Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
A lot has happened since the last time we all gathered here for a Roundup as the sky was falling for the Dodgers and now it sorta isn’t (but maybe?). Anyway, as you’ll read below, their slump is not all that odd even if there’s legitimate concerns. Also, a couple prospects in particular have been getting special attention, memes were looked into by the mainstream, and there’s stuff on new stats.
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FanGraphs: There’s been questions about the Dodgers and their recent slump, notably whether it means anything in the big picture or not. But I think it’s telling that it’s not even really rare for a team of this caliber, and you’ll find plenty of comparables in recent Dodgers teams.
What does this mean for the 2026 Dodgers? Well, nothing. I just like these plots. If there’s a takeaway, though, it’s just to say it’s not weird for this group to suddenly struggle. Most teams slump at some point in the season, even great teams – even the greatest teams. In fact, the Dodgers this year are still pacing a game better than they were in 2024 and three games better than they were in 2025, and those seasons turned out pretty well.
Baseball Prospectus: While Eric Karros called for Kyle Tucker to get a reset just for mental purposes, Maddie Landis speculates that he could use a blow to rest a nagging back injury that has hurt attempts to come out of his spiral.
The simplest explanation, and the most likely one, is that Tucker is playing hurt. Back issues aren’t something you just play through, at least not cleanly. The Dodgers can afford to give Tucker some time off. Their farm system is full of talented outfielders. Zack Ehrhard or James Tibbs III could man right field for a few weeks, and Ryan Ward would be grateful for the chance to put up league-average numbers for a while. The Dodgers could afford to sign Tucker because they’re the Dodgers; they can afford to sit him, for the same reason.
Well, if not hurt, then maybe needing to factor in any injury-related changes into his swing.
True Blue LA: A profile of sorts on Max Muncy becoming the all-time Dodger Stadium ding-dong leader.
Muncy is the Dodgers’ all-time postseason leader with 16 home runs, and his seven hit at Dodger Stadium is second-most in the postseason in ballpark history, one behind Shohei Ohtani.
Counting the postseason, Muncy has already passed Karros in total home runs hit at Dodger Stadium, with a select group of only seven players to hit triple-digit home runs in the ballpark’s history.
California Post: The origin story of the Andrew Friedman robe picture in his hotel room.
California Post: As memes appear to be going more mainstream than ever now, Tanner Scott and his BBL has reached the clubhouse in earnest.
Scott laughed about the clubhouse shirts, saying he was a fan of them because “Evan’s my friend.” He noted that his wife, Maddie, has found another novelty tee online of “me with a giant tush.” This offseason, Scott even poked fun at himself on Instagram, captioning a photo of him holding the World Series thusly: “Put everything BEHIND me,” he wrote, alongside a peach emoji.
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MLB Pipeline: The best farm system in baseball? The Dodgers.
The Dodgers continue to sustain simultaneous excellence at the Major and Minor League levels longer than anyone since the 1991-2005 Braves — but those Atlanta clubs won just one World Series while Los Angeles has taken three of the past six. The Dodgers have ranked eighth or better in our last 10 biannual farm system rankings, in the top five in the past five and return to the No. 1 spot after dipping to No. 2 in the preseason. No team could match the package Los Angeles put together for Tarik Skubal, and the Dodgers still tie for the most Top 100 prospects in baseball (six) despite giving up two (Zyhir Hope, River Ryan) in that deal. Besides the six listed above, first baseman/outfielder James Tibbs, left-hander Zach Root and third baseman Chase Harlan are also knocking on the door of the Top 100. The Dodgers stole third baseman Bo Lowrance with the 40th pick in the 2026 Draft and feature plenty more depth behind him as well.
With timing almost designed to piss the most people off possible. Glorious.
Baseball America: Down on the farm, the Dodgers are basically having Jason Heyward mentor Josue De Paula.
Heyward said the time he has spent with De Paula has been more educational than physical.
“It’s more to be around him, watch him work, share a little of what the journey is going to continue to be like—and also congratulate him and that group on the attention and hype they’ve earned,” Heyward said.
“But as far as how he’s going about his business, he’s learning how to do it. He’s forming his routines. He’s gaining some information, some knowledge on how he can take that next step. There’s just a lot of little details that will continue to help build him into a major-league player.”
