A Look Back at the 2026 Tulsa Drillers

I have consistently stated it is difficult to gauge the development of prospects without reaching AA. Tulsa was chock-full of potential MLB players. 

Tulsa began the year as one of the more hyped teams, largely due to their OF:  Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope, and Kendall George. Somewhat shocking that Mike Sirota was left off the original Tulsa roster, but he ultimately got there. Tulsa also had three pitchers they were counting on:  RHSP Patrick Copen, LHSP Adam Serwwinowski, and LHSP Luke Fox.  RHSP Payton Martin was considered a back of the rotation starter, but were counting on him as well.  The team was hopeful that LHRP Maddux Bruns could emerge from his previous tribulations. He did not.  Former Tulsa RHRP Nick Robertson was back with Tulsa.  The expectations for Tulsa were high.  Robertson dominated at Tulsa and was promoted to OKC. 

Tulsa got off to a great start and won the first half by 5.0 games, and qualified for the playoffs.  They had the best record in the Texas League in the 1st half.  They also had the best full season overall record (88-50) in the Texas League for 2026.  That was 9.5 games better than the Springfield Cardinals.  Springfield won the 2nd half and beat Tulsa 2 games to 0 in the Texas League North Division Championship.  Springfield lost to the Amarillo Sod Poodles in the Texas League Championship. 

As a team, the Drillers led the League in runs, HR, BB, OBP and OPS.  They were ranked in the first half of the teams for 10 of the 12 metrics I have been measuring.  They were in the bottom half of the teams in SB and doubles.  

Most Wins in Franchise History: Finished with 88 regular season wins, breaking the previous franchise mark and recording the most victories of any team across all of Minor League Baseball in 2026. This is also the highest win total for any Tulsa professional baseball team since the 1968 Triple-A Oilers. 

Single-Season Home Run Record: Set a new single-season franchise team record for home runs, leading the Texas League with 199 long balls on the year. 

Most Runs in a Season: Shattered the previous franchise record by scoring 807 runs over the course of the season. 

Modern-Era Home Run Record: Infielder Jake Gelof hit 34 home runs, claiming the Texas League home run crown and breaking Tulsa's modern-era (1932–present) single-season home run record previously held by Tim Wheeler (33 in 2011). 

Besides leading the Texas League in HR, Gelof finished second with a .950 OPS in his 124 games this season. He also compiled the second-most RBI total in the league with 103, as he and De Paula became the first Drillers duo to reach 100 RBI in the same season.  

 Individually: 

Kendall George was off to such a great start that he was mentioned as a possible promotion candidate with MVP hype.  His game was not built on SLG, but rather on bat to ball skills and speed.  He is considered a good defensive CF, but not elite.  Unfortunately, George injured his knee in a freak accident involving a bat dog on May 25, 2026.  George tried to come back a month after the incident, but right before the deadline he was pulled from a game because of soreness.  He went on the IL on August 4, and had left knee arthroscopic procedure on August 7, 2026, to address lingering issues from a patellar/meniscus injury. 

George had 257 PA, so he did not qualify for batting leaders.  He needed 373 PA. 

Mike Sirota joined the Drillers on May 15.  Reached 333 PA. needed 373 to be considered qualified.  Neither George nor Sirota were included in any of the slash line metrics, and because of diminished PA they did not reach top ten in any of the other metrics.  Tulsa stats for the two: 

Kendall George – 257 PA, .332/.418/.399/.817, 33 SB (5 CS), 31 BB, 49 K

Mike Sirota – 333 PA, .297/.450/.490/.941, 5 SB (0 CS), 65 BB, 75 K 

Individual league leaders (top 10).

JDP, Gelof, and Hope were peppered generously amongst the League’s best.

Texas League Most Valuable Player: Josue De Paula, Tulsa (LAD) 

“De Paula was an offensive force all year long on a loaded Tulsa team that featured six players on the Top 100 Prospects list. Despite missing the end of the Double-A season because he was called up directly to the big leagues in September, he led the Texas League in hits (152) and RBIs (104) while slashing .304/.401/.547. The 21-year-old also became the first Dodgers Minor Leaguer since Joc Pederson in 2014 to post at least 25 homers and 30 steals in a season (27 and 31, in this case). 

His 104 RBI and 106 runs scored marked just the second time in Drillers’ history that a player recorded over 100 RBI and runs scored in the same season. The only other Drillers player to do so was Carlos Peña in 2000.”

 De Paula also is the fourth Drillers player to be named the Texas League’s MVP, joining Bubba Smith (1996), Ryan Shealy (2004) and Matt Beaty (2017). 

Texas League All Stars 

https://x.com/TulsaDrillers/status/2102092651285692610?s=20 

Full Texas League All-Star Team 

1B: Hunter Fitz-Gerald (Arkansas, SEA)
2B: Charlie Pagliarini (Arkansas, SEA)
SS: Leo De Vries (Midland, ATH)
3B: Manuel Pena (Amarillo, AZ)
C: Rainiel Rodriguez (Springfield, STL)
OF: Josue De Paula (Tulsa, LAD)
OF: Mike Sirota (Tulsa, LAD)
OF: Zyhir Hope (Tulsa, LAD)
DH: Jake Gelof (Tulsa, LAD)
UTIL: Jesús Báez (Springfield, STL)
SP: Kade Anderson (Arkansas, SEA)
SP: Bryce Mayer (Corpus Christi, HOU)
SP: Ryan Sloan (Arkansas, SEA)
SP: Mason Molina (Springfield, STL)
RP: Nick Robertson (Tulsa, LAD)
RP: Charlie Beilenson (Arkansas, SEA)
Manager: Eric Wedge (Tulsa, LAD) 

Wedge becomes the fifth Drillers manager to win the Texas League Manager of the Year Award and the first since Tim Ireland was honored in 2002. 

