The Dodgers Need to Get Out of the PCL

Posted By on July 12, 2025

The Pacific Coast League (PCL) has historically been one of the most challenging leagues for pitchers in professional baseball. Here’s why — and how it affects both pitchers and hitters:

Why the PCL is Tough on Pitchers:

  1. High Elevation & Dry Air
    Many PCL cities (like Albuquerque, Reno, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and El Paso) are at high altitudes with thin, dry air. That means:
    • Baseballs travel farther.
    • Breaking balls break less, making them easier to hit.
  2. Hitter-Friendly Ballparks
    • Several PCL stadiums have short fences, fast infields, or windy conditions that favor offense.
    • Some fields (like in Las Vegas and Albuquerque) are notoriously brutal for pitchers.
  3. Travel Fatigue & Altitude Changes
    • The PCL has long travel distances across time zones, and teams often play in varying altitudes from series to series, tough on pitcher recovery and command.

Effects on ERA & Pitching Evaluation:

  • ERA Inflation:
    Pitchers’ ERAs in the PCL are often significantly higher than they’d be in more neutral environments.
  • Misleading Performance:
    Scouts and front offices often discount ERAs and HR rates in the PCL, focusing instead on:
    • Strikeout and walk rates
    • Velocity and spin rates
    • Command and pitch quality via scouting or analytics (like Trackman data)

How It Affects Hitters:

  • Inflated Numbers:
    Hitters often post eye-popping stats in the PCL — especially power numbers — that don’t always translate to MLB.
  • “PCL Mirage” Risk:
    Some players look like sluggers in Triple-A PCL but struggle against MLB pitching once in neutral or pitcher-friendly parks.
  • Dodgers prospects like Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone were often evaluated more on stuff than results at OKC.

The Dodgers no longer own the OKC Comets, and I believe that the advantages of being in OKC (closer to LA in case of an emergency call-up) are greatly outweighed by the fact that OKC messes up both hitters and pitchers: You can’t trust your eyes in the PCL, and you certainly can’t trust the statistics.

Conversely, the Texas League has historically been known as a pitcher-friendly league, especially compared to the Pacific Coast League. Here’s why:

Why the Texas League Favors Pitchers:

  1. Lower Elevation & Humidity
    • Most Texas League cities (e.g., Frisco, San Antonio, Amarillo, Corpus Christi, Midland) are at low to moderate elevations.
    • Humid conditions and thicker air in places like Corpus Christi and San Antonio can suppress home runs.
  2. Ballpark Dimensions
    • Some Texas League parks (like San Antonio’s Nelson Wolff Stadium) have larger outfields, which help keep the ball in play.
  3. Climate Factors
    • Hot and humid air can reduce ball carry.
    • In contrast to the dry, high-altitude parks of the PCL, the Texas League is often neutral to pitcher-favorable in its run environment.

Pitcher Development in the Texas League

  • MLB teams sometimes use Double-A (including the Texas League) to test pitcher command and polish, because results are considered more stable and predictive than in Triple-A environments like the PCL.
  • Scouts and front offices often treat Double-A performance as more telling than Triple-A, especially for pitchers.

Hitter Impact

  • Hitters often post more modest numbers in the Texas League, especially compared to the PCL.
  • Power numbers may be depressed, so good performance by a hitter here can be more impressive than it looks on paper.

The Texas League is generally pitcher-friendly. If a pitcher thrives there, it’s often seen as more meaningful than gaudy PCL stats, and hitters who rake in the Texas League may be even better than their numbers suggest. Even Ray Charles can see this.

Minor League Teams have Player Development Licenses (PDLs) with MLB teams which ruin through the 2030 season, such as the following teams:

  • Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp – Miami Marlins
  • Nashville Sounds – Milwaukee Brewers
  • Rochester Red Wings – Washington Nationals
  • Worcester Red Sox – Boston Red Sox
  • St. Paul Saints – Minnesota Twins

The Dodgers have no chance of reaching a PDL License with any of those teams. Several teams maintain longstanding affiliations under older 2‑ or 4‑year Player Development Contracts (PDCs), which appear to auto-renew or are undisclosed publicly:

  • Buffalo Bisons – Toronto Blue Jays
  • Charlotte Knights – Chicago White Sox
  • Durham Bulls – Tampa Bay Rays
  • Lehigh Valley IronPigs – Philadelphia Phillies
  • Norfolk Tides – Baltimore Orioles
  • Scranton/WB RailRiders – New York Yankees
  • Syracuse Mets – New York Mets

There’s a possibility that the Charlotte Knights might want to shed the White Sox, but it’s hard to know. Then, some teams have long-standing affiliations under older PDCs:

