Dodgers Dugout: How many runs would a team of nine Freddie Freemans score?

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell, and the Dodgers swept four games from the San Francisco Giants, have won eight in a row and are 19-2 since June 28.

This newsletter began just before the 2015 season. The Dodgers have made the playoffs every season since, winning the division all but once (when they won 106 games) and making the World Series three times, winning one, losing one, and one shrouded forever in “What If?”

Which makes writing a newsletter twice a week during the regular season difficult at times. At no point should this newsletter become a rah-rah cheerleader. And at no point should it focus just on the negative.

But it’s hard to write a lot of negative things during the season about a team that consistently wins games. Every season there are holes on the team. This season it’s the lack of offense from Max Muncy and Cody Bellinger, and problems with injuries in the bullpen and rotation. And writing about that week after week after week is monotonous and beating a dead horse.

Every season has become the same. The Dodgers play well, and it’s obvious by the All-Star break that they will make the playoffs. So the season basically becomes a waiting game for October. “Well, we’ll see what happens in the playoffs.” And, anything can happen in the playoffs.

The only season since this newsletter began that I was convinced the Dodgers were the best team in baseball was 2017. And we all know what happened there.

So, as I continue to get emails from well-meaning readers that I am too positive about the team and need to criticize the team more, and from others saying I am too critical and need to praise the team more. I just wanted to take this time for my yearly reminder of the mission of this newsletter, which many of you know but new subscribers also should be aware of. The newsletter is designed to give the perspective of a longtime Dodgers fan (first favorite player was Jimmy Wynn). To point out the good and the bad. It should (most of the time) feel like we are sitting in the stands watching the game and talking. That’s the hope. Sometimes we will agree, sometimes we won’t. And that’s OK.

So with that in mind, what do we want to talk about today, coming off an impressive sweep against the Giants?

There’s a fun stat out there called Runs Created Per Game. What it does is answer the question “If the lineup was nine Freddie Freemans, how many runs would it score?” If you are interested in reading more about this stat and how it is calculated, you can at baseball-reference.com. Is it a perfect stat? No, there is no perfect stat. It’s just another tool in the drawer we use to evaluate players. So, let’s go through the Dodgers offense and see how many runs the Dodgers would score each game if they had a lineup of only that player nine times.

Freddie Freeman, 8.8
Mookie Betts, 6.7
Trea Turner, 6.5
Trayce Thompson, 6.4
Will Smith, 6.3
Gavin Lux, 6.3
Jake Lamb, 4.8
Edwin Ríos, 4.7
Chris Taylor, 4.7
Justin Turner, 4.7
NL average, 4.3
Zach McKinstry, 3.8
Max Muncy, 3.5
Cody Bellinger, 3.4
Austin Barnes, 3.1
Hanser Alberto, 2.9
Eddy Alvarez, 1.1
Kevin Pillar, 0

The surprising things here are Trayce Thompson being so high (this only counts his stats with the Dodgers) and Muncy being ahead of Bellinger despite hitting less than .160. That’s because Muncy draws more walks (he leads the team and his OBP is higher than Bellinger’s) and hits into fewer double plays. Which is not to say he has been a positive at bat, just to say that you can’t use batting average alone to assess his contribution.

Nine Dodgers are above average in this stat.

The major league leader in RC/27 is Paul Goldschmidt of St. Louis, who is at 10.3. Yordan Álvarez of Houston is second at 10.0 and Freeman is third. The top 10:

1. Goldschmidt, 10.3
2. Álvarez, 10.0
3. Freeman, 8.8
4. Rafael Devers, Boston, 8.5
5. Aaron Judge, Yankees, 8.4
6. Mike Trout, Angels, 8.2
7. Bryce Harper, Washington, 8.1
8. Jose Ramirez, Cleveland, 7.6
9. Austin Riley, Atlanta, 7.6
10. Luis Arraez, Minnesota, 7.5

Magic signings

There’s one thing that Andrew Friedman definitely does better than anyone else in baseball: sign other team’s castoffs and turn them into key contributors. Just look at this season. Thompson is cut loose by the Padres and signs with the Tigers, who sell his contract to the Dodgers for next to nothing. Thompson has 13 RBIs in 25 games. Yency Almonte is a free agent after posting a 7.55 ERA with the Rockies last season. His ERA with the Dodgers is below 2.00. Tyler Anderson comes aboard for only $8 million and is an All-Star.

And it’s not just this season. Friedman signed Albert Pujols and Phil Bickford last season. And then you consider guys such as Justin Turner, Chris Taylor and Muncy, all given up on by other teams. Sure, sometimes it doesn’t work and you get a Billy McKinney or Steven Souza Jr., but the rate of success is remarkable and should be noted.

