Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. Chris Taylor looks weird in an Angels uniform.
Newsletter
Are you a true-blue fan?
Get our Dodgers Dugout newsletter for insights, news and much more.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
Here we are, a little over a third of the way through the season, so let’s take a look at how the Dodgers stack up in various categories.
OPS+
A league average OPS+ is 100. Anything above that is good, anything below, not as good. And the higher of lower your OPS+, the better or worse you are. OPS is on-base% plus slugging%:
Freddie Freeman, 194 (Freeman is 94% better than the league average hitter)
Shohei Ohtani, 191
Will Smith, 178
Teoscar Hernández, 151
Hyeseong Kim, 144
Andy Pages, 116
Mookie Betts, 111
Kiké Hernández, 108
Tommy Edman, 100
Max Muncy, 94
Michael Conforto, 73
Dalton Rushing, 68
James Outman, 67
Miguel Rojas, 66
Austin Barnes, 47
Chris Taylor, 29
ERA+
Same as OPS+, only for pitching. Minimum 10 innings
Rotation
Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 198 (Yamamoto is 98% better than the league average hitter)
Dustin May, 93
Tyler Glasnow, 88
Tony Gonsolin, 84
Roki Sasaki, 83
Clayton Kershaw, 82
Landon Knack, 75
Bullpen
Ben Casparius, 140
Jack Dreyer, 130
Matt Sauer, 130
Alex Vesia, 117
Luis García, 103
Antony Banda, 98
Kirby Yates, 91
Tanner Scott, 85
Inherited runners who scored %
League average is 32.4%
Ben Casparius, 0% (0 of 5 inherited runners have scored)
Evan Phillips, 0% (0 of 3)
Matt Sauer, 0% (0 of 3)
Lou Trivino, 0% (0 of 3)
Tanner Scott, 0% (0 of 2)
Jack Dreyer, 20% (1 of 5)
Luis García, 25% (3 of 12)
Alex Vesia, 45.6% (5 of 11)
Kirby Yates, 33.3% (1 of 3)
Anthony Banda, 37.5% (3 of 8)
Team, 23.6% (13 of 55)
Where the Dodgers rank as a team in various stats (numbers, except winning percentage, are through Wednesday)
Winning percentage
1. Detroit, 37-20, .649
2. Philadelphia, 36-20, .643
3. N.Y. Yankees, 35-20, .636
4. Chicago Cubs, 35-21, .625
5. Dodgers, 34-22, .607
5. N.Y. Mets, 34-22, .607
7. San Diego, 31-23, .574
Note: The Dodgers are projected to win 98 games. Last season, they won 99.
Offense
Runs per game
1. Chicago Cubs, 5.89
2. Dodgers, 5.61
3. N.Y. Yankees, 5.55
4. Detroit, 5.05
5. Arizona, 4.98
Batting average
1. Dodgers, .263
2. Chicago Cubs, .262
3. St. Louis, .262
4. N.Y. Yankees, .259
5. Philadelphia, .259
On-base %
1. N.Y. Yankees, .343
1. Dodgers, .341
4. Philadelphia, .336
3. Chicago Cubs, .335
5. St. Louis, .333
Slugging %
1. N.Y. Yankees, .466
2. Dodgers, .458
3. Chicago Cubs, .450
4. Arizona, .445
5. Boston, .419
Doubles
1. Arizona, 110
2. Boston, 106
2. St. Louis, 106
3. Chicago Cubs, 105
5. N.Y. Yankees, 103
9. Dodgers, 93
Triples
1. Colorado, 15
2. Chicago Cubs, 13
3. N.Y. Mets, 12
4. Arizona, 11
4. Kansas City, 11
T8. Dodgers, 9
Home runs
1. N.Y. Yankees, 88
2. Dodgers, 87
3. Angels, 79
3. Chicago Cubs, 79
5. Arizona, 77
Walks
1. N.Y. Yankees, 225
2. Dodgers, 216
3. Chicago Cubs, 212
4. Seattle, 210
5. N.Y. Mets, 207
Strikeouts
1. Colorado, 549
2. Angels, 542
3. Boston, 522
4. Detroit, 510
5. Cincinnati, 508
T12. Dodgers, 464
Stolen Bases
1. Tampa Bay, 76
2. Milwaukee, 74
3. Chicago Cubs, 72
4. Pittsburgh, 56
5. Boston, 54
5. Cincinnati, 54
T19. Dodgers, 38
Pitching
ERA
1. N.Y. Mets, 2.87
2. Kansas City, 3.15
3. Texas, 3.19
4. San Francisco, 3.22
5. Detroit, 3.23
21. Dodgers, 4.09
Rotation ERA
1. Texas, 2.87
1. N.Y. Mets, 2.91
3. Kansas City, 3.02
4. Philadelphia, 3.15
5. Detroit, 3.22
22. Dodgers, 4.20
Rotation innings
1. Kansas City, 324.2
2. Arizona, 313.1
3. Pittsburgh, 311.2
4. Philadelphia, 311
5. Tampa Bay, 310.1
29. Dodgers, 259.1
Bullpen ERA
1. San Francisco, 2.48
2. Houston, 2.67
3. N.Y. Mets, 2.91
4. Minnesota, 3.18
5. N.Y. Yankees, 3.25
17. Dodgers, 3.98
Bullpen innings
1. Dodgers, 239.2
2. Milwaukee, 229.2
3. Miami, 221.1
4. Boston, 215.2
5. Chicago White Sox, 212.2
Baserunners per 9 IP
1. Houston, 1.148
2. N.Y. Yankees, 1.149
3. Detroit, 1.156
