How ’bout dem Dodgers:
Sweep the hated Giants
The Great Lakes Loons and Dodgers have announced the Great Lakes Loons opening day roster.
The Loons have a 31 player roster comprised of:
- Pitchers – 18
- Catchers – 3
- Infield – 5
- Outfield – 5
Pitchers:
- Kelvin Bautista – LHP – Relief – Played at RC in 2023
- Chris Campos – RHP – Starter – Played at RC in 2023
- Franklin De La Paz – LHP – Relief – Played at Great Lakes in 2023
- Jonathan Edwards – RHP – Relief – Played at RC in 2023
- Jackson Ferris – LHP – Starter – Played at Cubs Low A in 2023 – 20 years old
- Peter Heubeck – RHP – Starter – Played at RC and Great Lakes in 2023
- Joel Ibarra – RHP – Relief – Played at RC in 2023
- Madison Jeffrey – RHP – Relief – Played at RC in 2023
- Jared Karros – RHP – Starter – Played at RC and Great Lakes in 2023
- Michael Martinez – RHP – Relief – Played at ACL and RC in 2023
- Jacob Meador – RHP – Start/Relief – Did not play in 2023
- Brandon Neeck – LHP – Relief – Played at ACL and RC in 2023
- Kelvin Ramirez – RHP – Relief – Played at RC in 2023
- Livan Reinoso – RHP – Relief – Played at RC in 2023
- Christian Romero – RHP – Start/Relief – Played at RC in 2023
- Benony Robles – LHP – Relief – Played at Great Lakes in 2023
- Christian Suarez – LHP – Relief – Played at Great Lakes in 2023
- Lucas Wepf – RHP – Relief – Played at RC and Great Lakes in 2023
Catchers:
- Thayron Liranzo – Played at RC in 2023 – 20 years old
- Umar Male – Played at ACL in 2023
- Nelson Quiroz – Rehab in 2023 – Played at RC in 2022
Infield:
- Yunior Garcia – 1B – Played at Great Lakes in 2023
- Noah Miller – SS – Played at Twins High A in 2023 – 21 years old
- Sam Mongelli – SS – Played at RC in 2023
- Kyle Nevin – 3B – Played at RC in 2023
- Jordan Thompson – SS – Played at RC in 2023
Outfield:
- Nick Biddison – Played at RC and Great Lakes in 2023
- Dylan Campbell – CF – Played at RC in 2023 – 21 years old
- Luis Rodriguez – Played at RC in 2023 – 21 years old
- Chris Newell – CF – Played at RC and Great Lakes in 2023
- Jake Vogel – CF – Played at Great Lakes in 2023
The average age of the roster is 22.5 years old. With the youngest players being 20 (Liranzo, Ferris) and the oldest at 25 (De La Paz, Reinoso)
10 players (of 31) spent at least a portion of the 2023 season with Great Lakes:
- Franklin De La Paz – LHP
- Peter Heubeck – RHP
- Jared Karros – RHP
- Benony Robles – LHP
- Christian Suarez – LHP
- Lucas Wepf – RHP
- Yunior Garcia – IB
- Nick Biddison – OF
- Chris Newell – CF
- Jake Vogel – CF
Three players were selected by the Dodgers in the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft:
- Dylan Campbell – CF – Round 4C
- Sam Mongelli – SS – Round 10
- Jordan Thompson – SS – Round 15
Seven players were drafted by the Dodgers in the 2022 MLB First-Year Player Draft:
- Chris Campos – RHP – Round 7
- Jared Karros – RHP – Round 16
- Jacob Meador – RHP – Round 12
- Brandon Neeck – LHP – Round 9
- Kyle Nevin – 3B – Round 11
- Nick Biddison – OF – Round 4
- Chris Newell – CF – Round 13
Jacob Ferris was also drafted in 2022 by Chicago Cubs (Round 2).
14 players originate from outside the United States (5 Dominican Republic, 3 Venezuela, 3 Mexico, 1 Canada, 1 Puerto Rico, 1 Uganda). The first ever African-born player in Loons history is Male
Three Loons appear on MLB.com’s list of top 30 Dodgers prospects:
- Jackson Ferris – LHP – #8
- Thayron Liranzo – C – #10
- Noah Miller – SS – #27
The top five strikeout leaders with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2023, are on the Loons 2024 Opening Day roster. Heubeck (91), Campos (85), Reinoso (83), Karros (75), Romero (74)
BASEBALL AMERICA PROSPECT BREAKOUT PLAYERS FOR 2024
A spring tradition at Baseball America is to present breakout prospect teams by Matt Eddy, Geoff Pontes and Dylan White.
In this exercise they focus on non-Top 100 Prospects, and wherever feasible they focus on those without a ton of pro experience.
