Podcast: ‘Dugout Blues’ episode 107 – HOF, projections, NRIs

On this episode of “Dugout Blues,” Jared Massey (Dodgers Nation) and I kick off the new year with some fresh, hot takes (not really).

The Hall of Fame results always inspire discussion, no matter how some may dislike it or disagree with the voting. We’re not members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, but Jared did a mock vote and I tweeted out my selections for the Internet Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

Clarification: The IBWAA already has Mike Piazza inducted, hence his missing from my ballot. The IBWAA also does not have Barry Larkin inducted (for some reason), hence his inclusion on my ballot. Also, the IBWAA has a 15-player voting maximum.

Dan Szymborski completed his ZiPS projections for the Dodgers. They were awfully favorable, especially when Clayton Kershaw draws a prime Sandy Koufax comparison and Julio Urias gets Randy Johnson. One I neglected to mention on the episode was Yasiel Puig getting Al Kaline — an underrated one, in my book.

The Dodgers are inviting 17 non-roster players to spring training, which I wrote about here on Saturday. I still contend guys like David Huff and Sergio Santos have the best shot of breaking camp with the team. It’ll also be nice to see some prospects — specifically, Corey Seager and Urias — get some exposure to the big-league clubhouse.

Baseball Prospectus’ Top 10 Dodger prospects came out on Thursday, and I really enjoyed the list. In fact, BP and I have the same Top 10 in terms of players. My order is just a bit different.

Self-promotion: Following in Mike and J.P. Hoornstra’s footsteps, I’m going to do an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Reddit Thursday at 7 p.m. AHT (Pacific time). Here’s a link to the forum. I’ll tweet a link to the thread when it goes live.

Finally, we close with a Q&A session. The common theme this week seemed to be whether the Dodgers are going to trade Andre Ethier. I say yes, but I have no idea where. And some folks were pondering Ethier to the Giants, which baffles me.

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Look for new episodes of “Dugout Blues” every Monday (or every other Monday during the offseason). Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and review us on iTunes. We want to make this the best podcast we can so we’re always looking for suggestions and ways to improve.

If you have questions you’d like us to answer or certain topics/players you want to hear more about, feel free to email us ([email protected]) or send us messages on Twitter (@JaredJMassey or @DustinNosler). You can also “Like” the podcast on Facebook. We always welcome audience participation.

About Dustin Nosler

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Dustin Nosler began writing about the Dodgers in July 2009 at his blog, Feelin' Kinda Blue. He co-hosted a weekly podcast with Jared Massey called Dugout Blues. He was a contributor/editor at The Hardball Times and True Blue LA. He graduated from California State University, Sacramento, with his bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in digital media. While at CSUS, he worked for the student-run newspaper The State Hornet for three years, culminating with a 1-year term as editor-in-chief. He resides in Stockton, Calif.