MINOR LEAGUE/PROSPECTS Thread

On the heels of the minor league ball dump from last week, we have their end of the year top 100 with a couple HUGE surprises to me.
#5 Jose De Leon A
#18 Yadier Alvarez B+
#38 Cody Bellinger B+
#55 Yusniel Diaz B+
#60 Alex Verdugo B+
#78 Willie Calhoun B

This was entirely on his own personal opinion, nobody else's reports and as he said, it's a snapshot of his current views. If his feelings for De Leon come true, that would be fantastic as the Dodgers would be top heavy with two young elite SP with a third a little more than a year away(Alvarez). Whether you agree with it or not and how the FO is building the farm. This allows for one or even two of those guys to go down, but still have a rotation with depth and ability to keep the big club afloat. That doesn't take into account of what do the Dodgers have in Buehler, Sheffield, Abdullah, White and May who have all flashed front end skills. Guys like Stewart, Oaks, De Jong, Stripling, Frias and Sborz are already solid back of the rotation options as is.

Reading through the comments, I'm gathering that Bellinger is not higher for him as he views 1B as a position where there should be a legit elite level stick for the position and he is not there for him yet. The two ahead of him (one has graduated) rate higher than Bellinger in either the hit tool or power tool department. It seems that Bellinger does have the strength to put up much bigger power numbers while maintaining a solid average. The good AFL showing will be key for Bellinger and coming out the gates in 2017 on fire like he seemed primed to do before injury will be the biggest factor for Bellinger going forward.

He is the first person to have Diaz over both Verdugo and Calhoun... would not be shocked if this is due to him seeing Diaz primarily on one of his hot streaks.

http://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/9/24/12932956/top-100-prospects-end-of-2016

 

Arroyo had a pretty bad year, ok average, but bad OBP and NO power which will not work for his likely position change. They traded #34 for Will Smith.... I really hope they miss the fucking playoffs and we don't see any more of their fucking devil magic.

 

Good news on that front but the Rockies have 6 but only 2 pitchers so they can use those prospects to perhaps get a front line starter. I know they play in Coors but they only need a little bit of pitching to become scary, obviously their line-up is stacked. LOL on the DBags and should result in a FO shake-up especially with the #2 ranking of Swanson!!! Edwin Rios was our minor league position player of the year and yet no appearance on the list and Brock Stewart our minor league pitcher of the year which shows the depth of our farm!

 

De Leon is showing flashes of why he is a top rated prospect, but I'm really hoping that some of the results we are seeing are because he is just tired. His fastball velocity was 90-91 last night until it appeared he got pissed and started to rear back and bring it a little harder. Not just his velocity is an issue, but his command is off as well. I think he's still dealing with some sort of shoulder fatigue and it'll be good to shut him down and get him ready for next season. His secondary stuff has continued to improve, getting his slider up another notch next season and having him healthy are going to be the most important things going forward.

 

The Rockies could be scary and I fully believe they and the Padres are going to be the toughest competition down the road. Honestly their line up next year could be a beast . I don't see them trading either Cargo or Blackmon at this point and they will try to go for it next year. It sounds like they are negotiating an extension with Cargo where he is expected to move to 1B starting as soon as next season. Sickels is high on Tom Murphy, as am I. Though I know I have been disagreed with on this board in regards to that, but he has put up the type of numbers that can make him a dangerous Coors bat. He has plus power and punishes mistakes which happen often at Coors and then has enough skill to put up mediocre numbers on the road, but likely enough to keep him in there everyday. They could have a lineup next year of...
CF Blackmon 25+ HR, 850+ OPS
2B LeMahieu 10+ HR 850+ OPS
1B Cargo 25+ HR 850+ OPS
3B Arenado 40+ HR 900+ OPS
RF Dahl 25+ HR 850+ OPS
SS Story 30+ HR 850+ OPS
C Murphy 20+ HR 800+ OPS
LF Tapia 10+ HR 775+ OPS

That will wear a lot of teams down. Like you said though, their pitching is key and they are finally starting to see the results from developing their pitching prospects better. Gray looks like a pretty solid ace and guys like Bettis, Hoffman, Marquez and Anderson should all be solid contributors. Another big key for them is that they need to keep Chatwood healthy. He is a legit #3 starter and probably better if he can figure out his home woes.

