Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers will send eight prospects to this year’s Arizona Fall League, though they aren’t really sending any of their big names. What they do seem to be doing is using the AFL to give opportunities to players with something to prove.
——
Position Players
- Yeiner Fernandez, C/2B (#21)
- Damon Keith, OF (#41)
- Jake Vogel, OF (NR)
Pitchers
- Ronan Kopp, LHP (#14)
- Jake Pilarski, RHP (#26)
- Ben Casparius, RHP (#51)
- Kendall Williams, RHP (HM)
- Ryan Sublette, RHP (NR)
——
After bursting onto the scene in 2021, Yeiner had a good 2022 in Single-A, but seemed to struggle with hitting the ball with authority this year in his High-A debut. Still, a .274/.360/.375/.736 line is fine for a 20-year-old catcher, assuming he sticks at that position. I know they’re using him as sort of a utilityman, but the offensive bar is low for catchers and he can chuck it.
Yeiner Fernandez, pop times 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/1kLLnEFjxC
— Josh Thomas (@jokeylocomotive) December 13, 2022
Keith did nothing but mash the ball in 2021 and 2022, but despite being old for the level at 23, he struggled to a .229/.312/.373/.685 line in High-A this year, and likely needs a strong AFL to stay relevant. Vogel is in High-A as well, mainly due to his pedigree as a 3rd round draft pick, as he has put up lines that look like .234/.321/.332/.653 at every stop thus far. Progress isn’t linear, but he hasn’t shown much except the ability to steal bases so far.
Kopp is an exciting prospect because he misses so many bats, which fits the Dodgers’ profile of taking excellent stuff and trying to get them into the zone in development. Just 20, Kopp struck out 107 batters in 72.1 innings and posted a 2.99 ERA in High-A despite walking 50 batters. Speaks to his stuff, but he has limited pro innings, so sending him to the AFL makes sense.
Ronan Kopp, my No. 14 #Dodgers prospect, struck out all four outs he recorded today while touching 98 mph for High-A Great Lakes pic.twitter.com/7cQ5Jqcq99
— Bruce Kuntz (@Bnicklaus7) September 21, 2023
Pilarski is 25 and was pitching in indy ball last year, but when you can throw triple digits, somebody is going to give you a shot. Things looked promising early as he carved High-A to the tune of a 0.71 ERA in 12.2 innings, but he couldn’t miss bats and saw his walk rate balloon after a promotion to AA, where he put up a 6.23 ERA in 30.1 frames.
Good outing for Jake Pilarski who came in throwing fire after inheriting 2 runners & 1 out. He struck out both hitters he faced, then went scoreless in his 2nd inning of action. Pilarski was making his 24th appearance & it was a good one. #dodgers pic.twitter.com/nSJsqgPnUF
— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) September 14, 2023
Casparius is a 24-year-old starter, and he dominated High-A (2.68 ERA) but struggled at AA (6.62). One bright spot is that his peripherals were the same, he just got hit harder, so hopefully just more about learning to pitch against advanced hitters. At 6’6″, the Dodgers probably expected Williams to take a step forward in velocity at some point, but it just hasn’t come. Still, he’s been effective, posting a 3.42 ERA in 73.2 innings, mostly split between High-A and AA. He’s likely here just due to the low innings count. Sublette is a 24-year-old reliever who posted a 6.27 ERA in 47.1 AA innings, striking out 60 but walking a whopping 46.
——
Again, admittedly not the most exciting list of prospects to track, especially because it’s going to be more about getting work in than anything else.
