Dodgers Down on the Farm 5-9-22

Damon Keith: Congrats to Damon for being selected as the Cal League player of the month in April. Keith is one of the hottest hitters on the planet right now for Low A Rancho Cucamonga, as he is hitting .372 with an OPS of 1.108 so far in 2022. This young right-hander from Cal Baptist is the real deal, so take a look for yourself by clicking the picture on the left to watch video of him in action.

Madison Jeffrey: Jeffrey is a relief pitcher out of W. Virginia that WILL pitch in the MLB, as long as he stays healthy. I’ve seen @mjeffrey33 twice when he was at W. Virginia and the life on his fastball and his curveball are awesome. There’s something about that West Virginia program because it seems like all of their guys have exploding fastballs with late-life and big curveballs. Take a look for yourself!

Alex De Jesus: De Jesus is a young left-side infielder from the D.R. that is off to a good start and is having a very good month of May so far. De Jesus is hitting .247 with an OPS of .875 overall in 2022 but is hitting .276 with an OPS of .969 so far in May. He also has hits in 9 of his last 11 games and is hitting .311

Diego Cartaya: Cartaya is the Dodger’s #1 prospect, and he is playing like it. The 20-year-old Venezuelan catcher is hitting .364 in May, has hits in 7 consecutive games, is 11 for his last 26, and had home runs in 3 consecutive games at the end of April. After a slow start, the Dodger’s #1 prospects average has climbed all the way to .263 with an OPS of .942.

Ronan Kopp: This left-handed pitcher was picked up in the 12th round of last year’s draft and likes to throw some serious velo donuts! Kopp is 95-96 on his fastball and has recorded a minuscule ERA of just 0.73. Kopp allowed an earned run in his 2nd appearance of 2022 but hasn’t allowed anything in his other 6 stints of action. He has 26 strikeouts in just 14.1 innings, and is really turning heads with the Low A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

Ben Casparius: If you haven’t had a chance to watch Ben Casparius pitch, click the video and watch because his arsenal is loaded. Casparius was a 5th Round Draft Pick out of UCONN that has the big 4 seam up in the zone, a changeup, slider, and a big 12-6 breaking ball. He has a 3.60 ERA on the year and has allowed just 1 earned run in his last 13.2 innings of work and has 21 strikeouts in 15 innings, so his stuff is explosive.

Antonio Knowles: Knowles slider is a ++ pitch that continues to turn heads, and he has used it more and more to get outs for High A Great Lakes. Take a look for yourself! Knowles is still spotless on the year in his 7 games and 9 innings!

Braydon Fisher: Here’s a good look at the pitch mix of Brayden Fisher, a 4th Rounder from the 2018 Draft out of League City, Tx. In this video he features a fastball at 92-94, slider at 85 & a curveball that sits 78-81. He gave up no runs in his 2 inning performance for the High A Great Lakes Loons this week and has an ERA of just 2.38 on the year with a batting average against of just .081.

Nick Nastrini: Nastrini got out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam to start the game in his last performance and was using a fastball at 94-96, slider at 84, & curveball at 79. He gave up no runs in 3 innings and has now struck out 54 in 24.2 innings in 2022 with the High A Great Lakes Loons. This 4th round pick from last year’s draft is electric!

Michael Hobbs: 10th Round pick out of St. Mary’s, RHP Michael Hobbs, continues his excellent work by giving up just 1 earned run in his last 5 performances which spans 7.2 innings for the High A Great Lakes Loons. Hobbs features an explosive 4 seam with lots of arm-side life, a tight slider, and a changeup with a lot of tumble and fade.

Ryan Sublette: Ryan Sublette featured a fastball that sat 93-96, a slider at 86, and a softer breaking ball at 82-83. Sublette did not allow an earned run in his 2 innings of work Friday, has a batting average against of just .182 in 2022, and has given up just 1 Adios Muchacho which is better known as a home run at Texas Tech, his Alma mater! Keep up the great work Ryan!

Jerming Rosario: Rosario threw 5 scoreless innings last Friday and didn’t give up a hit or a walk. @j_rosario_8 struck out 6 and was featuring an exploding 4 seam mixed with 3 different shapes to his breaking ball. He was throwing a tight 3-9 slider, a 2-7 slurve, then also more of a 12-6ish to his breaking ball as well. Great job Jerming, keep up the great work!

