I have to tell you folks that with minor league ball gone belly up my baseball oxygen is basically depleted. I am only on life support with MLB and the goings on. The Dodgers have thus far signed only one undrafted free agent – righty Robbie Peto out of Stetson University. A few signings would definitely provide some more baseball oxygen for me.
I have looked at the 60-man roster and kind of understand it but have not looked seriously at all of the implications. I see there are possible dangers in stacking it fully with 60-players. That is, movement of players so I understand a bit more why the Dodgers are around the low 50’s with their current roster.
Having said that, I was pleased to see 21-year-old right-hander Geraldo Carrillo on the list. More on him another day. I expected to see 22-year-old right-hander Brett de Geus on the list and perhaps now that there may some issues in relief for the Dodgers he might be added. However, it would be more than impressive to see him pitch at the MLB level this year.
Meet Zach Fitzpatrick
In looking around MiLB.Com last week I came across a review of the Dodgers 2020 draft. I must admit I was not really aware of Zach Fitzpatrick and his role with the Dodgers which is a rather significant one. It seems that he works rather closely with Billy Gasparino and with youth on his side might be on a quick rise to the top of his profession.
Zach is the Dodgers Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting and in his fifth year with the team. There is not much written about him as he has no baseball playing resume of note although catcher is listed in his short resume.
Fitzpatrick attended McDonogh School which is a private coeducational college-preparatory school in Owings Mills, Maryland. He then played two seasons with Lynchburg College including an Old Dominion Athletic Championship in 2012. His next two years were spent at the University of North Carolina where he was a bullpen catcher and he acquired a BSBA degree in finance/accounting at the University of North Carolina.
He then worked for four months with Ernst and Young on the Asset Management Team. So how did he wind up with the Dodgers? His next work assignment might help to answer the question. He signed on with Bloomberg Sport as a Professional Baseball Systems Analyst, working and learning sports analysis and analytics for a year following which he signed on with the Dodgers.
Fitzpatrick signed with the Dodgers in November of 2015 with the role of Coordinator of Amateur Scouting for three years. In November of 2018 he was promoted to the position of Assistant Director of Amateur Scouting. Looking at his brief resume and having graduated from high school in 2010 he would have first signed with the Dodgers at about age-24.
He wrote about his area of expertise in LinkedIN:
“I’m a baseball professional with a strong passion and concentration on player personnel and player procurement at both the professional and amateur levels. I am focused on being a strong and accurate evaluator of talent, and incorporating new skills and ideas that can help produce long-term, sustainable success at the Major League level.”
As a career goal coming out of university, Fitzpatrick wrote in baseballfitz:
“I am very interested in player scouting and development. I have a background in statistics that allows me to utilize sabermetrics and what they bring to the table. In addition to statistics and scouting, I am a finance major so I am also intrigued by player “value” and contract evaluations.
That’s all there is except for his take on the 2020 Dodger draftees. Perhaps you have previously read these so this will give you a few minutes off.
Bobby Miller:
“Marty Lamb, our area scout, did a tremendous job identifying [Miller],” Fitzpatrick said. “We believed in the adjustments he made from a delivery standpoint, from a command standpoint and how he improved his breaking ball and changeup. We felt great about the direction and steps he took early on in the season.”
“The college pitching demographic overall, you generally look at those guys as being a bit more polished,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think the stuff that Bobby has in particular definitely has a chance to be impactful rather quickly.”
Landon Knack:
“Given the shortened season and the smaller school, I think that’s why he was ranked where he was,” Fitzpatrick explained. “But we love the total package. He’s an elite strike-thrower and has an elite strike-throwing record. We felt like there was a real jump in stuff. There’s a rare combination there of stuff and strikes to be considered a quality Major League starter.”
Clayton Beeter:
“Our scouts kept coming back being impressed with Clayton’s size, by his strength and by his improved strike-throwing ability,”Fitzpatrick said.
Beeter’s velocity ticked up, sitting between 94-96 mph, and Fitzpatrick described his breaking ball as “the best in the Draft.”
“We definitely view him as a potential starter,” he said. “But he also has the kind of go-to breaking ball that you look at and could easily see fitting in a bullpen role as well down the road.”
Jake Vogel:
“The more we got to know Jake, the person that he is, the passion he plays with and the intensity and maturity he plays with, we believe is rare for a high school player,” Fitzpatrick said. “He has a dynamic run tool. He has the ability to stay in center. He has at least a plus arm as well.”
“We think he can be a dynamic center field defender. The hand speed, bat speed and power, we believe, is going to continue to progress. We think he’s going to a really well-rounded package,”Fitzpatrick said.
Carson Taylor:
As you’ve seen with the Dodgers, the ability to play multiple positions and the versatility is a key component,” Fitzpatrick said. “We really feel that Carson made significant strides behind the plate from his freshman to sophomore year. We like the makeup and the passion he brings to the position.”
