One thing that I have come to realize is that when AF and the other Dodger baseball FO personnel determine that there is a weakness in their organization, they address it head on. Most everyone has come to realize that the current Dodgers have a significant weakness in their bullpen, and they went full on in last year’s draft. I know DC is working his way through the recently drafted and signed relief pitchers, but let’s revisit what the Dodgers did in 2019 Rule 4 Amateur draft last June. Potential relievers who were drafted as relievers (mostly):
Aaron Ochsenbein (6th round) – Great Lakes
Nick Robertson (7th round) – Ogden
Alec Gamboa (9th round) – AZL
Mitchell Tyranski (12th round) – Ogden
Jacob Cantleberry (13th round) – Ogden
Sean Mellen (14th round) – AZL
Jeff Belge (15th round) – Great Lakes
Cyrillo Watson (23rd round) – AZL
Mark Mixon (26th round) – Ogden
Every one of those pitchers had an outstanding 1st professional season with the Dodgers, with the exception of Sean Mellen who only pitched all of 1.1 innings.
This does not include two highly thought of pitchers who are currently considered starters, but are probably more projectable as high leverage relievers; Jack Little and Ryan Pepiot. Both Little and Pepiot pitched for full season Great Lakes and did very well. DC just published a tremendous column on Ryan Pepiot. I am very much looking forward to DC’s column on Jack Little (Stanford) who was one of the top two D-1 relievers for 2018.
The 2nd top reliever in 2018 was Braidyn Fink (15th round) – Oklahoma, who was held out all of 2019 due to recovery from TJ surgery. He should be good to go at ST, but the player development guys are going to take it slow for him as they did for Michael Grove (still another relief candidate).
The other 2019 drafted pitcher who figures to land in the pen but did not pitch in 2019 is Logan Boyer (11th round) – San Diego State. He was ranked as a top 5-6 round pitcher, the Dodgers got in the 11th. He is injury prone, but when healthy he has a legit plus fastball and decent curve as a secondary pitch. He has a legit late inning high leverage relief ceiling. DC wrote an excellent column on Logan.
The Dodgers have a bevy of potentially top shelf relievers in their system; including Brett de Geus, Gerardo Carrillo, and Marshall Kasowski. But the two biggest names that should get a good long look this summer will be Dennis Santana and Mitchell White, both considered legit late inning relievers. I am not ready to give up on Jordan Sheffield who has an electric fastball that he just cannot command…YET.
Others that should still be watched this year to see how far they can develop are:
Other Ogden
Elio Serrano – 21 – RHP
Other Great Lakes
Justin Bruihl – 23 – RHP
Edward Cuello – 21 – RHP
Justin Hagenman 23 – RHP
Yeison Cespedes – 22- RHP
Zach Willeman – 24 – RHP – Grade 70 fastball and two above average secondary pitches, with a 4th being average. Something will click.
Other Rancho
Melvin Jimenez – 20 – RHP (just too young to give up on)
Austin Drury – 22 – LHP (very much under the radar)
Andre Jackson – 24 – RHP – Top 30 (Still starting but many believe he has a future in relief).
Other Tulsa
Leo Crawford – 23 – LHP (Still starting but should consider relief)
Logan Salow – 25 – LHP – a DC favorite
Ryan Moseley – 25 – RHP – a DBM favorite
INTERNATIONAL FREE AGENTS (IFL)
AF has caught a lot of flak about poor international signings, but the last two years the Dodgers may have done extremely well. Everyone knows about the young Venezuelan catcher, Diego Cartaya, who has rocketed up the Dodgers prospect list. As a 17 year old who was promoted to play in the USA at AZL, he hit .281/.343/.432/.775. He has not shown much power, but at 6’ 2” and 190, I figure he will continue to fill out and develop that power. He has high grades for his ability to call games, and has got a lot of accolades for his ability to receive and work with pitchers. While he did allow too many passed ball, he did throw out 32% of potential base stealers. I fully expect to see Diego start to get mentioned in top catcher prospect lists. The only reason he has a 50 grade from MLB Pipeline is because he is slower than slow.
Cartaya was not the lone international free agent signed in 2018 to make his USA debut at 17. Middle infielder Alex De Jesus joined Cartaya in the AZL last summer. He was originally signed to be a 3B, but played primarily SS last summer, and is now listed as a 2B. De Jesus is also 6’2”, but 170 pounds. Alex hit .281/.340/.392/.732 last summer. Alex does not turn 18 until March, so he might be held back in Arizona to play in the rookie leagues (AZL or Ogden) again this summer.
The third player in that 2018 international class is a very young 17 year old RHP, Jerming Rosario. He did not just pitch well in the DSL, he dominated. So much so that he was named DSL Pitcher of the Year. In 45 IP, Jerming had a miniscule 0.79 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. He had 43 strikeouts against 15 walks. He allowed ZERO HR’s.
