For MiLB Players The Organization Matters
In the 2024 MLB draft, James Tibbs III was taken 13 th overall by San Francisco. He is now a top prospect at AAA for LAD. CWS RF Braden Montgomery made his MLB debut on my birthday (June 9), in story-book fashion with a walk-off 2-run HR in the 10 th off Raisel Iglesias for the…
In the 2024 MLB draft, James Tibbs III was taken 13th overall by San Francisco. He is now a top prospect at AAA for LAD. CWS RF Braden Montgomery made his MLB debut on my birthday (June 9), in story-book fashion with a walk-off 2-run HR in the 10th off Raisel Iglesias for the win over the Braves. Braden was taken by the Red Sox, 1 pick before JTIII in 2024 draft. He was then traded to CWS in the Garrett Crochet trade. See below on more on that steal by the White Sox.
JTIII is 6 months older than Montgomery. Montgomery started the year in AA and then moved to AAA when AA was not much of a challenge. Montgomery’s AAA stats were good, but not better than JTIII. He just had a better opportunity with CWS. If JTIII was on the White Sox, would he be in MLB? He is blocked by the Dodgers duo of Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Tucker in the OF and Freddie Freeman at 1B.
Then there is CWS LF Sam Antonacci who is already in MLB. He is right between Montgomery and JTIII age wise. He was a 5th round pick by CWS in the same 2024 draft. I first learned of Antonacci when he played for Team Italy in the WBC. He wasn’t anything special in the WBC, except for that 2-run HR against Team USA and RHSP Nolan McLean. He would not be in MLB with LAD. Would he be in AAA? Even AA?
And yet another OF taken in the 3rd round of the 2024 draft is LAD OF prospect Mike Sirota. Sirota is crushing AA pitching. With his RBI single in the 1st inning on Wednesday, Sirota has now reached 1B safely in his 49th consecutive game (including all 19 AA games). In 19 games, Sirota is slashing .366/.494/.592/1.086, 7 doubles, 3 HR, 18 BB, 18 K. For comparison purposes, in 126 AA PA this year, Braden Montgomery slashed .313/.429/.606/1.035, 5 doubles, 3 triples, 6 HR, 21 BB and 32 K. Sirota is 2 months younger than Montgomery.
How many organizations would still have 21 year old Josue De Paula at AA. He is in the top 4 of almost every offensive stat in the Texas League, including #1 in doubles, #2 in hits, #2 XBH, #2 total bases…Does he really have anything still to prove at AA? I expect both Sirota and JDP in LA before the end of 2027. But then what about Zyhir Hope. He doesn’t have much to prove at AA either, but realistically he is not only blocked by the LAD OF but also the AAAA players in AAA as well as JDP and Sirota.
Montgomery is in MLB, and Sirota and JDP are in AA with no clear path to get to AAA. Possible, but not clear. The Dodgers appear to be comfortable with Ryan Fitzpatrick playing LF and Alek Thomas in CF in OKC. They also have Zach Ehrhard and Jack Suwinski as OF.
How different would the LAD record be if the Dodgers went with Ryan Ward instead of signing Kyle Tucker to a 4 year $240MM deal? Now, Tucker is going to be roaming RF for LAD for the next three years, and possibly block others in that time frame. Meanwhile Ward is showing that he belongs in MLB, and maybe AF/BG made a mistake on him??? Still to early to tell, but he is outproducing Tucker at this point. That is why I was supportive of a Ward/Call platoon in LF until one of the “kids” was ready to assume the role.
On December 11, 2024, CWS traded LHSP Garrett Crochet to Boston for MiLB prospects: OF Braden Montgomery, 2B Chase Meidroth, C Kyle Teel, and RHRP Wikelman González. Meidroth is the starting 2B, Teel was the starting catcher before he had his hamstring injury (and is due back soon), and now Montgomery is the starting RF. González was a respectable partial season reliever for CWS last year and was trending to get the call again this year when he suffered a lat injury. Crochet was #2 in CY vote last year, but not this year. He had a bad start to the year, and is now hurt. He has a lat sprain that is worse than he thought or that has been reported by Boston executives. Per Crochet, he has no idea as to when he will be able to pitch again.
