I expect it is quite well known on LADT that I am a number one fan of minor league baseball. Do not get me wrong, I have had a romance with the Dodgers – which was really hot in the fifties and sixties – since 1952 and nothing including politics will ever change that for me. My love affair with baseball now is more at the minor league level as more Dodger offspring make their way to top rung of professional baseball. I just like the, “still a game”, aspect to it and love the dedication these young men have in pursuing a near impossible dream. That is, making it all the way to MLB.
The 2016 draft was a good one with nine members of that class having already made a MLB debut appearance with four more on the cusp. The latest member of that draft year to make to MLB is Dodger outfielder/first baseman Luke Raley. His journey to Dodger Stadium has had a a bit of a different path. I dug out an article I wrote in 2017 on Raley and just updated it a bit.
He was selected by the Dodgers in the seventh round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Lake Eric College in Painesville, Ohio. Raley is only the second player to ever be drafted out of Lake Eric College. Versatile infielder, Ryan Rua, was the other drafted in the 17th round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Texas Rangers. What is special for both of these players is that they were playing for a Division II school and both helped raise the profile of LEC. Even more special for Raley is the fact he was selected in the top-10 rounds and was the first Division II player to be selected in the 2016 draft.
Raley is a native of Hinckley, Ohio, which is a township in Medina County in Ohio. He attended Highland High School in Medina helping the Hornets win their first Suburban Championship since 1989.
Following his graduation, he majored in Special Education at Lake Eric College and gained national prominence with a monster junior year in which he hit .424 with an on-base percentage of .528. Raley had 67 hits in 158 at-bats, including 11 doubles, two triples and 12 home runs. He scored 54 times, drove in 39 runs, stole 12 bases and walked 28 times.
He also raise his profile a bit during the summer of 2105 in which he played for the Lakeshore Chinooks of the Northwoods League. With the Chinooks, he played in 67 games and hit .314 with 14 home runs, five triples and 13 doubles. He drove in 55 runs and scored 43 times.
Although Raley claims he was not expecting to be drafted, he was hedging his bets just a bit. He explained: “I had sat down and talked with a couple of scouts and heard what they had to say. They don’t say much but overall, it looked good to be drafted by someone. I didn’t expect it but there was a good chance in my head.”
His college coach, Brian McGee was fully behind Raley and encouraged him to sign with the Dodgers.
“No, it was more of a pretty easy decision. I talked it over with Coach McGee and he saw it as a great opportunity,” said Raley. “He really pushed me to go and I think it was being with the Dodgers and how they go about things. All of that made it easier to decide.”
“There isn’t a more deserving guy I know,” said Raley’s college coach Brian McGee. “I’m not talking about just being a great person, which he is, I’m taking about the passion in which he plays with while dominating the game.”
Raley began his professional career with the Arizona League Dodgers on June 20, 2016 in a game against the Arizona League White Sox. He had three hit and 10 in his first five games as a professional. After his fifth game in the Arizona League he was moved up to the Ogden Raptors of the rookie level Pioneer League.
The inimitable Yogi Berra would tell us it was, “Déjà vu all over again,” as the then 22-year-old Raley again produced 10 hits in five games.
In doing so he very quickly found out what the Dodgers meant in a conversation they had with him.
“The Dodgers told us on how the organization is run. It basically is if you are performing, you get to move.”
Exactly 12 days after beginning his professional baseball career, he started in center field for the Great Lakes Loons of the Class-A Midwest League.
Playing for three teams in a short span of time, after a full college season, seemed to wear him down a bit and had the normal effect on his power. He finished with a .245 batting average with the Loons and a .313 OBP. However, the outgoing right-handed hitter made a definite impression on the Dodger staff, both on and off the field.
Former Loons manager Gil Velazquez told The News Herald, “I can see him as a leader,” Velazquez said. “I see him as a leader not only because he’s a high-energy guy, but plays the game right and he’s vocal. He does speak out, which is good.”
Luke Raley was asked what has been the best advice, instruction, or criticism he has received from the Dodgers?
