Located in the Northwest corner of Mississippi, and on the outskirts of Memphis, Tenn. is a town called Olive Branch, a place that prides itself on providing small-town Southern comfort, but with close-by Big City excitement.  It’s one of the fastest-growing areas in Mississippi, which is fitting because it’s also the hometown of one of the fastest developing prospects in the Dodgers organization, Kendall Williams. Williams is a big 6’6 pitching prospect with big talent that has already been faced with some really big decisions in his life and has been “big-time” all along the way.  

Big Success, Bigger Decisions

As baseball players progress through their careers, one hard reality that sets in is that really big decisions present themselves at seemingly every turn.  With added success comes higher stakes, and decisions such as where to go to college or whether to turn pro can be life-changing.  Williams was faced with a high-stakes decision earlier than most as during his Sophomore year in High School, he was offered the opportunity to transfer to the IMG Academy in Bradenton Florida, one of the best prep schools in the country. Faced with a huge decision, the 6’6 pitching prospect chose to transfer to IMG and never looked back. 

So I had committed to Vanderbilt during my freshman Summer in High School, and then in the Fall of my Sophomore year I was down in Jupiter, Florida playing in a baseball tournament, and IMG had a scout out there.  They saw me throw, I threw pretty well and they talked to my dad.  We were already in Florida and so they offered to bring me over to the school and show me around, and I don’t know if you’ve ever seen it but it’s crazy. So, after being on campus and seeing everybody and hearing all the stuff we could do over there that would just kind of open up a lot of doors, I jumped on the decision pretty quick.

Williams dominated at IMG, posting a 0.91 ERA, earned 2nd team Max Preps All American honors, and prepared to play College Baseball at Vanderbilt, one of the best college baseball programs in the Country. Vanderbilt is not just a great baseball school, it is also an elite educational institution, so, when he got drafted in the 2nd round by Toronto, he was faced with yet another big decision and that was whether to be a “Vandy Boy” or turn pro and be a Bluejay. 

Vandy is obviously an elite baseball academy and an elite educational institution too, so committing to them, honestly, was a pretty easy decision for me.  It was pretty close to home, I love Nashville, so it checked a lot of boxes, so I made that decision during my Freshman Summer.  Then, once I got to IMG, things got a little more serious and I was a lot more focused I guess you could say because I had a lot more resources available to me, had a good year and got drafted.  It was a tough decision, because it’s school or a pro career at an early age, but going to IMG allowed me to be a little more prepared than the average kid going into it so I felt pretty strongly that I’d be okay, and I think it’s worked out pretty well to this point.

Wiliams had a great audition in his short season in 2019, then got introduced to the business side of baseball in 2020 when he was traded.  The Dodgers always wanted the  6’6 PItching prospect, but Toronto took him early, so when the Dodgers were presented with the opportunity to get him in a trade they jumped on the chance.  Williams became the first “Player to Be Named Later” in the Ross Stripling trade, and, alongside Ryan Noda, became a Dodger.

It was definitely weird for me because I wasn’t prepared for that, because in my mind I was just out of High School and had just gotten settled in Toronto.  Things were great, I loved the people, its a great organization, but I woke up one day while I was in San Diego training with my pitching coach and I got a text from the front office telling me to call them.  They reached out and told me I had gotten traded and it all just kind of happened really quick and it was weird because the next thing I knew I was getting picked up and was on my way to L.A.  and the rest is kind of history. But, it was definitely different, it was weird, but it was cool.

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Williams is very “projectable”, meaning, with a 6’6 frame, as good as he already is, he still has room to grow. He is a pitcher that features a fastball that sits 91-94 and can hit 96, a curveball with good vertical break, a slider that is harder and is a++ pitch, and a changeup, that, like most young Dodgers pitchers, is developing into a very good pitch. 

I wasn’t a heavy sinker guy, but I’ve kind of got the ride on my 4 seam up, so I have the 2 seam/4 seams splits, and my changeup is more of a split finger grip now, but it profiles the same as a changeup, so call it what you want, and I have a slider then a breaking ball that I can flip in for strikes every now and then just to show hitters something different.

Here is a sequence of his fastballs.  

Williams change-up is a split-finger grip and plays really well off of his fastball.  Not only does the pitch have really good vertical drop and arm side run, but it is also unrecognizable to the hitter.  Here is a side by side of 2 release points with the one on the left being a fastball, and the one on the right is a change-up.  There are two things that stick out.  One is that the two pitches look identical out of Williams’s hand, and his release point and arm slot are exactly the same.  The 2nd thing that sticks out is how tall those 2 pitches come out of his hand.  When he releases the ball, the ball comes out above the hitter’s head, and so he is going to have great vertical drop down in the zone, then a great ride effect with his 4 seam up in the zone.

If Williams develops his split-fingered grip changeup into a pitch he gets a great feel for, watch out, because, at that point, he would have an arsenal that has the chance to be wipeout elite.  As you’ll see, the pitch already has great vertical drop and arm side run when it’s in the strike zone, but, it’s such a “feel” pitch, it’s going to take time and daily maintenance to master that “feel”.  

