It is a bit difficult to find some new or interesting MiLB Matters with so many knowledgeable LADT members posting regarding the Dodgers minor league roster. Jeff’s “ LAD PROSPECTS – REAL OR HYPE” was indeed a pièce de résistance.
Jose Ramos
I will start with Jose Ramos who seems to be DodgerLover’s main guy and who caught us all by surprise. There is nothing new here but just a reminder of who he is and what he has done.
Ramos has made it into the MLB.com Top 30 Prospect List, now placed in the No. 16 slot. It is the first time I have seen Ramos mentioned in the same breath as Andy Pages, other than as a LADT post.
The native of Chepo, Panana was signed by the Dodgers in the 2018 international class. That is, in the same class as Diego Cartaya, Jerming Rosario, and Alex De Jesus. Cartaya signed for $2.5 million. Ramos signed for $300,000.
Like all minor league players Ramos lost the 2020 season to the pandemic. Among other things happening in his life during the lost season, Ramos continued to mature physically. He gained 50 pounds since he was signed and grew two inches. His new stature at 6’1”/200 lb. resembles that of outfielder Andy Pages who is 6’1” tall and weighs 212 pounds.
According to his Top 30 listing he also resembles Pages with his tools. He features well-above-average raw pop from the right side of the plate, as does Pages, and hit a couple of tape-measure blasts in the ACL before departing. He manages the strike zone and off-speed pitches reasonably well for a young slugger and has a chance to hit for average as well as power.
Ramos has lost some speed, which is not unusual, as he has matured physically but he’s still at least an average runner, and his instincts give him the possibility of staying in center field. He has split time between center and right field in 2021 and his plus-plus arm is a weapon. He recorded 17 assists in his first 78 pro games in the outfield.
His state-side debut was delayed by the pandemic until the 2021 season when he landed with a big splash and slash. His triple slash with the ACL Dodgers in 15 games was .383/.456/.633 in 15 games. In 47 games with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes he slashed .313/377/.559 along with eight home runs and 44 runs batted in. If he had enough ABs to qualify, his wRC+ of 138 would have been 3rd in the Low A West, and this is as a 20-year-old, a full year younger than average for the league.
In August, Baseball America noted that his max exit velo is already up to 109 mph. For context, via FanGraphs, this is tied for the highest max exit velo of any prospect the Dodgers have listed in the organization … and tied with someone four years older. Additionally, MLB Pipeline has a 70 on his arm. Ramos played right field exclusively with Rancho Cucamonga, and that’s likely to be his long-term landing spot.
Hunter Greene
Every now and then a story about a non-Dodger minor league player catches my attention. Earlier this week I found a story about Cincinnati Reds pitching prospect Hunter Greene who was the second overall selection in the 2017 First-Year Player Draft. This is the clip I inadvertently found.
Louisville Bats star pitcher Hunter Greene gave away 3,000 pairs of new baseball cleats (each valued around $100) to local kids and high school baseball players near his hometown in Los Angeles.
“I’m doing this because I have the platform to be able to give back,” Greene told CBS LA on Saturday (Nov. 27). “It’s important to spread the love, be able to provide kids with the best resources, the best equipment… Especially with the pandemic and COVID last year, it was really hard for families to put their money together and get the best of the best for their children. If I can help with that and make the kids feel special, that’s the ultimate goal. And I’m happy and proud to do that.”
View the full story/video here:
Greene made his Triple-A debut with the Bats in 2021, finishing 5-8 with a 4.13 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 14 starts. He is currently ranked by MLB.com as the Cincinnati Reds’ No. 1 prospect.
MiLB 2021 Golden Bobblehead Award Winner
Last Tuesday Minor League Baseball announced the winners of the 2021 Golden Bobblehead Awards for top promotional activities and events in six categories and one overall winner for the best overall promotion of 2021.
The Oklahoma City Dodgers received a Golden Bobblehead for the Best In-Game Promotion or Event.
On July 3, the AAA Dodgers hosted world-class speed painter and performance artist Revel for a performance that fans wouldn’t soon forget. Revel painted two portraits upside down, each during a 90-second break between innings – including one of Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson.
After the game, Revel returned to the field to create a painting of Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark with proceeds from the sale of the three paintings generating $2,000 for the Oklahoma City Dodgers Baseball Foundation.
“Winning our first Golden Bobblehead award is another benchmark for our organization,” said Oklahoma City Dodgers President/General Manager Michael Byrnes. “I’m proud of our team members for not only devising the idea of having a performance artist be part of our game presentation, but also finding a way to make it work with the unique constraints within a baseball game. We’d also like to recognize Revel, because without his incredible talent and willingness to try something new, this would have never happened.”
This You Tube clip is a must watch in a disbelief moment.
