Blog Kiosk: 8/29/2014 - Dodger Links - Dodger Prospects Threw Two No Hitters Yesterday

It was an amazing day for Dodger minor league pitchers yesterday.  Not only did their Arizona League (rookie class) Dodgers throw a combined four-pitcher no hitter in the afternoon, but Chattanooga Lookouts (AA affiliate) hurler Andres Santiago also threw a 1 to 0 no hitter against the Tennessee Smokies.  Holy Cow!

Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA:

Santiago struck out a season-high 12 on the night, and flirted with a perfect game. He retired the first 22 batters before Christian Villanueva walked with one out in the eighth inning. Two pitches before the walk, Villaneuva nearly had the first hit of the game for the Smokies, a roller up the third base line that went foul just before reaching the bag.

Andres Santiago is 24-years old and is from Catano, Puerto Rico.  He was drafted by the Dodgers in 2007 in the 16th Round, and has slowly risen up the ranks since then.  Santiago has spent the last three seasons in Chattanooga.  The photo above is of Santiago speaking to the crowd after his accomplishment, via the Chattanooga Lookouts on twitter.

The first no hitter of day was performed by the Dodgers rookie league affiliate Arizona Dodgers.  Via Teddy Cahill at MLB.co:

Left-hander Jairo Pacheco combined with three relievers -- Kam Uter, Yeuri Gonzalez and Harlan Richter -- for a no-hitter Thursday, and the Rookie-level Dodgers defeated the Brewers, 10-0.

Jon Wesiman at Dodger Insider shares a photo of the no hitter battery, here.

Who thought that 2014 would be the year of the no hitter for the Dodgers? On a side note, I wonder if any franchise has recorded four no hitters, from low minors to the Majors, in one season.  Anybody know?

Since the Giants won their Thursday afternoon game against the Rockies, the Dodgers lead over them shrinks slightly to 4.5 games.  Now, below are some links to check out:

• Via Christopher Jackson at Albuquerque Baseball Examiner, "Pederson reflects on MVP season with Isotopes."

"It's a pretty humbling award that I got to win," Pederson said of being PCL MVP. "I mean it's exciting, I've never won a player of the year award. It's my first, I feel good about it. It's kind of a relief for all the hard work I've put in. It's a nice cap at the end of the season."

• Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "Dodgers send (Victor) Arano to Philadelphia to complete Hernandez deal."
• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Without Vin Scully there might not have been a Dodger Stadium." 
• Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Justin Turner proves invaluable to Dodgers."

“I don’t even know how you calculate [WAR] or what, exactly, it means,” Turner said. “I know sabermetrics is a big part of it nowadays and I know that’s a big sabermetric number, but I don’t really pay attention to it. Any time you have success, it’s gratifying, especially when you know how difficult the game is.”

It goes beyond those numbers, though. For the second time this season, Turner has filled in for one of the Dodgers’ most unsung players, Juan Uribe, and made his absence virtually invisible.

“Shoot, to be honest with you, I’m not sure where we’d be if he hadn’t been here,” Wallach said. 

• Via Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest, "Dodgers’ prospect Jose De Leon making a name for himself."

De Leon uses a fastball that sits in the 91-94 MPH range and maxes out at 96 MPH. The thing that separates it from many other fastballs in the organization is the movement. It’s a running fastball that hasn’t yet correlated to a high ground ball rate, but it could. If nothing else, it has enough movement to get hitters to miss it or make weak contact with it.

• Topps just released their 2014 Throwback Collection poster cards on their website and it includes a couple of Dodgers in the set: Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig.  Check them both out below.  The prints measure 10" x 14" and are printed on 16pt trading card stock.  Go here to check them out.  The Kershaw print on the left is limited to #/49 copies, and the Puig card on the right is the "Aqua Edition" limited to only #/10 copies.  The "1 of 1" parallel cards called the "Gold Edition" have already been sold.

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Blog Kiosk: 6/24/2014 - Dodger Links - All-Star Dee Gordon, World Cup Fever and Don't Trade Kemp

Zack Greinke did not have a happy homecoming in Kansas City yesterday.  In just over 5 innings he allowed 5 earned runs on 11 hits.  On top of that, the Dodgers offense sputtered in the cavernous stadium.  The Dodgers lost 5 to 3.  Fortunately, the Giants also lost, so we didn't lose any ground.  Pic above via @Dodgers on twitter.

• Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Dee Gordon's All-Star case."

“I would absolutely love it,” Gordon said. “If I don’t, I don’t. And, honestly, I’m not supposed to be where I am anyway, but that would definitely be something that’s cool. My whole family would be there.” 

• Via Nick Cafardo at the Boston Globe, claims that the Red Sox have been watching Matt Kemp.  Sounds creepy to me.  On the other hand, Rob Bradford at WEEI says there is no truth to the rumor.  It seems to me that the annual parade of rumors, innuendo's and fake headlines is starting right on time.  As always, I suggest ignoring these stories.  None of these "in the know" guys know what they are talking about.
• Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest that, "There is no benefit to the Dodgers trading Matt Kemp."

There is no benefit to trading Kemp. If the Dodgers did trade him, not only would they have to a large portion of the $107 million he’s owed from 2015-19, the return would be miniscule at best. For Kemp to have any real trade value, he’d have to be hitting well for a few months. If that were the case, the Dodgers wouldn’t want to trade him anyway.

For the record, I agree with Dustin on this one.  Of all the outfielders we could trade, I would consider Kemp to be the least desirable to go since he has the best upside.  Besides, I always thought Ethier would be a better candidate for a trade.

• Via Chad Moriyama at Dodgers Digest, "Down On The Farm Update: Games Of 6/16 – 6/22 – Seager, Leon, Pacheco."
• A hearty Blue Heaven congratulations to all the folks who were elected to enter into the 2014 class of the Hockey Hall of Fame; especially former longtime Kings defenseman Rob Blake.
• Some Dodgers have World Cup fever.

After that Mexico goal, Adrian Gonzalez grabbed a Mexican flag and ran around the #Dodgers clubhouse as if he had scored.
— Bill Shaikin (@BillShaikin) June 23, 2014

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Here are August's Dodger Pride Award Winners - Minor League Players of the Month for August

The Dodgers just announced their August Dodger Pride Award Winners.  This award celebrates the franchises best performers in the Minor Leagues.  

Check them out below.

Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes

(pic via Milb.com)

Pitcher – RHP Red Patterson posted a 1-1 record with a 1.57 ERA (5 ER/28.2 IP), which was the second-best mark in the Pacific Coast League in August, and allowed just 17 hits in five starts in the month. Patterson capped off the season with three consecutive quality starts, while allowing two runs or less in all five of his starts in the month. The 26-year-old, who was originally selected by the Dodgers in the 29th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft, finished the year at 7-4 with a 3.03 ERA in 39 games (12 starts).

(pic via MILB.com)

Player – OF Nick Buss posted a .321 batting average (36-for-112) with two home runs and 19 RBI in 29 August games. His nine doubles tied for the fourth-best total in the Pacific Coast League in the month and on the season, Buss batted .303 with 17 home runs and a PCL-best 100 RBI. Following the season, the 26-year-old was honored with a selection to the All-PCL Team, as elected by the league’s field managers and media representatives. Buss was originally selected by the Dodgers in the eighth round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Southern California.

Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts

Pitcher – RHP Ross Stripling posted a 1-3 record with a 1.67 ERA (6 ER/32.1 IP), the fourth-best in the Southern League, in six August starts. Stripling, 23, limited opposing hitters to a .238 batting average (29-for-122) during the month, while striking out 24 and walking only 10. On the year, Stripling combined to go 8-4 with a 2.82 ERA in 27 games (22 starts) with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Chattanooga in his second professional season. 

Player – OF Joc Pederson ranked among the monthly Southern League leaders in home runs (7, T-3rd), walks (19, 4th) and on-base percentage (.387, 11th) in 26 August games. He was named the Southern League Player of the Week for the period of August 12-18, batting .435 (10-for-23) with three home runs and eight RBI in six games. Pederson, 21, finished the season with a .278 batting average and 58 RBI in 123 games, while leading the Southern League with a .497 slugging percentage and ranking among the league’s best in home runs (22, T-2nd), stolen bases (31, T-3rd), on-base percentage (.381, 3rd) and runs scored (81, 2nd).

Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

Pitcher – RHP Lindsey Caughel posted a 0-1 record with a 2.20 ERA (8 ER/32.2 IP) in five starts during the month of August. Through the end of the regular season, Caughel led the Quakes with both 116.2 innings pitched and 112 strikeouts, while ranking seventh among California League qualifiers with a 4.01 ERA. Caughel, who is slated to start tonight’s decisive Game 3 of Rancho Cucamonga’s first-round playoff series against Inland Empire, combined to go 4-10 with a 3.63 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) with the Quakes and Single-A Great Lakes this season.

Player – INF Chris Jacobs posted a .363 batting average (29-for-80) with seven home runs and 15 RBI in 21 August games. He led the California League with a .738 August slugging percentage, tied for the monthly lead in homers and ranked among the circuit’s best in batting average (4th), extra-base hits (15, 7th) and on-base percentage (.433, 8th). The 24-year-old batted a combined .261 with 17 homers and 52 RBI in 102 games this season with Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Chattanooga in his seventh professional season.

Single-A Great Lakes Loons

Pitcher – RHP Ralston Cash posted a 2-0 record with a 0.71 ERA (1 ER/12.2 IP), while striking out 11 batters against four walks in six August relief appearances. Cash finished the season strong and allowed just two runs (one earned) in 13.2 innings (0.66 ERA) in seven second-half appearances. Overall, in 16 games with the Loons this season, Cash posted a 3.19 ERA and limited opposing hitters to a .206 batting average, while striking out 56 in 53.2 innings. The 22-year-old was originally selected by the Dodgers in the second round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.


Player – OF Aaron Miller posted a .314 batting average (32-for-102) with six doubles, four home runs and 18 RBI, which tied for 10th in the Pioneer League in August. Miller recorded multi-hit games in 11 of 26 August games, while posting hitting streaks of seven (Aug. 22-29) and eight games (Aug. 11-19) during the month. Miller finished the season with a .263 batting average with 13 doubles, nine homers and 48 RBI in 88 combined games with the Loons and Double-A Chattanooga.

Rookie-level Ogden Raptors

(via MiLB)

Pitcher – RHP Scott Barlow posted a 3-1 record in six August starts, posting three quality starts and striking out 22 against just nine walks in 28.0 innings. The 20-year-old finished the campaign with a 4-3 record and a 6.20 ERA in 15 starts for the Raptors in his second professional season after being selected by the Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of Golden Valley High School.

Player – C Kyle Farmer batted .333 (22-for-66) with seven doubles and 15 RBI in 15 August games, including a season-ending nine-game hitting streak. Farmer finished the season with a .342 overall batting average, a .383 on-base percentage and a .532 slugging percentage in 39 games, while hitting .368 (21-for-57) with runners in scoring position.

Arizona League Dodgers

Pitcher – RHP Lenix Osuna finished the season with a 7.0-inning scoreless streak in his last four games and posted a 3.38 ERA (4 ER/10.2 IP) in six relief appearances in August. On the season, Osuna went 2-1 with one save and a 1.82 ERA in 17 relief appearances, while limiting opponents to a .202 batting average. The 17-year-old was signed by the Dodgers on June 10, 2012 out of Los Mochis, Mexico.

(Pic via Bleacher Report)

Player – OF Theo Alexander was selected as the August Dodger Pride winner for the AZL Dodgers as he closed out the campaign with a .392 on-base percentage. During the course of the season, Alexander excelled with runners on base, hitting .292 (14-for-45), and finished the season with a .253 overall batting average, five homers and 20 RBI in 27 games. The 19-year-old was originally selected by the Dodgers in the seventh round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

Dominican Summer League Dodgers

(Pic via Coquivacoa Television)

Pitcher – LHP Jairo Pacheco posted a 0.57 ERA (1 ER/15.2 IP) in four August starts, including closing the season by pitching 12 consecutive scoreless innings in his last three starts. The 17-year-old limited opponents to a .132 batting average (7-for-53) in August and held hitters to a .169 batting average overall, including just a .075 mark (3-for-40) against left-handed hitters. On the season, Pacheco posted a 1-1 record with a 1.24 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 43.2 innings in 17 games (six starts) for the Dodgers after he was signed as a free agent on January 26, 2013.

Player – OF Ariel Sandoval posted a .339 batting average (21-for-62) with seven RBI in 16 August games, including seven multi-hit efforts during the month. Sandoval stole seven bases during the month and finished the season ranked second on the club with 19 stolen bases. Overall, the 17-year-old batted .255 with 16 RBI in 63 games.

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