In attempting to isolate any group there is always a chance that there might be other members who belong in the group who are not selected and yet others who are simply missed. With that risk in mind, I had a bit of a slow day yesterday so decided to look at the teenage group preparing for the 2020 minor league season. Some had successful 2019 seasons while others did not make their professional debuts in 2019 for differing reasons. In any event, this is a teenage team to watch offensively during the upcoming season who have not reached their 20th birthday as of today. Miguel Vargas and Robinson Ortiz miss the cut by a couple of months.
Catcher: Diego Cartaya (18 – September 7, 2001) Bats/Throws: R/R Ht: 6′ 2″ Wt: 199
Is there any other choice? Cartaya played in the Arizona League in 2019 as a 17-year-old where he slashed .281/.343/.432. That in itself is not overly impressive until we remember he did so as a 17-year-old, facing pitchers drafted out of college several years older and more experienced than Cartaya. The fact he moved directly to the AZL in his first professional season is indicative of his potential.
Baseball America: “Cartaya has represented Venezuela at international tournaments since he was 10. That extensive game experience shows in the way he plays with a high baseball IQ well beyond his years, with a well-rounded skill set for a catcher.”
MLB Pipeline: “On defense, Cartaya has a reputation as a great receiver with very good hands. He handles pitchers well and has a high baseball IQ. He moves well behind the plate.”
FanGraphs: “This is a very physical teenager with some of the best present raw power in the class and a good chance to play a premium defensive position. Cartaya has a strong, physically mature build that inspires Salvador Perez comparisons. Cartaya is poised and engaged with his pitchers, he has a great arm, he looks built to meet the position’s physical demands and makes an attempt to frame pitches when he can.”
First Base: Sauryn Lao: (20 – August 14, 1999) Bats/Throws: R/R Ht: 6′ 2″ Wt: 182
Alright, I cheated here as I could not find a teenage first baseman to fit the bill and Lao is a bit of a personal favorite. So, I injected him into the lineup although he turned 20 last August. I have watched him relatively closely and he seems to have gone unnoticed. He was signed by the Dodgers as an international free agent back in 2015 and for an unknown reason did not play in 2016. From Barahona, Dominican Republic, he slashed .271/.362/.480 with the Ogden Raptors over 91 games while hitting 9 home runs with 45 RBI and 44 runs scored.
Lao was named the Pioneer League Player of the Week for August 19-25 as he was in the lineup for all six games the Raptors played during the stretch in which he notched at least one hit in each of the final five. He turned in consecutive standout performances in the two wins at Grand Junction, going 3-for-4 with a run and RBI on August 21, and following that with a 4-for-6 day including two home runs, four RBI and four runs scored the next day. For the week, Lao hit .400 (10-for-25) with the pair of home runs, a double, six runs scored and seven RBI.
Lao hung around the top-10 in a number of offensive categories.
Runs 44 – 4th
RBI 45 – 5th
BB 32 – 6th
SLG .480 – 9th
TB 110 – 10th
OPS .842 – 10th
Second Base: Jorbit Vivas ( 18 – March 9, 2001) Bats/Throws: L/R Ht: 5′ 10″ Wt: 145
Vivas, from Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, has also gone on a bit unnoticed. He was signed as an international free agent by the Dodgers on July 4, 2017.
He played in the DSL during the 2018 season with offensive numbers that did not stand out other than a good K/BB ratio of 35/26 and a .350 OBP.
He came stateside in 2019 playing at two levels and distinguishing himself at both. With the AZL Dodgers (Lasorda) over 30 games, he slashed .357/.438/513 with 20 runs batted in and only two more strikeouts than walks.
With the Raptors, Vivas had a triple slash of .286/.371/.417 and drove in 12 runs in 24 games. He had a bit of a flair for the dramatic when he drove in the winning run on August 13th in the bottom of the 10th inning and, for the second straight night, the Ogden Raptors defeated the Missoula Osprey in extra innings.
Third Base: Alex de Jesus ( 17- March 22, 2002) Bats/Throws: R/R Ht: 6′ 2″ Wt: 170
Another international signing by the Dodgers in 2018, the Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, native moved quickly in his 2019 rookie year playing only 13 games in the DSL before being promoted to the AZL Dodgers on June 21st.
