrough so he certainly has already had an impact on the Dodgers major league club.
This closes the chapter on the DSL 2023 season, and hopefully some of the names mentioned above, come over to the mainland and have exploits that other writers will write about.
Eduardo Quintero Dominican Summer League MVP?
The Rookie leagues for 2023 are done, and since the Dodgers had so many interesting players on their two Dominican League teams along with the Arizona Complex League, I thought I’d take a stroll through the stats and see what stood out.
Nobody stood out more than 17-year-old Eduardo Quintero who dominated the Dominican Summer League. Using the bREF stats we can see that Quintero was in the top 10 of everything good.
Using 100 Plate Appearances for these tables:
Number 2 in OPS but with a huge qualifier. Number one is a 21-year-old player named Oliver Carrillo who you will see on a number of these lists, and frankly, at 21 he should dominate a league populated by teen-agers.
As I was creating these tables it was apparent that this kid Braylin Morel would give Quintero a run for his money for the MVP, but Quintero is at least in the conversation.
Quintero was signed on January 15th out of Venezuela as a catcher. That catcher must have had plus speed as he has played mostly CF this summer. When it comes to prospect rankings, Quintero is still being ignored since he wasn’t high on the IFA 2023 list, even though stat wise he was better than Joendry Vargas who was the big international signing in 2023. Vargas will be found on Major League Pipeline as the Dodgers 14th pick. It is understandable to a point not to read to much into DSL stats, but Quintero’s stats are so eye popping for a 17-year-old you’d expect that to create some waves. Gap power/Speed/Patience/Defense. Two sites that did notice were Rotowire and Dodger Digest. Rotowire has him as their 201st top prospect and number six for the Dodgers. Dodger Digest has him as their 18th top prospect.
Other Dodgers of note on the OPS list below are Angel Diaz, Roger Lasso, Joendry Vargas and Alexander Albertus
| Name | Age | OPS ▼ | Aff |
| Oliver Carrillo | 21 | 1.128 | SDP |
| Eduardo Quintero | 17 | 1.089 | LAD |
| Franklin Lopez | 18 | 1.08 | COL |
| Braylin Morel | 17 | 1.061 | TEX |
| Ramon Ramirez | 18 | 1.055 | KCR |
| Josue Gonzalez | 19 | 1.046 | NYY |
| Angel Diaz | 19 | 1.044 | LAD |
| Kevyn Castillo* | 18 | 1.027 | LAA |
| Yeremi Cabrera* | 17 | 1.004 | TEX |
| Demetrio Nadal | 18 | 1.003 | MIL |
| Javier Mogollon | 17 | 0.999 | CHW |
| Adrian Gil | 17 | 0.998 | CHW |
| Luis Ogando | 19 | 0.987 | NYY |
| Robert Calaz | 17 | 0.984 | COL |
| Kelvin HIdalgo | 18 | 0.98 | COL |
| Derek Bernard | 17 | 0.974 | COL |
| Carlos Cauro | 18 | 0.965 | HOU |
| Darwin De Leon | 19 | 0.961 | HOU |
| Roger Lasso | 19 | 0.96 | LAD |
| Yoeilin Cespedes | 17 | 0.953 | BOS |
| Joendry Vargas | 17 | 0.952 | LAD |
| Jostyn Almonte | 20 | 0.95 | NYM |
| Dameury Pena | 17 | 0.949 | MIN |
| Alfredo Duno | 17 | 0.945 | CIN |
| Carlos Caro | 18 | 0.944 | PIT |
| Elias Medina | 17 | 0.934 | LAD |
| Yosander Asencio | 18 | 0.933 | BOS |
| Stiven Flores | 17 | 0.932 | CHW |
| Alexander Albertus | 18 | 0.926 | LAD |
3rd in Slugging Percentage. Granted a lot of that slugging was via his speed, with his seven triples.
Other Dodgers of note on the Slugging Percentage list below are Angel Diaz, Elias Medina, and Joendry Vargas
| Name | Age | Aff | SLG |
| Braylin Morel | 17 | TEX | 0.644 |
| Franklin Lopez | 18 | COL | 0.629 |
| Eduardo Quintero | 17 | LAD | 0.618 |
| Ramon Ramirez | 18 | KCR | 0.615 |
| Angel Diaz | 19 | LAD | 0.587 |
| Oliver Carrillo | 21 | SDP | 0.586 |
| Javier Mogollon | 17 | CHW | 0.582 |
| Kelvin HIdalgo | 18 | COL | 0.574 |
| Derek Bernard | 17 | COL | 0.563 |
| Robert Calaz | 17 | COL | 0.561 |
| Yoeilin Cespedes | 17 | BOS | 0.56 |
| Yeremi Cabrera* | 17 | TEX | 0.559 |
| Elias Medina | 17 | LAD | 0.553 |
| Kevyn Castillo* | 18 | LAA | 0.548 |
| Luis Ogando | 19 | NYY | 0.541 |
| Josue Gonzalez | 19 | NYY | 0.529 |
| Joendry Vargas | 17 | LAD | 0.529 |
| Demetrio Nadal | 18 | MIL | 0.525 |
| Carlos Cauro | 18 | HOU | 0.521 |
9th in On Base Percentage. 3rd among 17-year-olds. Noticing something here, the DSL must be a wild league because there are numerous players at the top of the OBP leaderboard where they have more walks than strikeouts. When I first started tracking Quintero I thought he was having a unique year in that regard, but it isn’t as special as I thought.
