Post by Commissioner Erick on Sept 7, 2020 10:37:06 GMT -5
San Francisco Giants (50-20) @ Los Angeles Dodgers (47-25)
SF: Taylor Lehman (5-2, 2.43)
LAD: Matt Trask (5-1, 3.21)
After a couple of down years, the Los Angeles Dodgers are on pace to have the best regular season in their history. Unsurprisingly, they still find themselves in a dogfight for the NL West league, but surprisingly, that dogfight is with the surging San Francisco Giants, who have the best record in baseball.
The two NL West powers will square off during the Game of the Week in which should be a high-level baseball game.
The Dodgers find themselves as a very balanced team, good on many different avenues. They have the best OBP in the National League, as well as the fourth most home runs. Their starters ERA is second best in the league and their bullpen ERA is fourth. Their baserunning is the best in the PBA, and outside of Jeren Kendall, every offensive player has double-figure home runs or an on-base percentage of .342, meaning they’re getting on base or knocking guys in. With stars like Alex Bregman, Nomar Mazara, and Seiya Suzuki able to provide an extra level of production, the Dodgers are back to being a ferocious club.
The one area where the Dodgers are dealing with trouble is their rotation. Julio Urias’ baseball career is over and Eduardo Rodriguez will be out with an oblique injury likely until September. It’s caused the Dodgers to dig deep into to their rotation depth, and they’ve discovered that likely starter Matt Trask has been worthy of the responsibility they’ve given him.
An eighth-rounder back in 2017, Trask was on a shuttle between High-A and Double-A as a sometimes starter, sometimes reliever until 2022 when he finally reached Triple-A. Trask had an outstanding year in Oklahoma City last year limiting home runs, allowing only 11 home runs in 138.1 innings and going 11-6 with a 3.58 ERA. This year, Trask has made eight starts for the Dodgers, going 5-1 with a 3.21 ERA limiting home runs and walks. Trask has a terrific curveball, which he’s used to limit left-handers to a .520 OPS.
He'll get a good test against a Giants team that leads the league in offense. San Francisco has the best batting average in the league, playing to the strengths of their ballpark. They acquired Nick Gordon in the offseason, which looks like an inspired move. Gordon is hitting .310 with 18 doubles and a .372 OBP. He doesn’t strike out too often, he’s stolen six bases in eight attempts, and he’s dropped four sacrifice bunts. Historically, San Francisco’s offense has been at its best when a middle infielder with good bat-to-ball skills was making contact, slashing doubles, and hitting for a high average, whether it be early-career Christian Arroyo, or Shane Benes’ magical 2022. The Giants have found a player who fits the formula in Gordon and used it to maximize their offense.
The Giants also realized, however, that they do need some power to really reach new heights, so they also made an offseason move to bring on All-Star Blake Rutherford. Rutherford is having a sensational season with a .320 average, 18 home runs, and 14 stolen bases so far, putting him on pace for a 40-home run, 30-steal season. The only player with a 40-home run season in his career and a 30-steal season in his career is David Dahl. No player has done that in the same season.
San Francisco will also send a 2017 draft pick to the mound, 18th rounder Taylor Lehman. Lehman has been terrific at limiting walks early in his career, and has a 5.9% walk rate this year. He’s 20th in walk rate among 72 qualifiers who have thrown 50 innings, but he’s the only pitcher with as low as a 5.9% walk rate who has allowed 1.0 home runs-per-nine or lower. Despite being an 18th rounder who barely cracks 90 on the radar gun, Lehman’s been willing to throw his curveball and changeup for strikes, and has worked the edge of the zone to limit extra base hits.
If the Dodgers are going to have offensive success, it may be against the Giants bullpen as it only ranks 10th in ERA. Ryan Meisinger has been good late in games with a 2.41 ERA, and 2021 first rounder Curt Gemma looks like an ace reliever. Their middle and long relievers have ERAs in the upper 3s and 4s though, with most of the Giants arms being right-handed power arms. Jake Eder gets work as a specialist, but there may be opportunities for the Dodgers’ left-handed power hitters to drive the ball in the series.
Questions for the GMs:
For Dave Twibell, Rafael Jimenez is out for six weeks. How will you change your roster and lineup to replace him?
Shane Benes was an MVP-candidate in 2022, a solid starter last season, and has been replacement level this year. Who is the real Shane Benes?
You had a ton of extra picks in this year’s draft. How do you feel about your haul?
For Ben Vincent, how has Jeren Kendall looked for you since coming back from back spasms?
At times, you’ve been critical of your defense and the Giants have the second best BABIP in the league, the second-best strikeout mark, and the lowest walk mark—meaning they put the ball in play a ton and get a lot of hits doing so. Will you change your defense at all for this game?
You snatched cat-eyed Arthur Price out of Wake Forest with your first pick in the recent draft. What do you like about him that caused you to snag him with your first pick?
TRIVIA: Which Right-Handed Hitter has the most home runs in Dodgers history?