  • Columbus Clippers – Cleveland Guardians
  • Gwinnett Stripers – Atlanta Braves
  • Indianapolis Indians – Pittsburgh Pirates
  • Iowa Cubs – Chicago Cubs
  • Louisville Bats – Cincinnati Reds
  • Memphis Redbirds – St. Louis Cardinals
  • Omaha Storm Chasers – Kansas City Royals
  • Toledo Mud Hens – Detroit Tigers

Out of all those teams, I think there’s a slight possibility of flipping a team from its existing club to the Dodgers, and I think it’s Indianapolis (I live in a suburb of Indy). Yes, I live there, and you are going to say that is wishful thinking on my part… and that may be true, but here is one fact that makes it possible: The Indianapolis Indians are owned by Indians, Inc., a publicly owned corporation. This ownership structure came about in 1955 when local civic leaders organized a public stock sale to save the team after the Cleveland Indians franchise experienced financial losses. If the Dodgers were to offer some major financial incentive or even buy the team from the city, this could happen. This would do nothing but enhance Dodger Player Development!

The advantages are apparent. The Dodgers could move top prospects, both pitchers and hitters, to AAA without fear that they would wreck a career, and I would be in the pressbox every game reporting the facts to you. The Dodgers need to do this! There are direct flights from Indy to LA – It’s a quick three-hour trip. Logistically, many minor league teams are tied to their MLB clubs geographically (example: Mets & Syracuse Mets), but the Dodgers are not tied to any team in the PCL. Just get out or the PCL and play in a league where the results are not skewed.

P.S. The Seven-Game skid continues. The offense woke up, but unfortunately, Dustin May continued to lose focus. His ERA now sits south of 5.00. He will be removed from the rotation and maybe the team. He’s a classic example of why the Dodgers need to be out of the PCL! Michael Conforto made a tremendous throw and broke the back of Snidley Whiplash (Logan Webb) last night. I loved that part!

2025 Futures Game

Here are the highlights featuring Josue DePaula:

BTW: Max Clark is from Franklin, Indiana. Our family just happened to have dinner in Franklin Last Night. Max is ranked #13 by BA.

This article has 64 Comments

  1. I’d love to see the Dodgers AAA affiliate in Indy! Unfortunately it’s not likely.

  2. You got my vote. Moving AAA team to Indy for an east coast guy gets me earlier games. Great point about high altitude ball parks. Coors Field, maybe?
    Ozzie Kim is playing like a wizard. Granted th Dodgers ain’t moving Mookie but his defense is impressive. He made the jump throw to Freddie look easy. And when he gets on base I see shades of Maury Wills.

  3. At least there was some excitement in this game, but they still are not hitting in the clutch. And the home plate umpire made some awful strike calls on the Dodgers late in the game. One of the strikes called on Ohtani was at least 8 inches outside. May needs to be out of the rotation. Snell back soon. Rotation should be Kersh, Yoshi, Ohtani, Glasnow, Snell and Sheehan, who has so much better than May. Wrobo went 5 solid innings last night for OKC, 4 hits, 1 run, it was on a homer, 1 walk and 4 Ks. McDaniel’s and Diaz threw scoreless frames, but Henriquez blew the lead, and Little imploded in the 10th. Ward, 24, and Dean, 5, homered. Freeland made a really bad decision trying to steal second with 1 out in the 10th and Ward at the plate and was thrown out.

    1. Agree,I’ve seen enough of May as a starter in 2025 and beyond. Too emotional and unable to control his emotions on the mound when things start going wrong. NOT a big game pitcher.

      1. Yeah, I think that’s quickly becoming the consensus.

        He looked good in his last game, and I thought the elevated high 90s four seamer he was throwing was going to be him reinventing his arsenal to become more effective, but it didn’t play out against a decent team.

        To be fair, I think Teo took a bad line on that double over his head that cleared the bases. He’s not a great outfielder, and really doesn’t belong in right.

  4. For Mister Dodgerhorse, your name fits your personality, you are a horse’s ass. Yes, Mark and I patched things up, and he has not said anything since that would make me state I would never post here. You should concentrate your posts on Dodger baseball. Not personal attacks on me or making statements about what Mr. Dominique posts on his own site. You are out of line. I post what I like because I stick to baseball. You post here, not on our site, why is that? If Mark has no problem with me, why do you? You do not know me personally. Mark does.

  5. the bright side? they scored 7 runs. they got 6 of them off webb. kim continues to show why he needs to be the everyday second baseman. bullpen was good. ( banda not great). conforto made one hell of a throw! … the bad? Dustin May. walks and noncompetitive pitches. maybe long relief? i’m not sure, he can’t be trusted in this role. Teo? i know he’s a little hobbled, but Pages catches that ball easily. he needs to be in left field for now. Edman? doesn’t look healthy to me. not contributing at the plate. Rojas needs to play 3rd for now. … speaking of Tommy, he needs to be a super utility guy. not an everyday player at just one position. .. STOP THE STREAK!!!!