“He’s a strong switch-hitter,”Fitzpatrick noted. “We feel like the left side of the swing has a chance to be very good. He’s a very well-rounded package at a premium position, with some pretty special makeup traits that we value.”
Gavin Stone:
“The arm speed and the uptrend that he’s on was another exciting package to get, especially in the fifth round,”Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzgerald concluded:
“We really do believe that all six players that we took, if they had a chance to play a full season, would’ve had a really good chance to perform and boost their Draft stock,”Fitzpatrick said. “To get the players that we did and the timing of the rounds that we got them, we were just really pleased with our staff to stay committed.”
“This Draft class is a great outcome for us. To add four potential starting pitchers, with both stuff and athleticism, and to get to add two premium position players as well that we think can be offensive contributors, the probability and upside of our entire group is strong. They’re going to flourish.”
Discussion (40)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Chazz Martinez, Throws left bats left , 6’4” 215 LBS , OCC junior college , pitcher 96mph sits at 94 , he is also a good first baseman and outfielder has pop in his batting ,Chazz’s cell 310-245-4071
Urias and Wood both had some nice stuff in that 1st
Andrew Friedman was just on Mason and Ireland, ESPN 710. Gavin Lux has joined the team and will be playing tonight.
Gonsolin also reported to be in camp
Later update – Lux will not be playing tonight. Doc is giving him 2-3 days back in camp before throwing him in a game. There is no illness or injury holding Gavin back. He just needs time.
FYI tonight’s intra squad game at 6:30 will be on the Dodger channel, as well as Facebook and Twitter
Dodgers add, C Carson Taylor, 2B, Michael Busch LHP Landon Knack, RHP Edubray Ramos, RHP Bobby Miller, RHP Ryan Pepiot, and OF Anthony Garcia to player pool. Per Ken Gurnick.
AC, 2D2. DC…someone asked for suggestions on future articles. Well, I was hoping one of you guys could do a write-up on one of my favorite AAA managers, Bill Haselman and his journey and what future plans the Dodgers have for him. Possible?
DBM, I checked on all of the Dodger system coaches and managers, Haselman is not among them. I think the last year he managed in the Dodger system was 2018. Travis Barbary is the manager at OKC right now if memory serves. Haselman to my knowledge is no longer coaching or employed by the Dodgers.
Thanks for checking, Bear. I thought he was hired last year as as some sort of roving scouting person, but maybe I was mistaken. I sure hate to see the Dodgers lose this talented man. Although I absolutely adore Dino, I was hoping before they hired him that Bill would be the 3rd base coach.
DBM – Haselman served as the Dodgers Minor League Managerial Co-ordinator in 2019. It is a new, rather unique position. He still maintains that title. He has not been lost to the Dodgers. A MLB coaching/managerial role would do that. Hopefully it would be with the Dodgers who really value him in his current role.
Stay tuned.
Thank you DC. Keeping fingers crossed.
According to MLBtraderumors…Vlad Guerrero is moving to 1st base permanently. Hmm. Guess he won’t be an outfielder like pops. Up until today Harold, I had never heard of Fitzpatrick. Of course I do not keep a keen eye on the Dodger farm system nor those who run it. Getting to long in the tooth to expend that much energy.
He is one who, if he doesn’t take care of his body, can easily balloon up to Pablo Fatoval status
Great read today, Harold. I am aware of Zach Fitzpatrick and so are the Dodgers… and so is everyone else. They are going to have a hard time keeping him unless they just want to throw a bunch of money his way. He is a brilliant talent evaluator, blending old school scouting with new-school analytics. He is exceptionally bright.
Thought Bear might appreciate this:
I do, Mark, and I am sure Bear does. Thank you.
+I totally do! Thank You Mark. I downloaded the image and will share it with my friends on facebook. And I can use it as a screensaver. Is it just me, or do the faces of the men in power in baseball get younger and younger? Ya just do not see old grizzled baseball vets being GM’s anymore. 5 bidders for Mets ownership have submitted their bids. I am kind of hoping Alex Rodriguez becomes an owner because he sucks as an analyst on FOX.
The old guys are dying like dinosaurs. Evolve or die. I keep evolving, even though I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Analytics and sabermetrics will never replace scouting and evaluation in MLB… but it will enhance it. They are not mutually exclusive.
Steve Cohen will be the new owner of the Mets!
Good stuff 2D2. Speaking of high school, my grandson who was on the varsity team at Torrance HS, pitched a no hitter, just one walk from a perfect game. Only other high school personal info is that my son, the hockey coach, graduated from the same high school as Justin Turner, Mayfair, although some years earlier. Sorry, was feeling in a bragging mood.
NEVER apologize for bragging about a grandchild DBM.
There is no such thing as bragging.
