Manning Up
Devin Mann had six home runs and 12 RBI with the Drillers in three consecutive two-home run games on September 9, 10,11. How is he not a Player of the Week?
The 6’3”/180-lb. former second baseman has played six positions during the 2021 season – 1B ( 34), 2B (12), 3B (12), LF (20),CF (8), LF (11).
He was selected by the Dodgers in the 5th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft. After a power surge with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in 2019, he was slow off the mark with power during the current season. He now has 13 home runs with the Drillers.
Here is a 2019 Baseball America assessment of the now 24-year-old native of Columbus, Indiana.
“Mann emerged as one of the high-Class A California League’s top power threats [in 2019], finishing sixth in slugging percentage (.496) and tied for seventh in home runs (19) despite missing a month with a right MCL sprain…strong core and long levers. Previously a contact hitter, he began using his legs more and added loft to his swing as part of the requested changes and now shows above-average power to all fields…works counts…keeps his strikeouts reasonable for a power hitter…improved his arm strength at second base…more natural at third base, where his range fits better…Dodgers internally compare Mann to David Freese.”
This was his profile from back in July of 2019.
Then There Were Two
All of the 2021 players drafted by the Dodgers have begun their professional careers with the exception of two.
LHP Justin Wrobleski (11)
He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 36th round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft from Sequoyah High School in Hickory Flat, Georgia and by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2021 draft from Oklahoma State University.
According to Baseball America, he has a fastball that sits between 91-93 mph but has touched 95 mph. In addition, he has two above-average secondary offerings. This explains why he has not surfaced.
“His low-80s slider flashes plus potential and his above-average changeup is impressive as well. But Wrobleski left after one inning in an April start against Texas Christian with an elbow injury that sidelined him for the rest of the year. A team picking him this year is banking on being patient while he recovers from Tommy John surgery, so teams may simply wait to see him return to health again at Oklahoma State.”
RHP Madison Jeffrey (15)
The Dodgers drafted him in the 15th round out of West Virginia University.
Here’s his scouting report, per Prep Baseball Report.
“Jeffrey has the type of raw ingredients scouts look for in a pro pitcher. The Barboursville, W.V. native’s velocity has steadily improved during his Mountaineers tenure — his 90-92 mph fastball as a freshman had climbed into the mid-90s the next year, and he’s pitched at 94-96 mph with elite late-life as West Virginia’s closer in ‘21. The 6-foot, 208-pound right-hander complements his fastball with a curveball that flashes plus and a low-spin changeup, the latter a relatively new addition to his arsenal. Jeffrey’s aggressive mentality on the mound fits well in his current bullpen role, but he also has the raw ingredients to merit consideration as a starter in the pro ranks.”
Is it Emmett or Emmet?
It is both.
Right-hander Gabe Emmett (19) debuted with the ACL Dodgers on September 9 and gave up two earned runs on a homer in his inning pitched.
Right-hander Emmet Sheehan (6) has pitched 10.I innings (9.1 with the Quakes) and has a nice WHIP of 1.16 helped by 22 strikeouts and four walks.
MiLB Portion of Rule 5 Draft
A while back a LADT poster expressed concern that Andy Pages and Jorbit Vivas might be lost in the MiLB portion of the Rule 5 Draft. On my part, I was not concerned as I felt they would be put on the protected list by the Dodgers. I wrote to Jeff Lantz, Senior Communications Director for MiLB, asking about the MiLB portion of the draft and more specifically about protected lists. This was his response.
Hi Harold-
I’m told that a maximum of 38 players can be reserved on the Triple-A roster and that is the only phase of the Minor League Rule 5 draft.
Hope that helps.
Take care.
Jeff
As busy as he must be, Jeff Lantz has never failed to respond to any question I have ever asked him.
Fun Fact:
This might be a first. On September 8 in a game against Amarillo, James Outman lead of fthe game with a home run and was immediately followed by Michael Busch who also homered. Hitting back-to-backs to start the game might not be all that unusual but doing it on two pitches might be unique.
“The start of the game could not have gone much better for the Drillers. Leadoff batter James Outman hit the first pitch of the game over the left-field fence to quickly open the scoring. One pitch later, Michael Busch matched Outman with a drive over the right-field fence to make it a 2-0 lead. For Busch, it was his 20th home run of the season.”
The Beat Goes On
After a year off, the Arizona Fall League is coming back in 2021.
The 2021 campaign will begin on Wednesday, Oct. 13 and will consist of 30 regular-season games. The annual Fall Stars Game, the Futures Game of the AFL, is back and will be held on Saturday, Nov. 13. The Championship Game will take place one week later, on Nov. 20.