After all of this and I still did not mention their top prospect, Brendan Rodgers who is drawing Tulo comparisons or their first round pick from this year that has touched 104. They're one of the most well rounded teams/systems in the game, but still lag behind the Dodgers farm system IMO due to our 3 young elite arms.

 

He's 24 years old and has barely thrown over 100 innings.

If that's causing fatigue then he has issues. Sorry, I don't buy the fatigue angle.

 

He has already missed significant time this year from "shoulder fatigue" and his velocity has been up and down since he came back from that injury. He should be working in the mid 90's and he has been working in the high 80's-low 90's without the command that has made him such a top flight prospect. Those are signs that his arm is getting tired or he's hurt. I'm hoping it is column A here. He spent the first month of the season in extended spring training, so he was still likely throwing a regular routine. The knock on JDL coming out of college was that he had never taken good care of himself, but since getting drafted he has and his stuff has improved from it. It is not inconceivable for a guy to suddenly be a workout freak, but then break down as he can over-train or just train the wrong muscles. Brandon McCarthy is a recent example of this. He is just under his innings from last year, but he also faded towards the end of that season as well. Hopefully he can pin point what has caused his end of season fades and work out the kinks.

 

Wow, a little shocked with this one.... Baseball America came out with its top 20 prospects of the MWL and there is not a single Dodgers player to be found. No Alvarez, Estevez or Abdullah who all had very good reports on them throughout the season.

 

BA top players for the Cal League had 3 Dodgers and it was the 3 you'd expect.

5. Yusniel Diaz, of, Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers) |

Age: 19. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-1. Wt.: 195. Signed: Cuba, 2015.
Diaz played just 82 games while dealing with recurring shoulder fatigue but showed immense potential on the field when healthy.
Diaz showed the speed, body control and arm needed to handle center field, while increasingly opening eyes with his bat speed, hand-eye coordination and ability to use the whole field at the plate.
“He’s raw but you see the tools,” Lancaster manager Ramon Vasquez said. “A little bit of power, he can drive the ball all over the field, he’s got a decent arm. Definitely you can see good at-bats and aggressiveness on the fastball.”
Diaz’s power is currently his only below-average tool, but it is growing, with some scouts projecting 20-25 home-run power as he grows into his lean frame.

13. Johan Mieses, of, Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers) |

Age: 21. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-2. Wt.: 185. Signed: Dominican Republic, 2013.

Mieses hit a league-leading 28 home runs in 2016, with many of them clearing 400 feet with ease. He showcases impressive raw speed for his muscular frame and owns one of the strongest outfield arms in the league.

However, a big stride and swing-from-the-heels approach led Mieses to strike out 147 times in 122 games, with many wild swings well outside the strike zone. Playing his home games at Rancho Cucamonga, a neutral Cal League site, he hit.237/.292/.487, which is indicative of both his strengths and shortcomings.

“If he learns not to swing at bad pitches, he can be a scary guy to face,” Lancaster manager Ramon Vasquez said. “I think the more he plays the more he’s going to learn the strike zone. He swings and misses a lot, but there is a future there.”

Defensively, Mieses is serviceable in center field but profiles better in a corner. His ability to play all three outfield spots, along with his power but lack of plate discipline, has most evaluators projecting him as a power bat off the bench.


16. Josh Sborz, rhp, Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers)

Age: 22. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 225. Drafted: Virginia, 2015 (2s).

The 2015 College World Series Most Outstanding Player has bounced back and forth between starting and relieving since the Dodgers drafted him No. 74 overall last summer.

Sborz started exclusively at Rancho Cucamonga and recorded a 2.66 ERA that led the Cal League at the time of his early-August promotion to Double-A. His 84-87 mph slider was voted the league’s best breaking pitch in Best Tools balloting, and the pitch worked well off his 92-94 mph fastball that bears in on righthanders. He won the league’s pitcher of the year award.

Sborz’s 79-80 mph curveball and rarely-used changeup grade well behind his other two pitches, which leads many evaluators to project him to the bullpen, a role he filled exclusively in Double-A.

