Luplow, Dahl looking for another shot at the ‘show’
Both playing well while waiting for an opportunity
David Dahl began his major-league career in 2016 with a record-tying 17-game hitting streak for the Colorado Rockies and was an All-Star outfielder in 2019.
A year later, he was injured and non-tendered.
Jordan Luplow had a solid 2019 season with the Cleveland Indians, hit a grand slam in the 2021 playoffs for the Tampa Bay Rays.
He’s been traded three times, a free agent three times and claimed off waivers twice since.
Luplow was hitting well above .300 this spring, then was called into the manager’s office at the Atlanta Braves’ spring training complex on March 15 to find out he was being released.
The two 30-year-olds find themselves in the IronPigs clubhouse in the first month of the Triple-A season. They have experienced the euphoric highs of the first major-league call-up, first major-league hit, first majorleague home run and more.
They also have been kicked in the gut more than few times. They’ve been knocked down, been the odd man out and had to recover from multiple injuries. But they’ve crawled out of the rabbit holes every time and found a way to put them into the conversation for a majorleague roster spot.
Dahl took a 10-game hitting streak and a .368/.467/.684 slash line into Tuesday’s game against the Charlotte Knights.
Luplow has at least one hit in 13 of the 15 games he’s played and is slashing .369/.409/.646.
“I feel like I should be up there [in the majors],” Dahl said. “But you’ve got to be where your feet are, hit the ball hard, help the team you’re with win and hopefully get there.
“If not, you know you did everything you could do.”
Dahl’s latest revival came last summer when he was signed by the Dodgers on June 20. Minor league coaches there quickly found fixable problems.
The left-handed hitter batted .075 in his first 10 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City. He batted .324 with 32 runs, 38 RBIs, 26 extra-base hits and 20 walks in the 46 games after that.
“They told me to stop getting caught up in video and the mechanics of the swing,” Dahl said. “But I also began sticking to one set-up. I saw how I set up in the best of times, 2018, tried to copy that, stick with it and quit tinkering.
“Mechanics can get out of whack a lot. But a lot of times it’s in the box, what you’re thinking in there. When you’re thinking in there, you’re going to be late. If you’re late, something will be off mechanically. So, it was a lot of trying to relax, hit the ball hard and know the results will take care of itself.”
Luplow took a short break after the 2023 season before hooking up with a hitters’ group in Arizona that included Cody Bellinger, Cole Tucker and Jamie Westbrook among others.
The instructor worked with Luplow on adjusting the launch angle of his swing to be between 7 and 22 degrees, less than the standard 25 to 30 degrees of those looking to increase their home run totals. But Luplow understands where he’s at in his career. He’s not a 6-foot-4, 250-pound slugger capable of 30-plus home runs a season.
The California native needs to find as many hits as possible. Any hits.
“A couple years ago, I had a bone spur taken out of my landing side’s ankle,” Luplow said. “Then I wasn’t using my front side because it was really bothering me. I was pulling off a lot of balls, hitting a lot of ground balls to short and third. I may clip balls here and there, but that’s not where I needed to be.
“He said right away, ‘We need to fix that.’ Then he worked on changing my mentality [with my launch angle]. You look up the stats now and throughout history. If you’re between 7 to 22 degrees for pitches at 89 mph and lower, you have a .750 batting average. When it’s from 90 to 120, it’s .751 with a similar OPS.
“That range changed my mentality. I’ve got to play here in Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia, Boston, in the cold air. It’s tough to get it out.”
The swing path adjustment also gives Luplow the best chance to squeeze out an extra hit or two every week.
Though Luplow and Dahl have recovered many times from getting knocked down by the game’s many cruelties, it doesn’t get easier. There are battle scars — physically and emotionally. Baseball’s business side can be cruel when a player least expects it.
Luplow’s office call this spring was prompted by the Braves re-signing Adam Duvall. Luplow has learned to look at both sides of the equation, which allows him to understand what is happening.
Duvall is only a career .232 hitter with a .291 on-base percentage. But he had a league-leading 113 RBIs and helped the Braves win the 2021 World Series.
Luplow’s perspective doesn’t take away the chip on his shoulder or the eliminate the frustration. It just helps him move on.
He continued to hit this spring with the Phillies after getting the pink slip a few days earlier from the Braves. He brought with him the approach he committed to in the offseason.
It is keeping him in the conversation as the Phillies continue to go with an outfield combination of Johan Rojas, Brandon Marsh, Nick Castellanos and Cristian Pache, a career .173 hitter in parts of five MLB seasons with three teams.
Dahl is right there with Luplow because he’s committed to the swing he pulled from his 2018 season, the one that’s led to his hot start to 2024.
The two have been labeled as platoon players, bench player options. They believe they can be more, but they will do anything to find themselves in another major-league clubhouse.
Opt-outs, injuries, trades, etc. make it unlikely either one will finish the season with the IronPigs, but the two know the only thing they can control is their play.
Dahl’s windows of opportunity have been reduced over the years largely because of injuries: lacerated spleen, rib fracture, low back pain, shoulder surgery, ankle sprain, strained quad. He’s never played more than 100 games in any season.
For now, ice baths start Dahl’s days at the ballpark. He and Luplow avoid tinkering with their swings every time a mini slump occurs. They also don’t bring the game home with them and avoid social media at all costs.
That combination gives them the best chance to get their next promotion. They have a combined decade of major-league experience. They have memorable moments and battle scars to prove it. They are willing to do whatever it takes, again, to get out of Triple-A.
“The last two or three years especially,” Luplow said, “it’s been a bumpy road. You just learn from your experiences.
“You never know what’s going to happen. It doesn’t matter whether you’re doing good or bad, you could end up wherever. It keeps you on your toes.”