Kershaw 102 Game Score rides high

♦ June 23, 2017 ♦ Leave a comment

When it comes to game score, breaking 100 is the platinum barrier and Clayton Kershaw broke the barrier with his no-hitter against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium.

That is not surprising. What is surprising is that Ted Lilly has the second-best game score against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium. Ted Lilly!

This list has all sorts of odd names.

Odalis Perez – Odalis had five games with a game score greater than 80 in his career. This game was the second best of his career.  They were both one-hitters.

Jeff Weaver – This would be the greatest game that Jeff Weaver pitched for the Dodgers and the greatest game he would pitch while in the NL.  It was the second best game of his long career, while with the Tigers he would throw a one-hitter with eleven K’s for a game score of 94

Brian Bohanon – This would be the second best game of his career. A year later he would be pitching for the Rockies and put up a game score of 85.  Two years later his career was over. Only twice in his career did he throw a game score of 80.

It also has Alex Wood who threw one of his greatest games as a Dodger when he went eight brilliant innings against the Rockies on Sep 16th, 2015.  Obviously,  Dave Roberts wasn’t managing because Alex Wood pitched eight innings.

Alex Wood and Clayton Kershaw will be pitching this weekend. Nice timing

Below are the games scores greater than 80 by a LAD against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium:

Player                  Date  Tm Opp  Rslt  IP H ER BB SO GSc
Clayton Kershaw   2014-06-18 LAD COL W 8-0 9.0 0  0  0 15 102
Ted Lilly         2010-08-19 LAD COL W 2-0 9.0 2  0  2 11  92
Zack Greinke      2013-07-13 LAD COL W 1-0 9.0 2  0  1  9  91
Odalis Perez      2002-06-25 LAD COL W 4-0 9.0 1  0  1  6  90
Jeff Weaver       2005-09-12 LAD COL W 7-0 9.0 3  0  1  9  89
Hideo Nomo        1995-06-29 LAD COL W 3-0 9.0 6  0  1 13  87
Ramon Martinez    1993-05-23 LAD COL W 4-0 9.0 3  0  3  8  86
Alex Wood         2015-09-16 LAD COL W 2-0 8.0 1  0  0  5  85
Kevin Brown       2000-07-19 LAD COL W 9-1 8.0 1  0  1  8  85
Clayton Kershaw   2010-05-09 LAD COL W 2-0 8.0 2  0  3  9  84
Orel Hershiser    1993-05-21 LAD COL W 8-0 9.0 5  0  0  7  84
Ismael Valdez     1997-06-25 LAD COL W 2-0 8.1 4  0  0  8  83
Clayton Kershaw   2012-09-28 LAD COL W 8-0 8.0 5  0  2 10  80
Kevin Brown       2003-07-24 LAD COL W 1-0 8.0 3  0  2  6  80
Brian Bohanon     1998-09-16 LAD COL W 2-0 8.0 5  0  2 10  80

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/23/2017.

Grandal / Kemp lead LAD Total Base leaderboard against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium

♦ June 23, 2017 ♦ Leave a comment

Given how hot the Dodger offense is right now, and how badly the Rockie pitching is lately, I could easily see a scenario where this leaderboard gets updated on Monday morning.

Yazmani Grandal has the best total base game ever against the Rockies, and he did it last September. Matt Kemp is the only other Dodger to have at least a double-digit total base game against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium.

Player                  Date  Tm Opp   Rslt R H 2B HR TB RBI
Yasmani Grandal   2016-09-22 LAD COL  W 7-4 2 4  1  2 11   5
Matt Kemp         2009-04-19 LAD COL W 14-2 3 3  1  2 10   5

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/23/2017.

Which Dodger will crack the list this weekend? How about a dark horse candidate like Logan Forsythe?

Nolan Arenado and Troy Tulowitzki are the only Rockies with a double-digit game against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Remember when Tulo was good? Shocking he was only good while a Rockie. At least the BlueJays only have to pay him $70 Million over the next four years to be one of the worst hitting shortstops in baseball. No big deal.

Player                  Date  Tm Opp   Rslt R H 2B HR TB RBI
Nolan Arenado     2017-04-18 COL LAD  W 4-3 2 3  1  2 10   3
Troy Tulowitzki   2010-09-18 COL LAD W 12-2 3 3  1  2 10   4

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/23/2017.

Talk about a rewrite

♦ June 23, 2017 ♦ 1 Comment

On Monday, June 19th I posted the best total base games by any Dodgers against the Mets at Dodger Stadium. At the time I was surprised to find that the Dodgers have never had a double-digit total base game with that criteria.

