There has been considerable discussion on LADT regarding relief pitchers and more specifically what the Dodgers could or should do to strengthen the bullpen. It is a conundrum in that standing pat might fit the definition of doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Yet with relief pitchers who knows. How many have that dominant year and then what follows is not nearly as dominant or even below average? The corollary is also true in that a very average year or years is followed by a lights out one. Is that what the Dodgers are hoping for in 2020?
I surely don’t know and being a bit of a heretic I am looking not at Dodger Stadium as much as at the Great Lakes Loons for 2020. The Loons are primed to have a bullpen as dominant as the one they rode to the 2016 Midwest League Championship. That pen included Andrew Istler, Shea Spitzbarth, and Dean Kremer. It also included three non-drafted pitchers – Gavin Pittore, Wes Helsabeck, and the aforementioned Spitzbarth. Pittore and Helsabeck have since been released while Istler and Kremer were traded.
The Loons 2020 pen will have a definitely different makeup as the arms in it were drafted as relief pitchers already in that role. The Dodgers, in fact, selected at least seven college relief pitchers, five in the first 12 rounds. They might have a steal with Braidyn Fink in the 19th round and 13th round Jacob Cantleberry, a starter in college, excelled in relief in 2019 in the AZL and with the Raptors.
In the next few weeks, I will post a thumbnail sketch for some of these young men who are the relief corps of the future, starting today with right-hander Aaron Ochsenbein who was signed by the Dodgers in the 6th round of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft. He was the oldest draftee in the Dodgers 2019 draft class beating out 38th round catcher Tyler Ryan by three months. The 6’3”/225-pound senior from Eastern Kentucky University will turn 24 in February.
As a 24-year-old he might be expected to be the first in his draft class to make it to the big time but it is not his age that might let him claim that title. It is his role as a relief pitcher and his progression in the last two years that will help accelerate his climb to MLB. He is a couple of steps behind as after eight appearances with Eastern Kentucky in 2015 he experienced arm trouble and the resulting TJ surgery cost him the entire 2016 season.
Ochsenbein returned to the mound in 2017 with less than encouraging results, perhaps not unexpected following TJ surgery. His 2018 season in a starting role was better but not the type of season that would make him a high draft pick with a 4.70 ERA and 1.45 WHIP along with 25 walks in 51.2 innings pitched. That is if one was just looking at stats. He did miss bats at a K/9 rate of 12.37. The strikeout rate drew attention. However, after being shelled for 10 runs in what was to be his last start for Eastern Kentucky, he emerged as a relief pitcher and closer to be feared.
Following that shellacking, his head coach, Edwin Thompson, made that decision with which Ochsenbein was not initially comfortable. That is, going to the pen.
“The next week we decided to make a change,” Thompson said. “He didn’t really have a third pitch, the changeup wasn’t there. The next week he got a couple saves, he was throwing 94-95, and it was like, ‘Whoa, man.’ He was more 88-92 as a starter. He didn’t really like moving to the bullpen at the time, but I told him long term I think this is a good option for him.”
For the balance of the season, he recorded nine saves but had to live with a 4.70 ERA on the season as a result of those 10 runs given up against Belmont.
Ochsenbein carried his momentum into the summer, posting a 3.42 ERA in 18 appearances for Orleans in the Cape Cod Summer League closing out seven games and racking up 43 strikeouts while leading the premier wooden bat league with a 16.4 strikeout-per-nine inning average against 12 walks in 23.2 innings. He had gone to Orleans on a temporary contract but wound up playing a full schedule and becoming one of the top closers in the league.
Ochsenbein by then had embraced his new role and in 2019 was garnering considerable attention. It wasn’t just the change in role that has propelled him forward. He already had a fastball and what was described as a “hard slurve” that gave him the ability to strike batters out. However, to continue to progress his coaches wanted him to develop an additional pitch.
He took his game to a new level with the addition of a splitter that Eastern Kentucky pitching coach, Shaun Cole, helped to develop. That became his “out” pitch relegating his slider to third place and used mostly to get ahead in the count.
Putting his new pitch to work for the 2019 college season Ochsenbein carved out a new slot for the 2019 draft. In 30 relief appearances over 54.1 innings, he collected 10 saves and posted an ERA of 0.83 and a WHIP of 0.74. He struck out 90 and walked 16 improving his K/BB ratio to 5.63, up from 2.84 in 2018. Opponents had a .133 batting average against him. You might say he was kind of dominant. How dominant? Ask coach Thompson.
“He’s as dominant as I’ve seen – and I coached Marcus Stroman, but he’s as dominant as I’ve seen every time out,” said Eastern Kentucky coach Edwin Thompson, who coached Stroman at Duke. “Doesn’t matter who we’ve played – Louisville, Kentucky, Boston College – he’s been that dominant. And obviously it’s comfortable to have that at the back of the game.”
