DODGERS 2019 MINOR LEAGUE/PROSPECTS THREAD

Discussion in 'Los Angeles DODGERS' started by ColoradoKidWitGame, Jan 4, 2019.

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  1. fsudog21

    fsudog21 DSP Legend

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    Begs the question.....was he worthy of a first round pick?
     
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  2. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    He was at the time, but has shown no ability to adjust after falling from his original 1-1 position.
     
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  3. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Kinda been busy, but BA's Top Positional Prospects
    LHP
    19. Caleb Ferguson
    The Padres(4 in top 16) and Braves(4 in top 32) are fucking LOADED here, but the rest of the 40 is fairly AL heavy. 1 from the Rockies in at 38, none from the D'Backs or Giants.

    1B
    12. Edwin Rios
    The Rockies had two guys in the top 11 and of the 3 BA writers, one or the other was selected as their 2019 breakout candidate.

    2B
    11. Jeter Downs

    None for 3B, not surprising with Rios listed at 1B

    SS
    7. Gavin Lux

    COF
    4. Alex Verdugo

    CF
    38. DJ Peters

    RHP
    29. Dustin May
    45. Dennis Santana
    56. Tony Gonsolin
    66. Mitchell White
     
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  4. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Dodgers coming in at #9 for BA's Top Org rankings, which is the same as last year. Padres were not surprisingly #1, D'Backs #21, Rox #24 and Giants #28. Braves(#4) and Reds(#8) are the only other NL teams ahead of them. Some others of note, the Astros came in at #5 led by two of the top prospects in the game, the Cards were #10 and no other NL contender came before #17 with the Cubs at #29.

    Something that is interesting to me is that you could argue that the Dodgers and Astros are the only teams until #19 to have a foundation of solid young players already in the bigs. The Braves being included in that for me is still an ehhh..... They have Acuna who is great, but Albies, Swanson and Newcomb are just so so due to some mediocre offense from the first two and so far meh returns from Sean.

    Dodgers are likely to climb this list next season as most of their top prospects are not expected to exhaust their service time this year besides Verdugo.
     
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  5. Doughty8

    Doughty8 DSP Legend

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    Great work as usual. Can you see a September call up for a Ruiz or Smith? Probably asked and answered but I'll try.
     
  6. Dodgers99

    Dodgers99 DSP Legend

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  7. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    By most accounts, Smith is ready now. They just want to iron out some flaws in his swing and see if they can turn him into something more than an all or nothing hitter. There are a lot of people that think Ruiz will be ready and since he is on the 40 Man plus also a catcher, I have a hard time not seeing him come up in September for a safety net at least. I just think the team is going to give Barnes and then if necessary Smith, plenty of chances to prove themselves before calling up Keibert. There are also a lot of grumblings that he is too aggressive at the dish at present and will need to learn to be a bit more selective.
     
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  8. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    I feel FG has long been in love with May for a while now. I keep seeing people cap him out as a mid-rotation starter and that sorta baffles me. He's big, his stuff has taken sizeable steps forward every year and he is still pretty young, For a guy that is as tall as he is, to be this advanced already is incredibly rare. He may never light up the radar gun with triple digits, but if he can live in those mid 90's with that spin rate and continues on his trajectory, the Dodgers could have a 1-2 punch here real soon that could carry an aging Kershaw.
     
  9. TheKnockdown

    TheKnockdown DSP Legend

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    Honestly, it was worth a gamble. Before his injury he was regarded as a top 10 talent by most scouts. Dodgers have had a lot of success picking guys like that (see Walker Buehler).
     
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  10. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Yeah, I completely agree. I know a lot of folks thought he could be a monster if he could figure things out at the plate. Just pretty frustrating that with all that talent, he still struggles to work out the kinks. Hard to see the light flicking on at this point.
     
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  11. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    FG did a prospect chat yesterday and Dustin May was a conversation piece again. They said that he already possess 3 plus pitches and that one of his breaking pitches is inching towards double plus territory. His command/control is getting into + territory as well. All those things coming together, plus a better feel for his change up this season could put him in #2 starter territory and make him a great fit behind Buehler.... even better if Urias comes back strong and can split those two up.
     
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  12. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Wow, that was a fun spring training game from a prospect hugger standpoint. Through the first two, we have now gotten a look at 9 of the teams top 10 prospects according to BA(no Ferguson yet).
    1. Ruiz- Walked and looked foolish on a big slow hook, but defensively we got a glimpse of the presence he has behind the plate. Broke down on a pitch in the dirt from Gonsolin and pounced on the loose ball quickly for the out at home.
    2. Verdugo - Hasn't squared a ball up yet, but has done a good job with situational hitting to bring in a run in both games already. Something he and the coaching staff have been working on.
    3. Lux- Missed his line drive single yesterday, but he gave us a taste of the throwing issues that seem to plague him when threw a ball across the diamond and managed to get about 40 feet out of it. I'm not worried since he is likely headed for 2B anyway.
    4. May- Looked good after seemingly suffering some first batter or two jitters. Reports are that his fastball was sitting 96-98 which if that is the case..... OH FUCKING YEAH
    5. Smith- K yesterday looked bad, but honestly had no idea Barnes was out of the game behind the dish. VERY similar type players on defense, Smith has a better arm.
    7. Santana- After a walk and stupid play on his behalf, dude settled down to strike out the next 3. Sinker/slider combo looked stellar and it sounds like what I thought was a 2-seamer may have actually been his change that was befuddling dudes. The change being above average is the difference between him being a starter or a reliever as I have seen reports on his sinker being a ++ pitch at times.
    8. Gonsolin- Gave up 3 hits, but it was two weak bloops and a questionable infield hit. Athleticism showed on play at plate and his split-change is certainly filthy. FB was pretty straight which has been a bit of a worry.
    9. White- When he is on, he is incredibly tough to squareup. Velo was 95-96 and I would say the batters did not look particularly comfortable against him. K'd 2, shoulda been 3, but they gave it a walk. Too many pitches, but those readings are a great first sign.
    10. Peters- The man of the match today. He golfed one out and then absolutely mashed a second bomb that landed on the concourse. Both home runs were great examples of his immense power potential. Then came this after the game "#Dodgers Dave Roberts said power prospect DJ Peters has shortened his swing working with the hitting coaches. Gives him a better chance against velocity and pitches inside that he struggled with last season at Double-A". The second ball he clubbed out today was on the inner half. @irish and I were talking about it, but if they figure out a way for this dude to K even somewhere around 25%, he could be a legit star. His high K totals are from him swinging through a lot of pitches in the zone, so him shortening to the ball could have a huge positive impact in the K department. I thought he could be on his way to sliding off the list next year, but there are some positive early signs. Also, looking at the progression of another giant power hitting corner outfielder of recent memory, this guy is on a better track than Judge was. He just turned 23, so Peters does still have time and 2019 could be a HUGE year for him.

