While all the headlines at the 2019 Winter Meetings focused on some of the top players in the MLB free agent and trade markets, the Rule 5 draft also took place on Thursday, which featured a number of baseball’s most intriguing prospects.
The Dodgers declined to participate in the big league portion of the draft, conceivably indicating that boss Andrew Friedman and his crew are relatively happy with the dynamic with the team’s active roster. When a team selects a player in the draft, that player must be kept on the team’s 26-man roster for the duration of the subsequent season.
Nevertheless, the Dodgers did snag one player in the Triple-A portion of the draft—23-year-old infielder Carlos Sepulveda.
As far as talent in the middle infield goes on the farm, the Dodgers have a bunch. Seemingly, Gavin Lux is in the majors to stay, but the minor league crew is anchored by names like Jeter Downs, Zach McKinstry and Omar Estevez, among others.
However, it’s possible that Sepulveda may give these guys a run for their money, at least when it comes to glove work on the defensive side of the game.
Upon searching the web for information about Sepulveda, the first thing one stumbles upon on any site is his ability to field and his contact skills at the plate. He’s primarily a second baseman, but he also has some limited experience at shortstop. Because he has a very capable arm, some scouts see him eventually floating over to the hot corner, which fits in with the Los Angeles style of play when it comes to versatility.
Here’s a snippet from what MLB Pipeline had to say about Sepulveda heading into his 2017 campaign:
“Sepulveda’s hands work at the plate and in the field as well as those of any Cubs prospect. With his hand-eye coordination and easy left-handed swing, he repeatedly strokes line drives from gap to gap. He’s not physical and won’t hit for a lot of power, though he does have some sneaky pop to his pull side. Sepulveda profiles best at second base, where he has exceptional polish for a teenager.”
And a quick glance at the left-handed hitting Sepulveda’s approach at the plate as featured on Cubs Central:
After he was signed by the Cubs out of Mexico back in 2015, the 5-foot-10, 170-pounder hit .281/.351/.308 in 47 games for the AZL League Cubs in Rookie League. In 2016, Sepulveda played 80 games at South Bend, slashing .310/.366/.373 with a home run and 24 RBI. His strikeout rate also saw a dip from 14.1% to 11.2%.
After hitting .324/.390/.378 through nine games at the beginning of 2017, he was promoted to Single-A; however, a shoulder injury eventually forced him out of action for the remainder of the year. He missed his entire 2018 campaign after having surgery.
Across two levels of the Chicago farm last year, he hit .243/.342/.285 over 112 games.
The Dodgers immediately placed Sepulveda on the active roster at Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday.
I’m not clear on how this guy fits, unless….. somebody similar is about to be moved.
We’ve currently got infield utility maxed out. This guy is a contact hitter with only marginal success on his resume. I don’t get it.
Extra depth at Triple-A. That might be his ceiling unless he finds a way to hit the ball over the outfield fence a bit more.
If you don’t demand that he hits for power, his other seasons before last year were decent, and shoulder injuries always take extra time to come back from.
For what he’ll cost us in $ it’s a worthwhile gamble, even for an extra body at AAA.
He has never played above High A. I do not see his bat as being anything special….
Neither was Turner or Muncy. And bear give me a break. I did spell Rich correctly. I learned my lesson. Don’t post early Saturday morning after too,many Friday night beers!
Good one Ritch.
Sepulveda is listed at 5’10” 170 pounds. Turner and Muncy come with considerable more beef. Carlos has a nice swing, though I see an initial hitch I don’t care for. If he was hitting .350 in A ball I’d be more intrigued. He’s already 23, but I guess it doesn’t hurt to see what he can do. I am far more interested in Estevez and Downs, but I’ll keep an open mind.
The kid must be good. They named a very long street after him.
Good show Ritch 🙂
As long as we all keep our sense of humor, we’ll be in good shape.
Van Scoyoc is going to adjust his hitting angle, and sepulveda is going to be our next Taylor/Kike, just when they become free agents.
I think that guy needs to hit the gym and put on at least 15 pounds of fast twitch before skyhack can help him.
