A tale as old as time. Dylan Dodd, of Elk Grove, Indiana, wowed the masses in March of 2023. In 18 spring training innings pitched, Dodd carried a 2.00 ERA, walked 4, struck out 20, and looked to be destined to become the Braves 5th starter out the gate. Brian Snitker didn’t even know who he was and after his first outing, asked his fellow coaches “Damn! Who is this guy?”
On April 4th, Dodd made his first career start, pitched 5 total innings, struck out 3, allowed 6 hits, and 1 run. Honestly, he didn’t look great but there was enough buzz about him in spring that I wanted to believe that he was the real deal. The next outing: 10 hits and 7 runs in 4.1 innings.
Back to the Minors.
Alex Anthopoulos yo-yo’d Dodd back and forth between AAA and MLB throughout the rest of 2023 and Dylan Dodd was Dylan Dudd in both the majors and the minors, carrying a 7.60 ERA with Atlanta and a 5.91 ERA at AAA.
While guns are notoriously hot in Spring Training, there were reports of Dodd hitting 95 regularly in Northport, but that never showed up during real games as his average velocity was 92 and he hit 94 a few times.
Dylan Dodd’s Future
Dodd was impressive in spring then unimpressive in real games, both in the bigs and the littles. In all likelihood, Dodd will become relief material and the Braves will try to push that fastball up to 95 in short stints to see if he can stick that way. In my opinion, there’s a successful reliever hidden inside him and could come as early as next year should Braves part ways with A.J. Minter.
He was a lot cuter in his 90210 days, but still not bad tbh
I giggled at this.
Livan Soto hit the waiver wire again. Would be nice to see him back. Seems like a great defensive replacement for the bench and he’s still only 23. And he’s Venezuelan.
There are already several people in line for that job. I’m still waiting to see what RHH OFer AA picks up. The answer might actually be none.
You underestimate Livan’s value. He would be a good mentor for both Alvarez and Perdomo. He has 2 options remaining. He is the only Coppy reject to spend significant time in the majors (all others are mostly out of baseball or buried in the low minors). His glove is better than any other options (a good Shewmake replacement at AAA). He’s cheap (especially if AA can dump Fletcher’s salary). The Braves have several open 40-man slots especially considering they will open three more in time. They are looking for players who only require a minimum of playing time and Soto is someone Seitzer might be able to turn around (like Arcia).
I think Eli White is the current leader for the 4th OF spot.
New thread.