Jerming Rosario was Baseball America’s #11 in the 2019 Summer DSL Top 20 prospects. Not only was he the highest rated pitcher, he was the only pitcher on the list. Here is what Baseball America says about Jerming:
The Dodgers’ 2018 class included catcher Diego Cartaya ($2.5 million) and infielder Alex De Jesus ($500,000), both of whom debuted last year in the DSL but were promoted in season and finished as top 20 prospects in the Rookie-level Arizona League. That 2018 class also included Rosario, who signed for $650,000 and spent the full season in the DSL. Rosario didn’t pitch enough innings to qualify for the league leaders, but he posted a sparkling 0.79 ERA in his pro debut. When Rosario signed, he was throwing 88-91 mph with a projectable body and a loose, fast arm, indicators that he would throw harder once he filled out. By the end of 2018, he reached 93 mph and his velocity continued to climb in 2019, reaching 95 mph. Rosario has the attributes to project as a starter as an athletic pitcher who repeats his delivery, fills the strike zone and shows feel for two secondary pitches. His best offspeed pitch is his changeup, which has plus potential and consistently fooled DSL hitters. Rosario sells that pitch well by maintaining his arm speed and throwing it in the low-to-mid 80s to get good separation off his fastball. That’s his primary strikeout weapon, though his upper-70s curveball has good depth and shape as well, although he can get around the ball at times.
Another 17 year old DSL pitching prospect to keep an eye on is RHP Heisell Baro. He was selected to the all DSL team, and pitched to a 1.22 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 47 strikeouts against 16 walks, and allowed 3 HR’s in 44 IP.
This past summer, the Dodgers signed 16 year old CF prospect, Luis Rodriguez. He is currently the Dodgers #24 prospect, and MLB Pipeline’s #4 International prospect. Here is what MLB Pipeline says about young Luis:
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 50 | Arm: 60 | Field: 60
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 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.
Ben Badler, Baseball American, perhaps the best international analyst in all of the baseball publications, had this to say:
“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.
So while the Dodgers whiffed on most of their early International Free Agent signings in the AF era, they seemingly have turned it around. I know that I will continue to follow Diego Cartaya, Alex De Jesus, Jerming Rosario, and Heisell Baro, and look forward to seeing the debut of Luis Rodriguez who should get a US promotion as a 17 year old as did Cartaya and De Jesus in 2019. LAD has another top level Venezuelan SS that they will likely sign next July.
The picture includes four of the Great Lake Loons pitchers: Jack Little (#46), Zach Willeman (#52), Justin Bruihl (#28), and Ryan Pepiot (#37)
Discussion (71)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Wood is another lottery ticket.
He injured his back during spring training and reinjured it in August. He wasn’t the same after the 1st half of 2017 – he had a mediocre 2018.
Jimmy Nelson tore his labrum and his rotator cuff in 2017 and then injured his elbow in 2019.
Blake Treinen injured his rotator cuff in 2019 (a “strain” and then came back but injured his back.
Any of these guys might come back – thus they are lottery tickets.
Wood was horrible in 2019 – he was 1 – 3, 5.80 with 10 HR allowed.
Nelson missed part of 2017, all of 2018 and most of 2019. He was 0 – 2, 6.95 in 2019.
Treinen was 6 – 5, 4.91, and blew 5 saves in 21 tries.
I wouldn’t bank on any of them.
Nelson and Wood won’t cost much, but I don’t get paying Treinen $10 MM.
I know it’s apples and oranges, but they won’t pay their own players – thus 4 guys are going to arb and they are all big contributers.
The first half of 17 he was throwing 94ish and out Kershawing Kershaw. Then he blew a tire. If he can get any of that velocity back then AF has found another gem. A lotta question marks. Gonna be fun to see how everyone works out. He seems like a good guy so go Alex
I just read that Alex Wood has been working out with Rob Hill at Driveline. Rob Hill is a new Dodgers pitching coordinator. If he has the same impact on our pitching that RVS, Brant Brown and Alan Bates had on our hitters, that could be good news for the Dodgers.
Like AC, I have been an Alex Wood fan. Happy to have him back.
I remember Wood had lost some velocity in his last stay here. Maybe he was hurt. Anyone know his current situation? I liked Alex Wood when he was healthy. Is his pop back?
If healthy I would rather see Wood in the rotation and Maeda in the pen.
May have to sign another 2 more injured pitchers to get to 100 IP
Urias and May are very likely to go, each one, 140-150 IP, so someone else has to throw the 100-120 IP is then when the signatures of Nelson and Alex make a lot of sense.
Good news about Wood. Always liked him. Wish him well and welcome back Alex.
All of this is super exciting!
