Up until April 15 Niko Hulsizer was a name with which many, or most Dodgers fans were not familiar. He was selected by the Dodgers in the 18th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft as a junior out of Morehead State University in Morehead Kentucky.
He has now burst upon the scene with his three-home run game against the South Bend Cubs on Monday evening. For some his outburst would be considered to be just that, an outburst, and perhaps not reflective of his potential. However there were signs that this young man does have the potential to be a DJ Peters or perhaps a Yasiel Puig.
The 22-year-old right-fielder was born in Mohnton, PA which is part of the urban area surrounding the city of Reading. That makes him part of history with former Dodger Carl Furillo, the “Reading Rifle”, who lived in Stoney Creek Mills, also part of that urban area.
Following graduation from Governor Mifflin High School in Shillington, he headed off to Morehead State University. His best year at Morehead was his sophomore year in 2017 when he hit 27 home runs and 21 doubles among his 87 hits while posting a triple slash of .349/.435/.775. He was voted Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year after setting conference records with his 27 home runs and 193 total bases as well as being named to five All-American teams.
Hulsizer was hampered by injury, a broken hamate bone, in 2018 but still posted good numbers. Despite missing 21 games he was tabbed Second-Team All-OVC hitting 12 home runs, 11 doubles and two triples while slugging .615. His potential did not go unnoticed by his Morehead coach, Mike McGuire, or Dodger scout Marty Lamb.
“I’m really happy for Niko. Three years ago he came to us as a raw kid with a lot of tools, and he has worked very hard to develop into a pro prospect,” said Morehead head coach Mike McGuire. “He has some pro tools that you don’t get to coach very often at this level,” McGuire added.
Along the way to professional ball, Hulsizer has had some relatively rare accomplishments. At the 2017 College Home Run Derby in Omaha, he defeated fellow sluggers Chandler Taylor of Alabama and Tristan Pompey of Kentucky in convincing fashion to take home the derby hardware.
How convincing was his performance? He hit 19 out in the first round, 16 in the second and finished it off with 17 in the championship round.
“It felt great. I really came out here to compete and put my team on the map and spread the word about our school. It’s amazing. I’m still in shock that it happened,” Hulsizer said.
Back in November 2017 a video of Hulsizer weight lifting went viral. In an interview with Brad Tunney, before his home run outburst, Brad spoke with him about his weight lifting interests. At the time of the video his bench press was 370 pounds, dead lift 500 pounds and his squat 545 pounds. He has now eased off his weight lifting since he is not as heavy as he used to be and is looking more at the agility route. He indicates he can still put up some numbers.
Hulsizer stands 6’2” and weighs in at 225 pounds, yet he does not look very big, at least watching him on MiLB.TV. His build is compact, and he does have good speed having stolen 12 bases in 14 attempts with the Ogden Raptors in 2018. He is also a good outfielder in the corner positions.
Hulsizer is pleased to be a Dodger as they are one of the teams he had on his list of preferred destinations. Plus, there is, or was, another connection.
“They’re one of the teams I wanted to play for,” Hulsizer explained shortly after being drafted. “When I was younger, I always could picture myself wearing their uniform. I’ve been compared to Yasiel Puig, who’s somebody I really like and follow.”
Although his body structure does not seem to resemble Yasiel Puig’s, at least the upper body, his total package of skills does bear a resemblance. The one difference would be his arm strength, but all of his other tools may be comparable. He’s quick on his feet, has exceptional range, and can handle his glove. Obviously, he has the ability to hit for both average and power.
Speaking about his three-home run game, Hulsizer was surprised he got a good pitch to hit in his last at bat.
“I really didn’t think they were going to give me too much to hit after the previous at-bats, but (Carrera) tried to challenge me again and I nailed it,” he said.
He has been working on becoming a more flexible hitter who is able to hit an offering at any location.
“I’m trying to get myself into a good hitting position and being to handle any pitch, so they don’t just try and key on me in one spot,” Hulsizer said.
