Dodgers Prospect Notes: Copen’s no-hit bid, Ward walks it off, A ball pitching shines

Jared Massey 04/14/2026 Prospect Notes Leave A Comment

Jaron Elkins (Photo: Cody Bashore)

Hitter of the Week

This week’s selection wasn’t as cut and dry as last week’s, with no otherworldly performances that stood head and shoulders above the rest. However, despite only playing four games, Jaron Elkins showed off his skills both at the plate and on the basepaths.

Elkins, selected in the 8th round of the 2023 draft, is spending his second season in Single A after playing 109 games for Rancho last year. The 21 year old outfielder stole 63 bases last year while clubbing nine homers and 30 doubles.

This season, he’s off to a very hot start, with a 1.181 OPS in his first seven games, including a 1.589 mark last week. On Wednesday, he doubled and stole 3 bases. Thursday, he missed hitting for the cycle by a double. His four stolen bases last week pushed him into the organizational lead with 7.

Elkins main issue as a pro has been his ability to consistently make contact. If he can cut down on the strikeouts, he’s an exciting breakout candidate this year.

Pitcher of the Week

Imagine taking a no-hitter into the 7th inning only for it to be broken up by a broken-bat base hit. That’s what Patrick Copen had to deal with last week, which is why he’s our Pitcher of the Week.

Copen is a personal favorite of mine and it’s not just for what he’s capable of on the mound. He suffered a devastating injury in 2024 and overcame the odds to return to pitching the following season. You can read more about his story here.

On the mound, his stuff is overpowering. Copen sits in the upper-90s and occasionally touches triple digits. His array of breaking balls keeps hitters off balance and allows him to rack up strikeouts. He already has 17 Ks in his first two games in 2026, including his one hit, nine strikeout performance last week.

There’s little doubt that his stuff is major league quality, the only question is how many strikes he’ll throw. The Dodgers will give him every opportunity to start but his stuff would play in a major league bullpen right now. Either way, expect to see him in Dodger Stadium at some point in the not too distant future.

Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets

James Tibbs III cooled off after his torrid start, going just 3-for-21 last week. He did manage to club his 8th homer on Sunday. Ryan Fitzgerald was one of the hottest hitters in the org, batting .407 last week with a grand slam in Sunday’s contest. However, the most dramatic home run came from Ryan Ward, who walked it off for the Comets on Saturday with a three-run blast, his second longball of the week.

On the pitching side, River Ryan struggled early in his second start of the year but settled in to give the Comets three innings with 4 strikeouts. Jackson Ferris also lasted just three innings, giving up four runs and four walks while striking out a pair. The most impressive start came from Christian Romero, going five shutout innings on Friday.

Double-A Tulsa Drillers

The offense is starting to come alive for Tulsa, who won 5 out of 6 last week. Kendall George led the offense by hitting .409 with a pair of doubles and stealing three bases. Josue De Paula collected his first home run of the year on Wednesday, while Zyhir Hope hit his first on Saturday and his second on Sunday, the latter being a grand slam. Elijah Hainline continued his hot start with a pair of doubles and his second tater of the season.

On the mound, Wyatt Crowell gave the Drillers five scoreless on Saturday with seven strikeouts. After struggling in his first start on Tuesday, Payton Martin bounced back on Sunday with four shutout innings of his own. Adam Serwinowski continues to struggle early, recording just four outs while allowing five runs in his second start of the season.

High-A Great Lakes Loons

The weather is still cold in Michigan and so are most of the bats. Logan Wagner paced the offense with a .320 average, three doubles and a pair of homers. Charles Davalan hit .300 with a pair of doubles. Jose Meza batted .348 and stole a couple bases.

Mike Sirota is off to a slow start but did manage to pick up four hits in three games from Thursday to Sunday. Eduardo Quintero is ice cold at the plate, going 1 for 20 in five games last week.

Sterling Patick allowed just one hit in 4.2 innings, giving up a pair of runs while striking out 7. He’s been one of the early bright spots for the Loons pitching staff. Aidan Foeller did his best Patrick Copen impression in his debut, allowing just 1 hit while walking four and striking out eight. Christian Zazueta had an eerily similar outing to his debut: dominating for 3 innings before struggling in the 4th. He still managed to strike out 7.

Lefty reliever Myles Caba gave the Loons 4.1 scoreless, hitless innings of relief. Righty Nicholas Cruz went 5.1 innings in relief last week, allowing just 1 run and striking out 8. Davis Chastain, last year’s 14th rounder, struck out 7 in 3.1 innings, including a 2.1 inning appearance on Friday in which he recorded 14 swings and misses.

Single-A Ontario Tower Buzzers

The Tower Buzzers were rained out on Sunday and walked off on Wednesday and Friday, but still got some really impressive performances on both sides of the ball.

Top prospect Emil Morales batted .353 for the week with four doubles, hitting safely in each of the four games that he played. Chase Harlan hit .357 with a moonshot home run on Wedneday. Mairoshendrick Martinus, one of the best names in the history of baseball, hit .294 with two doubles, a triple and two stolen bases.

A trio of righties shined for the Buzzers this week. Marlon Nieves made his anticipated season debut and did not disappoint, allowing just one walk and one hit over six shutout innings while striking out six. His bowling ball sinker/slider combo overwhelmed the 66ers.

Jesus Tillero put together another impressive outing, spinning six shutout innings of his own while striking out five. The 19-year-old is trying to break out after taking a big step forward with the Quakes last season.

Last, but certainly not least, reliever Jecsua Liborius (another 80-grade name) was dominant for the Buzzers coming out of the pen and slamming the door, picking up a pair of saves last week. The 20-year-old righty faced nine batters and struck out eight of them.

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