Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
It’s MLB Draft season! We’re about five weeks away from the event (July 17-19 in Los Angeles) and this one is a bit different for the Dodgers than it ever has been.
The Dodgers hold the 40th selection in the draft — the beginning of the second round — because their first pick has moved back 10 spots because they ran a payroll of $284 million last year. They don’t have a 2nd-round pick, as they forfeited it when they signed Freddie Freeman. They also don’t have the compensatory selection they received for Corey Seager signing with the Rangers. That also went away when they signed Freeman.
Overall, the Dodgers have $4,221,400 to sign 2022 draftees. Here’s how it breaks down in the first 10 (nine) rounds.
| Round (overall) | Slot |
| 2 (40) | $1,950,900 |
| 3 (105) | $582,400 |
| 4 (135) | $435,000 |
| 5 (165) | $325,200 |
| 6 (195) | $253,200 |
| 7 (225) | $199,700 |
| 8 (255) | $169,000 |
| 9 (285) | $156,500 |
| 10 (315) | $149,500 |
If a player in the Top 10 rounds doesn’t sign, that amount is deducted from the team’s bonus pool. Conversely, teams can spend up to 5% (less $1) and not forfeit any future draft picks. They would have to pay a 75% tax on the overage. So, the Dodgers can spend $210,069 over their allotment, or $4,432,470 total. After the 10th round, any player who signs for more than $125,000 will have his bonus count against the pool. Undrafted players can sign for up to $20,000.
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This is Billy Gasparino‘s seventh draft as Dodgers’ scouting director. He had two with the Padres in 2013 and ’14. Here are his first round picks in those years.
- 2013: Hunter Renfroe
- 2014: Trea Turner
- 2015: Walker Buehler, Kyle Funkhouser*
- 2016: Gavin Lux, Will Smith**, Jordan Sheffield**
- 2017: Jeren Kendall
- 2018: JT Ginn*
- 2019: Kody Hoese, Michael Busch**
- 2020: Bobby Miller
- 2021: Maddux Bruns
*Didn’t sign
**Supplemental 1st-round pick
Last year was a bit of a deviation from what we’ve been used to. Bruns did have a similar profile to Ginn — great stuff, a bit older for a prep player, etc. — so Gasparino didn’t stray that far from the path. It’ll be interesting so see what he does with the 40th selection. It’ll be the lowest, first pick he has had as a scouting director. He could take a chance on a prep player who has fallen a bit, but he also doesn’t have the luxury of offering a large bonus because the Dodgers have the smallest bonus pool of any team by more than $1.5 million. They could go to the well of taking injured college pitchers or ones with injury history/concerns, and there will be a couple down below. Something he hasn’t done is selected a prep position player, despite being rumored in years past. There are a lot of quality high school bats available early on in this draft, so maybe Gasparino will consider going that route.
There won’t be any consensus prospects on this list, as there’s no chance the Dodgers will get a chance to select them — no Elijah Green, Druw Jones, Brooks Lee or anyone of that ilk.
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Big Board, 1.0
- SS/3B Peyton Graham, Oklahoma
- RHP Peyton Pallette, Arkansas
- RHP Andrew Dutkanych, Brebeuf Jesuit Prep (Ind.)
- OF Jud Fabian, Florida
- OF Dylan Beavers, Cal
- RHP Blade Tidwell, Tennessee
- RHP Adam Mazur, Iowa
- OF Justin Crawford, Bishop Gorman HS (Nev.)
- OF Drew Gilbert, Tennessee
- 3B/OF Cayden Wallace, Arkansas
- RHP Landon Sims, Mississippi State
- OF Gavin Turley, Hamilton HS (Ariz.)
- 3B/OF Sterlin Thompson, Florida
- IF/OF Tucker Toman, Hammond HS (S.C.)
- RHP Jacob Miller, Liberty Union HS (Ohio)
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Graham is a 6-foot-4 shortstop who is projected to move to third base. Sound familiar? He’s probably not the next Seager, but he offers good athleticism, power and defensive versatility. Brian Anderson is a common comp thrown on him.