That Monday night Cody Bellinger tied Gary Sheffield and Jim Lefebvre with the best offensive game against the Mets at Dodger Stadium with his two home runs and single. The exact same way the other two had gotten their nine total bases.

On Tuesday night Corey Seager obliterated what Cody Bellinger did on Monday night.

This is the new total base leaderboard against the Mets at Dodger Stadium

Player                 Date  Tm Opp   Rslt PA H 2B HR TB RBI
Corey Seager     2017-06-20 LAD NYM W 12-0  5 4  1  3 14   6
Cody Bellinger   2017-06-19 LAD NYM W 10-6  5 3  0  2  9   4
Gary Sheffield   2000-08-19 LAD NYM  W 4-1  4 3  0  2  9   3
Jim Lefebvre     1966-05-29 LAD NYM  L 6-7  4 3  0  2  9   3

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/23/2017.

This was the old one just four games ago.

Player                 Date  Tm Opp   Rslt PA R H HR TB RBI BB
Gary Sheffield   2000-08-19 LAD NYM  W 4-1  4 2 3  2  9   3  1
Jim Lefebvre     1966-05-29 LAD NYM  L 6-7  4 3 3  2  9   3  1

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/20/2017.

And how does Corey Seager stack up now for the best total base game at Dodger Stadium?

How does best ever catch your fancy?

Player                  Date  Tm Opp   Rslt R H 2B HR TB RBI
Corey Seager      2017-06-20 LAD NYM W 12-0 3 4  1  3 14   6
Yasmani Grandal   2016-07-08 LAD SDP W 10-6 3 5  0  3 14   6
Steve Garvey      1977-08-28 LAD STL W 11-0 5 5  3  2 14   5

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 6/23/2017.

Tied with Grandal and Garvey anyway.  Just a year ago, Grandal had his great game. Must be something in the water.

Fourteen days of glory

♦ June 22, 2017 ♦ 1 Comment

This is what it looks like when everyone is hitting. Enjoy it, because it rarely happens that the top of the lineup is in synch with the middle of the lineup, while still having the bottom of the lineup cleaning everything up.

Using Fangraphs once again for their fourteen-day splits:

I know it is just fourteen days, but have you ever seen a fourteen-day split table where every single hitter has a wRC+ > 100?

The long awaiting reawakening of Logan Forsythe has commenced.

Advanced:

Name Position PA HR wOBA wRC+ ISO
Yasmani Grandal S-C 40 3 0.341 113 0.231
Cody Bellinger S-1st 55 10 0.555 254 0.680
Logan Forsythe S-2nd 42 1 0.338 111 0.114
Corey Seager S-SS 57 4 0.500 218 0.362
Justin Turner S-3rd 44 3 0.513 226 0.270
Yasiel Puig S-RF 45 4 0.432 173 0.385
Joc Pederson S-CF 41 2 0.432 173 0.300
Chris Taylor S-LF 50 2 0.321 100 0.217
Chase Utley R-2nd 35 1 0.337 111 0.200
Austin Barnes R-C 15 0 0.362 127 0.071
Kiké Hernandez R-Utility 28 2 0.335 109 0.320
Franklin Gutierrez R-OF 11 0 0.365 129 0.000

Conventional:

Name Position PA HR R RBI OPS
Yasmani Grandal S-C 40 3 7 4 0.813
Cody Bellinger S-1st 55 10 14 18 1.420
Logan Forsythe S-2nd 42 1 4 4 0.752
Corey Seager S-SS 57 4 13 13 1.236
Justin Turner S-3rd 44 3 8 9 1.226
Yasiel Puig S-RF 45 4 10 9 1.070
Joc Pederson S-CF 41 2 9 5 1.030
Chris Taylor S-LF 50 2 9 8 0.757
Chase Utley R-2nd 35 1 5 5 0.776
Austin Barnes R-C 15 0 1 2 0.829
Kiké Hernandez R-Utility 28 2 4 2 0.806
Franklin Gutierrez R-OF 11 0 2 3 0.788

Dodger offense blowing like a Santa Ana

♦ June 22, 2017 ♦ 1 Comment

Dodger fans have seen Dodger hot streaks before but I’m not sure they have seen this kind of hot streak.  June started off with the normal June gloom but as the weather turned hot, so have the Dodger bats.

Fueled by the greatest collection of young talent since the Piazza/Mondesi/Karros days the Dodgers have been hitting home runs at a historic rate.