When he was signed, most scouts believed he’d head straight to third base and remain there on his way up the Minor League ladder. Hence I have included him as a third baseman as has Jim Callis: “ De Jesus could wind up at third base in the long run but has the bat and defensive ability to become a solid regular there.” However, during the 2019 season, he played primarily at shortstop.
Dustin Nosler writes: “He’s already a pretty physical 17- year-old, but with broad shoulders and frame to add plenty of good weight in hopes of getting to the plus-raw power he already exhibits. He has a mature swing and high finish that could lead to being an offensive force at the plate.”
De Jesus played 44 games with the AZL Dodgers (Mota) in 2019 posting a .276/.326/.374 triple slash with 25 RBI.
Look for him to crack the Dodgers Top-30 prospects in 2020.
Shortstop: Eddys Leonard (19 – November 10, 2000) R/R Ht: 6′ 0″ Wt: 160
Leonard was signed in the same class as Jorbit Vivas in 2017 out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
This is the scouting report on Leonard by the Dominican Prospect League when he signed.
“Eddys Leonard has the ability to make consistent contact with gap to gap power. His above-average speed allows him to fully utilize his contact and power giving him the ability to extend singles into doubles and doubles into triples. Combining his speed with a high baseball IQ, at 16-years-old, and you get a player who will have the ability to steal bases at every level. His speed also gives him good range at short, while his arm strength and quick hands will allow him to be an above-average defender.”
He played in the DSL during the 2018 season and moved to the Arizona League Dodgers (Lasorda) in 2019. With the Dodgers over 46 games he slashed .280/.380/.423 but his advertised speed did not result in stolen bases. He homered three times and drove in 20 runs.
Leonard finished out his season with 8 games in the Pioneer League with the Ogden Raptors with a triple slash of .333/.391/.478.
He had the proverbial cup of coffee with the Great Lakes Loons on August 19th going 1-4 as a one-game replacement player.
Outfield: Andy Pages (19 – December 8, 2000) R/R Ht: 6′ 1″ Wt: 180
Pretty much everyone knows about Andy Pages who is now ranked 13th on the Dodgers prospects lists. That is the same Andy Pages who was part of the failed Dodger-Angel trade. He was signed out of the Dominican Republic in March of 2018 when the Dodgers were limited to a $300,000 international signing bonus.
He will play at age 19 for all of 2020 and is characterized as, “ A smart hitter who loves to talk about his craft, he has an advanced idea about his right-handed swing and displays excellent bat speed, with his raw power already showing up in games. There is some swing-and-miss to his game, as he struck out in more than 28 percent of his plate appearances in 2019, so he will need to improve his plate discipline some and perhaps tone down his leg kick.”
His 2019 season in the Pioneer League was perhaps as good as any in the Dodger minor league system winning him a number of awards.
MILB.COM ORGANIZATION ALL-STAR 2019: LA Dodgers (NL)
BASEBALL AMERICA ROOKIE ALL-STAR 2019: Ogden (PIO)
POST-SEASON ALL-STAR 2019: Ogden (PIO)
MID-SEASON ALL-STAR 2019: Ogden (PIO)
PLAYER OF THE WEEK 6/30/2019: Ogden (PIO)
7/7/2019: Ogden (PIO)
During the 2019 season, he slashed .298/.398/.651 along with 19 home runs and 55 runs batted in. He finished in the top-5 in a number of offensive categories.
Runs 57 – 1s
Hits 70 – 5th
RBI 55 – 2nd
Doubles 22 – 1st
HR 19 – 2nd
SLG .298 – 2nd
TB 153 – 2nd
OPS 1.049 – 3rd
Where will he land to begin the 2020 season? Perhaps in the more pitcher-friendly Midwest League or perhaps in the more hitter-friendly California League. I’m guessing with the Loons in the Midwest League which is somewhat more age-appropriate and he can work on cutting down on his strikeouts.
