Max Muncy is among the key gamers who provides depth to the Dodgers’ lineup.
(Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Instances)
The Yankees’ lineup is not any stroll within the park, both.
Whereas the Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, the Yankees have their very own large three in Aaron Decide, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton.
And this October, there hasn’t been a greater trio. Soto and Stanton have had monstrous postseasons, combining for eight house runs and 19 RBIs. Decide rebounded from a gradual begin, belting a few key house runs within the American League Championship Sequence.
A key query: Whether or not the Dodgers can replicate their bullpen-heavy pitching plan, or their consistent-enough beginning pitching manufacturing, from the primary two rounds.
“Can you win a World Series basically running multiple bullpen games?” Scout A requested. “That Game 3-4-5 pocket is where it really shows up.”
Relating to attacking that trio, Scout A put Soto and Decide in a unique class of problem than Stanton.
“You can spin it away on them, but you have to speed them up inside, you have to make them uncomfortable in the box,” Scout A stated. “If you throw too many breaking balls and leave them in the zone, Judge kills in-zone breaking balls. They’re big guys with long arms and want to get extended. If you go fastball away, in-zone breaking balls, it goes right into their swing paths.”
Stanton, alternatively, will be extra prone to sweepers, having slugged simply .349 towards the pitch — a specialty of a number of key Dodgers relievers — this season.
“No question, he struggles with the sweeper,” Scout A stated. “But you need to go hard in to earn that pitch.”
Scout B’s greater query with reference to Dodgers pitching was the bullpen. The supply of prime left-hander Alex Vesia may very well be essential, particularly towards the left-handed-hitting Soto. Scout B additionally pointed to Michael Kopech as a probably key piece, noting considerations about his occasional lack of command over the latter components of the season.
“The ability of that bullpen to continue doing what they’re doing — obviously, injury-wise a big variable is Vesia; but performance-wise, a big variable is Kopech,” Scout B stated.
Scout A made one other remark, noting that past the Yankees’ large bats, the remainder of their lineup is “much more pitchable” than the Dodgers.
“People don’t talk about how good [Max] Muncy is, and he hits fifth or sixth,” Scout A stated. “[Tommy] Edman versus a left-handed pitcher is really good … As a team, they can handle right/left matchups and they’re balanced, all the way down.”