I’m going to use Fangraphs to show just how hot this team is right now because they give me a fourteen-day breakdown which is the perfect time frame for this historic hot streak.

Using some advanced metrics over the last fourteen days:

  • The Dodgers are first in ISO at .291
  • The Dodgers are first in wOBA at .401
  • The Dodgers are first in wRC+ at 153
  • The Dodgers are first in Offensive WAR
  • The Dodgers are even tied for second in Defensive WAR

In two words to describe how hot the Dodgers have been.

Holy Shit

Team ISO wOBA wRC+ Off Def WAR
Dodgers 0.291 0.401 153 34.2 5.6 5.5
Yankees 0.232 0.386 142 27.9 1.7 4.8
Rays 0.238 0.372 136 24 -0.9 4.1
Indians 0.228 0.378 136 22.8 -1.2 4
Diamondbacks 0.219 0.385 131 18.2 0.7 3.3
Cardinals 0.248 0.359 122 13.1 0.6 2.9
Astros 0.216 0.359 127 14.4 -3.2 2.8
Marlins 0.173 0.342 110 6.2 5.6 2.7
Nationals 0.197 0.332 102 2.9 6 2.6
Giants 0.17 0.326 103 3.8 4.8 2.5
Twins 0.176 0.332 105 4.7 1 2.4
White Sox 0.167 0.347 115 10.1 -3.5 2.4
Angels 0.157 0.327 107 5.2 1.4 2.4
Royals 0.209 0.334 105 1.7 4.6 2.3
Cubs 0.218 0.335 105 3.6 4.2 2.3
Pirates 0.157 0.334 107 4.6 1.6 2.2
Mets 0.202 0.327 103 1.5 2.3 2
Rangers 0.214 0.328 100 2 1.5 2
Mariners 0.14 0.321 103 -0.2 0.7 1.9
Padres 0.19 0.332 106 4.3 -1.8 1.8
Red Sox 0.154 0.326 98 -2.7 1.4 1.8
Brewers 0.205 0.325 92 -3.7 3.8 1.7
Reds 0.185 0.317 92 -4.4 5.9 1.7
Rockies 0.162 0.346 94 -4.9 3.8 1.5
Athletics 0.157 0.324 105 2.4 -6.6 1.3
Braves 0.147 0.314 90 -8.7 4 1.2
Blue Jays 0.177 0.329 102 0.3 -3.1 1.2
Tigers 0.157 0.321 98 -3.5 -2.6 1.1
Orioles 0.179 0.316 94 -5.6 -1.3 1.1
Phillies 0.097 0.272 64 -25.5 2.8 -0.6

How about conventional statistics?

  • They are first in home runs
  • They are first in runs scored
  • They are 2nd in RBI
  • They are tied for 2nd in OBP
  • They are first in slug
  • They are first in OPS

 

Team HR R RBI OBP SLG OPS
Dodgers 32 90 87 0.382 0.585 0.967
Yankees 27 88 88 0.383 0.534 0.917
Rays 27 83 82 0.352 0.536 0.888
Indians 22 85 82 0.375 0.525 0.900
Diamondbacks 18 78 77 0.382 0.534 0.916
Cardinals 27 77 73 0.341 0.518 0.859
Astros 21 65 63 0.350 0.500 0.850
Marlins 16 74 71 0.344 0.458 0.802
Nationals 22 77 76 0.324 0.473 0.797
Giants 14 59 58 0.329 0.441 0.770
Twins 21 71 68 0.335 0.442 0.777
White Sox 15 70 66 0.351 0.469 0.820
Angels 15 73 72 0.331 0.430 0.761
Royals 22 69 66 0.318 0.478 0.796
Cubs 22 59 56 0.329 0.464 0.793
Pirates 12 59 55 0.349 0.428 0.777
Mets 23 58 55 0.321 0.453 0.774
Rangers 22 68 65 0.317 0.455 0.772
Mariners 14 69 65 0.332 0.417 0.749
Padres 21 55 55 0.331 0.442 0.773
Red Sox 14 60 58 0.340 0.426 0.766
Brewers 23 58 56 0.316 0.454 0.770
Reds 17 50 47 0.311 0.435 0.746
Rockies 13 73 70 0.352 0.462 0.814
Athletics 12 57 55 0.335 0.419 0.754
Braves 15 68 67 0.323 0.418 0.741
Blue Jays 15 46 45 0.332 0.432 0.764
Tigers 15 57 51 0.321 0.429 0.750
Orioles 19 61 59 0.306 0.435 0.741
Phillies 6 36 34 0.292 0.332 0.624

LAD Single Season HR Leaders

♦ June 21, 2017 ♦ 3 Comments

[Updated 08/23/2023]

As of 8/23/2023 Mookie Betts has already hit 34 home runs as he tries to claim his 3rd Dodger single season home run title in four years.