Williams’s slider has the potential to be a ++ pitch because he’s starting to show that he can locate it to his glove side very consistently.  He’s able to induce a good break on the pitch to miss barrels, but, yet, keep it in the strike zone.

His curveball is a pitch that he has a lot of confidence in.  It has a tight 12-6 break and should be a very high strike efficiency pitch for Williams.  He is not afraid to throw it in any count because he controls the pitch very well. In fact, the curveballs in the following video were on a 2-2 and a 3-2 count.

Time Is On His Side

Williams is just 21 years old and already has a good feel for his arsenal of pitches, loves pressure, and especially enjoys having the ball in his hands in big situations.

I would definitely say that I feed off of high leverage situations because I want the ball in high-pressure situations.  I like everything to be on me and I want that responsibility and I think that I live for those moments because I strive off of that.

Williams was asked how he gained so much confidence in his abilities:

I would say just the way I grew up, like the way my dad raised me, and the things he instilled in me and just the way my mindset has always been about things.  I’ve always known I was good at baseball, and when I was younger I was just playing for the love of the game and I wasn’t worried about getting College Scholarships or getting drafted or anything like that. But, I think just slowly over time it’s just kind of built and I’ve just kind of fed off of that and I’ve kept going and going and going and here we are.

Williams is just 21 years old so he is going to have plenty of time to continue to grow through the system.  At 6’6, it’s not a stretch to project him to sit 95-96 as a finished product, with the ability to hit the upper 90’s on occasion.  He pitched all of last year in Low A Rancho, so it will be interesting to see where he starts in 2022, but, being just 21 years old, I wouldn’t expect the Dodgers to rush his development.

Brandon Lewis is a corner infielder in the Dodgers organization who grew up in Grenada Hills, which is just around the corner from Dodger Stadium.  He went to Bishop Alemany High School in the San Fernando Valley, and in his senior year as a Warrior, hit .366, with 7 home runs, 30 RBI’s, and showed power and an overall hitting tool that opened eyes.

Despite having a great deal of success, and opening some eyes at Bishop Alemany, coming out of High School he wasn’t overly recruited, went undrafted, and ended up at L.A. Pierce Community College.  LA Pierce is in the LA area and is known for having developed guys like Doug DeCinces, Coco Crisp, and Barry Zito.  It’s also known for being led by a great coach in Bill Picketts who was a member of the 1989 Long Beach State Dirtbag College World Series team, the “original Dirtbags”.  Pierce is a great place for young athletes to further their game against great competition and continue to gain exposure.  As a Brahma, the LA area native really came out of the shoot, pun intended, and hit .419 and .399 in his consecutive years and hit 17 home runs as a Sophomore. His career at Pierce, combined with a Summer playing with Conejo Oaks in which he led the California Collegiate League in hitting, runs, doubles, and RBI’s, gave him the exposure he needed to get noticed by UC Irvine.  

Anteater

UC Irvine is a great baseball school that is led by a great coach in Ben Orloff.  Orloff, like Lewis, is from the LA area and played at UC Irvine as well, and under his direction, the Grenada Hills native flourished.  As a Junior, he started all 54 games at 3rd base, hit .315, had an OPS of .906, and hit 14 home runs.  Lewis spent his 3 years in College building his game, defining his body, and, as a result,  had developed a profile that got him drafted in the 4th Round of the 2019 Draft.

LA Native Dodger

When the Dodgers drafted Lewis, they knew they were drafting a prospect that had the potential for a lot of power and Lewis has not disappointed.  In 2019, the L.A. native split time between Rookie ball and Low A Great Lakes and popped 13 home runs in 219 at-bats, had an OPS of .899, and hit .297.  He was off to a good start to his professional career and rolled into 2021 ready to keep flashing his power, 

2021 was an insanely good year for the slugger as, between Low A Rancho and High A Great Lakes, he hit 30 home runs, had an OPS of .917, and hit for an average of .269.  As with almost all sluggers, he struck out quite a bit, 133 times to be exact, which I’m sure is more than he’d like but there is a trade-off.  Lewis likes to work the count to find a pitch he can drive, and in doing so, ends up in a lot of 2 strike counts, which then leads to a higher amount of strikeouts. But, in trade, it also grinds the opposing pitchers’ pitch count and it leads to more walks and home runs, all of which is within the Dodgers offensive formula. 

Lewis has also improved his BB/K ratio, while, at the same time, dramatically increasing his home run per at-bat rate.  In 2021 he hit a home run every 12.7 at-bats whereas, in 2019, he hit a home run every 16.8 at-bats.  His BB/K ratio in 2021 was right in the middle of the pack as compared to all of the other prospects in Low and High A for the Dodgers this past season, but his power numbers were at the top. He also hit home runs in consecutive games on 7 different occasions in 2021 and hit home runs in 4 games in a row in early July, so he had a truly remarkable year at the plate.

