Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers will send seven prospects to this year’s Arizona Fall League, the league announced last week. While you won’t see guys like Diego Cartaya and Bobby Miller, there are some prospects of note heading there to represent the Dodgers.
Position Players
Pitchers
On the position player side, the Dodgers are sending two of their top power-hitting prospects in Pages and Ramos. I’m a little surprised Pages is going since he has played a full season of Double-A and the AFL is, sometimes, reserved for players who either struggled or had injury-plagued seasons, but he should hit some dongs next month. Ramos is in a similar position. He had 545 plate appearances between Low-A and High-A, so maybe the Dodgers’ brass wants to get a look at him against advanced competition before the proving ground that is Double-A in 2023. Vivas also had a full compliment of work plate appearances in High-A, and with him being on the 40-man roster — and the inevitable squeeze this winter — perhaps they want to see if Vivas is worth keeping on the roster.
As for the pitchers, Choi, the 2021 Dodgers Minor League Pitcher of the Year has thrown just four innings in 2022, so it’s no surprise that he’ll be pitching in the AFL. Whatever injury he had has healed enough for the Dodgers to be confident to include him on the roster. Dodson was acquired in March for Luke Raley and pitched to an ugly 8.39 ERA in 34 1/3 innings with Tulsa that included more walks (38) than strikeouts (31). Seeing as he was not-terrible in 2021, this seems to be an aberration. Harris might be the best reliever in the system and a dark horse candidate for a call-up in 2023. Sheehan is one of the more interesting pitching prospects on the roster, let alone from the Dodgers. The 2021 6th-rounder has a chance to shine against some quality prospects before getting an extended look in Double-A next season.
I’m a little surprised Landon Knack didn’t get the nod. He struggled this season (5.01 ERA in 64 2/3 innings), thanks in large part to nagging injuries. His velocity has been inconsistent, but the Dodgers feel comfortable enough to let the player developmental staff to help him right the proverbial ship.
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I wouldn’t put too much stock in the numbers in the AFL — much like Spring Training. This is just a way for orgs to see some players they’re interested in and how they play against players of their own ilk. And it gives us another baseball outlet for October — but not the one most will be focusing on.
