Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Dodgers Prospect Notes brings the latest on a few prospects in the system that had performances worth paying attention to.
——
Landon Knack, Dodgers 2020 2nd round pick as a 5th year senior, was briefly sidelined late in the season by a hamstring, but appears to be fully recovered.
Prior to the aforementioned 2020 draft, Knack was noted by several outlets as a potential quick-mover as a two pitch reliever (FB/SL), with only a few offering grades on his changeup. In 2021, he has tossed that third pitch quite a bit. Here’s a look from earlier this season:
A mid-90s fastball, a slider he can manipulate and a changeup that misses bats, too — just your basic discount 5th-year senior sign draft pick, or something. (He’s legit.)
Ryan Pepiot, 2019 3rd-rounder, has battled a bit after ascending to Triple-A, but he tightened things up today.
Pepiot’s fastball command was noticeably improved: the shape was more consistent, with late life, no flat shape, or leaking over the plate, which led to whiffs. If he continues commanding a fastball up to 98 MPH — along with his 70-grade changeup, and the sharp slider he showed today — debuting with Oklahoma City in 2022 with an eye on a Gonsolin-like role (sometimes starter/bulk guy) is a real possibility.
Lael Lockhart, who was selected by the Dodgers in the 9th round of the 2021 draft, has been missing a lot of bats.
Lockhart has 23 Ks in 12.2 IP for Great Lakes, and he has shown a willingness to throw any of his four pitches (4-seamer, slider, curveball, changeup) in any count.