Outfield: Luis Rodriguiz (17 – September 16, 2002) R/R Ht. 6’2” Wt. 180
This time I am really cheating by selecting Luis Rodriguez who has not started his professional career. From Venezuela he was signed by the Dodgers as an international free agent on July 2, 2019. He was ranked number 4 on MLB Pipeline’s top-30 international prospects list for this free agency period.
It is expected he will begin his professional career in the AZL as Diego Cartaya did last year. The information below is from noted sources. One source writes: “But make no mistake, ‘L-Rod’ is just about as elite as Cartaya was.”
MLB Pipeline
“Rodriguez is the best overall player from Venezuela in the class of 2019. He’s a pure hitter and natural athlete with solid baseball instincts across the board. He is also known for his physically projectable body and easy actions on defense and at the plate. Rodriguez has a sound approach in the batter’s box and has shown the ability to use all fields with consistent and hard contact. There’s a nice rhythm and balance to his swing and although he’s primarily a line drive hitter now, there have been flashes of power and it could increase as he develops. He has impressed scouts by performing well against pitchers throwing 93 mph to 95 mph during workouts and showcases. Rodriguez is a quality defender in center field now and he makes all of the plays, but it’s uncertain if that’s where he will stay because he’s not a plus runner. He developed his game in the youth leagues of Venezuela and has a high baseball IQ.”
Baseball America
“Rodriguez is one of the most complete players in the 2019 class, with a good combination of size (6-foot-2, 180 pounds), athleticism and hitting ability from the right side. When I saw him face live pitching in the Dominican Republic, he homered to right-center field off a pitcher who was throwing up to 92 mph, then narrowly missed another homer that hit the fence to the same part of the park. Rodriguez has good plate discipline, hits well in games against older pitchers and has a natural ability to lift the ball for power. He runs the 60-yard dash in around 6.7 to 6.8 seconds, so if he can retain that speed, he could stick in center field, too. Rodriguez trains with Angel Valladares.”
Outfield: Jose Ramos (19 – January 1, 2001) R/R Ht: 5′ 11″ Wt: 150
The third outfield position was a toss-up among Jose Ramos, Yunior Garcia , and Jaime Perez. Ramos won the toss.
He was signed by the Dodgers as an international free agent on July 3, 2018. From Chepo, Panama, he debuted in 2019 with the DSL Dodgers (Bautista) and had some success posting a slash line of .275/.362/.377 with two home runs and 27 runs batted in.
Discussion (91)
Disagree, not disagreeable
There will be some more reassignments after tonight’s game:
C. Santana
Estevez
Amaya
Peters
Lobstein
Sborz
Gilbert
Guduan
Sheffield
Mosley… and more!
I hope all of these lofty predictions don’t turn into a negative
Feels like a lot of pressure for them to live up to these high expectations
What’s the old saying…something like “nothing is more burdensome than Talent”
I’m sure someone can correct me
By the way Mark, are you familiar with the Halo 5?
If so…I’d like to get some feedback
I feel bad for some of these guys…
The Dodgers have about 10 players who will not make the team who would be on 80% of other teams.
Beaty and Rios in competition with one another to see who plays themself off the 26 man roster first!
Haven’t been posting much lately, but felt impelled to do so tonight just to welcome Badger back. The quality of this ultra superior blog just jumped up several notches. Guess it can now be considered ultra, ultra superior. Add and extra ultra on the days that I post. 🙂
Chicken Strip is really snapping that curve… on occasion. In other words, he’s working on it!
Has Pollock just totally forgot how to make contact with a baseball? Getting a little scary! Hurry back JOC!
Smith is a superior catcher in defense in every way to Ruiz and on offense Ruiz’s advantage is not so broad, Smith’s power compensates him, in general Smith is a better catcher.
Ruiz will be a better hitter, in general, than Smith, the million-dollar question is whether it is worth sacrificing a bit of defense for Ruiz’s bat, AVG.
My favorite is Smith, I give a lot of great value to the defense of a catcher and the ability to call a game, I think that Smith among the catchers of his age, right now, is the best in MLB, it seems he is 10 years in MLB and in a great offensive lineup, Smith’s great defense makes a lot of sense, a season of .240-.250, 20-25HR and 60-65 RBI combined with a great defense is a great contribution.