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Although his pull rate is North of 50%, he definitely has the ability to shorten his swing, let the ball get deep, and hit the ball the other way, and with power.  Lewis’s opposite-field ratio was over 30% in Low A in 2019 and was 26.9% in High A in 2021.  As a reference, his 2019 oppo % would have been top ten in the Major Leagues and his 26.9 oppo % in 2021 would be tied for 37th best.  

Lewis hit .315 at UC Irvine and hit .297 in his first year of professional baseball, so he is very capable of being a hitter that can hit for both power and average.  In my opinion, the type of hitter he becomes as a final product will have more to do with philosophy than it will ability. With as much power as he has, it will be hard not to let that loose and see just how much power he can tap into.  When you can hit balls like the home run in the next video, it would be hard not to pursue the power aspect with full conviction.

In case you wanted to see how he handles breaking balls and his ability to pick up spin, here you go

The guy I compare him to is Bob Horner.  As you’ll see in the Hitting Tree, from start to finish, Lewis and Horner are almost identical.

If Lewis is going to make the Major Leagues, there is no doubt it will be because of his bat.  But, defensively he’s a corner infielder with soft hands, an accurate arm, and enough quickness for either 1st base or 3rd.  Here is a cut-up of him playing both positions where you’ll see him move to his left, move to his right and you’ll see the soft hands, good footwork, and accurate arm.

Wrap Up

Lewis split time last year between Low A Rancho and High A Great Lakes.  If the organization follows the same pattern, I would assume he’ll start 2022 in Great Lakes, then move up to AA Tulsa in July or August.  The Dodgers just lost Christian Santana to Free Agency, and with the DH expected to expand to the NL, Justin Turner will most likely play less and less 3rd base, so that position may be one that is open in the next couple of years.  Of course, Miguel Vargas played primarily at 3rd base last year, and Kody Hoese and Edwin Rios will be healthy again in 2022, so, as with every position in the Dodgers organization, the competition will be fierce.  But, when you can hit home runs at the rate Lewis has, and also hit with the averages he has posted both in College and in Pro Ball, he has made himself a top prospect and surely one that squarely fits into the Dodgers future equations.

Schaghticoke County is an area in Upstate New York that has one of the most significant histories of settlement and agriculture in all of the United States.  It is also the hometown of John Rooney, a 6’5 left-handed pitching prospect, who has a great history of his own. 

Rooney was drafted by the Dodgers in the 3rd Round of the 2018 Draft and is a very unique person with a wide balance of talents and interests.  He labels himself as a “ball thrower”, believes in something he calls “Flow State”, likes to remind people to listen to the All American Rejects, has a passion for music and playing the guitar, loves golf, and was a standout basketball player in High School.  Add all of that to his dominance on the baseball diamond and the sum total equals a unique person with a history of success who has a future that promises to keep adding up.

Hoosic-Hofstra-History

Rooney attended Hoosic Valley High School in Schaghticoke, New York, and was a huge part of 3 State Championships in 2 different sports. He was the Class C Player of the Year in both baseball and basketball in 2014, All-Stated in both of those years, was the Class C Player of the Year again in 2015, and went undefeated as a pitcher in High School with an overall record of 35-0.  Rooney was kind enough to join Dodger Poke, and, as he grinned, he spoke about his High School days.

I only threw a fastball in High School because they weren’t really hitting it so why throw anything else.  I learned my other pitches in College because they started hitting my fastball.  I absolutely love Basketball and it was fun for me in High School, and I’ve had a lot of support from my hometown so I appreciate all those people back home.

As a result of his amazingly successful High School career, Rooney had offers from several D1 schools in the Northeastern part of the United States upon Graduation.  While playing in a Men’s league in Long Island, Rooney was seen by the coaches at Hofstra while they were in New York fundraising.  He was offered a visit, then the very next week committed and went on to have an amazing Collegiate career.

I wouldn’t trade going to Hofstra for the world because of the people I met there and the teammates I still keep in contact with.  I really had no idea how to go about the recruiting process when I was in High School.  I figured if I’m good they’ll find me and that I just needed to keep performing and someone was bound to reach out.  That wasn’t really the case but I had a lot of the local D1 schools that reached out.  I was throwing in a Men’s league and just happened to be in Long Island and Hofstra was doing some fundraising and just happened to see me and invited me for a visit and the next week I signed with them. I’m so happy with what I did with Hofstra and I wouldn’t replace it.

In 2018, Rooney earned 2nd Team All American honors, was the Colonial Athletic Association Pitcher of the Year, a Golden Spikes Semifinalist for Pitcher of the Year, and was also the Eastern College Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year as well.  Also in 2018, he set the program’s record for strikeouts with 108, threw a program record of 95 innings, and threw at least 6 innings in all of his starts. 

At 6’5, and being so accomplished, it’s easy to see why the Dodgers selected Rooney in the 3rd Round of the 2018 Draft, and why his future is so bright. Despite being low-key, draft day was a day that he will never forget.

Yeah, it was low key day.  Obviously there was some stress and some excitement in the situation having really no idea what’s going to happen.

