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Ranking the top 20 prospects is where the Los Angeles Dodgers’ farm system really begins to take shape. It also demonstrates just how well the Dodgers have restock the cupboard since it grew barren.
From big-bonus international signings to smaller commitments, early draft picks to steals, the Dodgers have done a tremendous job at identifying and developing talent in several different ways.
20. Dennis Santana, RHP
Signed a month before his 17th birthday in 2013, the young Dominican prospect was originally tried as a shortstop. However, after hitting just .198 in his debut, the Dodgers decided to move Santana to the mound. The results were excellent, as he posted a 1.05 ERA in 34.1 innings.
In 2015, Santana came to the states and pitched for the Arizona League Dodgers and Rookie-Level Ogden. He struggled mightily with the Raptors, an unexpected outcome for any young pitcher in the Pioneer League.
But, Santana salvaged his season after moving to the Arizona League, where he posted a 2.42 ERA in 26 innings, including a six-inning, 11-strikeout performance in his second-to-last start.
Last year, Santana went to the Midwest League and continued to excel, striking out 124 batters in 111.1 innings for Low-A Great Lakes. He surrendered just 84 hits and two home runs, but did walk 56 batters.
He struggled in the postseason, making just two appearances and giving up seven runs on four hits and walking five in three innings. This was likely the result of Santana tiring at the end of a season in which he pitched more than twice as many innings as the previous year.
Santana attacks hitters with a lively fastball in the low to mid 90s. His slider has hard, two-plane break and is a strikeout pitch. He shows confidence in a changeup but still has some work to do with it. Santana’s curveball is a show-me pitch right now.
While he’s not polished by any means, Santana is athletic and projectable. His delivery is sound, featuring a traditional windup. He must improve his command to remain a starter.
Turning 21 in April, he’ll likely break camp and head to High-A Rancho Cucamonga, which could be an intimidating challenge for the young righty. If the changeup and command continue to progress, he could end up as a No. 3 or 4 starter down the line.
19. Keibert Ruiz, C
Another relatively unheralded signing, Ruiz joined the Dodgers in 2014 on his 16th birthday. He made his debut the following summer in the Dominican Summer League and batted .300 in 44 games. He hasn’t stopped hitting since.
In 2016, the 17-year-old Ruiz was brought over to the United States and thrown into rookie ball. He responded with aplomb. First, he was tested in the Arizona League and passed with flying colors, slashing .485/.513/.667 in just eight games before being promoted to Ogden.
With the Raptors, the offensive onslaught continued. Ruiz ended up hitting .354 with an .896 on-base plus slugging percentage in 48 games. He only hit two home runs last season but did add 22 doubles in 56 games.
Ruiz isn’t the biggest prospect, listed at 6’0 and 165 lbs., so he plays to his strengths. Surprisingly, he incorporates a leg kick in his swing, but it’s for timing purposes and not to generate more power. Ruiz sprays the ball all over the field and controls the strike zone pretty well.
On defense, Ruiz has been praised for his ability to handle a pitching staff, even at the ripe old age of 17. He has quiet hands behind the plate and plenty of agility to block balls in the dirt. He only threw out about 20 percent of attempted base stealers last season, but that’s as much on the pitchers as the catchers in the low Minors.
Ruiz will turn 19 years old in July, so he’ll play the majority of this season as an 18-year-old. He’s likely penciled in as Great Lakes’ starting catcher, which will make him one of the youngest players in affiliated ball to start the season.
18. Trevor Oaks, RHP
After undergoing Tommy John surgery and being undrafted out of high school, Oaks found his way to Cal Baptist and pitched well enough for the Dodgers to take him in the seventh round in 2014. In his debut, Oaks went to Ogden and struggled, as many pitchers have before him, posting a 6.31 ERA.
The following year, Oaks took off and hasn’t looked back. He joined the Loons and earned a late-season promotion to Rancho, totaling 125.2 innings and a 2.65 ERA. Last season, Oaks made just one start with the Quakes before going to Double-A Tulsa, where he made 10 starts with a 2.14 ERA.
He moved up again, joining Triple-A Oklahoma City, posting a 3.00 ERA in another 10 starts before his season ended prematurely because of a groin injury.
Oaks adjusted his workout regimen last offseason and added weight and strength, increasing his fastball velocity. He used to sit in the low 90s, but now he regularly gets into the mid 90s with his sinker.
The right-hander mixes in a cutter and a changeup to keep hitters off balance. His breaking ball lags behind the other offerings. He’s also worked on adding a splitter to his repertoire.
While his velocity picked up, Oaks focuses more on pitching to contact than missing bats. His sinker results in plenty of ground balls, as evidenced by his career 2.33 ground ball/flyball ratio. He also throws lots of strikes, with only 53 walks in 312.1 career innings.
This season should be the year that Oaks reaches the Majors. While the Dodgers’ pitching depth is profound, there’s a good chance that Oaks hears his name called to fill a hole in the big league rotation.
