Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers will have two representatives at the Futures Game this year, as Corey Seager and Julio Urias on Tuesday were selected to be on the U.S. and World teams, respectively. Ron Cervenka of Think Blue LA broke the news earlier today.
Seager, 20, who many thought would be promoted to Double-A Chattanooga after the California League All-Star break, is hitting .353/.405/.613 with 13 home runs, 27 doubles, 49 runs scored, a 164 wRC+ and a .438 wOBA. He is absolutely destroying the Cal League and has nothing left to prove. His walk rate has decreased from 10.8 last season to 6.8 percent this year, but that’s because he’s tearing the cover off the ball. He leads the league in doubles and OPS (1.019), is second in hits, eighth in home runs and second in batting average.
The shortstop should be Chattanooga-bound after the Futures Game. If he isn’t, then I have no idea what the Dodgers’ brass is thinking.
Urias, 17, had a rough start to his 2014 season, mostly because he was bumped from a few starts for rehabbing major leaguers, but he has recovered to post a nice line in the hitter-friendly Cal League. He has a 3.35 ERA, 3.81 FIP (not bad for this league), a 9.5 K/9, 7.3 H/9 and a great 0.4 HR/9 (two home runs allowed in 45 2/3 innings pitched).
He will face some of the game’s best prospects in Minnesota on July 13 (the Sunday before the All-Star Game), and he’ll be pitching out of the bullpen, meaning he could be in for just one hitter (you know, as a lefty specialist).
Here are the Dodger participants in the Futures Game, dating back to the game’s inception in 1999.
| Year | Player |
| 1999 | Chin-Feng Chen, Luke Prokopec |
| 2000 | Chen, Randey Dorame |
| 2001 | Ricardo Rodriguez |
| 2002 | Victor Diaz, Rodriguez |
| 2003 | Franklin Gutierrez, Edwin Jackson |
| 2004 | Joel Guzman, Koyie Hill |
| 2005 | Andy LaRoche, Russell Martin |
| 2006 | Guzman, Chin-Lung Hu |
| 2007 | Clayton Kershaw, Hu (MVP) |
| 2008 | Ivan De Jesus |
| 2009 | Pedro Baez |
| 2010 | Baez, Dee Gordon |
| 2011 | Alfredo Silverio |
| 2012 | Chris Reed |
| 2013 | Joc Pederson |
Quite the list, no? Some recognizable names, some forgettable names and some “who?” names.
The rules for the roster have changed a bit during the years, but now there can be no more than two players from every Major League team (and not every team will get two), and the roster size is limited to 25 for the U.S. and World teams.
It’ll be interesting to see how the two best Dodger prospects aged 20 and younger fare against the best prospects baseball has to offer.
=====
Oh, this isn’t good:
Potential bad news for the @AbqTopes Joc Pederson is leaving the game with an apparent shoulder injury
— James Hilchen (@stadiumjwriter) June 24, 2014
Pederson was holding his right shoulder/collar bone area, so if you want to think the worst, well, you can figure it out. He injured himself diving for a fly ball.
Once again, it appears injuries could help “solve” the Dodgers’ four-outfielder problem, even if this is about the worst possible solution. We’ll see what happens. Let’s just hope he isn’t seriously hurt.