 

Thing about the Gnats though, they just seem to keep plugging in these players that fit into their style of play. And then you get the Ty Blachs (spelling?) that come out of nowhere and pitch lights out in a crucial situation.

It pisses me off how they seem to do this year in and year out.

The saving grace in all this is their current core players do seem to be aging. That second half collapse is a bad sign for them that these guys may not be able to go a full season anymore.

 

Which tells what little value these so-called "prospects" lists are worth.

 

Lately their recent prospects have actually not been great or really much help. Belt, Crawford, Posey, Cain, MadBum and Timmy were all top flight prospects and have played as such. Duffy and Panik were not viewed as superstars, but 2nd-3rd tier starters or bench players if they couldn't figure everything out. Both Duffy and Pank came out like gangbusters, but have been very average if not below average since teams adjusted. What has been the Giants saving grace is they've traded well around their stars and added via free agency. They have what this FO wanted, a core group of stars and plug in around them. They could have that with Seager and Grandal, but are going to need guys like Bellinger, Calhoun, Pederson, Puig, Verdugo or some of the other recent picks to pick things up in the future or else it's Seager, Grandal and a mess in the lineup. With their aging core, they're going to be like us in a couple years where they are nervously hoping some of their big spects pan out or they could be in trouble.

 

The most important things for this team are for Bellinger and Verdugo to turn another corner next season and be ready enough for a 2015 Seager like call up. Very obvious this team needs a new bat at 1B as AGon looks like a shell of what he once was and if his diminishing power rears its ugly head next season, this organization will need to make a change. Verdugo and his ability to put the ball in play is something else this team misses big time.

 

Verdugo walks a fine line of making the game look easy and playing with a low energy level. Verdugo was one of the tougher players to clock down the line because of how rarely he ran to first at full speed despite putting the ball on the ground quite often. Verdugo’s defense, however did not waver as much and he played a solid center field with good anticipation and quickness to cover the gaps.
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Low energy level?

One of the top prospects and his effort is questioned? Not encouraging.

 

That has been the knock on him since HS and is a big reason he fell out of the first round. Joc used to get the same "hot dog" complaints. Verdugo is probably getting the call to big league camp next year, just have to hope he gets the wake up call.

 

Hope so, too. They really need a young OF with his skill set.

 

Dodgers Trio Shares Common Roots, And Goal


Alex Verdugo (Photo by Bill Mitchell)
SEE ALSO: AFL Coverage

GLENDALE, Ariz.—Dodgers prospects Cody Bellinger, Willie Calhoun and Alex Verdugo have a lot in common.

Now preparing for the Arizona Fall League season as members of the Glendale Desert Dogs, they’ve each moved through the minor league system at a faster than normal pace. The trio spent the bulk of the 2016 season with Double-A Tulsa before earning promotions to Triple-A Oklahoma City in September. Being assigned to the AFL is a homecoming of sorts, as each played either high school or college ball in Arizona.

With all that they have in common, it’s not surprising that Bellinger, Calhoun and Verdugo are sharing living accommodations in their return to the Valley of the Sun.

“It’s an advantage to us,” Bellinger said about their living arrangement. “We’ve been playing together the last two years . . . We just talk about baseball and have fun with it.” Verdugo added, “I couldn’t ask for anybody better than those guys.”

Bellinger, 21, is the veteran of the group, with the lefthanded hitting first baseman/outfielder having just completed his fourth pro season. Son of former major league infielder Clay Bellinger, the Chandler, Ariz., native was drafted by the Dodgers in the fourth round in 2013.

Ranked as the Dodgers’ top prospect at midseason, Bellinger put up a strong campaign at Double-A with a .263/.359/.484 slash line, trailing only Calhoun in home runs (23) among Drillers hitters despite missing the season’s first month because of a hip impingement.

Verdugo, 20, a second-round pick in 2014 from a Tucson high school, has squeezed in time at each of six minor league levels in only three seasons. The lefthanded-hitting outfielder posted a .273/.336/.407 line with Double-A Tulsa in just his second full minor league season.

Calhoun, a fourth-round pick in 2015, led all junior college hitters in home runs (31) in 2014 in his lone season at Yavapai (Ariz.) JC. The lefthanded hitting second baseman, who also played at Arizona, made it to Double-A in his first full season, putting up a .254/.318/.469 slash line while leading the Texas League in RBIs (88) and finishing second in homers (27).

