Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Now that the minor league season is over, the opportunities to see Dodgers’ prospects are much more limited. Luckily, the organization sent a handful of their best to Glendale to play for the Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League.
Opening Day was on Saturday and it featured some of the club’s most exciting bats, including Charles Davalan, Eduardo Quintero and Chase Harlan, as well as intriguing arms like Sam Horn and Cody Morse.
In the opener, Davalan batted leadoff and, for the first time since 2024, played second base. He only reached base once via a walk, but showed off some impressive range with the glove, including a diving attempt on the other side of the bag. Playing competent defense on the infield would give Chuck a major boost to his big league odds, as it would allow him to sidestep the outfield logjam ahead of him.
Quintero reached base three times. The 20-year-old started in right field and collected an infield hit as well as a pair of walks. Harlan, having not played since Aug. 8 after suffering an oblique injury, went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. Catcher Anson Aroz started behind the plate and went hitless in four at bats as well.
The most anticipated appearance came from Sam Horn, a right-handed pitcher the Dodgers drafted two years ago out of the University of Missouri. Horn also played quarterback for his college team, but Tommy John surgery and a broken leg delayed his debut until this season.
Horn came out firing 95 MPH fastballs and showed a sharp curve in the low 80s. After allowing an infield single, Horn issued a two-out walk followed by another single to score a run. He then blew a fastball by the final batter he faced, recording his first strikeout as a professional.
The other Dodgers’ pitching prospect who appeared in the game was lefty reliever Cody Morse. The 6-foot-6 southpaw creates unique angles with his pitches and is hell on lefties, who batted just .146 against him this year. He came in with the bases loaded and two outs and got a popup to end the inning.
Sunday’s game featured only Harlan in the lineup, who again went hitless but drew a pair of walks. The game was started by lefty Luke Fox, who got off to a hot start for the Drillers this season but went down with a hamstring injury and missed a few months. He came back and pitched sparingly down the stretch.
Looking fully healthy in the fall league, Fox was fantastic in his inning of work. He was sitting 95 MPH with his fastball, mixing in both his slider and changeup, and recorded a pair of strikeouts before a weak fly ball ended the inning.
Flamethrowing Marlon Nieves followed with two innings of his own. He started his outing by walking former Dodgers’ prospect Zyhir Hope, but worked a scoreless frame. He allowed three hits in his second inning of work but struck out the final batter he faced.
Game 3 of the six week season will be started by another Dodgers’ prospect, right-hander Brooks Auger. Stay tuned for updates on some of the org’s top hitters and pitchers throughout the offseason!