Jacob Amaya: Amaya is the best player in the Minor Leagues right now. He has always been considered to be elite defensively, but his offense had always been hit or miss. In the past, he has hit for power, and also hit for average and on-base percentage, but never at the same time. This year it is all coming together as he is hitting .351 with an OPS of 1.270, and continues to be possibly the best defensive shortstop in the Minor Leagues. Amaya has hits in his last 5 games and, during that stretch, is hitting .533 with an OPS Of 1.699. That is not a misprint!

Austin Gauthier: Austin Gauthier, quite possibly, has the shortest and quickest swing in the entire Dodgers organization. Gauthier is shaping into almost an exact clone of Craig Biggio and is hitting .438 in May with an OPS of 1.217 for the Low A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. I love watching this kid play. He uses the middle of the field with 2 strikes like a pro!

Mark Washington: Washington might have had his best outing of the year Saturday. IMO, he didn’t have his A++ stuff like he usually does, but, grinded his way to a scoreless performance and has an ERA of just 1.13 on the year for the AA Tulsa Drillers. This Lehigh grad hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last 6 performances which spans 10.1 innings.

Guillermo Zuniga: This big reliever from Colombia hit 100 this week and also features a ++ slider in the closer role for AA Tulsa

Jose Ramos: Ramos made the best catch of the year Saturday as he tracked down a ball in center field Willie Mays style. Take a look for yourself by clicking the picture on the left. Ramos is quickly ascending into some top 10 lists in the organization with his play and rightfully so, as his defense is stellar and his offense has been good too. He’s hitting .255 with an OPS of .883.

Jake Lamb: Former MLB All-Star, Jake Lamb, hit a grand slam for AAA OKC Saturday night to give them a lead they never relinquished. Lamb now has 6 on the year, is hitting .277, and has an OPS of .875. He also has hits in his last 4 games and is 6 for 13 during that stretch with 6 RBIs.

Zach McKinstry: McKinstry had 3 hits Saturday night. He now has 8 hits in his last 16 at-bats and has gotten on base 10 times during that stretch. If you can’t root for Zach McKinstry, then who can you root for? The dude has an awesome process and is having a crazy-good year with OKC hitting .370 with an OPS of .979. He’s hoping to be more than a fringy AAAA guy for the Dodgers in the near future!

Bobby Miller: Here’s a great look at the arsenal of the Dodger’s #1 pitching prospect, Bobby Miller. Yesterday he featured an 86 mph changeup with arm-side hop, a 98 mph fastball, then an 81 mph breaking ball. That sequence would have gotten every hitter on the planet out.

Great Lakes Loons Comeback: This was awesome! The crazy runner’s interference call at 1st reared its head, then manager Austin Chubb lit a fire in his team, and the next thing you know the Loons scored 4 runs and took the lead. They executed the 1st and 3rd Double double steal play to take the lead which was Bigtime!

James Outman: Outman now has hits in 7 of his last 8 games and has 6 RBIs in his last 3 games. Outman is an elite defender whose offense reminds me of Brady Anderson during his prime. The big left-handed hitting outfielder from California is hitting .257 with an OPS of .886 on the year.

Nick Robertson: Robertson made his 1 inning save look really easy. The James Madison grad was featuring a fastball at 96, a slider at 87, and an 88 mph change-up. I say this every time I post about him, but he is 100% legit. His arm action is so smooth! Take a look for yourself!

Ryan Ward: AA Tulsa Driller outfielder, Ryan Ward, hit his 9th home run of the year Sunday. Ward uses the middle of the field as well as any player in professional baseball as his middle of the field % is 27%, and for a guy that is showing his power, that is elite!

Julian Smith: Here’s a good look at the pitch mix of 6’4″ LHP pitcher Julian Smith. Smith featured a change at 80, a hard slider at 86, a softer breaking ball at 80, and an 87-90 fastball yesterday in his scoreless performance, and has not allowed a run in his last 3 appearances.

Michael Grove: Here’s a good look at the pitch mix of Michael Grove. I’ve been singing this tune since he was a frosh at W. Virginia, but Grove has the potential to be a Major League pitcher for many, many years. 96 FB, 86 Slider, 77 softer breaking ball. Look for yourself by clicking the video!