Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Arizona Fall League rosters were announced on Wednesday, and the Dodgers are (at present) sending seven prospects to play in the postseason league. Normally, this announcement would come sometime next month, but MLB has moved up the start of the AFL season to Sept. 18 instead of the usual early October start.
The Dodgers usually have eight representatives, but they’re sending seven as of now. They could still send one more player before league play begins. Here are the seven they’re sending:
- Pitchers (4; all RHPs): Gerardo Carrillo, Brett de Geus, Marshall Kasowski, Mitchell White
- Position players (3): 2B/SS Omar Estevez, OF Jeren Kendall, 2B/3B Devin Mann
On the mound, three of the four names should be somewhat familiar to you.
Carrillo, 20, pitched all season with Rancho Cucamonga and, despite having premium stuff, the results didn’t really show. He has an ugly 5.71 ERA in 82 innings for the Quakes. Walks have hurt him a lot this season, as you would expect with his 13.1 BB%. If you’re looking for some silver lining, he has given up just three home runs this season and has pitched a lot better in his last nine outings. He was No. 24 on my preseason Top 100.
Kasowski is one of the best true reliever prospects the Dodgers have in the system. The 24-year-old has a 1.99 ERA and has struck out 38.9 percent of the hitters he has faced with Double-A Tulsa. He missed some time this season that has limited him to 31 2/3 innings, so it isn’t surprising to see him included on the AFL roster. He was No. 28 on both my preseason and midseason top prospect lists.
White, 24, has long since been a favorite of mine. It looked like he was turning things around early on, but the offensive spike of the Pacific Coast League has taken a toll on his numbers. He has a 5.26 ERA in 90 2/3 innings. That includes a 6.82 ERA with OKC. His 2.10 ERA with Tulsa shows there’s still some hope for him going forward. He was No. 8 on my preseason Top 100 and No. 12 on my midseason update.
The unknown prospect here is de Geus. The 21-year-old hurler has pitched about equal time with both Low-A Great Lakes and Rancho. He has a 1.81 ERA and has struck out 28.6 percent of the hitters he has faced. He also hasn’t allowed a home run in his 59 2/3 innings of work. He’s not an overpowering guy, but his pitchability is substantial. He didn’t crack either of my lists, but he will definitely be in the 2020 Top 100.
In the field, Estevez, 21, leads a trio of solid hitting prospects. He got off to a good start before an injury cost him some time. He came back and was not as good as he showed early on. Getting him some extra reps in Arizona next month should do him some well heading into next season. He was No. 10 on my preseason Top 100 and No. 9 on the midseason update.
Mann, 22, revamped his swing over the winter and that has helped him rise as much as anyone in the system. He missed about a month, so it was a no-brainer to send him to the AFL. It’ll also be nice to see how he does against better competition since he spent (virtually) all season in High-A. He was No. 89 on the Top 100 and 20 on the midseason update.
Kendall might be the most interesting prospect going to the AFL. The 23-year-old is repeating high-A and is having a better season, mostly because he found his power stroke. His .795 OPS isn’t anything to get too excited about (especially in A-ball), but he’s had a hot August (.316/.419/.684). He has some of the most talent and ability of anyone in the system, but he hasn’t been able to find the swing that works against professional pitching. He was No. 23 in the Top 100.
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You can see a bit of a theme here. Most of the players going to the AFL missed time during the regular season — either because of injury or otherwise. This isn’t uncommon for the Dodgers and every other team. It’s a solid group of prospects. There aren’t any CoreySeagers or even Joc Pedersons, but they could all find their way to the majors in some capacity at some point.