SF: Taylor Lehman (5-2, 2.43)
LAD: Matt Trask (5-1, 3.21)
After a couple of down years, the Los Angeles Dodgers are on pace to have the best regular season in their history. Unsurprisingly, they still find themselves in a dogfight for the NL West league, but surprisingly, that dogfight is with the surging San Francisco Giants, who have the best record in baseball.
The two NL West powers will square off during the Game of the Week in which should be a high-level baseball game.
The Dodgers find themselves as a very balanced team, good on many different avenues. They have the best OBP in the National League, as well as the fourth most home runs. Their starters ERA is second best in the league and their bullpen ERA is fourth. Their baserunning is the best in the PBA, and outside of Jeren Kendall, every offensive player has double-figure home runs or an on-base percentage of .342, meaning they’re getting on base or knocking guys in. With stars like Alex Bregman, Nomar Mazara, and Seiya Suzuki able to provide an extra level of production, the Dodgers are back to being a ferocious club.
The one area where the Dodgers are dealing with trouble is their rotation. Julio Urias’ baseball career is over and Eduardo Rodriguez will be out with an oblique injury likely until September. It’s caused the Dodgers to dig deep into to their rotation depth, and they’ve discovered that likely starter Matt Trask has been worthy of the responsibility they’ve given him.
An eighth-rounder back in 2017, Trask was on a shuttle between High-A and Double-A as a sometimes starter, sometimes reliever until 2022 when he finally reached Triple-A. Trask had an outstanding year in Oklahoma City last year limiting home runs, allowing only 11 home runs in 138.1 innings and going 11-6 with a 3.58 ERA. This year, Trask has made eight starts for the Dodgers, going 5-1 with a 3.21 ERA limiting home runs and walks. Trask has a terrific curveball, which he’s used to limit left-handers to a .520 OPS.
He'll get a good test against a Giants team that leads the league in offense. San Francisco has the best batting average in the league, playing to the strengths of their ballpark. They acquired Nick Gordon in the offseason, which looks like an inspired move. Gordon is hitting .310 with 18 doubles and a .372 OBP. He doesn’t strike out too often, he’s stolen six bases in eight attempts, and he’s dropped four sacrifice bunts. Historically, San Francisco’s offense has been at its best when a middle infielder with good bat-to-ball skills was making contact, slashing doubles, and hitting for a high average, whether it be early-career Christian Arroyo, or Shane Benes’ magical 2022. The Giants have found a player who fits the formula in Gordon and used it to maximize their offense.
The Giants also realized, however, that they do need some power to really reach new heights, so they also made an offseason move to bring on All-Star Blake Rutherford. Rutherford is having a sensational season with a .320 average, 18 home runs, and 14 stolen bases so far, putting him on pace for a 40-home run, 30-steal season. The only player with a 40-home run season in his career and a 30-steal season in his career is David Dahl. No player has done that in the same season.
San Francisco will also send a 2017 draft pick to the mound, 18th rounder Taylor Lehman. Lehman has been terrific at limiting walks early in his career, and has a 5.9% walk rate this year. He’s 20th in walk rate among 72 qualifiers who have thrown 50 innings, but he’s the only pitcher with as low as a 5.9% walk rate who has allowed 1.0 home runs-per-nine or lower. Despite being an 18th rounder who barely cracks 90 on the radar gun, Lehman’s been willing to throw his curveball and changeup for strikes, and has worked the edge of the zone to limit extra base hits.
If the Dodgers are going to have offensive success, it may be against the Giants bullpen as it only ranks 10th in ERA. Ryan Meisinger has been good late in games with a 2.41 ERA, and 2021 first rounder Curt Gemma looks like an ace reliever. Their middle and long relievers have ERAs in the upper 3s and 4s though, with most of the Giants arms being right-handed power arms. Jake Eder gets work as a specialist, but there may be opportunities for the Dodgers’ left-handed power hitters to drive the ball in the series.
Questions for the GMs:
For Dave Twibell, Rafael Jimenez is out for six weeks. How will you change your roster and lineup to replace him?
Shane Benes was an MVP-candidate in 2022, a solid starter last season, and has been replacement level this year. Who is the real Shane Benes?
You had a ton of extra picks in this year’s draft. How do you feel about your haul?
For Ben Vincent, how has Jeren Kendall looked for you since coming back from back spasms?
At times, you’ve been critical of your defense and the Giants have the second best BABIP in the league, the second-best strikeout mark, and the lowest walk mark—meaning they put the ball in play a ton and get a lot of hits doing so. Will you change your defense at all for this game?
You snatched cat-eyed Arthur Price out of Wake Forest with your first pick in the recent draft. What do you like about him that caused you to snag him with your first pick?
TRIVIA: Which Right-Handed Hitter has the most home runs in Dodgers history?
. I've got a lot of good pitching prospects in my pipeline, but not much hitting depth. This draft seemed pretty deep, and I was able to snag some solid young hitters in the 3rd/4th rounds that might have gone earlier in prior years. Guys like Castillo, Henry, Ferguson, and Williams all have some decent potential. And if nothing else, I had enough picks that just by the law of averages somebody in that group should develop into a useful player. 
