Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The Dodgers rounded out the first 10 rounds by making four more collegiate selections.
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In the seventh round, the Dodgers drafted Div. III right-hander Mason Estrada with the 225th overall pick. Estrada, an aerospace engineering major at MIT, throws a mid-90s fastball out of a low slot and was named to the All-NEWMAC First Team this spring. The 21-year-old has a transfer portal commitment to Tennessee.
1, 2, 3 in the 2nd inning for Mason Estrada @MIT_Baseball. Gets the K here on a 94 mph heater. Has been 93-97 through 2 with a hard slider in the mid 80s. Draft eligible sophomore. pic.twitter.com/zJQhPWHtz1
— Brian Recca (@brian_recca) March 14, 2025
Estrada stands 6-foot, 200 pounds and originally hails out of Louisiana. He posted a 2.21 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings this spring. He only allowed 22 hits but did surrender 23 walks. His fastball is paired with a slider that could be his best pitch.
Rankings:
FanGraphs: N/A
MLB Pipeline: N/A
Perfect Game: 403
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With their eighth round pick, the Dodgers selected Virginia right-hander Jack O’Connor at 255th overall. O’Connor was limited to 28 1/3 innings across the last two seasons for Virginia due to injuries. The 21-year-old pitched in relief this spring and posted a 26% strikeout rate, although his results weren’t great. His season ended with internal brace elbow surgery in late May.
Jack O’Connor three strikeouts 3/28/25 vs Stanford CH, SL / changeup, slider in college at Virginia pic.twitter.com/qCTwvxBnhb
— Follow @bnicklaus7 (@burce_media) July 14, 2025
O’Connor’s fastball pre-surgery sat in the 92-96 mph range with 6.2 feet of extension and 16.5 inches of induced vertical break. He didn’t get much swing and miss with his four-seamer over the last twos seasons, only turning in a 14% whiff rate. The 6-foot-5 hurler was mainly fastball/slider, throwing the heater at a 48% clip and the slider at a 34% rate. His slider is a gyroscopic breaking ball and could have plus upside — it produced a 52% whiff rate over the last two years. O’Connor will work his way back from elbow surgery and most likely has a relief future with that slider being a water-carrier.
Rankings:
FanGraphs: N/A
MLB Pipeline: N/A
Perfect Game: N/A
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In the ninth round, the Dodgers drafted Southeastern Louisiana catcher Conner O’Neal with the 285th overall pick. Holding with the typical pattern for the ninth and 10th rounds, O’Neal is a senior who will likely sign for far under-slot. The 22-year-old was named 2nd Team Southland All-Conference after posting a .459 OBP and 14 home runs this spring.
SLU 4, UTRGV 2
— Southeastern Baseball (@LionUpBaseball) April 18, 2025
⬇️ 8th
HEY HEY!!
Conner the Crusher puts the Lions back in front!!
O'Neal's 12th home run of the season is a 2-run bomb!!#LionUp | #HammondAmerica pic.twitter.com/bdeReOsUQ1
O’Neal is a bat-first backstop who will need to progress to stick at catcher. He punished fastballs the last two years with limited swing and miss and good exit velocities. However, he struggled with breaking balls and changeups, whiffing far too much when pitchers mixed speeds. He didn’t chase much, walking an absurd 23% of the time this spring, but also was passive in-zone. The Dodgers will hope he continues demolishing higher-quality fastballs than he’s seen while also making adjustments with breaking pitches.
Rankings:
FanGraphs: N/A
MLB Pipeline: N/A
Perfect Game: N/A
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Rounding out the bonus pool slot value stage of the draft, the Dodgers selected Kansas State left-hander Jacob Frost with their 10th round pick at 315th overall. He’s another senior who will sign for very cheap. Frost began his college career in community college before transferring to Kansas State for the last two seasons. The 22-year-old made 15 starts this spring, posting a 24% strikeout rate, 13% walk rate and 5.97 ERA.
Ring him up #KStateBSB x @jacob_frost9 pic.twitter.com/7tE25CabuS
— K-State Baseball (@KStateBSB) April 27, 2024
Frost’s arsenal is four-seam, slider, changeup and curveball. His fastball sits at 92 while topping at 96 mph with solid ride at the top of the zone and 14 inches of arm-side run. Frost’s changeup and slider (more of a cutter) stand out among his pitches. His changeup only dropped about 6 mph from his fastball but got a 27% chase rate with 15 inches of arm-side run. His slider lived in the low-to-mid 80s with 0.7 inches IVB and two inches of sweep, generating a 31% whiff rate this spring. Frost’s fastball may need a little more velocity to play in the pros; if he can find that and some command improvement, the collection of secondaries looks like it could make him a backend starter.
Rankings:
FanGraphs: N/A
MLB Pipeline: N/A
Perfect Game: N/A
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After starting Day 2 with two prep picks in their first three selections, the Dodgers finished the top 10 rounds with four college players, two of them seniors. They will almost certainly save a big chunk of bonus pool on the two seniors in the 9th and 10th rounds, as is typical practice. That will give them more bonus money to spend on the two prep players already taken or, if there’s leftover, potentially allow them to take another signability risk in rounds 11-20. With the new schedule, the final 10 rounds will also be happening today. No rest for the weary!