With another John Rooney smile, he continued to describe what draft day was like

Looking back on it now, I kinda wish I would have had a party, but it was beautiful how many people came by the house randomly and congratulated me so it was great.

Flow State

Baseball is an everyday grind that requires great mental and physical endurance. Players wake up, day after day, and rarely if ever, do so with a totally clean bill of health. As the Dog Days of Summer hit, they become exhausted, their bodies hurt, the weather is unpredictable, and everything they do is analyzed, quite possibly over-analyzed, and evaluated to an extent that can become overwhelming.  The game presents a great deal of difficulty, many times failure, and the amount of information that is available seemingly has no limit. During that process, it’s imperative that players have outlets away from the game that help them handle the daily grind of baseball.  Rooney feels very fortunate to have parents that allowed him to explore all the things he’s grown to enjoy.

I was so lucky as a kid to have had parents that told me that they supported me no matter what I did.  I was always interested in doing things like playing the guitar.  My dad took me to lessons for 3 or 4 years and I ended up being in a band with my brother and some hometown kids so that was really fun.  I still play and I record music and I love doing that and that definitely takes the edge off on nights after ballgames or before I pitch I can play some music and get into some sort of state where I’m not thinking about it.

With another huge smile, well actually more of a laugh Rooney added:

I love golfing, I love taking my friends money on the course and it’s competitive.  It’s good to have that outlet too.

It can become easy to get lost in the oceans of analytics available, so each player has to figure out how it works best for them. Rooney uses a technique called “Flow State” which is a state of mind in which he can block everything out, create a tunnel of focus on the job at hand, and can become completely immersed in the moment.  Rooney started using the process in college and enters into the “Flow State” by visualizing his best performances and using cues within his environment that allow his mind to enter into this “State”, which, in turn, puts his body in the best possible “State” to perform.

Yeah, it’s something I got into naturally at Hofstra like when I had the really good year in 2018 and things just clicked for me. It was that flow state of just having complete body and mind synchronization where your mind tells your body to do something and it just does it.  Every game, pitch after pitch I just hit the euphoric state where everything happened every Friday Night for me.  I think sometimes when you’re trying to improve your velo you get a little tense trying to throw hard, but that’s not the way you should try and approach it. I mean, if you’re training the way you have to be training it’s going to happen naturally. If you can kind of sit back and put some headphones in and close your eyes, listen to some music, something soft, something that takes you out of it for a little bit before you get on the mound that really helps.  Breathing is a beautiful thing!

True to Yourself

The Dodgers have one of the deepest and most talented player development systems in all of baseball.  As players grow through the ranks they’re given the greatest instruction, the best information, and the analytics they have access to are seemingly limitless.  As they continue to add to their game, one of the battles they fight is whether they should take their new additions to their game and completely redefine who they are, or should they stay true to what they have always been and just add to that base. Finding a balance that works for them is the key for every young prospect.

The game has become so analytical now and it’s a game of velocity, so pitching has changed. Obviously you have to keep hitting your spots because, as you know, professionals can hit 100 mph if it’s down the middle and they know it’s coming. A lot of my added velocity has come from the plyo work I’ve done and my training.  There’s a difference between exercise and training because when you’re training you’re sore.  That’s the one thing I switched gears from 2018 and 2019 to the 2021 season is that you have to train, not just exercise.  You have to push yourself plus 1% everyday and that’s what’s gotten me over the top, not just working out, but throwing because throwing is what I do every day.

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Rooney has increased his velocity on his fastball and has hit as high as 96 MPH.  He can locate it to all parts of the zone and uses it to set up his off-speed pitches. But, one of his strengths, in my opinion, is that he can pitch backwards and use his off-speed to set up his fastball. The hitter in this video is B.J. Boyd who is a very accomplished professional hitter and was completely frozen by this 93 mph fastball.

Boyd was frozen by that fastball because it had been set up, but another big factor is the way Rooney hides the ball.  In the following sequence, notice how far behind his back Rooney starts the ball, and then notice how, just before he releases the ball, it is hidden behind his head.  This deception makes it hard for the hitter to pick the ball up and adds to the effectiveness of his arsenal.

Rooney’s slider has a lot of sweeping action.  As you’ll see in the video, he can use it as a “get me over” strike pitch to get ahead in the count, he can throw it as a backdoor and a backfoot pitch to right-handers or use it to freeze left-handers.  When he throws it to the backfoot of Right Handers, it is an absolute wipeout elite pitch as you’ll see in the video.

Rooney also has a very good changeup that he can use as a strike pitch or a strikeout pitch. His Changeup gives him a pitch that offers more vertical drop to play off of his fastball and sweeping breaking ball.

Another aspect of Rooney’s game is that he allows himself to maximize his pitches by having a fairly high leg-kick.  He can have a fairly high leg kick because he has an elite pickoff move to first.