Maybe Wood realizes the Dodgers team is not a bad place to be. He also knows he could be a starter or a bullpen piece. If urias, May, Gonsolin can be a playoff starter at this level it will save all of them innings to be sharp when most needed. I sure hope the Dodgers plan to use urias in the rotation to see what he can do. I am not sure May has enough pitches to be in the rotation but he definitely has the velocity. AC should be excited. Maybe wood can teach kershaw the change up.
Most of you don’t understand this stuff.
2Demeter2 will educate you tomorrow.
I can’t fix it!
He’s smarter than me…
I liked Alex Wood.
I am sure he was not promised a starting job, but the fact he was willing to come back means that he wants to win.
He has a score to settle. I like those kind of guys.
Speaks volumes to what? To me this just shows nothing but another broken down pitcher. Wow to me would be a true 1 or 2 starter or lockdown closer not a pitcher who will be lucky to pitch 50 innings!!!
It looks to me that AF is stacking the roster with starters.
Relievers are optional.
Great! Now we have both Kersh and Wood to bring out of the bullpen in the playoffs if we need to give up a homer
Salazar anyone?
I hear Andrew has already worked out a trade to send Wood to Cincinnati for their 3 best prospects at the July deadline. 🙂
To me, for Alex Wood to come back to the Dodgers speaks volumes about the organization.
Buehler
Kershaw
Urias
Maeda
May
Gonsolin
Nelson
Wood
Gray
Not enough starters?
Alex Wood to the Dodgers.
This link lists which teams have the best minor league systems as well as future stars. Interestingly they list May as best future closer!?!
https://www.mlb.com/news/prospect-and-farm-system-survey
If the Alexander Valley is in Vietnam!
If missing out on Cole is the lemon then Treinan, Nelson and Salazar is more like snake wine than lemonade
Excellent summary AC. I am a Logan Salow fan and l have watched Austin Drury and Bryan Warzak with interest. This is Logan’s make or break year. As you say, Austin is flying under the radar. I don’t understand how Bryan went from a K/BB ratio of 38/5 in 2018 to 53/49 with the Quakes in 2019. Location is an issue he must solve this year as he is soon to be 23. He was a 6th round selection while Austin was a 34th rounder.
As I remember the arbitration panel has to select either the team’s offer or the player’s request and nothing in between, more, or less. The team makes their case for the lower amount by identifying a player’s flaws and weaknesses including work ethic, attitude, baseball knowledge, clubhouse demeanor, and ability to implement the game plan.
Age, length of MLB service, stats and player comparisons are the easy part and doesn’t hurt feelings. Apparently these hearings are not fun for player or team.
So it is harder to understand why a team and player can’t agree on a middle number when the two numbers are close than when the numbers are wide. In Joc’s case the two numbers are wide. What could be he thinking?
If Joc thinks he will be traded and could land in a city he and his wife don’t want to live in or to a team that plays in empty stadiums and doesn’t have a chance to reach the playoffs, I would guess he would try to at least get a higher salary or get a salary that would make it harder for the Dodgers to trade him to one of those teams.
Here are the players going to arbirtation as presented by MLB Rumors:
We’ve gathered the highest-stakes arbitration situations remaining in this post, but you can find them all in the tracker. We’ll update this list as the figures are reported:
George Springer, Astros: $22.5MM versus $17.5MM (Jeff Passan of ESPN.com, via Twitter)
J.T. Realmuto, Phillies: $12.4MM versus $10MM (Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philly, via Twitter)
Trevor Story, Rockies: $11.5MM versus $10.75MM (Jon Heyman of MLB Network, via Twitter)
Joc Pederson, Dodgers: $9.5MM versus $7.75MM (Jon Heyman of MLB Network, via Twitter)
Eduardo Rodriguez, Red Sox: $8.975MM versus $8.3MM (Jon Heyman of MLB Network, via Twitter)
Nick Ahmed, Diamondbacks: $6.95MM versus $6.6MM (Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, via Twitter)
Shane Greene, Braves: $6.75MM versus $6.25MM (Jon Heyman of MLB Network, via Twitter)
Josh Hader, Brewers: $6.4MM versus $4.1MM (Jon Heyman of MLB Network, via Twitter)
Chris Taylor, Dodgers: $5.8MM versus $5.25MM (Jon Heyman of MLB Network, via Twitter)
Hector Neris, Phillies: $5.2MM versus $4.25MM (Jon Heyman of MLB Network, via Twitter)
Max Muncy, Dodgers: $4.675MM versus $4MM (Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times, via Twitter)
Jose Berrios, Twins: $4.4MM versus $4.025MM (Jon Heyman of MLB Network, via Twitter)
Andrew Benintendi, Red Sox: $4.15MM versus $3.4MM (Jon Heyman of MLB Network, via Twitter)
Archie Bradley, Diamondbacks: $4.1MM versus $3.625MM (Jon Heyman of MLB Network, via Twitter)
Pedro Baez, Dodgers: $4.0MM versus $3.5MM (Jon Heyman of MLB Network, via Twitter)
Good post AC! How would you rate these pitchers from 1 – 20? Also, which of these young men do you believe have the greater likelihood of pitching for the Dodgers this year or next?
