MINOR LEAGUE/PROSPECTS Thread

Lee will more than likely bump one of those to the Tulsa, my money would be on Cotton because he has close to as few innings as Urias without the status, unless they put him in the bullpen, or do tandem starts, both are coming off seasons under 100 innings and Urias has never had one.

Either way, AA and some A-Ball affiliates are included so i'll get to see whoever gets bumped.

 

those aren't terrible stats for AAA... another arm is another arm is he keeps it sub 3.00

 

Ben Badler ‏@BenBadler
Wanted to see some good Cuban players while I'm in the DR. So naturally, I just went to the Dodgers academy https://www.instagram.com/p/BBldESMqeTS/

 

Keith law org ranking

2. Los Angeles Dodgers
2015 rank: 10
Players in Top 100 (2016): 7

You can say that they bought this farm-system ranking, and you'd be right, and I don't think they'd particularly care. However, that doesn't do justice to the successful draft picks in 2013 and 2014 that line their top 10 around the various high-dollar Cuban signings (and that one Mexican lefty named Urias).

 

My insider account just happened to expire today. Based on the total lack of content that thing provides, I will not be renewing. I think I got it last year to read Law's reports on our system, but a 2 sentence blurb that provides nothing, isn't worth another investment on my end.

 

I thought Lazarito was going to sign by yesterday, anyone know what happened or did I miss the news he signed.

 

He said he wanted to discuss it over and make the decision with his family's help... not sure where the hell their input was for the start of this thing, but yeah. There was a rumor that he has been meeting at the Padres camp each of the last 4 days, so that may not be a good thing.

 

The weather? You're correct. Plus you have the added stipulation that he's has to wait until July 2nd to sign in Diego. Us the Cubs, Gnats and the Royals can sign him right away.

 

The Padres are in the penalty? I thought only the D'Backs were from our division.

 

1. Corey Seager, SS/3B
Age: 21 (4/27/94) | B/T: L/R
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 215
Top level: MLB | 2015: 5

Seager is the game's best prospect, a superlative hitter who projects to do everything at the plate and might even be able to do it at shortstop for a year or two before becoming a top-flight defender at third base.

Seager, the younger brother of Mariners third baseman Kyle, has electric hands at the plate and does everything very easily -- his swing, hip rotation and power look effortless -- but it's his approach that makes him the best prospect in baseball. Seager's pitch recognition is advanced way beyond his years, and you'll see him make adjustments within at-bats that even veterans don't make. He's better than most players his age at adjusting to a pitch he didn't expect and does very well covering the outer half without creating a hole on the inner third. He's tall and his swing plane can be high, so he's a little vulnerable to the pitch down at the knees. But for someone his age, that's a minor weakness to have as your primary issue at the plate.

While Seager reached the majors as a shortstop, he's already one of the biggest players in major league history to man that position and is likely to outgrow it if he hasn't already done so. (Seager is listed at 215 pounds; the only heavier shortstops in MLB history have been Hanley Ramirez, late-in-his-career Miguel Tejada, Juan Uribe and Alex Rodriguez.) Seager has the hands for short but not the speed or agility, while his arm would play anywhere on the diamond, making a move to third base -- where his defense would likely be plus or better, perhaps saving as many as 10 runs per year -- the most probable long-term outcome. He has MVP upside even if he moves to third, and would be even more valuable if he beats my expectations and hangs around at short.

Older brother Kyle, still just 28, already has had four All-Star-caliber seasons for Seattle, but he's going to end up second fiddle to his big little brother.

*****
5. Julio Urias, LHP
Age: 19 (8/12/96) | B/T: L/L
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 205
Top level: Triple-A | 2015: 9

It seems like it will be hard for Urias to ever live up to the hype he received in 2013, when, at age 16, he pitched extremely well in the Midwest League despite being undersized and pudgy and dealing with ptosis (a drooping eyelid) over his left eye. Now 19, Urias has continued to succeed through Double-A, although he has yet to throw 100 innings in any full season and was awful in two late-season starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City. He remains the game's top left-handed pitching prospect, with a top-of-a-rotation ceiling, but I don't see how he'd be able to help a major league club to start 2016.

Urias is no longer undersized or pudgy, coming in last spring at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, and given his age, he's possibly still growing. He's comfortably 91-95 mph with his fastball, with minimal effort, and will show both a plus curveball and plus changeup, although neither secondary pitch is consistent yet. He stays online to the plate and in time, he should have better fastball command to go with his above-average control, thanks again to that easy, repeatable delivery.

Three plus pitches and a great delivery point to potential ace upside, and the main challenge for Urias to get there will be to stay healthy as the team starts to ramp up his workload now that he'll be the age of a typical first-year pro who signed out of high school.

