Dodgers Minor League Hitting Coaches

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1. Admittedly, I have never heard of any of these guys with the exception of Scott Coolbaugh and Adam Melhuse. I used to follow Melhuse when he was at UCLA. Much of the time, these coaches act as surrogate family members when times go poorly as happens with slumps. Hitting professional pitching is a lot harder than HS or college pitching. And the pitching obviously gets better as the players climb in the organization. A vast majority of the kids do not make it to the Show so failure happens even more often than we discuss at the ML level, and these coaches need to be their best friend one day and the tough love mentor the next. That is a hard job, and they still have to get them to hit enough to get to the next level.

   Someone like DJ Peters who gets all the accolades for his monstrous HRs, but needs the nurturing to advise that his climb to the ML is going to plateau if he does not harness that swing and start to make more consistent contact. Sometimes, for whatever reason, a player comes to the organization but somehow does not take well to the instruction, and a once high level draft prospect suddenly finds himself on the outside looking in. Mitchell Hansen is the most recent example, but Jeren Kendall may also find himself in that role. From what I have heard, Kendall is taking a different approach this year, which is a good sign. He already has GG capabilities in CF, so if he can find a way to consistently get on base, he could be an AS. This is where the coach needs to get in is ear and get him to listen.

2. Adding to what AC said: seems our top 2 outfield prospects are Peters and Kendall. Both have talent and both have a lot to work on. Signing Bryce Harper would give them much more time to harness their skills, and lessen the pressure on the Dodgers organization to rush them to the majors. Harper and Bellinger would be 2 corner outfielders who are 23 and 26 years old.

   By signing Harper, it will allow us to trade Joc and Verdugo for more impact prospects (3b maybe?). Our asset accumulation would be the envy of baseball.

   I”m all in now. Get this guy signed, and let’s run continue this run!

   1. All true and agree an outfield of Harper, Pollock, and Bellinger would be awesome. But with Muncy able to play second and Bellinger a true first baseman, there is room for Joc in the outfield if Bellinger is at first.

      I say that not just because I would enjoy watching Joc play for the Dodgers but if the Dodgers are going to trade assets we have to consider that Taylor and Muncy and Verdugo might get a better trade return than Pederson and Verdugo would.

3. Great perspective AC and great article DC. It’s great that you give the time to give acknowledgement to those than help nurture and develop our future Dodgers. It seems that the Dodgers are fully invested in player development. The organization realized that the difference between being a major league player and a AAAA guy is through mentoring, teaching and anything else they can do to make them comfortable, healthy and confident. It’s tough to get buy in from players and it takes special people to nurture them to a breakthrough.
   –
   Just waiting for the Harper saga to end. I guess the betting line in Vegas has the Dodgers as the favorites now, for what it’s worth.
   –
   I’m happy for the Rockies and Nolan. As much as I would have loved to see Arrenado in blue, I’m happy for the Rockies and Nolan for reaching an extension. It’s good for baseball for teams to keep their stars. But, it’s also good for players to have the freedom to choose the team they want to play for if they’re lucky enough to garner mutual interest.
   –
   With all the talk about “collusion” and “strike” it’s interesting to see the following narrative play out…
   – 3 of the largest contracts in history will be signed this offseason.
   – Small market Padres signed one of the largest contracts ever to grab free agent Manny Machado from a large market club.
   – Medium market Rockies give out one of the largest contracts ever to retain their own.
   – Large market Phillies and Dodgers still competing for the biggest name available on free agency.

   1. The internet and social media in particular have made overreacting much easier and apparent than ever before. Baseball does have labor issues but it’s never good for the sport when those headlines trump news about actual players. Economics is a complicated field, let alone the economics of sports, which not a true free market because of the anti-trust exemption. I know all the sympathy is with players these days, and owners are made out to be to greedy and selfish, but free agents make decisions too. Obviously, if there has been a correction in the price of older free agent players, something needs to be done to balance the earlier salaries of these players. Hopefully all that can wait until the contract is up and we can get back to enjoying the action on the diamond, which remains enjoyable. As for shifts, and pitch clocks, and pitching changes . . . to each her own opinion.

