DODGERS 2017 MINOR LEAGUE/PROSPECTS Thread

He has the chops defensively to be a big leaguer, the problem is that the bat has never caught up after busting out for two years between college and MiLB. It's too bad really as the word has always been that their is upside in that stick and if he could pair that with his plus speed, he'd be a valuable prospect and probably a type of player that woulda pushed Seager to 3B. He has made some changes to his swing and resulted in a better year this past season, upped SLG and walked a lot more, but the K's accompanied that and the reports I saw were that he still has some mechanics to fix. Though he was said to look much better than he had before. If he can go to AA and recreate over a full season what he did in HiA last year, he may leap up the Dodgers charts, especially if they continue to use him in a super utility role. As of now his future is likely late game defensive replacement/pinch runner or lower end utility player.

I am curious, if they are asking you to sponsor him, does that mean they expect him in Rancho again? He needs to go to at least Tulsa for the year IMO, any extended stay below that means that his bubble has probably popped.

 

It seems that scouts either love him or they don't. So much attention is on his wiry frame and a lot of belief that he will never fill out. I guess there is a rumor that he is a really good kid, but not all that interested in hitting the gym so of course his work ethic is now being questioned(There is always one, Joc then Verdugo and now it looks like May is next in line). I still like your bold prediction, but if that happens I more worry that something has gone really wrong. White started trending down towards the end of the year, Alvarez is also trending backwards, but Santana is a serious helium candidate. Santana started integrating a much improved changeup that made him look like a formidable mid-front of the rotation starter. That trend continues in 2018 and he should be at the top of our chart, hopefully just behind Ruiz and a little ahead of May after the graduations of Buehler, Verdugo and potentially White.

 

Part of that prediction is that Buehler (duh) will graduate and at least one of Santana and White will be traded in-season. I really hope that if all of those things happen Alvarez will be #1, but I have serious doubts.

 

https://www.baseballamerica.com/min...r.com&utm_campaign=buffer#YzfUtTzivfximKAC.97

BA released their Top 100, featuring 4 Dodgers.

#13 - Buehler
#37 - Verdugo
#40 - Ruiz
#69 - Mitchell White

Back in November, they released the Top 10 prospects in org.

https://www.baseballamerica.com/min...dodgers-top-10-prospects/#eoKiSyz0xFCOer1X.97

 

Keith Law posted his Top 100 prospects (insider).

#12 - Buehler
#36 - Verdugo
#52 - Alvarez
#97 - Ruiz

Per Dustin Nosler

 

Weird that he gives no love for White compared to BA. If I remember correctly, he was slobbering all over White during ST. Then he threw an absolute hissy fit at me when he said his slider was elite and I asked him if he meant his cutter since that is what everyone raves about as a 70-80 pitch. His words were that White doesn't throw a cutter and whomever I was referring to didn't know what the fuck they were talking about. When I told him that BA, MLB.com, BP and MiLBall all have him with a repertoire of FB, Cutter, Curve and Change, he attacked my character. He is a real level headed dude, but I'm not bitter....

 

Arguments over cutters and sliders have been prevalent lately
People arguing over what to call Scherzer's offering and sort of the same for Verlander
I think Scherzer's comments on the topic at one point were " good..I hope you guys never figure it out " Lol

 

http://www.dodgersnation.com/dodger...own-pitcher-yadier-alvarez-bc0887/2018/01/24/

 

MLB.com Top 100 prospects revealed last night.

#13 - Buehler
#33 - Verdugo
#52 - Ruiz

http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2018?list=prospects

 

BA ranked the Dodgers the #8 org in baseball right now.

8. Los Angeles Dodgers

Recent Trends: The Dodgers ability to spend freely has helped, but their five-year run as the NL West champions has been made possible by an excellent farm system. Los Angeles ranked first in 2016 and had three consecutive top three finishes before falling to eighth this year.

Top 100 Prospects: 4

The Skinny: After graduating Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Austin Barnes and Julio Urias in the past two years, the Dodgers still have one of the best pitching prospects in the game (Walker Buehler), a big league ready outfielder (Alex Verdugo) and one of the best catching prospects around (Keibert Ruiz), not to mention enviable depth.


6 of the 7 teams ahead of the Dodgers have actively tanked within the past 2 seasons at least and the only one ahead of them that has not, the Blue Jays, hasn't graduated a top prospect in some time. Pretty damn impressive when you think about it, but this is probably their last year in the top 10 unless something drastic happens. The system will be perked up by Ruiz hopefully a year from now, but are going to need multiple breakout seasons to still be considered a top tier system. That is not to say that something like that is not possible. There are multiple star ceiling prospects within the system, but they all have shown major flaws in Kendall, Peters and Alvarez. One of those guys takes a big step forwards and they could instantly be reloading the top tier of the farm.

 

Not to mention we can sign international free agents again next year

 

Yeah, forgot to mention that. They are already linked to one of the top Int'l prospects. Will see if they can hold on to him, but he is also another very advanced for his age catcher. Would really love to see them find some upside IF bats this year. Those are the most valuable pieces in a system usually and we are sorely lacking in that category. Naturally in the draft you take the best talent available, I just hope that talent they find is a potential MIF.

 

BA has the Dodgers with two catchers in the top 10 of their top 20 positional rankings with Ruiz checking in at #2 and Will Smith at #10. Pretty damn impressive considering they graduated another top 20 catcher just last year and the only other club with multiple entries is the Cardinals. Ruiz is the only guy in the top 6 that has not yet played in the big leagues, so if things go well the club could have upwards of 4 top 20 catchers next year(though highly unlikely as one will have just been signed). A lot of people feel that Smith is a breakout candidate this year and Connor Wong had a very impressive debut in Lo-A that had him generating some positive reviews. Would not be surprised to see things shake out to start the year with AAA- Farmer, AA- Smith, HiA Ruiz and LoA Wong. Each of these guys could be getting quick promotions if they have hot starts.

 

https://www.baseballprospectus.com/...tor-robles-vladimir-guerrero-jr-eloy-jimenez/

BP Top 101. Dodgers aplenty.

 

Me gusta

 

The rest of the league has got to be getting tired of this shit. LAD annually in the WS hunt while simultaneously having 6 or 7 specs in the Top 100 year after year even after graduating top guys. They just keep rolling in. I'm sure Peters isn't far off and Kendall may not be far behind him. It's insane. Basically have 2 Top 10 catchers at the big league level and now 2 catchers in the Top 10 of MiLB too Smh

 

Racist

 

Dodgers spects will always get lots of love from BP as one of their main contributors is a Dodgers fan and lives in/around Rancho. He is also a big fan of May from what he has seen.