Dodgers Prospect Notes: Sirota promoted, Ferris near perfect, OKC begins postseason run, Tibbs reaches 30 HR, more

Jared Massey 09/21/2026 Prospect Notes Leave A Comment

And then there was one. Oklahoma City is the only Dodgers’ affiliate still playing ball. Tulsa, which set a record for most regular season wins with 88, was unceremoniously dispatched from their playoff series in just two games. Now it’s up to the OKC Comets to give the Dodgers a minor league champion.

Hitter of the Week

Just before Josue De Paula was promoted to the majors, another Tulsa outfielder was sent up to Oklahoma City. It just wasn’t the one everyone expected. Chris Newell made his Triple-A debut on Sept. 5 and has been one of the team’s best hitters as they closed out their regular season.

Newell hit 22 homers and stole 22 bases for the Drillers before his promotion, but has hit much better in his brief stint with the Comets. Last week, he batted .429 with a double, two homers and three stolen bases. 

He’s mainly played left field with OKC but has spent time in all three defensive spots and even first base. The 25-year-old is Rule 5 eligible this offseason, though he’s more likely seen as a depth player with power/speed at this stage of his career.

Pitcher of the Week

Jackson Ferris just keeps getting better. His final start of the season was his magnum opus, a career-best performance that allowed the Comets to clinch the second half crown and head to Las Vegas for the postseason.

Ferris had allowed just four runs in his previous five outings prior to Wednesday, then spun a near-perfect game, with that feat broken up by a weakly hit infield single. In all, Ferris allowed just two baserunners while striking out a career-high 13 batters in 7 ⅔ innings.

Over the last 30 days, Ferris allowed four runs in 36 innings and struck out 48 batters, a mark that was tops among all minor league pitchers during that span. He’ll surely get the ball on Tuesday in Vegas to kick off the Comets’ postseason run, with hopes that he’ll make another start in the Triple-A championship should OKC advance.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

The big news this week was Mike Sirota being promoted to Triple-A to help the Comets with their playoff run. Sirota played on Saturday and Sunday, reaching base four times in his debut and doubling for his first hit.

James Tibbs III had a quiet week, collecting just three hits in 20 at bats. One of those hits was a home run, his 30th of the season. He joins Easton Shelton and Jake Gelof in the exclusive 30 home run club among Dodgers minor leaguers.

Zach Ehrhard batted .320 over the final week with four doubles and a pair of steals. The 23-year-old ended up with 20 homers and 28 steals in his second full season.

It was a record setting final week for Ryan Fitzgerald, the journeyman infielder, who smashed a homer for his 165th hit of the season. That set a record for OKC and capped off an impressive organizational debut.

Alek Thomas is still crushing the ball for the Comets, hitting .529 last week with two doubles and two triples. Noah Miller clubbed a pair of homers, increasing his career-best total to a dozen. 

Christian Romero, the 23-year-old righty, was solid in his final start, working five innings and allowing just a pair of runs with six strikeouts. Lefty Ronan Kopp, who’s on the 40 man roster, worked a pair of scoreless appearances.

Likely Game 2 starter Cole Irvin really struggled in his final outing, lasting just 3 ⅔ innings while surrendering six runs (five earned). Still, he posted an ERA of 3.33 over 28 starts during the season for OKC.

Double-A Tulsa

Tulsa’s playoff run was frustrating, to say the least. A record-setting regular season was followed by sloppy defensive play and numerous bullpen meltdowns. The offense showed up, but it simply wasn’t enough.

Game 1 started off great. Starter Adam Serwinowski set down nine of the first 11 batters he faced and was given a lead thanks to homers from Taylor Young and Griffin Lockwood-Powell. However, things fell apart in the 4th after a single and a walk were followed by a 3-run home run to tie the game.

The offense tried to bail him out later on, with Mike Sirota smashing a go-ahead, 2-run home run in the 7th. But a bases-loaded wild pitch would knot things back up in the bottom half.

Then, Charles Davalan came up with the biggest hit of his young career, a 2-run shot of his own in the 8th to put Tulsa up 7-5. But again, the bullpen would surrender the lead again. The final blow was struck in the 9th, as Cardinals’ infielder Jesus Baez walked the Drillers off with yet another 2-run shot.

In Game 2, the script was flipped as Tulsa came back from a pair of early deficits to tie the game in the 4th and 5th. A sacrifice fly in the 7th from Elijah Hainline gave the Drillers a 3-2 lead. Christian Zazueta went five, allowing a pair of solo homers while striking out seven.

However, history repeated as Tulsa couldn’t hold the lead. An innocent single to right led to a throw from Sirota that neither middle-infielder could come up with and a run scored all the way from first to tie the game. Two batters later, a double led to a relay throw that beat the runner but couldn’t be fielded cleanly, scoring the go-ahead run for Springfield.

Another two-run home run in the 9th sealed it for the Cardinals, putting them up by three, as Mike Sirota’s RBI groundout was all the Drillers could muster in the 9th. They fell 6-4, ending their postseason run after just two games.

Be sure to check back next week for updates on Oklahoma City’s postseason run. Coverage will continue in October as the Arizona Fall League kicks off. Thanks for reading!

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About Jared Massey

Former co-host along with Dustin Nosler of the Award-eligible Dugout Blues podcast. Founder of the Greg Miller Marching and Chowder Society. Certified Prospect Hugger.
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