Minor League Report by DC
It was quite a day down on the farm. There was some good pitching and a whole lot of hitting going on resulting in 41 runs and four wins. Twenty-one of those runs were 2-out runs.
Great Lakes Loons 9 – South Bend Cubs 4
The Loons bounced back from their 6-5 loss to the Cubs on Monday evening with a solid game on Tuesday. Trailing 2-0 in the top of the fifth inning they broke loose with a six-spot. They actually hit for the cycle in the inning with a Romer Cuadrado single, a Jacob Amaya double, a Hunter Feduccia triple and a Drew Avans home run. They had 11 hits with three by Amaya and Avans and two by Feduccia including a home run along with his triple giving him three runs batted in. The Loons also had six two-out runs batted in.
On the mound two pitchers were all they needed giving the pen a rest. Andre Jackson picked up the win going five innings and allowing two runs on four hits and two walks along with 4 strikeouts. Nineteen-year-old Jose Martinez finished things up with four innings giving up two runs on four hits and no walks. He struck out one and did serve up a two-run home run to right-fielder Jonathan Sierra.
RC Quakes 8 – Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) 3
Bryan Warzek held the Storm hitless for five innings and struck out seven. He was followed by 23-year old right-hander Reza Aleaziz making his 2019 debut. He gave up two runs in his inning pitched. Wes Helsabeck pitched 1.2 scoreless innings while striking out five. Logan Salow closed out allowing one run in his 1.1 innings.
The second and fourth innings were the big innings at the plate for the Quakes. In the second inning Donovan Casey doubled and eventually scored on a throwing error allowing Nick Yarnell to reach base safely. Marcus Chiu then added to the pain for the Storm by hitting a two-run home run to right field. In the fourth inning it was a slow death for the Storm as the Quakes emerged from the inning with four runs with a series of four walks alternating with four singles. Brayan Morales stole his eighth base. Jeren Kendall (6) and Donovan Casey (4) also stole a base during the game. The Quakes lead the league with 30 stolen bases in 13 games. Casey with three and Chiu with two had the only multiple hit games for the Quakes.
Tulsa Driller 11 – Springfield Cardinals 0
The Drillers came out firing on all cylinders in the second game of a four-game set with the Cardinals. Dustin May earned his first win of the season with five shutout innings giving up only three hits and striking out three along with two walks. Andre Scrubb and Adam McCreery finished up with four scoreless innings allowing only three additional hits. Scrubb did walk three and left with two runners on that McCreery stranded.
The Drillers scored four runs in the second inning and five in the fourth. Every starter had at least one hit including May who drove in two runs with his single. Multiple hit games were recorded by DJ Peters, Zack Reks, Cristian Santana and personal favorite catcher Steve Berman. Peters, Reks and Logan Landon homered. Reks now has a four-game hitting streak and has hit safely in six of his last seven games. Over those past seven games, he is hitting .445. Landon has now hit safely in all seven of his starts this season. He is hitting .423 on the season.
OKC Dodgers 13 – Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals) 12
The Dodgers had one of those nights in which they had a 5-1 lead going into the top of the fifth inning. They had scored those runs on a Kyle Garlick home run, a two-run double by Errol Robinson, a Daniel Castro sac fly and a Will Smith single. The Storm Chasers then scored five in the top of the fifth and six in the top of the sixth inning. Trailing 12-5 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Edwin Rios brought the Dodgers a bit closer with a two-run home run. Then the Storm Chasers got too close to the tornado. In the bottom of the ninth inning the Dodgers scored six times to come away with a 13-12 win. Those runs were assisted by Omaha as the Dodger hitters had four hits aided by four walks. The last three run scored with two outs capped off by a two-run walk off single by Edwin Rios. Rios had a 3-hit, 4-RBI day while Errol Robinson had a 4-hit, 2-RBI day.
Brock Stewart started for the Dodgers and pitched quite well going four innings while yielding just one run on four hits and striking out three. His walk total of three was not what he would have wanted and causing him to throw 75 pitches in his four innings. After that, score cards got crowded. Zach McAllister lasted only 1.2 innings in which he surrendered seven runs. He was followed by Kevin Quackenbush who recorded no outs but gave four runs. Blake Gailen stopped the hemorrhaging with 3.1 innings of one-hit ball and picking up an unexpected win. Did I mention that Gailen is an outfielder?
