DODGERS 2019 MINOR LEAGUE/PROSPECTS THREAD

Discussion in 'Los Angeles DODGERS' started by ColoradoKidWitGame, Jan 4, 2019.

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  1. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    might just be the way he carries himself
    confidence can easily be mistaken for arrogance
    no doubt about his bat though


    cool, glad you elaborated on ruiz
    he'll probably widen the gap between him and smith as time goes by
    but seems like he might not be as close to mlb ready as some hoped


    lux seems to be solid which is good
    the thing that irked me about kendall was the perceived "unwillingness to buy into/attempt necessary adjustments at any point"
    just sounded like an entitled douche
     
  2. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    BA released their top 35 MiLB catchers and the Dodgers had 4, which is not surprising
    #1 Ruiz
    #7 Smith
    #14 Diego Cartaya
    #35 Connor Wong

    One thing to note on Wong is that he is still considered fairly raw at the catching position. He was a late transition in college and is probably AT LEAST 2+ full seasons away from being MLB ready. The feeling is that he will move up to AA this year, but I could also see the club choosing to hold him back in HiA to start the season. So far, he has performed better than expected with the bat and has shown some positive growth behind the dish. His athleticism has a lot of folks thinking he will figure things out enough to be a backup with probably a ceiling of a lower tier starter. As impressive as his bat has been, there are currently signs that he will get worked over by more advanced pitchers.
     
  3. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    would make sense then to move him slowly
    easier to make hitting adjustments where he's at than against better pitching
    and with three c's currently ahead of him, no real rush
    hold old is he colorado?
     
  4. THINKBLUE

    THINKBLUE DSP Gigolo

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    I wonder if the Dodgers could benefit from trading Verdugo and him having success. I think teams are starting to become wise to us trading our busts. I'd like to keep him though. Dude can hit. Dont care about his attitude
     
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  5. fsudog21

    fsudog21 DSP Legend

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    Saw Wong last year in the Cal League. Reminds me a little (especially his versatility) of Barnes.
     
  6. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    He has plenty of time and since catchers usually come along a bit more slowly, I am not really worried. With the depth the club has at the position, I really don't see them looking at him as anything more than a second or even third string catcher. He is really 3rd in line as Cartaya is at least 5 or 6 years away at this point. Wong is currently 22 and will be turning 23 in May.
     
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  7. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Yeah that is definitely something that appears to be on teams minds as the tippy top prospects we have traded have turned into mush thus far. The thing is, the club has also traded more than a few guys that have turned into serviceable major leaguers or are now considered to be top prospects. I think it is unfair for teams to totally label us as a poor trade partner when it comes to trading prospects when guys like Cotton, Montas, Schebler and Peraza have all been decent contributors and then you have guys like Diaz, Alvarez and Cruz in the top 100's being released as well. Not every trade is going to work out, but the Dodgers have not exactly been handing out onions in return. I am with you though, if they do end up trading Verdugo, it would be nice for him to at least meet his expectations.... but if he then hits that Yelich ceiling, I'm gonna be pissed.
     
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  8. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    That seems to be the comp for him, potentially with a bit more power and not nearly the defense. So he could be kind of a super utility 25th guy on the bench option.
     
  9. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Ben Badler has Diego Cartaya as the most likely candidate at the catching position to breakout in 2019. I think this mostly depends on whether the club brings him to the US or not as it is fairly hard to gauge guys in the DSL. Most evaluators think it is going to happen as the Dodgers are known to push top level talent harder than any other org in the game. He is also currently working out with Keibert Ruiz.
     
  10. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    I am going to add to this, another former prospect to keep an eye on this year is Jose De Leon. This was a blip during the winter in something I was listening to either with BA or MLB radio. JDL saw his velo drop a good bit before they decided that he needed to get TJ. Supposedly in his rehab they have seen his numbers back up to where they were when he exploded up prospect rankings. At his peak, he was regarded as a guy with a #2 ceiling if he could maintain those gaudy numbers(they were trending down when he was still in our org), so if he truly is finding them again, maybe we can get a little boost in that department. He is also a good example of how the team does not hit on every guy they hold on to. The Twins notably wanted Bellinger in early Dozier talks, but things apparently really broke down when the team refused to move JDL and Brock Stewart for Dozier after Stewart was quietly rumored to be labeled untouchable by the FO. The Dodgers then shifted focus and landed at the time, the comparable Logan Forsythe for a much lighter package.
     
  11. rube

    rube DSP Legend Staff Member Administrator

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    He makes good gadgets though.
     
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  12. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    This going to be a really interesting year for the farm. They have quite a few arms that showed serious promise at the end of the season that could spur a boost in the year ahead. With not a whole lot of graduations projected from top flight talent aside from Verdugo and a mess of intriguing talent at HiA and AA, we could see the Dodgers creep back into a top 5 org based on what is already in the system alone. Prospects dip, get injured or are traded, but the promising crop of pitchers continuing to improve could really be a boost the org in 2019.