Speaking of Friedman

He spoke to Times Dodgers beat writer Jack Harris on Sunday. Some key quotes:

What he looks for at the trade deadline and what about Juan Soto?

“It’s more about assessing the specific need, and also the top-end type players that aren’t necessarily a need, but don’t become available all that often. When they do, you always see that process through. ... Any time — and obviously not specifically related to [Soto] — but any time star-caliber players become available, they’re difficult to access. So whenever they do, you always have conversations. But obviously we’ve traded away a lot of really talented young players over the last five years. It’s the omnipresent challenge of balancing the now versus the future.”

What about acquiring some pitching?

“We’re going to be adding some really talented pitchers back in the mix,” Friedman said, speaking of Walker Buehler, Dustin May, Blake Treinen among others. “So the question is, worst case, what if X number of them return, and where do we feel where we have that coverage to put together a championship-caliber pitching staff in October? Obviously, those are the questions we’re going to be wrestling with the next couple weeks.”

Good interview, and well worth your time to read.

Heaney returns

If you look at the upcoming schedule below, you’ll note a “TBD” for Wednesday’s starter. It probably will be Andrew Heaney, who has progressed well in his rehab. Heaney hasn’t pitched since June 19, when he gave up one run in five innings to Cleveland.

Whoops

In the most recent edition of this newsletter, I compared wearing individual team uniforms in the All-Star Game to superheroes wearing their own uniforms when they are in a group, such as The Avengers. Unbeknownst to me, friend of newsletter and former Dodgers postgame talk show host Ken Levine made a similar comparison on his website, only he did it first. Ken did not complain at all, but when I read his All-Star review after mine was published, I was horrified and felt it was only fair to give him credit and link to it, because it’s really a good review. So go here and read it!

The last two weeks

Let’s see how everyone has been doing the last two weeks:

Freddie Freeman, .579/.622/1.132, 6 doubles, 5 homers, 10 RBIs
Justin Turner, .375/.516/.458, 2 doubles, 8 RBIs
Trea Turner, .341/.348/.636, 1 double, 4 homers, 10 RBIs
Will Smith, .324/.425/.588, 4 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 7 RBIs
Hanser Alberto, .313/.313/.563, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 4 RBIs
Gavin Lux, .259/.412/.481, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 homer, 5 RBIs
Trayce Thompson, .241/.333/.333, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 4 RBIs
Jake Lamb, .238/.261/.333, 2 doubles, 1 RBI
Mookie Betts: .233/.298/.419, 2 doubles, 2 homers, 5 RBIs
Cody Bellinger, .194/.306/.290, 1 homer, 4 RBIs
Max Muncy, .115/.306/.308, 2 doubles, 1 homer, 6 RBIs
Austin Barnes, .111/.222/.111, 1 RBI
Zach McKinstry, 0 for 1

Team: .294/.375/.519, 24 doubles, 4 triples, 15 homers, 6.9 runs per game.

Starting pitchers

Tyler Anderson, 0.00 ERA, 12 IP, 7 hits, 4 walks, 10 Ks
Clayton Kershaw, 2.92 ERA, 12.1 IP, 6 hits, 2 walks, 12 K’s
Julio Urías, 3,60 ERA, 15 IP, 10 hits, 3 walks, 16 K’s
Mitch White, 5.40 ERA, 10 IP, 11 hits, 4 walks, 4 K’s
Tony Gonsolin, 9.00 ERA, 5 IP, 7 hits, 1 walk, 6 K’s

Relievers

Caleb Ferguson, 0.00 ERA, 5.1 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk, 3 K’s
Craig Kimbrel, 0.00 ERA, 5 IP, 5 hits, 0 walks, 4 K’s, 2 saves
Yency Almonte, 0.00 ERA, 4.1 IP, 2 hits, 3 walks, 5 K’s
Brusdar Graterol, 0.00 ERA, 2 IP, 0 hits, 0 walks, 1 K, 1 save
Evan Phillips, 1.80 ERA, 5 IP, 2 hits, 3 walks, 6 K’s, 1 save
Alex Vesia, 5.79 ERA, 4.2 IP, 3 hits, 1 walk, 7 K’s
David Price, 6.75 ERA, 2.2 IP, 8 hits, 1 walk, 3 K’s, 1 save
Phil Bickford, 13.50 ERA, 4 IP, 6 hits, 3 walks, 6 K’s
Reyes Moronta, 16.20 ERA, 1.2 IP, 1 hit, 2 walks, 2 K’s
Team: 9-1, 3.64 ERA, 89 IP, 69 hits, 28 walks, 85 K’s

Injury report

10-day IL

Chris Taylor, OF, broken left foot. Taylor took batting practice Saturday and could start a minor-league rehab this week.