“I think the best thing is that the Dodgers not only focus on improving you as a baseball player, but also focus on making you the best person you can be and becoming the best teammate you can be.”
A refreshed Raley began the 2017 season with the Dodgers Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League. He played in 123 games for the Quakes and hit .295 with 14 home runs, 21 doubles and 62 runs driven in. He stole nine bases and scored 102 times.
In 2018 he began the year with the Tulsa Drillers of the AA Eastern League. On July 31, he was traded to the Minnesota Twins. Following the trade, he was sent to the Chattanooga Lookouts of the AA Eastern League. Between the two clubs he hit a combined .275 with 20 home runs, 19 doubles and eight triples.
An injury to his ankle to start the 2019 season pretty much sabotaged his season as he spent most of it on the injured list. When he was activated, he began his season with the Twins rookie level team in the Gulf Coast League. After five games he was promoted to the Rochester Red Wings of the AAA International League. In 38 games he hit .310 with 23 RBI and 29 runs scored. He had eight home runs and stole four bases.
Then in February of 2020 lightening did strike twice in the same place. The 6’4”/235-lb. Raley was traded back to the Dodgers from the Twins. In the Kenta Maeda deal. He lost a second consecutive season, this time to the Covid-19 shutdown.
Dodgers LowDown interviewed Raley during 2020 spring training.
Let’s jump ahead to 2021. On April 9 the Dodgers recalled Raley from their Alternate Training Site. On April 14 he recorded his first MLB hit with a double down the left-field line.
Raley who bats from the left side and throws right-handed hit his first MLB home run against the division rivals Padres on Friday with a shot to right center field. The nature of the game kind of dwarfed his personal achievement but it is one that he will always remember vividly and hopefully will have the opportunity to celebrate more often in the future as a MLB player. He knows he will be in competition with Zach Reks, DJ Peters and others to fill in when called upon by the Dodgers. He seems prepared to do so after his first experience with a MLB rivalry really brewing with the Padres.
“It certainly felt like a rivalry to me,” said Dodgers left fielder Luke Raley, whose first major league home run, a game-tying shot in the fifth inning, was almost lost in the crazy turns of a game that fell just short of five hours. “There was a lot of intensity in this game. It’s something I look forward to being a part of more.”
https://www.mlb.com/video/luke-raley-homers-1-on-a-fly-ball-to-right-center-field
Cover photo compliments of the Los Angeles Dodgers
Discussion (61)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Nice report on Raley. Gracias for that.
Most of us, I suspect, had assumed DJ Peters would be first up between him, Raley and Reks. Peters is known as the strongest, fastest defender, and he might have even more power. Just speculation, but perhaps the Dodger brain trust wanted a lefthanded bat, and perhaps they see Raley as less susceptible to striking out. And perhaps there is that hard to define “it” factor… a vibe of confidence and leadership that suggests a player is ready for the top level.
I remember being surprised when Beatty,a top prospect, was elevated ahead of Peters and others. Beatty handled it well and was a valuable performer these last two seasons. Beatty could be a fine sweetener if Friedman makes an offer for Reyes or Chapman or ???. (I’ve noticed that some people here prefer the “If I was commissioner…”game, but I’d much rather have Friedman’s job.)
Right now it’s Neuse’s chance to shine. He seemed like a great pickup, and another grinder–perhaps contenduh who could be somebody… Not that I don’t root for blue-chippers like Seager, Belli and Lux, but it’s especially gratifying when guys like Turner and Muncy turn into stars. Will McKinstry be next? (And now down in Anaheim it’s Jared Walsh doing it–a 39th rounder who can also pitch a bit.)
I hope MLB.com does a report on great draft classes. What other team has a class comparable to the Dodgers Class of 2016?
See y’all on the flip side. Be safe and treat each other nice.
You can’t win them all. I was wondering why Santana was in there, but their pen’s been worked lately. We had 3 hits all day. The Hosmer hit was barely fair. I agree that Seager looks like he’s in quicksand and I don’t recall seeing him dive for a ball all year. But, he’s staying at Shortstop because they aren’t going to piss him off until he’s under contract.
I don’t blame Doc for not further abusing the bullpen. Maybe if they still had the lead. Graterol’s fist game back, he had no command.