CWS picked up 3 starting position players for a SP that would have been wasted in Chicago. How many of the three position players would be starting for Boston this year? Does anyone believe that any of the 4 did not welcome the trade to a three straight 100 loss CWS?
I have spoken to dozens of MiLB players and I cannot remember one player saying they would rather play for their favorite team in MiLB where they are blocked rather than get moved to a team where they had a shot at a MLB job.
I do not think Ryan Ward has anything to prove in MiLB. He is proving that he can play MLB. And that is true even understanding that he will probably regress at some point when pitchers have a better book on him. He is happy now playing for LAD, but how will he feel about going back to OKC once Teoscar is back? Teo is due back late June or early July.
BTW, I feel the same with Alex Freeland and Hyeseong Kim about not needing MiLB. There is just not room for both, and soon maybe neither.
More injuries can happen, so there is no need to make any changes until the deadline. I see Ward back in OKC at that time. As far as September call ups and an October extra OF goes, my guess is that is why AF traded for CF Alek Thomas.
Alex Call has done nothing to show he is not an effective and productive #4 OF. Where does that leave Zach Ehrhard and Kendall George? Not only do they not have a prayer of an everyday MLB OF job with LAD, but they are blocked by Call as a 4th OF. We are not talking about players in A Ball or Rookie Ball. These players are arguably considered MLB ready.
It does matter what organization a prospect plays for when the goal is to get to MLB. MiLB players want to get to the Show, not just to play for a specific team…Yes, even the Dodgers.
MiLB GAME SUMMARY REPORT
Charlotte Knights (CWS) 9 – OKC Comets 8
RHSP Christian Romero completed 4.0 innings. He allowed 4 hits and 2 BB to go with his 3 K. He allowed 2 runs in the 1st on a BB, double, and single. Innings 2-4 were shutout innings, but not without traffic.
In the 2nd inning, LF Ryan Fitzgerald was HBP, and moved to second on a WP. 2 ground ball outs moved Fitzgerald to 3rd and home for their 1st run.
With one out, DH Austin Gauthier walked and CF Zach Ehrhard hit a 2-run HR (7) giving OKC a 3-2 lead.
Five relief pitchers followed Romero, with 4 being ineffective. LHRP Jake Eder was the first, and he allowed game tying HR in the 5th inning.
OKC went back ahead in the 6th after 2B Hyeseong Kim had a 1-out single and 3B Taylor Young had a 2-out single. Back to back BB by Gauthier and Ehrhard put OKC back on top.
RHRP Jerming Rosario allowed 3 runs in the 6th. He allowed a HR, a walk, a run scoring triple and WP giving Charlotte a 2 run lead.
In the 7th, with one Fitzgerald singled and moved to 2nd on an error. Fitzgerald scored on Kim’s single. C Eliézer Alfonzo singled with Kim to 2nd. Young doubled (1) to score 2. Gauthier reached on an error with Young scoring.
Going into the 8th, OKC had a 2 run lead. With RHRP Carlos Duran on the mound. He struck out the first two batters, but allowed a BB and 2 doubles to tie the score.
RHRP Wyatt Mills entered in the 9th. He got the 1st out, but then allowed 2 doubles for Charlotte to walk it off.
- Hyeseong Kim – 3-5, 2 runs, 2 RBI
- Jack Suwinski – 2-5, double (18)
- Eliézer Alfonzo – 2-5, 1 run
- Taylor Young – 2-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 2 RBI, double (1)
- Zach Ehrhard – 1-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 3 RBI, HR (7)
Tulsa Drillers 7 – Wichita Wind Surge (Minnesota) 6
RHSP Patrick Copen continued his struggles post April. He allowed 4 runs (all earned) on 5 hits and 3 BB. He registered 5 K.
In the 1st inning, Copen allowed a one out BB, HBP, WP, SB, and fielder’s choice giving Wichita a 1-0 lead.
In the 2nd, he allowed a one-out single. With 2 out, Copen served up a 2-run HR and a 3-0 lead.