Mookie Betts claimed his 2nd single season Dodger home run crown by slugging 35 dingers.  The slight built Mookie has shown more power the older he gets.  Will Smith moved up for 3rd in 2021 to 2nd in 2022 with 24 home runs. The newest Dodger star Freddie Freeman hammered 21 home runs, along with Max Muncy, and Trea Turner.  Cody Bellinger hit 19 giving him 41 home runs from 2020 – 2022 after hitting 47 home runs in 2019, and 111 home runs between 2017 – 2019.  Trayce Thompson hit 13 home runs after arriving to the Dodgers in mid-summer.  Justin Turner in his farewell season, hit only 13 home runs.

In 2021 Max Muncy claimed his 2nd Dodger season home run title with 36, a distant 2nd was Justin Turner with 27.  Will Smith got on the Dodger leaderboard with a robust 25. 2020 leaders Mookie Betts and AJ Pollock hit 23 and 21 respectively.  Cody Bellinger continued his descent by only hitting 10 home runs, a far far cry from his massive home runs seasons of 2017 – 2019.  A strange name on the leaderboard for Dodger fans was that of Albert Pujols who slugged 12 home runs in only 204 plate appearances.

Due to the shortened seasonin 2020, Mookie Betts and AJ Pollock tied for the team lead in home runs with only 16.  Seager was 2nd with 15. Bellinger who had led the team in home runs in 2017 and 2019 only hit 12, and Max Muncy who led the team with 35 in 2018 also only hit 12 in 2020.

Cody Bellinger led the 2019 team in home runs, and for most of the summer, it looked like Cody would break the single-season home run record set by Shawn Green in 2001 with 49. Cody hit only five home runs in Sept and finished with 47, and was unable to catch Shawn Green but also fell one home run shy of the 48 that Adrian Beltre hit in 2004.

Max Muncy led the Dodgers in home runs in 2018 with 35 and he might be the most improbable single-season LAD home run leader in their history when you think about where he came from to do it. In the spring of 2018 Max Muncy was simply insurance depth but when Justin Turner went down in April Max got the call and boy did he answer it.

Cody Bellinger broke onto the scene in a huge way leading the Dodgers in home runs in 2017 while breaking the NL home run record for a rookie by slugging 39 of them.  Bellinger joins Frank Howard,  Jim Lefebvre, and Mike Piazza as the only rookies to lead the team in home runs.

Below are some thoughts on LAD seasonal home run leaders and the complete list.

Several LAD have led their team in home runs four times. Frank Howard, Ron Cey, and Pedro Guerrero, but only Mike Piazza has done it five times.

Billy Grabarkewitz was the closest thing to a shortstop leading the team but many of 1970 appearances came as 3rd baseman.

Charlie Neal, Davey Lopes, and Jeff Kent are the only 2nd baseman to do the trick.

John Roseboro was joined by Yazmani Grandal last year as the only catchers to lead the team in home runs. Roseboro joins Muncy, Lou Johnson, and Len Gabrielson as strange bedfellows to lead the LAD in home runs in a single season.

The best bar bet in Los Angeles for forty years was Len Gabrielson leading the team in 1968 with only 10 home runs.

HOF on this list includes Frank Robinson, Mike Piazza, and future HOF Adrian Beltre.

Homegrown LAD leaders were Frank Howard, Jim Lefebvre, Billy Grabarkewitz, Al Ferrera, Willie Davis, Joe Ferguson, Ron Cey, Steve Garvey, Davey Lopes, Mike Marshall, Franklin Stubbs, Eric Karros, Mike Piazza, Raul Mondesi, Adrian Beltre, Matt Kemp, and Cody Bellinger.

You could include Pedro Guerrero who was only 17 when the Dodgers acquired him from the Indians.

Between 2008 and 2015 the only Dodgers to lead the team in home runs were Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, and Adrian Gonzalez.

Between 1992 – 2000 the only Dodgers to lead the team in home runs were Mike Piazza, Eric Karros, Raul Mondesi, and Gary Sheffield

Between 1965 – 1970 only one Dodger hit at least 20 home runs and that was Jim Lefebvre in 1966.

