Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
July 22nd, 2022 Scoreboard
- Triple A Oklahoma City 10, Sacramento 4
- Double A Tulsa 3, Wichita 7
- High A Great Lakes 12, West Michigan 2
- Low A Rancho Cucamonga 12, Visalia 0
- ACL Dodgers 6, ACL Rangers 10
- DSL Dodgers Bautista 3, DSL Athletics 8
- DSL Dodgers Mega 1, DSL Braves 4
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Dustin May made his second rehab appearance, this time with Oklahoma City, allowing one run in 2.0 innings, along with three hits, three walks, and three strikeouts. The tall Texan possesses some of the most ridiculous stuff in the system, and it was great to see that aspect of his game is pretty much all the way back, with the return of one particular wrinkle:
That wrinkle being the pair of changeups that May tossed. After using the pitch sparingly in 2019 and 2020, Code Red didn’t throw a single one in 2021 before going down with the UCL tear one month into the season. So, it could be opportunistic use, or it could be a sign of things to come. Either way, it will be something to monitor, as, per Dave Roberts, while on rehab, May will be stretched out as a starter:
Three innings? Best laid plans of mice and men, and all that. Again, just the two innings for May, but the overall path forward has been laid out, and as he does this or that with the repertoire, Dodger fans will be keeping a close eye, hotly anticipating his return.
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Three Dodger catching prospects combined for four homers and 16 RBI on Friday.
First up is someone who had a trip out west over the All-Star break — Diego Cartaya, fresh off of his trip to Dodger Stadium for the Futures Game, is back in Michigan, and he wasted little time before providing fireworks for his current club, Los Pepinillos Picantes Del Norte, the Spicy Pickles of the North:
Cartaya went 1/3 with a walk, and knocked in four runs.
As for Los Pepinillos Picantes Del Norte, the alternate team name and jerseys are a part of minor league baseball’s Copa de la Diversión nights, where various minor league clubs endeavor to reach out to, and celebrate, local Hispanic/Latino communities by highlighting one of the ways they have made an impact in the region. For Midland Michigan, the signature local crop has been the cucumber, and ultimately, the pickle, a product to which the local Tejano community added some of their own flavor, and made enough of an impact with this local staple to be included in this event. Good times.
I also got to use spicy pickles of the North in an article.
I regret nothing.
As for Cartaya, the number one prospect in the system, he was running a wRC+ of 162 going into Friday’s action, and his .958 OPS ranks third in the Midwest League.
The next Dodger catching prospect to have a huge night was for LSU Tiger Hunter Feduccia:
Feduccia went 3/5, he tacked on a single and a double, and he drove in five runs, raising his OPS with OKC to 1.081, a solid 9 hole lineup anchor.
A native Louisianian, Feduccia is from Lake Charles, approximately two hours from where he played his college baseball. He was popped in the 12th round 2018 MLB draft by the Dodgers, and he has flown under the radar, despite being a lefty hitting catcher with thump, who draws walks, and is solid average behind the dish. He’s 25, so his time is basically now, as it’s a big league back up catcher profile, and perhaps more as part of a platoon.
The catching depth in this system is incredible.
The last catcher profiled, Yeiner Fernandez, had the biggest night of the three with the bat, hitting not just one:
But two homers for the Quakes:
Overall, Fernandez went 2/5, with a career high seven runs driven in.
The Venezuelan backstop is not a traditional sleeper, and he is not a pop-up guy. He was the number two ranked catcher over at Fangraphs in the 2019 IFA class. He’s only 19, more than two years younger than average for the California League, and he’s slashing .283/.367/.410.
At a listed, 5’9, he is unlikely to have more than doubles power with the odd smashed hanger, as shown above, but with solid defensive skills, and showing both plus bat to ball and knowledge of the strike zone, there is an interesting profile here that has a shot to go places.
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It was fun to finally get to see Edgardo Henriquez on the bump for Rancho Cucamonga, for the first time in ages:
Henriquez, whom the Dodgers signed out of Venezuela back in 2018, turned 20 just a few weeks back, and he is atypical for his age in baseball. He has already filled out his 6′-4″ frame, and he looks a D1 quarterback who moonlights as a ballplayer. It’s rare to see that sort of physicality out of someone so young.
That said, it presents a different sort of development track, as the projection here has nothing to do with velocity. He’s already up to 101.
Not a typo.
The big deal here, is, last summer, Henriquez had a slurvy breaker that was sometimes vertical, sometimes sweepy and horizontal. Now, they’re very clearly two distinct pitches. Feel for spin is a big deal, and being able separate feel for spinning a curve vs snapping off a slider is also a big deal. Having separated them so quickly into two distinct pitches, with which he attacks differently, indicates plus athleticism and feel, and he is one of my big time helium targets for 2023.
Henriquez would be the top pitching prospect in a handful of orgs already. Please, drive other guys to the airport.
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Lastly, full season scheduled starting pitchers for Saturday, July 23rd:
- Triple A Oklahoma City – Michael Grove
- Double A Tulsa – Clayton Beeter
- High A Great Lakes – Nick Nastrini
- Low A Rancho Cucamonga – River Ryan
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Enjoy your Saturday, folks.