In the bottom half of the 2nd inning, C Griffin Lockwood-Powell was HBP, and that was followed by 2B Jake Gelof’s 12th HR.
In the 4th, Copen allowed a one out single, SB, and RBI single.
In the bottom of the 4th, DH Chris Newell walked and stole 2B. He scored on 3B Kyle Nevin’s RBI double (7).
Wichita scored an unearned run in the 5th after a BB, SB, and catcher throwing error. The runner scored on a SF.
In the bottom of the 5th, LF Josue De Paula led off with his 1st triple of the season. CF Mike Sirota walked stretching his reaching base streak to 50 consecutive games. SS Elijah Hainline singled to score
De Paula with Sirota moving to 2nd. Sirota scored after a PB and WP.
LHRP Evan Shaw and LHRP Christian Suarez pitched three scoreless innings allowing Tulsa to go into the 9th tied up at 5-5. RHRP Kelvin Ramirez took the mound in the 9th. He allowed a 2 out solo HR to tie the game.
1B Joe Vetrano reached on a one out error. JDP singled and Sirota walked to load the bases. Hainline walked to bring home the tying run. With 2 outs GLP was HBP bringing home the walk off win.
- Josue De Paula – 2-5, 2 runs, triple (1)
- Kyle Nevin – 2-4, 1 RBI, double (7)
- Jake Gelof – 1-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR (12)
- Mike Sirota – 0-2, 3 BB
Great Lakes Loons vs Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee) DH – Game 1 Canceled, Game 2 Postponed to be played on Friday, June 12 as part of a DH
Ontario Tower Buzzers 5 – Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) 3
Ontario scored 3 in the 2nd. RF Ching-Hsien Ko doubled (9). 1B Easton Shelton smoked a 2-run HR (18). LF Brendan Tunink drew a BB. C Conner O’Neal singled. 2B Javier Herrera laid down a sac bunt, and Tunink scored on a WP giving Ontario a 3-0 lead.
In the 2nd, RHSP Leiter walked the bases loaded and then threw a WP giving the Storm a run.
In the 4th, Shelton led off with a BB. After a BB O’Neal was HBP and Herrera singled to load the bases. DH AJ Soldra hit a 2-out, 2-run single and a 5-1 lead.
With 2 outs in the 3rd, RHRP Jhonny Jimenez relieved Leiter and got the final out. In the 4th, Jimenez allowed a double, a single, and WP to score a run. After 2 outs, Jimenez walked a batter. With runners on 1st and 2nd, Jimenez gave up a run scoring double. RHRP Seamus Barrett relieved Jimenez and gave up a 2 run double tied the score.
With RHRP Will Gagnon on the mound, Ontario scored a run on a single, SB, and RBI single in the 6th. In the 7th, with Gagnon still on the bump, a BB, SB and RBI single scored 1. After one out, Gagnon walked a batter and was lifted for RHRP Javier Bartolozzi. Bartolozzi walked the first batter to load the bases, and balked allowing the 2nd run of the inning to score.
Ontario was down 8-5 entering the 8th. CF Landyn Vidourek and 3B Chase Harlan drew BB. Both runners were moved to 2nd and 3rd on a balk. 2 SF from Ko and Shelton scored 2.
In the 9th, Herrera walked and moved to 2nd on a PB. Soldra doubled home Herrera but did not score himself.
RHRP Jecsua Liborius came in relief in the 9th. He allowed a double and 2 BB to load the bases, but nobody scored.
In the 10th, Ko was the placed runner at 2B. After a K, Ko moved to 3rd on a ground out. O’Neal drew a BB. A WP scored Ko and O’Neal to 2nd. Herrera walked. Soldra singled to score O’Neal giving Ontario a 2-run lead.
Liborius retired the side in order with 2 Ks in the 10th for the win.
- AJ Soldra – 3-5, 4 RBI, double (8)
- Easton Shelton – 1-3, 1 BB, 2 runs, 3 RBI, 1 SF
ACL Dodgers did not play
DSL LAD Bautista 10 – DSL LAD Mega 5
Well there was a guaranteed win for a Rookie League team.
