Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
April 23, 2022 Scoreboard
- Triple A Oklahoma City 1, Sacramento 12
- Double A Tulsa 16, Springfield 8
- High A Great Lakes 1, Lake County 0
- High A Great Lakes 2, Lake County 5
- Low A Rancho Cucamonga 11, Modesto 9
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Jacob Amaya had about as big of a day as you’ll see for Tulsa:
Amaya, who is from El Monte, and was drafted by the Dodgers in the 11th round back in 2017, would go on to hit a single in his last AB of the day. He ended up going 5/5, with 2 homers, 2 doubles, 3 runs scored, and 6 RBI, and currently has a slash line of .359/.444/.744.
Amaya shined with the leather as well, helping to keep an erstwhile no-hitter intact:
Amaya had a bit of a rough go with the bat in 2021, but a display like this makes it easy to see why Amaya was added to the 40 man roster this past offseason — a plus defensive shortstop who has the potential for at least a league average bat, that doesn’t exactly grow on trees. The glove was well ahead of the bat all last season, but if the bat really is catching up, look out.
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John Rooney‘s comeback tour continued for Tulsa:
One of the most impressive aspects of Rooney’s return is his control — in 2021, Rooney posted a walk rate of 15.8% (or 6.59 BB/9, if you prefer). The two walks Rooney issued today were his first two of the season, and they put his walk rate at 3.6% (or 1.23 BB/9). Improvements this dramatic are rare, so while it’s fantastic to see, it still bears watching.
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Michael Busch hit another bomb for Tulsa:
The man’s unconscious these days, they may have to stamp a ticket to Oklahoma City before too long.
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James Outman hit another homer for Tulsa as well, this one off a lefty:
Outman’s splits in 2021 weren’t egregious (.884 OPS vs righties, .810 vs lefties), so there’s some everyday potential here. As for his day with Tulsa, he ended up going 4/6, both knocking in and scoring a pair of runs, raising his OPS for the season to .885.
Outman’s abbreviated finish to his swing brought another lefty to mind:
All that’s left is making Citi Field his, like Utley did. And the whole HOF career thing, I guess.
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Jordan Leasure continues to stroll right through Midwest League lineups:
Brad Tunney, who does play by play for Great Lakes, mentioned that the stadium gun, which is what they use for the score bug, was consistently one to two miles per hour behind the Hawkeye system. He cites the Hawkeye velos for the broadcast, hence the 95 call when you see the 93 show up on the screen above. That said, Leasure was 95-98 and dominant again. My guess is a trip Southwest to Tulsa isn’t too far down the road.
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Lael Lockhart keeps carving up the Midwest league lineups as well:
One of the things that stood out about Lockhart’s outing was his composure. He pitched in the SEC as a senior, so he should be in command, but the pitch clock has rattled some folks throughout the minor leagues. Not so here, Lockhart remained locked in, in rhythm, utilizing his time well (including controlling the running game), delivering pitches with less than three seconds remaining, and executing them quite well. It was fun to watch someone navigate an outing like this, under these circumstances, with such aplomb.
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Lastly, Panamanian prospect Jose Ramos is showing that his scorching stint with Rancho Cucamonga last Summer was no fluke:
Ramos, who is slashing /333/.418/.708, also caught the final out to secure the save for … utility man, Kenneth Betancourt?
Congrats to Betancourt, it’s a pretty rare feat. The last Quakes position player to record a save was Brandon Montgomery on August 17th, 2019.