    One thing that has gone from a strength to a potential worry is the OF depth. Pollock long term, with it looking like Bellinger and Verdugo now on the corners, buys the org time, but stumbling from Peters, Kendall and Toles, plus the trades of Diaz and MLB talent has severely weakened the long term outlook of the position from a depth standpoint. This makes the chances of a trade involving Verdugo less likely, unless the org has an alternative plan already in motion.

    If the Dodgers continue to have the luck they have had in recent years in the development department, I am intrigued to see where they end up in the org Top 10's this time next year.
     
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  13. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    This seems notable from MLB Pipeline's just missed the Top 100

    Dodgers: Tony Gonsolin, RHP
    Gonsolin parlayed success as a two-way player at St. Mary's into an opportunity as a ninth-round senior signed in 2016 and continues to get better as a full-time pitcher. He has gone from a reliever throwing 88-92 mph at the start of 2017 to touching 100 by the end of that season, then transitioned to the rotation last season and sat in the mid-90s with an often-unhittable curveball and changeup.

    Some other notes from the Keith Law chat and FG prospect chat

    Q: Can you convince me that Keibert Ruiz isn't Dioner Navarro
    FG: I have a 7 on his bat and he has the most accurate arm I've ever seen. That's one hell of a statement

    Q: Would it make any sense for the Dodgers to trade Ruiz in a deal for Realmuto?
    Law: Definitely not. And I don't think they will

    Q: Who is getting the bulk of starts behind the plate for the Dodgers at the All Star break: Barnes, Smith or Ruiz?
    Law: Smith. Wait... wha?....

    Q: Is Ruiz and J. Gray for Realmuto too much, fair, or too little?
    Law: Too much, and the Dodgers are not trading for a terrible framing catcher.

    Q: Do you believe in the changes Gavin Lux made? He's not on the 40-man but is there a chance he plays in Chavez Ravine this year?
    FG: Buy that he's made progress, don't think he's a SS anymore tho.

    Q: Very random question - which pitcher in the Top 100 prospects would you expect to have the heaviest ground ball rates?
    FG: uh, Kyle Wright or Dustin May?

    Q: Dennis Santana: 4th-starter ceiling?
    Law: More likely a reliever for me. I feel like if he starts he'd be more than that, but the odds are he's a reliever. This is not an insult and fits in the line of what I see. If Santana figures it out and continues to develop like he has, he is #2 starter. Everyone is expecting the hiccup as he has just taken tremendous strides every year and his mechanics lead to folks believing he is close to topping out. That's not an insult as he has some great stuff, but he needs his change and control/command to keep moving forward for him to take the next leap.
     
    Last edited: Jan 31, 2019
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  14. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    have to love what he's saying about ruiz
     
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  15. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Yeah, the people that like Ruiz think he is going to be a star. The places that aren't as high on him seem to take a lot of stock into what he has done at levels that he is generally 2+ years younger than when most other "star-level" catchers have been there. I admit that there are some things that make me worry about him, but like Verdugo, it is hard to ignore just how good he is at making hard line-drive contact. That should not be ignored in an age where guys are making minor tweaks to their swing and seeing HR numbers jump.
     
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  16. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Keith Law has the Dodgers as the #5 farm in the game.
     
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  17. VRP

    VRP DSP Legend

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    Lux #41 is nice
     
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  18. irish

    irish DSP Staff Member Administrator

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    totally agree
    i'l take a team of .275 line drive hitters over a bunch of 35 hr guys hitting .220
    line drive hitters are harder for pitchers to [consistently] retire, and thus [imo] less likely to go into prolonged slumps
    i mean, i love the power dj peters has shown
    but i'll take a hitter like verdugo over him any/every day
     
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  19. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    Jeren Kendall spent a good chunk of the winter in LA working with the new hitting instructors to fix his swing. By his own admission, his swing and understanding at the plate is incredibly raw for a player of his caliber at this level. He has made some changes, but expectations are that he is still gonna need a couple more years before everything clicks as he was just so lost at the start of this(and self-admittedly still is). So it really is not stubbornness, it's that he has just struggled to grasp what he was being taught. Great to hear that he is making progress, frustrating to hear that he could still be 3+years away.
     
  20. ColoradoKidWitGame

    ColoradoKidWitGame DSP Legend Administrator

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    When you have elite bat to ball skills and a line drive swing, you can make minor tweaks over the years to engage more power. That is why I think Verdugo's ceiling is significantly higher than most services have him. I personally feel that he will be the impact bat we have been waiting for in the contact department.
     
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