More than any other of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Minor League affiliates, the Ogden Raptors’ extremely friendly confines inflate player statistics and make out every hitter to be an All- Star.
As a team, Ogden led the league with an .843 on-base plus slugging percentage. There have been countless prospects who had big seasons with the Raptors that washed out in A-ball, so it’s extremely important to keep these numbers in perspective.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the team’s top performers. Fourth-rounder DJ Peters absolutely dominated the league. He batted .351/.437/.615 with 13 home runs and 24 doubles in 66 games before a promotion to Low-A Great Lakes.
Cody Thomas, the 13th-round pick in the 2016 Draft, got off to a hot start by OPSing over 1.200 in June and July before coming back down to Earth in August with a .668 mark. He finished second in the league with 16 home runs.
Keibert Ruiz, a switch-hitting catcher who turned 18 years old this year, hit .354 in 48 games, good for seventh in the league. Ibandel Isabel posted a 1.002 OPS in 32 games before joining the Loons.
This year’s 26th-rounder, Brandon Montgomery, also OPSed over 1.000. Mitch Hansen and Luis Paz, both of whom are 20 years old, each OPSed .847.
Quality pitching on the Raptors’ roster is more difficult to find. Rob McDonnell, a 24-year-old lefty, managed to post an ERA of under 4.00. Jose Santos worked 13 games while posting a 1.12 ERA and recording 27 strikeouts in 16 innings.
Ninth-round conversion project Tony Gonsolin had a 2.60 ERA in 10 games. The Raptors’ season ended with heartbreak, as they clinched a playoff spot with just a few days remaining in the season.
However, after splitting the first two games of a best-of-three series, the elimination game went into extra innings. After a go-ahead home run in the top of the 11th, the Raptors were one out away from advancing but a fielding error was followed by a walk-off double to send Ogden home.
The Raptors should be competitive again next season with plenty of young, talented prospects poised to repeat rookie ball.
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