Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
When the Futures Game is played on July 9, the Dodgers will have two representatives in outfielder Alex Verdugo and pitcher Yadier Alvarez, both of whom will play for the World Team.
Verdugo is arguably now the Dodgers’ top prospect after a torrid start in AAA. In just his age-21 season, Verdugo has a line of .344/.411/.462/.873 and has walked 30 times to just 28 strikeouts. Of his 21 extra-base hits, just three are homers, but the power has started to come of late, as 12 of the extra-base hits and two of the homers came in June. Verdugo has the ability to play all three outfield positions, and ideally slots in at right but could play center as well. Almost as a bonus, he has eight steals against just one caught stealing on the year. Unsurprisingly, he was named to the PCL All-Star team recently.
Coming into the year, much of the hype regarding Dodgers prospects understandably revolved around Alvarez. Since then, he has been surpassed by at least Walker Buehler after struggling a bit in high-A, but his seemingly unlimited upside is still there. In his age-21 season, Alvarez has a 5.05 ERA in 51.2 innings and has struck out 54 while walking just 20. The stuff hasn’t appeared to abandon him, but he has struggled with endurance, command, and showing up on time.
The future is bright.