Other Dodgers of note on the Slugging Percentage list below are Roger Lasso and Angel Diaz
| Name | Age | Aff | OBP | BB | SO |
| Oliver Carrillo | 21 | SDP | 0.542 | 66 | 45 |
| Josue Gonzalez | 19 | NYY | 0.517 | 38 | 21 |
| Roger Lasso | 19 | LAD | 0.514 | 32 | 25 |
| Miguel Rodriguez | 17 | BAL | 0.489 | 24 | 13 |
| Adrian Gil | 17 | CHW | 0.481 | 25 | 21 |
| Kevyn Castillo* | 18 | LAA | 0.478 | 40 | 36 |
| Demetrio Nadal | 18 | MIL | 0.478 | 24 | 19 |
| Eduardo Quintero | 17 | LAD | 0.472 | 32 | 34 |
| Abrahan Ramirez | 18 | NYY | 0.471 | 31 | 19 |
| Darwin De Leon | 19 | HOU | 0.47 | 23 | 21 |
| Ariel Lebron | 18 | HOU | 0.469 | 13 | 21 |
| Andry Javier | 19 | NYY | 0.465 | 23 | 11 |
| Carlos Gutiérrez* | 19 | CLE | 0.46 | 14 | 17 |
| Angel Diaz | 19 | LAD | 0.457 | 23 | 21 |
How about speed? 5th
Other Dodgers of note on the Stolen Base list below are Elio Campos, Elias Medina, and Joendry Vargas
| Name | Age | Aff | SB | CS |
| Demetrio Nadal | 18 | MIL | 33 | 10 |
| Yeiker Reyes | 17 | COL | 33 | 2 |
| Mario Baez | 16 | ATL | 24 | 5 |
| Kevyn Castillo* | 18 | LAA | 23 | 9 |
| Eduardo Quintero | 17 | LAD | 22 | 4 |
| Nomar Velasquez | 18 | CLE | 21 | 3 |
| Fernando Peguero | 18 | BAL | 20 | 11 |
| Elio Campos | 19 | LAD | 19 | 3 |
| Joendry Vargas | 17 | LAD | 19 | 5 |
| Bairon Ledesma | 18 | COL | 19 | 8 |
| Cherif Neymour | 18 | MIA | 18 | 1 |
| Luis Frias | 18 | SFG | 18 | 5 |
| Derek Bernard | 17 | COL | 17 | 3 |
| Elis Cuevas | 18 | BAL | 17 | 5 |
| Heriberto Rincon | 17 | NYM | 17 | 3 |
| Luis Guevara | 17 | BAL | 16 | 5 |
| Starlyn Caba | 17 | PHI | 16 | 6 |
| Elias Medina | 17 | LAD | 16 | 5 |
More speed? 2nd in triples
| Name | Age | Aff | 3B |
| Braylin Morel | 17 | TEX | 8 |
| Kevyn Castillo* | 18 | LAA | 7 |
| Eduardo Quintero | 17 | LAD | 7 |
| Welbyn Francisca | 17 | CLE | 6 |
| Yeremi Cabrera* | 17 | TEX | 6 |
Extra Base Hits? 2nd with 27
Other Dodger of note on the extra base hit list below was Joendry Vargas
| Name | Age | Aff | 2B | 3B | HR | XBH |
| Braylin Morel | 17 | TEX | 17 | 8 | 7 | 32 |
| Eduardo Quintero | 17 | LAD | 15 | 7 | 5 | 27 |
| Yoeilin Cespedes | 17 | BOS | 15 | 4 | 6 | 25 |
| Kelvin HIdalgo | 18 | COL | 8 | 4 | 12 | 24 |
| Javier Mogollon | 17 | CHW | 10 | 2 | 10 | 22 |
| Julio Zayas | 17 | NYM | 14 | 1 | 7 | 22 |
| Derek Bernard | 17 | COL | 11 | 3 | 7 | 21 |
| Robert Calaz | 17 | COL | 12 | 2 | 7 | 21 |
| Kevyn Castillo* | 18 | LAA | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| Elis Cuevas | 18 | BAL | 14 | 4 | 2 | 20 |
| Joendry Vargas | 17 | LAD | 12 | 1 | 7 | 20 |
Total bases? 5th
Other Dodger of note on the total base list below was Joendry Vargas
| Name | Age | Aff | TB |
| Braylin Morel | 17 | TEX | 116 |
| Kelvin HIdalgo | 18 | COL | 113 |
| Yoeilin Cespedes | 17 | BOS | 107 |
| Eduardo Quintero | 17 | LAD | 105 |
| Kevyn Castillo* | 18 | LAA | 102 |
| Javier Mogollon | 17 | CHW | 96 |
| Yeremi Cabrera* | 17 | TEX | 95 |
| Starlyn Nunez | 17 | BOS | 93 |
| Joendry Vargas | 17 | LAD | 92 |
Dodgers, Yesterday and Today 