DODGERS 2019 MINOR LEAGUE/PROSPECTS THREAD

MinorLeagueBall had Diaz 1, Kremer 8 and Bannon 15 for their O's top 20 with only Zach Pop not making it from the trade. Both Kremer and Pop were solid in their runs with the O's last year while Bannon fully face planted and Diaz was fairly mediocre.

 

• Was reading something the other day in BA and it is was about prospects presumed a year or two away that are closer to being MLB ready than people think. The closest player to being ready was Keibert Ruiz. There are apparently industry folks that feel he is close to MLB ready and BA compares the situation to Cody Bellinger the year he came up. This would be an interesting turn of events as Ruiz has displayed very little power to date, but he is viewed as an incredibly advanced player in virtually every other aspect of the game.

• The Dodgers MiLB system had 3 pitchers hit triple digits last season. They were Stetson Allie who had sporadic results, Joel Inoa who had a rough season between two lower levels and Zach Willeman. Willeman has catapulted to the top of my intrigue list with reports of him returning from TJ showing similar results as Walker Buehler. He will need to keep the velo up as he returns to a starters role, but upper 90's with 2 plus breaking pitches could mean someone very special.

 

The Dodgers have had no entries thus far on the MiLB Top 10 for RHP or LHPing(the Padres have 4 in top 10 LHP!!!), but there are plenty of intriguing arms scattered throughout the system that could be impactful in 2019 and beyond.

• Julio Urias, LHP- He is no longer considered a prospect, but his performance out of bullpen down the stretch was incredibly impressive. If anything it showed that in the event that he cannot get fully healthy to start again, the once heralded top LH pitching prospect could make an impact in a high leverage bullpen role(I'd also expect another tick or two on his fastball). It has already been announced that he will return to a starters role in 2019 and will likely begin the year in OKC or Tulsa depending on how they want to deal with his workload. He will be on an innings limit as he returns with an eye on being impactful on the MLB roster for the second half of the season. Some things to watch going into the season are the whether his velocity gets back to being more easy and his secondaries have to bounce back as they were very average in his starts in MiLB. Otherwise he will be a pen arm.

• Dennis Santana, RHP- Boy was he on a roll and for a second straight season, his secondaries had leapt forward with some scouts even calling his evolving change a plus pitch. Mixed with an already plus slider and sinker that at times flashes near double plus, it was not a surprise to see him get a shot at the bigs. The big worry here is what injury he had, there is talk that it was a rotator cuff and another saying it was something in his midsection. Depending on the severity, both could be bad, but rotator cuff stuff is generally terrifying. He was already back on the mound before the season was over, but he was doing it all in Arizona under very watchful eyes of the organization. His velocity was said to have not really deteriorated, which would be huge. He can get his heavy sinker into the upper 90's and if his change doesn't improve, he is likely destined for the pen. Most feel he is a legit back of the bullpen arm with closer stuff if he can control his slider better, but if he continues to improve on his secondaries and his command/control, he also has #2 upside, though that seems like a stretch at this point and he is more likely destined for the back of a rotation.

• Mitch(ell) White, RHP- This is one of the most intriguing prospects in the system going into 2019. White was the Spring Thing in 2017 when writers and prospect hounds including Keith Law came away raving about what they saw. When right, White has legit front of the rotation stuff that will flash a devastating ++ slider/cutter that nobody can quite figure out what it is. The problem has always been whether or not that White CAN put it all together and stay healthy. The injury bug has plagued White since college, but word is that the org fixed his mechanics last year after a worrisome drop in velocity. Everything picked back up after the change and reviews were positive. If he can continue to build on this success, he could find himself with the big club by the end of the season, but for now he still has a decent bit to prove. If durability continues to be an issues, we could see a move to the pen where his stuff would place him in the back of the bullpen.

• Tony Gonsolin, RHP- The two way athlete has really come into his own since moving to a full time pitcher. After incredible improvement in 2017 as a reliever, he was moved to a starter role that did not see a decline in overall stuff. Now based on that report from the other day, he is no longer hitting triple digits(though he's close), the velocity is still up there and the secondaries are coming along. Athletic guys like this are hard to project, but when they show continued improvement, I don't think it is wise to bet against them. Gonsolin currently projects in the middle or back of a rotation. This is a wait and see scenario more than what people are currently viewing as these types of guys especially can blast through a ceiling. If he shows more consistency in 2019 with the secondaries, you can bet you will see him for the stretch run.

• Marshall Kasowski, RHP- This is the first pitcher that is a true reliever. The 2017 draft pick had an impressive second season in the system, placing himself at the top of the orgs MiLB bullpen depth chart. The reviews on him are relatively mixed as his stuff is not exactly eye popping, but the deception in his fastball causes lots of problems for hitters. I have heard reports that his secondaries saw improvement down the stretch and could help him move into more higher leverage situations in the Bigs. For right now, he projects probably as middle reliever, but thus far has been incredibly tough to square up in MiLB on his one pitch.