No Dodger had hit at least 30 home runs since Matt Kemp in 2011 until Cody Bellinger hit 39 in 2017. Since that point, Bellinger 39, Muncy 35, and Bellinger 47 have all done the trick.

Player HR Year Age PA OPS
Charlie Neal 22 1958 27 549 0.779
Gil Hodges 22 1958 34 532 0.764
Gil Hodges 25 1959 35 480 0.880
Frank Howard 23 1960 23 487 0.784
John Roseboro 18 1961 28 462 0.805
Frank Howard 31 1962 25 538 0.906
Frank Howard 28 1963 26 459 0.848
Frank Howard 24 1964 27 492 0.735
Jim Lefebvre 12 1965 23 631 0.706
Lou Johnson 12 1965 30 518 0.706
Jim Lefebvre 24 1966 24 610 0.793
Al Ferrara 16 1967 27 384 0.812
Len Gabrielson 10 1968 28 343 0.765
Andy Kosko 19 1969 27 453 0.704
Billy Grabarkewitz 17 1970 24 640 0.852
Dick Allen 23 1971 29 649 0.863
Frank Robinson 19 1972 36 405 0.795
Willie Davis 19 1972 32 654 0.758
Joe Ferguson 25 1973 26 585 0.839
Jim Wynn 32 1974 32 656 0.884
Ron Cey 25 1975 27 662 0.845
Ron Cey 23 1976 28 600 0.848
Steve Garvey 33 1977 28 696 0.834
Reggie Smith 29 1978 33 531 0.942
Davey Lopes 28 1979 34 692 0.836
Steve Garvey 28 1979 30 697 0.848
Ron Cey 28 1979 31 579 0.888
Dusty Baker 29 1980 31 638 0.842
Ron Cey 13 1981 33 359 0.846
Pedro Guerrero 32 1982 26 652 0.914
Pedro Guerrero 32 1983 27 664 0.904
Mike Marshall 21 1984 24 541 0.753
Pedro Guerrero 33 1985 29 581 0.999
Franklin Stubbs 23 1986 25 465 0.712
Pedro Guerrero 27 1987 31 630 0.955
Kirk Gibson 25 1988 31 632 0.860
Eddie Murray 20 1989 33 690 0.743
Kal Daniels 27 1990 26 526 0.920
Darryl Strawberry 28 1991 29 588 0.852
Eric Karros 20 1992 24 589 0.730
Mike Piazza 35 1993 24 602 0.932
Mike Piazza 24 1994 25 441 0.910
Mike Piazza 32 1995 26 475 1.006
Mike Piazza 36 1996 27 631 0.985
Mike Piazza 40 1997 28 633 1.070
Raul Mondesi 30 1998 27 617 0.813
Gary Sheffield 34 1999 30 663 0.930
Eric Karros 34 1999 31 639 0.912
Gary Sheffield 43 2000 31 612 1.081
Shawn Green 49 2001 28 701 0.970
Shawn Green 42 2002 29 685 0.944
Adrian Beltre 23 2003 24 608 0.714
Adrian Beltre 48 2004 25 657 1.017
Jeff Kent 29 2005 37 637 0.889
Nomar Garciaparra 20 2006 32 523 0.872
J.D. Drew 20 2006 30 594 0.891
Jeff Kent 20 2007 39 562 0.875
Andre Ethier 20 2008 26 596 0.885
Andre Ethier 31 2009 27 685 0.869
Matt Kemp 28 2010 25 668 0.760
Matt Kemp 39 2011 26 689 0.986
Matt Kemp 23 2012 27 449 0.906
Adrian Gonzalez 22 2013 31 641 0.803
Adrian Gonzalez 27 2014 32 660 0.817
Adrian Gonzalez 28 2015 33 643 0.830
Justin Turner 27 2016 31 622 0.832
Yasmani Grandal 27 2016 27 457 0.816
Cody Bellinger 39 2017 21 543 .933
Max Muncy 35 2018 27 481 .973
Cody Bellinger 47 2019 23 661 1.035
Mookie Betts and AJ Pollock 16 2020 27 and 32 246 and 210 .927 and .881
Max Muncy 36 2021 30 592 .895
Mookie Betts 34 2022 29 639 .873
Mookie Betts 34 2023 30 542 .995

Dennis Santana opens eyes in California League All-Star game

♦ June 21, 2017 ♦ 3 Comments

According to Kyle Glaser of Baseball America, Dennis Santana opened some eyes with his one inning of work in the California League All-Star game.

