Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
July 29th, 2022 Scoreboard
- Triple A Oklahoma City 3, Sugar Land 2
- Double A Tulsa 7, Arkansas 5
- High A Great Lakes 4, Lansing 2
- Low A Rancho Cucamonga 4, San Jose 1
- ACL Dodgers 3, ACL Padres 0
- DSL Dodgers 8, DSL Marlins 1 (completion of the game suspended on July 21)
- DSL Dodgers Mega 2, DSL Marlins 8
- DSL Dodgers Bautista 5, DSL Phillies White 2
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Miguel Vargas came up in the bottom of the 10th with the ghost runner on second, Oklahoma City down by a run, and he brought the house down:
105.3 mph off the bat, 416′, that was a solid poke.
Vargas went 2/5, raising his OPS at Triple A to .889, good for 13th out of the 49 qualified hitters in the Pacific Coast League. He is also the youngest out of said 49 hitters, and nearly five years younger than average for the level, which makes his success all the more impressive.
All three of Vargas’ batted balls from last night were greater than 100 mph. The young Cuban is coming into his power, and he is learning to hunt for pitches to drive.
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Within a few minutes of Vargas’ walkoff, and a mere 52 miles away, Jonny DeLuca got the party started for Tulsa with a 2 run walkoff shot of his own:
DeLuca went 2/4, he also hit a double and drew a walk, putting his OPS with Tulsa at .993. The homer was his 6th for the Drillers, and it’s his 24th overall, putting him in a tie for the system lead.
DeLuca was a 25th round pick by the Dodgers back in 2019, and that was after posting an OPS of .650 while at the University of Oregon. Scouts and player development folks who are on the same page, along with players who buy in, it’s an incredible combination.
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Nick Nastrini had another solid performance for Great Lakes:
The win was Nastrini’s fourth of the season.
The former UCLA Bruin began a run of strong performances back on June 16th, a string of eight starts that saw him toss 39.1 innings, with an ERA of 2.98, and a K/BB of 55/15.
Nastrini threw first pitch strikes to 15 of the 23 hitters he faced, but what was really impressive was the run he went on after he settled in — he got strike one against 12 of the last 13 hitters he faced.
Via FanGraphs, league-wide, after an 0-1 count, hitters have a wRC+ of 68, which is basically Rob Segedin. Also via FanGraphs, league-wise, after a 1-0 count, hitters have a wRC+ of 130, which is basically Corey Seager.
Strike one is of paramount importance, it tips the scales dramatically, and Nastrini cruises when he has hitters on their back foot.
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As River Ryan gets settled in as a full time pitcher, he’s looking more and more impressive as the season progresses:
When Ryan was drafted last year, his fastball was reportedly in the 93-95 range, so this is quite the impressive uptick. He has tree trunks for legs, he definitely gets into them, and the intent he shows with how his drive leg comes through at the end, sheesh.
Ryan has also continued to show growth with his secondaries as well, mixing in his low to mid 80s power curve, a mid 80s changeup, and a cutter/slider around 90 mph.
From the early looks, it appears that Andrew Friedman and company may have done it again.
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Lastly, Saturday’s scheduled starting pitchers for the full season affiliates:
- Triple A Oklahoma City – Beau Burrows
- Double A Tulsa – Kyle Hurt
- High A Great Lakes – Carlos Duran
- Low A Rancho Cucamonga – Peter Heubeck
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Enjoy your weekend, folks.
