DODGERS 2019 MINOR LEAGUE/PROSPECTS THREAD

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

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  1. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Something that is already making me nuts... One of the top college pitchers in the country has been none other than Dodgers first round pick, J.T. Ginn. He is getting a lot of pub early on and it is pretty frustrating to see now knowing that he wanted an insane signing bonus. Hopefully the Dodgers can get something decent with his pick this year.
     
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  2. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Dustin May was supposedly hitting 99 again the other night against the Cubs.
     
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  3. Bluezoo

    Bluezoo Among the Pantheon

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    Chubbing up or the potential SP ?
     
  4. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    This was from the 11 hitters that impressed this spring on BA


    5. Alex Verdugo, OF, Dodgers

    Verdugo shows no fear at the plate and takes hacks against both righthanders and lefthanders. He recognizes the breaking ball early and does a great job of keeping his hands back. Finally, the Dodgers may have found a lefthanded hitter who doesn’t have extreme platoon splits and can be an everyday outfielder regardless of the opposing pitcher. He went 0-for-3 with a walk in the first and only game I saw him against the Rangers on March 18, but here’s a great point between scouting and analytics. He never looked overmatched. He got his barrel into the hitting zone every time, he was a tough out and he made solid contact versus lefthanders.

    The spring training numbers don’t jump out at you, but for me it's how he swung the bat and how comfortable he looked in the batter's box. Verdugo is going to break camp with the big league team, and if he gets the requisite at-bats, he’s definitely a NL Rookie of the Year candidate for me.
     
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  5. Bluezoo

    Bluezoo Among the Pantheon

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    May the gods grant you are absolutely correct.
    I want so much to believe in this kid, but as of yet, it hasn't happened for me.
     
  6. BigDaddyKaine

    BigDaddyKaine DSP Legend

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    If he is so good, why has he not been given an opportunity to prove so sooner?
    He sounds exactly like what we have missed for so long
    doesn't make sense
    Maybe they are trying to develop a chip on his shoulder. idk
     
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  7. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    MiLB rosters have been announced. Here are some notables:
    AAA OKC:
    P's Tony Gonsolin, Dennis Santana, Stetson Allie, Josh Sborz and some guy named Clayton Kershaw will be their OD starter
    C/IF/OF: Will Smith, Matt Beaty, Edwin Rios
    Gonsolin is the most intriguing name on this list after his impressive spring. Most feel he is best slotted for a mid rotation spot or in the bullpen if some other things don't come together, but the development of a second elite pitch still has him with an incredibly high ceiling. Most believe that with the Dodgers rotation being fairly stacked, both Gonsolin and Santana will not break in with the club unless it is a bullpen role or something truly catastrophic happens. Sborz and Allie both have a ways to go to be anything more than low leverage middle relievers. Sborz has seen a decent uptick in velo since moving to the pen, but his secondaries took an unexpected step back. Allie is still throwing 100+ with an absolute wipeout slider, but both come with serious spells of command/control problems. Allie has a tendency to center cut his fastballs and make that slider not even close to worth offering to. When he is on though, he can be scary. Smith is probably going to get a full season at AAA to get over his serious contact issues. Beaty and Rios will be the first guys up after injuries due to their versatility. Rios showed some serious positives on defense this spring, but his bat has sadly taken a step back as he continued to beat the ball into the ground. If he can get his launch angle back to 2016-17, dude could be a monster threat in the second half of the year.

    AA Tulsa is stacked:
    P's: Dustin May, Yadier Alvarez, Marshall Kasowski, Andre Scrubb, Mitch White
    C/IF/OF: Keibert Ruiz, Omar Estevez, Gavin Lux, Cristian Santana, DJ Peters and Cody Thomas.
    This is from BP this morning:
    Dustin May headlines the bill for a stacked Tulsa squad. The No. 2 prospect in the Dodgers system brings a three-pitch mix featuring a heavy sinker, excellent breaker, and enough inconsistency of command to make life interesting. Catcher Keibert Ruiz (3) and shortstop Gavin Lux (5) fill out the top of the marquee. The Dodgers confirmed that the young switch-hitter is a step behind Will Smith on the organizational depth chart with his return placement here. The crazy thing? He’ll still be one of the youngest players in the league this year. Lux brings flash with the bat and developing instincts in the field, and is as well-positioned as any prospect to jump into next winter’s 101 with a strong showing.

