Minor League Odds and Ends with Dodger Chatter

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.

The Mann of the Hour

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.