Dodgers: Five Disappointing Dodgers of the First Half

Sergio Romo – 1-1 6.12 ERA

When the Dodgers signed Sergio Romo to a free agent deal this offseason, they thought they were getting a big time reliever with postseason experience that would help bridge the gap to Kenley Jansen. Instead, Romo has struggled mightily and is presently more of a mop-up pitcher.

While Romo is still striking out more than a batter per inning, he is allowing the highest opponent’s batting average of his career at .240. Romo has also allowed seven home runs this season which is more than he gave up all of last season and is already only two off from his career-high (which was of course over an entire season).

Romo is also only three walks away from setting a career-high in that department, and he still needs to get through the whole second half.

Things went downhill from the start, as Romo had an ERA over nine in April. He did rebound a bit in May by allowing an average under .200, but then things dipped again in June when he posted an ERA over five.

Due to Romo’s struggles, the Dodgers are once again in the market for a reliever at the trade deadline. While he still has the second half to try and right his ship, all Dodger fans can do is hope he regains his form from San Francisco since he does have valuable playoff experience.

Scott Kazmir

While it’s hard to have disappointing results without even throwing a pitch in the first half, Scott Kazmir is one of the disappointing Dodgers from the first half. When you sign a three-year deal worth $48 million you had better be on the field earning your money. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, Kazmir has yet to pitch in a major league game this season.

Kazmir is currently rehabbing at Rancho Cucamonga and trying to bounce back from hip issues, but so far he’s had a rough go at it. In his latest rehab start, Kazmir allowed four runs in only three innings. Kazmir was looking to bounce back after posting a 4.56 ERA during his first season in LA but remains grounded waiting to takeoff on his 2017 campaign.

Not only is Kazmir trying to overcome injury, but he is also trying to regain some of his velocity. He usually sits in the low 90’s but in his rehab starts he has been in the mid to upper 80’s. That will barely cut it against minor league competition (given his results in Single-A) let along the big leagues, where he’d get feasted on.

While Kazmir could end up appearing in the big leagues again soon, one would wonder how effective he could actually be if he can’t even touch the upper 80’s on his fastball. Barring a sudden revival, Kazmir is shaping up to be a big time free agent bust.

Adrian Gonzalez – .255 AVG 1 home run

Throughout his entire career, Adrian Gonzalez has been Mr. Reliable or the “Butter and Eggs Man” as the great Vin Scully once called him. In 2017, Adrian has been down with a bad back and has only played in 49 games so far. After going on the DL for the first time in his career, Adrian returned, but his back kept bothering him. Now it appears that Adrian may not return until September, and even when he does, he may not be anything but an expensive pinch hitter.

Gonzalez is on pace to set a career low in just about every offensive statistic such as home runs, runs batted in, batting average, slugging percentage, and OPS.  All in all, it’s safe to say that 2017 has been a nightmare season thus far for Gonzalez. While Cody Bellinger has perfectly filled in for Gonzo, and then some, the Dodgers’ offense would be even greater if it had a healthy Adrian Gonzalez to deepen the lineup and add yet another power threat to it.

While Adrian has fallen into the Andre Ethier category, where you can’t really count on him anymore, it would still be a big boost for Los Angeles if he could get healthy and return to make the LA lineup even more productive.

While Adrian appeared to be declining at the end of last season, he still produced a steady season and gave the Dodgers hope he could be productive until his contract ran out. Now the Dodgers hope he can help contribute to a World Series run in the second half of the season in any capacity, even as a lefty bat off the bench.

Kenta Maeda – 7-4 4.38 ERA

After winning 16 games as a rookie, the Dodgers figured Kenta Maeda would be a staple in their rotation for years to come.  Maeda hasn’t quite had the same success so far in his sophomore season, as he has thrown exactly one quality start a month in the first half.

Maeda also was bounced back and forth from the rotation to the bullpen and missed some time with a hamstring injury, although there were some doubts about the validity of that injury.

At 4.38, Maeda’s ERA is currently almost a full run higher than his rookie season’s 3.48 ERA. Not only has Maeda failed to pitch deep into games, but he has also given up 11 home runs in 14 starts. Most of Maeda’s struggles have been due to his control, as he is leaving more offspeed pitches up in the zone and hitters are making him pay for his mistakes.

Despite having a good record at 7-4, that has been largely due to high run support as the Dodgers average six runs a game in games started by Maeda. To Maeda’s credit, he has been among the healthiest Dodger starters and has answered the call more times than not.

Hopefully, the All-Star Break provides Kenta with a chance to reset and come out strong in the second half of the season. If Maeda gets going, then the Dodgers will have five strong starting pitchers.

Rich Hill – 5-4 3.69 ERA

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To Rich Hill’s credit, he seems to be turning things around with three straight quality starts to end the first-half. The problem is that those are the only three quality starts he made in the entire first half.  After signing a new three-year deal, the Dodgers expected more than three quality starts a half, but that is what they got with Hill, who also missed time due to his infamous blister problems.

In the first half of the season, Rich Hill was more of a four or five inning starter, and that’s not going to cut it when you are expected to be the number two starter in the rotation. Although Alex Wood has now taken that spot, Rich Hill is still being counted on to produce quality starts and be a main cog in the Dodgers’ playoff rotation. Hill was said to have made mechanical changes, and it appeared to pay off toward the end of the first half.

Hill’s first few months were very rocky as he posted an ERA of 4.50 in May and an ERA of 5.04 in June. Combined with taxing the bullpen due to being unable to make it through five innings, Hill was not very useful in the first few months.

Next: Dodgers All Time Top 5 First Half Performances

In his last June start and two July starts, Hill seemed to have found his form as he only allowed a .125 opponent’s batting average and cut down on his walks. With the playoffs essentially being a lock for the Dodgers, Hill could help the team get to the World Series if he is right. Hopefully, these last three starts for Hill are a sign of things to come in the second half.