“Flowing” On

Rooney has a lifetime ERA in the Minor Leagues of 2.93 and has struck out 152 hitters in 153.1 innings, so his stuff is explosive and is continuing to get even more explosive as he continues to grow. He missed most of 2021 with a Lat injury but feels as if he showed what he was capable of before the injury.  He is simply chomping at the bit to get back to the mound and continue his upwards trajectory and momentum that his progress in the organization has created.  Rooney is big, he is smart, he is highly motivated, and he understands how to pitch within himself.  He has learned how to maximize his ability through a process he calls “Flow State” and is looking forward to a constant stream of success as a Dodger.

Hyun-il Choi is a 21-Year-Old Right Handed pitching prospect from South Korea who, along with Miguel Vargas, was named the Minor League Player of the Year in the Dodgers organization this year.  South Korea has produced several great pitchers and I’m sure Dodgers fans immediately think of Chan Ho Park and Hun-Jin Ryu when they hear his name.

Dodger Poke was able to secure a question-and-answer interview with Choi and asked him who his main influences were growing up and whether he gets compared to Chan Ho Park or Hun-Jin Ryu.

I started to really like the MLB when I was 10 or 11, so my role model was Pedro Martinez because I have a similar arm slot and wanted to learn how to throw his changeup.

I don’t get compared to them yet…… If I make the Major Leagues then it’s probably coming, but not yet.

Choi was acquired in 2018 out of High School, and, according to MLB.com, might have been the #1 draft pick in the Korean Baseball Organization had he not been picked up by the Dodgers.  He is very talented and is also very excited to be a Dodger.

Honestly, I wasn’t the #1 pick coming out of High School.  I think I might have been in the top 10, and if I would have stayed and got drafted in Korea that would have been great for my friends and family, but I’m so happy playing for the Dodgers and I’ve made some great new friends in the U.S.

Coming to an entirely new Continent and a new culture, I assume, isn’t an easy thing to do.  So I asked Choi what that process was like.

It was hard.  I had to learn a different language, had to make new friends, new foods so everything was changed.  My first year, 2019, was really stressful, but it’s all good now and I have made great friends with the Dodgers.  My friends with the Dodgers are such great people and all of the Dodgers coaching staff is awesome.

Choi is a little different than many of the Dodgers pitching prospects because he relies more on control than he does power. He sits in the low 90’s with his fastball, so it’s not as if he can’t throw a 4 seam up in the zone, but his control is truly elite.  In fact, as a Dodger, between 2019 and 2021, the right-handed South Korean has walked just 29 hitters in 171.1 innings pitched and has amassed a 6:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Choi isn’t totally sure how he grew to have such great control but remembers his coaches telling him to always throw to his partner’s chest.

I don’t really know where I learned to have my control of my pitches, but when I had just started playing baseball when I was 9, my first coach wanted me to throw to my partners chest every single time so I’m sure that helped.

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As stated earlier, Choi isn’t the typical spin rate fastball prospect that we see so much in today’s game.  Instead, he is a 4 pitch pitcher that has a great feel for his changeup and both breaking balls and throws them in any and all counts.  He does a great job of using his off-speed pitches to keep hitters off-balance because he throws them for strikes so well, and gets ahead in the count.  As a result, although his fastball is only low 90’s, it is deceptively quick because it is set up so well.  In fact, as you’ll see in this first video, Choi likes to start innings and entire games with back-to-back changeups to set up his fastball. In this video, notice that, by the time he throws his fastball, the hitter’s timing is really off and he is late on a pitch that is just 91 mph.

When asked about how he learned his changeup and how it has become such a good pitch, Choi said it didn’t take him long to realize that he needed to learn how to throw that pitch once he became a Dodger.

When I was in High School I thought I threw really hard, but when I came here and saw some of the guys throwing bullpens I changed my mind.  I was a starting pitcher and realized that I needed to learn how to be a starter without high velocity. I didn’t have a changeup, but before Spring Training in 2019, Joel Peralta helped me a lot and taught me how to throw a changeup.  Once I got the changeup, it gave me a good secondary pitch, and so, although I don’t have all that high of velo, I do have command and control and can change speeds so I’m using that.

Choi sets up his fastball very well, and he also locates it very well.  He has a lower arm slot so he gets a lot of horizontal movement and can get it to “hop” back over the plate when he throws it to the 4 slot and can also get some “ride” to it up in the zone as well. In the first 2 pitches in this video you’ll see the horizontal movement of the pitch create the “hop” effect where the ball appears to “hop” back over the plate to the hitter, then, on the last pitch, you’ll see the “riding” effect he gets with his lower arm slot.

Here is a picture of the lower arm slot I’ve been referencing.  As you can see, he can get underneath the ball a little more than the typical 4 seam fastball, so the pitch has good horizontal movement and a good “hop” effect as well as a good “riding” effect despite the fact that it doesn’t have an exceptionally high spin rate..

My arm slot helps my changeup and it also makes my fastball kinda unique because it gives it a lot of horizontal movement.  It also gives me a little bit of vertical movement, but it also makes it hard for me to throw a slider, so I think it has some positives and negatives to it.

Choi uses his off-speed pitches as strike pitches very well, but he also has a wipeout breaking ball that he likes to throw with 2 strikes.  In this video you’ll see him use this pitch meant to get the hitter to roll over, then, he uses the pitch to induce a swing and miss strikeout.

