DODGERS 2017 MINOR LEAGUE/PROSPECTS Thread

he doesn't strike me as a vocal leader or someone that helps younger guys (pedo)
you hear about chase helping seager, turner helping taylor, even grandal helping barnes
but when was the last time you heard anyone saying adrian helped them?
he's obviously the same way at the dinner table, er, rescue mission

 

I agree, but with more platooning.
Gonzales should start 1B vs righties and Bellinger vs lefties.
Bellinger should start LF vs righties and Taylor vs lefties.
Joc should start CF vs righties and Verdugo vs lefties.
Taylor should start 2B vs righties and Logan vs lefties.
Puig should start in RF vs righties and Kike vs lefties.

Kike is the last man on the general rotation, much more of a pinch hitter/emergency OF/IF super utility lefty smasher who also starts games vs lefties whenever there is a hole in the lineup vs his speciality.
Utley is not part of the rotation but tough veteran presence pinch hitter/emergency IF vs righties.

CF: Pederson/Verdugo
SS: Seager/Seager
3B: Turner/Turner
1B: Gonzales/Bellinger
LF: Bellinger/Taylor
2B: Taylor/Forsythe
C : Grandal/Barnes
RF: Puig/Kike

If Utley retires and Taylor comes back to earth a bit then Kike/Utley roles may unite into Taylor as the main super utility guy off the bench. In fact Kike and Taylor seem like a real nice base to form your utility bench corp with.
Forsythe could join them if he does not get his act together. May be relegated to a lefty specialist against 3B/2B/1B/LF and be another option off the bench.

Next year I want to see...

CF: Pederson/Verdugo
SS: Seager/Seager
3B: Turner/Turner
LF: Bellinger/Bellinger
2B: Calhoun/Forsythe
C : Grandal/Barnes
RF: Puig/Kike
1B: Gonzales/Taylor

Taylor makes Kike expendable if he is needed in a trade.
Toles and Trayce are also expendable, or can be brought up as backups in case we move a Pederson/Verdugo/Puig.
If Verdugo is destined to be our starting CF and leadoff hitter then either Joc or Puig are destined for 4th OF role. Right now that is Kike's job but it should soon be Verdugo's if he can take it from Kike. Then it is up to Verdugo to try and take a job from either Puig or Pederson. Or take an open job when Bellinger moves to 1B.

And by the end of next year when Gonzales is on his last legs and no longer starting at 1B...

LF: Verdugo/Taylor
SS: Seager/Seager
3B: Turner/Turner
1B: Bellinger/Bellinger
2B: Calhoun/Forsythe
CF: Joc/Trayce or Kike.
RF: Puig/Verdugo
C : Grandal/Barnes

Taylor being the main super utility bench guy who is a big part of the lineup rotation.
Forsythe would follow him in importance off the bench. Unless we do not pick up his 9M option.
Barnes would be the next guy to get lots of playing time and could fill some of Forsythe's slack if he leaves.
Gonzales as premiere pinch hitter vs righties late inning replacement in the Utley legacy role at 1B for the rest of 2018.
Kike and Trayce as the last men on the bench for emergency help vs lefties.

Calhoun and Verdugo play better vs righties but do not completely lie down vs lefties so platooning will be less of an issue going forward. Unless you want to maximize the lineups.

And finally in 2019...

CF: Verdugo
SS: Seager
3B: Turner
1B: Bellinger
2B: Calhoun
RF: Puig
C : Grandal
LF: Joc

It will be nice when our top 4 guys dont need platoons.
And our platoon situation wont be so dire.
And having Taylor, Kike and Barnes off the bench to start vs lefties will be enough.
Which allows us to carry a couple of veteran pinch hitters, camp invitees that impress, or prospects who are ready to get some at bats at the show.

Haven't traded away key prospects for expensive players.
Our big bad contracts are all done, expensive veterans off the books.
If the team wants to upgrade it can now sign a couple of top tier FA with all the money it will have available.

If Verdugo, Joc, or Puig are not at all star level two way players that can comfortably hit both lefties and righties then you bring in a big FA.
By then on the pitching side it will be Kershaw, Wood, hopefully Urias, and whatever prospect or veteran is left/makes it. So there is space to sign a big FA to be the #2 between Kershaw and Wood. Urias prospects are for the time being downgraded to a #3/4 type pitcher until he can prove otherwise.