Stadium Journey Magazine Ranks Minor League Ball Parks
This is the manner in which Stadium Journey ranks the park at each minor league level. The rankings were released this past October.
The clips below are the final statements regarding the Dodger minor league affiliate parks by the Stadium Journey writers and not the full assessment.
Triple-A Parks (30 teams)
9. Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark – Oklahoma City Dodgers – 4.14 (4.15)
Michael Davis –
“Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark is one of the best minor league ballparks in the country. The ballpark has already celebrated 20 years, yet other ballparks have yet to make this OKC gem outdated. The ballpark has received numerous accolades over the years and rightfully so since the ballpark has single-handedly revitalized the Bricktown area.”
Double-A Parks (30 teams)
3. ONEOK Field – Tulsa Drillers 4.43
Meg Minard –
“The Drillers provide a delightful game day experience where the music volume is loud enough to enjoy but does not impede conversations on the concourse and in the stands. Between inning, activities are plentiful and are unobtrusive. The aura is very much geared towards families and kids.”
High-A Parks (30 teams)
8. Dow Diamond — Great Lakes Loons 4.14 (3.57)
“The Dow Diamond is an excellent facility, especially for Class A ball. The two entrances at either end of the park put you on a wide promenade that circles the entire stadium. You won’t go wrong seeing a game at the Dow Diamond, and you’ll do it for a reasonable price all-around.”
Low-A Parks (30 teams)
2. LoanMart Field – Rancho Cucamonga Quakes – 4.43 (4.29)
Andrej Ojeda –
“There’s a whole lotta shaking going on in Rancho Cucamonga. The Quakes come in second on our rating scale due to reasonable prices, lovely views of the mountains, and a fun zone for the kids.”
Mover and Shaker 2022
Mover and shaker might be a bit strong to describe a minor league player who has not been a high profile player. However, among his peers, he is one who is exerting his influence on the powers to be in the Dodger minor league coaching fraternity and perhaps forcing their hand to move him along.
Today’s choice is 23-year-old right-hander Guillermo Zuniga. From Cartagena, Columbia, he was one of the 12 Atlanta Braves international prospects made free agents in November of 2017 by Major League Baseball after improprieties from former general manager John Coppollela.
The Dodgers signed him on December 6, 2017 with a reported $205,000 bonus, although as part of the agreement to make those former Braves free agents the first $200,000 did not count against the bonus pool.
Zuniga originally signed with the Braves on July 2, 2016 for $350,000, a bonus he got to keep.
Since then he has made stops with the Arizona League Dodgers, Great Lakes Loons, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, and this year with the Drillers.
His 2021 season was abbreviated by injury in which he missed two months from July 29 to August 21. However, during the past season he did make 25 appearances, all in relief, pitching 35.1 innings with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. He struck out 49 and walked 13.
The 6’5”/230 lb. Zuniga’s scouting reports suggest an above-average fastball, slider, and extension. His size protects his high velocity and his slider bites harder than a National COVID-Lockdown.
Other reports indicate Zuniga still has work to do on his changeup and improving his command/control. Those reports came from well over a year ago.
Tim Federowicz
Tim Federowicz, a former Major League catcher in parts of nine seasons, has been named by the Seattle Mariners as Manager of the Tacoma Rainiers (Triple-A West). Federowicz, 34, becomes the 11th manager of the club in the “Rainiers”
era and Seattle affiliation (since 1995), following his retirement as a player over 13 seasons and more than 1,000 professional games played.
Dodger fans will remember Tim as he played 89 games with the Dodgers from 2011 through 2014. Over his playing career he wore the uniforms of six different MLB teams – Dodgers, Rangers, Reds, Astros, Giants, Cubs.
This is the path I expect former Dodger minor league catcher Stevie Berman to take. Last August Berman was traded to the Minnesota Twins for LHP Andrew Vasquez.
Tales of Vladimir Guerrero
That is, the Dodger tales of Guerrero Senior and Guerrero Junior. I have just included the links for those who might be interested, or recalling how the Dodgers handled the two Guerrero situations.
Guerrero Senior:
https://www.latimes.com/sports/mlb/la-sp-dodgers-guerrero-20180728-story.html
Guerrero Jr.
https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/side-deal-helped-blue-jays-sign-guerrero-jr/
Other Guerrero Sons:
https://larrybrownsports.com/baseball/vladimir-guerrero-other-sons-rake/588411
Very entertaining article filled with some excellent unknown Dodger information we would find nowhere else DC.
Great coverage, DC!
I talked to a baseball insider last week who told me to watch this guy. He said he would be taking over for Mookie in RF in a few years. He said the kid has an absolute cannon for an arm and lightning in his bat! I have not seen him other than a couple of videos, but he sounds promising.
Hunter Grene is a great kid and hyped by the hometown Reds around here. Hopefully, in 2022 he will be fully recovered from TJ.