• Rancho Cucamonga righthander Dennis Santana opened eyes, sitting in the mid-90s with his sinker and flashing a devastating low-80s slider and mid-80s changeup. The Dodgers prospect struck out two in a scoreless fourth inning, including Giants No. 4 prospect Reynolds.
Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/braden-bishop-steals-show-california-league-star-game/#ZhGzKt0AeABcjpxQ.99

Other Dodger prospect performances.

  • Luke Raley started in LF and went 0 – 2.
  • DJ Peters replaced Raley and collected a single hit in two at-bats.
  • Will Smith started at catcher and collected a single in two at-bats.
  • Isabel pinch hit, stayed at 1st and collected one walk in two at-bats

Box Score

 

Dustin May / Brendon Davis shine in MWL All-Star game

♦ June 21, 2017 ♦ Leave a comment

Dustin May got the start for the East in the MWL All-Star game and pitched one scoreless inning.

Brendon Davis made the most of his one at-bat in the MWL All-Star game, crushing a home run to CF as a pinch hitter.  Alexis Brudnicki of Baseball America said it was the longest home run of the year for Davis.

On the East side, Loons infielder Brendon Davis carried his home run power from the derby and launched his longest one of the year to dead center in the ninth in the losing cause.
Read more at http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/monte-harrison-swats-homers-swaps-jerseys/#s8moC6jC4jt6MTg2.99

Keibert Ruiz went one for two as all three Loons contributed even though the East lost to the West 5 – 2.

This was quite the baseball family affair for the East squad. Bo Bichette the son of Rockie great Dante was the starting SS. He was replaced by Fernando Tatis Junior. Vlad Guerrero Junior was the 3rd baseman.  Bo is nothing like his father while Vlad Guerrero Junior seems to be just like his father.

Here is the box score

 

 

 

 

 

Chasing Piazza and Green thru June 20th

♦ June 21, 2017 ♦ 1 Comment

Crazy times.  At this point in 1993, Mike Piazza had only 14 of his 35 record home runs. Given the rate that Cody Bellinger is hitting home runs, I felt we should start tracking the all-time LAD home run record set by Shawn Green when he hit 49 home runs in 2001.

Bellinger has now fallen below the historical marker of a home run every 10 plate appearances.  As you can tell from his home run rate below he’s blowing away the greatest LAD rookie home run hitters in history and even though he missed all of April is ahead of the Shawn Green pace.  Green would hit 10 home runs in July and 12 more in August so Bellinger has his work cut out for him.

Oh, I guess I should add the all-time Rookie home run mark of 49 by Mark McGwire to this list. If he’s chasing Shawn Green, he is certainly chasing Mark McGwire.

Next home run

Player Year PA HR HR/PA Total HR Thru June 20th Total
Mike Piazza 1993 401 22 18.23 14 35
Joc Pederson 2015 458 22 20.82 18 26
Corey Seager 2016 522 22 23.73 15 26
Shawn Green 2001 396 22 18.00 17 49
Cody Bellinger 2017 219 22 9.95 22 ???

If this confusing here is a quick legend.

PA – this is the number of plate appearances it took for each player to reach 22 home runs. We used 22 home runs because that is where Bellinger is right now. This would be within 4 PA of accuracy as I didn’t check the game log for the specific plate appearance they hit the home run.

HR – This is a marker showing you 22 home runs.

HR/PA – this is the home runs per plate appearance pace when they each hit their 22nd home run.

Total HR by June 20th – self-explanatory but it includes games of June 20th

Total – season home run total

Did the Dodgers snag George Springer for nothing?

♦ June 20, 2017 ♦ 1 Comment

Jeff Sullivan did an exhaustive look at the stats of Chris Taylor for Fangraphs on Tuesday.  Joe Davis mentioned the story last night either before or after Chris Taylor crushed a home run to deep left field.  Joe mentioned that the writer came to the conclusion that the hitter that most Chris Taylor most resembles is George Springer.

For the new Chris Taylor, at the plate, easily the closest comp has been recent George Springer. They’re close up there in all four categories, and while Springer has shown the slightly better peak strength, Taylor has made more consistent contact. So, when you wonder how Taylor’s wRC+ might regress, you might decide to be strongly anchored to Springer’s 130. Perhaps that’s still too high, I don’t know, but Taylor has been showing legitimate offensive skills, and his defensive versatility is an obvious plus. Pitchers will have time to try to figure this out, but Taylor hasn’t given an inch.

That would be insane.  He may be right.