Each Major League team will send seven players to fill the rosters of the six teams. Who will be the Dodgers seven players assigned to the AFL?
The Fall Instructional League (from MLB.com)
A mid-September through October league made up of lower-level players (and younger players/prospects) from a (MLB) Major League organization. It is considered a “teaching league”. Usually, around 40 players from a team’s minor league system participate in the instructional league. Remember this from last fall regarding the 2020 instructional league play?
“Michael Busch earned universal reviews as the top hitter in Arizona. He took high-quality at-bats, turned around upper-90s velocity, and showed home run power to center field and both gaps. His balance, bat speed, hand-eye coordination, and strike-zone discipline all drew high praise. Evaluators were split on Busch’s defense at second base, but he earned consistent grades as a plus hitter with plus power.”
Kelvin Bautista
I sometimes take a look at how players traded by the Dodgers are doing. Not very often but did just check in on Dennis Santana. He is still having trouble with a moving plate walking 17 in 29.1 innings. He has struck out 29 in his 28 appearances and has a 4.91 ERA.
Bautista came to the Dodgers in the Santana trade with Texas.
The 22-year-old left-hander had been with the Rangers organization since 2017, posting a combined record of 3-1 with a 3.70 ERA and 71 strikeouts over 32 Minor League games across two rookie ball levels. In 2019, he split his time between the Dominican Summer League and the Arizona Summer League, going 1-0 and 2.48 ERA and 46 strikeouts.
He has velocity that reaches the high 90s but command has been an issue thus far in his young career.
The Rangers signed Bautista as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic on October 6, 2017.
With the ACL Dodgers this year Kelvin Bautista has pitched 22.2 innings posting a 1.99 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has struck out 30 and walked 12.
Then There Were Three
Three by the name of Vargas, that is.
Third baseman Miguel Vargas continues to lead the Double-A Central League in hitting with a .321 batting average. On the season he now has 22 home runs (15 with Tulsa) and is third in OBP (.390), second in SLG (.527), and second in OPS (.917). He has struck out 51 times but walked 34. The nice surprise has been his power numbers.
Right-hander Jesus Vargas has a tale of two seasons, perhaps three. He was dominant in May and June, swooning a bit in July and early August and now coming on strongly in his last four games including six innings of one-run ball on September 10.
On the season his ERA looks high at 4.53 but stands 8th in qualified pitchers in the High-A Central League. Beyond that his WHIP (1.15) is 2nd, his innings pitched (97.1) fifth, his strikeouts (81) 11th and his walks (13) are the best among all qualified pitchers.
The third Vargas is in his fourth year of minor league ball having signed with the Dodgers on July 2, 2017, out of Bonao in the Dominican Republic. The 23-year-old 6’3”/185-lb. left-handed hitter has played the entire 2021 season with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
Imanol Vargas, 23, started out as an outfielder but has been a first baseman for the past two seasons. On the season in 65 games, he has slashed .253/.344/.527 with 16 home runs and 51 runs batted in. But that is not the news.
In his last 21 games (August and September) he is hitting .336 with 10 home runs and 31 runs batted in.
Quick Hits
Eighteen-year-old catcher, Yeiner Fernandez, has eight hits in his first 14 at-bats with the Quakes.
Right-hander Gavin Stone might be the gem of the 2020 draft. He is red hot with the Loons. Although his ERA of 3.86 seems a bit high at the High-A level because of his debut game with six runs, his WHIP is 1.00 and he has recorded 37 strikeouts while walking five over 21 innings pitched. In his last four games over 17 innings, he has allowed 10 hits, three earned runs, struck out 29, and walked five. On the season between the Quakes and Loons he has struck out 138 and walked 25 in 91 innings pitched.
It is difficult to write about players in the Dominican Summer League as there is so little information in print about the young players. However, I did pick one out who is having a good summer. He actually had a very good year in 2019 with the DSL Dodgers.
Nineteen-year-old right-hander Rafael Tua during the current campaign in the DSL has posted a 3.20 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP along with 30 strikeouts and four walks over 25.1 innings. In his last start, he pitched four scoreless innings with two hits, five strikeouts, and one walk.
The 5’10”/145-lb. right-hander from Barquisimeto, Venezuela was selected as the DSL Pitcher of the Week for the week of August 2-8.
The Dodgers had three Players of the Week for the week of September 6-12.
Triple-A West – Cristian Santana
Cristian Santana picked up a team-high three hits on Sunday, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI, and a run scored. During his current five-game hitting streak, Santana is 10-for-18 with two homers, three doubles, six RBI, and six runs scored. Santana has collected four multi-hit games in his last six starts and leads OKC with 25 multi-hit games this season.
