Dodgers Prospect Notes: Outman fuels victory, Pages shows off arm, Sheehan’s ridiculous, DeLuca goes off, lots more

Josh Thomas 07/15/2022 Prospect Notes Leave A Comment

Photo: Tim Campbell

July 13th, 2022 Scoreboard

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James Outman hit what ended up being a game winning grand slam for Oklahoma City on Wednesday:

This was Outman’s 3rd homer since being promoted to Triple A, and his 19th of the season overall.

It was also Outman’s 16th homer vs righties, whom he has smoked this season to the tune of .291/.391/.582, giving him an OPS of .973 against them, compared to an ok-not-great .785 vs lefties. With Outman being one of the best defensive outfielders in the system, as well as on the 40 man roster, a continued proclivity for crushing at least one side could see him in the mix in the second half.

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Andy Pages gets dinged in defensive reviews for a lack of consistent effort, and it’s fair — at times he doesn’t hustle to a spot and get under flyballs, coasting instead, and his effort when backing up plays is sometimes lacking.

His effort most certainly does not lack when there’s an opportunity to show off his cannon:

Jeez. If only they could have shown the entire throw.

That play right there is textbook — Pages circles around it, he gets his momentum going towards the plate as he catches it, and he fires a rocket that has a tagging runner from third out by at least five steps.

Pages isn’t the first right fielder we’ve seen take a play off now and then, but it is important to remember that he is still just 21. Though he is currently having his best offensive month of the season, with a .904 OPS for July, there are more things to take into consideration with development, and the young Cuban clearly has the tools, so it’s an opportunity for improvement.

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Another day, another Euro step from Jorbit Vivas:

It’s never going to get old.

Vivas’ wRC+ with Great Lakes is 123, his swinging strike rate is just 8.0%, which is the third-best mark in the Midwest League, and he’s 1.3 years younger than average for the level.

If there’s a blemish to be found, it’s his performance vs lefties, with an OPS vs righties that is over 200 points higher (.836 vs .614), which is certainly something to monitor going forward when thinking of him as a potential every day option, as opposed to a role player.

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A pair of relievers had solid outings.

First up, Nick Robertson, for Tulsa:

In the past monthish, Robertson has a K/BB of 25/5 in 15.2 innings.

The second outing came from Jeff Belge, for Great Lakes:

This outing dropped Belge’s ERA to 2.92, and pxp noted his fastball velo being at 94. For a guy whose heater has significant hop to it, that’s always fun to see.

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July 14th, 2022 Scoreboard

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There is still room on the Emmet Sheehan hype train, but perhaps not for long, because good grief:

Sheehan, whom the Dodgers drafted in the 6th round out of Boston College in 2021, is a prime example of why, outside of reading Dustin’s work, I don’t even bother prepping for the draft.

The former Eagle had a college ERA of 4.80, and between all of the HBPs and walks, he was handing out 7.5 free passes per nine innings pitched. But, this is what the Dodgers do — they pour money into scouting and player development, identify potential gems, try to coach ’em up, and, sometimes, things go presto.

This appears to be one of those times. As is the case with Pages, a promotion here is likely tied to something aside from general dominance. Sheehan will very likely have to pass quality and consistency thresholds with his slider and curve so he can remain on a starter’s development track at the next level. For now, a modicum of pity for Midwest League hitters, while we get to enjoy the show.

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Jonny DeLuca has been with Tulsa for a week and a half, and he is enjoying the new digs:

DeLuca, whom the Dodgers drafted back in 2019 out of the University of Oregon, ended up going 2/5 with four RBI. Since joining the Drillers, he’s slashing .297/.333/.622.

The former Duck got the promotion from Great Lakes after having a monstrous month of June. This is also a good time to show what difficult offensive environment the Midwest League is, as he slashed .282/.419/.553 in his last full month at the stop, with more strikeouts than walks (16.2% vs 14.3%). All of this is pretty good!

With context, it’s even better — he had a wRC+ of 166. That is a kicking-down-the-door level of production.

Though he has spent some time in CF, his future is as a corner OF. If the bat keeps up like this, he could be a DH for all we care. Sheesh.

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So I tweeted this out about Jake Vogel:

Several hours later, Vogel did in fact make things pretty interesting:

Vogel ended up going 1/4 with a walk. If the bat to ball and nascent pop become a legitimate thing, this might just be a developing situation, stay posted!

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Damon Keith had a big game of his own for the Quakes:

Keith went 3/5, hitting a single and a double as well, and he knocked in three runs. For the season, he’s slashing .302/.433/.517, and going into last night’s action, he had a wRC+ of 146. The Oceanside native also picked up a pair of outfield assists, throwing out baserunners at both second and third base.

One interesting development as Keith’s season has progressed has been his strikeout rate. By month:

  • April – 18.5%
  • May – 29.0%
  • June – 21.3%
  • July – 16.7%

On the surface, it looks like Keith started out hot, the report on him made the rounds, the California League adjusted, and he has since adjusted back. Indications that a player is beating the level are always exciting to see, and it seems he has little left to prove with the bat with the Quakes. Assuming playing time can be had, a move to High A at some point seems like the logical next step some time in the near term.

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One of the more exciting young arms in the system, Joel Ibarra, made his full season debut with Rancho Cucamonga. He tossed an efficient pair of innings, needing just 24 pitches (17 strikes) to do the job, allowing a ground ball single, and striking out one.

FanGraphs already has Ibarra ranked 20th in the system, and they posted this long video of him a couple of months back, where he was sitting 94-98 in Arizona:

Ibarra, whom the Dodgers signed back in December of 2018 out of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, is listed at 6′-0″, and just 176 lbs. Based on the video above, 176 lbs appears to be in the rearview mirror — mass equals gas, and it looks like he has both.

The Quakes will be on the road for their first nine games after the All-Star break, and all of them will be streamed, so an even fresher look should be on the way.

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Another pitcher who is listed as being from Hermosillo is off to a hot start with the ACL Dodgers — righty pitcher Christian Romero. Thus far, in 9.0 innings this season, he has 10 strikeouts, no walks, and has allowed four hits.

I say “listed”, because a tweet about his signing indicates that he is from 300 miles to the South:

Romero, who is currently 19, was signed as an 18-year-old in January of 2021. He’s listed at 6’3, 195 lbs, and, according to this article translated by google, his fastball was up to 93 mph at the time of signing.

Additionally, he shares both a birthday, and a half birthday, with yours truly. What an honor. (For me, I mean, he has every right to be more than a bit dubious)

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Tulsa announced their promotional schedule for the second half, and it looks like they are bringing back the catfish noodling celebration from August 11th to the 14th. Last year this included a noodling demonstration tank, so if you ever had a desire to learn how to noodle for catfish, you still have time to get your vacation plans in order!

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Lastly, full season affiliate starting pitchers for Friday, July 15th:

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Happy Friday, folks!

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