Wrap Up

Choi loves his family, he loves the fact that he is from Korea, and he loves taking any chance to get back home.  In fact, he goes home during every off-season.

I go back to Korea every off season for about 3 months.  I’m not missing Korea, I’m just missing Korean food, that’s it.  I don’t feel like I have to go back there because I have really good friends with the Dodgers and the coaching staff, but I do miss Korean food.  My dad got to come to Rancho this year in July and watched a couple games, and I did well.  The rest of my family, my mom, grandma and grandpa, and my little brother all want to come to the U.S. and see me so I’m looking forward to that.

If Choi had stayed in Korea he, most likely, would have been at least a top 10 pick, would have had a great career in the Korean Baseball Organization and he would have done it from the comforts of home and in front of his friends and family.  But, instead, he chose to come to America and play with, what he considers, the best talent in the world.

To all the Korean High Schoolers who want to go to the MLB, I would say come and enjoy the great competition with the best prospects in the world.  I think if you come here you can have great and important experiences in your life.  Also, it’s really fun to play here, so don’t be shy or afraid to come to the MLB.

The Dodgers love well-rounded people, and Choi is certainly that.  They also love great talent, and Choi has that as well, so, even though he comes from 1/2 way across the world he actually is a really great fit.  I can tell you that the Dodgers love this guy, who he is and how he pitches, and as you’ve read in his comments, the feelings are mutual. Choi loves being a Dodger, he loves competing against the best talent in the world and is projected to land in the Major Leagues by 2023.

Robinson Ortiz is a 21 year old Left Handed pitching prospect in the Dodger’s organization from the Dominican Republic.  Ortiz signed at the end of the 2016-2017 International period, made his debut in 2018 in rookie ball, spent 2019 in Low A Great Lakes, then threw just 11.4 innings in 2021 in High A before going on the DL for the remainder of the season due to forearm issues.  Ortiz was clocked from 94-97 in live B.P. work before the 2021 season and features a 3 pitch mix of fastball, changeup and what I consider to be a “slurve.”

Ortiz’s most consistent pitch is his “arm side” fastball both to righties and lefties.

When Ortiz hits the “glove side” corner with his fastball he gets a good amount of run and sink on the pitch which makes it a really good pitch to left handers.

When he needs a strikeout he can climb the zone with it and get above the modern day uppercut.

The thing that jumps out is how easy his arm action is, but how much it jumps out of his hand and how quickly his ball gets on hitters as you can see by the swing in the video.  This “easy power” as I call it, makes his changeup a really good pitch off of his fastball because the arm action is identical.  As a result, hitters have a hard time recognizing the pitch, and when you have to gear up for 94-97, the difference in speeds between the fastball and changeup makes timing very difficult.

Ortiz likes to throw his changeup to right handers and his “slurve” to left handers.  His slurve has a ton of sharp break and really has the chance to be a wipeout pitch to left handers.  When Ortiz throws it to the inside corner to a lefty it’s really a knee buckler.

Just to put into perspective how tough of a pitch that is to lefties, look at how far behind the hitter this pitch is before it starts breaking.

Robinson also throws his “slurve” to right handers and, because it has so much break, it is a great “back door” pitch.

When he throws this pitch to the “glove side corner, it sweeps across the entire plate and makes it extremely difficult for the hitter to determine whether or not the pitch will end up as a strike.

This pitch has so much movement to it, that, even when Ortiz splits the plate with it, it still buckles left handed hitters.  Watch how the hitter buckles in this video on a pitch that ends up down the middle of the plate.

Ortiz was picked up at a very young age, and so, although he has been in professional baseball since 2018, he is still only 21 years old.  He didn’t spend 2020 at the Alternate site or Instructional League like other Minor League prospects did, then had the injury early in 2021, so, at this point, projections are very difficult.  2022 will be a big year for him to show that he has recovered with the same “stuff” he had before his injury which was a 94-97 mph fastball , a slurve and good changeup.  He was with High A Great Lakes to start 2021, so it will interesting to see where he starts 2022 and how quickly and how far he rises up the Minor League ranks.

There’s an old saying in baseball that, “If you’re good enough, they will find you”, and recently acquired right handed pitcher, Gus Varland, is living proof of that. Varland has had to knock down a bunch of doors to get to where he’s at, and now, through hard work and perseverance,  he is knocking on the door of the Major Leagues.

Excellence On and Off the Field

Varland grew up in Maplewood, Minnesota and wasn’t a draft pick out of High School, or a Division 1 recruit, and has always been “under the radar” so to speak.  The odds have always been stacked against him to make it as far as he has, but his high character and intangible qualities have provided the perspective he has needed to keep going.  He is a tenacious competitor, confident but not cocky, and, now, has grown into a skill set that is Major League caliber.   