Low-A West – Jose Ramos
Jose Ramos, 20, continues to rake. His stats for the month of September over 12 games belie his age. For the month his triple slash reads .367/.446/.755 with an OPS of 1.202. He had 10 extra-base hits among his 18 hits including four home runs, five doubles, and one triple. He drove in 18.
High-A Central – Andy Pages
See the home run section below.
Twenty-year-old Andy Pages hit his second home run in as many nights on Saturday to tie former Loon James Outman for the Loons all-time home run record of 28. Outman did it over two seasons in 184 games. Pages has done so in 113 games.
He then homered again on Sunday afternoon to set a new Loons home run record with his 29th dinger. Andy Pages is making this difficult as I write. He just hit a two-out three-run home run in the top of the 9th to put the Loons ahead 8-7.
That makes it 30 for Pages. His first home run Sunday traveled 461 feet over the center-field wall. He is the only player amongst all minor-leaguers to eclipse 30 home runs in 2021 with one club,
https://www.milb.com/video/pages-30th-home-run
Something overlooked. Brandon Lewis has hit 30 home runs this year. He had 10 with the Quakes and now has 20 with the Loons.
Discussion (33)
Disagree, not disagreeable
It’s seeming like Dodgers have no problem being 2 and a half back. Maybe they can pour it on in the playoffs and feel that’s the ticket. I’m certain they really aren’t comfortable out of the lead but it doesn’t appear they’re as hungry as the Giants are. Let them up in the bay area starve to death is what I say but that will take some help from the other teams and they just don’t want to lend the Dodgers any help. Personally I don’t think wild cards should even have a chance playing in the post series even though Dodgers will have a better record than most division leaders. Maybe the way it should be is a certain number of teams making the playoffs should be the teams with the best records regardless of league or divisions.
Guess I’m just in a rotten mood as some stupid punk stole my pickup and it seems the so called friends I thought I could call on can’t even come around to give me a ride to where the truck was seen. I’ve got pictures of the guy stealing the truck and they’ve been made. I might soon to be in trouble for rehabilitating a car thief. I know how to cure him.
Nice win. Nice to see Max connect for a couple of hits. Padres are frippen pitiful.
Instead of a Giant stretch drive collapse they are basically unbeatable! Right now we’d have to sweep a double header just to gain a half game on them! Gonsolin must be the least respected sub .250 era pitcher in all of baseball! I love the guy! And I agree dr. I love Price as a person but he wouldn’t be in my playoff bullpen!
It sure looks like the Padres have quit. Jayce Tingler and A J Preller have got to be concerned for their jobs. Preller built of team of quitters and Tingler seems to have lost the clubhouse. Does not say much for the Tatis and Machado pull in the clubhouse. Three hits tonight. They have lost 5 in a row and 7 out of 10. They are now 4 games over .500. St. Louis has now taken the second WC spot, and the Padres are now behind St. Louis and Cincinnati. I couldn’t be happier unless the Giants and NYY were also out of the playoffs.
Does anyone here have any faith in David Price?
Passan said today that if, as most expect, Bauer is suspended for 2023 then the Dodgers don’t have his salary go against the CBT.
Kershaw is 38 K’s from catching Sutton for the Dodgers career record.
With Fernandez getting some PT in Rancho this year. I assume he will start next season there and Cartaya will start with the Loons.
Can we rename this blog (if it’s a recurring one)
Minor League Matter from Dodger Chatter
Ominous sign:
2010: Giants beat Padres in SF, clinched playoff spot
2012: Giants beat Padres in SF, clinched playoff spot
2014: Giants beat Padres in SF, clinched playoff spot
2021: Giants beat Padres in SF, clinched playoff spot
09/14/21 Los Angeles Dodgers activated RHP Kenley Jansen from the paternity list.
09/14/21 Los Angeles Dodgers optioned RHP Mitch White to Oklahoma City Dodgers.
Dodgers News: Chris Taylor IL Decision Should Be Made By Wednesday
Justin Turner Nominated For the Prestigious Roberto Clemente Award
JT has become a very involved member of the community along with his wife Kourtney since coming to the Dodgers. The Justin Turner Foundation aims to support homeless veterans, children battling life-altering illnesses and diseases, and youth baseball organizations all across the county.
