Dodgers notes: Walker Buehler, 11-game win streak, prospect rankings

The Dodgers had seven players win the Rookie of the Year award since the 1992 season, yet only one pitcher— Hideo Nomo in 1995— received such honors. Walker Buehler, who himself finished third in ROY voting back in 2018, feels that rookie pitchers should be more celebrated and acknowledged by introducing a “rookie Cy Young award.”

Steve Henson of the Los Angeles Times writes about Buehler’s thoughts on the Rookie of the Year award where he hypothesizes the new award itself, paying homage to a Dodger legend:

“‘Starting pitchers get paid a lot of money. So what you’re saying is like, Oh, you aren’t as valuable as rookies but we’re still making the same money in the end. I just don’t buy that. For me, it should be a consideration... Let’s have a Fernando Valenzuela Award, the best rookie pitcher ever,’ he said.”

Valenzuela is still the only pitcher in the history of Major League Baseball to win both the ROY and the Cy Young award in the same season. Since the 1981 season, the only pitchers who have finished within the top three of Cy Young voting while winning ROY were Dwight Gooden of the New York Mets in 1984 and the late José Fernández of the Miami Marlins in 2013.

Links

• Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report released his top 10 prospects for each position right now. Dalton Rushing and Diego Cartaya were ranked as the fifth and eighth best catching prospects. Jorbit Vivas ranked ninth among second baseman, Michael Busch ranked fourth among third baseman, and Nick Frasso ranked seventh among right-handed pitchers.
• The Dodgers are riding a blistering 11-game winning streak and have the best record for any team in the month of August, losing just once in 16 games. Down in Orange County, the Los Angeles Angels have scuffled since the trade deadline, sitting two games under .500 and seven games outside of a Wild Card spot. Mirjam Swanson writes about what has gone right for the Dodgers and the complete opposite for the Angels.
• Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic writes about the Dodgers extending their division lead over playoff hopeful teams in the San Francisco Giants and Arizona Diamondbacks, while getting Dave Roberts’ reaction to the recent hot streak:

“I’m not gonna apologize for it,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said hours before another win Tuesday night.