Los Angeles Dodgers highlight early minor league stories
Several teams have pitchers dominating in Triple-A, which means they may not be there for very long.
In 2015, MLB and its fans enjoyed one of the best rookie classes in the game’s history. Consider that 23 rookie hitters amassed more than 1.5 wins above replacement and 32 had a 100 weighted runs created plus or better, according to FanGraphs. Rookie pitchers weren’t quite as prolific, with 13 above 1.5 WAR, which is still an impressive number.
By the end of the 2016 season, the pitchers may flip the script. The Dodgers’ Kenta Maeda is doing his best Fernando Valenzuela impersonation and Ross Stripling almost tossed a no-hitter.
Several teams in baseball have pitchers lining up to give their teams a jolt, just like the ones Astros shortstop Carlos Correa and Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor provided after their June promotions. The Dodgers’ Zach Lee is a prime example of such a pitcher, especially considering the team can’t seem to purge the injury bug of death.
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Lee, the Dodgers’ first round draft pick in 2010, on Monday tossed 5 1/3 inning and allowed just one earned run, bringing his earned run average to 1.56 in 17 1/3 innings. He has 14 strikeouts to just one walk in his three starts. Should another big league starter go down, Lee could be next in line.
The thing is, Lee isn’t even one of the Dodgers’ top prospects. Other teams have stallions chomping at the bit. Sean Manaea of the Oakland Athletics—Manaea is the team’s No. 2 prospect according to MLB Pipeline—struck out 11 hitters Saturday and has 17 in just 12 innings. In Saturday’s start, he out-dueled Julio Urias, the Dodgers’ No. 1 prospect. Urias has 12 strikeouts against one walk as a 19-year-old in Triple-A.
You can add the Pirates’ Tyler Glasnow and a healthy Jameson Taillon; the Rays’ Blake Snell; and the Tigers’ Michael Fulmer to the list. Each of them is a top pitching prospects and each is off to an impressive start this season.
Next: Double-A