I’ve been saving ink (or computer digits) for when things get going for real but I had to stop by to say “Hi” to Badger. Mostly, things are peaceful here and people can disagree without getting personal.
I can’t remember ever being so enthused to start a season as I am this year. I’m anxious to see how the last few roster spots sort themselves out, who will pitch most the season as 4th and 5th starters, how the bullpen fills out, and I think most Dodger fans probably feel the same way.
As the season goes on, I’m sure that there will be things that divide Dodger fans and we’ll discuss them ad nauseum.
Hang on Mark. What until someone disagrees with you and criticizes our Dodgers. So far I’ve made it through 2020 without you calling me a moron! And Carlos is there anything you like about the Dodgers besides Puig?
With so many knowledgeable folks here, I’m sure I will get an answer to a question that came up last night. Rick Monday and his partner, Tim? were doing the game at the A’s. de Geus came in with 2 outs and promptly picked off the runner at 1st, so he never threw a pitch to the batter.
He didn’t start the next inning. Monday and Tim reported that after March 12 the real MLB rules will be in force (I knew that one) and with the new 3 batter rule, de Geus would have had to come out and start the next inning and face at least 3 batters. Since he never threw a pitch to the batter the pick off doesn’t count as a batter faced, despite it ending the inning. They showed a graphic of the rule which says (I know) 1. The pitcher needs to pitch to 3 batters or 2. the inning ends.
But, apparently, the end of the inning didn’t apply to de Geus because he never pitched to a batter. Their analysis was that de Geus would have to come out for 3 batters the next inning. Is this what I heard? Is that really the rule? This one is news to me. Anybody know the rule as it applies to this situation?
Well Golly-Bob-Howdy, Brother Badger! This is the 2nd time in my lifetime there’s been such a thing as world peace! Here’s to Jimmy Carter!
Welcome, Badger. Glad to see you joining our intelligent, informative, knowledgeable and interesting crew of writers for this blog. Did I use enough adjectives? Anxious to read your input.
Nice to have you back Badger. Always thought you had good posts about our team.
I will take the over on wins. Would like the team to win every series from opening day to the Fall Classic.
So, I’ll share a little private conversation with Badger before he came back to the board:
Badger: ” I’d like to see you compliment more and call people morons less.”
Mark: “OK, how’s this? Thank you, thank you, thank you, Moron!
Badger: “You’re welcome, you pompous blowhard. ”
We knew we were back on solid ground, right then and there!
Baseball America has its bold predictions for the year. I don’t normally pay attention to these types of articles, but there are a lot of Dodgers mentioned this time. It has a top three for MVP, Cy Young, and ROY. The Dodgers have two out of three for MVP and ROY. They have one for Cy Young.
Seven out of eight writers picked the Dodgers to win it all(knock on wood).
https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/2020-mlb-bold-predictions-season-preview/
Gray and Uceta assigned to Minor League Camp.
Looks like I have to follow you around all over the internet if I want to communicate with you Badger. Amazing how everyone seems to think you add to every site you comment on. Could we have actually found a subject upon which the entire world agrees?
Since I arrived here after you had departed, would you mind giving me the derivation of the name Badger? I don’t believe you attended the U. of Wisconsin.
It’s only ST but I find the stats for the catchers a bit ‘interesting so far:
Will Smith 2 for 18 .111
Ruiz 0 for 8 .000
Barnes 4 for 15 with 1 HR .267
Rocky Gale 2 for 7 1 double .286
Obviously, I am sure Dodgers hope Will Smith gets it going and Ruiz has too small a sample size in AB’s to read anything to it so far.
OH and hello Badger, I of course have read many of your posts on the other site.
I will ask ya this question, who would you like to see get that 26th spot on the roster for OD? Most are hoping it won’t be Gore but wss.
Hola Mr Badger. Welcome back.
Good to have you back on Dodger Talk Badger. I have followed you on the “other” site and we have sparred a bit back and forth which I have enjoyed! Are you bringing your friend Michael back with you? As far as Ruiz, it doesn’t matter where he ranks, it’s all about what he does this year and I think the kid has a big year. And leave his swing alone. Not everyone has to hit 30 homers a year. If a catcher can hit .280 and not strike out that’s a huge plus!