    Other Guys
    Rios 3B/1B - Has a couple of hard outs under his belt, but is continuing to hit the ball on the ground a lot which is worrisome after last season. Defense at 3rd has looked positive and he has really trimmed up.
    Beaty UTL - This is a huge spring for Beaty. He had an injury plagued 2018 after a great 2017. Though he hit a HR today, not a lot of power in there, but he has done a great job of hitting the ball where it was pitched in the first two.
    Estevez MIF - The word on him was that after a retooling of his swing last year in the second half, he took off. Folks wanted to see him keep it going this year, but the talent is there. That HR he hit today was sure pretty and showed some slick moves at SS.
     
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  13. Fall Winslow

    Fall Winslow McRib

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    Peters has what you can't teach, what always intrigued me. Size, power, athleticism and of course, for @Doughty8 - looks :dreamer: :D
    Yeah, the ceiling is high here. Higher than Verdugo's. As is the character of the player from what I've read. A very Bellinger-like work ethic as well. He may well work himself into being star, whether it's with LAD or another team.
    Given his potential and impressive character/work ethic, another year of big production and improvements and we're probably going to start hearing about opposing teams having interest in getting Peters in return if and when LAD goes hunting at the deadline. Someone is going to want to work with the kid and exhaust resources on him.
    And it'll be interesting to see if LAD obliges in that scenario because what's the record stand at now in terms of the performance of the kids that they've traded away? Not too impressive.
    If the Tribe somehow flames out by the deadline, and they ask for Peters as a part of the package for Kluber, and LAD says, " OK "..does the Tribe then hang up the phone?
     
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  14. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    really liked what i saw from may
    he looked so calm and composed
    and his 96-98mph seemed so effortless and easy
    also thought gonsolin looked good
    that split change is nasty
     
  15. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    I've been the low guy on Peters due to his VERY high K rate and generally meh hit tool. He does have more upside than Verdugo, but his floor is much much lower. Yesterday was an exciting day for him, so hopefully this is just the start of the positive results we could come to see from his rebuilt swing. The tools are there and he has a good feel for the strike zone, his ceiling is immense if he could harness everything.
     
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  16. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    MLB Pipeline just announced that the Dodgers will be a top 10 org in baseball. Not too surprising, but they are lower on some of our top guys compared to other services.
     
  17. Fall Winslow

    Fall Winslow McRib

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    Needed Gonsolin in the pen in the post. I was looking for it to happen and nope
     
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  18. Fall Winslow

    Fall Winslow McRib

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    I could see the Tribe looking at Peters and thinking " Richie Sexson " all over again. Not that Peters is destined to find his home @ 1B like Sexson, but just the size of the kid and the need for refinement with the K rate. Sexson was a 24th or 25th round draft pick and Peters 4th, so a difference there as well.

    Some, but not a ton of 6'6"-6'7" guys that rake in MLB's history, but Sexson had a pretty good career for himself surrounded by all the steroid madness. 300+ career HRs for Sexson and I think somewhere around an .850-ish OPS if memory serves correctly. But Sexson wasn't really a big star back then..sort of a Klesko level guy. If Peters can be either one of those guys, that'll do
     
  19. Dodgers99

    Dodgers99 DSP Legend

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    Mlb.com unveiled the Dodgers Top 30 prospects, the big surprise for me, Tony Gonsolin. Obviously he had a great season, but I didn't expect to see him in the Top 5, and probably borderline Top 100. We'll as guys like Vlad Jr., Verdugo (maybe), Tucker, Eloy Jimenez etc graduate how close he came to making it.

    http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2019/?list=la
     
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  20. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Finally had a minute to read through these today. Something that stood out was just how many of our guys retooled their swings over the offseason on top of the number of guys that made adjustments in the second half and took off. Lots of intrigue this year with the system. Not a lot if really any stars, but a lot of potential solid contributors (Think Cardinals philosophy). You load your system up with that and every now and then, someone really breaks out.

    As for Gonsolin, some people really love his potential. The folks that aren't in love with him have the same issues that I do. His fastball, while sporting a great velo, is still incredibly flat. His other stuff will need to continue to trend in the right direction for him to hit his or breakthrough that ceiling of his. Pipeline is also really low on Smith after probably being a little too high on him last year.
     
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