Dodgers Blue Heaven: Blog Kiosk: 8/29/2014 - Dodger Links - Dodger Prospects Threw Two No Hitters Yesterday

Friday, August 29, 2014

Blog Kiosk: 8/29/2014 - Dodger Links - Dodger Prospects Threw Two No Hitters Yesterday

It was an amazing day for Dodger minor league pitchers yesterday. Not only did their Arizona League (rookie class) Dodgers throw a combined four-pitcher no hitter in the afternoon, but Chattanooga Lookouts (AA affiliate) hurler Andres Santiago also threw a 1 to 0 no hitter against the Tennessee Smokies. Holy Cow!

Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA:

Santiago struck out a season-high 12 on the night, and flirted with a perfect game. He retired the first 22 batters before Christian Villanueva walked with one out in the eighth inning. Two pitches before the walk, Villaneuva nearly had the first hit of the game for the Smokies, a roller up the third base line that went foul just before reaching the bag.

Andres Santiago is 24-years old and is from Catano, Puerto Rico. He was drafted by the Dodgers in 2007 in the 16th Round, and has slowly risen up the ranks since then. Santiago has spent the last three seasons in Chattanooga. The photo above is of Santiago speaking to the crowd after his accomplishment, via the Chattanooga Lookouts on twitter.

The first no hitter of day was performed by the Dodgers rookie league affiliate Arizona Dodgers. Via Teddy Cahill at MLB.co:

Left-hander Jairo Pacheco combined with three relievers -- Kam Uter, Yeuri Gonzalez and Harlan Richter -- for a no-hitter Thursday, and the Rookie-level Dodgers defeated the Brewers, 10-0.

Jon Wesiman at Dodger Insider shares a photo of the no hitter battery, here.

Who thought that 2014 would be the year of the no hitter for the Dodgers? On a side note, I wonder if any franchise has recorded four no hitters, from low minors to the Majors, in one season. Anybody know?

Since the Giants won their Thursday afternoon game against the Rockies, the Dodgers lead over them shrinks slightly to 4.5 games. Now, below are some links to check out:

Via Christopher Jackson at Albuquerque Baseball Examiner, "Pederson reflects on MVP season with Isotopes."

"It's a pretty humbling award that I got to win," Pederson said of being PCL MVP. "I mean it's exciting, I've never won a player of the year award. It's my first, I feel good about it. It's kind of a relief for all the hard work I've put in. It's a nice cap at the end of the season."

Via Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider, "Dodgers send (Victor) Arano to Philadelphia to complete Hernandez deal."
Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Without Vin Scully there might not have been a Dodger Stadium."
Via Mark Saxon at ESPNLosAngeles.com, "Justin Turner proves invaluable to Dodgers."

“I don’t even know how you calculate [WAR] or what, exactly, it means,” Turner said. “I know sabermetrics is a big part of it nowadays and I know that’s a big sabermetric number, but I don’t really pay attention to it. Any time you have success, it’s gratifying, especially when you know how difficult the game is.”

It goes beyond those numbers, though. For the second time this season, Turner has filled in for one of the Dodgers’ most unsung players, Juan Uribe, and made his absence virtually invisible.

“Shoot, to be honest with you, I’m not sure where we’d be if he hadn’t been here,” Wallach said.

Via Dustin Nosler at Dodgers Digest, "Dodgers’ prospect Jose De Leon making a name for himself."

De Leon uses a fastball that sits in the 91-94 MPH range and maxes out at 96 MPH. The thing that separates it from many other fastballs in the organization is the movement. It’s a running fastball that hasn’t yet correlated to a high ground ball rate, but it could. If nothing else, it has enough movement to get hitters to miss it or make weak contact with it.

Topps just released their 2014 Throwback Collection poster cards on their website and it includes a couple of Dodgers in the set: Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig. Check them both out below. The prints measure 10" x 14" and are printed on 16pt trading card stock. Go here to check them out. The Kershaw print on the left is limited to #/49 copies, and the Puig card on the right is the "Aqua Edition" limited to only #/10 copies. The "1 of 1" parallel cards called the "Gold Edition" have already been sold.