• Josh Sborz, RHP- Don't expect much impact here as Sborz is merely a MR at this point. The club used him as a starter for years in an attempt to improve his secondaries, but all it seems to have really done is delayed his arrival. There was some improvement to his stuff after moving back to the pen, but he has never really taken that step forward since his run as strong reliever in college.

• Jordan Sheffield, RHP- Another of the failed starter experiments, Sheffield never could put it all together. Word is that the stuff continued to tail off in 2018 and a move back to the pen, though had positive results, didn't exactly instill a ton of confidence. His curveball in the AFL received a ton of praise, but he still is having issues properly locating his pitches. He is looked at as more of a middle reliever at this point, but has the stuff that could find him in the back of the rotation if he is finally able to put it all together.

• Stetson Allie, RHP- There was some belief that someone was going to take a chance on Allie in the Rule 5 and hide him in their pen in 2019. It did not happen and the Dodgers will get another year to try and mold the flamethrower into a viable bullpen piece. The pitcher-converted hitter-converted back to pitcher showed promise with a fastball that was said to hit 102 at times, but where it was going was anyone's guess. Though his walks were a problem, the bigger issue was how often his fastball would miss middle-middle. I have heard that the org has tried tweeking some things with him that will work for a bit, but his muscle memory takes over and then issues arise. When everything is going, I have heard he can accompany his FB with a wipeout slider, but like the FB he struggles mightily locating it. We will see what 2019 has in store, but there is solid upside to Allie.

• Dustin May, RHP- I waited until the last slot to mention Ginergaard, but that has more to do with his development than his actual stuff. Left handers and tall dudes are always the slowest to develop when it comes to pitchers. May has shown consistent improvement throughout his career and I could see the club deciding not to give him a big league debut in 2019 in an attempt to continue to have him work on other facets of his game. Of all the pitchers mentioned above, he is the most likely to stick in a rotation and currently projects as a mid rotation starter. Having a big guy that fills the zone AND has a FB that continues to tick up, makes me think they could bring him along slowly in hopes that they can get a little more out of May once he arrives. Adding velocity, more depth in his secondaries while filling out his 6'6" frame could make him an imposing presence on the mound.

 

Keibert Ruiz unexpectedly checked in at #3 on MLB Pipeline and Will Smith was SHOCKINGLY absent entirely. They went for upside at the position and felt that Ruiz doesn't have a ton of it, but his floor is incredibly high. The only thing I can think of for Smith is that they don't see him having the stamina to play catcher enough to truly qualify as he has a legit bat to be a serious threat at the position, plus the defense as well.

 

BA Podcast on our top prospects and some notes:

• The Dodgers may be the best positioned org in baseball when it comes to young impact depth already in MLB and guys on the way. In his opinion, the Dodgers are the best developmental org in the game. The Dodgers 2016 draft may go down as one of the more impressive ones in recent memory.

• They MAY be a top 10 org, he's not as certain as he was in other places.

• Keibert Ruiz is just incredibly advanced for a switch hitter. RH bat is behind LH side, but he still has major upside at both sides. Still lacks refinement on the defensive side, but took a major step forward in 2018. He thinks they keep him in AAA the whole year since Smith is closer to being ready and Ruiz could benefit with more time.

• They think Alex Verdugo may still be a little blocked if they do not move some more pieces around, but he may be the best hitter out of all out OF options. Still has motor/attitude issues, he made improvements, but still lags behind what you want from a guy with his talent.

• Gavin Lux impressed him immensely over previous reports. He's probably a Top 50 prospect to start the season and he's legit MLB'er going forward. He put on a lot of muscle between 2017 and 2018. He said that he see's him as a 15-20 HR guy with a high average, but that could change as he's apparently a really strong dude.

• Dustin May, like Lux started to bulk up A BIT and impacted his play, but his transition was in season(which means he needs to work harder in the offseason). Everyone he talked to said he was 93-96 with touches of 97 and 98, but the Dodgers folks he spoke with said that they have him getting up to... 99 . He completely reworked his secondaries and they may be a ways away, but they were advanced for how recently he started on them. He is probably truthfully 2 years away.

• Will Smith is more advanced than Ruiz behind the plate and has GG potential for the position, but his bat is potent enough that they will move him to 3B and 2B since Ruiz can only play catcher. He may have too much loft in his swing now and he may push himself into a utility role if he does not make some changes.

• Tony Gonsolin was holding 96 into the 5th. Split change was "nasty". He is a quick adapter could still grow into something special. He is one of the guys the Dodgers are getting TONS of calls on. If starter does not workout, he has the stuff and attitude to pitch the 8th or 9th. Shouldn't be up as a starter this season as he still has some growing to do, but could be in the pen by the end of the year.

• Someone to watch is Zach Willeman(someone brought up before). 94-96, touching 99 with two plus secondaries. They were short outings so he will have a lot to prove.

• Yadier Alvarez and Jeren Kendall do not look like future major leaguers.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2019-los-angeles-dodgers-top-mlb-prospects-podcast/