Tarik Skubal just delivered a ridiculous performance against the San Francisco Giants, throwing seven scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts on only 75 pitches in his final regular season tuneup. No walks, just pure dominance on Friday night, a perfect way to cap off his regular season. This dude has been a force since joining the Dodgers, boasting a 2.72 ERA and 3.06 xERA over 158 2/3 innings this season. In his 10 starts for the Dodgers, those numbers improved even more, hitting a 2.61 ERA, 3.15 xERA, and a nasty 23.2-percent strikeout minus walk rate.
Skubal’s Filthy Performance Sets the Stage
Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci is calling Skubal the “latest ace” to join that Dodgers rotation, and honestly, after that kind of outing, who can argue? He’s looking absolutely locked in for an October run, which is exactly what you want to see from your top arms heading into the business end of the season. Skubal himself summed up the vibe perfectly, saying, “It’s awesome to be a part of something where the standard is winning a World Series. That’s the way everybody goes about their business, from ownership to president to GM to manager to players, and then you talk about support staff and the chefs in the kitchen, the flight attendants … They all go out of their way to make sure you have everything you need to go out there and perform. I feel like everyone in this organization is rowing in the same direction and everybody wants a World Series just as bad as the players do.” That’s a unified vision, man.
The Front Office Mystery and Rising Prospects
Meanwhile, Baseball Prospectus’ Jarrett Seidler has been dropping his rankings of all 30 MLB front offices, and the Dodgers landed at No. 2 overall. They’re in the top tier, right there with the top-spot Brewers and the No. 3 Rays. Seidler gives them huge props for trades, draft acquisition, player development, and research. He even claims they’ll be one of the best teams deep into the 2030s, especially after landing Shohei Ohtani. So, what keeps them from the top spot? Seidler points directly to the Kyle Tucker deal from seven months ago, calling it a contract “trending towards being the literal worst contract in the history of the sport.” That’s a wild call against a front office otherwise praised for brilliance!
Their farm system is still churning out talent, too. Baseball America just named Josue De Paula their Double-A Player of the Year after he snagged Texas League MVP. Easton Shelton was Class-A Player of the Year and California League MVP. Eduardo Quintero got the nod as High-A Player of the Year, even though Charles Davalan beat him out for Midwest League MVP. Shoutout to James Tibbs III (Triple-A DH), Jake Gelof (Double-A 3B), Davalan and Zach Root (High-A), plus Chase Harlan (3B) and Jaron Elkins (OF) for making All-Star teams at their levels.
With Skubal firing on all cylinders and that winning standard ingrained from top to bottom, this Dodgers team is absolutely locked in for what’s ahead. That relentless drive for a World Series is something to watch out for.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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