The 2018 Arizona Fall League rosters were revealed and the Los Angeles Dodgers organization are once again well-represented as eight of their prospects will be playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the West Division.
Big-name prospects like Alex Verdugo, Yusniel Diaz and D.J. Peters have represented the Dodgers in the past, and this year’s headliner is catcher Keibert Ruiz.
The Dodgers signed the 20-year-old out of Venezuela when he was just 16, and he has worked his way through the prospect ranks. Ruiz is considered the No. 2 prospect in the entire Dodgers organization by MLB Pipeline.
Ruiz has spent the 2018 season with Double-A Tulsa and has gone through some growing pains. Through 98 games, he has hit .258/.319/.390 with 12 home runs and 42 RBI. He also represented the Dodgers in the 2018 Major League Baseball Futures Game.
In addition to Ruiz, other Dodgers prospects who will be playing for the Desert Dogs are pitchers Ben Holmes, Nolan Long, Andre Scrubb and Jordan Sheffield, shortstop Errol Robinson, outfielder Cody Thomas and infielder Jared Walker.
Robinson (No. 20) and Sheffield (No. 26) are also ranked within the top 30 prospects in the organization.
The Dodgers drafted Robinson in the sixth round in 2016 out of Ole Miss. In 112 games with Tulsa this season, he is batting .249/.313/.359 with 10 home runs, 50 RBI and 18 stolen bases.
Sheffield was selected in the first round of that same draft out of Vanderbilt but has struggled in 2018. In 12 games (seven starts) with High-A Rancho Cucamonga, the 23-year-old has posted a 6.47 ERA and 1.69 WHIP.
In addition to the Dodgers, the Desert Dogs will also consist of prospects from the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees organizations.
The season is set to begin on Tuesday, Oct. 9 with the 13th annual Fall Stars Game being played on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Surprise Stadium, and the league’s championship game on Saturday, Nov. 17 at Scottsdale Stadium.
