D-backs beat the Dodgers at the Latrine! Also, the Rangers signed a two-way player from Korea who’s still in high school. Could he be the next Ohtani?
Game Recaps
Arizona Diamondbacks’ offense erupts early en route to series-opening win over Dodgers by José M. Ramiro [AZ Central]
Game 1 at Dodger Stadium this season went to the Diamondbacks, 9-5 over their Los Angeles rivals on a night that Arizona hit three home runs and overcame three home runs from Dodgers stars.
The Diamondbacks (26-22) built a 7-0 lead and made it stand, helped by a two-run shot for Geraldo Perdomo in top of the eighth inning. Perdomo tied his career mark for homers in a season with six, and with it ensured that every batter in the starting lineup got at least one.
Diamondbacks much sharper than Dodgers in series opening win by Alex Weiner [SI]
The D-backs (26-22) won their fifth game out of their last seven, and they improved to 3-2 against the Dodgers this season.
It was very clear which team was sharper early on.
With two on and one out in the first inning, Eugenio Suarez hit a high pop fly to center field for a routine play. Dodgers center fielder Hyeseong Kim seemingly lost the ball in the sky, and right fielder Teoscar Hernandez did not get over in time to save the play.
Diamondbacks News
Torey Lovullo Discusses Hot D-backs Topics by Aaron Hughes [SI]
Q: ”A lot of people don’t like the prescribed days off policy? What does a manager have to do to stay true to himself?”
A: ”There are agreements I have to follow. When my boss says do it, I have to do it, and when the medical team who studies the human body tells me something, I do it. I follow the program so that in September, we will be ready. I need to protect the player the best way I can,” Lovullo said.
Diamondbacks’ Torey Lovullo confident Ryne Nelson can step up in Eduardo Rodriguez’s absence by Bailey Leasure [Arizona Sports]
Lovullo told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Monday that Nelson’s performance could make his decision difficult of who will be in the starting rotation when Rodriguez returns from the IL.
“We know Eduardo is on the shelf 12 more days by the rule and he’s gonna get some opportunities to block out that noise and makes this decision really hard on us,” Lovullo said. “I know he’s ready for this opportunity and I’m really eager to see him do it.”
Bryce Jarvis Takes Step Forward In Conversion to Starting Pitching by Jack Sommers [SI]
Bryce Jarvis was the lone bright spot, throwing five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and one walk, and striking out three. He lowered his ERA with the Aces to 5.94
Jarvis had been converted to a reliever by the Diamondbacks in August of 2023. All but one of his 61 major league games has been in relief. Since he was optioned back to Reno, however, he’s been getting stretched out into a starting role. The five innings and 76 pitches were the most he’s thrown so far.
Around the League
Rangers sign Korean two-way high schooler Kim by Kennedy Landri [MLB]
Have the Rangers signed the “Korean Ohtani”? Well, they sure hope so.
The club announced on Sunday that it signed Korean two-way player Seong-Jun Kim as an international free agent.
Kim, a shortstop and right-handed pitcher, is in his final year at Gwangju Jeil High School in South Korea and will graduate in January 2026, at which point he will join the organization.
Catchers Are Finally Joining in on the Fun at the Plate by Leo Morgenstern [FanGraphs]
Catcher is the most demanding defensive position, and as a result, offensive standards for backstops are lower. The average wRC+ at catcher is typically about 10% worse than the big league average. That means that a team whose catchers produce a 100 wRC+ will usually rank among the majors’ top third, even though you wouldn’t want to see those catchers batting higher than the bottom third of the order. This is so often the case that most of us take it for granted. For instance, if I were chatting in a sports bar instead of writing for FanGraphs, I might say that Austin Wells (101 wRC+), Bo Naylor (99 wRC+), or J.T. Realmuto (102 wRC+) has hit “pretty well for a catcher” this year, without even bothering to check how well the average catcher has actually performed. Unfortunately for those guys, I’m far more comfortable sitting behind a computer than sitting in a bar, so I did look into how well catchers have hit in 2025. What I discovered is that, at least for now, I’m at no risk of overusing the phrase “for a catcher” after all. Just past the quarter mark of the 2025 season, catchers have a 101 wRC+.
FanGraphs Power Rankings: May 12-18 by Jake Mailhot [FanGraphs] {Ed. Note: The Diamondbacks fell back one spot to 12th in this batch of power rankings.}
Poll: How Effective Has the Prospect Promotion Incentive Been? by Nick Deeds [MLB Trade Rumors]
Over the first three years of the incentive’s existence, four players have earned a PPI pick for their team: Julio Rodriguez, Gunnar Henderson, and Corbin Carroll all did so by winning their league’s Rookie of the Year award, while Bobby Witt Jr. did so last year by finishing second in AL MVP voting. That’s more than one player per year bringing in an extra pick for their team, and that collection of some of the league’s brightest young stars would have otherwise been prime candidates for service time manipulation; all were viewed as among the game’s best prospects, and all except Carroll had not yet signed an extension with their club although both Witt and Rodriguez would do so later on. The Mariners, in particular, had a history of manipulating service time with their best prospects including a controversy surrounding their handling of then-top prospect Jarred Kelenic.
How Christian Yelich is carrying on Bob Uecker’s legacy by Jesse Rogers [ESPN]
Yelich met Uecker just days after being traded from Miami to Milwaukee in January 2018. Brewers ownership sent a plane to pick up their new star outfielder, and on it were Uecker and Hall of Famer Robin Yount. Since that day, the two had been close — hanging around the office, dugout and batting cage, often with the Brewers’ managers, Pat Murphy and previously Craig Counsell (now managing the Cubs). But in Milwaukee, everyone deferred to Uecker.
“Ueck was always first,” Counsell recalled with a smile. “That’s just how it works. Everyone wanted it to be that way. Even the best player. He wanted it that way.”
Question of the Day
This was inspired by several comments in the GDT on Friday. I have no idea, who brought it up originally, so I apologize for not being able to ascribe credit to the OP.