Dodgers Digest

1 week ago | dodgersdigest.com | Dustin Nosler

Max Muncy has been a fixture for the Dodgers since 2018. His career has had its fair shares of peaks and valleys. When he’s on, he’s as good as anyone. When he’s an albatross in the lineup. For the first month or so of the season, Muncy looked like the latter. He was hitting a paltry .173/.292/.235 through 28 games with five extra base hits — all doubles. Something was clearly off. It didn’t seem like Muncy just “lost it,” because he was still making hard contact — when he made contact, that is.

1 week ago | dodgersdigest.com | Dustin Nosler

When the Dodgers signed Tanner Scott, it was quite the luxury. Yes, we didn’t know Evan Phillips would, eventually, need Tommy John surgery and we didn’t know Michael Kopech‘s season debut wouldn’t come until June, but to add an elite talent like Scott made all the sense in the world. They had been poking around Devin Williams before he was traded to the Yankees and — despite Scott’s struggles this season — it could have be a lot worse for the Dodgers.

2 weeks ago | dodgersdigest.com | Dustin Nosler

It’s weird to be writing about a hitter and trying to figure out what’s wrong as he’s leading the club in runs batted in and has a wRC+ 20% better than league average, but that’s exactly what’s happening here. Teoscar Hernandez began the season on fire and it was looking like his 3-year deal was going to be an absolute steal (and, let’s be clear, it still is). He was one of the Dodgers’ best hitters and best run-producers in a time when guys like Michael Conforto and Max Muncy were struggling.

3 weeks ago | dodgersdigest.com | Dustin Nosler

With Statcast becoming more and more advanced, we now have publicly available information on all kinds of bat-tracking metrics — most notably, bat speed. Bat speed has always, anecdotally, been associated with power and hitting the ball hard. While it’s true swinging the bat harder can lead to harder contact, it doesn’t seem overly important to the Dodgers. Here are the Top 10 bat speeds on the Dodgers.

4 weeks ago | dodgersdigest.com | Dustin Nosler

In an attempt to help with the Dodgers’ shaky bullpen, they’ve acquired right-hander Alexis Diaz from the Reds for right-handed minor-leaguer Mike Villani. Evan Phillips was transferred to the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man roster spot for Diaz. Diaz, 28, is a former All-Star closer for the Reds and the bother of another All-Star closer in the Mets’ Edwin Diaz. In his first two seasons, he pitched to a 2.47 ERA, 3.42 FIP and boasted an 18.4 K-BB%.