Welcome to the Blue, Caleb Ferguson!

We are all about to get a firsthand look at another Dodgers' starting pitching prospect. Last week it was Dennis Santana. This time around we will get to see 21-year-old 2014 draftee (38th round) Caleb Ferguson. He stands approximately 6' 3", weighs a hearty 215 lbs. and is a lefty. You can also follow him on twitter here: @Im_Ferg. BTW, Caleb started this season at Tulsa and was only promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City on May 26th. Now, he's heading to LA -- although, there is no official announcement yet. BTW, it was Ferguson's mom who made the unofficial announcement, via a tweet from Michael Duarte:

Caleb Ferguson’s mom reported on Facebook that her son was called up to the Big Leagues. With Dave Roberts saying Brock Stewart would stay in the pen, Caleb could start Wednesday in Pittsburgh or follow a reliever a la Alexander and Santana did on Friday. #Dodgers

— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) June 4, 2018

Blog Kiosk: 6/4/2018 - Dodgers Links - Sweep!

Max Muncy helped power the Dodgers to come from behind and defeat the Rockies in Colorado, 10-7. He walloped two homers; including a three-run shot in the third inning that brought the Dodgers within two runs of tying the game. They would eventually win and sweep the Rockies in the ninth inning. Per Ken Gunick at MLB.com:

"Every time [he's] in the box, it feels like he's going to get a hit," said manager Dave Roberts. "The energy he brings in the middle of the lineup or top of the order, he's productive."

Photo above of Max Muncy via Matt Kelley at MLB.com on Dodger Insider. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1964 Sandy Koufax threw his third no-hitter of his career. He blanked the Phillies at Connie Mack Stadium, 3-0. Overall, he recorded 12 strike outs and allowed just one walk. In 1968 Don Drysdale threw his sixth consecutive shutout of the season, extending his scoreless streak to 54 innings, when he defeated the Pirates, 5-0. This is also the day Robert Kennedy made note of Drysdale's efforts in a speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles after winning the CA primary. You can watch that portion of the speech here. Soon thereafter, he would be assassinated. In 1972 the Dodgers retired Roy Campanella's number - #39. In 1998 the Dodgers traded Hideo Nomo to the Mets for Dave Mlicki and Greg McMichael. In 1990 Dodgers ace Ramón Martínez struck out 18 Atlanta batters to defeat the Braves, 2-0. His effort tied a club record for strike outs in a game with Sandy Koufax, and was one short of the Major League record.
• Happy Birthday, Lee Magee, George Watkins & Rick Wilkins!

Blog Kiosk: 6/1/2018 - Dodgers Links - We Was Robbed

WTF!

Check out the above screengrab from yesterdays game. Shown is Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco scoring on a single in the second inning to score the first run of the game... But, did he really score? Clearly, he is at least a foot away from home plate. (you can watch a GIF of it here) Nevertheless, no replay was requested, the run counted and the Dodgers lost 2-1. Per Liz Roscher at Yahoo Sports:

Umpire Will Little was fooled, too. As the home plate umpire, he was tasked with making those tough plays, and he missed it. After the game, Grandal told The Athletic that he wasn’t amused. 

“I obviously didn’t know if he’d touched it or not,” Grandal said. “The first thing I said was, ‘Did he tag the plate?’ And (Little) said, ‘Yes.’” 

That, Grandal said, left him with no choice. 

“If he calls him safe and is telling me he tagged the plate,” Grandal said, “there’s no reason to go and tag him.”

It's amazing that no one wearing Blue noticed -- not Dave Roberts, not any of the players in the dugout and not any of the fans who had a bird's-eye view of the play. Nobody saw it; therefore, nobody put up a stink. In a game filled with over 40,000 hometown fans, I find this to be amazing. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1955 the Brooklyn Dodgers set a franchise record when they hit six home runs in a game during their victory over the Milwaukee Braves at Ebbets Field. Duke Snider hit three homers in the contest (becoming the first Dodger to do it twice), to go along with home runs by Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Roy Campanella. In 1962 Don Drysdale defeated the Philadelphia Phillies for the 13th consecutive time - a streak that began in 1958. I remember this next incident so well. In 1997 Wilton Guerrero shattered his bat during an at-bat and immediately scrambled to pick up the bat pieces instead of running to first base. Obviously, home plate umpire Steve Ripley got suspicious and subsequently searched the remains. Ripley found cork, ejected Guerrero and then the league suspended for eight games.
• Happy Birthday, Otto Miller, Ty Tyson, Ray Moore, Chuck Templeton, Ken McMullen & Derek Lowe!

2018 Topps Pro Debut - All the Dodgers Cards

Topps' minor league Baseball card brand Pro Debut officially hit store shelves this week, and I've got pics of every Dodger card available to look at below. Go here for a complete checklist.

This set is stacked with some of the best Dodger prospects currently in our system; including the recently called-up pitcher Dennis Santana. Other notables are Keibert Ruiz, Yadier Alvarez , DJ Peters and Mitchell White. Heck, all nine Dodgers' in the base set are all worth paying attention to.

Something notable is a fun mascot card featuring Tremor of the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes - a Dodgers Single-A team.

Base

#9 Mitchell White                 #38 Ibandel Isabel

Blog Kiosk: 5/31/2018 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Ross Stripling has risen to the occasion. Via Cary Osborne at Dodger Insider:

“When a guy like Kershaw goes down, and Rich Hill, and Kenta gets hurt and Hyun- Jin (Ryu), it’s the next one up (mentality). It’s been great that they’ve trusted me to keep filling that role every five days. I just focus on what I’m doing, my scouting report, Rick Honeycutt prepares me, and just going out when they hand me the ball and get outs till they take the ball from me.”

The right-hander ended the month with a 1.20 ERA — fifth best in the Majors in May by a pitcher who tossed t least 25 innings. In 30 innings, he struck out 41 batters and walked four.

Not only has Matt Kemp surprised us all by leading the Dodger offense, but Ross Stripling has been ace-like. He went seven inning of four hit ball last night to record his third win of the season -- recording nine strike outs and allowing just one run.

Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2018 at Dodger Insider. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1937 the Brooklyn Dodgers ended Carl Hubbell's consecutive-game winning streak at 24 (over two season) at the Polo Grounds by defeating the Giants, 10-3. In 1948 Tommy Lasorda, as a member of the Schenectady Blue Jays in the Phillies system, struck out 25 batters in a 15 inning game to defeat the Amsterdam Rugmakers.  Lasorda has said that he likely threw more than 300 pitches that day. In 1965 the Dodgers, for the first time in history, field an all switch-hitting infield in the second game of a doubleheader against the Reds.  The players were Wes Parker, Jim Lefebvre, Maury Wills and Jim Gilliam.  In 1968 Don Drysdale pitched his fifth consecutive shutout -- while on his way to breaking the scoreless innings streak. This is the game where a Giants batter was called out on a bases loaded hit-by-pitch since he was ruled to have not made an attempt to get out of the way of the pitch.
• Happy Birthday, George Smith, Kenny Lofton & Dave Roberts!

Welcome to the Blue, Dennis Santana!

Originally signed as a 17-year old shortstop out of the Dominican Republic, Dennis Santana is now poised to make his Major League debut in a Dodger uniform as a pitcher soon. Per his own tweet, he was called at midnight and told to jump on a plane to Los Angeles. He's a big leaguer now! Per a Dodger press release:

The Los Angeles Dodgers today placed right-handed pitcher Kenta Maeda on the 10-day disabled list with a right hip strain and recalled right-handed pitcher Dennis Santana (#77) from Triple-A Oklahoma City.