  6. 4:05 PM ET

    Dodgers (56-39)
    Giants (52-43)

    SP Shohei Ohtoni R
    0-0 1.50ERA
    SP Landen Roupp R
    6-5 3.39 ERA

    Confirmed Lineup
    DH S. Ohtani L
    SS Mookie Betts R
    1B F. Freeman L
    RF T. Hernandez R
    LF M. Conforto L
    CF Andy Pages R
    2B Hyeseong Kim L
    3B Tommy Edman S
    C D. Rushing L

    63° Wind 15 mph Out

    Emmet Sheehan 0-0 2.00 ERA to follow Ohtoni with bulk innings

    1. I seem to recall Bear and Mark had a phase where they didn’t get along …
      ….
      Years ago … several years ago.

      Why are you even bringing that up, and why is it your business?

      1. You have a good memory; it started over on Scott’s site when it was relevant. But we patched things up and I even wrote for this site for about 3 years until Mark decided he wanted to do it alone. I have zero problems with Mark. In fact, I consider him a friend. Not sure what problem the Horse has. Conforto lifted his average to .185 with this 3-hit game. Padres in second now, 4.5 back.

  8. OK, both of you need to stop it, or I will.

    Bear and I are fine.

    Leave it!

    This is beyond petty!

  9. I think there is a better than even chance the Dodgers trade Dustin May before the deadline and try to get a couple of younger prospects. Someone will take a flyer and try to fix him. He has some value. Maybe with Outman as well…

    1. What will they do with more pitchers?

      I mean… OK, but we have Yamamoto, Ohtani, Snell, Glasnow, Kershaw, Sheehan, maybe Sasaki, maybe Gonsolin…. where would we put Lugo?

      1. Fans bringing that up everywhere. They don’t need a starter, but another top-flight arm at the back of the pen would be nice.

        1. Yes, the Dodgers have plenty of arms and don’t “need” Lugo.
          But the brass still might want him.
          I seem to recall that the Dodger front office has been interested in him in the past–and Lugo has raised his stock with KC. He is a proven guy who doesn’t seem to be injury-prone and could be effective as a starter or reliever.
          The case for Lugo starts with the fragility of the Dodgers’ frontline pitchers: Glasnow, Snell and Kershaw. (I am more optimistic about Shohei delivering in October than those three.) And, as Mark has pointed out, Scott and Yates haven’t really been living up to their billing. Sheehan and Wrobleski have had their moments–but their track records are short.
          So Lugo, having a terrific season, may not be a bad guy to have around.

          All considered, I think that it will be hard to improve on the roster. Conforto may still be the weak link–but he is showing improvement on offense and defense. (I still believe the O’s Mullins or Laureano would be an upgrade, but perhaps not a dramatic one. )
          The early reports on Max’s recovery are encouraging. Perhaps Edman should replace Kike as Max’s platoon partner. I’d like to see Rushing get some starts at 1B both to give Freddie get more rest to heal and help Rushing get his offense going. Mookie would probably benefit from more rest too.

          1. Good points, but I don’t think that is the direction they will take. Still think bullpen help and maybe a bat.

    1. I have no idea how some fans here, with their current mentality, would have survived the McCourt years.

  15. Top Dodger prospect Josué De Paula with a 3 run homerun wins MVP of the Futures Game today as the NL beat the AL 4-2.

    1. Josue, now 20, has a outside chance to be the Dodgers’ left fielder next season.
      So does his “futures” teammate Zyhir Hope, also 20.
      And then there’s Michael Sirota, who is a year older and is a quality defender at CF.
      A lot of promise in the OF. And the Quakes’ Quintero, 18, might be the best of the bunch.

      1. House and Hope should be brought up through the minors. They lean in each other and Hope was waiting for him after his dinger, just like the team games. Camaraderie is a huge part of the baseball experience. Moving up with a running mate can’t be discounted. The draft will give us a hint if they are going to sell the farm for the NL All Star game starter from Pitt. Just rumors, but another Ace might be worth it.

        And guys, your pissing contest is screwing up the site. Mark slapped me up once but I didn’t comment. This is a good site – lets keep it that way.

  16. Prior to injury, I thought May had tremendous movement to each side of the plate. The sinker is now completely ineffective. At this time he’s lost that pitch. He’s got the sweeper that’s effective when he’s on and often non-competitive balls when he’s off. He’s underutilized the four seamer all year.

