While the Los Angeles Dodgers await word on which players will make the 2017 All-Star Game, the organization will be represented in the Futures Game by Yadier Alvarez and Alex Verdugo. Both players were named to the World Team roster.
Verdugo, who grew up in Tucson, Ariz., but has Mexican heritage, is batting .347/.415/.464 with 14 doubles, three home runs, 36 RBIs, 45 runs scored and eight stolen bases in 71 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City this season.
The 21-year-old was a second round pick of the Dodgers in 2014, and could reach the Majors as soon as this season. Verdugo was also named to the 2017 Triple-A Game.
Alvarez signed with the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 2015 after defecting from Cuba. The 21-year-old has pitched in 12 games (nine starts) with High-A Rancho Cucamonga this season.
In 51.2 innings, Alvarez has gone 2-4 with a 5.05 ERA and 1.39 WHIP while striking out 54 and walking 20.
While he may not have yielded the results he would like to this season, Alvarez is one of the top prospects in the Dodgers organization and has demonstrated electric stuff in his young career.
The Dodgers also had two prospects play in the Futures Game last season, with pitcher Jharel Cotton on the World Team and second baseman Willie Calhoun named to the USA roster.
Cotton is no longer with the organization though, as he was packaged in a trade with the Oakland Athletics last year.
In addition to Verdugo and Alvarez, the Dodgers organization will also be represented by Oklahoma City coach Luis Matos on the World Team coaching staff.
The 2017 Futures Game, which features some of the best prospects in baseball playing for either the USA Team or the World Team, is set to take place at Marlins Park in Miami on Sunday, July 9.