The weather sucked today, very hot, dry and windy. It was just one of those games. It was a must win for the Padres and the Dodgers looked tired after those first two. Off to Seattle for two then Padres at home for a 4 game series.
I don’t like the even number series. Too easy to split.
It was still a great baseball weekend. A sweep would have been really sweet though.
Seager’s problem is not the mistakes, he makes a few, he has good hands and a good arm, the problem is his reach on both sides, the problem is the plays he does not make, the ball passes him at 6 feet and he cannot reach, it is very slow.
We got the series… Don’t look back…
Bear, you have a great and safe trip…
Gotta say, I’m with Bear here. If you would have known before the series started that we were going to win 2 out of 3, I think most people here would have been OK with that.
The game is played by humans and although I agree with Badger that Seager is a barely average shortstop, even the great ones make errors. We play the Pads 19 games this year. I’ll be very happy if we win 12 or 13 of those.
Yes, we could have won all three. We could have also lost all three. We were playing a very good team.
This game was winnable.
I definitely wouldn’t have used Santana and Graterol because Santana sucks and Graterol just got off the IL. I would have let Bauer go one more inning and went with Gonzalez to finish with Treinen backing him up.
Tough crowd. They will be 13-3. Best record in the majors and still 3.5 games up on the Padres. They cannot win them all you know. Yet, they still take 2 of 3 even with the offense sputtering. Why would you be surprised he threw Graterol out there. He knows what he is capable of. And just bringing him up and not using him like they did Vesia makes no sense. Chill. It is too early in the season to stress over one loss. Besides, SD comes to LA next weekend for 4.
Team looks a little thin when they’re not hitting. Seager, Betts, Muncy, Pollock all scuffling and with no Bellinger and Lux the offense looks horrible. Odd that Doc went with Graterol in the 7th having just come the IL. Would have thought Knebel with the hope the Dodgers could score in the 8th. Instead he goes with Graterol who allows the game to get tied.
Horrible throw by Corey……looked kind of lackadaisical and lazy.
Roberts prefered to rest pitchers than to win the game
In a huge game we use our 3 worst relievers?
Luke Raley is a ballplayer!
Sometimes these bullpen choices that Doc makes bugs the hell out of me.
We don’t need to sign Turner, just move Rios to third!
If mlb wants to limit strikeouts then how about limiting umpires strike calls to a foot off the plate!
As per McCullough:
Chris Taylor is a wonderful player. He had a 128 OPS+ in 2020. He is probably the seventh best hitter on the Dodgers. This team is a juggernaut.
PS: Taylor is gonna get paid
BTW, the Dodgers are on track for 140 wins!
Mark a few days ago you were wondering how many Dodgers would get saves this year. Gonzalez got credit last night and he did throw the last pitch but I think we all know Betts truly deserves the save for that game.
Fun to see Nuese make his Dodgers debut today. I’m predicting a multi-hit game for him. Really hoping to see Bazooka pitch today. I’m betting he was working on an off-speed pitch and a 4 seamer. Same as May, to get more swing and miss.
Damn, they finally gave Z-Mac a day off. Profar hitting the mitt was Bush league yesterday. The ball was already in the mitt, he couldn’t have it the ball and shouldn’t have gotten the base.
They also placed Goudeau on waivers and he was immediately claimed by the Rockies who he was with last year. Leaving for California tomorrow. So I won’t be posting for a few days. Going to watch the game, finish packing everything and be ready to go.Jay Bruce is retiring and Swarzak place on waivers by the D-Backs. Talked to a friend of mine who is a Giants fan…I was wearing my World Series cap and Bellinger jersey to rub it in. And he was saying how happy he was that the Giants did not resign the Mad Bum. He also wishes they had signed Turner as a free agent, moved him to first and got rid of Belt. I wish Nuese the best, but he was not all that impressive in spring when everyone was saying he would make the 26 man roster. He has power, but has not shown that in a Dodger uni.
Thanks for all the info on Raley, DC. Looks like he may be here for awhile.