*****
51. Alex Verdugo, OF
Age: 19 (5/15/96) | B/T: L/L
Height: 6-0 | Weight: 205
Top level: High-A | 2015: NR

Verdugo was widely viewed as a first-round talent going into the 2014 draft, but an inconsistent spring and questions about his maturity led him to slip into the second round, where the Dodgers grabbed him in what now looks like a brilliant bit of opportunism. Only Corey Seager has a higher ceiling among Dodgers position-player prospects than Verdugo, who has special ability at the plate and when he's throwing, although ultimately he's going to end up in right field. At the plate, Verdugo has great bat speed and the ability to make quick adjustments, reacting well even when seeing an off-speed pitch in a fastball count. He started slow in Great Lakes, but those adjustments kicked in around the Midwest League All-Star break, after which he hit .349/.372/.460 with only 16 Ks in 200 plate appearances. He was then promoted to Rancho Cucamonga and raked.

He looks like a 20-homer, high-batting-average hitter who can play plus defense in a corner with a 70 arm and add a little value on the bases.

*****
60. Jose De Leon, RHP
Age: 22 (8/7/92) | B/T: R/R
Height: 6-2 | Weight: 185
Top level: Double-A | 2015: SL

De Leon has performed above his stuff. His stuff is good, but his performance has been superb, as hitters really don't see the ball well out of his hand, although in Double-A he finally ran into some trouble with the longball. The Puerto Rican right-hander was drafted out of Southern University (Rickie Weeks' alma mater) in the 24th round, but over his two full seasons in pro ball, he has pitched like a first-rounder, with a 92-93 mph fastball that might touch 95 and might also drift down as low as 89, lacking much plane but getting away with otherwise hittable pitches because of his deception. His changeup is plus but his breaking ball is very inconsistent and is probably just a 45 at this point, which really limits his potential ceiling. The spike in homers was probably not just a fluke, as he'll have to get better at commanding all of his stuff, especially the fastball, and will need to keep refining that breaking ball, which he uses more by manipulating the grip and spin to try to keep changing hitters' looks.

He seems like a good bet to be a big league starter, but to get to his ceiling -- a solid-average, 200-plus-inning guy -- he must address one of those weaknesses so that the home runs don't overwhelm the outs he gets via his changeup and deception.

*****
71. Grant Holmes, RHP
Age: 19 (3/22/96) | B/T: L/R
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 215
Top level: Class A | 2015: 79

Holmes was the Dodgers' first-round pick in 2014, a draft class that's already looking very promising just 18 months out, and had a solid debut pitching all year for the full-season Great Lakes club. Holmes sits 92-94 mph and can pitch up with the four-seamer more than most pitchers, getting swings and misses at the top of the strike zone because he can command the pitch up there and it has the illusion of late "hop" as it reaches the plate. His slider is plus and he showed an average changeup at times, although the pitch still needs work to become a more viable swing-and-miss option against left-handed hitters. Holmes is only 6 feet 1, so he doesn't get a lot of downhill plane, but he's strong for his size and maintained his stuff when he was allowed to go deeper into starts last year.

He projects as a league-average or slightly better starter, needing to work primarily on throwing his off-speed stuff for strikes and developing some confidence in that changeup.

*****
77. Yusniel Diaz, OF
Age: 19 (10/7/96) | B/T: R/R
Height: 6-1 | Weight: 185
Top level: Cuba | 2015: NE

Diaz defected from Cuba right after that country's 2014-15 winter league season ended, a campaign in which he hit .348/.447/.440 and walked more than he struck out despite being one of the league's youngest players at 18. Diaz signed with the Dodgers this winter for a $15.5 million bonus, which will cost the team that same amount in a penalty for going over their international signing cap, but the Dodgers think it was worth it to get such a high-upside athlete.

Now 19, Diaz is a four-tool player who lacks only power, a hitter with great hand-eye coordination that makes up for some of the disconnect his upper and lower halves show at the plate, and a plus runner who should be very good in center field. His body is projectable and loose, but his swing is somewhat flat and far more contact-oriented than geared for power; he uses the whole field and is more likely to be a gap-to-gap hitter who might get to 12-15 homers but is more likely to hit for average with a high OBP and lots of doubles. You could look at the body and expect him to grow into a 30-homer monster, but the swing isn't built for that right now. He's more of an A.J. Pollock type, or Lorenzo Cain with some more patience, still an All-Star upside that would easily justify the Dodgers' outlay.

*****
92. Cody Bellinger, 1B/OF
Age: 20 (7/13/95) | B/T: L/L
Height: 6-4 | Weight: 180
Top level: High-A | 2015: NR

Bellinger has to be on the short list of the most unexpected performances in the minors last year (along with Willson Contreras). He was a great defensive first baseman in high school with some feel to hit but significant questions about his power, so all he did was go to the Cal League at age 19 and hit 30 homers. He did change his approach, selling out some contact for that power, but it worked, and he still made enough contact and drew enough walks to post a .334 OBP despite being the second-youngest regular in the league behind Franklin Barreto.

Bellinger is a 70 defender at first and actually played a competent center field when he moved there last summer to try to establish some other positional value for him, although most scouts said they'd leave him at first because he can do so much there. The question going forward is what kind of regular he'll be in the majors: a big power guy with a bit of a sellout swing or more of a contact hitter who hits 10-15 homers. Either way, he looks like an every-day player and a good get in the fourth round (of the 2013 draft).

 

According to the San Diego Tribune they are but I don't know it to be for sure.

 

Diaz is turnin heads early.
Get it together, Joc Lol