17. Dustin May, RHP
May doesn’t just have glorious hair, he’s also a pretty good pitching prospect. Drafted in the third round last year, May made his debut in the Arizona League, appearing in 10 games, pitching 30.1 innings and posting a 3.86 ERA. He struck out 34 batters and walked just four.
May’s fastball sits in the low 90s and touches a bit higher, but at his size (6’6, 180 lbs.) you can’t help but project him to throw a few ticks harder in the future. His slider gives him a swing-and-miss offering to rack up strikeouts, while his changeup still requires development.
Fun fact about May: he had a weird, twisting motion in his arm action while he was in high school, which prompted Dodgers’ brass to nickname him “Viper.” He has since adopted the nickname into his Twitter handle.
Heading into this season, it appears that May will begin the arduous climb up the Minor League ladder in A-ball. While he is fairly polished for a high school arm, there’s no need for the organization to rush him. Expect him to spend the entire year with Great Lakes.
16. D.J. Peters, OF
Another 2016 draft pick, Peters grew up in Glendora, Calif., which is about 30 minutes from Dodger Stadium. He was a fourth-round selection, the second time in as many years that the Dodgers drafted a hitter out of a junior college in the fourth round; the other draftee is ranked even higher than Peters.
He was headed to Ogden as a 20 year old, where he was expected to mash. And mash he did. Peters slashed .351/.437/.615 in 66 Pioneer League games, leading the circuit in OPS, placing second in doubles and third in home runs.
After a heartbreaking end to the Raptors’ playoff run, Peters was promoted to Great Lakes to participate in their postseason race, and earned a ring for his contributions. He put together an .810 OPS in 20 at bats with the Loons in their championship run.
It is now universally accepted that Peters bears a striking resemblance to Jayson Werth, both physically and in prospect terms. He’s about the same size, is right-handed all the way and plays the outfield.
Peters offers plus-power projection with his swing and strength, adding plenty of plate coverage thanks to his long arms. There is some swing-and-miss in his game, but he walks enough to offset the lost value on balls in play.
Defensively, Peters is surprisingly nimble and spent most of his time during his debut season in center field. At his size, he projects to lose a step or two on his way to the Majors, but has enough arm to settle in to right field just fine.
Already 21, Peters could move quicker than your normal college draftee. An aggressive assignment with the Quakes could be in his future and he could reach the upper Minors by season’s end.
CONTINUE READING: Right-handed pitcher, intriguing outfielder, and more
15. Imani Abdullah, RHP
Imagine being in class during your senior year of high school and getting a call from Magic Johnson, telling you that you’re now part of the Dodgers organization. That’s how the young righty was drafted, out of the San Diego area, in the 11th round in 2015.
He went to the Arizona League in his debut and pitched sparingly, posting a 4.85 ERA in 13 innings. Last season, Abdullah spent the early part of the season in extended Spring Training before joining Great Lakes on May 19.
The 19-year-old went on to make 16 starts for the Loons, posting a 3.61 ERA with 59 strikeouts in 72.1 innings.
His fastball sat around 90 mph in high school, but given his height and slim frame, he always projected to throw harder. Abdullah is now sitting comfortably in the low 90s and touching higher, with perhaps some velocity still to come.
He throws both a big breaking curve in the low 70s as well as a changeup in the mid 80s. Neither pitch stands out right now, but with Abdullah, the name of the game is projection.
It’s easy to say any tall and skinny pitcher will naturally progress due to physical maturation, but Abdullah has already shown signs of improvement. He only began pitching as a high school junior and has made progress with his arsenal over the past few years.
At 20 years old, Abdullah will be challenged with an assignment to Rancho Cucamonga, where he’ll be one of the youngest pitchers in the California League.
14. Starling Heredia, OF
Nicknamed “The Pitbull,” Heredia was one of the top Dominican prospects in the 2015-16 international signing period. The 16-year-old agreed to terms with the Dodgers on a $2.6 million bonus.
Heredia remained in the Dominican and made his debut in the DSL, where he hit well early but struggled down the stretch. His OPS dropped from .913 in June to .667 in August/September. Heredia hit far better against lefties (1.147 OPS) than righties (.648 OPS).
The teenage outfielder was compared physically to Kirby Puckett by Dodgers’ senior vice president of baseball operations Josh Byrnes. Listed at 6’2 and 200 lbs., Heredia looks shorter and stockier, with one evaluator comparing him to Juan Uribe. But despite the unconventional frame, his tools stand out.
Heredia has plenty of strength already and projects to have plus-power down the line. He controlled the strike zone well during his debut, striking out in fewer than 20 percent of his plate appearances. Heredia can also run a bit, which is odd to see with his body type, though he does project to slow down a little as he gets older.
While he played left in the majority of his games last year, he has enough present speed to take on center field in the low minors. However, in time, he’ll settle in to right field where his plus arm fits perfectly.