Knocking Down Doors

Varland’s excellence can be traced back to his days at North St. Paul High School where he was a 4 year letterman, an All-Suburban Conference and all District player, and also a member of the National Honors Society.  He spent his Summers dominating the American Legion baseball ranks, and grew to love competing, commanding the mound, and just simply playing the game of baseball.  After graduation Varland decided to stay close to home and play for Concordia University of St. Paul and for the programs winningest ever coach, Mark “Lunch” McKenzie. 

Varland loves his alma mater and is very thankful for his experience there

I was a late bloomer and wasn’t really recruited out of High School.  The Short Stop on my team went there in College and he recommended me to go over there for a visit and I went there.  All of the sudden my Freshman year I’m hitting 90 with just a few mechanical changes.  So I want to thank my coaches for helping me with my mechanical stuff and helping me get noticed by the A’s.

Road to Radar Map

Varland’s first couple of years at CSP were good, but being at a DII school, were certainly nothing that stood out enough to put him on the draft radar. Varland knew, with the situation he was in, that he needed to play in a Summer League that would give him the chance to gain exposure and play against some of the best College baseball players.  After his Sophomore year at Concordia, in the Summer of 2017, the St. Paul native took his talents to the talent-rich Northwoods League in Canada and had a great Summer. The Northwoods League is renowned for giving “under the radar” type guys, like Gus Varland, the opportunity and exposure they need to get noticed and Varland took full advantage of the opportunity. He posted a 1.42 ERA in the Northwoods League and showed he had Major League caliber stuff.

Going into the Northwoods things just clicked and I started doing well and it was the first time I started thinking I had a chance at this.  I remember this Yankees scout and it was the first Scout ever that came and talked to me and I was like “Wow”, and so I began to start taking it even more serious and one thing led to another and here I am.

 

Springboard to Success

Varland took the success he had in the Northwoods League and used it as a springboard for his Junior year at CSP.  During his Junior Year, in 2018, Varland became a D2 All American, the American Baseball Coaches Associations Central pitcher of the year, the Northern Sun Conference Player of the Year, and also made the Northern Sun All Academic Team. As a Junior he also set Concordia’s lowest single season ERA at 1.04, threw 2 no hitters, and had over a 5/1 strikeout to walk ratio as a Golden Bear.  He also held opponents to a .163 average and just 34 hits in 60.1 innings pitched and that performance, combined with the Major League caliber stuff he showed in the Northwoods League got him drafted.   Varland was drafted in the 14th round of the 2018 Draft and became the highest draft pick in the history of Concordia St. Paul just ahead of his brother, Louie Varland, who pitched for CSP in 2019 and was drafted in the 15th Round.  I’m guessing the Varland family has lifetime passes to all sporting events at Concordia St. Paul and as a side note, Louie Varland, Gus’s brother,  was the Minnesota Twins Minor League Starting pitcher of the Year in 2021 so these guys are legit.  

Quick Start

Varland parlayed the momentum from his Junior year in College into a very quick start with the A’s and in 2018, between Rookie ball and Class A, posted a 0.95 ERA and had a 6/1 strikeout to walk ratio.  He became familiar with modern day analytics and learned how to use the high spin rate of his fastball up in the zone and it was a game changer.   

With  the new technology they showed me it showed that I should live up in the zone, which I knew a little bit in College too because it was my strike out pitch and it worked, but living up there just made it that much easier to get guys out.  I’ve paired that with the slider they’ve taught me and things have worked out really well.

But, just when it looked like Varland was ready to storm through the A’s system, the dreaded Tommy John struck in 2019, Covid cancelled 2020, and then he got traded to the Dodgers in 2021.  In 2021, as a Dodger, Varland threw just 34.1 innings in an attempt to build his arm strength back up after his Tommy John surgery.   There is never good timing to have Tommy John surgery, but, with the 2020 Minor League season being cancelled, no one else got to play either, so Varland, in essence, got a free year to recover.

Tommy John is a terrible thing, but, at the same time, for my career, I was going to miss 2020 anyways with Tommy John, and so when Covid hit, and no one else got to play either, I basically got a free year to recover.

Varland was a top 30 prospect in the A’s organization when he was traded, so he is a Major League caliber prospect that is trying to overcome a lot of stops and starts that have slowed down the massive amount of momentum he had after 2018.  He simply needs to stay injury free, pile up some innings to rebuild his arm strength and he will eventually become the Major Leaguer most people in the A’s organization projected him to become. 

Knows How to Pitch

Varland commands both sides of the plate, changes eye levels very well and has learned to use the top of the zone to get a lot of swing and miss.  He typically is a “strike thrower” that has a great K/BB ratio and has shown the potential on several different levels to post very low ERA’s.  He is extremely competitive, knows how to command the mound, is very smart and knows how to use analytics to his advantage.  He also brings a “Bulldog” mentality to the mound with him when he pitches and is ultra competitive and confident on the mound.

I go out there with the mentality that no one is better than me.  It’s kind of cocky to think like that, but you need that kind of confidence because you’re facing guys that are on the verge of being in the Major Leagues so you have to have confidence and a Bulldog mentality.  You think like you won’t ever get beat and go out there and pitch every game like it’s your last.

