Dodgers' prospect notes from four Rancho Cucamonga Quakes' games

I just finished watching four consecutive Rancho Cucamonga Quakes’ games (two in Stockton against the Ports, two in Modesto against the Nuts -- big thanks to both affiliates for the media credentials), and there’s a dearth of talent in Rancho right now.

My takeaways: There isn’t as much talent on this team as there was earlier this season or as in years past.

Ross Stripling and Duke von Schamann getting promoted to Double-A left the rotation depleted. Garrett Gould was also promoted, but he hasn’t pitched well the last two seasons.

Not much movement on the position player front, aside from a resurgent Jon Garcia heading to Chattanooga. There’s just not a lot of talent in Rancho.

Here are a few notes from each game. I’ll post in-depth scouting reports of guys like Lindsey Caughel, Noel Cuevas, Carlos Frias, Scott Schebler, Darnell Sweeney and more in the coming days here and at Chad Moriyama’s site.

Thursday (7/18/13)

Cuevas had a couple soft hits and a couple stolen bases.  His speed is probably his best tool.

Jon Michael Redding got the start. It’s the third year in a row I’ve seen him start in Stockton (and that’s not good). He wasn’t good on this night. His stuff is the same as it’s been. He’s a non-prospect.

Blake Smith took the hill and had impressive velocity for a guy who hasn’t pitched since 2009 in college. He sat at 90-92 MPH with his fastball. Unfortunately, his curveball was a mess. The first he threw went behind the hitter while the other he threw hit a batter. It was a 75 MPH offering. He has a long way to go on the hill, but his mechanics are clean enough to be successful. His command/control needs lots of work.

Friday (7/19/13)

Bobby Coyle popped a home run as the team’s designated hitter. O’Koyea Dickson showed some nice opposite-field power by hitting a no-doubter to right-center field.

Casio Grider, who took over for Cuevas who twisted his ankle in the first inning, has crazy range in center field. A natural infielder, Grider tracked a deep fly ball that he had no business being near, dove and missed a spectacular catch by about six inches. It was an impressive display of speed.

Carlos Frias was awfully impressive. He mixed all his pitches and struck out 11 in seven innings. It was one of the best pitching performances by a Quake this season.

Schebler has a legitimate bat. He hit two home runs. The first was a lined shot over the right-center field wall. The second was a moonshot over the batter’s eye in center field (video below).

Sweeney doesn’t have the chops to stay at shortstop long-term. There’s some loop in his throw from short and he’s messy with his footwork and mechanics. He makes spectacular plays, but botches the routine ones.

Saturday (7/20/13)

Gustavo Gomez started. His velocity was actually pretty good (90-93 MPH), but he gave up a grand slam in the first inning to put him

Schebler has a lot of swing-and-miss, but he also has loud tools. He can play center, but he fits best in a corner. His arm is average in right, so left field could be his future. Speed/power combination isn’t dissimilar to Joc Pederson’s. Has some issues with the mental aspect of the game. Too emotional at times, wears it on his sleeve.

Scott Wingo has sneaky speed and is playing all over the infield. He’s a natural second baseman. He has great on-base ability, but he doesn’t barrel up enough pitches to be considered a legitimate prospect at this point.

Sunday (7/21/13)

Caughel doesn’t have the velocity to be successful in the rotation long-term. Has four pitches, but none grade out as even average. Velo dipped after about three innings.

Coyle is about a 40-45 left fielder at best. His arm is weak and his range is limited. He fits best there or at DH. He has power, but not much else to be excited about.

Grider’s home run was surprising. He’s not a power guy at all, but he ran into one. He had a bunt single in the first inning, too.

Pedro Guerrero has a decent glove, but he can’t hit a lick. He doesn’t hit the ball hard, leading to poor at-bats.

Pratt Maynard has good instincts behind the plate and a decent eye, but the hit tool must improve for him to be more than a career minor-leaguer (and probably a backup in the minors).

James McDonald, the Dodgers’ 18th-round draft pick, isn’t much of a prospect. He doesn’t have a good hit tool, has zero power and his first step at second base is slow. He played left field on Friday night. He’ll be lucky to be a utility man in Triple-A, let alone the majors.