Coach Thompson even compared Ochsenbein’s splitter to that of another right-hander, Casey Mize, the first overall selection by the Detroit Tigers in the 2018 June Draft.
“Everyone saw Casey Mize last year and saw what he did with the splitter. It’s kind of a pitch that you don’t see in college baseball, so if you can hone it … we wanted something different for him to have the option,” Thompson said. “Pretty much from day one he just took that pitch and ran with it, really, and hasn’t looked back since. It’s working out pretty well.”
Two days after being drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers, Ochsenbein was selected as one of six finalists for the 15th annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Stopper of the Year Award. UCLA’s Holden Powell was named the 2019 Stopper of the Year.
He was selected to the 2019 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings NCAA Division I South All-Region First Team.
Ochsenbein is an interesting young man. At Eastern Kentucky, he pursued his education and has a graduate degree in Aviation. However, Aviation will have to wait. His EKU coach is convinced his splitter and personal qualities will serve him well in a baseball career.
“He’s a leader. He’s older, he’s mature. Not a lot’s gonna faze him,” coach Thompson said. “He just has a presence about him, when he talks. He’s not a vocal rah-rah type of guy, but he’ll get on guys and challenge guys, and they really respond in a positive way.
“He’s really just handling himself in a way that sets such an example for our program. Coaches will be like, ‘What are you looking for?’ I’m looking for that – a 3.5-plus student, great leadership, good on the field. That’s the part that’s been fun for me to witness.”
The Lexington, Kentucky native began his professional career in 2019 with brief stops in the Arizona League and with the Ogden Raptors pitching only a combined five innings at those two venues. He finished the season with the Great Lakes Loons pitching 20 innings over 13 appearances in which he posted a 1.35 ERA and a 0.92 WHIP. He struck out 35 and walked six.
I am a bit ahead of myself. Aaron Ochsenbein will not start the 2020 season with the Great Lakes Loons. He will most likely start the season with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and work his way to Tulsa, perhaps joining Brett de Geus with the Drillers.
I have heard that they think he has another 2-3 MPH in that arm… that he might be a 97-98 MPH guy. Either way, he may have a very interesting future.
I do not predict it, nor do I anticipate it, but I would not be shocked to see de Geus or Ochsenbein on the mound in LA next summer. Most likely, it is 2021, but guys like this can rise quickly!
Great Article, DC!
Often said is how hard it is to hit a baseball and yet the path to the MLB for a pitcher is a big challenge. Thanks DC for telling us about another nugget we can now start to watch more closely.
Well done DC!! Very interesting article. It’s good to here about what looks in the distance for these players hope he gets to see the big show very soon. I do respect and admire our farm system and how it’s been developed! Hope is just around the corner.
Thx DC. Love to hear the backstory on these young guys. Sounds like we have some young bullpen aces coming up through the system. We need them! Can’t wait to follow him and da Geus next year. With the unpredictable nature of relievers it’s imperative we develop some young bullpen arms so we don’t have to spend big risky bucks there
Very good article DC. Aaron Ochsenbein, another gem discovered in the treasure chest. I Wish him well at RC and hope that it is not one of the minor league parks that MLB wants to close. Sounds like this young man could be a valuable addition to our bullpen in the future.
For those who are lacking in entertainment, here are the Fangraphs’ ZIPS Projections for the Dodgers for 2020:
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2020-zips-projections-los-angeles-dodgers/
It’s a great read, projections aside.
In staying with FanGraphs, below is an article I also found interesting in analyzing where FA are signings.
https://blogs.fangraphs.com/which-types-of-teams-are-signing-free-agents/
Wow, I could view that a lot of different ways.
So could I. I left the editorials to the readers. You know where some are going to come down.
DC, I had never heard of this guy before, so thanks for bringing him to my attention. WHIP of 0.92 for the season?!?! Love it.
It seems like decent relievers rarely make the Top 30 prospect lists. But, it’s so important to keep the pipeline full of guys like him.
Quite often relievers are just seen as starters who were not successful as starters so it is difficult to make Top 30 lists. In 2019 the Dodgers drafted several players for relief who were relievers in college.
Jordan Sheffield and Marshall Kasowski are presently on the Dodgers Top 30 list. I think Mitchell White will morph into a relief role this year.
One of the benefits of closely following the minor leaguers is that you come across someone like Aaron Ochsenbein. He was a fairly high draft pick for a college senior meaning the scouts saw something. All last summer I brought up Aaron’s name positively in his game activities. I was not aware of him before the draft, but he sure caught everyone’s attention at the right time. He has two very good pitches making him a more projectable late inning reliever than Marshall Kasowski, even though Kasowski has that great fastball he hides well in his delivery.
