Dodgers Prospect Notes: Shelton sets HR record, De Paula reaches milestone, Quintero slam, Loons, Buzzers begin postseason runs, more

Jared Massey 09/07/2026 Prospect Notes Leave A Comment

Eduardo Quintero
Eduardo Quintero (Photo: Cody Bashore)

Hitter of the Week

Jake Gelof was seen as a top power-hitting prospect coming into the 2023 draft. He’d hit 21 homers as a sophomore and 23 as a junior at Virginia, leading to the Dodgers making him a second round pick. However, he combined for just 33 homers over 238 games in his first three years with the organization.

Then comes the 2026 season and a new challenge at Double-A Tulsa, and Gelof has exceeded expectations. The 24-year-old belted his 30th homer of the year on Wednesday, becoming just the second Dodgers’ minor leaguer to reach that mark, and then slugged two more on Thursday for good measure. He leads the Texas League with 32 home runs, while his SLG (.552) and OPS (.922) rank 2nd and 3rd.

The righty slugger has one more week to continue establishing career bests before he and the Drillers start their quest for the Texas League championship.

Pitcher of the Week

Lefty Sterling Patick has had an up-and-down season, with an ERA of 5.35. But the southpaw got the ball in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Friday with the Loons chasing a playoff berth and delivered one of his best performances of the season.

The 21-year-old needed to give the club some length and ended up going five innings while striking out six. After allowing a leadoff single in the second, he went on to retire 11 straight before walking a pair with two outs in the 5th. A flyout ended the threat and his outing.

Patick finished the season strong, with a 3.38 ERA in his last five starts. He figures to be a key member of the pitching staff as the Loons chase the Midwest League pennant.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

James Tibbs III remains in OKC, where he slugged his 28th home run and scored his 100th run of the season last week. He’s also a pair of RBI shy of 100.

Hyeseong Kim hit .250 with a pair of doubles and stole a base. Zach Ehrhard had a quiet week, with five hits including a triple. Alek Thomas rejoined the Comets and immediately homered twice on Wednesday and then again on Thursday.

The Comets added an outfielder from Tulsa but it wasn’t who people were expecting. Chris Newell joined OKC last week and made a great first impression. While he struggled at the plate, he also made this incredible game-saving play on Saturday.

On the bump, Jackson Ferris continues his late-season renaissance. The lefty allowed one run over 5 ⅓ innings while striking out eight for the second straight start. In his last four games, he’s surrendered just three runs while striking out 28.

Edwin Diaz made a rehab appearance on Sunday, walking a batter and striking out a batter in his inning of work.

Lefty Kris Bubic made his debut, working three innings over three games while striking out three. Jake Cousins also debuted last week, working two games, allowing a run and striking out a pair.

Double-A Tulsa

Josue De Paula had a relatively quiet week, hitting .222 with a double. He did steal his 30th base, which makes him the first Dodgers’ prospect with at least 25 homers and 30 stolen bases since Joc Pederson in 2014.

Mike Sirota still isn’t playing every day. He singled and doubled on Thursday, then singled and walked twice on Saturday. Hopefully he’s fully healthy when the Drillers begin their playoff run next week.

Infielder Logan Wagner homered twice last week to give him 20 on the season in just 89 games. Joe Vetrano homered twice on Friday, bringing his season total to 12. Kole Myers had a two-homer game the day before.

Christian Zazueta posted a quality start on Friday, allowing a pair of runs over six innings while striking out seven. He’s second in the org with 140 strikeouts and has walked just 19 batters.

Adam Serwinowski went a career-high eight innings on Tuesday, giving up a pair of solo homers and struck out six. He leads the org with 146 strikeouts.

Aidan Foeller went five innings with seven strikeouts for the Drillers on Thursday. Since joining Tulsa, he’s posted a 1.37 ERA in seven games.

High-A Great Lakes

Congratulations to the Loons on advancing to the Midwest League playoffs! Great Lakes clinched the second half division crown on Saturday and finished their regular season with a win on Sunday. They will take on Dayton in the Best of 3 Division Series on Tuesday.

Eduardo Quintero played a key role in getting the Loons to the postseason, with his biggest contribution being a grand slam on Friday. The 20-year-old won the Midwest League batting title with a .309 average and also paced the circuit in Runs Scored and On-base Percentage.

Charles Davalan was another huge part of the offense, leading the league in Hits and Total Bases. Emil Morales, despite being just 19-years-old and only playing 81 games with the Loons, finished tied for 7th in home runs with 20. He also led the minors with 119 RBI.

Tyler Gough figures to be the Game 1 starter after posting a sensational season in his first year with the org. He finished the regular season with a paltry 1.79 ERA in 65 ⅓ innings while holding opposing batters to a .142 average. In his final regular season start last Tuesday, he allowed an unearned run over 5 ⅓ innings while striking out five.

Cam Leiter started on Saturday and gave the Loons a career-high five scoreless innings. He didn’t allow an earned run in three games with the Loons and figures to be a key piece in the rotation during their postseason run.

Will Gagnon ended his regular season with four strong innings, striking out seven and allowing just one run. He whiffed 114 batters in 73 ⅓ innings between the pen and the rotation.

Hyun-Seok Jang returned from the IL to make his final start on Sunday, though he struggled in his inning of work, allowing a pair of runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks.

Maddux Bruns pitched twice last week, accomplishing the rare feat of striking out four batters in a single inning on Wednesday.

Low-A Ontario

Ontario dropped their final game of the season on Sunday but will take on Lake Elsinore in Game 1 of the Division Series on Tuesday at ONT Field.

Easton Shelton made history last week and he did so in spectacular fashion. After tying Ryan Ward’s home run mark of 36 on Thursday, he obliterated a 503-foot grand slam on Saturday to give him 37. He also led the California League in RBI (112), SLG (.644) and OPS (1.047).

Ching-Hsien Ko was among the league-leaders in many offensive categories, including Runs Scored (1st), HR (2nd), Hits (6th), Walks (1st), OBP (6th), SLG (9th) and OPS (9th). Joendry Vargas also had a strong season, leading the Cal League in Hits with 151 and finishing in the Top 10 in Runs (7th), Doubles (2nd) and BA (7th). 

Kellon Lindsey finished the year on a high note, after missing much of the past two seasons with injuries. He ended up with 13 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 66 games, displaying an enviable power/speed combination.

Oswaldo Osorio had a huge final week, batting .500 with a pair of homers. The 21-year-old hit 16 homers in 83 games between Ontario and the Complex League.

Luis Gamez finished the season on a sour note, failing to get out of his third inning of work on Friday. He did end up with 100 strikeouts on the dot in his first year with the org.

Marlon Nieves was solid on Wednesday, allowing two earned runs over four innings. He could get the ball in Game 1 on Tuesday.

Charlie West went four innings and struck out six batters on Saturday, both bests for him in his first taste of pro ball. 18-year-old Adriano Marrero made a surprise start for the Buzzers on Thursday and pitched two scoreless innings.

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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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