Uh, ok RITCH….you spell it anyway ya want too. I am not that critical…….maybe……just read what Rendon was quoted as saying about playing in LA. If that is the way he feels, I am glad the Dodgers did not offer him a deal. Hollywood lifestyle? He heard about how the team was? Give me a break. None of the players live in Hollywood. Most live in the suburbs. Garvey and Cey used to live out in Calabassas. I am pretty sure if he had spoken with any of the family men on the team, he would know better. Enjoy your trip from world series champ to last place.
The “Hollywood vibe” was exactly what I was thinking all along was the reason he didn’t want to come here. That coupled with the fact that he stated he was hoping to be spending time with his family by the time he got to his mid thirties just means it wasn’t a good match. I think AF got that impression during his meeting and decided Rendon and the Dodgers were just not going to happen. He’s a great player. I wish him luck. I think we can spend our money on people who actually want to be here.
I am of a different mind set. I hope he enjoys his time not getting to the playoffs.
I wouldn’t be all that sure they won’t get to the playoffs. A couple of decent starters and a couple of decent relievers and they’re right in the thick of it. On top of that, Houston is going to take a huge hit. Who knows, they may even make them ineligible for the playoffs for a year or two. Seattle and the Rangers are certainly no better than the Angels and you never know what will happen with the A’s. They may not win the WS, but I think you’ll be very disappointed if you expect Rendon to be looking at the playoffs from his couch for the duration of his contract.
I still think the Angels are not all that close. They have some decent players. And they need at least 2 really good starter because they have no ace.
I too think the AL West is open. MLB cannot allow Houston to win it. It just can’t happen. People will get over it eventually but that organization has to pay.
Culberson has had some MLB offers. But most are thinking he wants to really try and return to the Braves. Most just cannot see how that is possible.
Padres only 35 million behind LA in salary right now. But they are making a serious effort to dump Myers. No hot rumors out there right now. One of my favorite things to do is argue with Giants fans on twitter. I used to do it on the Dodgers web site, but you can no longer post on there. I tend to love giving them a little history lesson, such as it took them 52 years in SF to win their first Series, and the Dodgers did it in their second year. They sure are a testy bunch.
Having lived up that way for years I got to know many. They’re ok one on one. However I’ve never seen a ruder, cruder bunch at the ballpark. SF has a reputation as a city of culture and progressive thinkers, and it’s well deserved…. with the exception of sports fans, especially at Candlestick Park. 49er fans are the worst, but giants fans are not far behind. The new baseball park is better I suppose. I have no idea about Levi.
There was a Dodger fan stabbed to death up there after a game a few years ago. And Dodger fans beat up that Giant fan in the parking lot some time back too. There are good and bad on both sides I would say. But they are for sure rude and cocky. My son in Law is a Giant fan, but we can talk about it. My daughter on the other hand, went 3 years without speaking to me after I dissed their pitching staff on facebook. Go figure.
Good read. Kershaw’s comments on ESPN.com about the cheating scandal and his mind set heading into 2020. Made me feel better. I just thought of who Buckner reminded me of. Pete Reiser. The Dodger outfielder who played in the 40s. He used to play with wild abandon, and his career was curtailed by some horrendous collisions with outfield walls, which were back in the day, and especially at Ebbets Field, concrete. Ended up being traded to the Braves. Reiser was a .300 hitter until WWII intervened. He only played over 100 games 4 times in his 10 yr big league career. He lost 3 years to WWII, but was never the same player he was before the war.
Yeah bear I feel your pain, my son in law, is a giants fan also, he and my daughter live in the Chico area. She is a die hard dodgers fan, she is always giving her father in law a hard time, who is also a giants fan. Once she put a dodger license plate frame on his truck , it was a while before one of his buddies asked why in the heck he had a dodgers license plate on his truck. They both had a good laugh about that.
