Chris Taylor’s Future

 

The latest utility man to come out of LA after players like Skip Schumacher, Alex Guerrero and even Kike Hernandez, Chris might just be the best of the lot and by a long way.

Coming off a somewhat shaky start to his 2017 season, Taylor had made 2 errors in his first 5 games and was fielding only .895. To go with this, Chris had only hits in 6 games out of 10 for April with concerns over his skill.

May has been different to say the least.

The right-hander is 7-for-11 in just 6 games with a homerun and 7 RBI to go with it. If not for Cody Bellinger’s NL Player of the Week Award, it most likely would have been Chris. He has hit 3 homeruns to start the year and two of them are also grand slams, he is a bit of a machine. In fact he’s started one game this year with a below .300 batting average.

Cody Bellinger Up, Scott Van Slyke Down

In the latest of the Dodgers’ front office moves, Franklin Gutierrez was reinstated off the ten day DL and everyone expected the rookie Bellinger to be sent back down to grow and play every day in the minors.

However, the man they did send down instead was Scott Van Slyke. The utility man in the outfield is only batting .129 this year with a .250 OBP. To put this in perspective, 9 pitchers are hitting better than him, albeit with only just over 10 at bats.

For the Dodger fan base though this move has been a long time coming and while Scott has always bounced up and down between AAA and the Majors in his career it feels this one is the last move for him.

Where Is The Set Up Man?

The Dodgers won a big one run game tonight against the Giants behind another strong outing from ace Clayton Kershaw. The lefty gave up one run in 7 innings of work, allowing only 6 hits on 90 pitches, 66 of them strikes.

The win was capped by a 4 out save by Kenley Jansen, his third of the like in this short season. Jansen’s 3 four out saves so early in the season is alarming for the ball club, this doesn’t seem to be sustainable over the course of the long marathon of a season.

The Dodgers need one of their relievers to develop into a legitimate set up man and get three outs in the 8th without leaving fans gasping for breath from an intense outing or just letting the game get completely out of hand and unreachable for a win.

Return Of The Kid

Bright Lights. The Big Apple. Citi Field and 2015 NL Champions, the New York Mets.

On a cool Friday night in May, the former MLB number 1 prospect and Mexico native, Julio Urias, made his long awaited and highly anticipated MLB debut. After waiting a couple years and several trips to Single-A Rancho, the hype around Urias was unreal.

His first start however, not so mesmerising, he got rocked by the reigning NL champions and got pulled after 2.2 innings, conceding 3 runs on 5 hits and throwing 81 pitches.

His next start 5 days later, was in even worse conditions. A cold Wrigley Field and playing the eventual 2016 World Series Champions, the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs roughed up Urias for 6 runs in 5 innings, still working on a very hard pitch count of around 85 or less.

Turner, Taylor Cost Dodger Offence

Top of the 9^th, Dodgers down by 1, Adrian Gonzalez at the plate. The count reads 3 balls and 1 strike. Turner has singled with one out in the inning and moved to second on a passed ball, where he represents the tying run and can keep this game going.

Adrian takes a mighty hack at the 3-1 pitch and comes up empty. Buster Posey however throws down behind Turner to the shortstop Brandon Crawford where he receives the ball, smacks Turner and ends the game.

The scorebook will read “2-6 caught stealing” but in reality it was a stupid play with a big consequence. In a night that was frustrating enough for Dodger fans and players alike, this play was the cherry on top, the icing on the cake.

The Future Is Now For LA

Cody Bellinger is one of the best prospects in all of baseball. Corey Seager finished 2^nd in MVP voting last year at 21. Julio Urias was a number one ranked national prospect when he was called up.

And what do these three have in common? They all are in the Major Leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

We all know about Seager and Urias has already had a stint with LA but this time it is about Cody who makes his MLB debut for the club tonight in left field against the San Francisco Giants.

Forsythe and Segedin Placed On DL

Logan Forsythe left the Dodgers 4-2 loss yesterday with a right big toe contusion after being hit by a pitch from the Rockies starter Kyle Freeland.

Forsythe came out of a game 3 days ago for the same reason, missed the next game and then was back healthy, but this setback is the same spot, causing more discomfort.

Rob Segedin is also on the 10 day DL with a right big toe strain and should return soon. However this timing is unfortunate for Rob as he has been called up to replace an injury and is looking to cement his spot on the roster, but now will have to most likely earn his way back up with AAA Oklahoma.

Rich Hill’s Latest Blister Setback has Dodgers Frustrated

Coming into the season, the Los Angeles Dodgers were counting on Rich Hill to give them solid starts in the starting rotation. On Sunday afternoon in the Dodgers 3-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Hill’s blister flared up, and he lasted only three innings because of it.

The Dodgers, especially Manager Dave Roberts, are baffled by Hill’s latest blister setback. This is the second time in a matter of weeks Hill’s finger has blistered, causing him to miss time. It also caused him to come out of his first start of the season against the San Diego Padres in which he went five innings. Hill has had career problems with blisters and was put on the 10 day DL for the second time this season which wasn’t a surprise.

Do Managers Know How To Use The Intentional Walk Rule?

Cubs home opener. Dodgers are against the Cubs at Wrigley field after a 2 hour rain delay and 3 hours of baseball. It is 2-2 in the bottom of the 9^th and Romo has handed the ball off to the closer Kenley Jansen to finish the inning.

There is a man on second and 2 outs. Anthony Rizzo is at the plate.

“What could go wrong?” A naive Dodger fan would ask, “We will get Rizzo out and go to extra innings with Seager due to lead off. It is a good spot to be in.”

Dave Roberts has managed this game pretty well to most eyes, the only exception being Scott Van Slyke being in the game, or even the roster… However this would be the most important time to control the whole game, right here with 2 outs in the 9^th.

Is This A New Yasiel Puig?

Yasiel Puig is one of the only players on the Dodger’s roster who is either really lovable or hateable depending on the team you support and the views you have on his actions.

When he came on scene back in 2013 he was 2^nd in Rookie of the Year voting and 15^th in the league wide MVP after hitting 19 home runs at a .319 in over 100 games. This was projected to be something special and would only continue to grow, with his attitude and anger at times, capturing the hearts and eyes of Dodger fans everywhere.

Puig quickly become a hot topic of conversation all around the league with his flare and enthusiasm he plays the game. This would lead to the great Vin Scully naming him “The Wild Horse” after stealing bases, throwing out people from right field with his cannon and stretching singles into risky doubles.

Of course for Puig not all of this would pay off and he would be left stranded and the subject of a lot of anger from Dodger fans and sometimes the then manager Don Mattingly, who would think he was just an immature kid and someone who wasn’t ready for the big leagues when he was just a 22 year old out of Cuba.