Each offseason, MiLB.com goes position by position across each system and honors the players — regardless of age or prospect status — who had the best seasons in their organization. This is the list from MiLB – posted November 11 – with a brief review by Dodgers Director of Player Development Will Rhymes. Catcher — Connor Wong, Rancho Cucamonga (71 games), Tulsa (40 games): After a spotty April, Wong finished…
The minor league season is quickly drawing to a close. It seems impossible but it is so. The good news is that five of the Dodgers affiliates will extend their season a bit by competing for the league championship. Those five affiliates are AZL Dodgers Mota, Ogden Raptors, Great Lakes Loons, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, and Tulsa drillers. End-of-Season All-Stars to date: Some leagues have not yet announced the All-Stars. Twenty-year-old…
We often take a look at minor league players who have never been considered as can’t miss players. Some are very late round draft picks that creep up on the minor league ranks. DC and I have mentioned Zach McKinstry quite a bit this season. Zach was a 33rd round draft Pick (2016) out of that baseball hotbed Central Michigan University. He has continually charged up the organizational ladder and…
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…
The Raptors play in a short season rookie league. It is easy to forget the Pioneer League as players are so far from MLB and many are fresh out of a recent draft and the Arizona League. They have not yet really surfaced in the parent team minor league system so one has to do a bit of scuba diving below the surface to find them. But, there they are,…
A couple of weeks ago a LADT poster asked about Dodger minor league prospects whose status has risen or fallen since being drafted by the Dodgers. I don’t like to write about players whose prospects have declined. Although I can’t feel their pain, I can understand how difficult it must be for them. I am more interested in selecting players that have risen in the top 30 prospect lists and most…
Uncle Ray Player of the Month Minor League Baseball on Wednesday announced the Uncle Ray’s Player of the Month Award winners for each of the 10 leagues for the month of May. Niko Hulsizer was selected as the Midwest League Player of the Month. In recognition of the honor, each winner will receive an award from Minor League Baseball and Uncle Ray’s, the “Official Potato Chip of Minor League Baseball….
It’s amazing to me that after 25 games, fans can pronounce a certain player or players as “failures.” If they are really that good, they should be making millions helping teams make those decisions. If they happen to not be making millions for those decisions, then maybe they really aren’t as qualified as they believe. If they bench guys like Taylor, Hernandez, Barnes, et al, how are they ever going…
Mark goes with Rants and Raves, and DC now has his Bites and Bits, so I might as well come up with my own…Random Thoughts. I cannot get too excited about the last two losses. It really was to be expected in April, at least by me. Admittedly, I am having a tough time getting excited about this early part of the season. It is going better than I thought…
I wrote about the possibility of a slow start for the Dodgers but did not predict one. I know Mark liked to chide me with that after the first two series. But 5-2 against arguably two of the worst 3 teams in the NL was nothing to brag about. The Padres played the same two teams and went 4-3. And now LAD gets to face the Rockies without having to…