One question though: the college he attended, just wondering if it was named after our poster Eric or possibly might actually be Lake Erie College considering where it’s located?
The Dodgers are #1 in all of baseball in team batting OPS and team pitching OPS.
.836 team batting OPS
.601 team pitching OPS
.235 spread. That is an amazing spread. Anything above .200 is impressive. Last year the Dodgers ended up with a .194 spread.
Missed the game last night. Last minute preparations for my trip. I also wanted to go see some musician friends of mine who I have not seen since the pandemic started. It was fun because they got me up to do a couple of tunes. I did watch the recap though. Both pitchers were dealing from the looks of things. Had Darvish pitched like that in the World Series, the Stros would have lost cheating or no. Kersh was also saved by a great double play by Swiss Knife Taylor. Mookie has done that kind of catch, it is hard to think he cannot make one like that. Just think back to the NLCS, the shoestring catch in right that turned into a double play. His leaping grabs at the wall. The guy is just a great baseball player. Apologies to Badger, but Lindor drove in just his second run of the season last night against the Rockies. I think at this point I would much rather have Seager. Kike woke up a little and had 3 hits for the Sox. Also those city pride uni’s they wore were pretty ugly.
Raley has definitely passed Beaty on the depth chart. Not saying Beaty won’t be back up at some point but right now Raley offers much more on both offense and defense. Rios seems a bit lost at the plate and I agree will probably see some additional playing time next week.
Gotta keep this thing going and get the sweep today. Lets hope Bauer is on and I’m looking for CT3 to have a big game against Snell.
Thanks DC. Gonna be an interesting year for minor league baseball after missing an entire year. What impact will it have on our young players? I too hope Beaty gets a shot with another team. His time here looks over. And I’m more than a little worried for Rios as well. Hoping he gets some more playing time after we’re done with Padres next weekend. Disappointing for Joc. He had such a great spring. Looking forward to the Bauer-Machado matchup today. After Darvish last night I think Snell will be giving us a steady diet of off speed. Pollock could be the difference maker today. And Jimmy Nelson looking more and more comfortable coming out of the pen. With him and Price now on board and Graterol coming back we have like 6-7 potential closers. I love this bullpen!
Welcome back DC! I always enjoy your insight and perspective as well as your in depth knowledge of all the kids on their way up.
I’m exhausted after watching the first two games. This is a great series so far. Clayton was pumping 93 up there and was vintage. He’s inside Tatis’ head.
Raley just missed HR no 2. Justin got a hold of another one to provide a little insurance. But, Mookie brought home the win with a game saving catch. Unbelievable!
The Padres have to be so pissed right now losing 1 and 2 in their own yard with a Dodgers superstar rehabbing injury. I can’t wait to see Bauer add fuel to the fire today. I hope he brings his broom.
Outstanding! I suspect that when the minor league season starts that all of this COVID-induced exile from baseball will cause DC to go into beast mode and he will turn out about three blog posts a day like this! 😉
Luke Raley is one of my favorites. I like Matt Beaty too, but Raley has him beat in three areas:
1. He’s a better outfielder, able to play either corner position.
2. He has a better arm.
3. Power – he has it!
I am not dissing Matt Beaty, but if the Dodgers could get a deal for him, I’d like to see him get a chance to play somewhere else. Remember, the Dodgers also have Zach Reks who is also LH with more power than Beaty.
This is something I believe Andrew Friedman understands: When you have a deep system with some high character, hard-working guys, sometimes you have to give them an opportunity elsewhere. You owe it to the sanctity of the game.
Last Night’s Game: What an outstanding win! The rivalry will be getting more intense by the game. Trevor Bauer (a hot dog in his own right) will try and put some ketchup and mustard on Tatis and Machado tonight. This should be fun to watch.
Don’t look now, but the Dodgers and #2 in team ERA, and the Padres are #1. That could flip after tonight! Clayton sports a 3-1 record with a 2.19 ERA and 0.97 WHIP and has not given up a HR. So much for the worriers who thought he was done.
BTW, Joc Pederson is hitting (5 hits in 44 AB’s) .114 with 1 HR. His K rate is 39%! Yikes