Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
April 26, 2023 Scoreboard
- Triple-A Oklahoma City, Sacramento PPD (Rain)
- Double-A Tulsa, Arkansas PPD (Rain)
- High-A Great Lakes 5, Fort Wayne 2
- Single-A Rancho Cucamonga 5, Inland Empire 2
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Dalton Rushing — Dalton Crushing? Whatever the nickname ends up being, the 40th overall pick in the 2022 draft continues to get the job done at the dish for Great Lakes:
The Dalton Rushing Marching and Chowder Society may be wondering when his powerful lefthanded bat will find its way up to Tulsa, and my answer to them is, it depends.
Rushing’s bat may very well be ready for the next step now, but behind the dish things are a bit murkier. It is front of mind with the Dodgers leading all of baseball in stolen bases allowed, having been victimized 35 times in 25 games, which puts them on pace for what would be a record-breaking total of 227.
Yes, I’m thinking about it.
Anyway, while pitchers have to chip in when and where they can, Rushing has been unable to stem the tide either. To date, thieves have been successful on 13 of their 14 attempts while the former Louisville Cardinal is behind the dish, just a 7% caught stealing rate. For the sake of comparison, the 22-year-old’s counterpart in donning the tools of ignorance for the Loons, Yeiner Fernandez, has nailed 7/25 would-be basestealers, good for a 28% caught stealing rate.
The outs are there to be had, and if Rushing is to stick as a backstop, he will likely remain in the Midwest League for a good while yet. If they’re content with him doing his best to become some sort of a David Ortiz analogue, his ascent through the system could be rather quick. For the time being, I’m betting they continue to pursue the former.
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On Wednesday, Peter Heubeck flashed the potential that motivated the Dodgers to select him in the 3rd round of the 2021 draft:
The 20-year-old also set a new career high in pitches thrown, with 66.
It has been a mixed bag for the Maryland native, as his delivery has gotten away from him at times, leading to missed locations, free passes, and dingers. Not a great combo. But, the stuff was always there, and an ounce of patience can go a long way.
All that said, while I try not to get too wrapped up in moments like this, Heubeck did wrap up his outing with a promising moment. With the lithe righty likely up against his pitch limit, one of Rancho Cucamonga’s two pitching coaches, Sean Coyne, came out for a mound visit before what ended up being the final batter of the fourth inning, and Coyne appeared to both go over the gameplan and to give Heubeck a little pep talk. Heubeck went on to strike out the batter on four pitches. It’s a small thing, but it is good to see a pitching prospect rise to a challenge while he’s breaking new ground with respect to workload.
The next challenge, of course, is bringing this heat the next time out, and the time after that. Stay tuned!
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Here’s Thursday’s start times for the minor-league clubs (all times Pacific), along with the Dodger affiliate’s starting pitcher:
- Oklahoma City vs Sacramento G1 — 2:35 PM, Gavin Stone
- Oklahoma City vs Sacramento G2 — 30 minutes after the end of G1, William Cuevas
- Tulsa at Arkansas — 4:35 PM, Nick Nastrini
- Great Lakes at Fort Wayne — 4:05 PM, Justin Wrobleski
- Rancho Cucamonga at Inland Empire — 6:35 PM, Jerming Rosario
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Enjoy your Thursday, folks.
