A Dodgers fan conversation about prospects, trades, panic, patience, and the baseball gods. Written by Bumsrap (even though it says I am the author – I am not!)

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Rob: I’ve made a decision.

Dawn: That usually means something regrettable is about to happen.

Ethan: Let’s hear it.

Rob: Trade them all.

Dawn: All who?

Rob: The prospects.

Dawn: Every prospect in the organization?

Rob: Every last one.

Ethan: That’s an aggressive farm system strategy.

Rob: Look, I’m tired of hearing about prospects. Every year it’s the same thing. We hear about

some nineteen-year-old in Oklahoma, somebody in Great Lakes hitting .312, and some pitcher

whose fastball apparently bends space and time.

Dawn: That’s not how scouting reports work.

Rob: Then explain why every prospect description sounds like a Marvel origin story.

Ethan: You do have a point.

Rob: Thank you.

Dawn: Unfortunately, he does.

Rob: Every article says things like, “Elite bat speed. Tremendous upside. Projects as a middle-of-

the-order force.”

Ethan: That’s fairly standard.

Rob: Then three years later he’s playing for Pittsburgh and hitting .218.

Dawn: Also fairly standard.

Rob: Exactly! So trade them all.

Ethan: For whom?

Rob: Whoever is available.

Dawn: That’s not a plan. That’s a shopping spree.

Rob: Flags fly forever.

Dawn: Dodgers fans have turned that phrase into a universal answer.

Rob: Because it’s a great answer.

Dawn: Somebody could ask whether you should trade your car for a reliever and you’d say—

Rob: Flags fly forever.

Ethan: See? Reflexive.

Rob: Listen. The Dodgers are built to win now. Ohtani is here. Betts is here. Freeman is here.

Yamamoto is here. Every season matters.

Dawn: Nobody disagrees with that.

Rob: Then why are we protecting prospects like they’re national treasures?

Ethan: Because some of them become national treasures.

Rob: Name one.

Dawn: Corey Seager.

Rob: Fine.

Dawn: Will Smith.

Rob: Fine.

Dawn: Cody Bellinger.

Rob: Fine.

Dawn: Clayton Kershaw.

Rob: Okay, that’s enough.

Ethan: You forgot Joc Pederson.

Dawn: Russell Martin.

Ethan: Matt Kemp.

Dawn: Eric Karros.

Rob: Stop helping each other.

Ethan: You asked.

Rob: Those are exceptions.

Dawn: No, those are examples.

Rob: Same thing.

Ethan: Not remotely the same thing.

Rob: Here’s my issue. Every prospect is always described as the next great thing.

Dawn: That’s because nobody writes scouting reports that say, “Projects as a slightly

disappointing utility infielder.”

Rob: They should.

Ethan: I’d read that report.

Dawn: “Strong fundamentals. Limited upside. Could someday become the answer to a difficult

trivia question.”

Rob: Exactly. Let’s get some honesty in the process.

Ethan: The truth is that prospect evaluation is hard.

Rob: That’s the understatement of the year.

Ethan: Historically, most prospects don’t become stars.

Rob: Thank you.

Ethan: But some do.

Rob: There it is.

Dawn: That’s the entire problem.

Ethan: Every prospect is basically a lottery ticket.

Rob: Then cash them in.

Dawn: Except some lottery tickets are worth more than the prize you’re trading for.

Rob: Now you’re talking in riddles.

Ethan: Let me simplify.

Rob: Please.

Ethan: Imagine it’s 2014.

Rob: Okay.

Ethan: Somebody offers to trade Corey Seager for a veteran pitcher.

Rob: Depends on the pitcher.

Dawn: That’s not the point.

Ethan: The point is that Seager eventually became one of the best players in baseball.

Rob: Sure.

Ethan: At the time, though, nobody knew exactly what he’d become.

Rob: Right.

Ethan: That’s why teams struggle with these decisions.

Dawn: You’re choosing between certainty and possibility.

Rob: I choose certainty.

Dawn: Of course you do.

Rob: Every time.

Ethan: Most fans do.

Rob: Because certainty wins championships.

Dawn: Sometimes.

Ethan: Sometimes possibility wins championships.

Rob: That’s annoyingly reasonable.

Dawn: That’s Ethan’s specialty.

Rob: Here’s another thing.

Dawn: Go ahead.

Rob: Dodgers fans fall in love with prospects they’ve never actually watched play.

Ethan: That’s definitely true.

Rob: We watch a three-minute highlight video and suddenly we’re experts.

Dawn: Ah yes, the sacred ritual.

Rob: One home run. One diving catch. One slow-motion bat flip.

Ethan: Then the comments start.

Rob: “Untouchable.”

Dawn: Every time.

Rob: I don’t even know if the kid can hit a curveball.

Ethan: Neither does half the internet.

Dawn: Prospect videos are baseball’s version of online dating profiles.

Rob: That’s perfect.

Ethan: Nobody posts the strikeouts.

Dawn: Nobody posts the routine grounders.

Rob: Nobody posts the night he went 0-for-4 and forgot where second base was.

Ethan: It’s a carefully curated experience.