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That's about it. Like I said, I'll have some in-depth reports in the coming days and weeks. I'm going to try to get down to Rancho toward the end of the minor-league season to see the boys in their home environment.

Photo credit: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Dodgers promote RHP Ross Stripling to Double-A, plus other MiLB news

The Dodgers on Tuesday promoted right-handed pitcher Ross Stripling to Double-A Chattanooga from High-A Rancho Cucamonga. The 2012 fifth-round draft pick has been on a nearly meteoric rise since the Dodgers popped him last season.

Stripling, 23, posted some impressive numbers in the California League early this season. He struck out 34 batters in 33 2/3 innings, walked 11 batters and allowed just one home run. Those are numbers for anyone to hang his hat on, let alone a guy in his first full season in a hitter's haven.

I saw him in person on Tuesday against the Stockton Ports and, while he wasn't his sharpest (4 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB), he showed me some good things.

Stripling's velocity sat in the low-90s and he touched 94 a few times. He used his curveball and changeup pretty liberally. Both flashed good potential at times.

This move was presumably made for a couple reasons:

1. He's 23 and the most advanced starting pitcher the Dodgers have in the low minors
2. Onelki Garcia was placed on the disabled list

Dodgers' assistant general manager, player development, DeJon Watson was in attendance for Stripling's start. Despite not pitching that well, Watson was apparently impressed enough to recommend the promotion. Stripling bounced back on Sunday against the San Jose Giants by throwing eight innings of one-run ball -- that probably factored into the decision as well.

It'll be interesting to see how he handles Double-A pitching. As of now, he should be skyrocketing up Dodger prospect lists. He was No. 11 for me when the season started. He's easily in the top eight now, and probably even higher than that.

Thomas also promoted to Double-A

Quakes' closer and left-hander Michael Thomas was promoted along with Stripling on Tuesday to Double-A. The 24-year-old, a 35th-round pick in 2011, had a 1.46 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 5.8 H/9, 2.2 BB/9, 12.4 K/9 and a 2.23 FIP in 12 1/3 innings.

He won't close for the Lookouts, but he should get a lot of work against some advanced hitting.

Pedro Baez will take over as the Quakes' closer.

Left-handed pitcher Eric Eadington (11.42 ERA, 9.3 BB/9) and right-handed pitcher Ryan Acosta (13.11 ERA, 16.2 H/9) both struggled mightily in Double-A and were demoted to Rancho Cucamonga to make room for Stripling and Thomas.

Outfielder Bobby Coyle was also demoted to Rancho Cucamonga.

Herrera back in the bigs

Elian Herrera was recalled to the Dodgers to replace Jerry Hairston, who hit the disabled list Tuesday with a strained groin.

Don Mattingly had said he wanted someone who could play both corner outfield spots, so naturally, the Yasiel Puig speculation began. Alas, it was Herrera who got the call.

Herrera wasn't doing much with the bat at Triple-A Albuquerque, hitting just .250. His versatility is nice, but I wouldn't expect much out of Herrera this time around.

Lee good, again

Zach Lee posted another "ho-hum" performance on Tuesday night in Chattanooga:

6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 91 pitches, 59 strikes

Like I said, ho-hum for Lee these days. The kid is having a fantastic season thus far (2.15 ERA) and is proving his worth with every passing start.

Puig is exciting

This is not breaking news, but Puig is an exciting player. In fact, he's the most exciting prospect the Dodgers have ever had.

From my most recent article on Yahoo! Sports:

"Much is made about prospects. As Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus says, they'll break your heart. But they'll also - one day - be the cornerstone of a franchise.

Enter Los Angeles Dodgers' uber outfield prospect Yasiel Puig. Puig, 22, is the most exciting prospect the Dodgers have ever had. But he could still break the collective heart of Dodger fans.

 With his immense power potential and great, but not quite Bo Jackson-like athleticism (because there's only one "Bo"), he has scouts and fans alike drooling just thinking about the potential."

His time is coming, folks. It probably won't be until 2014, but we can wait 11 months. It'll be worth it.

Photo credits: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Dodgers' prospect Joc Pederson off to fantastic start in first Double-A stint

Joc Pederson has been one of my favorite prospects ever since the Dodgers were able to snag him in the 11th round of the 2010 draft. He made a brief appearance in the Southern League playoffs last season after playing the entire regular season in the California League.

