Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The last calendar year has been a wild one on the international front for the Dodgers, starting with the ongoing rampant speculation regarding Roki Sasaki, to signing fashion diva and playoff hero Yoshinobu Yamamoto, to landing top prospect Emil Morales (who absolutely torched the Dominican Summer League, by the by), to signing top Taiwanese outfield prospect Ching-Hsien Ko, then having a deal with Ko’s fellow countryman, RHP Hsiao Chi, fail to consummate and finally, the club rolling in to the World Series uncharacteristically having approximately $2.5 million left in their bonus pool, which led to an awkward exchange as a reporter tried to get Andrew Friedman to spill the tea:
This is the World Series, Ron. This is outrageous. Ron, pass the microphone.
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The club’s international activities are indeed all the rage these days, and any daylight on the matter is a positive, which leads us to this first bit of news: the Dodgers will be signing speedy outfielder Teilon Serrano in the signing period that kicks off in January 2025.
Hailing from Santo Domingo, the capitol of the Dominican Republic, the 16-year-old, 6′ tall, 185 lbs Serrano is pretty well-known on the international showcase circuit, having participated in Perfect Game events as far back as 2022. As is often the case, Serrano participated in those events as a shortstop, but he appears targeted for the outfield as a pro, where he can make use of his exceptional wheels — MLB Pipeline, who ranked him 50th in their recent IFA Top 50, put a 65 grade on his speed, but noted in his video scouting report that he logged times as quick as 6.4 seconds in the 60-yard dash, which would put him in the 70-75 range.
And speaking of said showcases, the video record available shows significant growth both in physicality and his sweet lefty swing, as he used to employ a big leg kick and a good amount of movement in his load to help generate a little pop as he sought to catch eyes with exit velo numbers:
Contrast that louder operation with the smoother and quieter situation he utilizes now, which he is employing while wearing Dodger gear that he undoubtedly purchased at a local sporting goods store:
A little toe tap, easy load, and that sound.
Plus-plus runner, quick bat, already showing improved mechanics and physicality, and a long track record of performance against quality competition, Serrano has a high floor, along with the athletic ability to take it a step or three farther. Once he puts ink to paper after the 2025 signing period kicks off, he will spend the season at Campo Las Palmas, the home of the Dominican Summer League Dodgers.
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One of the burdens of success is recognition by outsiders of those within your organization who have made outsized contributions to the current state of the club. Folks go ham over your peeps. Though first base coach Clayton McCullough interviewing for the Marlins’ managerial opening has garnered the headlines, the scouting ranks of the Dodgers have already been raided:
I’ve been fortunate to have spent the past 8 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and I’ll forever be grateful to the org & everyone I worked with. Ending that chapter with a World Series win was the perfect send-off. Now, it’s time to head back to the Big Apple. Let’s go Mets! 🍎
— Laiky Uribe (@LaikyUribe) November 2, 2024
Under normal circumstances, a scout leaving one organization for another isn’t terribly big news (although Uribe isn’t just leaving, he is receiving a promotion in the deal, as he will be Assistant International Scouting Director for the Mets), but the list of his signees in recent years is impressive enough to even get my lazy ass to do a bit more writing. It’s borderline unbelievable. The first group are prospects who are still in the organization, all rankings are from MLB Pipeline:
- Josue De Paula (#48 overall, LAD #2)
- Joendry Vargas (LAD #7)
- Emil Morales (LAD #8)
- Eduardo Quintero (LAD #9)
- Ching-Hsien Ko (LAD #14)
- Samuel Sanchez (LAD #27)
- Reynaldo Yean (unranked, but his fastball hits 105)
And this second group are Uribe’s notable signings who have been traded:
- Thayron Liranzo (DET #6, traded for Jack Flaherty)
- Alexander Albertus (CHW #14, traded in the Michael Kopech/Tommy Edman deal)
- Jeral Perez ( CHW #13, traded in the Michael Kopech/Tommy Edman deal)
- Rayne Doncon (MIN #17, traded in the Manuel Margot salary dump, returned LAD #25 Noah Miller)
- Derlin Figueroa (traded for Ryan Yarbrough who was traded for Kevin Kiermaier)
- Aldrin Batista (CHW #21, traded for IFA money used to sign Hyun-seok Jang, LAD #17)
In total, via signs or trades, eight of the Dodgers’ current top 30 (plus a kid who hits 105), their Game 1 starter for the NLCS and WS, their closer, the NLCS MVP, salary relief and one of the best defenders at short in the minors, 106.0 innings from a fearless poo hucker, and some piercing blue eye. As Walker Buehler would say, YEESH.
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When a major league club has success, they know the raid is coming, so this really shouldn’t catch anyone off-guard. They can try to halt its progress through incremental promotions, but that only goes so far, as there is only so much upward room to be had, and some successes are too big to ignore. The same people who hired Uribe will be involved with hiring and/or coaching up his replacement, but regardless, those are some big big shoes to fill.
To Laiky Uribe, thank you for stocking the farm as you did, and for directly contributing to a World Series winner despite participating in the org in a capacity that typically takes five years at a bare minimum to bear any fruit on the big league roster, let alone help win a title.
To Andrew Friedman, and to VP of International Scouting Ismael Cruz, good luck replacing a pivotal cog in the best scouting and player development machine in the game.
To the bevy of interns and scouts looking to make their way in the baseball world, time to step up, because that work at a showcase or on a back field somewhere can absolutely have championship implications, just see above.
