Since Andrew Friedman took over the team a decade ago, he has not been shy about using his roster and shuffling players from OKC to LA, and moving players across various levels. Some of us saw the OKC Comets play last night, and they also play today and tomorrow. Ryder Ryan starts tonight for OKC. Let’s take a quick look at the other levels of the minor leagues.
Tulsa Drillers
They open the season on April 2,3 and 4th vs. the San Antonio Missions at Nelson Wolff Stadium in Tulsa. The rosters are still in flux, but here are some of the pitchers on the Drillers:
- Patrick Copen
- Wyatt Crowell
- Cam Day
- Jackson Ferris
- Luke Fox
- Peter Huebeck
- Carson Hobbs
- Jared Karros
- Adam Serwinowski
- Christain Saurez
Yenier Fernandez, Griffin Lockwood Powell, and Nelson Quiroz are listed as the catchers. The position players include Josue DePaula, Zyhir Hope, Kyle Nevin, Chris Newell, Sean McLain, and Elijah Hainline. Of course, they are managed by Eric Wedge. I look for Mike Sirota to move pretty quickly to Tulsa, maybe even start the season with them. We shall see.
Great Lakes Loons
The Loons start the season at home vs. the ft. Wayne Tin Caps on April 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Pitchers of note on their roster are:
- Brooks Auger
- Maddux Bruns
- Joel Ibarra
- Payton Martin
- Christian Ruebeck
- Renaldo Yean
- Christain Zazueta
Jesus Galtz and Gio Cueto are the catchers, and the position players include Cam Decker, Jake Gelof, Samuel Munoz, Joe Vetrano, Logan Wagner, Kendall George, Mike Sirota, and Eduardo Quintero. June 30th through July 5th, the Loons are in Ft Wayne, and I plan to see several of those games. My daughter lives in Ft. Wayne, and she now works for us (2 days in the office in Indy and 3 days remote), so I have a place to stay if I want. Her husband played with Zach McKinstry.
Ontario Tower Buzzers
This oddly named team starts the season on April 2nd vs the Lake Elsinore Storm. Their names on the Buzzers are not as widely known, but do include Chase Harlan, Kellon Lindsey, Emil Morales, Joendry Vargas, Charles Davalan, Jaron Elkins, Ching-Hsien Ko, Brendan Trunik, Hyun-Seok Jang, and Justin Chambers… among many others.
Arizona Complex League
The ACL does not return until May 2nd, so we will check in on them later.
I think there will be a lot of movement between each level and a few surprises. There has never been a time in the history of the Los Angeles Dodgers when the Farm System has been so stacked… especially with outfielders, which means the Dodger Brass has the collateral to make a huge trade at the deadline… if warranted. This is going to be a fun season… at all levels.
It may be just as much fun following the young guys this year as the old men in LA. Tho probable 27 shutdown could be pretty damaging to their development.
One correction, the Ontario Tower Buzzers start on April 2nd,not August 2nd.
Thank you.
I meant to type April, but lost my mind in the process!
Fixed!
There are some interesting arms at AA. We probably have the best “stuff” in all the minor leagues; it’s just a matter of who can stay healthy, keep developing, and eventually move to the precipice of a call-up. Big AA arms to follow this year.
Chris Taylor signed a minor league contract with the Angels. Trout hit his second homer and the Angels beat the Astros again. Mets shut out the Giants for the second day in a row. Vitello not only looking for his first win, he is looking for his team’s first run. Jason Heyward announced he has officially retired.
Chris Taylor is 35 years old and has made close to $80,000,000 in his career. He was a solid player for the Dodgers until his last couple of years with the team. I’m curious why he would sign a minor league contract at this point in his life. I understand for the love of the game. But, a baseball season is a grind in MLB and even more so in the minors.
Probably thinking if he does well at AAA and shows he is healthy, a team needing a multipositional player might want to trade for him or get the Angels to release him so he can sign with them. Also, injury insurance for the Angels. Nico Hoerner signed an extension with the Cubs.
I imagine that there are those who truly enjoy everything about “the grind” of a professional baseball season. And yes 35 is “somewhat old” for a pro ball player, but realistically it is not old at all compared to almost all of us on here. Personally, I certainly wish I could still surf at the level I did at 35, though I still immensely enjoy it.
Thanks. You and Bear gave two valid reasons for him signing a contract with the Angels. Chris could like the grind and/or the competition. When one makes generational money it allows you to do damn near anything you might be passionate about. That’s why he is Chris Taylor and I, well, I’m me.
porpoiseboy, I think you live or spend a lot of time in Costa Rica. It’s very cool that you can still surf (not knowing your age) and enjoy it so much. I’m kind of like that with golf. It’s more of the social aspect of it for me than the actual playing. It’s nice to be outdoors, getting some exercise, and be around good people.
Anyway, enjoy the Dodger season wherever you might be.
