Verdugo has been on an absolute tear since he started hitting extra base hits this season. Going to be interesting if we start hearing the words "untouchable" around him as those numbers at age 21 are downright ridiculous. I could see the team being much more willing to move Calhoun and Rios at this point since 1B is taken and DH is not an option for either. Calhoun may actually fetch a solid return from an AL team.
Alex had 2 more hits tonight and Kyle 1 but with a RBI. At Double A Jose Miguel Fernandez has turned in a solid rookie performance for the Tulsa Drillers now hitting .325 with 8 homers and 39 RBI. He's the last Cuban signee I believe and is older at 29 but if he continues MAYBE this frees the FO up to trading Calhoun like you mentioned. Errol Robinson our 2016 6th round pick at Cucamonga got his 1st HR along with 2 hits and 5 RBI. .352 on base, 5 for 6 in stolen bases and has handled SS flawlessly thus far. Obviously our SS position is locked in for awhile, I'm going to make my player watch for this year along with Farmer and Isbandel much like I did with Toles.
Maybe Maybe not.. The offseason trade buzz about Yasiel Puig has died down since he is playing well, so it doesn’t seem like the Dodgers would move the controversial outfielder unless they get full value in return. Interestingly, Rosenthal notes that Puig’s clubhouse reputation is still a work in progress, as “many” Dodgers teammates view Puig “as an annoyance.”
I know I keep saying this, but fuck... Verdugo is practically banging down the door to get a shot .344/.413/.466, 31/26 BB/K ratio, 7 SB, his splits are ridiculous with an OPS of .897 v LHP and a BA/OBP of .352/.418 v RHP. He is doing all of this at AAA at the age of 21, which he turned in mid May. I'm at the point that Forsythe should be considered for a move to the bench and Verdugo should come up to play LF with Taylor moving to 2B full time. That's near elite OF Defense and an insanely stacked lineup.
I'd love to see that, but I can understand why they'll give Forsythe more time. Not only are we still in the first half of the season, but more importantly, we're winning. That said, if Forsythe doesn't get it going soon, they should make this move. No way should he be starting down the stretch if he's still stinking up the place.
In addition to Verdugo's 2 for 4, Calhoun hit another homer, and Buehler struck out 10 with only 1 walk in 5 innings for Tulsa but gave up 2 runs and took the loss. In other news, while at one time SVS owned the PCL... the PCL now owns him. Sad decline and it indicates it's time to cut ties so to not be tempted to bring him back up. There will always be better options.
I understand that it is still early and that they are going to give him at least through the first couple weeks post ASB to start getting things together. The best thing for the team is for Forsythe to get it going as he's been a valuable player for the last couple of years. He gets it going and this FO suddenly can just say, "ok we need a starting pitcher, a reliever and we're done." Forsythe slashing at his .273/.347/.444 from the last two years will look just fine around Belli, Seager and Turner in that IF. I am really curious to find out what the FO is thinking right now with Verdugo, he is apparently hitting the shit out of the ball and a lot of scouts are taking notice. There is another rumor going around(I'm going to post this in the news as well) that teams are once again showing frustration with our FO as they are refusing to even talk about certain players in trade. I wonder if he is one of those guys now in their eyes.
The LAD FO should stamp their feet on certain guys being that they're dealing from a position of power and spending so much money in a revenue sharing league..bottom feeders are already getting more than they should be. They're definitely trying to build a young core that has chemistry, one that can continue to grow together/win a ton going forward..could make the argument that Verdugo should probably be a part of that. With every bomb Bellinger hits, every elite year Seager has, it probably just emboldens them to continue down the path that has them graduating talented everyday talent every year
And logged another couple games in LF Sometimes you move a guy to another position and it effects them offensively, but he's had a few solid offensive games in LF
Verdugo is awesome and is very hot right now no doubt but how much LF has he played? He isn't on the 40 man roster which is a minor problem of course but something to consider. Maybe perhaps they are waiting to see him sustain this performance or still holding out hope for a Dre return. September is the best and only bet IMHO. Update on my last post about Jose Miguel Fernandez, he was called up to AAA and went 2 - 2 in his 1st game. Scott Barlow made his 1st AAA start and pitched 6 1/3, didn't even notice he was called up as well, my bad lol. http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=milb&player_id=605130#/career/R/pitching/2017/ALL
J.P. HoornstraVerified account@jphoornstra 30m30 minutes ago Four OKC Dodgers named to AAA All-Star Game: Willie Calhoun, Wilmer Font, Alex Verdugo, Madison Younginer. Game is July 12 in Tacoma.
From BA Alex Verdugo Just Keeps Hitting Dodgers Midseason Report June 26, 2017 By Bill Plunkett Alex Verdugo turned 21 in mid-May and is one of the youngest position players in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. No big deal—he has been one of the youngest players at every stop since the Dodgers made him a second-round pick out of his Tucson high school in 2014. Verdugo appears to have taken another step forward this season at Oklahoma City, putting him on track to join young stars Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger in Los Angeles before long. Through 68 games, Verdugo hit .344/.413/.466 with three home runs and seven stolen bases. The lefthanded batter ranked among the PCL leaders in average (fifth) and on-base percentage (second), but more impressively for such a young hitter, he had compiled more walks (30) than strikeouts (26). “We continue to be excited about Alex,” farm director Gabe Kapler said. “He has a chance to be a dynamic major league player. He has a special talent and athleticism, and he has begun to refine it. He’s learning to make in-game adjustments to take advantage of his physicality with more body awareness.” Biggest Leap Forward The Dodgers’ signing of righthander Wilmer Font to a minor league contract in December could pay dividends, much like the flier Los Angeles took on outfielder Andrew Toles last year. The 27-year-old Font signed with the Rangers out of Venezuela in 2006 but reached the majors only briefly as a reliever in 2012 and 2013. He had Tommy John surgery along the way and spent additional time in the Reds and Blue Jays systems wrapped around two seasons in the independent Can-Am League. Flashing much better command of his mid-90s fastball, Font was the runaway strikeout leader in the PCL after 15 starts with 112—against 22 walks—to go with a 3.70 ERA. During one stretch he struck out 40 batters in 24 innings. “Font has made an adjustment to throw his breaking pitches for strikes, and he works on this consistently during his side (sessions),” Kapler said. “He’s using his secondary offerings earlier in counts and more frequently, in general, (then he) puts hitters away with his fastball.” Font’s performance has given the Dodgers something to think about. “His command has really come on,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said. “. . . He’s pitched extremely well, and he’s very much put himself on our radar.”
@ColoradoKidWitGame what's a realistic timeline on verdugo? kapler said he's "begun" to refine things so i'm not sure september call up or (possibly) sooner?