Meet Meaux Landry

Landry is one of those guys who keeps us a bit off base with his name, which is Simon Meaux Landry. From all reports it seems he goes by Meaux, as in “Mo”. He was selected by the Dodgers in the 22nd round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Pearl River Community College in Poplarville, Mississippi.

He grew up in Ponchatoula, Louisiana and attended high school in his home town before heading to Pearl River. He had three good years of high school ball, but his senior year did not turn out as he had hoped or expected. It seems he got distracted and as a result his college options shrunk.

“High school was a little tricky for me. I started off great my first three years. Then I started getting a lot of attention my senior year. A lot of scouts started coming to our games and I just blew it. I put a lot of pressure on myself and had a terrible year so my options were limited,” Landry said recently. “I came to Pearl River on a visit, loved it here and signed that day. It was awesome.

The right-handed hitting Landry played two years with the Pearl River Community College Wildcats in which he started every game at first base and made more than a little impression. He hit .301 as a freshman with 16 homers, 13 doubles and 46 RBIs but really took a step forward as a sophomore in 2018, hitting .392 with 16 doubles, 19 home runs, 68 RBIs and 51 runs scored. His influence on the team was not limited to his on-field success. His head coach, 36-year-old Michael Avalon explained. Avalon arrived in Pearl River the same year Landry arrived. The two made an instant connection.

“He was a dynamic player on the field and off the field. He was a captain both years for us and everything he did on the field and off the field represented what we want out of a Wildcat baseball player,” Avalon said. “He was a marked man every time we faced someone but continually got it done. He got that done through his work ethic. The thing that was special about him, not only was he a special player, but he made the program better by making every player and coach better.”

The Dodgers have done a good job of scouting at the community college leagues and Landry did not go unnoticed. In fact, the 6’4”/230-pound first baseman drew unusually high praise from Billy Gasparino, the Dodgers Director of Amateur Scouting.

“It’s probably the best raw power we’ve ever seen at a workout,” Gasparino said. “It would be better than any power in our system now, based on some of the measurements we have. If you go through exit velocity, he has better exit velocity than any minor or Major Leaguer we have in our organization. It’s just a fun guy to watch, because he has extreme power.”

Prior to the draft Landry had committed to the University of Houston fully intending to play with the Cougars. However, hearing his name called in the draft, he decided to pursue his dream of playing at the MLB level.

Landry debuted with the Arizona League Dodgers on July 16, 2018 with a walk and and a double in two plate appearances against the AZL Cubs. On the season he hit .210 with a .338 OBP and .452 slugging percentage, collecting 10 extra-base hits – including two homers and seven doubles – in 19 games.

The expectation is the 21-year-old Landry will start the season with the Ogden Raptors and the hope is he will find his way to the Loons at some point during the season.

Minor League Report by DC

Great Lakes 1 – South Bend Cubs 6

The Loons were limited to four hits against the Cubs on Tuesday. Niko Hulsizer had two of them, both doubles, and on the season four of his five hits have been doubles. The lone run was driven in by a Romer Cuadrado single following a Hulsizer double.

On the mound Stephen Kolek started his second game of the season and after a rough first inning pitched quite well giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits over five innings with one walk and three strikeouts. Brett de Geus made his Loons debut giving up three more runs on three hits in his 1.1 inning pitched. Justin Hagenman continued his strong start to the season with a third relief performance giving up one hit and one walk over 2.2 innings while striking out four.

The Loons have two more home games with the Cubs before starting a six game road trip against West Michigan on Friday.

RC Quakes 5 – Visalia Rawhide (D Backs) 8

The Quakes four game winning streak came to an end as they fell 8-5 to Visalia. They scored those five runs on two hits and five walks. Two runs scored on a Devin Mann home run in the third innings and another on a Brandon Montgomery double in the ninth. The other two runs scored courtesy of Rawhide catcher Renea Martinez, one on a throwing error and the second on a passed ball. The Quakes did steal four bases.

Leo Crawford started for the Quakes and didn’t fool many hitters giving up six runs on six hits and three walks in three innings. Wes Helsabeck pitched the next three innings allowing two runs, both unearned. German born Sven Schueller mopped up with two hitless innings. On the season Schueller has pitched six innings in relief over three appearances giving up but two hits and no runs.

The Quakes have not yet had their home opener. They play the Rawhide again tomorrow in a 11:00 AM PDT game and then head home for opening night against the Lancaster JetHawks on Thursday.

Tulsa Drillers 3 – Springfield Cardinals 2

The big draw at ONEOK Field was, of course, Clayton Kershaw making his second rehab start. Before a sellout crowd Kershaw went six innings giving up five hits, walking none and striking out six. He threw 81 pitches, 59 for strikes. He did allow two solo home runs in the sixth inning. There was a scary moment in the third inning when Irving Lopez lined a single off the back of Kershaw’s foot.

Kershaw was followed by Shea Spitzbarth who pitched 1.1 innings giving up a hit and walking three. He left with two runners on in the top of the eighth inning. Marshall Kasowski picked him up by stranding both runners he inherited and then striking out the side in the ninth inning.

The Drillers had taken a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning on an Omar Estevez single scoring Jared Walker. Trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Tulsa rallied for a 3-2 win. Josh Thole and Zach McKinstry started the rally with singles followed by an opposite field single by Gavin Lux to load the bases. Pinch runner Logan Landon scored the tying run on an Omar Estevez dribbler to first base. The winning run scored on a DJ Peters single pushed to right field against a five-man infield.

The Drillers, now 3-3, wrap up their seven game home stand tomorrow afternoon before heading off to play the Arkansas Travelers on Thursday.

OKC 0 – Omaha Storm Chasers (KC) 4

The Dodger bat collected only six hits, all of them singles, with two of them by Edwin Rios.

Left-hander Rob Zastryzny made his Dodger debut a good one allowing only two hits and two walks over five innings with six strikeouts. The 27-year-old had been signed by the Dodgers as a free agent on March 26. Relievers Justin Grimm and Josh Smoker did not fare as well. Grimm took the loss giving up a run in the sixth inning with Smoker giving up three in his 1.2 innings pitched.

The Dodgers are on the road for six more games before heading home to play these same Storm Chasers on April 16.

Hitter of the Day – Omar Estevez who now has five two-hit games in his first six games of the season.

Pitcher of the Day – The tip of the hat goes to Rob Zastryzny for his first appearance of the season as a Dodger and his scoreless five innings on 66 pitches.