 

We are talking about what the Dodgers tend to do.
Within those tight parameters what is a plausible best outcome.
Sure platooning is not ideal. At the end of my post I make that clear.
Verdugo can very well come up for a taste when rosters expand. Even as a defensive replacement late in games.
As a reserve who gets a few starts and plays so great that it forces the team to keep him as 4th OF down the stretch.
And that next year he either starts the season as starting in the OF or ends up a starter at some point as his leadoff capability becomes too important to sit half the time.
This puts the team in the best position to win while giving aging stars the opportunity to contribute in situations where they can have the most likely chance of success and grooms their replacements in a short time period. Graceful exits and debuts. Lots of options. More bang for your buck.
In a year and half to two years we have a lineup where none of our top 5 hitters need platoons and our bottom 3/4 hitters aren't completely worthless vs lefties and can handle playing full time if the team wanted them to. And without any other hitters apart from Verdugo or Calhoun coming in. Dodgers always make trades and sign dudes out of nowhere that can play. And some of our Cubans should be ready to hatch around that time as well. And then there is FA.
So even if this does not work there is always those safety nets.

 

Well we know that Dave will give him a shot to get something working again.
Better to have him platoon and keep him away from lefties and let him concentrate on righties.
If he still cant get it going by the stretch run then he will become a pinch hitter. Hopefully.

 

Dodgers announce addition of 26 prospects
by Matthew Moreno | Dodger Blue — 17 minutes ago

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced the signing of 26 amateur free agents on the second day of the 2017-18 international signing period. The period began Monday, July 2, and runs through June 15, 2018.

Los Angeles signed 15 position players (seven infielders, seven outfielders and one catcher) and 11 pitchers (nine right-handers and two left-handers). Nineteen of the international signings hail from the Dominican Republic, 10 of whom are pitchers.

Three were signed out of Venezuela and one player each from Cuba, Curacao, Aruba and Nicaragua. The Dodgers did not release signing bonus details for any of the players.

According to Ben Badler of Baseball America, Dominican Republic outfielder George Heredia and Dominican shortstop Amin Valdez each received $300,000 bonuses. Cuban outfielder Julio Enrique also received a $300,000 signing bonus, per Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com.

Due to exceeding their bonus pool in previous years, the Dodgers cannot sign any pool-eligible free agents to a bonus greater than $300,000.

They entered the current international signing period with a $4.75 million hard-cap bonus pool allotment. The Dodgers added an undisclosed amount to that this week by trading Jason Wheeler to the Baltimore Orioles.

Any signing bonus greater than $10,000 counts against their pool total. Complete list of the international signings the Dodgers announced included below.

Position Name Country
C Jenderson Jardines Venezuela
SS Yhostin Chirinos Venezuela
SS Eddys Leonard Dominican Republic
SS Vladimir Perez Dominican Republic
SS Amin Valdez Dominican Republic
IF Randy Rodriguez Dominican Republic
IF Jesus Valdez Dominican Republic
IF Jorbit Vivas Venezuela
OF Mayron Cathalina Aruba
OF Julio Enrique Cuba
OF Jimmie Feliz Dominican Republic
OF Gorge Heredia Dominican Republic
OF Brayan Rodriguez Dominican Republic
OF Rushenten Tomsjansen Curacao
OF Imanol Vargas Dominican Republic
RHP Jeffry Abreu Dominican Republic
RHP Axel Acevado Dominican Republic
RHP Jonathan Alvarez Dominican Republic
LHP Andrew Budier Nicaragua
RHP Jeisson Cabrera Dominican Republic
RHP Darlin Camilo Dominican Republic
RHP Daniel Cruz Dominican Republic
RHP Carlos De Los Santos Dominican Republic
LHP Benony Robles Dominican Republic
RHP Martin Santana Dominican Republic
RHP Jonathan Vasquez Dominican Republic

 

white guys are too informed
racist

 

Quakes’ D.J. Peters hits 2 Home Runs off Madison Bumgarner
by Matthew Moreno | Dodger Blue — 6 hours ago

The Los Angeles Dodgers have yet to face Madison Bumgarner in any of their 10 meetings this season. The San Francisco Giants’ ace sustained multiple injuries during a dirt biking accident in April, and was projected to be out until after the All-Star break.

While the Dodgers haven’t seen Bumgarner, their High-A affiliate, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, went against the left-hander on Wednesday night in what was his second rehab start. The outing was one to forget, as Bumgarner allowed nine runs on nine hits over four innings.

For comparison, Bumgarner’s career-worsts in 221 MLB games are eight earned runs and three home runs allowed in a single start.

Two of the hits in his start with High-A San Jose were home runs surrendered to Quakes outfielder D.J. Peters. He not only produced a multi-home run effort, Peters smacked both of his homers in the fourth inning.

That was part of an eight-run frame for the Quakes. Peters’ homers sandwiched a three-run shot by Drew Jackson. The Quakes slugged their way to a 14-1 road victory. The two homers gave Peters 16 on the season, which leads the Quakes.

Bumgarner allowed four runs in 3.2 innings in his first rehab start with San Jose. Prior to that, he threw three shutout innings for the Arizona League Giants.