    Elsewhere on the roster Mitchell White (9) will be a repeat visitor to Tulsa to see if he can continue his comeback from injuries that have hampered his career. Yadier Alvarez will try to come back from whatever it is that’s holding back his raw talent. Cristian Santana brings big bat speed and swing-and-miss to the hot corner (though his corner position already started to cool on the regular last year). And if you’re not satisfied with one top catching prospect, Connor Wong’s development may be something to set an alert for. He’s caught in the logjam at High-A to start, but he’ll likely bring his tools to Tulsa for further refinement in short order. —Kate Morrison and Wilson Karaman

    They were considered the second most intriguing team in the league behind the Padres Affiliate. Lots of dudes on this roster that could impact the club as soon as this year. Many of these guys are "prove it" types that need to show that last year was not a blip and if they do, almost anyone of these guys could find themselves in at least OKC by July.

    HiA Rancho:
    P's: Gerardo Carrillo, Michael Grove, Jordan Sheffield, Edwin Uceta
    C/IF/OF: Connor Wong, Jeter Downs, Starling Heredia, Jeren Kendall and Carlos Rincon
    At this point, there is not a a lot of star level intrigue here. Grove and Downs are the most intriguing guys going into the season, but besides that the roster has a heavy dose of underperformers. With that said, this team could get a whole hell of a lot more interesting VERY quickly as guys like Josiah Gray, the currently rosterless Zach Willeman and Diego Cartaya are rumored to be candidates to see some HiA ball this year. Cartaya would be an extreme, but I have seen a couple people that believe he will find his way to Rancho sooner rather than later as he is just that good.

    LoA Great Lakes:
    P's: Gray,
    C/IF/OF: Jacob Amaya, Leonel Valera, Miguel Vargas
    Some breakout candidates here to watch and there has been a surprise or two every year that comes outta here. Could also see Willeman or Cartaya here as well. Cartaya making the most sense. I think Willeman will skip mainly due to the shitty weather the first month in that league.

    Notables absent:
    P: Zach Willeman, John Rooney, Braydon Fisher, Robinson Ortiz and the ever absent Morgan Cooper
    C/IF/OF: Diego Cartaya and Errol Robinson

    Some notable recent draft and signees here. Willeman and Cartaya are the biggest potential "stars". Since there are a lot of pitchers with not a whole lot of mileage, they are probably getting held back to work on some things and see a heavier workload towards the end of the year. Notable control and velo issues with some of these guys that the club likely wants to correct up close. Cartaya is more than likely going to the AZL or Rookie League, but I saw some folks that thought he is advanced enough for the Dodgers to dramatically challenge him like they have with their advanced catchers in the past.
     
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  8. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    One other thing to note about the Dodgers system is that they are due for just one notable "graduation" this year. Alex Verdugo is the only player that is presumed to exhaust his service time within the Dodgers Top 12 with Edwin Rios being the only other one in the club's top 30. Granted, injuries and other events happen, but on the surface the club is not likely to see any of the players come up soon enough to wipeout prospect status. Though there are certainly some guys who on the surface appear to be good enough to get that shot. This will likely mean that the Dodgers will be in the Top 10 for systems in the game in 2020.
     
  9. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Beyond the Box Score, which is an analytical site, has a stat called KILA. A couple of the other prospect sites also have items like this that are used to project how a MiLB players numbers will translate in the pros. This is by no means ironclad as a lot of these are being adjusted yearly as newer and newer tech is becoming available in the minors. With that said the Dodgers had 4 of the top 50 rated bats last year(woulda been 5 with Diaz). #4 overall on the list was Jacob Amaya and this would fit with the talk about him being a potential breakout candidate in 2019. Also on the list were Miguel Vargas, Jared Walker and Gavin Lux. The 3 guys ahead of Amaya are legit prospects Wander Franco and Vlad Jr, as well as Rays prospect Nate Lowe who put up monster numbers across two levels before dramatically cooling off in AAA.
     
