Dodgers: Minor League All-Star Report

Oklahoma City Dodgers

Oklahoma City had four players selected to this year’s Triple-A All-Star game in Tacoma, Washington as well as one player in the MLB Futures game. Which is a collection of all the top prospects in baseball played in the same city as the MLB All-Star game. They are tied with the Reno Aces for the most well-represented team.

Top prospects Alex Verdugo and Willie Calhoun will be headed to the Pacific Northwest for the game to the surprise of, well, no one. These two have been on the prospect radar since the start of the season and have lived up to all the expectations so far. It’s arguable that both should be in the Futures game, but only Verdugo will be making the trip this year.

Calhoun leads the team in home runs, RBI, total bases, doubles and triples. Verdugo is on top in OBP, walks, stolen bases as well as being considered one of the best young defensive prospects in baseball mainly due to his plus arm.

Joining those two are names that are probably a little less familiar amongst Dodgers fans. Starting pitcher Wilmer Font will start the game for the Pacific Coast League All-Stars, and relief pitcher Madison Younginer will be joining the crew as well.

Font has put together a very nice year for the Triple-A affiliate, leading the league in strikeouts and sits atop the team leaderboard for innings pitched over 16 starts.

Younginer has been solid all year out of the bullpen, tossing the ball to the tune of a 2.52 ERA with a WHIP of 1.09 and is tied for the team lead with six saves.

Tulsa Drillers

The Drillers will be the most represented roster in an All-Star game of any within the Dodgers organization with nine all-stars selected to the North squad for the Texas League. The All-Star game was played last week in Frisco, Texas with the South beating the North 10-3.

The Dodgers farmhands in the game included:

• Scott Barlow (SP)
• Walker Buehler (SP)
• Corey Cropping (RP)
• Paul Hoenecke (C)
• Michael Ahmed (Utility)
• Matt Beaty (1B)
• Tim Locastro (SS)
• Edwin Rios (3B)
• Kyle Garlick (OF)

Edwin Rios has been the best position player for the Drillers all year and got the start at 3b for the game. He went 1-3 with a RBI and a run scored. For the season, Rios has been nothing but fire as he has hit .318 with 15 home runs and 62 RBI over 76 games.

Catcher Paul Hoenecke got into the game as a catching a replacement and added a single while relief pitcher Corey Copping tossed a scoreless frame.

The highest profile All-Star for the Double-A affiliate was Walker Buehler. After starting the season in High-A, Buehler has been nothing short of dominant after his call up. Although he didn’t play in the game, his season has solidified him as a high-end pitching prospect and maybe the best young arm the Dodgers have – Julio Urias and Yadier Alvarez included.

Scott Barlow is another All-Star selection that didn’t pitch, but he has put together quite the nice year as well. The 24-year-old Souther California product has had a 1.97 ERA in between Tulsa and Oklahoma City this year and hasn’t allowed more than two runs in a start since May 1st. He is now up with the AAA club and will be one of their starting pitchers.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and the Great Lakes Loons

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Racho Cucamonga (High-A) and Great Lakes (A) both had a few All-Stars represented in their games. The Quakes had six, including two starters, and the Loons represented as well with three.

Interestingly enough, despite being left off the High-A All-Star games roster, Yadier Alvarez will represent the Dodgers in the MLB Futures game. His year so far has not gone as planned with an ERA above five but the buzz surrounding this kid is too great to keep him out of the Futures game.

As for those in the game, the Quakes sent Will Smith (C), Luke Raley (OF), DJ Peters (OF), Ibandel Isabel (1B), Caleb Ferguson (RP) and Dennis Santana.

Smith was a starter in the game, as well as Raley, and could be considered to be the future of the Dodgers’ behind the plate. He has put together a nice season for the Quakes, flashing better power than expected and shutting down the running game for opposing teams.

DJ Peters has really broken out over the last two months after a bit of a slow start. The SoCal native currently leads the team in RBI and home runs and just took Madison Bumgarner deep twice IN ONE INNING during his rehab start last night.

The Loons added three All-Stars of their own with Dustin May, Keibert Ruiz and Brendon Davis.

All three have obviously put together nice years so far, but it is really May that is projected to have the big future. The lanky 2016 third rounder is within the top 30 of most Dodgers prospects lists and has pitched up to that expectation so far.

Next: All-Star Game Format

Although the Dodgers won’t have any starters in the MLB All-Star game this year, the future is bright for the Dodgers to take over the All-Star come in years to come. Keep an eye out for Verdugo and Alvarez during their appearance at the MLB Futures game.