Back-to-back Peytons, probably for the first time ever for me. Pallette, if he were healthy, probably wouldn’t have a chance to make it to pick 40. He had Tommy John surgery in January and, prior to the procedure, sat in the mid-90s with a plus-curveball and average changeup. His profile is similar to Walker Buehler‘s.
Dutkanych is the first prep player on my list, though, he might not be on future iterations because it’s increasingly unlikely he’ll make to No. 40. He has three projected plus-pitches and a serviceable changeup.
If Fabian’s name looks familiar, it’s because he was on every version of my Big Board last year and is available this year because he went unsigned as the Red Sox’s second-round pick last year. His strikeout rate has improved, he hasn’t sacrificed power and he’s a premium defender in center field. A guy like that shouldn’t last until the 40th selection.
Beavers is a Shawn Green-esque 6-foot-4, 206 pounds and, coincidentally, hits from the left side. He has above-average power, speed and arm, but he has a chance to stick in center field. There are swing-and-miss concerns and the Dodgers have had a little trouble developing collegiate guys like recently (*cough*Jeren Kendall*cough*).
Tidwell is the second college are on my list. He had a shoulder injury early in the college season, but he has bounced back and shown 1st-round stuff. He sits in the mid-90s, touches 99 MPH and boasts a plus-slider. He also has an above-average changeup and average curveball. Odds are, he doesn’t make it to the Dodgers’ pick, but if he’s there, he’d be just the kind of arm Andrew Friedman and Gasparino covet.
Iowa isn’t known as a baseball powerhouse, but Mazur is doing his best to change that. He has some late helium and could go in the middle of the first round. He has a low-to-mid-90s fastball and two above-average breakers. He’s not a prototypical starting pitching prospect, but the Dodgers aren’t shy about drafting guys like that.
The son of Carl Crawford, Justin has a lot of the same traits his father had as a player. He’s, unsurprisingly, a plus-plus runner, but he also projects to be a better defender than his dad (and a much better thrower). He’s projectable and could end up developing into a premium offensive player.
Gilbert isn’t exactly the type of guy the Dodgers covet in a high draftee, in terms of size. He’s on the smaller size (5-foot-9, 185 pounds), but he’s a plus-defender in center field and puts the bat on the ball consistently. He has some pop, but may not ever be a 20 home run guy.
Wallace ends up in a corner, but which corner (corners?) remains to be seen. He could be a 4-corner guy who mashes. There are some questions about his future power, as he has sacrificed some of it to cut down his strikeout rate, but he has shown flashes in the past.
Sims is another pitchers who wouldn’t be available if it weren’t for TJ surgery. Before the surgery, he had two plus-plus offerings in his fastball and slider, with a fringy changeup. Everything played up due to average control. He’d be a nice value pick at 40, even if he comes with a big reliever risk.
Turley hails from Cody Bellinger‘s alma mater, and he has a lot of the same tools Cody has now — speed, athleticism, power and questionable contact skills. His public rankings are all over the place, so he could be an overdraft or steal at No. 40, depending who you believe. He’s as toosly a prep hitter as there is in this draft. He’d be a boom-or-bust kind of pick.
Another 3B/OF prospect — a rare combination. Most think Thompson ends up in corner outfield spot, but the Dodgers like their players to be versatile. Oh, and Thompson can hit a bit and has some untapped power, which is the big draw.
Toman is a switch-hitter who shows more from the left side (not uncommon), but he’s a capable right-handed hitter. He’s one of the more mature prep hitters in the class and the Dodgers could have a good time developing him. His defensive profile is the big question mark. He could end up anywhere from second base to third base to a corner outfield spot.
Miller has some good stuff for a prep pitcher, even if it comes with a busy delivery. Still, he has sling it up there in the mid-90s and has high-spin a curveball and slider. He’s athletic, so there’s some work the Dodgers could do with his profile.
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I plan to do at least five Big Boards and 10 individual player profiles, and those profiles should begin in the next week or so.
