DODGERS 2017 MINOR LEAGUE/PROSPECTS Thread

Calhoun appears on the surface to be holding his own at 2B this year so far. Only 2 errors, but still not hearing any word on how he actually looks in the field. Is he only making the plays he should? Is he making some nifty low percentage plays? There has been no word on it, which is frustrating. If Chris Taylor is for real and say he continues to rake up until the July deadline, the team could use Calhoun as a very valuable trade chip. It still would be a hard player to trade if he is finally playing passable D at 2B and EVERYONE says that his bat is near elite for the position(Though Taylor is probably a first ballot hall of famer). I've seen a few reports say that he and Verdugo both have some of the quickest bats in the minors.

Rios seems like a guy who will be trade bait. He is playing 3B, but he is a butcher over there. He has apparently lost weight, but not sure that means he could move to LF as his glove is rated very poorly. He is having a great start to the year and I am thrilled, but the reports are still saying that his bat speed is a tick below average and it may make him prone to big strikeout numbers in the MLB. He has gotten quicker to the ball this season, but he's still likely going to have issues with the K's. Not to mention, between him and Calhoun, Rios is likely the one without a position. Unless his numbers continue to play up as he moves up, his defense may not put him in a position to take first base away from Bellinger and then move Cody to LF.

 

Is Chris Taylor becoming a legitimate everyday player? Perhaps filing under the Cardinals' #RandomWhiteGuyGreatness category, but for Los Doyers?

Either way, it's funny to see on Facebook and Twitter how people rip the FO..."Computers don't win ballgames!" Yet they've invested more in scouting and player development than any previous regime in my lifetime.

 

Agree on Taylor.

His quandary will be whether to go into the Hall as a Mariner or a Dodger.

 

Taylor has a 1.205 OPS, so it's hard to justify sitting him at the moment.

 

They've said it a couple of times on the broadcasts, but he has changed his swing and it is generating more hard contact. One of the writers for Dodgers Digest mentioned yesterday that they're working on a piece about him right now so that will be way more in depth than anything I'm able to dive into right now. It doesn't sound like he is necessarily hitting more fly balls, it's that he is making the harder contact and the ball is traveling further. I'll post the piece when I see it, but I think that the turn around is real, he is not going to probably put up these numbers forever, but he is better than the CT of old.

 

Maybe he's experiencing some kind of Turner type career turnaround?

Wouldn't that be nice?

 

I'd be 100% thrilled with that(not to mention that he isn't a FA until 2022), but I don't think he has made quite the changes that Turner made. From what I have read, he has some BABIP luck that will likely regress. If he does have a Turneresque turn around, that would be fucking great.

 

Bat path..

 

Buehler starts Friday for Tulsa. I believe they skipped his last start(I'm sitting in the Acura service waiting room so I'm bored and without resources), but if they did, that's interesting and shows the team really is wanting to keep his innings down for a potential late season call up.

 

Baseball America has updated their Top 100 to reflect guys that graduated and adjust for guys who maybe made some changes...
Cody Bellinger #3
Yadier Alvarez #26
Alex Verdugo #53
Walker Buehler #77
Willie Calhoun #86

 

Yup..CB heading for #1 by July

 

His hands are definitely flying through the zone
Sometimes so damn fast that he's missing sliders right over the heart of the plate
But yeah, he's not missing many

 

Excerpt from the OC Register's JP Hoornstra 5/3/17:

The change to Taylor’s swing is conspicuous, both visually and when measured by its results.

At the urging of Dodgers hitting consultants Robert Van Scoyoc and Craig Wallenbrock, Taylor exaggerated the height of his leg kick, roughly from the height of his shoe to the height of his sock. (Taylor typically wears his socks just below his kneecaps.) He’s also loading his hands earlier, giving him more momentum toward the baseball than he had from a still position in the past.

Through Monday, Taylor had improved his average exit velocity from 87.5 mph to 96.0 according to MLB’s Statcast data. The 8.5-mph jump was the most of any returning Dodger.

 

Moncada and Torres, both MIF'ers. Like I've said in the past, it is incredibly hard to get ranked this high if you are a 1B. So the fact that he's #3 is a pretty damned good sign.

 

Yeah, I knew I saw some hand speed
They are a blur

 

Extra points for CB's natural OF ability

 

I know it was only one AB, but last night the Pirates went FB up, FB higher up, FB even higher up and he swung under all 3. He has been crushing things down in the zone, but I hope that is not a sign of things to come and that he was just a little over anxious that AB.