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Los Angeles Dodgers: Player grades for the month of April

By Jason Reed

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 10: Manager Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on prior to a game against the Oakland Athletics e at Dodger Stadium on April 10, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 10: Manager Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on prior to a game against the Oakland Athletics e at Dodger Stadium on April 10, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Dodgers
(Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Dodgers /

Relievers:

  • RP Wilmer Font: F

Wilmer Font was pretty bad for the Los Angeles Dodgers, there is no way around it. Font does not even find himself in LA anymore and is now a part of the Oakland A’s bullpen, where he has allowed three runs in two innings pitched.

  • RP Scott Alexander: F

Man, I was so excited about Scott Alexander after the Dodgers traded for him this last offseason. A groundball producing machine, Alexander looked to be a significant upgrade from the departing Tony Watson and could have been the southpaw setup man for the Dodgers. Instead, a 6.35 ERA forced him to the minors to figure things out.

  • RP Ross Stripling: A+

At the time of writing this, Ross Stripling has not yet made his start against the Arizona Diamondbacks and the stats could become much different because of it. However, as a reliever, Stripling has been nothing short of excellent for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Stripling has thrown the most innings out of the bullpen (14.1) and has allowed the least amount of runs (one) aside from Adam Liberatore, who has only thrown five innings. He is the latest starter turned reliever to turn into a specialist for the Dodgers, joining Joe Blanton and Brandon Morrow of years past.

  • RP Tony Cingrani: C-

To be fair, Tony Cingrani was having a B, B+ worthy month of April before appearing on April 27 against the Giants. In that contest, Cingrani allowed four earned runs in just 0.1 innings pitched. The start before that, a controversial balk ultimately lost the game for the Dodgers. Because of that, Cingrani gets a C-.

  • RP J.T. Chargois: A-

Before the season, I touted J.T. Chargois as a guy that could emerge as a huge player in the Dodgers bullpen. So far in 2018, Chargois has been the second or third-best arm out of the bullpen. In 10.1 innings pitched, Chargois has allowed just two earned runs in tune to a 1.74 ERA.

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  • RP Pedro Baez: C+

Pedro Baez is an interesting pitcher. For a long time, I have defended Baez as he has been great for the Dodgers in the past. However, Baez’ lack of controlling his fastball has hurt him and the Dodgers in some big spots this year.

However, Baez has also given the Dodgers’ countless great innings. If he can iron out that fastball control, he can be an elite reliever in the big leagues. When he is on he is unhittable, when he is off, he can be awful. Baez’ six earned runs allowed have spanned over four appearances out of the 13 appearances he has made this year.

  • RP Josh FIelds: A-

With Brandon Morrow departing to the Chicago Cubs, Josh Fields has stepped up as a reliable hard-throwing right-hander to bridge the gap to Kenley Jansen. Fields has a 1.46 ERA in 12.1 innings tossed this season and has even logged a save.

  • CP Kenley Jansen: D-

Kenley Jansen has been the most disappointing arm of the entire staff thus far this season. Something has seemed wrong with Jansen, his velocity has dipped and his cutter is not cutting as much. As a result, Jansen has allowed eight runs (six earned) in 9.2 innings pitched with two blown saves, three saves and a loss.

Next: Remembering each starter's first start

This is concerning for someone who last season was arguably the most dominant pitcher in all of baseball.

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