Stadium Journey is a great resource for Stadium Rankings. Victory Field in Indy is still ranked #8 AAA Park, even though it is now 26 years old.
Parkview Field in Ft. Wayne is still #1 in High A and is a wonderful venue for a game.
In previous years, Parkview Field has even garnered the top overall ranking among MiLB ballparks across all classifications. Stadium Journey has yet to release its latest rankings for Double-A and Triple-A venues.
“Parkview Field is a near-perfect venue for baseball and other events in downtown Fort Wayne,” according to _Stadium Journey_’s review. “It offers a bounty of viewing options, a variety of ballpark grub and is within walkable distance to restaurants and entertainment venues. The neighborhood will only improve once Electric Works opens up in the old GE Building.”
Always fun reading about the kids, especially the ones I have never heard of, or only whispers. I have decided that all I want for Christmas is an agreement between the MLBPA and MLB. And then immediately thereafter, the Dodgers sign Freddie Freeman and Kersh. I made up my mind, I do not want to see Kershaw end his career in another uniform. He has always and should always, be a Dodger.
I neglected to forward this bit of information to Jeff when I sent the article. re:Stadium Journey ratings.
“Ballparks are rated according to Stadium Journey’s patented FANFARE system, which takes into account all aspects of the game-day experience (food, atmosphere, neighborhood, fans, access, value, and more). Our correspondent’s score dictates a ballpark’s rank, with readers’ scores used as tiebreakers. If two or more ballparks remain tied after the fan score, a council of elders was consulted to break those ties.”
Yes he was but I expect his command protected him.
Another day goes by and another day with no word on the CBA progress. I fully expect “radio silence” and don’t think it’s good for negotiations to play out in the media, but with no information forthcoming, and no sense of urgency and the issues seemingly so big and each side being so far a part, I’m growing more and more concerned the season will be impacted.
I know fans like me always resort to the “I’m never watching again if they indeed miss games,” but it feels like this time I may indeed become a casual fan and will spend my dollars somewhere other than the MLB.
Seems the Cubs and Padres discussed a Hosmer trade last season. I do not expect any kind of movement on the CBA until after New Years.
Great write up this morning DC. Another young talent to look forward to. When do you see the outfield being patrolled by Ramos, Outman in center, and Pages ?
I would expect Pages and Ramos to be at least two years away and Betts is there for a long time. I think the general consensus is that Outman will be a fourth outfielder with the Dodgers. D
I agree. I also think there’s a chance Busch could be tried in LF, much like Lux was this past season.
Busch doesn’t have any of Lux’s natural athleticism, but LF is not exactly a hard position to play.
Luis Rodriguez is another name to keep tabs on.
It’s said he could stay in CF but a move to a corner is always a possibility.
Today is Carl Erskine’s 95th birthday. Pretty sure he still lives in Indiana. Threw 2 no hitters as a Dodger and held the record for most K’s in a World Series game at 14 until some guy named Koufax fanned 15 in 1963. Happy Birthday Oisk! QB Slovis of USC entered the transfer portal. Guess he saw the writing on the wall when Dart took over.
Carl does live in Anderson, Indiana.
Slow baseball news day.
Just for fun, here’s a list of Dodgers prospects who have something to prove in 2022:
1. Hoese–From 3B of the future to afterthought. He must stay on the field, show he can hit AA pitching, and show some of the hit tool that drew raves for a brief time during the shutdown.
2. Outman–The reverse-Hoese: from afterthought to 4-tool stud. Questions about his bat won’t go away until he makes more consistent contact. Fits profile of classic late-bloomer. A roster spot could be open.
3. Beeter–Electric stuff but destined for the bullpen. Or is he? Let’s see our development program have another year with him.
4. Grove–Surprise 40 man roster addition. Post-hype arm who could slide into a Mitch White-type role.
5. Leonard–Hard to separate from Vivas & Valera but one of them has to be a star, right? Could he be the next major prospect in the system? The SS position is wide open in the future.
6. Duran–Big man somehow slides under the radar. Been a while since we’ve had a large RH SP like him. Stay healthy.
7. Diaz–Want to bet on a breakout star for 2022? This is your guy.
8. De Jesus–Time to put up some numbers for the guy who has been comped to Manny Machado.
9. Choi–I believe he could be a top ten name by the end of the year. I love betting on guys whose upside have always been limited by scouts.
10. Vogel–Similar to Outman in that the hit tool is the only one that lags, but it’s also the most important.
Honorable Mention: Stone–Could be the next hot pitching prospect in a system that churns them out like butter.
Stone was my choice for Dodgers MiLB Pitcher of the Year.
I feel like I would’ve given it to Knack. Dodgers gave it to Choi, right?
