PROSPECTS Meanwhile, Down on the Farm

@BlakeHHarris
Christian Zazueta’s 3 starts with Tulsa:

• 5 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 8 K
• 4 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
• 5 IP, 2 ER, 0 BB, 8 K (tonight)

 

@yuan_baseball
#Dodgers top prospect Brady Smith today stats:

• 5.2 IP / 1 ER / 0 BB / 3 H / 7 K

92 K in 57.1 innings at Low-A this season.

 

It took a while to get going but he's starting to deal.

 

Seems like that would be a smarter approach for prolonged success, particularly with the expected salary restrictions that are coming.

 

So it appears I was wrong about the on-base record being 72. The article that quoted 72 was written the day Andrew Velasquez beat Kevin Millar and Kevin Youkilis' record of 71. But Velasquez didn't finish until he reached 74. That's the record for affiliated minor league baseball, and the one recognized by MLB. Sirota still needs 5 to tie.

There was also an independent league player who reached in 75 straight, but that's not recognized as official by MLB.

Really puts into perspective how impressive Ted Williams' MLB record of 84 is.

 

@SleeperDodgers
Jim Bowden listed #Dodgers top prospect Josue De Paula as a must-watch player in the Futures Game.

“Offensively, he could hit in the big leagues right now and do serious damage.”

The challenge is finding him a spot with Shohei Ohtani occupying the DH role as De Paula works on improving his defense.

 

Sirota with a triple in his second AB tonight. Joins the 70-club!

 

Some great performances tonight.

AAA: Ehrhard 2 hits including his 14th HR.

AA: Hope 2 HRs and now has 18. 5 more RBIs. Sirota single and triple.

A+: Quintero hit a HR and a triple. Suddenly his OPS is up to .882. Two hits for Davalan.

A: Single A at its best... After three innings Ontario was up 16-0. It's now 16-14 in the eighth. Ko with his 14th HR and a triple, 5 RBIs.

 

So funny. After I typed that, Ontario added 6 in the bottom of the eighth with Vargas hitting a 3-run jack. Then their opponent scores 7 in the ninth and the Tower Buzzers eke out a 22-21 pitchers duel victory.

 

Dodgers and their four main affiliates won yesterday. Here are their win percentages, in order:

Tulsa .674
LAD .649
GL .600
OKC .545
Ont .518

 

I'm at a dinner so quick post. 71 for Mike.

 

@SleeperDodgers
These #Dodgers Top Prospects WENT OFF tonight:

• Emil Morales: 2 HR, 2B, 4 RBI, 3 R
• Eduardo Quintero: Grand Slam
• Zyhir Hope: 2 H, HR, 2 RBI

This pipeline is just head and shoulders above the rest. ‍

 

Sirota is tied with Millar and Youkilis (and Betts if you include playoff games) for the second highest on-base streak in MiLB history. Three to tie the record, four to beat it.

 

Actually seems unreal how well the Dodgers top (non-pitching) prospects are doing right now. Pretty much every name in the top 20, with maybe the exception being Tibbs, is exciting to watch at the moment.

De Paula, Sirota, Davalan, George, Lindsey, and Harlan continue to be consistently productive as they have been pretty much all season. Meanwhile, Quintero, Hope, Morales, Ehrhard, and suddenly Ko are playing their best ball of the year. Like I said, Tibbs is the only one in the top-20 that I would classify as cold right now, although that's mostly in the power category as he's still getting base hits somewhat regularly. Pretty damn phenomenal how well they're doing as a group.

Those in the 20-30 range - Vargas, Hainline, Vidourek, Tunink, and Miller - are not having what I would consider noteworthy seasons, although Vargas hit the big HR a couple nights ago and Vidourek and Tunink had one of their better weeks for Ontario.

 

Texas League Stat Leaders:

Hits
De Paula (103) - first
Hope (91) - second

Doubles
De Paula (26) - first

RBIs
Hope (78) - first (10 ahead of the next best)
De Paula (65) - fourth, often hitting leadoff

AVG
De Paula (.318) - first
Hope (.291) - fourth

OBP
De Paula (.414) - first

OPS
De Paula (.957) - second

Note: Sirota would be up on these lists too if he played the whole season in AA (1.037 OPS for example).