Dodgers: Prospects Expert Reveals Best Tools in LA Farm System
The Dodgers are well known for developing talent throughout their farm system. Despite the fact that they are unfairly characterized as buying their talent, Los Angeles has a knack for growing young stars from the moment they are drafted.
MLB prospect expert Jim Callis recently did a deep dive on the Dodgers farm system heading into the 2021 season. Callis also did a compression of the 2020 system and where Los Angeles stood at the midseason marks. We broke down some of the most notable prospect analysis below.
2020 Prospect Additions
The 2020 MLB draft saw the Dodgers go heavy on pitching once again. Although they had just 6 picks in the 5 rounds, they ended up with 4 new pitching prospects. They took Bobby Miller in the first round and he ended up coming is as their number 7 prospect in the rerankings.
The Dodgers also added in Landon Knack, Clayton Beeter, and Gavin Stone to finish up their pitching acquisitions. Beeter is already ranked as the number 8 prospect while Knack slots in as number 15. They also added 19-year-old outfielder Jake Vogel, stealing him away from his UCLA commitment.
2020 Trade Acquisitions
The Dodgers found themselves in an unfamiliar spot with a true excess of starting pitching in 2020. They ended up dealing fan-favorite Ross Stripling to Toronto for prospect Jason Kendall. Kendall slotted in as the team’s number 23 prospect and profiles to be a mid-rotation starter in the near future. At 20 just 20 years of age, Kendall could very well be ready to go at the big league level in the next few years.
Prospects to Make an Impact in 2021
As Callis notes, Josiah Gray is the easy pick for the most likely prospect to make an impact on the big league team in 2021. Gray got a taste of big-league action in Summer Camp this year, being the first time most fans got to see LA’s number 1 prospect in real action. A former shortstop at the collegiate level, Gray could very well be a mid-rotation guy by 2022.
Looking to the Future
Callis predicts that the number 1 prospect for the Dodgers in 2021 will be a position player. In fact, it could be a guy that will one day supplant Justin Turner at the hot corner should he resign with Los Angeles. Kody Hoese is already 23-years-old, but his power has scouts fiending for his big league debut. If he can figure out a way to shore up his defense and find his power at the big-league level, LA could have a really good right-handed bat coming up.
Here is how Callis rated out the best tools in the Dodgers organization as well:
Hit: Michael Busch
Power: DJ Peters
Run: Jake Vogel
Arm: Andy Pages
Field: Jacob Amaya
Best athlete: Jeren Kendall
Fastball: Bobby Miller
Curveball: Clayton Beeter
Slider: Gerardo Carrillo
Changeup: Ryan Pepiot
Control: Josiah Gray
All of that to say that the Dodgers have a lot of really good talent coming up through the minor league system. This is not a team that was built to break a World Series drought and then fade into non-relevance for the next decade, like a certain Chicago team. They’re here to win, and win for a long time.
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Jason Kendall was drafted by the Dodgers, Stripling was traded to Toronto for a player to be named later.
Kendall Williams was PTB named Toronto sent to Dodgers to complete Stripling trade on 1 September 2020 not Jason Kendall.
Actually Jason Kendall was a catcher for the Pirates. Jeren Kendall was a first round pick taken by the Dodgers like 4 or 5 years ago, and can’t hit his weight, but everybody raves about how athletic he is, for whatever that is worth. And Kendall Williams is the pitcher they got in the Stripling trade. Now we have our Kendalls sorted out.