Cheers TR. Actually now live FT on the Pacific side of Panama. Still surf as many days as there is decent surf. 67 & am hoping for a few more years getting after it.
It was the Yankees that beat the Giants
Correct.
As far as Taylor, it’s not that much different than anyone who is used to working their entire lives. The money becomes secondary. Having a purpose in life means a lot to some. Having retired almost 2 years ago , I understand wanting to be a part of something. I’m over that now! My wife retires Tuesday. She will have no problem with not having something to do every day!! We will have plenty of time with 7 grandchildren! I’m sure Chris Taylor doesn’t have any grandchildren!!!!! He’ll be ok. Now Barnes could be a completely different story. I’m sure he never made close to 80 million, so it could be a financial thing for him.
Nice win last night. Seems to me that Scott is “maybe “. Rounding into the pitcher he was in 2024. If he does? What a 1-2 punch in that bullpen!
Emmit is still trying hard to get back to his old self. The weight gain may have a lot to do with it. Never really thought about that before last night when Orel brought it up.
Good night for Freeland! Maybe Mark is right about him. He may not want to let go of the second base job! A few more nights like last night and he may not have to.
It’s early but, I enjoyed Joe and Orel last night. Really wish they would do all 162. I do like Neveritt and Monday. Everyone else could do minor league games as far as I’m concerned!
Well the march madness continues! No Petino. No Calipari. No Bruce pearl. No wade miller. Now I like that!!! I picked Arizona. But wouldn’t Iowa be a great story?
Those organizational rosters are extremely fluid pre-season. The players are generally on the roster they last played for until reassigned. They are not necessarily the team they are penciled in for the preliminary roster. There is no urgency to updating them a week prior to the scheduled start to the season. There will be changes.
I see no reason for Jackson Ferris to start at AA. OKC did not need him for the opening weekend. Cole Irvin is 32 years old, a full 10 years older than Ferris. It makes no sense for Irvin to block Ferris at AAA. Irvin is not going anywhere as he is the typical LAD emergency pitcher at AAA. But he should slide down and one of the other starters blocking Ferris should be moved to the pen or AA.
Today’s starter, Ryder Ryan, is a great storyline playing with his younger brother River, but he belongs in the pen, not starting. Ryder is 33 (May 11), 11 baseball years older than Ferris. He has never been a SP. He has pitched in 330 games, and started only 6. So why is he starting at AAA over Ferris?
Carlos Duran? He was primarily a SP prior to his TJ surgery, but has since settled into a relief role. There is no reason for him to start. If developed, he can be a lethal late inning high leverage reliever.
Christian Romero? He started 9 games at OKC last year, due to the paucity of SP at OKC late in the year. He moved from Great Lakes to OKC. No AA stop. He is still 23, and more properly belongs in AA than does Ferris
Ferris has pitched in Tulsa for part of 2024 and all of 2025, and pitched well. In 154.1 IP, he has compiled a 3.62 ERA in a relatively hitter friendly league. But he and his coaches figured something out. Over his last 12 starts, his ERA was 1.97. At AA he put up very competitive pitching stats while pitching in an older league. For the season, he faced 557 batters, and only 27 were younger than him. As he was 21 during the season, the younger batters were probably top prospects for other teams. He dominated those batters.
Ferris’ one big concern is his lack of control/command to be an effective MLB pitcher. Last year in 126.0 IP he struck out 135, but walked 66. I think 98% of the LAD prospect pitchers have that same problem. Heck, Roki Sasaki has that problem. Ferris’ biggest obstacle to improving his command/control is to be able to consistently replicate his delivery. He can work on that at OKC just as well as he can at Tulsa.
There are others I feel the same with, but Mike Sirota is at the top of that list. Yes, he was injured last year, but he dominated A+ pitching before the injury. He produced better at A+ than either De Paula or Hope. He is also a better defensive player than either De Paula or Hope. IMO, the OF for Tulsa should be Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope, Mike Sirota, Kendall George, and one of Kole Myers or Chris Newell. The other? Moved to A+ where he will also find it hard to find a regular role, or be flipped for cash, as was Damon Keith.
Nice to read you here
Thank you. Nice to be back.
Jeff, happy to have you writing here.
9:10 PM ET
Diamondbacks (0-2)
Dodgers (2-0)
SP E. Rodriguez L
0-0 .00 ERA
SP Tyler Glasnow R
0-0 .00 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
RF Kyle Tucker L
SS Mookie Betts R
C Will Smith R
1B F. Freeman L
LF T. Hernandez R
3B S. Espinal R
CF Andy Pages R
2B Miguel Rojas R
70° Wind 8 mph Out
An HR and a double get you the bench around here! 😉
Unfortunately it’s the right handed platoon tonight against the left handed pitcher. A Hot platoon player can’t ever get in a groove if the next day’s pitcher is the oppostie hand.