Tonight’s Lineup:
HITTERS H-AB RBI HR SB AVG
M. BettsRF 108-394 53 21 9 .274
M. Muncy1B 111-441 83 32 2 .252
T. Turner2B 166-526 59 21 27 .316
C. SeagerSS 81-287 43 9 1 .282
J. Turner3B 131-476 80 25 2 .275
W. SmithC 99-369 69 23 3 .268
C. BellingerCF 47-292 33 9 2 .161
G. LuxLF 68-294 38 6 3 .231
T. GonsolinP 2-13 0 0 0 .154
Cristobal ain’t leaving beautiful Eugene for shithole downtown LA.
Dream on.
Trayce Thompson back in MLB with the Cubs. Jason Heyward on the concussion protocol IL and TT gets the call. Good for Trayce.
Nice write up DC. It looks like the Dodgers have some interesting choices to protect in this year’s Rule 5 Draft. Need to keep improving our bench depth by signing cheap FAs and developing our own players so we don’t have to go through the lack of position players that could help from the minors. How many more games would we have won with a stronger bench this year?
Everyone take a minute to think about losing Bauer on admin, leave. Because of his kinky ideas of sex ,he did the Dodgers a favor by having AF trade for Scherzer and T Turner. We would never be only 2 and half games behind with Bauer alone. The Dodgers are 8-0 in Scherzer’s starts and T Turner has brought speed and an offensive spark. Who would you rather have going into the playoff Bauer or Scherzer and T Turner?
Bauer’s salary is not what we as fans should be concerned with, AF and the Dodger organization knows exactly what they’re doing(except for background checks). The Dodger’s revenue stream is huge with home and road attendance, parking, concessions. a lucrative TV contract, sale of Dodger gear etc. Never cry for the poor Dodgers concerning what their bottom line is, They are one of the smartest, riches franchises in all of baseball.
Mark, that 2024 lineup of yours looks spot on.
2024:
1. T. Turner 2B
2. Lux LF
3. Betts RF
4. Bellinger CF
5. Busch DH
6. Vargas 3B
7. Seager SS
8. Smith C
9. Muncy 1B or let Muncy walk and Pages learns 1B.
Regarding ABS; Yankee broadcast last week said of 25,000 borderline pitches thrown to date, 15,000 would be balls were called strikes and 10,000 would be strikes were called balls. So if ABS were operational that would benefit the hitter 5000 times.
If you figure there are approximately 150 pitches thrown, per team per game and at the point in question approximately 140 games had been played times 30 teams equates to 630,000 pitches thrown. If 15,000 pitches are called wrong from the batters perspective, then 1 out of every 42 would be balls have been called strikes or around 7 pitches per game.
Given that the Dodgers like to run up counts, such errors are biased against the Dodgers.
Urias is pitching on Wednesday and they will throw, Buehler, Scherzer and Kersh against the Reds. Kersh will be facing the Reds best pitcher so far this season, Miley. Buehler will get Castillo.
Not worried about CK’s velo. He can be a lefty Maddux the rest of his career. He has that much pitching smarts.,
Nice team win.
* Good line up and Lux is looking good enough in left if his bat continues to play. He’s learning and he’ll make some mistakes out there but SS translate well to the OF as we all know.
* It’s sure fun to watch TT and Mookie in the same line up.
* Nice to see CK back. He didn’t look himself but I’ll attribute that to rust. He did settle in with the breaking balls. I hope he feels good today ,which is a big test.
* When I first saw Zac Gallen, he was 23 with Miami. He looked like a star in the making. When Arizona picked him up, I thought it was a terrific acquisition for them. Well progress isn’t linear and he’s regressed. Maybe it’s due to a rebuilding D-Backs team but he looks nothing like what I saw 3 years ago.
* Bellinger’s double at 107 was his best swing of the year. The new stance already looks to be helping to eliminate that huge head dip that causes a chain of problems. The double swing was great; minimal head dip, like 2 inches instead of 12”, some flex in the knees, wider base. He picked that foot up and set it down on time, which was previously late as his head was still moving with the pitch on the way. His swing took a better path to the high fastball. Less movement and on-time. Nice to see.
* The previous at bat he was back to the old head dip and giant uppercut, and he popped it up. The swing where he looks like he’s trying to hit a home run in an elevator shaft. It will take some time to groove a new action but it’s certainly encouraging and a step in the right direction.
* Eventually, I’d like to see in the next phase, perhaps in the winter, with a little bend at the waist with his knees flexed, to a still more athletic posture. A posture that looks more like a golfer where his spine angle has some tilt at the hips and not standing straight up.
That would also theoretically redefine his strike zone to help on that high strike. The strike zone rectangle 17” wide is supposed to vary according to the batters height when he’s in his stance. I see the pitch Trax box different for Altuve than it is for Judge. When Belli stands straight up at the plate the top of his strike zone is taller than if he flexed at the hips and knees. That’s 2 baseballs plus less height to cover. That would become even more important when the ABS System comes to the game.
