Despite recording his first major league loss on Friday, 25-year-old righty Andre Jackson continues to prove to the Dodgers that he might be ready for a permanent roster spot.
Although it remains unclear whether the Los Angeles Dodgers will make any significant player deals before this summer’s MLB trade deadline, the team might see an internal upgrade with the prospective debut of righty pitching prospect Josiah Gray.
(Photo courtesy of Oklahoma State University Athletics)
The Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday afternoon officially announced their final ten picks from Day 3 of the 2021 MLB draft, several hours before the first pitch of the All-Star Game in Denver.
The Dodgers made 19 picks in this season’s draft, choosing 17 pitchers, one infielder, and one outfielder. Of those 17 pitchers, 11 are right-handed and six are left-handed. Three of those 19 draftees are recent high school grads while the remaining 16 are from the collegiate level.
The Los Angeles Dodgers early Monday evening officially announced their eight selections from the second day of the 2021 MLB Draft, all of whom are pitchers.
Chosen were Gilman School right-hander Peter Heubeck (3rd round, 101st pick), UCLA right-handed pitcher Nick Nastrini (4th round, 131st pick), University of Connecticut righty Ben Casparius (5th round, 162nd pick), Boston College right-hander Emmet Sheehan (6th round, 192nd pick), Texas Tech righty reliever Ryan Sublette (7th round, 222nd pick), University of Georgia southpaw Ben Harris (8th round, 252nd pick), University of Arkansas lefty Lael Lockhart (9th round, 282nd pick), and St. Mary’s College right-handed pitcher Michael Hobbs (10th round, 312th pick).
With Friday’s news that the MLB has placed Trevor Bauer on administrative leave due to assault allegations, the Los Angeles Dodgers are once again forced to decide how they will handle their starting pitching rotation.
While the Dodgers might be slacking in several areas of prospect development, the catching department is certainly not one of them.
Will Smith and Austin Barnes have a stronghold on both the MLB catching spots, causing 21-year-old Keibert Ruiz to take a backseat at Triple-A Oklahoma City. Even though he’s had two tours of duty with the big league squad so far this season, Ruiz has settled in nicely at OKC, already collecting eight homers, 10 doubles, and 21 RBI through his first 29 games.
However, one name that’s often forgotten among the organization’s young catchers is 19-year-old Diego Cartaya. The Venezuela native is frequently overlooked by fans in the shadows of Ruiz. Nevertheless, the fact that Cartaya was selected to the organization’s 60-man player pool last year suggests that he could be a bit more advanced than many think.
One common conversation lately among fans of the Dodgers has revolved around which players in the minor leagues are closest to being ready for the majors. So far, we’ve been able to see a lot of this speculation tested out, as the Los Angeles roster has been changing almost weekly with new faces.
After taking two of three from the Philadelphia Phillies, the Los Angeles Dodgers are enjoying an off day before they head out on an NL West road trip to Arizona and San Diego.
With all the minor league affiliates of the Los Angeles Dodgers back in full swing, not only does it allow for a more productive level of player development, but it also affords fans the chance to follow along each day through live games or box scores.