Moving on Up
Every baseball season brings new hope for some players and a lack of hope for others. Some players progress, while others stay stationary, and yet others regress. Let’s look at the Dodgers systems after a little over a month and see who is who. ( NOTE: These stats were compiled…
Every baseball season brings new hope for some players and a lack of hope for others. Some players progress, while others stay stationary, and yet others regress. Let’s look at the Dodgers systems after a little over a month and see who is who. (NOTE: These stats were compiled before last night games so they will differ slightly.)
Regression Station
Perhaps the poster child of regression is Diego Cartaya. I am also not impressed with Kendall Williams, Kendall George, or Jake Vogel.
Standing Still
Rancho Cucamonga
Zyhir Hope got off to a great start, but has slid to .282 and .899 – he’s raw. He needs more time. I am not a huge fan of Kendall George. He’s blazing fast, but I do not see any more than Juan Pierre.
Great Lakes
Peyton Martin pitched in his first game last night. I am high on him, but now we have to see some consistency. The same is true with Thayron Liranzo, who started out slowly and is still under .200.
Tulsa
Ben Casparius is interesting but unlikely to move up this year. The same is true with Sauryn Lao – a world of potential… he just has to execute.
OKC
Trey Sweeney is intriguing but not ready and probably will never be a regular. Hunter Feduccia and Chris Okey are just journeymen who are there in case the awful happens.
Ready to Roll
At the head of the class is Miguel Vargas, who hopes the third time is a charm, but there are others who are also worthy of moving up:
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Jerel Perez is smoking hot and leads the league in HR with 4 and is hitting .346 with a 1.067 OPS. He is also 2-2 in stolen bases. If he can keep this up… he’s headed to Great Lakes by next month. Did I mention he’s just 19? This kid came out of nowhere, but he needs to be challenged.
Jake Gelof is a little old for this league, so he needs to move up to Great Lakes. He’s not a 3B… maybe a LF’er or, ideally, a 1B. He’s hitting .312 with 22 RBI in 78 ABs and batting .312 with a .985 OPS. He is a hitting machine – they will find a place for him to play.
Zyhir Hope got off to a great start but has slid to .282 and .899. He’s raw but talented, and he has power, speed, and athleticism. I am not a huge fan of Kendall George. He’s blazing fast, but I do not see any more than Juan Pierre. Oh, I said that already!
Great Lakes Loons
At the head of the class is Jared Karros, who is head and shoulders above anyone here. He needs to move up… like now! If I had a favorite player, it would be Alex Freeland, who was born with a club foot. He should move to Tulsa by the break, as he is hitting .338 with a 1.079 OPS. He profiles as a utility man, but I would not bet against him being a regular. Peter Huebeck has a 2,51 ERA and has struck out 23 batters in 14 innings. He has walked 10, so if he can cut down on those (just a little), he could also move up later. There’s a lot of talent here, but most need some more time here.
Tulsa Drillers
The most notable player here is Dalton Rushing, but they are taking their time and not “rushing” him. I expect him to play all year at Tulsa. Diego Cartaya has totally imploded. I guess I was wrong on him. He looks pathetically lost. I have no clue what happened to him. Austin Gauthier has had some big hits, and he is a utility man-baller like Freeland. However, he needs all season at Tulsa. Ronan Kopp could move quickly as an LH reliever, but he just came back from extended spring training, and he has to cut down on walks. There’s a lot of talent in this group’, but they need time. Players like Casparius, Harris, Lao, Pilarski, Sublette, and Wrobleski just need time.
OKC Baseball Club
Past Miguel Vargas, there are some other newsworthy prospects, including Kody Hoese and Andre Lipcuis, both of whom have struggled until this year. I don’t know quite what to think about either one, so I guess I just wait and see. On the pitching side, there are Matt Gage, Alec Gamboa, Kevin Gowdy, Landon Knack, DInelson Lamet, Drew Pomeranz, Nick Ramirez, John Rooney, Ricky Vanaso, and maybe River Ryan. We could see a couple of those names this season.
Feel Free to weigh in and Agree or Disagree.
X-CITES
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Discussion (53)
Disagree, not disagreeable
OC-Register has a great article on Betts at SS:
Open on www.ocregister.comhttps://www.ocregister.com/2024/05/02/has-mookie-betts-become-dodgers-permanent-solution-at-shortstop/Mookie Betts probably thought it would be the most difficult job he would ever love.
But he didn’t really think about whether it would be temporary.
“No, not really,” the Dodgers’ accidental shortstop says. “If there’s changes made and I have to move back to second or wherever, that’s fine. I don’t care. I just want to win. If it is permanent, I’m prepared for that too.
“I think I’m kind of prepared for anything at this point. I’m more intentional about everything and that’s allowed me to be ready for any surprises that come.”
Moving to shortstop a month into spring training was a surprise in itself. The Dodgers had spent the winter saying the job belonged to Gavin Lux – as much to build his confidence in his return from last spring’s knee injury as anything.
…….
A lot can change in the nearly three months left before this year’s July 30 deadline. If the Dodgers do decide the best way to improve their team is by acquiring a shortstop, Friedman said “we will communicate with him (Betts), get a feel for what he’s thinking, he’ll get a feel for what we’re thinking as things play out.”
“But right now I would bet on him being an above-average shortstop,” Friedman says.
Would he also be willing to bet that Betts will still be the Dodgers’ primary shortstop when August arrives?
“Yeah, I would,” he says. “With how quickly he has taken to it, the plays he’s made. The last piece is syncing up his body on various throws that are just different than what he’s done.
And it was a piece that we knew would take a little time was the throwing – just in terms of how to organize your body to make various throws and we’ve already seen real improvement. So if that continues, he’s a good major-league shortstop.”
This was just a snippet out of a long article. It’s a good read from Bill Plunkett whom I think is the best Dodger Beat Writer.
Friday Dodger Minor League Schedule
3 p.m. PT (doubleheader): Tulsa (Orlando Ortiz-Mayr & Kendall Williams) vs. Springfield (Edwin Nuñez & Max Rajcic)
4:40 p.m.: Great Lakes (Maddux Bruns) at Wisconsin (Brian Fitzpatrick)
5:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Eduardo Salazar) vs. Salt Lake (Davis Daniel)
7:05 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Edgardo Henriquez) at Modesto (Elijah Dale)
“DODGERS MINOR LEAGUE NEWS
Blake Treinen nearing Dodgers return after back-to-back outings in Triple-A
Second scoreless inning in as many nights for Treinen, who started the season on the injured list but has now pitched five games on his minor league rehab assignment”.
Two years ago Cartaya was a “generational” talent. Now he’s a third string catcher in double A. You just never know. Do the Dodgers have to send down Outman to bring up Vargas. Why bring him up not to play everyday?
AAA – Oklahoma City Baseball Club 18-12 2nd place 2.0 GB
AA – Tulsa Drillers 11-11 3rd place 3.5 GB
A+ – Great Lakes Loons 16-8 1st pace 3.0 GA
A- – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes 14-8 1st place 4.5 GA
Arizona Complex League starts tomorrow May 4th (Rookie League)