Dodgers: An Interview with Logan Salow- The Newest Dodger

The Dodgers’ rocky start in 2018 has already lead to one of the team’s major leaguers being traded. Wilmer Font, who opened the year in an undesirable fashion, was shipped to the Oakland A’s and in return, the Dodgers received 23-year old lefty, Logan Salow. The trade was necessary as Font had no place on the roster and Salow, a young and talented reliever, adds a lot to the organization. The Dodgers clearly won this trade, and you should take the time now to get to know the newest member of the organization.

Logan Salow was a baseball player since he was young in his hometown of Ashland, Kentucky. He played through high-school there and while he was talented, Salow chose to spend the next four years of his life at the University of Kentucky, a place where he would perfect his craft and draw the attention of major league scouts.

But, for Salow, collegiate baseball was an opportunity to grow. He knew that his experiences in college formed the mold for his professional career and it not necessarily because of the competition he faced or the success he had, but the failures:

"“You know, in college, unlike high school, you have a lot more opportunity for failure. Guys are good in high school and better in college so there is room to fail. I think that failure is an opportunity to grow. How you handle adversity gives you that competitive edge and you learn to compete a little more.”"

And compete he did. Salow was drafted after his senior year at Kentucky as a reliever in the sixth round of the 2017 draft by the Oakland A’s. The then 22-year old was known for his solid fastball and good accompanying pitches in a changeup and a slider.

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Perhaps due to his competitive edge but when Logan Salow entered the minor leagues for the first time, he was untouchable. Last season in his first 16 career games and over 24.1 innings, Salow limited batters to just four earned runs and struck out 29 batters. His ERA was a minuscule 1.50 in that stretch.

2018, his second year in the game opened much in the same way. Batters could not handle what he was serving.

Prior to being traded, Salow played in four games for Class-A Beloit and there he worked with an ERA of 1.59 and a WHIP of .529. And, after his early success, he was traded.

The trade came as a shock for Salow who said you can never really expect these things to happen:

"“It was just a normal day for me and honestly you feel pretty confused when they pop on you that you were just traded. But it’s baseball. You never think it will happen to you and you’re surprised when it does but  once you’ve been traded you know that someone has been watching you and wants you enough to take you on their team.”"

The Dodgers were not fools to take on Salow and they were watching him for good reason. College players tend to rise quickly through the minors and if he can repeat his success from last year and in college, he should have no problem repeating the pattern.

Off the field and when he isn’t playing, Salow is still a student of the game:

“My passion is baseball even when I’m not playing. I love to watch games and I think it’s also important for people to know that I really am a fun guy. Today I got put on the kiss cam at the ballpark and that was pretty funny.”

Salow’s attitude is sharp and his sense of humor is one that has helped him with what he said is a,” very nice transition” to his new ball club.

From talking to him for just 10 minutes, it was obvious that he knows what he needs to do to make his mark and in the final question of the interview, he really proved that. We talked about his goals:

"“Everyone says their goal is to move up through the system as fast as they can, at least one level per year. You know, that’s great and it is definitely a goal of mine but I like to look at it as what can I improve on this year. If I can do one thing better at the end of the year than I did at the beginning, that would be a great season.”"

Next: Dodgers: Looking Ahead to the Monster 2018 Free Agent Class

His mindset is unlike any I have seen in doing interviews with prospects. Salow is a competitor who eats, sleep, and breathes baseball. If his attitude does not change and his skills remain the same, Logan Salow is a name you will hear much more of in the future.