It’s either a lie or the truth.
Which one is a lie?
“I’m as good looking as Brad Pitt!”
“I am as smart as Albert Einstein!”
I’ll save you the embarrassment.
Both are damn lies!
DBM – I concur, never, ever stop bragging about the grandkids!! Is there a source of greater joy on this earth?
Six degrees of separation – Mayfair High was not too far from where I lived and a girl that I “dated” in HS, attended there.
DBM – Week of celebration for us.
Tomorrow we travel to Truro to celebrate grandson Rowan’s second birthday. Huh! Seems like he was just born last week.
On Monday Elaine and I celebrated our47th wedding anniversary. Huh! Seems like we were just married a few years ago.
Congratulations DC to you and your wife on your grandson’s birthday and your wedding anniversary. Time flies and special moments like those should be celebrated. Have a good time in Truro. I visited there as a toddler. I love the name Elaine. My daughter’s middle name.
Thanks.
Nice article Harold! I feel your pain about not having a minor league season to write about. Following the young pups is one of my favorite pastimes and passions. Mr. Fitzpatrick seems like the perfect fit for the Dodger scouting department. Smart, passionate and loves analytics.
To jump into the high school discussion from yesterday, I graduated from Richard Gahr HS in Cerritos in 1969 (although my last semester, I attended Perris High School in Perris, CA). Out graduating class was the first 4 year class to graduate from the new Gahr High. Because it was a new high school, we didn’t have any real star athletes right out of the chute. Later graduates that played in the major leagues were Bret Barberie, Shane Mack, Tom Nieto, Al Osuna, Jacob Faria and Chris Devenski. Chris Devenski’s father, Mike was in my graduating class. We recently hooked up at a mutual classmate’s funeral and had plenty of baseball to talk about. Gahr’s most famous athlete alumni was Jim Zorn, who was a quarterback for the Seattle Mariners for several years and a head coach for the Redskins. Zorn was a sophomore when I graduated. His sister Becky was in the class after mine, and I knew her well.
Perris High School had two notable alumni. Danny Harris and Calvin Sweeney. Calvin was a football star at USC and for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He came from a very large family, so virtually every class, including mine had a Sweeney for a classmate. Danny Harris was an Olympian track star, being the man who broke Edwin Moses’ decade long consecutive win streak in the 400 meter hurdles. He won the silver medal in the 1984 Olympics losing to Moses.
2d2, The Mariners probably could have used a quarterback, like Zorn, for several years. That’s probably including Russell Wilson who was a minor league second baseman.
Just a small error. I typically blame stuff like that on spell check. Which brings me to my joke of the day……..
A priest, a rabbit and a minister walk into a bar. The bartender asks the rabbit “what’ll ya have?”. The rabbit says “I dunno. I’m only here because of Autocorrect”.
Was this baseball related?
It was my strictly baseball brain that made me type Mariners. Would probably pay to proof read. 🙂
Took me a second read to catch the joke. That was funny.
It’s all good.
I kind of figured Posey would not play. Since the Giants are semi rebuilding as it were and Buster has young ones and injury issues lately, it makes sense to stay home. I have a sneaking suspicion that Pollock will not play either.
Buster and his wife just adopted twin girls who were born prematurely. They are currently in NICU and are scheduled to remain there for the immediate future. Their health would be precarious for the next four months. What I find incredulous is that while Buster himself is not at risk, those two little girls absolutely are, and because he is not at risk he forfeits his 2020 salary. How does two premature babies sitting in NICU not qualify for opting out for health concerns and receiving his prorated salary? Will that be the same for AJ Pollock? Same concern with a premature born daughter in NICU. In my opinion, NICU should certainly be a qualifier. Oh well, the MLBPA signed off on what qualifies.
Buster Posey is opting out.
Jeff, I expect you to be a real Zach Fitzpatrick fan. What could be better than an ex-catcher with an accounting background. I suggest you adopt him immediately.
So while I was at LeConte I played left field on the A-9 softball team and the year before I played Elmer in the play Elmer and the Love Bug. Recall any of that?
I must admit I don’t remember Elmer and the Love Bug but you were obviously very talented considering you scored the starring role.
I do remember the A-9 softball team vaguely although I wasn’t a participant.
Can’t believe those aren’t vivid memories for me considering it was a mere 60 years ago. 🙂
I do remember coaches Hills and Malousis.
Wasn’t he already adopted? I thought the papers were signed.
Don’t ya just love new “scout-speak”? Jake Vogel has a “dynamic run tool”. I guess he’s fast.
DC, thank you for the interesting article on Zach Fitzpatrick. He sounds like a young man with a well-rounded personality and background. He certainly seems to have a good eye for the talent of the youngsters, some not so much younger than himself especially when he first signed with the Dodgers at age 24. Hoping to see what the draft picks this year will do and excited to see them perform.