The 'hitterish' prospect: O'Koyea Dickson of the Dodgers

The Dodgers drafted first baseman O'Koyea Dickson in the 12th round of the 2011 draft. He was drafted from a small school northwest of San Francisco -- and they might have found themselves a gem.

He's not your prototypical first baseman, checking in at 5-foot-11, 215 pounds, but he made himself known while playing in the Pioneer League in his debut.

Dickson, who just turned 22 on Feb. 9, posted a .333/.402/.603 triple slash with the Ogden Raptors. His 1.005 OPS was good for fourth in the league and his 13 home runs tied for sixth-best in the league.

His strikeout percentage was a tad high for my liking (23.3 percent), but his walk rate was encouraging (10 percent).

I found a scouting video of him on YouTube. It was posted Sept. 4, 2010, and is courtesy of 49th State Hardball, a website devoted to the Alaska Baseball League. In this league, Dickson played third base. It's too bad he couldn't stick there as the Dodgers system is barren at that position -- and has been for too many years.

As you'll see in the video, Dickson isn't an imposing figure, but he does put a few nice swings on the ball. His stance is wide, his stride is short and he's "quiet" before the pitch. Those are all good things.



Perfect Game, a high school scouting organization and host of showcases around the country, wrote favorably about Dickson in its 2007 analysis.

"The term 'hitterish' comes to mind with Dickson, meaning that he has that certain something that says HITTER."

Perfect Game rated him an '8,' which meant Dickson was a potential mid-round selection. It was also all over the place with figuring out where he'd play -- first base, left field, catcher -- but he ultimately ended up at first base.

I ranked Dickson at No. 20 in my Top 50 while Brandon Lennox of True Blue L.A. ranked him at No. 40. He should begin the season in Great Lakes with the Loons.

He's going to have to continue to hit as he progresses if he wants a chance at big league stardom, but I just have a good feeling about this kid -- from everything I've read and seen. Then there's the thing I can't explain -- I can't give you something tangible about his future success, but something just tells me he's going to make it. The proverbial "gut feeling," I suppose.