The one concern with all of his positives is his age in comparison to the batters he pitched against. I agree with DC he needs to start out at RC and he needs to be pushed to Tulsa. One thing we have learned with AF is that when he spots a shortage of talent in the organization, he goes all out to remedy the problem. When AF first became PBO of LAD, he immediately recognized the dearth of catching in the organization. He immediately traded for Yasmani Grandal, and then proceeded to focus on catching in the draft and international markets. Other than Seager, there were very few (if any) projectable middle infielders in the system. Now look at the middle infield prospects (Lux, Downs, Estevez, Amaya) all MLB projectable. The need for 3B…Kody Hoese, Miguel Vargas, and Cristian Santana. We need another year to see how these three develop. I would not be surprised to see another 3B featured in next year’s draft.
But last year, the number of relief pitchers drafted were the most that I can remember. Even though Ryan Pepiot is currently used as a starter, I think his future is in the bullpen. I think the one starter drafted last year who should stay a starter is Jimmy Lewis.
As most of you know, Brett de Geus was my favorite reliever and MiLB Dodger last year. As much of a fan as I am, I do not see how he can possibly make the LAD 26 man roster (or 28 in September) in 2020. He might get pushed to AAA this year, and that would be a great year for him. But who knows. I would love to be wrong and see him on the roster.
Victor Gonzalez, Brett de Geus, Marshall Kasowski, Aaron Ochsenbein…four legit future late inning relievers to watch in 2020. With Gonsolin, Santana, Sheffield, and White ready to show what they have in relief in 2020, relief is not in such dire straits for the future that many may think. Not all will make it, but the numbers indicate that at least a couple will be good. But that does not mean that AF should stand pat with no addition of ML proven relievers, even if they are fickle and one year does not necessarily project to the next year. With maybe one starting pitcher reasonably expected to pitch 180 innings in 2020, relievers will once again prove to be vital to end this long 31 year nightmare.
Great post DC! I have been following Aaron Ochsenbein since he was drafted. This year will be a major stepping stone. In addition to those mentioned by AC, 2 relievers that I have been following are: Justin Bruihl(may not be anything more than a lefty specialist), but other than a blip on the radar in Ogden, his WHIP has been .90 or under with an extremely low BA Against, and Jeff Belge. I think either of these young men could be our next Caleb Ferguson.
Justin Bruihl was very good with the Loons last season. 34.1IP. 0.79 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 42 K, 8 BB.
Brief time at RC; 7.1 IP, 3.68 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 9K, 1 BB.
He missed quite a bit of time on the IL.
I wrote this back on July 25, 2017.
Justin Bruihl
Left-hander Justin Bruihl was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dodgers on July 15. Born in Petaluma, California, Bruihl attended Casa Grande High school in his home town where he hit .302 as a senior. On the mound in seven appearances with the Gauchos he did not allow an earned run in 17.1 innings.
Following graduation from high school, he checked out California State University, Northridge and the University of California before deciding on California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. At Cal Poly, the 6’2”/215-pound Bruihl posted a 4.88 ERA in 31.1 innings pitched while striking out 27 and walking 10. His season with the Broncos might not have been enough to catch the eyes of MLB scouts but his summer league play may well have done just that for a Dodger scout.
With the Walla Walla Sweets of the West Coast Summer League in 12 appearances over 15 innings he produced pretty much a clean slate. He gave up no earned runs, struck out 21 and issued only two walks while posting a 0.67 WHIP.
Bruihl, who turned 20 in June, was assigned to the Arizona League Dodgers on July 19 and now awaits his professional debut. However, his real odyssey started just over three years ago in March, 2014.
As a junior in high school the unthinkable happened to Justin Bruihl. What started out as a twinge in his left arm soon became a full-fledged pain with accompanying weakness and he quickly went under the knife for TJ surgery and the reconstruction of the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm. Fifteen months of rehab followed the surgery.
One can only imagine the surprise and disappointment for the young pitcher who in his own mind was invincible. That would not be unusual as no doubt most young players also feel they are invincible and perhaps do not tend to their body’s needs as well as they should.
Bruihl admits that, “I did feel invincible.” and that he did not take care of his arm as he could have and should have but that has definitely changed.
“I should have taken better care of my arm,” Bruihl said. “Then I was pitching 10-11 months a year. I wasn’t big on icing my arm. I am very cautious right now.”
His next test will be in live action with the Ogden Raptors to whom he was assigned on Sunday, July 23.
Great writeup. I look forward to seeing Ochsenbein in RC. Given his age I wouldn’t be surprised if they moved him up quick. The Dodgers don’t hesitate to move a player up when they aren’t being challenged in the CA league. Walker Buehler was in Rancho for 9 seconds. We only had an opportunity to see him pitch once at home. Then gone.
