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…
So many of us have been looking at FA possibilities and trade possibilities that most have not paid any attention to the first date that will impact the 2020 Dodgers roster. The 40 man roster needs to be set by November 20, 2019 with all Rule 5 eligible prospects protected. The actual Rule 5 draft will take place on Thursday, December 12, 2019. That gives AF and his staff less…
A few weeks back there was a recommendation that we provide our opinion on the risers and fallers this year in the LAD Minor League system, and suggested that the AS break would be a good time. DC offered his input a week or so ago, and now I would like to provide my admittedly myopic (and shortsighted?) insight. I apologize for the length, but it is hard for me…
Some days are like that. You just can’t think of anything to write. The minor league rosters have been announced, preliminary at least, and games are two days away. Much has been written about top prospects and Top 30 lists and those are the players that garner most of the attention. There can be no question that they have done what it takes to get onto those lists, although they…
The Loons kick off their 2019 season on Thursday, April 4 away from home against the Lake County Captains. They play the Captains again on Friday before returning to Midland for a six-game home stand, two against Lake County and four against the South Bend Cubs. It should not be too difficult to get a better start to the season after the 2018 season in which they went 7-13 in…
I was wrong. Imagine that. I predicted a 3-K series in which Kershaw, Kenley and Kemp would play significant roles in the Dodgers play-off push. Perhaps their roles were significant in the final outcome but not in the manner I had envisioned. Clayton demonstrated to us that he is not the Clayton of days gone by for whatever reason. One does question his health as at age-30 he should not…
In 2017 the Dodgers affiliate in Ogden won their first Pioneer League championship since the Raptors were born in 1994. They were after a repeat championship in 2018 and came oh so close qualifying for a play-off berth with a 26-12 record in the first half of the season. They finished the season with a league best 46-30 record. However, a second consecutive championship was not to be. They dropped…
Last week DC discussed a Dodger reliever from every level in the organization. Every reliever on that list has the potential to be at least a MLB middle reliever. Some may become high leverage relievers. Zach Pop was certainly drafted last year for just that reason. One other that I started to follow last year in the DSL was Elio Serrano, who could be special. But at 19 he has…
What is the value of each minor league player? That is, how important is each player? For me, the answer to the question is that none are more important than others. Sure, we like to see prospect lists with rankings but perhaps we should look at team rosters and draft lists, players that are signed as non-drafted free agents and minor league players signed after being released by other teams….