Dodgers: Minor Leaguer Listed as Potential Breakout Player for 2020
The Dodgers farm system has consistently been at the top of the baseball in recent years. Guys like Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager, Gavin Lux, Walker Buehler, and Alex Verdugo have come out of AAA and almost immediately made an impact in the majors. But who’s next up for LA? If you ask Mike Petriello of MLB.com, he’ll tell you to keep an eye not on DJ Peters or Keibert Ruiz, but rather on Connor Joe.
To say Joe has had a long past couple of years would be an understatement. He was traded from the Pirates to the Braves in August 2017, and was acquired by the Dodgers two weeks later in exchange for international slot money. The Dodgers left him unprotected in the 2019 Rule 5 Draft, and the Cincinnati Reds snatched him up before trading him to the Giants in March 21. He started in the outfield for San Francisco on Opening Day, but was returned back to the Dodgers after they designated him for assignment after he went 1-for-15 to start the season.
Connor Joe, a Rule 5 pick, was returned to the Dodgers.
— Ken Gurnick (@kengurnick) April 13, 2019
I got tired just typing that, but here’s what Petriello had to say about why fans should look out for Joe in 2020:
“Through it all, Joe has kept on hitting, posting a career Minor League OBP of .377. In 2018, he slugged .527 and followed that up with .503 in 2019, when he had 72 walks and 81 strikeouts. There are external factors here, as all of Triple-A added power in 2019 while using the Major League ball, and his home park in Oklahoma City (Triple-A) was very hitter-friendly. That wasn’t true in Double-A Tulsa, however, which is a neutral park.
“Joe can’t really run, and he’s not going to be the defender (Yankees center fielder Mike) Tauchman is. This is possibly not a perfect comp. But Joe made the list, and the Giants saw enough in him to have him start Opening Day. There might be something here.”
While more might be expected out of players like Lux or Peters in 2020, a true underdog story could be Connor Joe.
What about Steve Sanderson from AA Tulsa? He was batting .365 with 27 Stolen Bases.
Must be tough for writers during the off-season…..
One could substitute most any minor league player name for C. Joe and create another story…
The exciting prospects in the Dodger Farm should give the sportswriters and many uninformed fans pause to continual to scream about signing big ticket free agents or silly trades, such as the Lindor trade.
The Dodgers won 106 games last year and will make the playoffs again in 2020 with a younger stronger club. Many need to educate themselves on the talent available in the Minors and added to the 40 man roster late 2019. Sborz, Gonzalez, Peters, McKinstry, Garland, Rios etc. Plus with pitchers like Grey, White and Santana on the horizon with Urias now with less of an innings restriction and of course May and Gonsolin.
Plus Garland, Peters and Conner Joe are all right handed! There is really no need to buy a free agent.
And win no championship lol
No rings as long as Roberts is the Managér.
Rios, OK, but not McKinstry.
Garland? You mean Garlick? Garlick, Peters and Rios all have very high strikeout rates. I wouldn’t count on any of them being more than career minor league guys.