Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
On this episode of “Dugout Blues,” Jared Massey (Dodger Blue) and I are back after a well-deserved* All-Star break.
*- not really
The Futures Game and All-Star Game were played since we last recorded. There wasn’t much in the way of standout Dodger performances. Jharel Cotton threw three pitches and Willie Calhoun hit a couple balls hard. Corey Seager hit 15 home runs in the first round of the Home Run Derby, and it wasn’t enough to advance to the second round. Oh well.
That Arizona series was frustrating — especially the Saturday game that they should have absolutely won. But they did score 13 runs on Friday night. It’s always a nice place for the offense to get healthy.
Clayton Kershaw is progressing from his back injury and could return sooner rather than later. This is good news, as long as he isn’t rushing back.
Brandon McCarthy has been downright amazing since coming back from Tommy John surgery. The biggest thing is he’s striking out everyone … almost literally. If he can build his stamina up and pitch even half as good as he has already, there’s your No. 3 starter in the playoffs.
Howie Kendrick is good again! At least, with the bat. It’s about damn time, as the Dodgers have really missed his production. Andre Ethier‘s leg is dead and Trayce Thompson went on the disabled list. Don’t be shocked if the Dodgers trade for an outfielder before the trade deadline.
We lament the fact Yulieski Gurriel signed with the Astros. Great move by them. It would have been nice to have his bat in the Dodger lineup.
Jared and I talked about our midseason prospect lists. There were a lot more differences than you’d expect.
On the minor-league side, 1B/3B Edwin Rios is a guy you might want to familiarize yourself with. He leads the Dodgers’ organization (minors and majors) in home runs with 19. He was the team’s 2015 6th-round pick and has been nothing short of amazing so far. But he’ll need to show it at the next level. Alex Verdugo and Jose De Leon are still performing well. Verdugo has been particularly impressive this season as a 20-year-old in Double-A.
To close, a decent Q&A session. Please keep the questions coming.
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Look for new episodes of “Dugout Blues” every Monday. 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.