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  10. lastatman

    lastatman DSP Legend Staff Member Moderator

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  11. Doughty8

    Doughty8 DSP Legend

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    So you're saying don't go see Rancho lol. GREAT work as per usual sir.
     
  12. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Some notes after the first weekend of MiLB Games:
    • Watch how the Dodgers are using their relievers. Early on they have deployed their more intriguing relief prospects in multi inning roles. With the 3 batter minimum coming next year, the club is looking like they are going to get out ahead of this thing and potentially use their pen to get through the order potentially one time... it also helps that they used many of their top relievers as starters first.
    • Josiah Gray had great first game of the season, only giving up 2 hits and 2 walks with 6 K's in a 4.2 inning start. Got written up for a noteworthy performance.
    • Oooohhhhh Dustin May.... 5 IP, 2 H(just one out of the IF), 9 K's, 1 BB. Reports are that he was working in the UPPER 90's and used his developing changeup incredibly well. I think this is why he is still in AA so that he can adjust to using it more. Almost everyone has him pegged for the middle of the rotation, but these continued steps forward have folks singing a different tune. I have seen some folks that think he still has a couple more MPH's in him, which would be pretty great.
    • Mixed results out of Tony Gonsolin in his AAA debut last night. 4 IP, 3H, 2 BB, 3 ER, but 8 K's in the short outing. Command/Control is the biggest key for him moving forward.
     
  13. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Not a super great start to the season down in the MiLB Ranks for the clubs top 30 prospects, but some positives from the guys that are closest to being ready. A couple guys in the Top 10 are continuing to look solid, but there are a lot of mixed results coming in at the end of the first month with a few key injuries. Verdugo has been a revelation and is making the Pollock deal look increasingly more idiotic by the day. He has been everything he has been advertised to be and more with his lightning quick swing and ++ arm. Anyway, here are the results from the top 30