Varland, like most great pitchers, centers everything around his fastball and when he throws it to the “glove side” corner it looks like a ball to lefties, then “hops” back over the plate due to the pitches “riding effect”. In other words, when a left handed hitter has to commit to whether to swing at this pitch or not, it appears as if the pitch is going to sink down and out of the zone.  But, because of the high spin rate of the pitch, it doesn’t sink, and thus gives the “riding” effect and stays in the zone.  This pitch, combined with the “cutter” Varland is developing should give him the ability to get left handed hitters out. 

Varland has a very high spin rate on his fastball and has learned to throw it up in the zone to get above the modern day uppercut of so many Professional hitters.

Varland has more than just a fastball though.  He has worked really hard on developing a change up that works off of his fastball and has a really good feel for the pitch.  His changeup has a lot of movement and is, most definitely, a plus pitch.

Varland also has a good slider that is most effective to right handed hitters.

One of the things that Varland is adding to his arsenal is a cutter.  His fastball and changeup are plus pitches, his slider is good against righties, but what he feels as if he needs is a pitch to get left handers out and Varland and the organization feel as if the cutter is the pitch that can do that for him.   The progress of that pitch will be fun to watch in 2022 as Varland gets “let off the leash” so to speak.

Measurables

One of the greatest aspects of modern day analytics is that it has made it easier to measure guys that aren’t in the most visible positions or playing at the highest levels.  A 95 MPH fastball is a 95 MPH fastball, spin rate is spin rate and vertical break is vertical break.  It doesn’t matter if it’s thrown off of a Major League mound or a DII mound, the measurables have shown evaluators that it’s all the same.  Analytics have put guys like Gus Varland in situations where all they need is a chance to be seen and measured, and when they have the personal qualities like Varland has, it makes it much easier to put him on the radar. Varland has still yet to be “taken off the leash” so to speak, and so 2022 is going to be a big year for him in terms of building up a pitch count and continuing to show progress in terms of recovering from his Tommy John surgery.  He is working his way back to full health, but as long as he can stay healthy he will, one day, pitch in the Major Leagues and stay above the radar for good.

Scott Hennessey has been the manager of the AA Tulsa Drillers since 2017 and, by popular request, will be back at the helm in T-Town again in 2022.  Best known as “Henny”, Hennessey is one of the most well-liked, respected, and successful people in the Dodgers organization.  “Henny” expects his players to play with a lot of energy, but at the same time, enjoy themselves as they play every day.  Here are outfielder James Outman’s thoughts on Hennessey

Henny expects you to ball out every day and compete every day.  He made it easy to turn it on every day from a competitive perspective and he was easy to play for because he expected you to want to compete and he was out there wanting to compete everyday too.

Here is what pitcher Gus Varland had to say about Hennessey 

I love his coaching style! He has the attitude that I will not get beat and wants you to approach every pitch like it might be your last, so I love it

Here are some more thoughts from 6’8 pitching prospect, Mark Washington

Coach Henny, he’s the man, quite honestly.  Not many managers give you the opportunity to stay in the game because usually when the manager comes out you’re getting yanked. Not many managers give you the opportunity to ask you how you feel and then keep you in the game. That happened a couple times and when I’m on the mound I’m pretty intense, and he let me do my thing and I was really grateful for that.  He’s a players coach and I really enjoy talking to him on and off the field.

AA to LA

By the time a player makes AA baseball, they have major League caliber talent but, many times, are still in the process of learning how to be a professional.  From the AA stage forward, advancement becomes largely about off the field intangibles, opportunity, and, sometimes, just plain luck.  AA players are mostly the highly rated prospects who have not been in the MLB yet, so, many times, the AA stage of a players career is the most crucial from a development perspective because they are truly learning the process of what it takes to be an everyday professional.

Always Been Great

Scott Hennessey is a coach that has a personal feel to the Tulsa area as he helped turn a fairly close by JUCO, Cowley County, into a National Power as an assistant Coach under Dave Burroughs.  Hennessey is in the Cowley County Hall of Fame, and every kid that grows up playing baseball in Oklahoma knows all about Cowley County, so when he got the AA Tulsa managerial job in 2017, he became an instant local favorite.  Here is what Dave Burroughs, the longtime head coach at Cowley County had to say about Hennessey.

Scott hasn’t changed since he’s been here at Cowley. At Cowley we all had the same goal of winning a title and meshed together perfectly. People said we couldn’t win a JUCO World Series title in the state of Kansas, so we were all driven to prove them wrong. Scott is a great man and a great coach.

Between his Cowley days and becoming the AA Tulsa manager, Hennessey was a scout with the Dodgers and signed several players that made it to the Major Leagues so he has an eye for talent.  He also knows how to nurture and develop that talent and has a simple approach and that is to just simply get better every day.

Scott Hennessey, “Henny”, job well done sir and thank you for everything you do for the Dodgers!  I have had the awesome opportunity to talk to several Drillers players, and can say, to a man, “Henny” is well respected, loved and much appreciated by the players he is in charge of to develop.