Joendry Vargas was named as the top breakout prospect by Matt Eddy, but as a 3B. Vargas was named as another for consideration by the other two as a SS. Matt Eddy wrote:
One of the stars of the stacked DSL Dodger championship squad, the switch-hitting shortstop will likely slide over to third base which his plus arm can handle. Vargas will make his stateside debut in 2024 where he will showcase his above-average hit tool and ability to make adjustments. If he adds power as expected, he will be one of the more popular helium names this summer.
Thayron Liranzo (C) was listed as others to consider by Geoff Pontes and Dylan White.
Justin Wrobleski (LHP) was listed as other to consider by Matt Eddy.
Payton Martin (RHP) was listed as other to consider by Geoff Pontes.
BOOK RECOMMENDATION
My son’s high school coach, and friend of mine, Jim Ozella, has authored a book entitled The Greatest Time To Be A Kid – Stories of Unexpected Adventures.
A brief description from Amazon:
Journey back to 1960s Ingalls Park, IL, one of the last remnants of the simpler baby-boom America, as told through the eyes of young Jim Ozella.
As the final bell rings in his elementary school, signifying the start of summer vacation, “Jimmy O” invites readers to hop on the back of his trusty black-and-gray bike for the daily adventures, in which memories and dreams are limitless, and where one can always expect the unexpected…
Long before he became a veteran educator and a head coach of more than forty years — guiding future MLB stars and coaches, Cy Young award winners, and World Series champions — Jim Ozella was a child raised in Middle America, where he learned the true meaning of community, friendship, and, above all, family. These cherished stories are sometimes sentimental, sometimes breathtaking, and always timeless.
Jim is a friend, and I have no problem recommending a book he authored.
Jim was the Baseball Coach at Alemany High School (Mission Hills) for 14 years. He had two players reach MLB from Alemany:
- Joey Roselli
- Andy Dominique
Jim was the Head Baseball Coach at Hart High School (Newhall) for 25 years. To date, Jim has had nine players reach MLB from Hart:
- Jerry Owens
- Jamie Shields
- Chris Valaika
- Trevor Bauer
- Steve Susdorf
- Michael Montgomery
- Trevor Brown
- Tyler Glashow
- Pat Valaika
He had multiple other players receive scholarship offers, and play at the MiLB level.
Jim also spent 4 years as Assistant Coach at College of the Canyons (Santa Clarita) between his high school gigs.
MiLB GAME REPORTS
OKC Baseball Club 8 – Albuquerque Isotopes (Rockies) 7
The OKC Baseball Club got out to a 4-1 (after 2) and 6-3 lead (after 6). In the 7th, Drew Pomeranz came on in relief and surrendered 4 runs on 5 hits, including a double and triple, to blow a save and give the Isotopes the temporary lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, Trey Sweeney led off with a BB, and Miguel Vargas followed with his 3rd HR of the year to give OKC the lead and eventual win.
Kyle Hurt started his first AAA game this season and went 2.0 innings. He got the first two outs, and then gave up a walk and double for a run. For the night he went 2.0 innings, allowing the one run on 2 hits and 2 walks, but 5 Ks.
Tanner Dodson followed and was his usual wild self, but only allowed an unearned run without a hit. He walked 4 and got 1 K in his 3.0 IP.
Jesse Hahn struck out 3 in his 1.0 IP, but did walk a batter who scored on a double.
After Drew Pomeranz’s inning, OKC got a pair of shutout innings from Gus Varland and Kevin Gowdy. Varland got the win, and Gowdy got the save.
OKC pitchers struck out 12.
The hitting star again was Miguel Vargas. Besides the HR, he also had a double (2), sac fly, and 4 RBIs in 3 ABs. Vargas now has 12 RBIs in the first 5 games.
Drew Avans was 2-4 with a double (2), and triple (1).
Andy Pages was 2-4 with a double (1).
Hunter Feduccia – HR (1).
I thought Joendry was RH all the way?
And nice rotation in Huebeck, Ferris, Karros & Campos.
Liranzo is a monster.
The rest . . . little lacking.
Joendry is RH all the way. I will have to do some research to find out if he was ever a switch hitter and then switched to RH only. But for now he is RH only. BTW, I fully expect Joendry to start the year in Arizona at the ACL, but I think he gets moved to RC with an outside chance to see him end the year at Great Lakes.
Most of the pitchers have moved up from RC. They were good as a group in the hitter friendly California League. We’ll see how they transition to the more pitcher friendly Midwest League. The starters are the group to watch.
While I agree that as a total roster, it is seemingly lacking in totality right now. However, I think you will see some RC players moved to GL early enough in the season. And the higher rated prospects have MLB potential.
Although the Tulsa roster is not out, I would expect to see Justin Wrobleski, Maddux Bruns, and Payton Martin, with Dalton Rushing all moving up to Tulsa.
I am really looking forward to watching Noah Miller play SS. Great Lakes games are on MiLB TV, and I will be watching.