Pederson is in his first full season in Double-A and, at age 21, is playing against competition significantly older than him. He's the 10th-youngest player in Double-A and the third-youngest in the Southern League behind Ronald Torreyes and Taijuan Walker.

As a youngster, he's atop or near the top of virtually every offensive category in the relatively neutral Southern League (through Saturday).

(Minimum 10 games played)

Batting average: 9th
On-base percentage: 25th
Slugging percentage: 1st
On-base plus slugging: 2nd
Home runs: 1st
RBIs: t-3rd
Runs scored: 1st
Hits: 1st
Doubles: t-8th
Triples: t-2nd
Stolen bases: t-3rd
ISO: 1st
wOBA: 2nd
wRC+: 2nd

This is almost nothing short of amazing. Much was made about Pederson's California League performance in 2012 and some wondered if it was a product of the hitter-friendly environment. Early on (and it is early -- 68 plate appearances), Pederson is proving he's a legitimate hitting prospect.

What's encouraging is Pederson isn't getting lucky. His batting average on balls in play is .300, which is league-average. He's walking less than he did last season (10.2 to 7.4 percent), but he's also striking out less so far (16.2 percent to 11.8 percent).

I'd like to see the walk rate come up a bit, but if he keeps the strikeout rate down and hits for the kind of power he has so far, it's more than acceptable. I'm not expecting him to slug .694 all season, but he should be a .500-plus slugging guy when the season ends.



Pederson ranked as high as No. 4 on prospect lists (Bullpen Banter) and as low as No. 9 (FanGraphs) this winter. He ranked at No. 5 for me, thanks to the signings of Yasiel Puig and Hyun-Jin Ryu. Some think he's just a fourth outfielder-type (Keith Law), while I'd be surprised if he weren't an every day player in the majors in just a couple of years.

While his center field defense is a question mark, his bat could make it more than possible for him to handle a corner outfield spot.

Another criticism of Pederson was his speed. While he has at least average speed, he was 26-for-40 in stolen bases last season. The 26 steals were nice. The 14 caught stealing number wasn't. This season, he's 6-for-6. Pederson is becoming a better, more well-rounded player -- and he's doing it in the first month of the Double-A season.

In my scouting report of Pederson from June, I compared him to Melky Cabrera (minus the performance-enhancing drugs) with more pop. I could see that coming to fruition.

With Puig on the 7-day disabled list after spraining his left thumb, Pederson -- along with Blake Smith, J.T. Wise and Bobby Coyle -- will be expected to pick up the offensive slack for the Chattanooga Lookouts.

Pederson is proving his worth thus far. Here's hoping it keeps up.

Photo credit: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Chattanooga Lookouts announce 2013 opening day roster, led by Yasiel Puig

Puig

Next up to announce their opening day roster is the Chattanooga Lookouts – easily the most talent team in the Dodgers’ farm system.

• Great Lakes Loons opening day roster
• Rancho Cucamonga Quakes opening day roster

Half of my Top 10 prospects will begin the season with the Lookouts, led by the incomparable Yasiel Puig. Joining Puig in the outfield is Dodgers’ Minor League Player of the Year Joc Pederson, Blake Smith and Bobby Coyle. Four outfielders, three spots: not unlike the Major League situation involving Puig and the Dodgers’ starting outfield. But I digress.

The infield is less impressive, but Arizona Fall League star Rafael Ynoa returns for his second go-round with the Lookouts. C.J. Retherford also returns and Chris Jacobs – with his massive power potential – gets a promotion to Double-A.

I hit on 17 of 25 players from my February prediction.

Roster

Catchers

Gorman Erickson

Dashenko Ricardo

Jan Vazquez (DL)

Infielders

Chris Jacobs

Omar Luna

C.J. Retherford

Miguel Rojas

Rafael Ynoa

J.T. Wise

Smith

Outfielders

Bobby Coyle

Joc Pederson

Yasiel Puig

Blake Smith

Starting pitchers

Onelki Garcia

Zach Lee

Rob Rasmussen

Chris Reed

Andres Santiago

Relief pitchers

Ryan Acosta

Kyle Cofield

Kelvin De La Cruz

Eric Eadington

Yimi Garcia

Gregory Infante

Aaron Miller

Hector Nelo

Eadington

The rotation is stacked. All five of the pitchers could enjoy success in the Southern League, especially Lee and Reed, who are on their second stint in the league. Rasmussen has Double-A experience, but not Southern League experience. Garcia is the big wild card here, as his lone Double-A appearance was electric (3 IP, 7 K in the playoffs). I didn't see him at spring training and didn't hear much about him there, so I’m a little surprised he’s still slated for Chattanooga to start this season.