  17. here’s a thought. when Snell and glasnow are both back, along with Clayton and yamamoto, continue to piggyback ohtani and emmit. ohtani fot 4 and emmit for 4. i still wouldn’t mind lugo and go with a 6 man rotation. I don’t see gonsolin nor sasaki pitching again this season. …. Maybe i’m imagining it, but watching Dustin May’s body language on the bench, he doesn’t seem to be engaged in the game at all. He probably just needs a change of scenery i guess . Shame, he has a lot of talent. … nice job yesterday by the pitching staff. ohtani was fantastic. Emmit was fantastic. Vesia was nails in the eighth!(thought he could have pitched the ninth). Scott was good, except for going 2-0 on the first 2 hitters. kept imagining a 2 run homer to walk it off ! But he came back and got em! tough one today. Robbie Ray. Yamamoto needs to throw more strikes and quit nibbling so much! There, i fixed him! Dodgers win 4-2! good day gents!

  19. The 2025 MLB Draft will begin at 6 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 13. The first three rounds, including competitive balance and compensation picks, will be broadcast live on ESPN and MLB Network. Rounds 4-20 will be streamed on MLB.com starting at 11:30 a.m. ET on Monday, July 14. The draft will take place at the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta.

    The Dodgers have picks #40 and #41, where they are predicted to take Patrick Forbes, RHP, Louisville, and Sean Gamble, OF, 2B, IMG Academy, Bradenton.

  20. Saturday scores
    Sugar Land 7, Oklahoma City 5
    Tulsa 4, Arkansas 2
    Lansing 9, Great Lakes 2
    Inland Empire 7, Rancho Cucamonga 6
    ACL Padres 4, ACL Dodgers 1

    Sunday schedule
    Lansing (Corey Avant) at Great Lakes (Christian Romero), 10:05 AM PST
    Sugar Land (AJ Blubaugh) at Oklahoma City (Bobby Miller), 11:05 AM PST
    Tulsa (Peter Heubeck) at Arkansas (Michael Morales), 11:35 AM PST
    Inland Empire (Francis Texido) at Rancho Cucamonga (Nicolas Cruz), 2:00 PM PST

  21. Per Keith Law:

    I have heard the Los Angeles Dodgers particularly want Louisville right-hander Patrick Forbes, if he should get to their picks at 40-41.

    1. Forbes was taken by the Arizona Diamondbacks as the 28th pick of the draft.

      Brady Ebel, Dino’s son, was taken by Milwaukee, the 32nd pick.

  22. “The Dodgers’ bonus pool for the 2025 MLB Draft is $9,031,300, which ranks 24th among all teams. Though, that also is their second-largest total under the current system that has been in place since 2012.
    Bonus pools are calculated by adding the slot values of every pick through the first 10 rounds. Any signing bonus amount more than $125,000 for draft picks after the 10th round also count against the pool money”.

  23. 4:05 PM ET

    Dodgers (57-39)
    Giants (52-44)

    SP Y. Yamamoto R
    8-7 2.77 ERA
    SP Robbie Ray L
    9-3 2.63 ERA

    Confirmed Lineup
    DH S. Ohtani L
    SS Mookie Betts R
    C Will Smith R
    1B F. Freeman L
    RF T. Hernandez R
    CF Andy Pages R
    2B Tommy Edman S
    3B Miguel Rojas R
    LF Esteury Ruiz R

    62° Wind 7 mph Out

    1. It is fair to ask if the problem is mechanical or mental. I would not put him in a save situation at this point. Treinen should be back soon but in the meantime Vesia or Casparius might be better options. His last two blown saves have been particularly bad given the way they have been playing and the gut punch in blowing those saves. I may be over-reacting but Scott’s performance this year in high leverage spots reminds me of Caleb Ferguson two years ago. Just seem not ready for getting those type of outs.

      1. I don’t think you’re overreacting. At best he is having a bad year (ala Edwin Diaz a couple of years ago). Regardless, anyone blowing 28% of their save opportunities needs to be replaced.

  27. He needs to be moved to a low leverage role. He has no command or confidence. Anybody but him at this point.

  28. Yamamoto looks like one of our October horses today. Just a fantastic performance. Much to be happy about regardless of today’s outcome.

  30. Well, so much for Patrick Forbes at #40. He went 29th to the D-Bags!

    Sean Gamble went even earlier. If other teams think the Dodgers want a player, they will take them.

    Hopefully, AF knows that and was just putting out a smokescreen.

  33. At pick -#41, the Dodgers select Charles Davalan, LF, University of Arkansas

  34. They took another LH hitter from Arkansas.

    Charles Davalan who as ranked #62 by BA

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