4. Minnesota, 1.159
5. Texas, 1.161
18. Dodgers, 1.291
Unearned runs allowed
1. Tampa Bay, 10
2. Washington, 12
3. Houston, 13
4. Atlanta, 14
4. Minnesota, 14
20. Dodgers, 22
Fewest walks allowed
1. Minnesota, 133
2. Tampa Bay, 153
3. St. Louis, 155
4. Toronto, 157
5. Kansas City, 158
22. Dodgers, 193
Strikeouts
1. Philadelphia, 531
2. N.Y. Yankees, 528
3. Houston, 519
4. Dodgers, 516
5. N.Y. Mets, 498
Fewest home runs allowed
1. N.Y. Mets, 36
2. San Francisco, 41
3. St. Louis, 42
4. N.Y. Yankees, 46
4. Pittsburgh, 47
24. Dodgers, 69
Saves
1. Philadelphia, 19
1. San Diego, 19
3. Kansas City, 18
3. Seattle, 18
T5. Dodgers, 17
Blown saves
1, Boston, 14
2. Dodgers, 12
2. Athletics, 12
4. Arizona, 11
4. Pittsburgh, 11
4. Chicago White Sox, 11
Yes, I know, that’s a lot of numbers I’ve thrown at you. But before we can analyze any team weaknesses, there needs to be proof of what we are talking about.
And look at those pitching numbers. Not ideal. In the bottom half of most categories. But let me draw your attention to two key stats: The Dodgers are next to last in the majors in innings pitched by their starting rotation. And they are first in innings pitched by their bullpen. The offense has been carrying the team. And if the bullpen continues to pitch this many innings, they will be burned out by the time October gets here.
There is no fix. We can only wait for the pitchers on the IL to get healthy, especially Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell. And for Evan Phillips and Blake Treinen, among others, to return to the bullpen. We are 56 games into the season, and the Dodgers have already used 27 pitchers. They’ve had to use guys such as Ryan Loutos, Noah Davis and J.P. Feyereisen to pitch for them. This does not seem sustainable over a full season. Of course, there’s still 106 games to go.
Muncy and Conforto
The two players still drawing the most negative attention on the team are Max Muncy and Michael Conforto. They both have had lengthy, lengthy, lengthy slumps. But they are both showing signs of coming out of it.
Since May 4, Muncy is hitting .250/.365/.426. That’s solid.
Since May 10, Conforto is hitting .267/.389/.444. Also good.
Some Dodger fans would like the team to trade some prospects for a replacement for Muncy or Conforto, or both. But as we can see in the previous item, the offense isn’t the problem. And with the Dodgers’ luck, if they traded for a pitcher, he’d get hurt in his first appearance.
Or, as the great coach Norman Dale once said, “I would hope you would support who we are. Not who we are not.”
The Yankees are coming
The Yankees come to town this weekend for a three-game series. A rematch of last year’s World Series.
And as good as Shohei Ohtani is as a hitter, Aaron Judge is every bit as good. He’s hitting only .391/.488/.739 this season, with 14 doubles, 18 homers and 47 RBIs.
Some Yankees were upset during the offseason, feeling the Dodgers took too much glee and rubbed it in about the Yankees’ metdown in the fifth inning of Game 5.
Yankees closer Luke Weaver told Times reporter Bill Shaikin recently: “The way I personally look at it is, when you go out and you are on the right side of the victory, you’ve got a leg to stand on. When you lose, you ain’t got much to say. They said what they said. That’s what they felt. I don’t take it too personally. In a perfect world, yeah, you don’t want to hear that type of stuff. We know what happened. We know we had to do a better job. We just didn’t quite do what we wanted to do. With that being said, it is what it is.”
It should be a fun series to watch. And if the Yankees win two of three or sweep, don’t believe it when a sportswriter or broadcaster tells you “The Yankees avenged last year’s World Series.” No, they didn’t. One of the first lessons I learned as a sports reporter: Winning a regular season series the following season does not avenge a postseason loss. People writing that are relying on a tired cliche.