The bullpen has just one surprise – Yimi Garcia. He threw just more than 10 innings in High-A last year and I fully expected him to go there in 2013. But it’s nice to see the Dodgers challenging one of their better relief prospects.

My best guess at a lineup

Ynoa 2B/SS

Pederson LF

Puig CF

Wise 1B

Smith RF

Retherford 3B

Coyle DH

Erickson C

Rojas SS/2B

Pederson

I do have Puig playing center field so the Dodgers can see if he’s a legitimate option there going forward. Pederson likely ends up in left field long-term anyway, and Smith profiles as a classic right fielder. Overall, it should be a really good defensive outfield. Coyle can handle a corner outfield spot when the other guys need a day off.

This lineup is pretty deep. Ynoa has decent on-base skills and the Lookouts could do worse than guys like Retherford and Coyle hitting 6-7.

The bullpen won’t be as good as it was toward the end of last season, but there are other quality, live arms in Acosta, Eadington, Infante and Miller.

This team should be one of the best in the Southern League (at least until it loses Puig). Chattanooga could get some midseason reinforcements from Rancho Cucamonga, as is customary.

Photo credits: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Podcast: 'Dugout Blues' episode 24 - prospects galore, BA Top 100, Q&A

On this episode of "Dugout Blues," Jared Massey (L.A. Dugout) and crack wise about prospects, as we often do.

Massey released his Top 20 Dodger prospects list and I tell him why he's utterly and completely wrong.

We also look at a couple of surprises in the Dodgers' system from the Baseball America Prospect Handbook -- specifically, Bobby Coyle and Joey Curletta.

We talk about the two Dodgers to make BA's Top 100 prospect list -- Hyun-Jin Ryu (42) and Yasiel Puig (47).

Per usual, we close with listener questions. Why do we keep hearing Alfonso Soriano linked to the Dodgers? How much of an impact will Mark McGwire have? Will Hanley Ramirez and Luis Cruz swap positions during the season? What do we think about the World Baseball Classic? What are we going to do when Vin Scully turns off his microphone? Plus a few others.

Libsyn link
Direct link
iTunes link

Look for new episodes of "Dugout Blues" every Wednesday. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and review us on iTunes. We want to make this the best podcast we can so we're always looking for suggestions and ways to improve.

If you have questions you'd like us to answer or certain topics/players you want to hear more about, feel free to email us (ladugout@gmail.com or feelinkindablue@gmail.com) or send us messages on Twitter (@LADugout or @FeelinKindaBlue). You can also "Like" the podcast on Facebook. We always welcome audience participation.

Image credit: Joe Martin

Dodgers' full-season minor league team preview: Chattanooga Lookouts

This is the third in a four-part series projecting the Dodgers' full-season minor league teams. Up next, the Chattanooga Lookouts.

• Part 1 of 4: Great Lakes Loons
• Part 2 of 4: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

Of all the Dodgers' minor league teams, this one should be the best. Once you see the roster, you'll see what I'm talking about.

The Lookouts were the only full-season Dodger minor league affiliate to make the postseason, thanks to a 41-29 second half.

Pederson

Chattanooga faced off against the Jackson Generals (Mariners), filled with a bevy of prospects (James Paxton, Taijuan Walker and Mike Zunino, just to name a few). Jackson took the first two games of the series before an absolutely dominant pitching performance by Chattanooga gave the team its only playoff win. Jackson would take the series with in the next game.

Led by Nick Buss, Blake Smith and J.T. Wise, the Lookouts actually struggled a bit. They received some late-season reinforcements from Rancho Cucamonga in the form of C.J. Retherford and Bobby Coyle, but it wasn't enough to help the offense.

