Monday, July 08, 2013

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

The Dodgers just announced their June 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 2-1 record with a 2.13 ERA (6 ER/25.1 IP), striking out 21 batters against six walks in eight appearances (four starts) in June. The McKinney, Texas, native held opposing batters to a .269 batting average and ranked among the Pacific Coast League leaders in ERA (2.13, 5th) in the month. The 26-year-old was selected by the Dodgers in the 29th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.

(pic via MILB.com)
Player – OF Nick Buss posted a .289 (28-for-97) batting average, three home runs, nine doubles (T-4th, PCL) and 29 RBI in June. On the season, Buss has been a consistent hitter, batting .279 with 11 home runs and 62 RBI and was recently named a Pacific Coast League All-Star. The Michigan native was selected by the Dodgers in the eighth round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft.

Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts

(pic via his twitter)
Pitcher – RHP Ross Stripling posted a 4-1 record with a 2.29 ERA (9 ER/35.1 IP), striking out 29 against four walks in six June starts. The Pennsylvania native yielded just one home run in his 35.1 innings and held the opposition to a .206 batting average, while his four wins ranked atop the Southern League leaderboard in the month. Stripling has posted a 5-1 record with a 2.21 ERA (13 ER/53.0 IP) in 11 games (nine starts) this season for Chattanooga and will be one of seven Lookouts to represent the Southern League North Division in the All-Star Game. The 23-year-old was selected in the fifth round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of Texas A&M University.

(pic via MILB.com)
Player – OF J.T. Wise posted a team-leading .351 batting average (20-for-57) with 20 hits, six doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and a .422 on-base percentage in 21 June games. The 27-year-old is the great nephew of former Yankee second baseman Bobby Richardson, an eight-time All-Star who was also the Most Valuable Player of the 1960 World Series. Wise, who attended the University of Oklahoma, was selected in the fifth round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft.

Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

(pic via MILB.com)
Player – RHP Jon Michael Redding went 1-1 in June with a 2.70 ERA (5 ER/16.2 IP) in nine games (two starts) for the Quakes. In the month, the 26-year-old did not surrender a home run while striking out 12 in his 16.2 innings and as a starter (last three appearances), has allowed only one run in 12.2 innings. On the year, the Valdosta, Georgia, native has posted a 2.00 ERA (10 ER/45.0 IP) in 22 games (three starts). Redding was selected by the Dodgers in the fifth round of the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Florida Community College at Jacksonville.

(pic via MILB.com)
Player - OF Scott Schebler batted .341 (29-for-85) with six homers and 17 RBI in 22 June games, ranking among the California League leaders in batting average (9th), homers (T-6th), extra-base hits (14, T-9th) and slugging percentage (.647, 5th). On the year, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native has a .308 batting average (7th, Cal League), 15 home runs (T-7th, Cal League) 46 extra-base hits (1st, Cal League), a .616 slugging percentage (1st, Cal League), and a league-leading 10 triples. Schebler has hit safely in 22 of his last 23 games since June 12 and is hitting .415 (39-for-94) during that span. The 22-year-old was selected by the Dodgers in the 26th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft.

Single-A Great Lakes Loons

Player - RHP Scott Griggs went 2-0 and did not surrender a run in nine June relief appearances (16.2 IP), limiting opposing hitters to a .111 batting average with 25 strikeouts, while only yielding six hits. On the year, the La Jolla, California, native has a 2.61 ERA (11 ER/38.0 IP) with 61 strikeouts and is holding opponents to a .161 batting average. As a senior at UCLA in 2012, Griggs established the school’s single-season saves record with 15 in 17 opportunities. Griggs was selected by Los Angeles in the eighth round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

(pic via MILB.com)
Player – INF Leo Rodriguez batted .341 (30-for-88) with nine RBI and 16 runs scored in 24 games in June, recording eight multi-hit performances and a seven-game hitting streak from June 11-16, in which the infielder batted .444 (12-for-27). On the season, the 21-year-old is batting .306 with 49 hits and 14 walks in 47 games. Rodriguez has also excelled against right-handed pitching, posting a .325 batting average with five doubles and eight RBI. A native of the Dominican Republic, Rodriguez was signed as a non-drafted free agent on June 1, 2009.

Rookie-advanced Ogden Raptors

(pic via MILB.com)
Pitcher – RHP Jonathan Martinez posted a 1-0 record with a 0.75 ERA (1 ER/12.0 IP) in his two starts for the Raptors, ranking atop the Pioneer League leaders in ERA and also ranking 14th in the league in with a 1.25 WHIP in June. Overall, Martinez has appeared in 11 games (seven starts) this season between Single-A Great Lakes and Rookie-level Ogden, combining for a 2-3 record with a 4.47 ERA (22 ER/44.1 IP). The 19-year-old was signed by the Dodgers as a non-drafted free agent on May 31, 2011.

(pi via MILB.com)
Player – OF Gerson Nunez batted a team-high .364 (12-for-33) with three homers and seven RBI in the first eight games of the season (June), stringing together a seven-game hitting streak to kick off the year in which he hit .429 (12-for-28). The Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, native has excelled against right-handed pitching, hitting .448 (13-for-29), with all three of his home runs coming against righties. Nunez was signed by Los Angeles as a free agent on Feb. 9, 2012.

