I always have a fascination with young players who are selection in the last few rounds of the First-Year Player Draft. Often, they are “take a chance” picks for high school players who most likely will not sign. Two such players that may well have been steals had they signed with the Dodgers after being selected in the last three rounds of the 2018 draft opted to go to college. Right-handers Connery Peters and Ben Specht pretty much made it known they were going to college but why not roll the dice? Late round picks are also often made in deference to members of the organization. The Dodgers 39th round selection was Jordan Myrow from San Jacinto College North who just happens to be the godson of Dave Roberts. He too chose not to sign. We remember fondly when the godson of Tommy Lasorda was signed by the Dodgers in the 62nd round of the 1988 draft. Mike Piazza will be the latest selection to ever enter the HOF.
We also remember that left-hander Caleb Ferguson was picked by the Dodgers in the 38th round of the 2014 June Draft even though he was in the midst of Tommy John surgery. We also recall that Raul Ibanez was a 36th round selection.
During the 2018 draft outfielder Jon Littell was the latest round selection to sign with the Dodgers waiting until the 37th round to hear his name called. The native of Stillwater, Oklahoma had previously been drafted out of high school by the Washington Nationals in the 39th round of the 2014 draft. His high school in Stillwater has a bit of a reputation for turning out MLB players – present Dodger Josh Fields, former Dodger Brett Anderson and seven-time all-star Matt Holliday.
Following high school in Stillwater, Littell headed off to Oklahoma State University where his father, Jim Littell, is still the successful coach of the Oklahoma State women’s basketball team.
The 6’3”/216-pound outfielder had a four-year college career at OSU posting a .266/.372/.454 triple slash in his senior year along with seven home runs and 42 runs batted in over 58 games. Known for his work ethic and competitive edge, he suffered a serious setback during the 2017 season.
On March 26, 2017 he collided with teammate Garrett McCain in the outfield and was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment for a shoulder injury. He returned to action while playing in constant pain and saw his batting average dip by 46 points from his pre-injury high-water mark of .308. His presence with the team was perhaps more important than his game-by-game output.
“He was playing on guts,” said OSU coach Josh Holliday. “Just a kid trying to gut it out for his team. Jon Littell possesses leadership qualities. Jon’s a very consistent, hard-working person. I really admire the way he goes about his business. He’s very consistent, and that’s a strong characteristic to have in a locker room.”
Littell began the 2018 season, after off-season shoulder surgery, pain free for the first time in a long time. He was named the NCBWA National Hitter of the Week for the period of March 26-April 1. The senior outfielder went 9-for-15 at the plate in four games with three doubles, two triples and four runs batted in. He also scored nine runs, drew five walks, stole a base and turned in a 1.067 slugging percentage.
Along the way he has had some coaching from his father who encouraged him to have a short memory.
“You gotta learn to turn the page quickly,” Littell said. “If you go 0-for-4, you can’t let that linger. The guys that don’t make it are the ones that don’t have short memory.
The younger Littell, like many draft eligible players, has had pretty much a lifelong dream of pursuing a career in baseball.
“At an early age, I knew I wanted to be a big leaguer,” said Littell. “I’ve worked my whole life to do that, and I don’t think there’s been any time through my whole career I’ve said I won’t be able to achieve that. I’ve thought since Day 1 I’m going to be a big leaguer, and I still think that.”
The Baseball Draft Report suggest Jon Littell is still coming into his own as a hitter, but his plus raw power, plus arm strength, and plus prep pedigree should have him drafted higher than his good but not great college production might otherwise suggest. It didn’t and perhaps that was to his advantage.
His family is grateful that he was drafted by the Dodgers, regardless of where he was selected, and also hope that at some point he might play with the Oklahoma City Dodgers. His hometown of Stillwater is about a one-hour drive from Oklahoma City, easily in range of family and friends. For good measure, Stillwater is about a one-hour drive from Tulsa with a strong possibility that he will be playing in front of some of his hometown fans in the not too distant future. It is not only the location of the Dodgers minor league affiliate in Oklahoma that has pleased his father. It is the nature of the Dodgers minor league system itself that is gaining a good reputation for how it is nurturing these young men.
“The Dodgers have long been one of the top organizations in MLB baseball,” Jim Littell said. “They take the best care of their minor league group on how they feed them, how they accommodate them, how they travel, so I was really happy to see him go to the Dodgers.”