    1. Ruiz- Off to a horrid start in his second stint in AA. Still putting the bat on the ball at a near elite clip, but he also not taking any walks or hitting with any power. K #'s are fantastic, but he has got to start making better contact.
    2. May- While not making any hot lists of late or seeing really anything about him in general, Dustin May is having himself a damn good start to the season. Have seen bits and pieces around, but it sounds like the club is having May throw his change A LOT, which is the pitch he needs to master next to jump into #1-#2 guy in the rotation. Looks like he has sat 94-96 in his starts with touches of 98-99 here and there. Second start of the season was a mess, but only 1 ER in the other 4.
    3. Lux- He is not putting up the incredible numbers of a year ago, but he is still doing some good things. Hitting the ball on the ground a lot more than he did last season, which he will need to fix. Playing mostly SS where all his E's have taken place. I expect a step back offensively as the team is working hard to correct his woes on the other side of the ball. Still a good start to the season.
    4. Gonsolin- He is dealing with a side injury that is SAID to be minor. Has only made 2 starts and this was supposed to see him back after missing just one, that was over 2 weeks ago. Fingers crossed that he is back soon.
    5. Smith- After a horrendous end of the 2018 season and a rough spring, I was beginning to worry about Smith. He then got off to a torrid start in AAA, before seemingly falling off again the last week where he has struck out 42% of the time. Would be nice if this kid could find some way to stay a bit more consistent. He had been hitting with power and not K'ing over the first two weeks, so this stretch has been frustrating. Still could be getting the call today with no Pollock for the foreseeable future.
    6. D Santana- I am officially on the worried train here. Didn't look great with the big club and since going back to AAA, he hasn't been all that impressive either. Santana's velo is down a couple ticks since coming back from injury, his slider is having consistency issues and he didn't seem to come close to hitting the upper 90's velo he had flashed in the past. Crossing my fingers here that he is still building up strength and will be back after getting into a routine.
    7. Downs- Rough start to his Dodgers career. He is putting the ball in the air a whole lot, but not getting the results he wants. Seems to be utilizing his speed when he does get on, but otherwise have not heard much of anything on him.
    8. White- Word is that he is still struggling finding consistency and his velo is all over the map... as is his command. It sounds like he has lost a bit of something on his once 60-80 graded cutter/slider. Like Santana, he could be running out of time before being thrown into a pen situation. He has not been bad numbers wise, but the reports I am hearing are very meh.
    9. Cartaya- Will be in the DSL
    10. Peters - Rough spring turned into a rough start of the season. Power has started to show up the last couple of games, but he is now striking out more than ever after the swing change that garnered so much hype during ST. Swing changes come with a learning curve, so hopefully he starts figuring it out here soon. Been putting the ball on the ground a lot here early.
    11. Amaya- A lot of under the radar hype for this kid and he has had a solid start to the season in the frigid MWL. I'll take a .780 OPS in April there.
    12. Rios- Dude, please wake up. Has not been the same since his injury last season. Defense has taken a big step forward, but power has been zapped, striking out a ton and hitting the ball on the ground too much. If he could get back to hitting the way he did in 2017 and playing D the way he is now, he is a potential starting position player. No idea what is wrong with him.
    13. Wong- Well his second go around in HiA is not going great. The club made some adjustments to his swing to help make him whiff less, but that hasn't happened in the early going. Still hitting for pop, but he needs to find more holes. Made a slick throw from his knees this week.
    14. Grove- Up and down start to the season which was expected for a guy coming back from TJ. Velo has wavered a bit, but has flashed repertoire of middle of the rotation starter in brief instances already. Needs to continue to build up arm strength, but good early signs here.
    15. Kendall- Still struggling to make contact, but finding ways to get on base at least. Walking a lot early could be a sign of some pitch recognition. Hurt now and still working out kinks in swing.
    16. Alvarez- Also from the disappointment category... Alvarez had a shitty start to his season and is now hurt. Growing concerns that this guy doesn't give a shit about getting better and has spurred Dodgers coaches on many occasions. I think he could be gone soon.
    17. Gray- The other half of the big Dodgers-Reds trade is off to a fine start to the season and reports are VERY positive. I will be interested to see how long he stays in the MWL as there is looking to be a lot of helium here. He is right behind May for most impressive starts to the season.
    18. Carrillo- He is walking guys a ton and it is coming back to bite him in the ass in the hitter friendly Cal league. Positives are that guys are hitting the ball into the ground off him a bunch and the control thing seems to be a more recent trend, so likely addressable.
    19. Estevez- Has been the best Dodgers MiLB prospect performer in the early going. He had a tremendously impressive spring after a torrid end to 2018 and it has continued into the season with his promotion to AA. Strikeout rate is down, walk rate up, driving the ball better and playing some solid D between 2B and SS. If this continues, the Dodgers are going to have some interesting questions about the future of their IF. Personally, I love his swing.
    20. Uceta- Like Carrillo, this is a smaller dude that is not expected to stay in the rotation since his stuff is just ok. Nice start to the season where he has done a good job of mitigating damage. Near 3:1 K:BB ratio, but is giving up more hits than he has in the past. Have not heard much of anything about him.
    21. Valera- Rough start to his stateside full season career. Latin American players generally struggle mightily in the early goings of the MWL for weather related reasons. A lot of folks really like this kid and have high hopes for him.
    22. Fisher- XST
    23. Rooney- XST
    24. Ortiz- XST
    25. Kasowski- Rough first outing, but asides from walks, has been pretty good since. I have not seen it first hand, but early reports were that the team was going to try and have him work on his secondaries more. Still K'ing dudes a lot (15 in 8.1 IP thus far), but too many are getting aboard on him. I watched some behind home angles of his motion... if he could just get his secondaries to a tick above average, this guy could be INCREDIBLY dangerous.
    26. C Santana- There were three Dodgers falling prospects that caught absolute fire at the end of 2018 in Rancho. Estevez was one and Santana was another. Like Estevez, Santana has continued to rake in 2019 after a promotion to AA Tulsa. Still not walking and the power has not come on yet, but Santana has been making a lot of contact and the struggles of most of 2018 seem to be a bit of a blip. With that said, still needs to work on some patience at the plate or he will flame out here shortly.
    27. Vargas- This is someone in the mold of a Verdugo in that he makes A LOT of contact, but will also take a walk. He has been on a tear of late and should be someone to watch with his early positive performance in the MWL.
    28. Willeman- XST, They are working on some things in his repertoire while also trying to limit his innings. There is talk that the team could see him as a potential piece ala what they thought they had in Walker Buehler in 2017. Stuff is said to still be there that flashed elite in his short 2018 stint.
    29. Beaty- Bat appears to be back after an injury plagued 2018. High contact super utility guy was somewhat impressive during ST. Should see big league action this year if there is an injury to a LHH as he has struggled against LHP'ing mightily in the past. With Muncy, Bellinger and Verdugo showing no ill effects against LHP'ing in the early going, Beaty could get the call today.
    30. Rincon- Was the third member of the Rancho trifecta to go on an absolute tear to end 2018. Rincon's came after a promotion and boy oh boy did he mash. Even with a sub .200 avg early on, Rincon is still getting on base, but his power and contact rate is not what it was. Still in Rancho and it being early, it will be interesting to see if he can turn back into that monster he was at the end of last season. Would be nice to see this guy figure it out as he could be a monster power hitter.
     