I probably told you guys before, when my so in law asked permission to marry her, I told him the only condition was that the children had to be raised dodger fans. 😀
Common Bear, I can’t imagine YOU stirring up trouble on a Giants website! I had to chuckle about your Angel comment that they have some “decent” players. One of those decent players will be in the greatest players of all time discussions at the end of his career and another who may be the best 2 way player since Babe Ruth and just signed a guy who,was the third best player in the NL last year and killed us in the playoffs. But it’s better to have a bunch of good players rather than a few great players
Trout is a great player for sure. But he is the biggest star on that team. Pujols is past his prime, Upton is good, but has been injury prone. Andrelton Simmons is a very good SS, But the rest of that team? Yeah. Rendon will protect Trout because no one else did it last year. Their pitching is a mess. I expect Rendon will be good, but i also expect there will be the same kind of adjustment to a new league and pitchers he has never seen before. Rendon did not kill the Dodgers in the playoffs. He had 1 homer and 5 RBI’s. Their pitching beat us, and our offenses failure to generate any. Max Muncy hurt DC more than Rendon hurt us. 3 homers 7 Ribbies. And I love giving crap to Giants fans.
I think the Angels might look pretty inviting to pitchers.
That might be true, but they need so many of them. I cannot name one starting pitcher on that team,
I think Ramon Troncoso and Ron Belisario might be over there. Those are two names you don’t hear every day. 🙂
You can name Ohtani and Bundy Bear. I can name Heaney. That’s it, but I’m guessing they have others that might be ok.
I keep thinking about Ohtani as a hitter. If his arm is ok, he could be good. Bundy needs to figure some things out. He has not been very good. And Haney has the stuff, he just has not been healthy. I still think their staff is no where near the Astros even after losing Cole, and who knows who the A’s will pull out of a hat.
I’m guessing that Manfred will try to make it impossible for the Astros to be in the playoffs in 2020 as part of their punishment. Either a flat out ban from playoffs or suspending so many players that it will be just about impossible for them. If the Angels can get two of Ryu, MadBum, Keuchel, Kluber I think they’ll have a real chance to do something.
Good point Jefe. They are still in on the negotiations. If I was a pitcher, I might want in on what it is the Angels are doing. Having that offense behind me and living well in this area? Could be a good life.
Oh, Trout has a long way to go to be close to the greatest ever. He is definitely the best in the game right now, but there are a lot of greats who played the game as well as he has. I doubt he ever comes close to Babe Ruth’s lifetime WAR. For that fact, he won’t come close to Cobbs or even Mays.
A lot of fans are going over the edge One guy suggested we trade Pollock to the Phillies for Jake Arietta. He seems to think that would be an even trade. I do not think the Dodgers even want Arietta. A few years ago maybe, but they did not even pursue him when he was a free agent. Some other guy is suggesting we trade for Kyle Seager. That makes even less sense. Another LH bat, and he did not even hit .240 last year. We have a pretty decent 3rd baseman as it is. Got my labs back from the VA. My AIC is looking pretty good at 7.1. MY cretins, or some such crap like that are elevated so I need to take medicine for my thyroid. No biggie. I will get those when I go to my appointment on the 27th, and my liver is secreting some stuff that is affected by the anti inflammatory drugs I take for my arthritis, so I have to cut back on that., They said reduce my alcohol intake, but I do not drink anymore so it has to be the indocin that is causing it. Other than that, I am in fine fettle. Y’all have a great evening.
I am really starting to believe that OLAF is not going to do anything until after New Years. The last few days have been very quiet. Not much cooking on the rumor mill either. But the Lakers are winning!
With the number of starting pitchers still out there, the GMs in on this are not asleep at the switch. It’s not quiet behind the closed doors.
Probably not. Ryu and the Mad Bum probably the two best left out there. Angels would be attractive to Ryu. He would still be close to Korea town, and his wife works as a broadcaster on one of their stations. CK seems to be angling for the Dodgers to go with the Mad Bum. Dodgers supposedly have asked about Kluber also. But we will see. I still do not think they do anything significant in the next couple of weeks.