Discussion (56)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Before the last game with Cincinnati, I voiced my displeasure with Pollock and asked where is the POWER. Well, he came through this game with the winning hit HR. He now has 2 for the season. Every player is going to hit a HR once in a while, today was Pollock’s turn. We’ve got to see some consistency from him before I stop questioning his value to the team. Since the Dodgers are built for POWER, we’ve got to exhibit it. Even Logan Forsythe hit a HR occasionally. We need to see more out of Pollock. Winning a 3 hit game is hardly cause for celebration of Pollock. Seeing Verdugo hit each game is a cause for celebration.
Diego Cartaya …..can’t wait to see him play and see how fast this young man ascends through the minor divisions. A good chance he’ll be seen in low A this year at 17 years of age. Maybe the best catching prospect in LA Dodger history. We’ll see how the ball bounces .
Connor Joe added to the OKC Roster today. Blake Gailen went on the IL today. Tony Gonsolin also went on the IL today retroactive to April 15. Ben Holmes went on the Temporary Inactive List yesterday.
Another three-home run night. Cody Thomas with Tulsa.
I think the key to Baez’s success is that hard slider. When it’s 89 mph, it’s almost impossible to read coming out of the hand. Power arms and power breaking balls coming out of the pen.
A veteran AB from AJ Pollack.
It appeared like even though he wasn’t successful in his first couple AB’s, he still picked up on what Gray is trying to do. He studied the other AB’s too. Gray was throwing a lot of off speed breaking pitches over the plate and the Dodger hitters were just taking them for strikes. That last AB, Polluck made an adjustment and was ready for it.
So where did this sun thing come from all of a sudden? Is it new?
The Reds are bad now.
They will be bad later this year.
They will likely be bad for the next 2-3 years.
We fleeced them in that trade.
Am loving all of the minor league info, especially the player profiles. The Dodgers ability and willingness to provide more and better coaching, teaching and individual instruction at the minor league level certainly help provide the franchise with the tools needed for continued success.
Being from the Midwest, I have listened to the Reds announcers the past two nights rather than the Dodgers. One of the topics of discussion was the amount of $$$ that the Dodgers have invested in analytics this past year. A figure of $20,000,000 was mentioned and they felt that that was excessive. To me, this is an example of why the Dodgers are so successful., They spend money on player development, analytics, scouting, etc., etc. because the spending in these areas does not effect the luxury tax level one iota but certainly advances the franchise onward and upward. This FO adjusts its strategies every time the commissioner’s office attempts to further restrict direct player spending of the large market ballclubs
Rumors of AJ Pollock’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.
Damn, Tampa Bay.
Mark
I thought Verdugo should have been given the chance even the season before, after Granderson didn’t work out.
And you touched on what I like about Verdugo, he knows how to make the right adjustments in the different situations in games already.
He is not just trying to launch every pitch out.
And he can hit to all fields, and he can hit both lefties and righties too.
But even though some think he doesn’t have that much power, I was looking at exit velocities, and he is in the top 5 on this team.
But exit velocity doesn’t mean much, if a player isn’t making solid contact consistently.
He is hitting the sweet spot of his bat more then 33 percent of the time, but he only has one walk, and he has not gotten many consistent at bats either.
He has only started two games in a row.
And we better mention Peter, because he has also been saying give Verdugo a position to play everyday for a while, too.
Mark, I am becoming a Verdugo believer. Not ready to crown him Gwynn, but he’s doing it all. They really need to figure out how to get him into the lineup more often. He looks as comfortable in the outfield as he does at the plate. It’s really insightful hearing about his offseason work and his attitude adjustment. He was noticeably more developed physically when he first appeared in Spring Training this year. It’s great to hear that he’s more developed mentally as well. Something Puig could never figure out.
