Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
April 16, 2022 Scoreboard
Triple A Oklahoma City 8, El Paso 4
Double A Game 1 Tulsa 1, Amarillo 7
Double A Game 2 Tulsa 3, Amarillo 2
High A Great Lakes 5, Peoria 6
Low A Rancho Cucamonga 10, Inland Empire 11
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After a bit of a tepid start, James Outman broke out in a big way with a huge game for Tulsa, first making a stellar defensive play and then following it up with a pair of homers:
Outman, whom the Dodgers drafted in the 7th round back in 2018 out of Sacramento State, ended up going 2/3 on the day, raising his OPS to .841. This was the 7th multi-homer game of his professional career.
Outman was added to the 40-man roster this past offseason and made waves in Spring Training by having a loud 10 plate appearances, going 5/9 with a homer in big league camp. While he is spending most of his time in center field, he has made two starts in left and one in right as well, showing athleticism and versatility that will be a welcome addition to the big club at some point.
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Jason Martin continues to rake for Oklahoma City, putting together a multi-homer effort of his own:
Martin ended up going 2/5 with 3 RBI. Via Baseball Savant, that 111.7 mph exit velo is 3.3 mph higher than his previously recorded maximum.
Martin, who is from Corona, CA, was signed by the Dodgers to a minor league deal back in November after spending parts of three seasons at the big league level with Pittsburgh and Texas. Like Outman, he has spent the majority of his time in the minors in center field, but he is currently spending time at all three outfield positions.
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Speaking of loud exit velos, Miguel Vargas, oh my:
To put that number in perspective, the current max exit velo for a Dodgers player this season is 108 mph.
Last year, Vargas showed the world he could pull the ball, and elevate to celebrate. The development continued into the offseason — via a March report from MLB Pipeline, Vargas showed up to camp having added muscle, and it’s paying off. In their last update for the Dodgers, FanGraphs had Vargas’ max exit velo at 104 mph, so for a guy who already had a fantastic hit tool, adding this much big boy pop is kind of a big deal.
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Lael Lockhart had another good outing for Great Lakes:
He also helped himself out a bit by nabbing a pair of baserunners:
Lockhart, a 2021 9th round pick out of Arkansas, utilizes a four-pitch mix, with a low 90s fastball that is reportedly touching 95 at times, as well as a slider, curve, and a splitter. Having cut his teeth in the SEC, and doing so for one of the most cutting-edge baseball programs, Lockhart is among the more polished pitching prospects who have recently entered the system, and he could be a relatively quick mover.
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Alex De Jesus had a multi-homer game as well, going 2/4 with a pair of solo shots and a walk for Rancho Cucamonga.
This is De Jesus’ second stint with the Quakes — in 2021, after a slow first couple of months, he caught fire and slashed .314/.440/.490 across the final three months of the season. De Jesus, who just turned 20 in March, was part of the same 2018 IFA class that brought in Diego Cartaya and Jerming Rosario.
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Lastly, here’s a brief look at one of the more exciting young international prospects that has recently been brought into the fold, Rayne Doncon:
A single then a homer in this clip from rising Dodgers SS Rayne Doncon from yesterday in extended spring training. He’s already a 45 FV at age 18 after 31 career games, all in the DSL 🚀 pic.twitter.com/pJ0tn6nc1k
— Kiley McDaniel (@kileymcd) April 15, 2022
A 45 FV grade at 18 is incredibly bullish, and this puts Doncon on a par with fellow Dodger prospect Wilman Diaz, who was either the #1 or #2 prospect in the 2021 IFA class, depending on the outlet. Doncon reportedly grew a couple of inches after signing in January of 2021, has added muscle, and is showing a good feel for the barrel. Yeah, this is a helium alert.