The three players give different reasons for their rapid progression through the Dodgers system. Calhoun attributes his success to getting into a comfort zone by becoming more familiar with the group of teammates that he’s played with in pro ball. For Verdugo, it was the Dodgers staff pushing him to be a better ballplayer, while Bellinger credits his time spent around big league clubhouses as a youth, learning how to respect the game on and off the field.

This quick movement for their better prospects is not uncommon for the Dodgers organization. For example, prohibitive Rookie of the Year favorite Corey Seager spent just over three years in the minors before making the big league team for good.

“Our organization wants to move players who demonstrate the ability to move,” said John Shoemaker, the Dodgers’ “captain of player development” and Arizona League manager.

Like nearly every other young hitter, Bellinger, Calhoun and Verdugo have each made some adjustments to their swing or approach at the plate to get them to where they’re at now. For Calhoun, it was more of having a better plan when he went to the plate and then sticking to the plan, while Bellinger made mechanical changes with his hands to create a more consistent path to the ball.

Verdugo’s current swing is a culmination of several modifications he’s made during his career. He began putting his toe on the ground during his rookie season and then added a leg kick the next year in an attempt to hit with more power. The leg kick caused him to drift forward and move his head too much, limiting his ability to see the ball, but he finally was able to settle on a combination that worked for him this season.

“I combined the leg kick with just doing a toe tap,” Verdugo said. “It ended up working really well. I’ve stuck with it since and haven’t looked back.”

Verdugo also made a lot of changes related to the mental aspect of the game that have helped him succeed, first solidifying the necessary work ethic under Shoemaker in his rookie year and then in working with trainer Kalie Swain while at low Class A just to learn how to better get through the inevitable tough stretches.

Bellinger said it’s the quality of coaches in the system that help the players better handle the mental aspects of the game, while Calhoun credits the organization’s philosophy in helping him become a professional.

“The Dodgers help us by letting us be our own person and not putting too many limitations on us,” Calhoun said. “It helps us relax and lets us breathe a little off the field . . . We want to be treated as professionals . . . The Dodgers having that trust for us is huge.”

This triumvirate of Dodgers prospects each has their own goals for what they want to accomplish during the six weeks of Arizona Fall League. Verdugo, the youngest of the group, just wants to get more at-bats against quality pitching, making adjustments and being consistent. Bellinger is primarily hoping to make up for time lost to his early season injury while also working on his two-strike approach and defense.

The primary motive for Calhoun’s time in Arizona is to allow him to continue to improve his defense at second base, a relatively new position since he first started in pro ball. He’ll always be known as a bat-first guy, but after leading Tulsa in errors (21) in 2016 there’s still plenty of room for improvement in the field. But the Dodgers also see changes they’d like to see in Calhoun’s approach at the plate.

“What Willie can do very well is pull the ball,” Shoemaker said, “and we’re trying to get him to be able to use all fields and to adjust to different type of pitching.”

With plenty of friends and family in or near Arizona, all three Dodgers prospects are looking forward to having frequent supporters from the crowd at AFL games.

“I know my friends and family are excited to come out and watch me play a lot,” Bellinger said. “It’s a fun time from what I’ve heard and I’m looking forward to it. It’s good baseball and good competition, so it should be fun.”

 

Texas League Top Prospects has the names you would expect

2. Cody Bellinger 1b/of, Tulsa (Dodgers)

Age: 21. B-T: L-L. Ht.: 6-4. Wt.: 210. Drafted: HS—Chandler, Ariz., 2013 (4).

While Bellinger batted .263 at Tulsa this season, it’s important to keep in mind that no TL hitter broke the .300 barrier this year. He ranked in the top five in the league with 23 home runs, a .359 on-base percentage and by slugging .484.

Bellinger has a smooth swing that gives him a chance to hit for average or power. He gets a little big in his swing at times as he looks to pull long home runs, but when he stays compact he can use an all-field approach.