But I really like the adjustments that I’m seeing Belli trying.
Hola DC buenos días muchisimas gracias por esta actualización de las fuerzas básicas de nuestro equipo, ese muchacho Pages será un éxito en GL de seguir así, al igual que M Busch y M Vargas, finalmente que peloteros serán los elegidos para la liga de Arizona ? por favor cuando usted tenga tiempo.
CK pitched okay but his velo has lost even more now. Sitting 88-90 probably will not do it against the better teams.
They will spit on the slider and curve and wait for his fastball.
Lets see what Catman brings to the table tonight.
Go Dodgers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the minor league update DC. There’s more interesting position players than I can remember. In fact, I don’t remember having so many position players making noise all at once. I hope they all don’t turn into Kyle Garlick or DJ Peters.
It was fun seeing Clayton do his thing last night. He gave up a lot of hits, but got a lot of K’s to even things out. 5 baserunners and 5 K’s. Great balance. I was surprised and not surprised that they pulled him after one pitch in the fifth.
Lux has a tidy little 3 game hitting streak and he’s certainly taken to the outfield like a fish to water. That was a nice play playing the carom off the wall and almost throwing out a runner at second. He made it a lot closer that it should have been.
Belli had his second extra base hit in as many days, both off of fastballs. Last night’s was a screamer at 107 MPH off his bat and it was a fastball up in the zone. Afterwards, he was stretching his shoulder like something popped. I wonder if that scar tissue broke apart a little bit. The beginning of good things to come?
It looks like the Dodgers survived Kenley’s paternity leave with Mitch White picking up the final two innings last night. Kelly and Treinen both rested and with Kenley due back tonight, the back end of the bullpen will be whole for the next few games.
It’s so nice to see the absence of McKinny, Souza, Raley, Recks, Peters types on the roster. Lux has emerged as a solid 4th outfielder just in time and as bad a Belli has been, he at least could run into one from time to time or take a walk and run the bases well. No more three automatic outs at the bottom. Even Barnes has been chipping in during his rare starts.
What a pitiful showing from Yu Darvish and the Padres last night. His ERA is now firmly in the 4’s and he has two more years remaining on his contract. None of their elite pitching prospects are proving to be elite at the major league level, so much for prospect rankings. Worst of all McKenzie Gore is turning into Yaisel Sierra. Tatis Jr. is scared to have his shoulder fixed after watching Belli this year, so next year might not be much better for the team. So much for their run.
With the Cardinals and Reds breathing down their necks, a playoff spot is all but lost with their remaining schedule and with Darvish and Snell imploding at the worst possible time. Would you rather have the Padres miss the playoffs altogether, or the Dodgers win the division? Can the Padres split this series and help us out, or are they circling the drain?
Gonso on the hill tonight. Hopefully he improve on the 3 innings and 55 pitches he had in his last start. I was encouraged by seeing him hit 96 on the gun in his last start. But, he’s never been one to pitch deep into games.
Luke Fickell, Mario Cristobal, James Franklin, Matt Campbell. The names are flying around the internet. Who can recruit the stars?
Another insightful and informative article Harold. You go deep into the Dodger system to make us aware to some of stars of the future.
Muncy’s last 98 plate appearances – .167/.224/.422
Can we win without him?
CK looked good after a shaky first inning. And the team added some insurance late to keep the BP from having to use Treinen. Jansen due back from paternity leave today. Gonsolin gets the start. C’mon Padres! Show some spunk and fight. If ya don’t, you are out of the playoffs for sure.
Who is ready to play at the ML level?
giants just continue to get it done. Bullpen game, 4 more home runs, they win going away. San Diego looks pathetic.
Bravo, great stuff Harold. Aren’t we all glad that the Joc Pederson to the Angels deal did not go through? Pages may be the next big thing in LA with Pollock’s contract done after next year. Mann looks like a young Chris Taylor clone.
Thanks for all of that info!
There have been a lot of changes in the 2021 Dodgers Prospects.
Gone are Keibert Ruiz, Josiah Gray, Edwin Rios, Victor Gonzalez, Zach McKinstry, DJ Perers, Dennis Santana, Mitch White, Omar Estevez, Devin Mann, Michael Grove, Edwin Uceta, Jimmy Lewis, Luke Raley, Zach Reks, and Gerardo Carrillo… due to trade, demotion, or graduation.
Over half of them are new. To me, that seems to be the biggest turnover the Dodgers have had in a long time. I am sure AC & DC can shed some light on this.