Rob: And somehow we all buy it.

Dawn: Every year.

Rob: You know who the smartest people in baseball are?

Ethan: Who?

Rob: The Dodgers front office.

Dawn: That’s a bold statement.

Rob: Think about it.

Ethan: I’m listening.

Rob: Every deadline, fans demand trades.

Dawn: True.

Rob: Half the fan base wants to trade everybody.

Dawn: Also true.

Rob: The other half wants to trade nobody.

Dawn: Very true.

Rob: Then the front office makes a move nobody predicted.

Ethan: That’s happened a few times.

Rob: And somehow they’re usually smarter than all of us.

Dawn: That’s a surprisingly humble observation.

Rob: Don’t get used to it.

Ethan: The Dodgers have actually become good at both things.

Rob: What things?

Ethan: Developing prospects and trading prospects.

Dawn: That’s the key.

Ethan: They don’t seem emotionally attached to either strategy.

Rob: Unlike fans.

Dawn: Fans get attached to everything.

Rob: We do.

Dawn: A prospect hits .340 for two weeks in Double-A and suddenly people are naming future

Hall of Fame plaques.

Rob: Optimism is part of being a fan.

Ethan: So is overreaction.

Rob: Especially overreaction.

Dawn: The funny part is that fans only remember the prospects who succeed.

Rob: That’s not true.

Dawn: Name five failed Dodgers prospects from ten years ago.

Rob: I can barely remember what I had for breakfast.

Ethan: Meanwhile everybody remembers Kershaw.

Dawn: Exactly.

Rob: So what’s the answer?

Ethan: There isn’t one.

Rob: Helpful.

Ethan: Seriously. Every prospect is a different calculation.

Dawn: Some should be traded.

Ethan: Some should be kept.

Dawn: Some are overrated.

Ethan: Some are underrated.

Rob: That’s not satisfying at all.

Dawn: Baseball rarely is.

Rob: Then let me ask the real question.

Ethan: Here it comes.

Rob: If the trade deadline arrives and there’s an ace available…

Dawn: Yes?

Rob: And the other team wants three top prospects…

Ethan: Go on.

Rob: And the Dodgers have a legitimate chance to win another championship…

Dawn: I know exactly where this is going.

Rob: Do you make the trade?

Ethan: Depends on the prospects.

Dawn: Depends on the pitcher.

Rob: Wrong.

Dawn: Wrong?

Rob: Completely wrong.

Ethan: What’s your answer?

Rob: I make the trade.

Dawn: Of course you do.

Rob: Then I spend the next ten years hoping none of those prospects become superstars.

Ethan: Now that is the most honest thing you’ve said all day.

Dawn: Every Dodgers fan understands that feeling.

Rob: That’s because deep down, we all believe the same thing.

Ethan: What’s that?

Rob: The prospect we trade away is guaranteed to become an All-Star.

Dawn: Baseball superstition.

Ethan: Fan psychology.

Rob: Reality.

Dawn: Not reality.

Rob: Then explain why every former Dodgers prospect eventually appears on television hitting a

home run against us.

Ethan: Confirmation bias.

Rob: I prefer my explanation.

Dawn: Which is?

Rob: The baseball gods have a sense of humor.

Ethan: You know what?

Rob: What?

Ethan: On that point, I might actually agree with you.

Jeff Dominique’s Minor League Report

DSL LAD Mega 7 – DSL Orioles Black 6

RHSP Yadier Zamora completed 3.0 innings. In the 2nd inning, he gave up a triple and then unleashed a WP for the run. He gave up 3 hits and 3 BB to go with his 4 K.

In the 3rd, 1B Ezequiel Aparicio doubled (1). After 2 outs, 3B Hendry Arvelo had a RBI single. RF Erny Orellana doubled (3) to score Arvelo. 2B Juan Macero singled and after a throwing error Orellana scored.

Orioles Black scored two in the 5th on a 1-out BB. With 2 outs the batter reached on a fielding error, and both moved up on a WP. A double brought home both runners to tie the game.

In the 6th, the Orioles Black took the lead. A single, SB, and single put runners on 1st and 3rd. The runner on 3rd scored on a WP for the lead.

In the bottom of the 6th, LAD Mega retook the lead. C Roberto Saucedo walked, and he moved to 3rd on LF Jesus Villaflor’s double (3). Aparicio walked with Saucedo scoring on a ball 4 PB. Aparicio stole 2nd. SS Antoni Urena walked and Villaflor scored on ball 4 WP with Aparicio moving up to 3rd. Aparicio scored on another WP.

Orioles Black scored 2 in the 8th to tie the game.

In the bottom of the 9th. With one out, Urena and CF Helvin Mendoza both walked. Both runners moved up on a WP, and after 2 outs, Urena scored the winning run with a Orellana walkoff RBI single.

• Erny Orellana – 3-5, 1 run, 2 RBI, double (3)
• Doubles – Ezequiel Aparicio (1), Jesus Villaflor (3)

Box Score

DSL Royals Ventura 5 – DSL LAD Bautista 0

DSL LAD Bautista were shutout with 2 singles.

Box Score