Bellinger plays primarily first base, but he is athletic and an average runner. He grades as an above-average defender with a plus arm in the outfield corners, but his glove is Gold Glove-caliber at first base. He sees more fielding chances there than in the outfield, and his soft hands help him dig out low throws from infielders.

12. Andrew Toles, of, Tulsa (Dodgers)

Age: 24. B-T: L-R. Ht.: 5-11. Wt.: 180. Drafted: Chipola (Fla.) JC, 2012 (3/Rays).

Toles was released by the Rays before the 2015 season and no team picked him up all year. It wasn’t because of his lack of tools—he hit .326 to win the 2013 Midwest League batting title, for example—but instead because teams have long been concerned about his makeup.

The Dodgers gave Toles a fourth chance this spring. He had been let go by two college programs and the Rays, but with the Dodgers, he proved to be a grinder who played all out to turn his career around and make the majors. He gave a consistent all-out effort that helped him jump from out of baseball to the big leagues in just half a season.

Toles carries more risk than the average prospect, but he still has a shot of being a .280 hitter with near-average power while playing above-average defense anywhere in the outfield with a plus arm.

13. Alex Verdugo, of, Tulsa (Dodgers) |

Age: 20. B-T: L-L. Ht.: 6-0. Wt.: 205. Drafted: HS—Tucson, 2014 (2).

Verdugo turns off many with his nontraditional hitting approach and his not-always-consistent effort in the outfield. But even those turned off by Verdugo wonder what he could be when the 20-year-old matures into a more well-rounded version of his current self.

Verdugo has a top-of-the-scale arm that is just as accurate as it is powerful, and his ability to take good routes and reads make him a plus center fielder. His swing is unorthodox, and he doesn’t generate power with his opposite-field heavy approach, but he makes a ton of contact and should be an above-average hitter.

15. Brock Stewart, rhp, Tulsa (Dodgers)

Age: 24. B-T: L-R. Ht.: 6-3. Wt.: 210. Drafted: Illinois State, 2014 (6).

The son of scout Jeff Stewart, Brock has transformed from a college third baseman to a starting pitcher who now dots the corners of the strike zone.

After sliding over to the first-base side of the rubber, Stewart began locating his 93-94 mph fastball down and away to righthanded hitters. He also improved his changeup to the point where it’s at least average. He can throw a less-aggressive changeup early in the count for rollover ground balls, but he also tries to get swings and misses with a changeup with more late movement in two-strike counts. His slider has improved to average as well, though it sometimes is too easy to identify out of his hand.

Stewart does an excellent job of generating ground balls and didn’t allow a home run in his 10 TL starts.

16. Willie Calhoun, 2b, Tulsa (Dodgers)

Age: 21. B-T: L-R. Ht.: 5-8. Wt.: 187. Drafted: Yavapai (Ariz.) JC, 2015 (4).

The hit tool is the most important tool a position prospect can have, and Calhoun has a long track record of putting the bat on the ball stretching back to high school. He also was one of the better home-run hitters in the TL even though numerous players have more raw power. Calhoun has already learned that at 375-foot home run counts as much as a 450-footer.

What scouts can’t figure out is where Calhoun will play. He is a hard-handed second baseman who struggles to field the ball cleanly. His below-average arm also limits him at second base and also limits his other defensive options. He could go back to left field, but he has limited range as a 40 runner on the 20-80 scouting scale. First base isn’t an option because he’s 5-foot-8.

Calhoun’s bat provides value, but he has a lot of work to do to find a position.


Good to see the number of Dodgers prospects on here, but some definite warts that will need to be cleaned up. That is interesting to see the " Verdugo has questionable makeup" stories as that was a thing after him getting drafted, but had heard nothing since then on it. Frustrating to hear that as that is something that won't fly. There are also rumblings that the Dodgers may be aiming to stick Bellinger in LF for the foreseeable future. Not sure what to make of it, but I wonder if that is potentially tied to a Turner extension, AGon lack of power and/or Braun deal. All 3 are 1B in the all to near future and may block Bellinger, though it would be nice to have a gold glove caliber glove over there, especially if he continues to fill out. The continued knocks on Calhoun's defense are worrisome. The saving grace is that he works hard at it to improve, but as much as I am excited about the kid, he is probably the teams most realistic trade piece at the top of their list.