It’s also great to hear about more and more young talent on the farm, especially those that aren’t on the lists yet. I haven’t recalled hearing anything about Zach Reks so far this year, when I looked him up I was pleasantly surprised to see some big numbers. I really enjoy the daily minor league recaps.
Some of these guys mentioned today seem a little old for Great Lakes. I’m wondering how fast these guys are gonna move, or if this is the result of having such a stacked minor league system.
Don’t give up on Pollock! You have to give incoming free agents a long leash to adjust otherwise no one is going to want to sign here. He was great in his first 9 games, not so much for the last 11. But, I like the fact that he seems to make good contact when we really need him to. Looking at his overall numbers is a little discouraging, but looking at his Runs and RBI production is not only encouraging, but is also welcome. His presence is also felt in the clubhouse. The front office does an excellent job keeping role models like Utley, Freese and Pollock on the roster. Props to them for recognizing the need to have the right kind of vets in the clubhouse.
It’s great seeing some zeros from the bullpen although Kenley just doesn’t look like his dominant self. His velocity is creeping up and I expect him to get on a roll soon. It seems like Kenley is at his best when he pitches more. Great to see Kelly and Yimi hold it together for an inning apiece. Good things happen when starters are allowed to pitch deeper into games. We’re almost over the hump with the starters being built up. This will make the bullpen much better.
I read an article yesterday that mentioned that bullpens are crappy across the league so far this year in the early going. Maybe there’s hope for this one after all. I still think when it’s all said and done, the pen will be a strength this year.
Day game today and going for the sweep with Walker!
Dustin May is pitching great right now. It should not be long before the FO begins the push. He should be at AAA before June (at least I am hoping so). He has a better than 4 to 1 K/BB ratio (17 to 4). He has allowed 1 HR in 14.0 IP with a 1.93 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. He is doing everything he needs to do. He came back to AA and has not missed a beat. Both May and Lux deserve to get pushed.
Great Lakes’ Hunter Feduccia and Jacob Amaya are two others that I was high on in the beginning of the season. Feduccia continues to rake. He is hitting .429/.571/.857/1.429 with 4 doubles, 1 triple, and 1 HR. I certainly did not expect this production out of the catcher, but I did feel he was under appreciated. His name should jump into the catcher discussion.
Jacob Amaya got off to a very miserable start, but it is cold for a Southern California kid in April in Michigan. He is 6-17 his last four games, raising his BA roughly 80 points to .233. It took Gavin Lux half the year to get comfortable at Great Lakes, when he finished strong at .244/.331/.362/.693. Amaya is currently batting .233/.377/.419/.796. Amaya is also a wonderful defensive middle infielder. Jacob will never have the power that Gavin has, nor the speed. But his bat to ball skills are really starting to show. He has 9 walks to his 8 Ks. So those batted balls will start to find holes, and his 9 walks play a big part in his .377 OBP. Jacob is a legit prospect, and the Dodgers should find solid middle infield play from Lux, Estevez, Downs, and Amaya. Zach McKinstry is also someone who should be monitored. I see Zach as a potential utility infielder who can play all 4 infield positions. I would like to see him play some OF to get the full super utility label. Zach is a Drew Jackson type without the impressive Jackson speed.
Watford Dodger had a comment on the previous thread that I thought was worthy of a response:
I’ve been wondering when was the right time to ask this question.
This is not hindsight because a number of very regular posters here, primarily MJ, Brooklyn and others asked repeatedly why Verdugo was not given more opportunity to play towards the back end of last season, because it was obvious that the team needed his hitting skill set.
It was particularly obvious in the Post Season that we needed someone to make consistent contact and get on base with line drives and good Baseball intelligence.
Our reliance on the long ball was ridiculous.
People said he was immature, a poor teammate and that he wasn’t as good as players we already had in the outfield, Puig, Taylor, kike, Kemp, Joc, Bellinger, and that he wasn’t ready as he hadn’t shown much in the few chances he had been afforded.
I’m not sure how he can have improved so much between September and April without playing any meaningful Baseball?