   2. DC

      You might have the hardest job here, because you are not talking about many coaches or players that are well know, so thanks for your time, and the effort you put into every piece you write.

      1. He’s the Edison to AC’s Tesla 🙂

         1. Palmdale

            I know you meant that as the ultimate compliment.

            But isnt it something on how differently Tesla and Edison have been portrayed, in more modern history?

   3. The idea is not to trade the players with the most value.

      You trade the players the least valuable to the team.

      Muncy and Taylor are under team control for three more years.

      Joc is only under team control for two more years, and he is making more money then Taylor and Muncy.

      Joc is not very versatile because he can’t play center anymore and he can’t hit lefties.

      And Joc has never had one break out year like Muncy did last year, and what Taylor did in 2017, and the Dodgers have given Joc four years to try to do that.

      I know you are thinking that this might be a one year thing with Muncy, but he is not costing that much, so why wouldn’t the Dodgers bet on Muncy having another good year?

      After all, Muncy had a year that not many players ever have.

      Joc is the same player he has always been, although he has improved some over the fours years, but that should be expected.

      But if we are only talking numbers, Joc’s numbers have been about the same in the two years, that he put up decent numbers, in the last four years.

      This might be Joc’s highest value, and we know more what we have in Joc, because it has been four years.

      Taylor is far more versatile, because he can play a couple premium positions, and he is the second fastest player on this team.

      Verdugo is an unknown, but he has not ingratiated himself with the Dodgers apparently, or we would still not be talking about Harper today.

4. MLB Pipeline has us ranked #7 overall. Their new Top 30 list has some interesting bits:

   Amaya is ranked #12, which is by far the highest I’ve seen him.

   They gave Kasowski a 70 grade on his fastball.

   Valera (SS) was #22 & Willeman (RHP) was #29; these are both relative unknowns.

   https://www.mlb.com/news/top-10-farm-systems-in-mlb?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

   Overall, good list.

   1. One could field a pretty good team with the top 15.

      Verdugo RF (1)
      Ruiz C (2)
      Rios 1B (13)
      Peters LF (11)
      Smith 3B (6)
      Lux SS (4)
      Amaya 2B (12)
      Downs CF (8)

      Bench
      Cartaya C (10)
      Wong C (14)

      Pitchers
      May (2)
      Gonsolin (5)
      Santana (7)
      White (9)
      Grove (15)

   2. I have been a Jacob Amaya fan since the day he was drafted, much like Caleb Ferguson was. He will undoubtedly start back at Great Lakes, but if he continues to improve he should be at RC before July. He is a gifted defensive SS and could stick there if need be. He makes consistent contact. His 17% strikeout rate is more than acceptable with today’s standard, but he can improve with better plate discipline and pitch recognition that will come with experience. However he currently hits the ball on the ground too much, but a little RVS tutelage could fix that. I plan on writing him up often this year.

      While I do like Kasowski quite a bit, he is a one pitch pitcher. He is going to need to better develop a secondary pitch, and he should spend all of 2019 getting comfortable and confident with it. He can throw it by A+ and AA batters, but ML hitters will time his fastball. They all do.

      Interesting to note the drop off by both Yadier Alvarez and Jeren Kendall.

5. https://www.mlb.com/news/top-10-farm-systems-in-mlb?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

   Amaya #12
   Willeman/Valera ranked [who are they?]
   Kasowski with 70 fastball

   (sorry if this is a repeat–my original comment disappeared)

   1. PD – this is what I wrote about Zach Willeman last December 23.

      https://ladodgertalk.com/2018/12/23/meet-zach-willeman/

      This means I have to take him off a list of little known non-Top 30 guys I was using to make up a minor league team. Also Valera as I needed a shortstop that is/was unknown. Might have to keep him.

      This is the article on Marshall Kasowski

      https://ladodgertalk.com/2018/06/15/dodger-chatter-meet-marshall-kasowski/

      1. Great stuff. Thank you.

         This organization is beginning to be known for its work with post-TJ college draftees.

   2. Geez–Gonsolin with a 70 splitter grade

      If not Santana, maybe Gonsolin could be our closer of the future

      Or maybe just a top of the rotation starter instead!