The dispute between MLB and MiLB is getting pretty testy. But now, save us all, Crazy Bernie is threatening congressional action against MLB. Keep the politicians out of what is already a big mess. MLB want’s to reduce the minors by 40 teams. Most of the angst the minors are feeling is the loss of jobs. Since most minor league players are not members of the union, the union cannot really fight the loss of minor league jobs for players. One reason MLB is intent on doing this is so they can better designate resources for their more promising prospects. We all know the percentage of players who actually make it to the majors is pretty minuscule compared to how many players actually sign. They want to limit each team to 6 farm clubs, which would probably be AAA< AA< High A, Low A, and a couple of rookie ball teams in Arizona. Which is exactly how many teams the Dodgers run now. I have no idea if they would cut out the teams that are in the Dominican.
Since I already know your political views on most issues I’m going to assume you haven’t actually read what Sanders had to say about this. I believe he is on the right side of this issue:
https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/elections/ct-nw-bernie-sanders-minor-league-baseball-20191215-gd56olsgfvgivg3fer2evpeupm-story.html
He might be I just don’t like politicians interfering in sports. Especially a guy running for President and being so far behind. Sounds more like a way to keep his name relevant than anything else. I do not like politics mixing with sports.
Yeah, I get that. But I would counter with the fact he is a lawmaker. Drawing attention to a matter that could effect thousands of jobs is their job, don’t you think?
Yes I do. But classifying Sanders as a lawmaker is a joke. And there is plenty of attention on the matter right now due to social media. The commissioner has taken a hard line. He has his reasons I guess. But contraction cannot be a good image for the game in the small towns that would end up losing a team. But I still dislike politicians, especially ones with an agenda, messing with sports.
Well Kluber is being traded to the Rangers pending physicals of the players involved per MLBtrade rumors and Jon Heyman. No word on who is going the other way, but that makes it less likely Clevinger is involved in a Lindor deal unless pitchers head back to the Tribe.
Deshields Jr part of the return for Kluber.
Big risk by the Rangers.
Considering how relatively unimportant the two guys that they gave up are to the Rangers, I don’t think it’s a big risk at all. If Kluber falls flat on his face the Rangers have lost a mediocre outfielder and a relief pitcher who, although very promising, hasn’t contributed all that much to their success as of this date. I do that deal every time.
Ok, maybe not a big risk, but those two players added up to over 2 WAR and cost nothing. Anytime you can get a 21 year old pitcher who already has success at the
Major League level you’re damn lucky. Kluber projects under 100 innings and is still owed $18.5 with the buyout. It might work. Then again…
Totally understand your viewpoint. I’m just on the other side of the argument. I think the risk is worth it. Let’s reconvene here in one year to discuss who was on the correct side of the argument. Let’s say noon, Pacific Time, December 15, 2020. Please make a note in your calendar because I’ll probably forget.
Fair enough.
I’m sorry, what was that date again?
Aw, you’re no help. Just admit I was correct and we can resolve the issue right now.
Ok. Works for me.
P.S. Scoop. I can’t stand Sanders.
Now there’s a shocker. I don’t know you nearly as well as Scoop does Bear, but I somehow would have guessed you didn’t like Bernie. So does this mean you’re backing Warren? 🙂 (That was my attempt at humor. No need to respond.)
Keith Law, whose political views are extremely far to the left, is in favor of the reduction in MILB teams for a variety of reasons, although I have not seen him respond to Bernie’s views.
Jeff I will answer you in a single word. Socialist.
You aren’t a socialist? (another attempt at humor which you don’t have to answer).
Hrumph
Hrumph
We’re all socialists. Medicare, Social Security, sanitation, agricultural and energy subsidies are likewise socialist programs. I could go on and on. “Stripped of the Red-baiting and name-calling, the real debate isn’t between capitalism vs. socialism, but about the appropriate balance between the two.” In theory, our system has the right idea. We the people just need to make certain the cretins we hire to run things work for us.
I don’t know enough about the issue to have an educated opinion. My gut tells me if billionaires are for it, I’m against it.
Sanders does not scare me a bit. Quite the opposite.
Looks like this thread quietly shut down. But, I’ll ask a question before I leave it. Any of you ever read Vonnegut’s “A Man Without a Country”?