Dodgers: Three Non-Roster Invites to Keep an Eye on this Spring

Stetson Allie takes the cake for me this spring. There are top prospects, minor league signings and everything in between on the list of non-roster invites but none of them get me excited quite like Allie does.

Part of that is because of his journey.

Allie was drafted out of high school in the second round of the 2011 draft by the Pirates. He was a pitcher. Known by scouts as the kid who could touch triple-digits as an 18-year-old, Allie was quickly profiled as a high upside relief arm that could make a splash in the minors upon impact.

That didn’t happen.

The prospect that cracked Baseball-Prospectus’s top-40 prospects flamed out quickly as a pitcher and the Pirates were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They chose to move Allie to the field. He was an outfielder for the next five and a half seasons during which he signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers.

His outfield output was nothing special. On offense he was just a power bat, smashing home runs but struggling to get on base. Defensively, he was a liability.

In 2017 the Dodgers had enough of his outfield production and approached the then 26-year-old about moving back to pitcher for the first time in five years. He did that and he dazzled.

Allie was touching 101 miles per hour and rose to Triple-A halfway through last season. Now, he’s in big league camp.

The story should explain the excitement alone but if it did not I’ll break it down for you.

Stetson Allie, simply put, has the potential to be a low cost – hard-throwing reliever for LA in 2019 and a strong spring performance can only get him closer to that.