Nov 5, 2016; Surprise, AZ, USA; West outfielder Michael Gettys of the San Diego Padres gets an RBI hit during the Arizona Fall League Fall Stars game at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Two National League West rivals have loaded their California League teams, leading to an excellent minor league baseball rivalry.
Our MLB coverage at Call to the Pen is fairly well-balanced, but in an effort to give you better breadth and depth of coverage of minor league baseball, we will begin a number of weekly posts.
The first will examine the big news items along with the top performers in the minor leagues each Monday. Tuesday will bring a review of the weekend highlight series. Wednesday will bring draft news and college baseball news until that is complete. Thursday will preview the weekend series of note in minor league baseball to watch. Friday will feature a new series, “The Video Room”, where CTTP contributor Benjamin Chase will examine one game from the week from a scouting perspective and break down the game.
Scouting reports will be scattered throughout the week and weekends, so keep on the lookout for those as well. As always, if there is anything you would like to see covered more thoroughly here at CTTP, let us know in the comments section below!
Let’s get started with our first preview after doing the Florida vs. Daytona series as the highlight series over opening weekend. This weekend we will take a closer look at the high-A clubs from the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres organizations
Next: Lake Elsinore Storm
Lake Elsinore Storm Offense
Much of the San Diego Padres’ incredible prospect depth is in A-ball and lower, and Lake Elsinore is the first “loaded” team in their system, though the real crazy rosters will begin when short-season squads open.
Lake Elsinore has a good balance of hitting and pitching prospects, although the pitching prospects are certainly much more highly regarded.
That said, the offense is nothing to scoff at. Michael Gettys has made the transition to the outfield from third base since coming over in a trade with the Red Sox. Behind the plate is Austin Allen, who posted an impressive .319/.362/.429 line last season at the plate.
The real strength of the Storm is their infield. Josh Naylor is the youngest member of the infield, but he’s got the biggest prospect pedigree as a slugging first baseman.
He’s joined in the infield by Ruddy Giron and Javier Guerra, both of whom could adequately handle shortstop and make a very dynamic middle infield combo on defense. Ty France repeats at the level after posting a very solid 2016 in half a year with the Storm.
Storm Pitching
The real “name” guys for the Storm are certainly in the rotation, though this series will not catch one of them, as Anderson Espinoza opened the year on the disabled list.
Thursday’s starter Cal Quantrill was a top-10 pick in the 2016 draft, and he looked very good in his first start of the season, striking out seven batters over five innings. He’s been a top-100 guy in many offseason lists.
I’m intrigued by Friday’s starter, righty Pedro Avila, who was acquired in the offseason from the Washington Nationals in the trade for Derek Norris. He has excellent command without big stuff, but his command has allowed for very good production to this point in his minor league career.
Saturday will see righty Jean Cosme on the mound for the Storm. Cosme has a fastball, curve, and change profile, but he’s really likely a reliever as the change is significantly behind. I’d wager that he heads to the bullpen when Espinoza returns, though he has good command of the fastball that would allow him to go multiple innings out of the bullpen or as a spot starter.
Eric Lauer is the other top pitching prospect that will miss the series this weekend. Lauer was the second first-round selection for the Padres last season along with Quantrill, and he had a very good year in his debut as well. Lauer was worked fairly hard at Kent State in his draft year, which led to some concern about his future arm health. He’s still got excellent stuff, and I’ll be watching his work closely this year after he opened the year getting tagged for four runs in 3 2/3 innings, but also striking out seven.
Next: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Offense
The Dodgers seem to have their depth of prospects focused at two levels, their AAA club and with the Quakes.
Rancho Cucamonga will be hosting this series, and it will be their home opener on the season.
The Quakes offense is loaded with players who are very high-upside, low-floor sort of hitters. Possibly the best example of this is their hulking first baseman Ibandel Isabel, who is listed at 6’4″, 225 pounds. Isabel was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2012 and took a while to get his feet under him. But once he did, he’s mashed the ball, posting a .317/.396/.579 line across two levels last season.
The highest-rated hitting prospect on the roster would certainly be Yusniel Diaz, an outfielder the Dodgers signed from Cuba. Diaz is repeating the level to open 2017, and he will likely advance to AA at some point in the season, but the stated goal was to work on his plate discipline after posting a 29/71 BB/K rate over 316 high-A at bats last season. Diaz has very good power and speed, and is a dynamic player.
One of the biggest finds of the 2016 draft for any team was the Dodgers’ fourth round selection of DJ Peters, who has done nothing but hit since being selected out of Western Nevada Community College. Peters put up video game numbers for Ogden last season, hitting .351/.437/.615 and even flashing excellent defense. At 6’6″ and 215 pounds, he’s got a very athletic frame and the skills to handle a corner outfield spot very well if the bat can keep producing.
The Dodgers and Mariners made a swap this offseason, the Dodgers using their depth of pitching at the high minors to acquire shortstop Drew Jackson as part of the deal from the Mariners. Jackson has received high praise for his baseball acumen, but struggled in 2016 to repeat the torrid 2015 pace he set after being drafted in the fifth round. He’s repeating high-A with the Dodgers and hoping to make an impression with the bat and glove.
Last, but certainly not least, is one of my favorite post-draft players from the 2016 draft. While finding defensive video on a player in college is tough enough, finding some on a catcher is ridiculously tough, so when the Dodgers selected catcher Will Smith out of Louisville in the first round in 2016, I knew I needed to get some eyes on him, and I was more than impressed with his ability behind the plate. He certainly still has some work to do at the plate, but he does have a good eye that should allow for a good OBP and a profile that I compared to Brad Ausmus during his playing days.
Quakes Pitching
The big story for the Quakes so far this season on the mound has been righty Mitchell White, who combined for a no-hitter in his first start and followed that with another excellent start on Wednesday, giving him a season total of nine scoreless innings, one hit allowed, four walks, and 11 strikeouts.
However big White’s story has been, the biggest prospect for the Quakes will be throwing in the series finale on Saturday in righty Walker Buehler. Buehler was selected in the first round out of Vanderbilt in spite of Tommy John surgery, and he eased his way back into things in 2016. The Dodgers liked what they saw out of him in fall and spring throwing, and aggressively started him in the hitter-friendly California League. His first start was short but sweet, going three scoreless innings, allowing one hit, walking none, and striking out four.
Going backward, the Friday starter will be Dennis Santana, a pitcher the Dodgers signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2012. He’s transitioned from a shortstop at signing to the mound. He’s got a very big fastball, but his secondary stuff is a work in progress.
Thursday’s starter is an interesting guy to watch. Lefty Caleb Ferguson was a 38th round selection in 2014 out of high school. He’s worked his way up to high-A already at just 20 years old, which is quite impressive. Many have reported his rotation spot is where top-rated prospect Yadier Alvarez will slot into the rotation when Alvarez comes from extended spring, where the Dodgers are managing his innings. Ferguson has elite control, as evidenced by his five walks in 66 1/3 innings in 2016.