Littell began his professional baseball career on June 22, 2018 with the AZL Dodgers in a game against the AZL Padres. After 14 games with the Dodgers in which he hit .327 he advanced to the Ogden Raptors. With the Raptors he hit .244 but did drive in 16 runs in 21 games and hit .277 in August.
The upcoming season is a pivotal one for the now 23-year-old. His test will be to come into his own, initially with the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League.
As one horse said to the other “now I can put a pace with a mane.”
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I’ll be rooting for him.
This was fun to see and I think you will see Russ Martin “Pull a Kemp” for a half season.
Which half?
If I were to say something negative about Friedman it would be about trading AJ Ellis. He retired this month and took a positions with the Padres front office. I would have loved for him to have taken that job with the Dodgers and for him to show up at spring training and take a few pitches from Kershaw.
In 2009 Pollock was the 17th player drafted and Trout was the 25th. The Dodgers drafted Aaron Miller with the 36th pick that year. There is an advantage to drafting early but good and bad surprises have always existed with the draft.
Get er done Jon Littell.
It is pretty clear what one of the things the Dodgers want to do this year. They want to reduce or eliminate platooning. Easier attempted than done.
Going into spring training it looks like this is the plan:
C Barnes and Martin
1B Muncy
2B Taylor
3B Turner
SS Seager
LF Pederson’s to lose and easily could.
CF Pollock
RF Bellinger
If Muncy doesn’t come close enough to his last year then Belli could move to 1B/
If Muncy does look solid but Taylor does not, then Muncy could move to second and Belli to first.
If Belli again has troubles against lefties then he could be platooned with Kike’ in RF or Freese at 1B.
If Verdugo is outstanding in spring then he could force his way into LF or RF.
If Pederson does good in spring he will probably make Verdugo a 4th outfielder.
The 4 righty bats the Dodgers want to keep in the lineup are Turner, Taylor, Pollock, and Catcher.
The 4 lefty bats would be Seager, Bellinger, Muncy, Pederson.
The righty bat that most likely platoons in would be Kike’.
Pretty balanced: 4 RH & 4 LH
On AJ Ellis: The Dodgers cut ties with him very suddenly and do not want him back. There’s a story here, but I don’t know what it is. We may never know.
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Doc says that Seager will be ready for Opening Day… probably! 😉
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It’s hard to say how this lineup will evolve. If Verdugo rakes, he will play RF and that puts Bellinger at 1B and Muncy at 2B. I see CT3 and JOC in a platoon in LF. But, there is so much versatility it is hard to predict where the dice will lie.
This is called having good options to have. Edwin Rios is a dark horse at 1B. If Muncy falters and Rios takes another step forward, they may need to make room for him at 1B. There’s going to be a lot of competition and that should bring out the best in our guys. This season is going to be fun, especially if AF is listening to Jim Bowden.
I watched the coaches work with Rios at 3B last year at Camelback during ST. I was surprised at how big he is. He definitely can hit and would make a great DH. I agree – he could be the 2019 version of Max Muncy.
MiLB has ranked the minor league system: re position players with the Dodgers at No. 6. Rays first, Jays second, Padres third, White Sox fourth, Reds fifth.
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6. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers have a potential stud at just about every position, including a few guys who can play multiple spots. Outfielder Alex Verdugo lit up the Pacific Coast League before heading to LA for the second straight season. Keibert Ruiz cut down his strikeouts considerably as a switch-hitter, fanning 33 times in 101 games at Double-A. Shortstop/second baseman Gavin Lux broke out with a .394/.399/.514 line, while fellow 2016 picks Will Smith and DJ Peters powered up with career highs of 20 and 29 homers, respectively.
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Outfielder Jeren Kendall didn’t take much advantage of the hitter-friendly California League, but he used his 70-grade speed to steal 37 bases. In December, Los Angeles picked up shortstop/second baseman Jeter Downs in a blockbuster trade with the Reds. While the 20-year-old didn’t hit much in his first pro season, he showed the ability to use all fields. Aside from Downs and backstop Diego Cartaya — who signed in July and did not play — most of the Dodgers’ top position players reside in the upper two levels, placing a lot of talent one call from The Show.