There’s only one way to get out of it:
Hit your way out!
The Ryder Ryan experiment may be over.
I didn’t watch the OKC game, but the box score shows Kim went 5-5 down there.
Tibbs was 4-5.
OKC was behind 6 -0 and then scored 13 unanswered runs.
OKC Comets 13 – Albuquerque Isotopes (Colorado) 6
As Mark mentioned Ryder Ryan was very ineffective in this one. He pitched 3.0 innings, giving up 6 runs on 9 hits and 1 BB. He did not strike out a batter.
After the top half of the third, the Comets bats and relievers took over. Down 6-1, OKC scored 12 unanswered runs. There were multiple hitting stars, but it was the two at the top of the order that made the most damage. Hyeseong Kim went 5-5, with one double, and scored 4 runs. James Tibbs III only had 4 hits, with one being a triple and two being doubles. Tibbs III scored 3 runs and had 3 RBIs.
Ryan Fitzgerald had 3 hits including a double and 3-run HR. Fitzgerald had 6 RBIs.
Noah Miller and Eliézer Alfonzo each had a pair of singles.
Antonio Knowles, Garrett McDaniels, Ronan Kopp, and Kyle Hurt pitched 6.0 scoreless innings, with Hurt striking out 3 in the 9th.
OKC was 7-16 WRISP.
Ohtani’s plate discipline looks much better so far this year
Tibbs III just missed a cycle. His double in the 8th hit just below the top of the fence. Ward was ofer and is hitting below the Mendoza line.
Short arms!!!!!!!!!!
Nice to have a closer!
I feel like people often elide over Will Smith and Pages (I guess Busch too) when they lament the lack of top-tier superstars the Dodgers have recently drafted and developed…
Like how many star-level players are you expecting to get exactly? He’s gonna end up in the 1% of results, lol.
1% is in relation to this from the great JJ Cooper:
https://x.com/jjcoop36/status/2014016911546138738
Oh, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Will Klein have five of the last six Dodger wins.
How’s that for scouting!
Joke.
Will Klein has” Big Time” stuff that is unhittable. Another AF trade from Seattle last year that went unnoticed at the the time.
Smith was a late first-rounder…. And has outplayed everybody who was drafted ahead of him.
Yeah, the front office is pretty good at this.
After his latest HR, some of the Dodgers greeted the birthday boy in the dugout by bobbling their heads. Roberts said that he had been planning to rest Smith, but that Smith talked him out of it. Batting him 4th ahead of Freddie turned out to be a smart move, a bit like how Roberts batted him 2nd in place of Mookie in Game 7.
Dodgers might not lose this year.
Will Smith on the road to the Hall of Fame, Mr Clutch does it again last night.
He has a chance, especially if the Dodgers keep racking up pennants that give him more October heroics.
Also on a HOF path: Our old friend Kenley. Could reach 500 saves this season with the Tigers.
I have to admit, I’m not looking forward to Sasaki’s start Monday! Emmit was not sharp Friday, we can all agree on that. But! Sasaki could be very “dull “ on Monday! It’s a known fact he doesn’t want to consider going down to AAA and work on things. But if he struggles mightily on Monday , what choice do the Dodgers have? I guess it’s a possibility he could come out and pitch 5-6 very good innings and we can all sit back and shut up! But from what I’ve seen so far? Ain’t happening. He saved the teams bacon in the playoffs last season! Throughout exhibition games he’s been absolutely awful! Plenty of time to get him on track but his next start will determine whether or not he stays in the rotation. We all want him to succeed. So if going down to AAA is what it takes, he should be open to it. Question is, will he ?
Will Smith ain’t never gonna hit 60 bombs! But in my opinion , he’s the best catcher in the world! I really feel bad for Dalton! Of all the teams to be on, he gets stuck behind Will!
I believe Kyle Tucker is going to get better, and better, and better!
Glasnow can be a beast! If he can stay away from 3 ball counts, he’s unhittable!
AGREE! Diaz brings an element to the ninth inning the Dodgers haven’t had in a while! Kenny was(is) an excellent closer. Diaz brings a feeling of confidence and dominance that only a few closers possess. If Scott comes back to his old self? Look out!
Will Klein can be the new and healthier Graterol! He looks so confident!
Poor Miggy! 2 hits and what do you get? A seat on the bench and Doc has no regret! A little Tennessee Ernie Ford there.
Give a Sasaki a chance before he hasn’t thrown a pitch in the regular season. If it doesn’t work out, i’ve read that he is amiable to going to AAA Oklahoma City to work on his pitching flaws. I still believe in the young man.Wrobo will be his backup if he falters early.
Of course I want him to succeed! And I hope he never has to go down. And I did see that he might be open to go down. I’m just saying that if he doesn’t improve quickly, the bullpen won’t be able to to keep covering for him each and every start. The talent is there.