DODGERS 2017 MINOR LEAGUE/PROSPECTS Thread

You put it on a tee.

 

Another good outing for Walker Buehler, 1 inning no runs and 2 K's. See you in September!!! Will get alot of guys from OKC as early as 9/1/17 or 9/5 after the season is over.

 

Doc says so far only Brock Stewart and Dre will be included in the initial 9/1 call ups. Brock starting the 1st game of the Padre double dip on Saturday.

 

- Fabio Castillo coming out of the pen tonight for OKC. His second straight relief appearance after becoming mostly a starter the beginning of May. He's done very well as a long reliever, though he got knocked around the other night, he had only given up 2 runs across 18 innings. He is on the 40-man, so the team may be considering him for a bullpen role down the stretch.

- There are some rumblings that Verdugo may not get called up now. This seems VERY far fetched as exposing him to MLB pitching seems logical ahead of 2018, but it sounds like the deal for Granderson may have slowed the teams plans. This is not to say that Verdugo himself is not a reason for this as his play the past few weeks has not been great. They have been resting him and DH'ing him a lot lately so it feels like he may be running out of steam. This would mark the second straight year that he has seen a sizable drop in his production down the stretch.

- Pederson moving to AAA has not had the similar effects on him as did the Puig demotion last year. Still looking for his first multi hit game and is a combined 6-36, 9 K's, 5 BB's, 2B. Still playing LF

- Trayce Thompson has continued to be terrible

- Liberatore got roughed up a bit tonight.

 

Yep.... he's coming. Walker Buehler threw for the second consecutive night tonight. Clean inning, 11 strikes on 16 pitches. First back to back appearances. Guessing this means we won't see him Sept 1, but 3rd/4th seems likely to be the first time we see him on the hill.

 

Yeah Verdugo still needs to grow and mature a little bit, so it would make sense to hold him back
Even if they have him in their plans for next season, if he comes up and struggles now it may hurt his value to some extent
Talked about it a couple days ago, but I really could see CT locking up CF
Maybe what would happen at 2B would be sort of up to Farmer because if they´re confident in him then maybe Barnes would have a legit shot at locking up 2B against RHP
Obviously keep Forsythe for 2B VS LHP
And then they just go Grandy/Kike in LF

 

So I mention him from time to time, but Edwin Rios is continuing to rake in AAA. He has an .856 OPS and his K rate is at 23% since the promotion to AAA. I am really interested to see the updated reports on him as he apparently revamped his swing in the offseason and all he has done across AA/AAA is a .307/.353/.526 with 23 dingers in 490 PA's. He still does not walk nearly enough, but that too has improved since moving to AAA. He has + power and a + arm and I am interested to see if his hit tool is regraded. He has really bad marks on his speed, but I have also heard that he lost weight and is moving considerably better. He has drastic platoon splits, but that could be a sample size thing too as this has not been an issue for him in the past. If his big bat is for real, that could be a huge replacement for Calhoun in the system.

 

Rios is an interesting player. Plays 3 positions and I don't know if he excels at any of those positions. 4 - 5 tonight with a HR and 6 rib eyes. Trayce Thompson tonight showed what he can be but hasn't shown consistently. Went 3 - 3 tonight and "raised" his average to .219, woot woot! Did you see our man Mitchell White went 5 scoreless and how about Tim LoCastro since his call up to AAA.

http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=t238&player_id=641796#/career/R/hitting/2017/ALL

 

Locastro and Beaty have been under the radar good this year. I am interested to hear what folks have to say about them. With the injury, White is going to fall pretty short in the IP category. I wonder if he gets a few more innings in the AFL or if they decide to shut him down. It'd be a bummer if he had to spend a good chunk of 2018 in AA.

 

Seemed like he was hitting .000 for the 1st couple months of the season, so .219 seems like a miracle
Very much a lost season, trying to work back from the back surgery
Have to wonder if he ever regains pre-injury form

 

The Dodgers are cruising into the playoffs with a win percentage just shy of .700 despite a current four-game losing streak. That hasn’t stopped them from tinkering with the roster.

They added righthander Yu Darvish from the Rangers at the trade deadline, picked up center fielder Curtis Granderson from the Mets earlier this month and on Thursday said they would call up No. 2 prospect Alex Verdugo from Triple-A Oklahoma City when rosters expand Friday.

Verdugo, who took part in the Futures Game in Miami in July, is hitting .314/.389/.436 as a 21-year-old in Triple-A, more than five years younger than the average player at that level.

A second-round pick out of high school in Arizona in 2014, Verdugo has moved quickly even in a system known for trusting young players.

SCOUTING REPORT

Verdugo shows an advanced feel to hit, although his line-drive stroke is not geared for power. He has the bulk and bat speed necessary to hit 15-20 homers, but his swing lacks the requisite leverage to consistently lift the ball out of the park. Scouts believe, however, with his raw power he should have at least average playable power in games eventually. His setup in the batter’s box is fairly quiet and he stays within the ball well, content to use an inside-out stroke to shoot the ball to left field when necessary.

Verdugo’s at-bats this season have consistently been good and he shows excellent strike-zone awareness, walking 52 times and striking out just 50 times. His defense is solid-average in center field with fringe-average speed, but his arm grades plus-plus, which could portend a move to right field if his power develops.

There has long been criticism about Verdugo’s inconsistent motor and maturity, but internal evaluators chalk that up to trade rumors that swirled around him as well as the trade of close friend Willie Calhoun.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Verdugo is not expected to be on the postseason roster, but the Dodgers are eager to see him against big league pitching in hopes of getting him acclimated to compete for a job in 2018. He might share time with Chris Taylor in center field or play in a rotation that involves Taylor and Granderson. But the Dodgers are not expecting him to contribute in a big role right away.

 

I would hope by now he's over the Calhoun trade. It'll be good to see what he can do.

 

From Nick Stephens at Baseball census
"Dude has the calmest body language at the plate I've ever seen.With the Dodgers' luck, he's going to be Cody Bellinger v2."
He's a Rockies fan, btw.

 

I thought it was weird that Sportsnet did that buddy buddy thing about the two around the deadline and then traded Willie. That could have given Alex a false sense of security that the club was looking to keep both around. He is going to have to get over that though as he is going to lose a lot of friends in the coming years.

 

No Verdugo in the starting line-up today in AAA. It's really happening!!! (that was for Thinkblue) Kidding TB I'm getting jacked about it too.

 

No Farmer either, but I am not 100% sure he can come back within 10 days or not.

 

Not sure either, another good question and a learning opportunity as well.