AC – I had this ready as a start but only took one player at each position.
Fernandez previously had some real success as a pitcher in 2015 before moving on to catching.
Yeiner Fernandez, 17, was a star of the 2015 Little League World Series and was one of the best Venezuelan hitters in 2019 at any position. He has power and does not project to strike out much. If all breaks right, he might have the chance to be a plus power bat at a premium position offensively. The only issue with Fernandez is that he is a poor blocker behind the plate, but he is still so young.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63V3jCm1hPI
https://www.littleleague.org/videos/yeiner-fernandezs-huge-go-ahead-homer-llbws/
It will be interesting to see if he makes it stateside as quickly as Cartaya.
I posted this last night, but I’m sure you old folks on here already went to bed. Mark always talks about using a VPN to hide your IP address and watch Dodger games.
For those looking for a VPN, here’s a nice deal from the CNN Store; lifetime VPN for $39
https://store.cnn.com/sales/vpn-unlimited-lifetime-subscription?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=keepsolid-vpn-unlimited-lifetime-subscription_072519&utm_term=scsf-333394&utm_content=a0x1P000004MREC&scsonar=1
What a great and perfect surprise
Welcome home Badger
J. T. Ginn, former 1st round pick (2018) who turned down the Dodgers, has had TJ surgery and will be lost for the year. Good luck to him. He was a good pick that did not work out and LAD has certainly had good results with those coming off TJ. So maybe there is a chance we can still see a Ginn in the future.
Greetings earthlings. I’ve been released from the halfway house, still in therapy of course, that will last a lifetime, but the authorities say I am no longer a threat. Guess we’ll see about that.
I’ve been reading all over the net, posting less these days, just mostly observing. This remains the best, most thorough and thoughtful blog out there. You all have done an admirable job of representing.
Just so you know, Mark and I have done what reasonable men do, we’ve talked and we’ve listened. Amazing what power there is in listening. Anyway, our differences on some issues will likely remain but our ability to acknowledge and respect those differences will allow us to move forward. We’ve known each other too long to not forgive. I look forward to skewering most of his trade ideas and analyzing how easily he can recognize when someone says something “moronic”. How does he know so much about the subject of intellectual disabilities? It helps to know baselines.
The Dodgers. I’ve never been more confident than I am at this time. As often as I critiqued Friedman and his curious moves I look up and we keep winning and we continue to fill the cupboard. I willingly admit I was wrong about Andrew. I’m old school baseball but have a background in education so I began reading all I could on analytics and damm, I’ve been unknowingly using this stuff all my life. OBP, slugging %, spin rates, change of pace… the list is long. I still have issues, 3 true outcomes is b.s. and I still have criticism of ML defensive play. Anticipate and move to back up a base dammit. Move on every pitch. On every ball in play you have something to do. Anyone seen standing around watching will find themselves sitting and watching on my club.
Anyway, it’s a great time to be a Dodger fan. I feel quite fortunate. 101 wins. That’s my O/U.
Nice article DC. Thank you. It is nice to know that we have young men in their teens ready and working hard to advance forward. It seems a never-ending list of players to fill out a deep group of Dodger prospects doesn’t it? Keep them coming!
I could go for a James Brown / I Feel Good video right about now.
Thanks for the update on the kinfolk down on the farm and thank you Andrew Friedman. As always, it’s a great time to be a Dodger fan.
Thanks Mark. I really never know what videos will work so I just list them in case they help you out a bit.
Next week – teenage pitchers.
I see that ALex de Jesus has already made the Dodgers Top-30 at No. 23.
We may have an old friend back on this site today.
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift… that’s why they call it The Present!
Enjoy it and welcome Badger back.
This is an outstanding piece by Harold. He never ceases to amaze me… and educate me.
Some of the videos he wanted to be posted were not possible due to software conflicts, so I picked a few to replace them. I hope they will suffice…
Again, what an outstanding piece of work and Thank You, Harold!
It’s also nice to see the Dodger pipeline is full.