For those who think JDP walked away with the MVP, I am guessing there are many Cardinals fans who would counter JDP with: 

C— Rainiel Rodriguez, Cardinals, Double-A Springfield 

“The minor leagues have been rich with talented teenage catchers in recent years. Francisco Alvarez, Edgar Quero, Samuel Basallo, Alfredo Duno and Rodriguez all achieved a 150 wRC+ in a minor league season as a 19-year-old this decade. The distinction for Rodriguez is that he was the only one to do it over a large Double-A sample. In fact, a furious finish with Springfield catapulted him to first place in the Texas League with a .328 average, .408 OBP, .591 slugging percentage and .999 OPS. He is the only player in the minors this year to lead a league in all four categories.”

 Rodriguez more than held his own as a 19 year old in a premium position. 

The Drillers did not have any pitchers who qualified.  Here is the look at the team pitching: 

RHSP Patrick Copen had an outstanding April, a horrid May to mid-July, and an excellent rebound from mid-July through the end of the year. 

·      April – 5 games, 28.0 IP, 0.96 ERA, .149/.273/.160/.432, 14 BB, 37 K, 0 HR – Texas League Pitcher of the Month 

·      May to mid-July – 12 games, 41.2 IP, 12.10 ERA, .315/.450/.583/1.033, 41 BB, 45 K, 12 HR 

·      Mid-July through September – 9 games, 46.1 IP, 3.30 ERA, .253/.314/.345/.659, 14 BB, 54 K, 2 HR 

LHSP Adam Serwinowski was somewhat of a disappointment this year.  He had a few outstanding starts, but not enough to call it a good year.  His line was – 26 games, 127.0 IP, 5.31 ERA, .238/.343/.425/.768, 69 BB, 158 K, 19 HR.  He was a prolific strikeout pitcher who walked too many.  A LAD prospect trend.  There are a lot of rumblings tat Serwinowski is built more of a high leverage reliever.  158 K in 127 IP tells a lot.  Perhaps if he was limited to shorter outings, his control would improve.  I suspect LAD will continue to push Serwinowski as a SP. 

LHSP Luke Fox was also disappointing, but more so because he was injured most of the year.  He had a total of 27.1 IP for Tulsa. 3.29 ERA, 0.915 WHIP, 10 BB, 32 K.  He will get some additional work in the AFL. 

But the star pitcher for Tulsa was RHSP Christian Zazueta.  On June 23, Zazueta was promoted to Tulsa.  He pitched in 12 games for Tulsa, 55.0 IP, 3.44 ERA, 0.982 WHIP, .225/.267/.417/.684.  He is another prolific strikeout pitcher, but his BB/K ratio is otherworldly: 8 BB to 78 K.  The SLG slash line is high because he allowed 9 HR.  His efforts were good enough to get a SP All Star nod. 

LHSP Zach Root was promoted to Tulsa on July 28.  After 4 starts, Root was placed on the IL.  Root needs to curtail his injuries, but he shows that he could be a solid MLB SP. 

RHP Payton Martin survived Tulsa as a 22-year-old.  He should return to Tulsa next year.  Will he stay a SP, or will he get converted to RP? 

Josue De Paula and Mike Sirota have both been promoted to AAA (De Paula had a brief but excellent MLB stint), so I did not include them as AA Top 30 picks.  The AA top 30 prospects: 

·      CF Eduardo Quintero - #3

·      RHSP Christian Zazueta - #5

·      OF/2B Chuck Davalan - #6

·      LHSP Zach Root - #8

·      OF Kendall George - #11

·      LHSP Adam Serwinowski - #14

·      3B/2B Logan Wagner - #19

·      RHSP Aidan Foeller - #20

·      SS Elijah Hainline - #21

·      RHRP Jacob Kmatz - #24 

Kmatz was a deadline trade along with C Hunter Feduccia to Tampa Bay for OF Jack Suwinski.  I think he will get a long look next year. 

Players I will still be looking at even not on the top 30 prospects. 

·      3B Jake Gelof – You don’t hit 34 HR and not get noticed or a chance.

·      LHSP Luke Fox – I am still an advocate

·      RHRP Lucas Wepf – He deserves to be followed for another year

·      LHP Wyatt Crowell – Will he be converted to relief

·      C/1B Griffin Lockwood-Powell – He is an excellent depth catcher who deserves a chance to be a backup for some team

·      2B Taylor Young – I just like his ability to steal bases and tenacity as a player 

Two legacy players who were injured again that I am not yet ready to give up on: 

·      RHP Jared Karros – Maybe one of these years he is going to stay healthy

·      3B/1B – Kyle Nevin – Please stay healthy

With the number of potential MLB players on the Tulsa roster in 2026, which players will go on to become MLB players with the Dodgers, and which of those players will be packaged in a trade for others? Another test will be, which of the players will flame out? Here is a hint...more than one.