DSL LAD Bautista –
Two of the better IFA signings this past January had good games for Bautista. 17 year old OF (playing DH today) Rubel Arias reached base all 5 times. He was 2-2 with 3 BB, including his 3rd double.
The 2nd is just turned 17 year old (June 2) 3B Ezequiel Melburne. He went 3-4 with a BB and 3 RBI. Melburne now has 11 RBI in 8 games. He is now batting .348 with an OPS of .945.
Another just turned 17 year old (March 24) RF Fran-Jean Haseth was 2-4 with 1 BB, including his 2nd HR and 2nd double.
17 year old switch hitting catcher Ricardo Pulles was 2-3 with a BB and scored 3 times. He hit his first double of the season.
17 year old (May 3) SS Ariel Reynoso hit his 1st HR, a 3-run poke.
DSL LAD Mega –
The Mega batters are not as prolific with the bats as were the Bautista hitters. 18 year old catcher Jose Rivas was 2-3 with his 1st double. 19 year old SS Hendry Arvelo had a two run single.
17 year old (turns 18 September 16) RF Helvin Mendoza was 1-1 with 2 BB.
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Discussion (112)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Great piece. Lots to think on: 1. Ehrhard is looking ready. Maybe set him free in exchange for a reliever. 2. JDP looks like Bonds when he makes contact. 3. Enjoying the young RH thump we have in Shelton/Harlan/Morales. 4. Sirota better not get a look in the bigs because he might not come back. Trading Teo at some point before his contract’s up is an option. 5. Tucker’s getting a lot of flak and deservedly so. But a lot of that has to do with how good our prospects are performing. It’s hard for me to read that part of the equation negatively.
So those Dodger prospects who are hitting .300, and some even less, would only hit .240, or less, in MLB? That’s everybody. Trade them all now, win the WS and let the incoming ownership deal with the new CBA.
With 7 years left on a multimillion-dollar contract, hard decisions are not going to be made. As far as Kim tearing up the PCL, that is AAA pitching in a hitter friendly league. Don’t put to much credence in that. A lot of players who hit .300 plus at AAA, hit MLB pitching at about .240.
Agree with Kevin. Thinking these prospects can hit MLB pitching is a stretch, and the Dodgers know when they’ll be ready. Tucker filled a need and it cost zero young talent. Instead of labeling him a blocker, it should be preserver. This season may be last in which the Dodgers can spend freely. Next season and beyond will require young talent. Tucker’s value will be determined in the Fall when he has oppt’y to produce under the bright lights of the playoffs. The Dodger brass no doubt was concerned about a repeat of what they saw in the WS. A lot of strike outs and declining stars. Finally, next season there could be 1-3 OF positions available for our touted prospects. This assumes Teo getting traded to an AL team were he can be DH, Call moving on, and Kike not on the roster. In one year’s time, the conversation may be, ” I wish we had OF prospects that can field and hit ML curveballs.”
Settle down it’s the PCL
Mookie will be fine. And he’s still a top-notch shortstop. And he has a runway as long as the Transcontinental railway. The only thing that could possibly happen is him getting bumped down the batting order a little further.
Mookie will be fine. And he’s still a top-notch shortstop. And he has a runway as long as the Transcontinental railway. The only thing that could possibly happen is him getting bumped down the batting order a little further.
Management wasn’t pressured to bench Conforto, so as long as we are winning I wouldn’t expect many changes
Kim is tearing it up in OKC. Just under 800 OPS and hitting.383. looks like he got “fixed” by the coaches. To bad we already have a SS hitting.186. /602 OPS. Love Mookie and all he has been for the Blue but something has to change and tough decisions upcoming. I don’t think anyone has an answer but once the Boo Birds start to serenade Betts, it will pressure management. Let’s hope he turns it around before the AS break. One suggestion would be platooning him with a lefty to reduce his presence in the field.