The Tanner Scott problem
Tanner Scott has three blown saves in his last five appearances. costing the Dodgers against Arizona, the Mets and Cleveland.
“I’m not putting [guys] away,” Scott told Jack Harris before the blown save against Cleveland. “I’m not getting the swing-and-miss, and I’m keeping the ball in the zone too much.”
The Dodgers don’t have much of a choice but to keep sending Scott out there (he does have 10 saves), as Harris noted:
“Fellow high-leverage relievers Evan Phillips (forearm discomfort), Blake Treinen (forearm sprain), Kirby Yates (hamstring strain) and Michael Kopech (shoulder impingement) are all out injured. And while Kopech is on a minor-league rehab assignment, and Yates and Treinen are both beginning throwing programs, Phillips’ absence is starting to become “concerning,” Dave Roberts acknowledged this weekend, with the team’s former ninth-inning fixture now going on three weeks without throwing because of an injury initially expected to keep him out for only the minimum 15 days.”
Every closer goes through rough patches. In previous seasons, the Dodgers had so much pitching depth that when a key reliever started to struggle a bit, they could let him pitch in low-leverage situations for a while until he regained his form. This season, they don’t have that luxury. Treinen, Phillips, Yates, Kopech are hurt. The odds are that Scott will rebound.
Chris Taylor update
Chris Taylor, released by the Dodgers last week, signed with the Angels, so he will be staying in the area.
“I’m excited to stay home — I get to live at home,” Taylor said before his first game. “The Angels have been playing really good baseball, so I’m excited to join the team and hopefully get on the field. That was one thing with the Dodgers this year, just my role, I wasn’t getting on the field that much. So I’m really just looking forward to, like, getting consistent at-bats and playing time.
“First and foremost, I want to perform on the field. I want to help this team win ballgames. I feel like I have a lot to prove to myself. I haven’t performed to how I feel I’m capable of playing the last couple seasons, and I kind of want to turn that around.”
On the Dodgers releasing him: “It was emotional. I’ve been on the Dodgers for nine years, but I do believe it was time for me. It was my time to kind of start fresh, hopefully turn the page, start a new chapter. I’m excited to do that here.”
Taylor is one for nine with five strikeouts with the Angels.
All-time leaders
The Dodgers’ all-time leaders in home runs:
Franchise
1. Duke Snider, 389
2. Gil Hodges, 361
3. Eric Karros, 270
4. Roy Campanella, 242
5. Ron Cey, 228
6. Steve Garvey, 211
7. Matt Kemp, 203
8. Max Muncy, 194
9. Carl Furillo, 192
10. Mike Piazza, 177
Los Angeles only
1. Eric Karros, 270
2. Ron Cey, 228
3. Steve Garvey, 211
4. Matt Kemp, 203
5. Max Muncy, 194
6. Mike Piazza, 177
7. Pedro Guerrero, 171
8. Raúl Mondesi, 163
9. Andre Ethier, 162
9. Shawn Green, 162
11. Justin Turner, 156
12. Willie Davis, 154
13. Cody Bellinger, 152
14. Adrian Beltré, 147
15. Dusty Baker, 144
16. Mookie Betts, 140
17. Mike Marshall, 137
18. Joc Pederson, 130
19. Gary Sheffield, 129
20. Frank Howard, 123
Up next
Friday: N.Y. Yankees (*Max Fried, 7-0, 1.29 ERA) at Dodgers (Tony Gonsolin, 2-1, 4.68 ERA), 7:10 p.m., Apple TV+, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Saturday: N.Y. Yankees (Will Warren, 3-2, 4.09 ERA) at Dodgers (Landon Knack, 2-2, 5.22 ERA), 4:10 p.m., Fox, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
Sunday: N.Y. Yankees (*Ryan Yarbrough, 2-0, 3.06 ERA) at Dodgers (Yoshinobu Yamamoto, 6-3, 1.97 ERA), 4 p.m., ESPN2, AM 570, KTNQ 1020
*-left-hander
In case you missed it
Shaikin: ‘Another log on the fire.’ Yankees eager to avenge World Series meltdown against Dodgers
‘A major league shortstop, on a championship club.’ Why Dodgers don’t plan to move Mookie Betts
Dodgers acquire former All-Star closer Alexis Díaz in trade with Reds
Chris Taylor is staying in SoCal. Angels sign former Dodgers utilityman
The simple adjustment the Dodgers hope will get closer Tanner Scott back on track
Shohei Ohtani throws live batting practice session 19 months after Tommy John surgery
‘It’s reimagining team travel.’ Why the Dodgers are using two planes on road trips this year
And finally
Vin Scully and the city of Nashville honor Jim Gilliam. Watch and listen here.
Until next time…
Have a comment or something you’d like to see in a future Dodgers newsletter? Email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latimeshouston. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