Having turned 18 last month, the Dodgers could ease Heredia into stateside ball, leaving him in extended Spring Training until rookie leagues begins in June. However, the Dodgers have shown a propensity to push some of their top, young prospects, and Heredia could make his full season debut with the Loons this spring.
13. Will Smith, C
No, he’s not THAT Will Smith. Or the other one (San Francisco Giants reliever). The Louisville backstop was a late riser last spring and found himself climbing into the first round after a strong junior campaign, taken four picks ahead of Jordan Sheffield.
Smith began his debut with Ogden, where he spent a week getting his feet wet before hitting the road for full season affiliates. He spent about a month with Great Lakes, where he hit .256/.371/.305 before finishing the year in Rancho, where his OPS dropped to .650.
In many ways, Smith’s profile is very similar to Austin Barnes. His offensive approach is almost exclusively oriented to contact. He hit four homers in 55 games, though one came in Ogden and the other in High Desert in the California League, which are each equivalent to homering in Coors Field.
Smith does get on base at a good clip, walking in more than 10 percent of his plate appearances across three levels. Defensively, Smith offers plus athleticism behind the plate and has played second and third base in the pros, another parallel to Barnes.
His arm strength isn’t special but he has a quick transfer, which led to him catching more than 40 percent of attempted base stealers. He’s also an above average runner.
Starting a season in Ogden can feel like beginning the roller coaster at the top of the loop, and Smith’s numbers quickly fell off once he left the hitter’s haven. A strong 2017 could help re-establish himself within the organization, especially with Barnes likely to graduate.
12. Jordan Sheffield, RHP
No, he’s not related to Gary. Now that that’s out of the way, Sheffield was the Dodgers’ third pick in the first round of the 2016 Draft. He was also the second first-rounder taken out of Vanderbilt in the past two years by the Dodgers. Got all that? Good.
Selected No. 36 overall in 2016, Sheffield made a start in the Arizona League during his debut before moving up to Great Lakes. With the Loons, he made seven starts, but none lasting more than two innings (to conserve his innings), and posted a 4.09 ERA while striking out 13.
Sheffield attacks hitters with a fastball that’s consistently in the mid 90s. He does a pretty good job of holding his velocity despite modest size (listed at 6’0, 185 lbs.). Sheffield’s changeup is his secondary offering of choice, featuring hard sink and fade and solid velocity separation from his heater. His breaking ball is clearly his third pitch and needs some development.
Scouts and evaluators question Sheffield’s ultimate role. His believers see the slider and command developing to the point where he could stay in a rotation and develop into a No. 3 starter. However, while he has two plus pitches, the lack of a consistent breaking ball and below average command lead some to believe that he’s going to end up in the bullpen, where he’d make a pretty good setup man. This ranking reflects that prognostication.
This season will be a very important year for Sheffield. If he shows enough progress with his deficiencies, he’ll be given every chance to remain in the rotation. However, if he fails to improve or an injury crops up (he’s yet another Tommy John alumnus), he could be fast-tracked as a reliever.
11. Yusniel Diaz, OF
Only Yadier Alvarez got a bigger bonus than Diaz’s $15.5 million during the 2015-16 signing period. He spent a part of one season playing in his home country, hitting .348/.447/.440 in 65 games as a 17-year-old, before defecting in April of 2015.
After agreeing to a $15.5 million bonus in November 2015, the 19-year-old Cuban was sent to Rancho Cucamonga on an aggressive debut assignment. With the Quakes, Diaz played 82 games and batted .272/.333/.418 with eight doubles, seven triples and eight home runs. He added seven stolen bases and was caught stealing eight times.
He struggled out of the gate, but hit his stride toward the middle of April and began tearing the cover off the ball. Diaz then missed a week due to a shoulder strain, before returning and picking up where he left off. From April 14 to May 10, Diaz hit .379/.432/.636.
But it seemed his shoulder wasn’t quite healthy. He missed a few games, returning May 13 and almost completely stopped hitting. For the next month, Diaz slashed just .195/.278/.241 with three extra-base hits before finally going on the disabled list.
After a three-game rehab assignment, he returned to the Quakes and hit .295/.340/.466 over the remainder of the season. I was able to see Diaz during Spring Training last year and my opinion of him after watching more than a dozen of his at-bats was that he didn’t really know who he was.
Nearly every ball he put into play was a grounder to the right side. When a scout described his swing, he gestured with his arm like he was mimicking a tennis backhand. Only on a few occasions did I see Diaz really rotate and try to pull the ball.
Diaz isn’t an explosive athlete like Yasiel Puig, but he has promising tools across the board. The power is there if he taps into it, and he does a good job of making contact. Diaz is a pretty good runner underway, with the ability to handle center field at present. His arm is inconsistent, but in time he should be able to settle in to right field.
Still just 20, Diaz will likely start the season with the Drillers as one of the youngest players at the Double-A level. If he stays healthy, Diaz could breakout this season and give the Dodgers yet another potent bat in the high Minors.
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