Notably, he stresses that JDP has been coachable and open to criticism, important since not having those qualities have stalled talented players in the Dodgers system before.
Baseball Prospectus: Charles Davalan and Kevin McGonigle mentioned in the same breath within this scouting report.
But the trend lines are very very good here. He’s still playing some center field, but profiles best in left, so he will need to keep adding power to profile as a first-division regular there. And the trend lines there are excellent.
TJStats: More deserved Davalan glaze, this one from more of a metrics standpoint.
Charles Davalan has made me question how he fell to the Dodgers at pick 41 in the draft. The Canadian outfielder out of Arkansas was known for his plus hit tool and quick legs, with concerns about his power limiting his draft stock. He has quickly put those qualms to rest, launching 21 HR and posting a 105.0 mph EV90 — right around MLB average. Supporting those power gains are brilliant contact rates that give him a buoyant floor if the slug fades.
Eduardo Quintero is also mentioned.
Just Baseball: As far as how things got to this point for Davalan, Emily Waldon has that angle covered.
“Chuck’s routine is more reminiscent of a major league veteran than a first-year player,” Rhymes said. “I’m not sure we’ve had a first-year player with such a good idea of what they need to do every day to prepare and perform.
“He does a good job of working to improve with the long-term in mind (especially during the off-season), asking questions and being curious, then he has the ability to shut everything off and go grind out every ab and just compete,” Rhymes added.
“We talk about wanting our hitters to have an identity, and to understand themselves as hitters by the time they reach LA,” Rhymes said. “He already has that understanding.”
Promote him, then?
Baseball Prospectus: Seems weird that a Leiter would be a bit forgotten, but Cam Leiter has indeed been lost in the hype of the system a bit. Well, he’s healthy now and is starting to show why the Dodgers popped him in the second round last year despite him recovering from shoulder surgery at the time.
The Dodgers have regulated Leiter’s workload all season, typically keeping him between 45 and 60 pitches per outing. His stuff hasn’t really missed a beat from its pre-surgery state, as Leiter sits in the upper 90s with his heater and shows multiple viable secondaries. His slider, which occasionally shortens to more of a cutter, and curveball both look like potential plus offerings, while his changeup is a distant fourth pitch at this point. Leiter has yet to allow a home run this year, but he has shown some bouts of wildness and lack of fastball command. That’s to be expected after two years on the shelf, and his consistency will be something to monitor as the Dodgers start to stretch him out more next year.
Leiter continuing to be healthy and breaking out would go a long way to helping reinforce the depths of arms in the system.
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FanGraphs: In what has to be a bit of a shock to those who have been watching the games — and especially Karros — Michael Baumann took a look at ABS challenge effectiveness by team and the Dodgers have been … sorta good? 16th in overall run value and 4th in efficiency.
Given the data we have here, an extra 2.88% of challenge success rate leads to one additional run from challenges. At the same time, every 11.6 challenges — successful or otherwise — correlates to an additional run.
It looks like teams, on the aggregate, could stand to be more aggressive. We know that’s true across plenty of situations within the game: Baserunning, manager challenges, using the backup catcher. An optimal strategy would occasionally leave a manager facing a serious downside; you don’t want to have rallies stifled by losing baserunners, or be forced to use the emergency catcher.
But while prioritizing avoidance of disaster minimizes the number of awkward postgame press conference questions, it might not be the best guiding principle for winning baseball games.
When you think about it a bit, this does make sense. Being left with challenges has been a theme with the Dodgers throughout the season, as their catchers have been a bit gun shy about challenging but generally good about getting it right. Of course, its their hitters who have been wasteful and have had the high-profile blunders, so it’s rather remarkable that other teams have apparently been worse as a whole.
More than anything, you’d just think the Dodgers would’ve optimized this a bit by now.
MLB: Statcast has started tracking the receiving skills of first basemen, and while it’s still a bit raw, Freddie Freeman is second in the majors this year and first in the majors since 2021. Definitely passes the eye test at least.
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If all of that still isn’t enough for you, feel free to occupy a day or three by reading through Bruce’s latest.