And I’m glad to see the Dodgers focus on the bullpen early on with some more arms. One consistent criticism I’ve had with their player development strategy has been in the pen. They seemed to be reluctant to make the transition when it is really obvious it needed to happen. Jordan Sheffield really struggled in RC in 2017/18 as a starter. Always tough to concede a 1st rounder is going to the pen. But he was a different pitcher in relief. I saw some absolute dominant innings from him out of the pen.
Brock Stewart also should have been moved to the pen. Had they transitioned him in 2018 in AAA, his few appearances with the Dodgers out of the pen , I believe, would have been better. By the time they did give him some innings from the bullpen in AAA he seemed spent. I think his entire time with the Dodgers org was not handled well. Nice guy too. Gave my son the ball he warmed up with in his one rehab stint in RC.
Yadier Alvarez is another one. $30m invested between his bonus and the signing penalty. It’s tough to admit you spent that on a bullpen arm. But I’ve heard he isn’t the easiest player to coach. And I haven’t a clue where he is at the moment. 1 start on 2019 and he disappeared. He might be the one reluctant to move the pen. Who knows. But his stuff always looked to me like future high leverage relief.
I could mention a couple more. I don’t blame the Dodgers for wanting to give pitchers time to prove themselves as starters. And I know the players themselves want that as well. But I also think there are two or three guys in the system today who could be in the show now, contributing out of the pen. Had they been transitioned earlier.
As AC pointed out, when AD sees an issue in the system, he tends to address is quickly. Your example for the infield is spot on. Lux, Downs, Esteves, Vargas and Amaya. We went from a hole in the system to real depth. And Vargas and Amaya are stand up guys. Amaya grew up in LA. His family goes to all his games in RC. Nicest people. Family history with the Dodgers. All the intangibles. His buddy Miguel is the same. My sons current two favorite players on RC. If my son is out on the sidelines before the team warms up, Miguel and Jacob are the first two to come over and talk to him. And the walkoff bomb Jacob hit in RC in the playoffs was epic. He hasn’t even begun to tap into his power. They should both see a little more time in the CA league in 2020. But I don’t expect either to be down for long.
I will tell my son to be on the lookout for Aaron in a few months.
Keep up the great writing.
Thanks D.C. Good article. What I noticed last year in the draft is that they were drafting relief pitchers. Usually they draft starters and then try to make relief pitchers out of them. I mentioned that in a post after the draft. It is a new idea and AF is the first to do it, I think. I think we can grow our own relief pitchers.
Does anyone have any info on Morgan Cooper? I thought he was going to be a stud.
Had the same question last week. Could only find information that was 18 months old that he continued to struggle with pitching shoulder tendinitis.
He was drafted in June of 2017. He was last activated by Ogden on September 16, 2019, but still has never thrown a pitch at any level in the minors. I think he is hiding out with Yadier Alvarez, Andrew Toles and Yasiel Sierra is a safe house in Pasadena. They may be in the witness protection program.
The Dodgers ain’t sayin…!
When he was drafted there were concerns about his injury history, and ability to pitch deep into games (Baseball America)
OK, I just messaged Morgan Cooper. We will see if he responds…
Ryu signs a 4 year, $80mil deal with Toronto
Bummer. I enjoyed his time as a Dodger. I’m guessing Toronto was the only one willing to go 4 years.
A Scott Boras special. Sign for the most money. I am very surprised that LAA did not make a counter 4 year offer. How do they sign Rendon and leave that pitching rotation?
That is not a lot of money, nor a long contract for Ryu, a pitcher with the #1 ERA in all of baseball last season. Something stinks here and it’s not Boras. That is a perfectly reasonable contract that the Dodgers could have done showing loyalty, confidence, and filling the #1 need of the pitching rotation. They just won’t pay for the talent, but preferring to go with the farm, as usual. For me, a sad day on a few levels of Dodger baseball and management.
I think that the contract was felony-stupid. He won’t pitch half that deal.
Ryu was a good Dodger and happy that he got the fourth year he wanted. No way was AF going to give four years with his injury history and age regression.
Having said that, and being in complete agreement with letting him go in FA, I do wonder where AF goes now for additional SP. Urias, May and Gonsolin have never pitched a complete year as a SP in the MLB and I think AF will work to get an additional SP. Maybe the Clevinger rumor is a thing!
AC I was thinking the same thing. That rotation won’t make it! Poor Trout is never gonna see another October!
Thx to Ryu for his time as a Dodger. We will miss him! Good luck in Toronto!
Ryu was fun to watch, and I wish him the best of luck in Toronto.
The age 32 thing is misleading for Ryu. That’s his current age, but he turns 33 in March. The Dodgers were likely unwilling to go for the years, especially at $20 million per.