Dodgers Prospect Notes: Pages on fire, Wrobleski great, Rushing solid, Gelof POTW, Heubeck & Karros clicking, Lipcius starts hot, more

Bruce Kuntz 04/16/2024 Prospect Notes Leave A Comment

Top Farm Batter

Andy Pages is destroying the ball in Triple-A. The top outfield prospect homered four times over the last week with a .520/.567/1.080 slash line and 12 RBI.

Coming off a labrum tear and subsequent shoulder surgery that ended his 2023 season early, Pages hasn’t missed a beat at the plate. He had a great spring but was optioned to get everyday playing time. The more he keeps hitting, the more pressure he’ll put on the Dodgers to find a spot in the outfield for him in Los Angeles.

Even with his performance, it’s most realistic to expect some time to pass before Pages gets promoted. He looks great but is still just 23 years old and needs to play every day. If an injury or something else were to open an everyday spot in the Dodger lineup, however, Pages could conceivably be ready immediately.

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Top Farm Pitcher

Justin Wrobleski has began his Double-A stint on a very high note. After a quality outing as Tulsa’s Opening Day starter, Wrobleski pitched on Thursday and looked excellent again. He tossed five innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts and zero walks, and 52 of his 70 pitches were strikes.

Wrobleski has looked in control as though he’s been pitching in Double-A for multiple years already. With above-average command paired with strikeout stuff, he could skyrocket up prospect boards if these performances continue. I wrote a full piece about why I think that will happen, if you want to read more.

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Triple-A Oklahoma City Baseball Club

Ryan Ward had a nice series with OKC, driving in nine runs while appearing in five games. The 26-year-old outfielder is now in his second Triple-A season and hoping to break through to the Majors at some point. He had a .748 OPS that was below PCL standards last year and will look to continue elevating the ball consistently to return to his 2022 self.

Andre Lipcius homered twice in the last week as well. The Dodgers traded for the utility infielder from Detroit during the Spring and he’s started his time in the organization nicely, posting a 1.096 OPS through 12 games.

Veteran right-hander Elieser Hernández made a nice start, allowing only one run on a solo homer across five innings with no walks and seven strikeouts. The 28-year-old appeared in parts of five seasons with Miami from 2018-22 before being traded to the Mets and spending much of last year injured.

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Double-A Tulsa Drillers

Dalton Rushing, the top prospect in the system, has performed well to start the season. He homered twice over the last week (while also narrowly missing a couple more on warning-track flyouts) and elevated his OPS on the young season to .957.

Rushing should be expected to spend most if not all of 2024 in Double-A, as this is his first taste of the level. Will Smith‘s 10-year extension made the future a bit harder to read for the 23-year-old catcher, but he is likely on track to reach the Majors in 2025.

Utility infielder and speedster Taylor Young has also shown some prominence with the bat to start the season. He tallied eight hits in 19 at-bats this week and sports a 1.179 OPS so far on the campaign.

Young stole 56 bases in High-A last season and can play all over the infield defensively. If the 25-year-old becomes a threat at the plate as well, he could become a valuable depth piece and eventual Major League utilityman.

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High-A Great Lakes Loons

Two right-handers in Peter Heubeck and Jared Karros have started the season hot for Great Lakes.

Heubeck, 21, is looking like things are starting to click in his third full professional season. The 2021 third-round pick struck out eight and allowed only two hits in his five-inning start last week. He has a 1.04 ERA and .133 average against through his first two starts.

Karros, 23, struck out six in an impressive start of his own. The former UCLA Bruin has picked up wins in both of his first two starts to go with a 1.80 ERA.

Powerful outfielder Chris Newell showed all extremes of his profile over the last week, both driving in 10 runs and striking out 10 times in his 26 trips to the plate. Newell hit three doubles and two home runs in the span. He had a .745 OPS after a midseason promotion to High-A last year and is looking to translate his power more consistently this time around.

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Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

Jake Gelof was named the California League Player of the Week for his big performance at the plate. Gelof, the 60th overall pick in last year’s draft, had one each of a double, a triple and a homer while slashing .462/.529/.923 and driving in seven runs.

Before being drafted, Gelof became the all-time home run leader for the University of Virginia. He’s got a legit bat that has translated to the pros well so far, and if he continues to hit, he could get promoted to High-A midseason.

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About Bruce Kuntz

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I'm a Long Beach State journalism student and I've been writing about the Dodgers and their farm system since I was in high school.
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