Rookie-level Arizona League Dodgers

(pic via Keystone Giants)
Pitcher- RHP Robert Rogers posted a 0-0 record with a 1.50 ERA (1 ER/6.0 IP) in his four June appearances, notching three saves, which tied for the league lead. In his 6.0 innings of work for the month, opposing hitters batted .227 against the right-hander, while striking out four and not allowing a walk. While at Keystone College in Pennsylvania, Rogers set the school record with 245 strikeouts and his career 1.72 ERA is fourth-best in school history. The 22-year-old was drafted in the 32nd round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft by the Dodgers.

Player- INF Justin Chigbogu batted a team-high .342 (13-for-38) in nine June games for the Arizona League Dodgers. The infielder started the season on a nine-game hitting streak that stretched from June 20-30, batting .342 (13-for-38) with all five of his home runs coming during the streak. Chigbogu was recently promoted to Rookie-advanced Ogden, where he is batting .357, 5-for-14in four games. The 18-year-old out of Kansas City, Missouri, was signed by Los Angeles in the fourth round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

Rookie-level Dominican Summer League Dodgers

Pitcher- LHP Wellington Serrano posted a 2-1 record with a 1.17 ERA (3 ER/23.0 IP) and 15 strikeouts against eight walks in five June starts. Serrano has limited right-handed hitters to a .159 batting average (10-for-63) with 14 strikeouts and was signed by Los Angeles on June 2, 2012 as a free agent.

Player- INF Jose Javier batted .296 with 8 RBI in 21 games in June. Javier has been clutch on the season, batting .350 with six RBI with runners in scoring position. The 20-year-old was signed by Los Angeles as a free agent on March 22, 2011.

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* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

How Excited is Nolasco? So Excited He Answers Dodger Fans Tweets!


Not only was Ricky Nolasco elated at meeting up with his old Miami teammate last night (as evidenced by the above photo tweeted out by the @Dodgers), but he was so excited he took to twitter this morning to answer fan questions directly.  I guess you can say he participated in an informal "Tweet Seat" that I will call the "Ricky Cast" - in homage to Vin Scully's "Vin Cast" earlier this season.

Check out some of his responses below.

Ricky starts out easily enough.


Guess who else was excited?



Then, he tells everyone a bit about where he grew up playing ball.  He's a product of Bud Bender Park in Rialto.

Blog Kiosk: 7/8/2013 - Dodgers Links - Vote Puig, Nolasco Starts Tuesday and Qubi?


Check out Andre Ethier at the plate in San Francisco in the photo above.  Pic via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2013.
“He’s learning that guys don’t chase as many pitches as they do in Double-A,” Dishman said. “They tend to lay off pitches they don’t like to hit. He’s learning the more experienced hitter and how to deal with him. So he’s throwing a lot of stuff in between the outings, talking about a lot of situations and watching a lot of video, stuff like that.


Somehow though, possibly motivated by his impending free-agency, Nolasco has regained some of what made him a quality mid-rotation starter. He is missing bats at his best rate since 2010, largely impart to generate more swings in misses on pitches in the strike zone. Pitch selection wise, and velocity wise, he looks very much the same pitcher as the last two years, but he is make more quality pitches and getting results. Once again his FIP is better than his ERA, but even judging by ERA Nolasco has been right around league average and the numbers look sustainable.
  • Sports Cards Info tours the Little League Museum in Williamsport and has pics to prove it.
  • I've just discovered that Topps is releasing a brand new product later this month called 2013 Topps Qubi Baseball Stampers.  They are geared to kids and feature ink stampers of a players signature, portrait or team logo.  Five Dodgers are on the preliminary checklist.  Check out Chris Olds at Beckett for more information.


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* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

2013 Topps Tribute WBC World Baseball Classic Set - The Dodgers Cards

Last week, Topps released their 2013 Tribute WBC set.  It basically includes only 2 current Dodger players - Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez - even though 6 Dodgers participated in the World Baseball Classic.  The other 4 missing Dodgers are Luis Cruz (Mexico), Ronald Belisario (Venezuela), Nick Punto (Italy), and Kenley Jansen (Netherlands).  There also happens to be a Sandy Koufax autographed card, as well.

Check out all of the different Dodgers' cards below.  The first two cards are the base cards.

#61 Adrian Gonzalez                           #97 Hanley Ramirez

Autographed Cards

#WTA-AG Adrian Gonzalez         #WTA-AG2 Adrian Gonzalez

#WTA-HR Hanley Ramirez

WBC International Legends Autographs

#TILA-SK Sandy Koufax

WBC Prime Patch Cards

#WPP-AG Adrian Gonzalez           #WPP-HR Hanley Ramirez

These next two insert sets are all "1 of 1" cards.  Both Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez have a card in each set.  An example of each one is below to view.

WBC Flag Patch Cards

#WFP-AG Adrian Gonzalez

WBC Logo Patch Cards

 #WLP-AG Adrian Gonzalez


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