My long-shot candidate is Justin Bruihl. He’s a little older, but seems to be a strike throwing machine.
Regarding sign stealing and video, it would seem fairly easy to simply shut off replays and current game video in the team’s video room. They can ask for a review based on what they see or think they see. Eliminating all this should speed up the game. They can still use replays on the stadium video board and for TV. They really don’t need a live feed for the teams. Heavy penalties on cheaters wouldn’t hurt. If Houston is found guilty and it certainly seems likely, MLB should pretty much lay waste to the organization (fines, loss of draft choices, reduced international funds, bans etc.).
Excellent update, AC. Dodgers are definitely more focused in the international market and doing a much better job of scouting.
Wow, AC, my list just got a lot longer for all the young men to root for. I hope I can keep track of them all. Thanks for the mention of Ryan Moseley. I wondered how he was doing. I am becoming a huge Ryan Pepiot fan also. The picture of the four boys, Jack Little, Zach Willeman, Justin Bruihl, and Ryan Pepiot, was awesome as was your write-up.r
Nice article AC, and SoCal, good info.
I can’t help but see a RH Juan Soto when I see Rodriguez. This kid could be really special. Odds are he may see some time at GL or RC later this year.
Molly Knight of The Athletic has an idea to eliminate cheating: Do away with the technology that causes it.
https://theathletic.com/1524044/2020/01/10/knight-how-can-mlb-put-an-end-to-illegal-sign-stealing-do-away-with-instant-replay/
That’s like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. While we are at it, get rid of the lights too.
MLB Lists:
CENTER FIELDERS
1) Mike Trout, LAA (Last year: 1)
2) Cody Bellinger, LAD (2)
3) George Springer, HOU (5)
4) Ramón Laureano, OAK (unranked)
5) Whit Merrifield, KC (3, at 2B)
6) Starling Marte, PIT (8)
7) Lorenzo Cain, MIL (3)
8) Aaron Hicks, NYY (4)
9) Brandon Nimmo, NYM (6, at RF)
10) Brett Gardner, NYY (unranked)
LEFT FIELDERS
1) Juan Soto, WSH (6)
2) Michael Brantley, HOU (unranked)
3) Bryan Reynolds, PIT (unranked)
4) Tommy Pham, SD (4)
5) Mark Canha, OAK (unranked)
6) Austin Meadows, TB (unranked)
7) Joc Pederson, LAD (unranked)
8) Kyle Schwarber, CHC (unranked)
9) David Peralta, ARI (10)
10) Giancarlo Stanton, NYY (2)
Great blog, Jeff.
AF made some bad International acquisitions in the beginning and found out he could not trust his International Team, so they got the ax. He learned from it, changed course and is now re-building the International Talent Pool. There were no catchers in the system when Friedman arrived. Since then he has acquired Baranes, Grandal, Smith, Ruiz, Wong, Cartya and a few other lesser-known ones.
AF disdains big contracts to relievers for reasons that are obvious, so now he is stockpiling bullpen arms. I think Santana, White, and de Geus all have a shot at the Show this year… probably not outta’ the gate, but Bellinger was ready a year ahead of what most people expected. I think Seager was ready too and AF’s mistake was getting Jimmy Rollins which held Seager back.
Some morons think that I believe AF can do no wrong and YES, you are a moron if you think that. He’s not perfect, but overall he’s among the best in the game… if not the best. Some people just have their bottom-line opinion of Friedman based upon things I will not discuss here, so anything he does is bad in the beginning.
Watford posted a link that AF is interested in Danny Salazar and of course, the AF bashers will have a heyday with that. Kelly, Treinan, Nelson, and maybe Salazar = not much downside in cost, but possibly four huge arms in the pen. Some of you are good with checkers – AF is playing chess. 😉
You can’t always get what you want – Cole, for example, but when you get lemons (no Cole), you better start making lemonade (Treinan, Nelson, Salazar, et al). Sometimes the lemonade is pretty good.
Rancho Cucamonga LH starter John Rooney could be added to possible bullpen options. Although a starter for all 28 games as a professional, the 2018 third round pick may be a better relief pitcher with a 93 mph fastball and above average slider (according to Baseball America scouting report). Also at RC last season was LH reliever Connor Mitchell with a 2.49 ERA; 2.8 walks; 11.8 K’s – albeit only 22 games / 29 IP. Hopefully Victor Gonzalez steps up, and Salow will improve his command. I think Fink will move quickly through the minor league system once he is 100% recovered from TJ surgery.