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  14. Doughty8

    Doughty8 DSP Legend

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    So Pollock is going on the IL for an infection and given the excitement of all the debuts of young kids throughout the league do you see any spec making a leap?

    August 2nd OKC comes to Vegas for the weekend, DSP trip? LOL
     
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2019
  15. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Hah! That would have been a fun thing to put together, but I am going to be in Thailand, so that will be a no go for me. By that time the AAA team could be really interesting to watch! Beaty is getting the call. He is not going to be anything exciting, but I love that he puts the bat on the ball. He will spray the ball to all fields and looks to be solid bench bat. Any other org, he was probably already a major leaguer before today.
     
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  16. Doughty8

    Doughty8 DSP Legend

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    Wow Thailand in August that is a horrible thought if you hate sweating. I'm a little jealous but enjoy. Surprised at Will Smith's success at AAA so far?
     
  17. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    You scared me for a second so I had to look up weather patterns really quick, but it looks like that is one of the better times of year to go temp wise! I like that Will is responding better this season at the level, but the K's are still worrisome. I am hoping that this was just a little funk, not a hole getting figured out since the numbers were great before last week. I think the main problem we keep running into is that he gets gassed fairly easy, so he really may be a 2nd/3rd string catcher that plays the IF a couple nights a week too.
     
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  18. VRP

    VRP DSP Legend

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  19. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    I'd buy Mize and Franco for sure right now. Those other 4 are reaches for me as of this moment. I think Whitley is gonna be a monster, Adell is sounding like a true stud and I personally think Brendan Rodgers is gonna put up some ridiculous numbers in Coors surrounded by Arenado and Story. I'm also incredibly bullish on May and though most think he is a #3, I think he is going to be more than that and could be the true #1 in this rotation. There are too many things that he has done that stand out in my book. 1. He's really tall, 2. He's very athletic for how tall he is, 3. He continues to get stronger, 4. His spin rate is considered elite and rated near the best in all of MiLB, 5. Just picked up a 5th pitch willy-nilly last year that is already considered above average, 6. Has continued to improve on his change, 7. Is apparently a pretty ferocious competitor. I think this best showed in the Cubs game in ST. He came out attacking those guys and you could tell he wanted to shut them down. I think he is showing a lot of positives that could make him into a superstar.
     
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  20. LASports96

    LASports96 DSP Legend

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    Is Mitch White back?
    6 scoreless innings today. 9 K’s. 1.85 ERA 11.2 K/9.

    Gavin Lux with 2 more homers. Star potential.
     
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