Dodgers: 2016 Draft - One Year Later

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Oct 17, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (left) talks with Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman (right) during today’s batting practice and workout prior to game one of the NLCS against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

The Dodgers are just weeks away from the 2017 draft, and it is easy to be excited about adding more talent to this farm system. As fans start to see the players emerge from previous draft classes at the major league level, it is key to replenish this youth on a yearly basis.

It can be hard for Dodgers fans to really get a good grasp of what to look for in the draft. It’s 40 rounds long, spanning multiple days, and no major media outlet really covers it – MLB Network will broadcast it live as usual with a webcast on MLB.com.

If there is anything to look at right off the bat, it would be fair to say that the first ten rounds will produce the majority of the players who make it to the big leagues one day. There will always be that exception, the most notable being Mike Piazza who was drafted in the 62nd round by the Dodgers and will now forever be the lowest drafted player ever in the Hall of Fame.

The round a player is selected in also has a lot to say about the chances they get. Players get paid more getting drafted early, and on top of that, they get more chances. Talent aside, that is another big reason why the first ten rounds usually have the most significant impact. Teams want to give their largest investment a chance to grow, even if a kid drafted 20 rounds later is outplaying him. Money talks here.

So before it’s time to dig deeper into the 2017 draft, let’s take a look back at how some of the Dodgers’ draft picks from last season have been doing after almost a full year playing pro ball, specifically the first five rounds.

1st Round — Gavin Lux — SS

Lux has been a constant theme in our minor league reports and for a good reason. He is a physically gifted player who will hopefully one day be a part of the Dodgers infield in one way or another. His first year in the pro ball out of high school is about what you can expect from an 18-year-old kid: solid defense and a bat that is just a second behind.

Lux has hit .278 over nearly 330 minor league at-bats over a few levels. He has no home runs, 21 extra-base hits, and he has struck out almost twice as many times as he has walked. All of this is entirely ok at this point, especially for a player playing a premier defensive position as he is.

In the next couple of years, fans would hope to see Lux increase the power numbers a bit while maintaining the average. It’s unlikely he will every play shortstop for the Dodgers, but his glove has proved very capable so far. He only has two errors so far in 2016 and has improved his range metrics to the highest they have been in his career.

Lux comes from a solid baseball background, and that should help in continuing to develop as well. He has the frame to be a big league player and the maturity that he has displayed is something that the Dodgers really like.

2nd Round — Will Smith — C

Will Smith, the Fresh Prince, has shown why the Dodgers selected him 32 overall in 2016. It’s rare to find a catcher who can take care of business behind the dish while being as athletic as Smith. Catchers are harder to evaluate at the minor league level at times because unless you know what the organization has in mind, the stats could be misconstrued.

So, for Smith, he has hit .250 with 11 home runs and a .761 OPS . over his first 95 minor league games. For a lot of minor leaguers, this just wouldn’t cut it, and if improvement didn’t come soon, they might be looking for a job soon, especially for a player coming out of college.

This is not the case here, not when the player was drafted within the first 50 picks and even more so because of how elite Smith can be on the defensive side. I got the chance to see him play again last weekend and seeing his arm in person is quite the spectacle. An elite pop time (time from when the ball hits the catcher’s mitt to when the infielder catches it at second) would be about 1.7 seconds, think Yadier Molina. Will Smith consistently records his pop times at 1.9 and below.

Smith has done just about what the Dodgers were expecting out of him: Manage a staff, including catching some of their most prized pitching prospects, play solid defense, and put the ball in play. Don’t be surprised if he is the starting catcher for the Dodgers in 2020 or before.

3rd Round — Jordan Sheffield — P

Most people know only of Walker Buehler when they think of former Vanderbilt players in the Dodgers’ organization, but the team got another solid one last year with Sheffield. Six slots after Smith was selected, Sheffield was added on as another solid arm that will hopefully develop into a major league caliber starter.

At 5’10, he isn’t your prototypical pro guy, but that shouldn’t be any issue when you look at the work he has done thus far. In 16 starts, he has a 3.47 ERA and has just been a measure of consistency amongst the Dodgers’ minor league pitchers. While his inning limit has been monitored, they have started to stretch him out a bit more, and the results have been good. In his last start, the Tennessee native threw six innings of shutout baseball, his best professional start ever.

Sheffield also has a younger brother, Justus, who is one of the top prospects in the Yankees’ minor league system. Baseball, more so than any other sport, loves lineage and their father was drafted in the 3rd round in 1985 so that is a good sign that he will continue to get chances until proven that he can’t do it.

Side note: It will be interesting to see which of the brothers develops into the better major leaguer. Justus is a lefty and was a High School draftee, and Jordan is a righty and is a little more experience. Both are exceptional pitchers that have the ingredients to get to the next level. I guess we will have to wait and see who will be Top Sheff.

4th Round — Mitch White — P

For those reading that enjoy minor league analysis, especially for the Dodgers, Mitchell White has become somewhat of a fan favorite. After having Tommy John surgery in college, he was a relative unknown in the months leading up to the draft before bursting onto the scene. He is thought of by many, at this point, to be the first player from the 2016 draft class that will reach the big leagues and I think that is a very fair prediction.

He was dominant last year and has continued to pitch well this year. The Dodgers love his strikeout rate, and he has shown incredible maturity for a player that didn’t really have a defined role in college until his draft eligible season. 2.37 minor league ERA, 79 strikeouts in 60.2 innings, and a WHIP below one. Dodger fans, it’s time to take notice.

I saw White’s last start at Rancho and seeing him live is just as impressive as his stat line. The first thing that jumps out at you is the athleticism. Tons of minor league pitchers are 6’4 but not many as fluid and confident with their actions as White. The next thing was the repeatability of his mechanics and consistent velocity. In his 5.2 innings, his mechanics never faltered, and you could tell he was just comfortable on the mound. He sat at 94 from the first batter he faced to the last and mixed in some devastating offspeed while doing it.

White is projected as a starter but doesn’t be surprised to see him in the Dodgers’ bullpen to start out his major league career. Mitchell White in Los Angeles’ bullpen in 2016 is a long shot but a possibility.

5th Round — DJ Peters — OF

A teammate of Mitchell White in Rancho, DJ Peters is certainly a physical specimen and someone to keep an eye on. The SGV native, Glendora to be exact, has the size and speed to play any level of baseball. He flies around the bases, and while standing at 6’6, it is extremely impressive to watch.

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Peters has mashed his way through the first year of pro ball, batting .317 with an OPS of .963 over 110 games. A lot of people get the line “chance to be a five-tool player” thrown around their name at the start of their career without a fair analysis of who they can be. Peters truly has the physical gifts to make this a reality. At the height, with his athleticism – talking sub 6.4 60 speed – he is capable of being an All-Star at the major league level.

As many young hitters do, Peters is having a bit of difficulty adjusting to the increased velocity players deal with as they move through the minor league ranks. This happens to every player; it’s just about making the proper adjustment to get back on track. Peters has done that throughout his career, and I expect him to continue to do so.

Next: Dodgers vs. Cubs

I played against Peters when he was coming out of high school in a Summer Ball game. I was a going to be a Senior in college, and he was just coming out of high school. His presence in the box is felt, but the experience I had with him left me feeling pretty confident. 0-0 fastball, he pulled that thing so hard my third baseman barely had time to move. Since then, I’ve always remembered him, and boy am I glad the Dodgers have him now.

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Dodgers: 2016 Draft – One Year Later