Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The 2021 IFA class for the Dodgers had a number of big-names who have already received some buzz, with January signees Wilman Diaz, Rayne Doncon, Jesus Galiz, Thayron Liranzo, Juan Alonso, and Maximo Martinez all making their way onto various prospect lists at one point or another. But a February 2021 signing, who put pen to paper for just $10k, has been making some waves of late — Derlin Figueroa — as he has brought his late-season power surge with him to Camelback.
Lefty, righty, or lefty again, it hasn’t mattered, the 19-year-old Figueroa has been an equal-opportunity agent of destruction.
Listed at an even 6′ tall and 163 lbs (players are listed by their height/weight as of signing), Figueroa was originally a shortstop, but the combination of added strength and a system focus on (finally) developing shortstops has seen him moved off and playing all over the field elsewhere, with a roughly 75/25 split favoring the dirt (1B/2B/3B). Long-term, he is likely to end up in a corner in some capacity, but he has reportedly played well wherever they’ve stuck him.
Getting back to the aforementioned late-season power surge, frankly, I didn’t know what to make of the Santo Domingo, DR native’s 2022 season. On the surface, it seemed like he was one to watch, with a .296/.393/.535 slash line, a solid walk rate (12.4%), and a strikeout rate that is well within the acceptable range (20.7%). Break it down month to month, and things get a little murkier, as well as more interesting:
- June: .225/.289/.500
- July: .200/.366/.346
- August: .473/.532/.818
There is a little bit of Wild West to the Dominican Summer League, as the competition can be incredibly uneven, stats can be all over the place, and it can be really hard to know what’s real and what’s a mirage. But yeah, that’s an eruption, and seeing it carry over to this Spring, at the very least, is intriguing.
As an aside, if Figueroa’s leg kick and hand load look at all familiar, it’s with pretty good reason. Here he is side by side with Rafael Devers:
For 2023, look for Figueroa to further cut his teeth state-side with the Arizona Complex League Dodgers, and if he continues to beat up on pitchers, a late-season bump to Rancho could be in the offing.
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As for some of the other big names making noise at Extended Spring Training, Josue De Paula and Samuel Munoz hit back-to-back homers:
De Paula who is still just 17, has been incredibly ascendant since signing, ranking 10th in the system at MLB Pipeline. The 18-year-old Munoz, who was the club’s #1 ranked signee in January of 2022, is listed at 27th. Yeah, there’s some thump on the way.
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During this contest that saw the Dodgers giving the baby Giants all they could handle, the Dodgers sent out three really live arms in a row — 20-year-old Aldrin Batista, 19-year-old Reynaldo Yean, and 20-year-old Alvaro Benua. All three sat 98-101, and all three topped out at 102. Yeeeeeeesh.
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That’s all for this bit of intel from the back fields. Enjoy your Wednesday evening, folks.