The pitching is where the Lookouts thrived. The team started the season with Nathan Eovaldi, Matt Magill, Ethan Martin and Allen Webster in the rotation. Unfortunately for the Lookouts, only Magill is still with the organization. The team did add Zach Lee, Chris Reed and Andres Santiago to bolster the staff late in the season -- all of whom are expected to be Lookouts for at least a portion of 2012.

The bullpen was great, with Geison Aguasviva, Steve Ames, Logan Bawcom (later traded), Red Patterson and Javier Solano leading the way.

Joc Pederson and Onelki Garcia made cameos in the playoffs and both could be two of the brightest starts on the squad.

The 2013 roster will be filled with all kinds of talent, including the $42-million man: Yasiel Puig.

Projected roster

O'Brien

Catchers (2)
Gorman Erickson
Christopher O'Brien

Infielders (6)
Joe Becker
Casio Grider
C.J. Retherford
Miguel Rojas
Angelo Songco
Scott Wingo

Outfielders (5)
Bobby Coyle
Omar Luna
Joc Pederson
Yasiel Puig
Kyle Russell

Lee

Starting pitchers (5)
Onelki Garcia
Zach Lee
Aaron Miller
Rob Rasmussen
Chris Reed

Relievers (7)
Ryan Acosta
Freddie Cabrera
Kelvin De La Cruz
Jose Dominguez
Eric Eadington
Jordan Roberts
Andres Santiago

Guys like Erickson  and Retherford could see promotions to Albuquerque, but there's a lot of players in line ahead of them. The offense looks like it could be strong, especially if Songco has a bounce-back season. The outfield will likely be formidable with some big-time prospects.

The pitching looks absolutely filthy. The rotation is headed by three of my top eight prospects, while Rasmussen could be a nice fit after his acquisition from Houston.

The bullpen probably won't be as good as it was last season, but Dominguez, after his 25-game suspension, should be the team's closer. Santiago, who has ability as a starter, is forced to the 'pen in favor of former supplemental first-round pick Miller. Those two are interchangeable in my eyes. Cruz could make the roster as a non-roster invite and gives the Lookouts three left-handers (along with Eadington and Roberts).

My lineup
Wingo 2B
Pederson LF
Puig CF
Songco 1B
Retherford 3B
Russell RF
Coyle DH
Erickson/O'Brien C
Grider SS

I don't think it's too likely Wingo leads off (hell, he might start with Rancho Cucamonga), but he has good on-base ability -- second only to Erickson in this lineup -- but there's no way Jody Reed (yes, that Jody Reed) bats his catcher leadoff. The 2-7 spots could be damn good, if everyone is clicking.

The rotation should be the team's bread and butter, as it has six legitimate starters and some highly ranked prospects.

Photo credits: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Dodgers promote Yasiel Puig to Rancho Cucamonga

The Dodgers just might have promoted Yasiel Puig to Rancho Cucamonga. Here's a tweet from sp11ke (former minor-leaguer):

"#Dodgers Yasiel Puig is in the stands here at Rancho Cucamonga. I guess his 1.500 OPS in 9 AZL games was enough."

It makes sense. The Dodgers wouldn't just randomly have Puig attend a game in Rancho from Arizona, so it's a safe assumption.

Update (Aug. 13, 10:07 a.m.): Now it's official, per Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times.

With the addition, the Quakes are going to be absolutely stacked. Even after trading Leon Landry, the lineup could have the likes of Puig, Joc Pederson, Bobby Coyle, Angelo Songco, Jonathan Garcia, Austin Gallagher and Christopher O'Brien in it.

It's obvious Puig hasn't faced much of a challenge in the Arizona League, so I like the aggressive promotion. Remember, he's 21 years old and played at the highest level of ball in Cuba as a teenager. It's an appropriate level for him.

A 2-3-4 of Pederson-Coyle-Puig is going to look awfully nice. I just wish the Dodgers had made this move (if it's actually happening) a week earlier. The Quakes were just in Modesto and that's only about a 90-minute drive from my place. I would have been nice to see Puig in person this earlier in his professional career. But I digress.

This also means someone could soon be on his way to Chattanooga to join the Lookouts. While Songco hasn't fared particularly well at either level of A-ball this season, I'd be on him going to Double-A. He was supposed to begin 2012 there anyway. This season has almost been a lost one for him. I'm hoping he can bounce back in 2013.

Photo credits

Puig: YouTube screen cap

Songco: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue