Yeah, but will they hit?

David Pinto of Baseball Musings is doing hitting projections for all MLB teams, and today is the Dodgers’ turn.

I don’t want to criticize the lineup too much, since apart from Seager, the starters project to OBPs between .334 and .352. They are the Lake Woebegone of OBP, everyone above average. All those are good, and all could easily vary 20 or 30 points from their projections. The Dodgers take the value of OBP literally, and every one batting will have plenty of chances to drive in runs.

The calculations are detailed at his site, so I won’t go into them here. His work is always interesting.

55 thoughts on “Yeah, but will they hit?

  1. Old friend Paco Rpdriquez is released by the Braves. He did well for us. I believe he pitched for the Dodgers the same year he was drafted.

  2. It looks as if we Oaklanders have gotten rid of the Davis Crime Family – for good this time, hopefully.

  3. Started reading “The Last Innocents: The Collision of the Turbulent Soxties and the Los Angeles Dodgers”. The author, Michael Leahy, is quite good and not your typical sportswriter book. Nothing startling so far, in terms of players and their stories, but a different angle for the usual rah-rah approach. One thing I wasn’t aware of, was Tommy Davis and the other black players on the team pushing for the integration of the stands and facilities at Holman Stadium in Vero Beach.

    • The timing of the article is the only reason for Hill to be included. Avilan and Jansen both have ERAs over 7, Ravin has been as bad as Fields, and Gutierrez still below the Mendoza line after starting 0-19.
      Still, it is spring and these are accomplished players for the most part – they’ll normalize. Players do have the ability to turn it on when it matters more. Better in March than in May.

      • Yeah, and a lot of options available if things don’t work out. AGon is the one I might worry about, given his age.

  4. I won’t watch tonight’s game, but am hoping Japan wins. Too many Gnats on the US team.

    • Toles to the rescue! You know what they say about pitching, well the Dodgers mantra has been “you can never have too many outfielders”.

  5. Given that each team has one Dodger, Pagán is the difference-maker. Go, Netherlands!

  6. Big week coming up in terms of how the rotation might look going into the season. Hill pitching against farmers to see if he can regain command of his fastball, and Mac and Ryu needing to sustain what they have been doing, though they seem to want to go slow with Ryu. Wood appears to have at least the fifth slot, but neither Stripling nor Stewart appear ready and stretched out enough yet to claim a slot of the vets struggle and Kazmir seems doubtful. Urias on track not to break camp with the team. Oaks starts against Japan, so maybe he can knock on the door if needed. Baseball Reference doesn’t seem to be following ST, as in years past, so I am not necessarily on top of things.

    • The Hill and Oaks starts apparently both went well against Brewer farmers and Japan, respectively. Mitchell White, a second round 2016 draft pick, also impressed against Japan and appears to be on the fast track to the Bigs.

    • Maybe Link can get him to order the MLB to make Dodger games available on the Islands.

      • We get them. SportsNet LA is part of my $140/month cable package with the two cable boxes and the HD pkg. My third TV is basic analog cable only so I don’t get it in my bedroom, but I don’t watch in there anyway,.

        • That’s great! (just recall you complaining for years on the MLB blackout policy regarding the Islands).

          • Oh, that’s still a problem sometimes. Certainly on MLB Network. I’m blocked from non-Dodgers’ games on that and occasionally on ESPN as well.

  7. I have no real favorite in the WBC, but I’d sorta like to see the neighboring countries of Venezuela and The Netherlands in the championship game.

  8. “The Lake Woebegone of OBP” is a good one. He does 30 iterations of the “best” lineup switching the various players around and they all come in at around 4.9 runs per game.

      • Last year Dodgers were at about 4.5 versus 3.9 against, when our run differential was third best in the NL. Cubbies were best at 1.3