Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
The minor league baseball season kicked off for Triple-A affiliates on Friday, and the Oklahoma City Dodgers had a three game tilt vs the Tacoma Rainiers, from whom they took two out of three:
The two wins were cemented by outfielder/second baseman Jahmai Jones, who put the game to bed on Saturday night with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning:
Jones sent the Rainiers packing again on Sunday afternoon, this time via the longball:
The Roswell, Georgia native sent a rocket off the video board, 106 mph off the bat, with the ball traveling 404′.
Jones, who is listed at an even 6’0, 210 lbs, is a bit of an interesting case — formerly a member of the Baltimore Orioles, he underwent Tommy John surgery on May 27th, 2022, and the then 24-year-old was designated for assignment by birds the very next day. Flash forward eight weeks later, and Jones was signed by the Dodgers to a two-year minor league deal, showing a commitment to his rehab process, and wanting a long look at his intriguing power/speed combo.
Still just 25, Jones is still every bit the toolshed that helped make him a 2nd round pick back in 2015. That said, his swing has been long-regarded as too long, leading to a bevy of grounders and some struggles with velo, but the former top prospect of the Anaheim Angels is an intriguing roll of the dice for an organization that has excelled at dialing in castoff youngsters and wayward vets.
——
Hunter Feduccia, yet another solid catcher prospect on the Dodger farm, made himself known to Dodger fans in the month of March, as he did the best he could to take advantage of his non-roster invitation to Spring Training, posting an OPS of 1.179 with more walks (six) than strikeouts (four).
The former LSU Tiger closed out the aforementioned month with a bang, launching a three-run homer into the night:
After Oklahoma City’s opening series, Feduccia’s OPS is sitting at a solid 1.158. Whether or not the can consistently hit lefties is still a question mark, but lefty-hitting catchers who can get on base are ever in demand. He is a big leaguer in some capacity, but where and with whom is up in the air. For now, it’s enough that he’s making teams kick themselves for not snatching him up when they could have had him for free via the Rule 5 Draft.
——
Gavin Stone turned a lot of heads in Spring Training, tossing 6.2 IP of scoreless ball, with a sparkling 14/2 K/BB mark.
Opening night, however, was a little less stellar, as he was pulled after needing 63 pitches (36 of which were strikes) to get through just 2.2 innings, having allowed six earned runs on five hits, with three walks, and three strikeouts. The 6’1 righty started his outing off sitting 95-96 with the heater, but his velo flagged to the 92-93 range in the third frame, and his command was inconsistent at best throughout.
While none of this is cause for alarm, it does bear some watching (and, unfortunately, a dash of patience), as Stone went through a similar ramp-up last season, and by June he was pumping 95 at 90+ pitches. For now, though he was all the rage just a couple of weeks ago, he is currently tracking to be a potential mid-season rotation/armbarn reinforcement.
——
Via Oklahoma City play-by-play/communications director/tarp roller Alex Freedman, Michael Busch will be getting some reps at a couple different positions:
Busch had previously spent the vast majority of his time in the Dodger organization as a second baseman, logging nearly 90% of his time in the field at the keystone position. But, with Miguel Vargas‘ positional transition and ascendance, along with Mookie Betts‘ erosion of Dave Roberts‘ will, playing time at Busch’s erstwhile home has been locked up for the foreseeable future.
Busch spent the majority of his time at the University of North Carolina as a first baseman, but in the past seven years, he has never logged a single inning at the hot corner, at any level. This, to say the least, will be interesting to watch.
======
The minor league season kicks off in earnest this week, as the rest of the Dodgers’ full season affiliates will open their respective seasons. The upcoming matchups for all four clubs are as follows:
- Triple A Oklahoma City at Las Vegas, Apr 4th-9th
- Double A Tulsa vs San Antonio, Apr 6th-8th
- High A Great Lakes vs Lansing, Apr 7th-9th
- Single A Rancho Cucamonga vs Inland Empire, Apr 6th-8th
======
That’s all for the brief minor league weekend that was.
Enjoy your Monday, folks.