15-day IL

Brusdar Graterol, RHP, right shoulder inflammation. Graterol is playing catch and could be back before the end of the month.

Andrew Heaney, LHP, left shoulder inflammation. Barring some unexpected setback, will start Wednesday.

60-day IL

Walker Buehler, RHP, strained right forearm. Will play a light game of catch Monday, his first time throwing since the injury.

Danny Duffy, LHP, left elbow. He is throwing and could be available before the season ends.

Victor González, LHP, left elbow inflammation. He had arthroscopic surgery and could return in August.

Daniel Hudson, RHP, torn ACL. Hudson is out for the season.

Tommy Kahnle, RHP, forearm discomfort. His return date is unknown.

Dustin May, RHP, Tommy John surgery. Pitched two innings for triple-A Oklahoma City on Friday. Struggled with his command, which is to be expected. Should be back before the season ends.

Jimmy Nelson, RHP, Tommy John surgery. It is extremely unlikely that he pitches for the Dodgers this season.

Kevin Pillar, OF, broken left shoulder. Out for the season.

Edwin Ríos, 3B/1B, torn right hamstring. Out since June 2 and not expected back until late August.

Blake Treinen, RHP, right shoulder discomfort. Threw a bullpen session Saturday and felt good. No timetable for his return.

These names seem familiar

A look at how players who were with the Dodgers last season are doing this season for other teams (through Saturday). Click on the player’s name for more detailed statistics:

Matt Beaty, Padres, .108/.175/.189, 7 OPS+, on IL with a shoulder injury

Josiah Gray, Nationals, 7-6, 4.40 ERA, 92 IP, 78 hits, 39 walks, 106 K’s

Kenley Jansen, Braves, 4-0, 3.53 ERA, 35.2 IP, 25 hits, 8 walks, 49 K’s, 22 saves

Joe Kelly, White Sox, 1-2, 6.75 ERA, 18.2 IP, 21 hits, 13 walks, 27 Ks, 1 save

Corey Knebel, Phillies, 2-5, 2.95 ERA, 36.2 IP, 26 hits, 24 walks, 34 Ks, 12 saves

Sheldon Neuse, A’s, .226/.285/.300, 72 OPS+

AJ Pollock, White Sox, .231/.270/.333, 71 OPS+

Albert Pujols, Cardinals, .221/.303/.383, 97 OPS+

Luke Raley, Rays, .083/.185/.083, -17 OPS+

Keibert Ruiz, Nationals, .244/.304/.339, 88 OPS+

Dennis Santana, Rangers, 3-6, 4.26 ERA, 38 IP, 30 hits, 15 walks, 28 K’s, 1 save

Max Scherzer, Mets, 6-2, 2.28 ERA, 75 IP, 54 hits, 13 walks, 98 K’s

Corey Seager, Rangers, .249/.322/.473, 125 OPS+

Steven Souza Jr., Mariners, 19 at-bats, .158/.158/.158, -4 OPS+, announced his retirement last week

Yoshi Tsutsugo, Pirates, .175/.260/.240, 44 OPS+

Edwin Uceta, Diamondbacks, 0-0, 4.26 ERA, 12.2 IP, 8 hits, 6 walks, 7 K’s

Andrew Vasquez, Blue Jays, 0-0, 8.10 ERA, 6.2 IP, 6 hits, 3 walks, 6 Ks, on 15-day IL

Up next

Tonight: Washington (Paolo Espino, 0-3, 3.57 ERA) at Dodgers (Tony Gonsolin, 11-0, 2.02 ERA), 7 p.m., SportsNet LA, TBS, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Tuesday: Washington (Josiah Gray, 7-6, 4.40 ERA) at Dodgers (Mitch White, 1-2, 3.78 ERA), 7 p.m., SportsNet LA, TBS, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

Wednesday: Washington (*Patrick Corbin, 4-13, 6.02 ERA) at Dodgers (TBD), noon, SportsNet LA, TBS, AM 570, KTNQ 1020

*-left-handed

Stories you might have missed

With Juan Soto on the block, Andrew Friedman looks ahead to Dodgers trade deadline plans

Should Diego Cartaya fans be worried? Five takeaways on the Dodgers’ MLB draft

Walker Buehler set to take another significant step in comeback from injury

Plaschke: Luis Castillo, not Juan Soto, should be Dodgers’ top trade target

Trevor Bauer’s accuser says in court filing her allegations were not ‘false’

And finally

Gil Hodges is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Watch and listen here.