The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Kendall George with the 36th overall pick in last year’s MLB Draft.
George started in rookie ball with Arizona Complex League Dodgers that same year and impressed in a short amount of time. He hit .362/.451/.414 in 16 games, quickly earning a promotion to Single-A Rancho Cucamonga for 12 games where he put up even greater numbers.
George stayed in Single-A for the 2024 Minor League season and has had a nice start to the season, hitting .273/.380/.303 in 33 games.
On Saturday, he found himself at Dodger Stadium with the opportunity for some pre-game work against Clayton Kershaw during a sim game.
He also had conversations with Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, general manager Brandon Gomes and President of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
#Dodgers prospect Kendall George is hanging out with Dave Roberts. He was brought here to face Clayton Kershaw in live ABs. pic.twitter.com/PhymlQ4jjP
— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) June 1, 2024
George had a scheduled day off with Rancho Cucamonga, so the Dodgers took advantage proximity between the two teams to host him for some field work and a check-in conversation with the front office.
“Just to get him here and have him take some at-bats versus Clayton, to talk to some of our guys, myself, front office, and just check it on him,” Roberts said. “We’ve done that with players in the past. So just being that the geography is so close, it was good to kind of put eyes on him.”
Hosting farmhands on visits to Dodger Stadium is something that the Dodgers organization has a history of, which has continued this year with George and Juan Alonso, another Minor Leaguer with Rancho Cucamonga.
It is something the Dodgers try to do after a player’s first full season in the organization as a way to check-in on how players are adjusting to life as a pro ballplayer in their Minor League system.
“Yeah, it’s good,” Roberts said. “I think we do as good a job as anyone with that. Just kind of seeing how his first full season has gone and what the effects it has on his body, playing every day, the grind of it, because at that age, he should be in college right now. And so it’s a big adjustment, not being home. And so for him to be able to come here, have conversations and know that he’s not on an island, I think that’s a good thing.”
This attention to detail and care that the Dodgers put into their player development is what separates them from the rest of Major League Baseball and shows why the organization consistently has one of the best farm systems in baseball.
Dave Roberts never received opportunity Kendall George did
Dave Roberts was selected in the 28th round of the 1994 MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers. As a late round selection his path to the Majors was a long shot and the Tigers organization didn’t keep particularly close tabs on him in the Minors. As a result he never really had a chance to visit the Major League club on a visit while in the Minors.
“No, I signed for $1,000, so the organization wasn’t as invested,” Roberts joked.
Despite the long odds, Roberts ended up carving out a nice playing career for himself. He had a .266 batting average, 23 home runs, 213 RBI, and 243 stolen bases over his 10 year career and won a World Series as a player with the Boston Red Sox in 2004.
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