I would suggest that he was exactly the type of player the Dodgers were crying out for, and that the powers that be dropped the ball big time. He was there, in the Dugout and I think that he would really of helped us given the opportunity?
I thought that Corey Seager was ready a year before he came up, but FAZ opted to trade for Jimmy Rollins. They do not like to just hand a job to a prospect – they make them struggle and earn it… unless an injury (Gonzo) creates an opening.
There are two other things at work here:
1. Verdugo was somewhat immature and did have an attitude , but he worked all winter with Gil Reyes on physical conditioning along with lessons in attitude adjustment. This article from The Athletic sums it up:
““I didn’t know how to fully conduct myself,” he said, “in and out of the field and in the locker room.”
Comportment concerns have trailed Verdugo since his high-school days in Tucson. Amateur scouts who saw him then recalled a player both better and outwardly cockier than all of his competition. He fell to the draft’s 64th overall pick despite two-way tools that warranted a higher selection.
He has learned now how to conduct himself, he said. And, in the off-season, he had the lessons reinforced. Reyes outlined “beautiful-slash-painful conversations” they shared. Reyes said he noticed Verdugo’s questions becoming more introspective as the weather got colder. They discussed what went wrong with the Dodgers, why Verdugo failed to earn his teammates’ trust. They resolved to make the simplest of fixes: He’d arrive every morning knowing he needed to acknowledge his colleagues, unobtrusively, remembering he was sharing a space with dozens of men who had their own routines.
Near winter’s end, Reyes saw a sign that, to him, demonstrated his student’s development. Verdugo invited a friend in town to hang out at Reyes’ gym during a workout. When it ended, Verdugo sat on a bench near the entrance and his friend plopped onto one nearby — a bench designated for Agassi. Just then, Agassi walked into the gym with his 16-year-old son, Jaden, a pitching prospect committed to USC.
Quietly, Verdugo asked his friend to move. Reyes rejoiced. Later, he said, he gave him a hug.
“Thank you,” Reyes said. “You’re thinking of others.”
The day Verdugo arrived in Arizona, he greeted every person inside the Camelback Ranch clubhouse with a handshake. He and Reyes had drafted a checklist he was to complete each day: Arrive hours before the morning meeting, ready himself at his locker, work out in the adjacent gym. It was simple, but it was effective.
“It was more of just my routine: I didn’t have one,” Verdugo said. “I was more like, ‘Hey, let’s show up and play some ball.’”
Teammates quickly detected change.
“His work ethic was great throughout spring training,” Hill said. “That’s, obviously, great to see. Watching his ability out on the field, I don’t think anyone will ever question that.”
So, he had lingering issues that stood in the way; and
2. The Dodgers had Puig and Kemp in an already crowded outfield and there was no way he was going to move past them. Thus, the Farmer Trade.
He has also worked with RVS diligently last winter as well and knows when to hold up, shorten up and when to launch. Bobby may have nailed it. Maybe he’s more Larry Walker that Tony Gwynn. He has Batting Champion written all over him and he WILL get 30 bombs one of these years. I was excited for him last year, but felt his issues had to be resolved. He still plays with a joy and an edge and I love that. We are seeing the making of a star – he is in the process of seizing the RF job and Jeff nailed it:
“What I do notice about Verdugo is that he is making (perhaps made) his case for a starting job or at least, an everyday role in the games. He is a natural in RF, chases balls and is alert, and is developing his hitting to a fine degree. This will allow Cody to play 1B more. I don’t think Verdugo is a natural CF and that Pollock still holds the edge there, but Pollock’s bat is lagging and I can see Cody also playing CF with Verdugo in RF, and either Freese or Muncy at 1B. For me, Freese has the edge at 1B because of his length. Muncy cannot stretch out like Freese or Cody does. His body is too thick and squat. But, he’s not bad. We have a lot of options.
Great profile and no, you did not mention that Blake Gailen was an outfielder… 😉
Here is a link to Niko’s three home run day.
https://www.milb.com/great-lakes/video/hulsizer-rips-three-homers/c-2524430883