Dodgers: Minor League Players of the Week- Week Two

SAN DIEGO, CA - APRIL 18: Max Muncy
SAN DIEGO, CA - APRIL 18: Max Muncy
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SAN DIEGO, CA – APRIL 18: Max Muncy
SAN DIEGO, CA – APRIL 18: Max Muncy /

The Los Angeles Dodgers have long been known for their minor league system. It is a farm stacked to the brim with talent and 2018 is no exception to this accolade.

The Dodgers’ minor league affiliates, with the exception of Rookie-level Ogden, have completed the second week of their young seasons and with each week come more and more players to recognize.

This article will break down each level of the minor league system recognizing one player from each level as the player of the week. The piece will start in Triple-a and work its way down.

From players with some ridiculous power to outstanding pitching here is your minor league week two prospect team.

SAN DIEGO, CA – APRIL 18: Max Muncy
SAN DIEGO, CA – APRIL 18: Max Muncy /

The Dodgers’ triple-a player of the week could easily have gone to a few different people. Since the selection comes with a twist, here is a quick rundown of the players that were considered for this spot.

Outfielder Alex Verdugo had a stellar week highlighted by a game-winning home run.

Tim Locastro continued his hot start with the bat as he is still hitting well over .300 and used his speed to score some crucial runs for the team.

Lastly, Henry Ramos, the birthday boy, hit his second grand slam of the season in three games.

But, the Triple-A minor leaguer of the week may surprise you as he is no longer in the minors. Our guy is Max Muncy. Muncy, who was called up to the major leagues on Tuesday, April 19th and the reason was that he was just so hot at Triple-A.

In 32 at-bats prior to his call-up, Muncy hit .313 with two doubles and two home runs. He essentially continued a torrid spring training that left many wondering if he would just make the opening day roster.

Muncy’s minor league success was the major driving force to his Dodgers Way Triple-A Player of the Week Award but so too has been his time in the majors. Muncy has two hits in his first five at-bats, a single and a home run, and has also walked once. Muncy could be the change of pace player this team needed.

LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 29: The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants play on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on March 29, 2018, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 29: The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants play on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium on March 29, 2018, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

It is hard to select a starting pitcher for this spot because sometimes that player only makes one appearance in a week where some position players play every day. But, in the case of 22-year old righty, Dennis Santana, there was no denying his incredible appearance for Double-A Tulsa.

Santana has been in the spotlight for Dodger pitching for a year or so now and finds himself as Pipelines number 10 prospect in the Dodgers’ organization.

Sited for his abilities to use both a 95 mile per hour sinker and a devastating slider, Dennis Santana is known as a strikeout pitcher and it was strikeouts that got him to this spot in week two of the minor league season.

On Monday, April 16, Santana made his second start of the year in which pitched just 4.1 innings. But, do not let this length of the outing fool you as he allowed just one hit, walked none, and struck out 10 batters. A pitch cap on the night ended what was a stellar outing and if he can continue that success a promotion to Triple-A should not be far off.

Dodgers
Dodgers /

This selection was probably the easiest decision I have had to make in a long time. Connor Wong wins this spot for this week with flying colors and it was not even close to anyone else.

Wong has gotten off to a scorching hot start in 2018. In his first two weeks of the year, Wong is hitting a torrid .364 with a league-leading six home runs.

His week two was highlighted by a game in which he went 3-4 with two long balls and a double. That came against the Angels minor league affiliate, the Inland Empire 66ers.

If Wong can continue this type of success he will likely force the Dodgers hands in giving him a well-deserved promotion to Double-A. Should he get that call, the team’s most prominent catching prospects will be on the same roster in Connor Wong, Keibert Ruiz, and Will Smith.

Connor Wong was generous enough to spend some of his time to do an interview where he talks about the changes he made to his swing and mentality at the plate and it is well worth the read. That will be linked below this.

Next: Dodgers: Connor Wong is a Prospect Worth Watching

If Wong can keep it up, who knows where he will be by the end of the season.

LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 01: Yasiel Puig
LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 01: Yasiel Puig /

This past week has been an interesting one for the Loons as they had an entire five-game series postponed due to inclement weather. That left the playing just two games since last week’s

More from Dodgers Way

version of this article came out and made for a pretty narrow playing field for can go in this spot.

But, choose we must, and after surveying the talent from the past two days, the player that we’ll recognize is third baseman, Zach McKinstry. McKinstry has been very good to start the season and in his nine games played, he owns an average of .391.

Next: Dodgers: Get to Know Recent Call-Up Max Muncy

His ability to get on base seems to be very good as even on the nights where his bat is cold, he found his way on in the form of two walks. McKinstry’s success is limited to a small sample size as his team has not played in enough games to really show anything conclusive of promising. But, McKinstry could be an interesting player to keep an eye on for the next few weeks.  

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