I’m glad to hear talk of less platooning this year. I wonder if this is an organizational change in philosophy rather than just Roberts. Agree that it seemed to keep some players from finding their rhythm. Also it’s just frustrating to see a hot player sit.
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I’m not sure I buy the rational that Seager returning is why. He is replacing Machado who was not a platoon player. I’ll buy Pollock as the OF has been platoon heaven the last few years.
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Platooning does have that slightly gimmicky feeling. It also reminds me a little of the talk about Farhan consistently winning the fantasy leagues.
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I’m curious to see how this plays out. Will there be less platooning with the Dodgers and more with the Giants?
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Roberts is a wonderful guy and I am very happy with him as our manager, but his strength is personnel relationships and not strategy. Hard core platooning seems to me to be more like hard core fantasy leagues.
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Yes, many imply Farhan gave Dave/Don the line up cards. Not sure it went quite that far, but it seemed to be a strong suggestion
“On AJ Ellis: The Dodgers cut ties with him very suddenly and do not want him back. There’s a story here, but I don’t know what it is. We may never know.”
If you don’t know and we may never know, then why bring it up??? Assumption is A.J. is the bad guy??? Oh and yes I’m a A.J. fan and always have been…
You and your backstops M.T.
That being said, damned if Philly is very slowly building a machine…Nola today and Harper or Machado tomorrow???
I’m not saying AJ is a bad guy – I don’t think he is, but there was definitely some sort of rift or disconnect and Clayton did not take his side, although they are still friends… just not as close as they once were. I think AJ is a standup guy.
AJ looked at stats and maybe his conclusions were different than Zaidi’s and Honey’s. Maybe some pitchers altered their game plan based on AJ’s analysis or maybe AJ called for pitches that were not in line enough with the dugout’s. I am on AJ’s side. I miss him. I don’t miss Zaidi.
Rumors on some other boards were that AJ was feeding rumors to the press ie Puig blowing up when he was sent to the minors. You can take it with a grain of salt but he obviously did something to make him get jettisoned.
Dodgers fans have always over valued AJ Ellis.
ESPN has the Dodgers Prospects Ranked:
http://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/25959235/nl-west-prospect-guide-watch-diamondbacks-rockies-dodgers-padres-giants
Interesting comments from Keith Law that seemed to mirror my concerns about the plight of the future of the LAD OF. Only three outfielders in his Top 30 LAD prospects:
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“2019 impact: Verdugo is ready to play every day for someone, although it seems the Dodgers would prefer not to give him a regular job.”
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“DJ Peters (14) is compared ad nauseam to Jayson Werth, as he’s of similar build, has somewhat similar tools and has very similar hair. He also punched out 192 times last year in Double-A, a 34 percent rate at age 23 that puts him on the border of non-prospect status even with all the things he can do. If you can’t make enough contact against Double-A pitching, well, it doesn’t get any easier from there.”
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“Jeren Kendall (20), their first-round pick in 2017, went to high-A last year and laid an egg, striking out 32 percent of the time on his way to a .215/.300/.356 line in a decent hitters’ park as a 22-year-old. He’s a 70-grade runner with plus raw power, and his swing just does not work. By all accounts, he hasn’t adjusted it at all since leaving Vanderbilt, but if he doesn’t rework it — or let the Dodgers help him rework it, soon — he’s going to swing his way right out of the minors.”
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They have the talent. It is now up to them to make the adjustment.
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But it looks like the Dodgers are going to get another top prospect out of Venezuela come July. Per Ben Badler, Baseball American:
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“Luis Rodriguez, OF, Venezuela
Team: Dodgers
Rodriguez is one of the most complete players in the 2019 class, with a good combination of size (6-foot-2, 180 pounds), athleticism and hitting ability from the right side. When I saw him face live pitching in the Dominican Republic, he homered to right-center field off a pitcher who was throwing up to 92 mph, then narrowly missed another homer that hit the fence to the same part of the park. Rodriguez has good plate discipline, hits well in games against older pitchers and has a natural ability to lift the ball for power. He runs the 60-yard dash in around 6.7 to 6.8 seconds, so if he can retain that speed, he could stick in center field, too. Rodriguez trains with Angel Valladares.”
AC
I don’t know if you saw Fangraphs top 100 prospects, but you called it right there too, including Yordon.
But they had both Verdugo and Yordon pretty low, and I think even you, would probably rate them a little higher.
