Dodgers attempting to revive struggling top pitching prospect on Arizona Fall League roster

Typically, the Arizona Fall League is used as a prospect showcase or a project development ground against upper-tier competition. Based on the players they're sending to Arizona this autumn, the Dodgers are primarily focused on uncovering their next layer of pitching prospects.

10 of MLB's Top 100 prospects will be participating in the month-long slate of games, which has recently been home to exciting names like Jasson Dominguez. This year's headliners include Colson Montgomery, the White Sox shortstop and highest-ranked participant on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list (No. 17), as well as Blue Jays lefty Ricky Tiedemann and Mariners catcher Harry Ford, who also played in this spring's World Baseball Classic for Team Great Britain and should probably take a rest.

The Dodgers' prospects will team up with Montgomery and the other White Sox in AFL play on the Glendale Desert Dogs (Side Note: MLB never sells these fitted caps, which is insane. Drop the hats.). Also on the Desert Dogs will be budding names from the Mets, Red Sox and Twins (David Stearns, please be nice and don't scout us too hard).

Dodgers Arizona Fall League Roster:

"Dodgers (Glendale): Ronan Kopp, LHP (No. 16); Yeiner Fernandez, C/2B (No. 26); Ben Casparius, RHP; Jake Pilarski, RHP; Ryan Sublette, RHP; Kendall Williams, RHP; Damon Keith, OF; Jake Vogel, OF"

MLB.com

Yup. The Dodgers' highest-ranking prospect is lefty Ronan Kopp, an MLB Draft League participant who bypassed college ball and was selected by Los Angeles in the 12th round back in 2021.

As the Dodgers graduate a fleet of pitching prospects to their big-league rotation and confidently boast a good crew right behind them (Nick Frasso, Maddux Bruns, etc.), mid-tier pitchers like Kopp are intended to be a part of the third wave. Hopefully, an AFL tutoring session gets him on the right track.

The 21-year-old Kopp has blown away High-A competition with the Loons, striking out 107 men and allowing just 45 hits in 72.1 innings. Unfortunately, that impressive package comes stained by 50 walks, a trend that Kopp carried over from last season (43 in 62.1 innings).

Luckily, "being unhittable" can't be taught and (hopefully) command and control can. Kopp's crash course in reaching the next tier will take place in the desert this fall among some of baseball's most impressive prospects. Given the Dodgers' bonafides, it seems fair to assume they know exactly what they're doing here (David Stearns, if you wanted to scout Kopp specifically, that might be a nice idea, actually).