Absolutely a Great Post, Jeff. I, too, was puzzled by the Tucker acquisition. The only thing that makes sense is that maybe the Dodgers thought that by adding Tucker this year, it would ensure another World Championship, giving them three in a row… and then sell the team. Mark Walter and Magic Johnson will be 67 next year, Stan Kasten will be 75, and Peter Gruber will be 85. Combined, they own under 30% of the Dodgers, while Todd Boehly and Bobby Patton allegedly own a combined 40% of the team. Walter holds 100% of the voting control of the Dodgers. The Dodgers have a valuation of over $9 BILLION. Could this be an exit strategy before they sell the team? The Dodgers generated a staggering $1.1 billion in gross revenue last year. They are one of the only franchises outside of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys and European soccer giants like Real Madrid to ever cross the billion-dollar annual threshold. If a multi-billionaire desperately wanted control of baseball’s most valuable brand, a final, premium transaction figure would settle somewhere between $11 billion and $12 billion. I could see Apple or Amazon buying the team… or could Elon Musk, as the world’s first trillionaire want it?
Another fine report, Jeff. I was bullish on Crochet. I would have much preferred a blockbuster for Crochet than a Big Fat Check for Snell. Crochet might be hurt now–but it’s not like Snell has been a study in durability. Crochet is much younger and proved his talent as the Cy runnerup to Skubal. I knew that to get Crochet, the trade package would have to include Rushing and other nice pieces. Looking at the trade now, the other pieces might have been Alex Freeland, a plum OF prospect (Hope?) and a ML-quality reliever such as Henriquez or Klein. (I’d have offered Ward or Outman, but everybody seemed to think they had cooties so maybe Chicago would have insisted on somebody with a higher ceiling.) Looking back, would I still do that deal ? Probably. As fans, we are now emotionally invested in guys like Freeland and Rushing. But we weren’t very invested at the time. Crochet was a big prize. Before he got hurt, was an absolute stud. At 26, he’s very much on the right side of 30. Snell is 33 and perhaps working on his last contract. If Rushing had been dealt, the Dodgers might have Feduccia or Rortvedt as Smith’s backup. Instead of Freeland, HS Kim would be on the job, with Miggy Rojas and maybe Espinal as support–and Edman still on the way. Noah Miller might be knocking on the door. There are, obviously, no perfect equivalents to the Red Sox offer, but the Dodgers certainly had prospect depth to pull it off. (Why didn’t AF? No doubt they considered it, but my sense is that AF had already targeted Snell–they have a long history– and he’s obviously shown a propensity for writing Big Fat Checks than dealing prospects.) Did the White Sox fleece the Red Sox? I don’t think so. If Crochet was healthy, he’d be the ace of the staff. The trade might called a win-win. Look at this way: As a Dodger fan, would you rather be waiting for Crochet to get off the IL or for Blake Snell? Both fine pitchers, sure. But I’d rather have the young guy. Yes, I like blockbusters. I would have overpaid for Mason Miller rather than let the Padres get him. I’d have tried to swing a deal for Byron Buxton (who is having a great season) than commit $240 million to Kyle Tucker for 4 years. Assuming he stays healthy, Tucker’s enormous contract might keep de Paula and Sirota down on the farm for an extra season or two. I’m not saying I want Tucker to tear his ACL….. but what if he has meh production while dePaula or Sirota are winning the PCL MVP??? Instead of bobbleheads, perhaps the Dodgers could market voodoo dolls. As Jeff’s analysis illustrates, the Dodgers farm system is so stacked that it makes it hard for talented guys to move up. Several players seem blocked and deserving of more opportunity. One of the benefits of a blockbuster is that it can ease the logjam. Great to see Ryan Ward proving that he belongs. Still a shame that Conforto and his contract was blocking him last season.
The Dodgers are 8 games in front of the Padres and 9.5 in front of the D-Backs. LA’s run differential is +143. No other team in the West has a positive number. Only the Braves at +113 and the Yankees at +103, are over 100. The Rockies have scored 100 runs less than they have allowed. The Yankees and the Rays who are tied atop the AL East, have the biggest lead in MLB by 9 games over the Blue Jays. LA and Atlanta have 8 game leads.