Thanks for covering Ramos DC, he certainly burst onto the scene last year. I guess that extra time off did him good. He must have spent it in the weight room. Adding 50 lbs from age 18 to 20 is quite a late bloomer and the power sure showed up as a result. He was one of the many that showed up big for Rancho last year including Cartaya, DeLuca, Alcantara, Leonard, Lewis, McWilliams, Vivas and the list goes on.
Is this indicative of the talent in the low minor league system, or is this a result of the ballpark factors with Ranch being a better hitting environment than Great Lakes? Could it be that the hitters are ahead of pichers after the COVID layoff, or is there a new ball that we’re unaware of?
It seems like offense was way up compared to what we’ve seen at Great Lakes in years past. DeLuca, Leonard, Lewis, McWilliams and Vivas all received promotions to Great Lakes last year with Leonard, and Lewis continuing their hot hitting and Vivas also hitting well in limited action. McWilliams and Deluca met high A with less success than they did at low A.
With Leonard and Lewis, it seems like they didn’t miss a beat at all and I’m excited to see them climb the ladder next year and hopefully they make it to Tulsa in short order. I would think that Ramos is headed to Great Lakes to start the season and is probably a half of a season behind Leonard and Lewis.
Yes they did.
Houston Mitchell of the Times was running a Dodgers’ Hall of Fame poll. Only 6 got the necessary 75% of those polled to make it:
1 – Koufax
2 – Scully
3- Drysdale
4 – Robinson
5 – Campanella
6 – Snider
The Duke barely made it in. Lots of other important figures in Dodgers’ history either didn’t make it or weren’t known well enough by the younger crowd to get votes. Some guys eliminated from future consideration include:
1- Dolph Camilli (winner of 1941 MVP)
2 – Charlie Ebbets (builder of Ebbets Field and long time owner)
3 – Claude Osteen and Jim Brewer
4 – Burleigh Grimes (last of legal spitball pitchers and in the real Hall of Fame)
5 – Hideo Nomo
No Pee Wee???? That is just wrong.
I came across this article (I don’t remember where) but it listed the top 10 catchers who had the most success throwing out runners. I thought it may be interesting to share:
1. 57% – Roy Campanella
2. 56% – Gabby Harnett
3, 49% – Yogi Berra
4. 47% – Bill Dickie, Ernie Lombardi
5. 46% – Ivan Rodriguez
6. 44% – Thurman Munson, Elston Howard, Ray Schalk
7. 43% – Johnny Bench
8. 41% – Jim Sundberg
9. 40% – Bob Boone., Rick Dempsey
10. 39% -Mickey Cochrane, Lance Parrish
If you’ll notice, all of those catchers played with pitchers who were willing to hold base runners on. Not one of those catchers is still active.
Or did the list specifically say they were only using catchers who have retired?
I think you are only eligible for the HOF IF you have retired.
Correct, and you have to be retired for 5 years. There have been exceptions to the rule by special committee. Gehrig, Lasorda and Clemente were elected that way.
Didn’t know all those catchers were dead. When did Johnny Bench die?
My bad STB. I misread active for alive
I did too, but I did not post about it! Roland Hemond passed away today at the age of 92. Former Orioles and White Sox exec.
Now you’ve got Johnny looking over his shoulder.
Yadier Molina would barely make that list. His % is 40.31, the R. Perez, 39.33, Rene Rivera, 36.46, Maldonado, 36.45, S. Perez, 35.75, C. Vazquez, 335.57, Realmuto, 34.98, Pina, 34.65, McCann, 34.53, Gomes, 33.00. Those are the top10 active catchers. No Dodgers in the top 35. Grandal came in 24th at 25.71.
Thanks Bear. It’s nice to know I’m not alone lol
Anytime, age seems to do that to you. Tomorrow is my last day here before I head out to California on the train. Been a busy one. I have to go to the VA tomorrow and get my labs done for my appointment with my doc when I return home in January.
Have a safe and enjoyable trip both ways. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. e will all miss you and your insight on many subjects. Be careful in California, I heard from a reliable source that the fault out there is due to slide into the Pacific ocean anytime now.
California Island.
I was born there and have heard that for years. I do know they are going back to the mask mandate on Wednesday. You have to wear a mask indoors. Which to me is total BS since I have been injected, infected, inspected and selected. Really, I will still be able to post, but not write new ones until I get back. I do have four posts in the que ready to go.
DL, once you are in the system it is no problem at all. And they have definitely gotten better. I get a checkup every six months and January is my six month appointment. My eye appointment is the day after I get back up in Colorado Springs. I have never been charged for my meds, nor for all the work they did on my eyes. I had cataract surgery on both eyes and then laser surgery last year on both. I get a new set of glasses every other year.
Maybe it was the font I used. 🙂
Nah