But it was the same doubts with both players.
I have read other people making remarks about some kind of rift between the Dodgers and AJ, not just Mark.
And it is pretty obvious that Mark is right, or AJ wouldn’t have went with the Padres.
I tend to agree here. It was puzzling to say the least when he got shipped out. It seemed like very strange timing.
If the Dodgers want to get away from platoons, they are not worried if a hitter bats leftie or rightie, they want a hitter that hits both, with some kind of balance.
The Dodgers also want to see hitters, that can hit when runners are in scoring position too.
We also need hitters that hit better in these situations with two outs.
Kiké has not always got a lot of at bats against righties, but even Kiké hit both lefties and righties last year.
And that was because Kiké worked in the off season to hit righties better, and I am sure he did the same this last off season.
And that is why I give Kike credit, because he is not afraid of hard work.
They have already said twice publicly that Cody would not be platooned this year, and that is because Cody has not always had trouble hitting lefties.
Roberts also said yesterday, that Cody would be our almost everyday rightfielder this year, too.
But we will see like Mark said, but everyone is going to have to step up.
Keith Law believes Will Smith will be starting for the Dodgers behind the plate by the All-Star break.
Yeah but then I said that as well and way before he said it.
Bum you know it is difficult to be a prophet in your own land.
Out-of-town consultants are always paid more than local hacks.
It all depends on the bats and injuries. All three (Barnes, Martin, Smith) can catch. If we have 2017 Barnes he will still get the most starts. If Barnes and Martin are 2018 versions, it will likely depend on Smith’s bat at OKC.
Bum, you are my Keith Law
Poor man’s version.
Put that in the same category, with even a broken clock is right, twice a day.
Throw out the off-season trade proposals I make to get me through the winter here in New Hampshire and you might notice I guess correctly on time-of-day many more times than twice a day.
I had to run the snow blower today. No spring in sight here yet.
I prefer, even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then.
Are you saying you won’t be as good, once you are moved to Oregon?
And yes as you know, it does rain in Southern California, and it has been for the most of the last two weeks.
And with the high today at 55, I don’t see much spring in site either.
Oregon will still be out-of-town so no.
Bum
I don’t blame you for being a little home sick, because I couldn’t live anywhere else.
Like in the Wizard of Oz, there is nothing like home.
But there is now an In & Out in Oregon, but I don’t know how close it is to Portland.
Not close enough.
Thanks Rudy!
It’s coming to Portland and Denver. It’s in Medford and Grants Pass now. I have dined at both. The next one in Oregon will be in Keizer. A big distribution center and meat processing plant is being built in Colorado Springs.
Damn MJ, you had to mention In N Out. Now I want one! Well, really a Double – Double. I might just have to make it Animal Style. Too late for lunch, dinner already planned. Tomorrow, I will take my better half to dinner, so I’m gonna have to wait until Friday!!! 🙁
Hang in there 59, it will only taste better after this wait!
https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-best-pitching-in-mlb/c-303844860
Thank you Watson. It’s always fun reading Mike Petriello’s gift of words. The words he writes that is. He talks too fast. I’m sure he hear that a lot. I miss his MSTI aside from the ‘comments’ section.
Sportsline projections. There are 3 100+ win teams. Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers.
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https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/projected-2019-mlb-standings-yankees-dodgers-looking-like-favorites-as-baseball-waits-on-harper-and-machado/
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For all the Houston Mitchell fans out there.
Per JonHeyman earlier this morning (arbitration)
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Cole gets 13.5M (not the 11.425 suggested by astros), Bauer gets 13M (not the 11M suggested by Indians), Wood gets 9.65M (not the 8.7M suggested by Reds)
Prospects:
Verdugo now
Ruiz in 2021
May in 2020
Lux in 2020/2021
Smith in late 2019
Ruiz will beat Smith. I have been preaching that for a while.
Gonsolin is the one who excites me. I could see him getting a cup of coffee in September.
Fearless spring training prediction. Toles, who everyone projects as a 5th wheel, lights it up and puts major pressure on FO to make a decision about who breaks camp. Yeah, I know it’s been said time and time again on this site that he is older, has an injury history, whatever. Toles, not Verdugo, is a spark plug with the big league club. Just sayin’, don’t count this guy out. He just needs a chance..
He is lurking in the shadows but we all know he is there.