      1. A splitter / fastball combo like that reminds me of Clemens. Gonsolin is a big dude too. Keep him in the rotation please!

6. So I don’t usually care for prospect grades but I do like MLB’s individual tool scores [the traditional 20-80 scale].

   Jeter Downs, for example, who is ranked #8 on the list, has an interesting list of scores:

   Hit–55
   Power–50
   Run–50
   Arm–55
   Field–55
   Overall–50 [why not 55?]

   His profile, therefore, is of a well-rounded but not spectacular prospect, Some things that don’t appear to be factored into the scores are patience at the plate, defensive versatility, & character.

   1. Keep in mind that the grades now and are not indicative of how they will progress.

      1. Correct

         They do mention that Downs could develop some more power

         There was a time when the knock on Cody Bellinger was he didn’t hit for enough power

         And there was also a time when Joel Guzman was salivated over by Baseball America for having “light-tower” power

         Doesn’t mean a thing if you can’t do it in game and at the highest level

7. Both White and Grove with 60/60 Fastball/Slider grades

   Gray not quite there with the Slider but he’s a bit more well-balanced with a 60/55/50 Fastball/Slider/Changeup arsenal

   May just ridiculously balanced with a 65 Fastball, 60 Curveball, 55 Cutter, & 50 Changeup

   1. PD How have the Dodgers player grades worked out in average once they reached the majors do you think?

8. Last one since nobody’s awake on the West Coast yet

   Bryce Harper, as a prospect, had the following tool grades [according to baseballprospectnation]:

   Hit: 40/50
   Power: 80
   Arm: 70/80
   Fielding: 50/60
   Speed: 50/40

   Yes, that Power grade is 80. For perspective, DJ Peters gets a 60 grade.

9. Love how giants are trying so desperately to one up the dodgers cause of zaidi lmao, so ridiculous to me! It is going to be like that as long as he’s a giant. This situation needs to end now, getting played out. Don’t think the Dodgers will let them get him. Wdyt??

   1. I think Dodgers more likely to sign Harper than Giants but …

      Will AF let Z overpay for Harper? Absolutely.

      I don’t think Z will overpay, but his owners might. That wouldn’t end well.

      1. Giants are totally irrelevant to anything we do.

   2. It is actually not Zaidi. Apparently Zaidi and Larry Baer (President and CEO) are at odds. Baer wants Harper and Zaidi does not.

      1. To summarize the current situation, nobody can do better than our own Mark Timmons: If he wants to be here, he’s ours.

      2. No, I don’t think Zaidi would choose to overpay, but Baer would. Think AF might let that happen if Harper wanted “stupid money” over the Dodgers

10. What’s the line?: The greatest trick the devil ever played was making people think he didn’t exist?

    I swear, if Friedman comes out of the woodwork in the last week of the BH negotiations and lands us a prime-age super-star slugger, I will forever kneel at his alter.

    Whether or not it helps us win would be immaterial: he will have done the near-impossible and slow-played the hell out of this scenario and wound up with the best FA of the offseason.

    I know it needs to make sense financially and within the framework of our overall plan, but hot damn would it be a coup.

    “Bryce Signs 10-year Deal with Dodgers” in red lettering on every sports website.

    I’m starting to believe in it.

11. I don’t think Baer will let us outbid him for Harper. Philly will probably offer the most money but he apparently doesn’t particularly want to play there. His first choice seems to be L.A. but AF will not allow himself to get into a bidding war with the Giants, except to drive up their price. I would be very surprised to see him go 10 years, but, as has already been pointed out, Harper is still very young, so it’s not exactly like the Angels signing of Pujols. Since we’ll probably never actually find out, my guess is that the Phils offer 10/350, the Giants 10/335 and we offer 8/300 with vesting options for years 9 and 10 at around 30 mil per year. I’m guessing he signs with a California team.

    1. I think that would get it done. Boras could claim $37.5M/yr as well as a “10 year deal .” Should meet his (Boras’) ego and pocketbook needs

12. If a long term contact makes sense to the Dodgers, it will happen. If not, it won’t. And I’m sure AF has a handle on that.

    Here’s hoping that AF finds a way to just make Harper happen.

    1. Brooklyn

       I don’t know if you noticed, but Verdugo has gotten three hits, in the last couple games.

