The Dodger’s injury riddled pitching staff got even thinner on Wednesday evening when right hander Kenta Maeda was placed on the disabled list with a right hip strain. Maeda suffered the injury in the second inning of the Dodger’s 6-1 loss to the Phillies on Tuesday. The MRI revealed no major damage but Maeda is expected to probably be out for at a couple of weeks. The Dodgers are hoping he only misses a start or two. In the meantime the Dodgers have called up 22-year old highly touted pitching prospect Dennis Santana.
Today, the Dodgers placed Kenta Maeda on the 10-day DL with a right hip strain and recalled right-handed pitcher Dennis Santana (#77).
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) May 30, 2018
This is a great thing. No, not Maeda’s injury of course, I’m talking about the call-up of Santana. The Dodgers are terrible this year and with nearly half the roster littered with minor league castoffs there’s little chance the Dodgers can contend in 2018. So with the team stuck in fourth place and starting a guy named Breyvic Valera at third base there’s no reason for the team not to give some hot prospects an extended look, especially with all of the injuries to the starting staff.
Santana, a right handed Dominican starter was recently promoted to Oklahoma City. He’s been putting up impressive numbers down on the farm. A couple of weeks ago he struck out 11 in six shutout innings against the Nashville Sounds. That’s the third game this season where Santana has recorded 10 or more whiffs. The young hurler carries a 2.54 ERA and has struck out 11. per nine innings this year. Needless to say the kid has got some talent.
But initial reports are indicating that the Dodgers are going to use him in the bullpen as a long reliever instead of letting him make a start when Maeda’s spot in the rotation comes up in the next series against the Rockies in Denver.
Roberts said Santana would be the emergency long reliever on Wednesday and Thursday, but stopped short of committing to him as a starter in Coors Field against the Rockies.
It’s possible that Santana will see some time in a long relief role because the Dodgers are unable to get innings or length from their starters. The Dodgers bullpen which is amongst the worst in the National League has logged a ton of innings over the last week.
Can the Dodgers really afford to keep using Brock Stewart? Even if the Dodgers believe that Maeda only misses one or two starts, they would still be down a starter with Rich Hill still on the disabled list. I understand that the Dodgers may not want to rush Santana’s development at this time, but the needs of the major club are glaring. Why disrupt his starting routine anyways? The Dodgers need a young healthy starting pitcher and like I said above there’s no reason not to at least give the youngster a couple of starts while the club is looking like the modern version of the bad news bears.
Unfortunately it’s unlikely the Dodgers start Santana in the devil’s playground of Coors Field over the weekend. He’s likely to be shipped right back to Oklahoma City. Other than a couple of token relief appearances (if the club is knocked around early in a game) Santana might not see much time with the big club. And that’s a shame.
There’s no reason to use a double negative in the headline.
🙂
Matt Kemp is hitting .349/.379/.560 and is tied with Max Muncy with 7 home runs, is a statement I totally expected to say.
Here’s another one I totally expected to say this year:
Ross Stripling, who entered the night with baseball’s lowest hard-hit rate, has not allowed a hard-hit ball (95 MPH EV) through three innings.
MJ
I wonder how many comments we heard when the season started and before it started that in a little while the Dodgers would be getting rid of Kemp. Remember, it will just be a few days or so and then we could play some real good kids. Well guess what? I am waiting for the ones who didn’t think he could do it to chime in now. Oh ye of little faith. The only thing wrong with Kemp is having to put up with Dummy.
I just chimed in!
I wanna hear Friedman say “didn’t see this coming”.
I think he’s already said that. Or maybe it was Farhan.
Oh. Maybe he was saying it about Muncey. Or Bellinger. Or Puig. Or Stripling. Or Baez.
Maybe not about that last one.
Package
I never doubted that Kemp could hit, and I knew with our shifts that he would not be a liability in the outfield, because he really wasn’t a liability when he played rightfield here before, he left.
And I knew that we would finally have a good bat in left, because non of our outfielders can hit better then Kemp.
I think Kemp was really hurt after he got traded, and I think that is the reason he lost himself for a while, on other teams.
Because Kemp went through all of those injuries, and after he started coming back, he had one of the best second half’s, in the National League, right before he was traded.
But I am sure everyone that doubted him, is happy he is on the team now, but non of us are right all the time, so I would leave it to that.
MLB’s best ERAs in May:
1. Jacob deGrom: 0.69
2. Justin Verlander: 0.86
3. Jake Arrieta: 0.90
4. Ross Stripling: 0.93
Onetime Dodger and two-time Tommy John surgery alum Nathan Eovaldi, made his first major league start in two years, had a no-hitter through six innings for the Rays, against the A’s and was pulled after 70 pitches.
He was replaced by fellow old-friend, Wilmer Font.
Kemp is proving that you must pay for your help. Pay big, in most cases. He is the superstar the Dodgers have been missing for years. How odd is it to finally get him back like this?! For me, it’s like he’s never been gone.
Why was Turner left out of this game?
Stripling is indeed a surprise, at least for me. He showed glimmers of life in the bullpen last year and carried it forward to this season. He seems to have pulled it all together and has become a worthy starter. And, just at the right time!
I’m looking forward to seeing what Santana bring us. Can’t be worse than HIll or Stewart.
Stripling stepping up again. Kemp mashing again, and Joc again with the situational hitting. Just don’t strike out with ROTLeTTO.
YF
But it sounds like the front office want Joc to now hit with power, but I don’t expect him to put it all together in a couple months, but we don’t need another all or nothing hitter in this line up, anyways.
But he should have been doing this a long time ago, because we have a couple outfielders, that can already hit the ball the other way, and hit with power too, and that is why he is probably finally doing this.
But that shows you it is pretty easy to make contact, when your not trying to hit every ball out.
MJ
I do not think Joc can hit and hit with power. He will either hit like he is now or be all or nothing and go back to striking out more. Actually, I thought he would have slumped down to about .200 by now but he has kept his average up a little. If he was as good as the FO thinks he is the Dodgers would be a shoe in for the WS title.