The Dodgers have one of the highest payrolls in baseball and are not afraid to spend on the most expensive free agents. And, those high-profile signings are a big part of the success this organization is having and will continue to have for as far as the eye can see.
That much can’t be debated.
Because of that, the job they do in Lower-profile situations stays widely “under the radar”
Griffin Lockwood-Powell is yet another example of the great job the Dodgers do finding prospects that don’t have high profiles, and turning them into very good professionals. Ones that have a great chance at becoming a Major Leaguer, and one that can provide a lot of value.
Earning His Way
Powell grew up in Sioux Falls South Dakota, and while the Mount Rushmore State has had its share of Major Leaguers, it’s certainly not the hotbed for baseball that other warmer climates have the chance to be.
He had a wildly successful prep career and helped his High School win a State Title in his sophomore year, the first one in school history. His Lincoln team then made the semifinals in his Junior year, then the finals again when he was a Senior.
So, his days at Lincoln were filled full of success and great memories, and it’s a period that he looks back on as being a special time in his life.
It was a good ride, and the Cool thing about the Championship was that it was the first one in school history, and it was my older brother’s Senior year. He was playing 3rd base while I was playing 1st base so that was a really special moment for us because those were pretty much his last games ever. and he got to go out winning a State Championship.
I feel like we should have won 3 State Championships, but we did get one, so I’m happy about that, so I can’t complain.
Fire Up Chips!
The next stage of Powell’s baseball journey landed in Mount Pleasant Michigan on the campus of Central Michigan University. The Chips noticed GLP at a camp he was attending on the Campus of Notre Dame between his Jr. and Sr. years of High School. The CMU coaches brought him in for a visit, convinced him to be a Chiop, and then turned him into one of the best players in school history.
During his time in Mount Pleasant, GLP, as he’s known by many, became the school’s all-time leader in career RBIs, and led CMU to great success. In his Sophomore year, he was the MVP of the MAC Tournament, a tournament his Chips team won for the 1st time since 1995. He also was a big part of a Chips team his Senior year that made a Regional as well.
Powell is very happy with his choice of becoming a Chip.
After my Junior year I wasn’t really talking to anybody and Central Michigan noticed me at a camp at Notre Dame. I went on a visit and loved it so I chose them. It was one of only 2 D1 offers I had, so it was between that and Nebraska Omaha and I wanted to get away from home a little bit, so it was a good setup and I liked it there.
Lockwood Powell continued about how cool it was to be the MVP of the MAC tournament in his Sophomore year and then also to make a Regional as a Senior.
It was really cool. It was the 1st year of the new coaching staff so we were all re-energized about that. It was awesome because we hadn’t won the MAC and made a Regional since I think 1995 so that was a special moment.
Making a Regional my Senior year at Central Michigan was really cool too. I wouldn’t say I led the team because I really struggled when I came back from my broken thumb. In fact, I think I was 0-17, or something like that my first weekend back, so we had a lot of really good guys that picked me up.
I kind of caught my groove towards the back end of that season and in the Regional Tournament at Notre Dame. So, yeah, those CMU days were some really good days because we had some really good teams, and I has some really great teammates, and we got really close. I still talk to all of those guys to this day so its been really special.
UDFA
Lock, as he’s known by his pro buddies, had a very good collegiate career and played a premium position, catcher. But, despite all of that, he still didn’t get drafted and was left to sign as an undrafted Free Agent as his only option.
He had missed close to 30 games in his Senior year due to a thumb injury, so maybe that played a part in him not getting drafted, and maybe it didn’t, but regardless, that’s when the Dodgers did their thing.
Just as they do many times, the Dodgers signed GLP, as he’s known in the dugout, and, have developed him into a very valuable asset to their organization. Powell can catch, he can play 1st, he can hit home runs, and he can hit the ball to all fields. And, he’s an “elite” teammate, so his set of skills are ones that every team needs.
Here’s what he had to say about that whole process
I would say signing with the Dodgers was less of a choice because, throughout my baseball career, I’ve always felt like I’ve been overlooked in a way. I didn’t play up to my standards my Senior year after I got thumb surgery, so there weren’t many teams calling.
I had been talking to the Dodgers off and on for a few years at that point, and we had talked during my first draft-eligible year, so I was comfortable with them.
The Dodgers do a very good job finding guys that are under-valued and that aren’t looked at by a ton of teams and then developing those guys. We have a ton of them, like Jack Dreyer who’s on the 40-man, Austin Gauthier and Orlando Ortiz were all undrafted, so they consistently do that with guys. So I owe a lot to the Dodgers for how they have developed me and how they have given me a chance to play professional baseball.
Onto the Dodgers
Powell signed as a Free Agent in August of 2021 and has worked his way up to AA where he spent all of last year.
His defensive versatility is very valuable because he can catch, play 1st base and the outfield as well if needed. While being very versatile on the defensive side of the ball, he’s also very balanced on the offensive side.
He does a great job using the entire field and is especially good at letting the ball get deep peppering balls up the middle to the opposite field. It’s a skill he feels like he learned at an early age.
That must have just been something I learned as a kid. The old-school train of thought, at least when I was growing up, was to hit the ball up the middle and to see the ball deep. And it’s good to think that way because some guys can get the ball out front consistently but I’m not one of those guys.
Balance
In Powell’s 1st year of professional baseball, he posted an ISO, which is a power index, that was identical to his K%. That goes to show that, although he doesn’t hit home runs at a Barry Bonds-type rate, he has the potential to have a very positive trade-off between power and swing and miss.
And, to the point of using the entire field, his Oppo% has either exceeded or been around 30% in every season he has played in the Dodgers system. But, make no mistake, he can still turn on a ball, it’s just not the overall focus for the talented Sioux Falls Native.
I need to see the ball deep and think Right-Center because the minute I start thinking out front I get a bunch of rollovers and I go through about 30 bats a year. So, that’s when my swing plays the best and flows better.
Moving Forward
Powell is 26 years old and spent all of last year at AA Tulsa, so hopefully he’s due for a promotion to AAA in 2025. The thing about him is that, as he put it, he doesn’t necessarily have “showcase” skills, so you really have to watch him play every day to understand all the things he does for a team and how valuable he is.
Dodgers Daily loves covering every prospect, there are no questions that can be asked about that. But, those like GLP, who have absolutely 0 entitlement to anything, and have worked, largely under the radar, for everything they get, are the ones we root for just a little bit harder. Well, no, actually, I think if you follow our YouTube or any other coverage, you would realize we root quite a bit harder for these kinds of guys.
And Griffin Lockwood-Powell is at the top of that list!
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