13. Dodgers infringing on the re-peter penalty with the dreaded:
    `
    Pederson, Peters, Peterson OF today.
    `
    That’s it for me.

    1. And Buehler got the day off

    2. Good one

14. Not sure how reliable this is, or if at all, but I may as well share:
    https://www.inquisitr.com/5317819/bryce-harper-finalized-dodgers-deal-mlb-insider-rumors/

15. I’m sick of waiting. It’s February 27 for heaven’s sake! Pick a team Bryce, just so long as it isn’t the Giants! Screw you Farhan!

16. Garlick aint stinkin’ today.

17. It’s all speculation at this point, but there sure are a lot of rumblings about Harper coming to L.A.

    I mean, if this is just where he wants to be and he’s being persistent, we can probably find a way to oblige him.

    FTR, I would give him a 3 year opt-out faster than you could say “highest AAV in history”

    He would know and we would know but the general public wouldn’t. 3y/$350m with us that he only sees $120m of, and we keep our three-year window for winning a world championship.

    1. People are getting sick and tired of this story. Sign or don’t sign. It has gone on too long don’t you think? I agree with your assessment, but let it be over and get the lineup set and make the trades that need to be made. I only hope Muncy stays.

18. So the Giants are back again making one last pitch to Harper? But Boras was not at the meeting according to the article on mlb.com but also there was this thing happening in North Korea today that might be a good thing 🙂

19. MJ, actually I’m a little behind on the latest Dodger games, and didn’t notice the Verdugo hits. But quite frankly, I’ve always been high on Verdugo, and don’t really get too moved by ST performances. But still I’d like to have Harper, if the Dodgers are comfortable with the terms. AF is more than a little capable, and knows exactly what line(s) he should or should not cross to get a deal done.

    And if you looked at the lineup that MT posted (I believe in the previous thread), he had Harper in the lineup together with Verdugo, with Bellinger moving to 1st base. If I remember correctly, he was contemplating a trade(s) involving Muncy and/or Pederson.

    1. Brooklyn

       I thought it was funny because both of the players we know more as all or nothing hitters, haven’t done much since their big HRs.

       I know spring training is just that, but if I was someone that wanted to prove that I want to be a more complete hitter, I would be having good at bats, and try to hit some line drives or hit the ball the other way to open some eyes, not trying to hit almost every pitch out.

       Because we already know these players are very capable of hitting pitches out.

       Like you have said, there is nothing wrong with HRs, but most hitters are not in good situations to hit HRs all the time, especially when runners are on base or in scoring position.

       Because pitchers are not going to give hitters many good pitches to hit in these situations.

       I am just going with the flow with all of this, but I still think we need more balance in our line up.

       I have never saw Verdugo play everyday so I can’t make a good judgment about him, but I do value pure hitters, and Mark is pretty convinced, Verdugo is a pure hitter.

       I am not worried about the power, that will come as a guy matures, especially if they want to add that component to their game.

       You should take a look at how many HRs Mookie Betts hit in the minors.

20. Kind of gotta wonder with Zaida and the Hated Ones doing a second meeting with Harper, how much of a pissing contest he has going on with Freidman. This might be a prelude of years to come, and from what I have heard, Freidman does not like to lose in the front office wars. He is one competitive dude. This might be fun, him and Farhan trading punches.

    1. I think Friedman has more of a reputation as a window shopper than Zaidi.

21. In the 2/11/19 issue of Sports Illustrated, there are two excellent articles that should be of interest to all baseball fans.
    The first, titled MLB Gig Economy, deals with the changing nature of baseball caused by analytics and its impact on team construction, the youth vs. experience dichotomy, and the impact on free agency.
    The second, titled Nick Francona, deals with activities within the Dodgers system over the past few years which I found to be very disturbing, the Francona’s time with the Mets and Francona’s concerns about the way military personnel were being treated in terms of employment and an equitable share of the proceeds from the events targeted toward current and past military personnel.
    I strongly encourage you to read these articles because I believe they are very enlightening.

22. Reports are out saying the Dodgers have signed Br…………………………………….,..ad Miller. Nice depth signing, but the other saga continues on.

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