Payton in AA is aggressive.
Martin is not on the Tulsa Roster. That means he is still in Arizona at extended ST. He is officially assigned to Dodgers Organization.
Oh well.
It’s good to be Miguel Rojas right now! Great glove with no power…NOT! Scott Andes, I think you (along with others) might have underestimated Rojas’ power. Lol. I’m sure this is temporary, but it’s fun for the fans and especially for Miguel. It’s cool to see the reaction from his teammates in the dugout after he rounds the bases. It appears that Teoscar is leading the cheers and is fitting in nicely with his new teammates.
Glasnow was solid and a surprise save for Lamet. Maybe he’s another reliever find for the Dodgers? They seem to find at least one reclamation project every year that becomes an effective piece in the BP.
Ohtani socks his first HR as a Dodger. Now he can relax and open the gates for many more.
Shout out to Max Muncy. It appears that he has decided to swing at early strikes so far this year and not looking to work the count and get a walk. He’s there to drive in runs. His strikeout rate is bad at 43%. But I think it is because of all the LHP the team has faced. Even with the strikeouts, his is hitting line is .303/.368/.455/ 823.
Another enjoyable game to watch. The Dodgers just grind their opponents from nearly every spot in the lineup. It would be nice to see Lux and Outman become a bit more productive. But, they all can’t be hot offensively at once. They will have their turns.
What a difference a good umpire makes!
Carry on.
I think the umpiring was much better. Except I am sure that Max Muncy was not real pleased. See pitches #5 and #6 from Miller and #2 from Rogers.
But otherwise, it was a well called game.
In regards to Miggy Ro, Im just as surprised as anyone.
Thanks for the preview information Jeff.
The Dodger’s first homestand was an overwhelming success! A 6-1 record with a sweep of the Giants! The lineup is stacked with great hitters and the starting pitching has been dominant. The team has scored at least 5 runs in every game, with the starting pitchers’ ERA on the homestand under 2. That is a recipe for a lot of wins!
An exciting and productive opening to the season.
Glasnow struggled to get the last out in the sixth. I saw it, Roberts saw it. Yet Roberts sent him back out in the 7th. I assume Roberts didn’t have confidence in the bullpen doing three more innings.
Kelly came in the 7th I thought
He did, he pitched that entire inning. Glasnow was not brought out for the 7th
I took a break after the 6th and my faulty memory thought Glasnow only gave up one run. When I read the box score and saw more than one run charged to him, I assumed he allowed some scoring in the 7th without getting any outs. Oops.
As will play the next three seasons in Sacramento. They will not have a city’s name attached. Final offer from the Oakland Coliseum was three years 60 million dollars. As rejected, that. Nice to see Ohtani hit number one. First of many. Lamet surprised me, but I am glad he pitched well.
We up here in the Sacramento region will be getting the A’s as the home team for 2025-2027 at Sutter Health Park. Some of us still stubbornly refer to it as Raley Field.
This is the venue for the AAA affiliate for the Giants, AKA River Cats. It is a fantastic venue. I used to have season tickets from 2001 (2nd year) through 2008. But that was when they were the AAA affiliate for Oakland. The River Cats have been trying to get me to come back, but I told them not as long as they were affiliated with the Giants.
I have zero desire to help out A’s owner John Fisher, but I will be going to A’s games in Sacramento.
The stadium has 10,624 permanent seats and grass berms in both right and left fields for a total capacity of 14,014. I see no reason why the A’s will not outdraw what they have been getting at the Oakland Coliseum (a horrible venue) the last three years. Average attendance
2021 – 8,660
2022 – 9,849
2023 – 10,275
Attendance at Raley Field (Sutter Health Park) was tops in MiLB from 2000-2008, including each year I was a season ticket holder. I like to think it was because of me. They were also #1 in attendance for 2010 and 2015, 1st year affiliated with SFG. Here are the attendance numbers for the Park since inception.
11,970 – 2000 – #1 MiLB
12,517 – 2001 – #1 MiLB
11,352 – 2002 – #1 MiLB
12,461 – 2003 – #1 MiLB
10,433 – 2004 – #1 MiLB
10,497 – 2005 – #1 MiLB
10,114 – 2006 – #1 MiLB
9,727 – 2007 – #1 MiLB
9,725 – 2008 – #1 MiLB
9,190 – 2009 – #2 MiLB, #1 PCL
9,138 – 2010 – #1 MiLB
8,338 – 2011 – #4 MiLB, #2 PCL
8,140 – 2012 – #6 MiLB, #2 PCL
8,435 – 2013 – #4 MiLB, #1 PCL
8,442 – 2014 – #5 MiLB, #1 PCL
9,338 – 2015 – #1 MiLB
8,468 – 2016 – #5 MiLB, #2 PCL
7,975 – 2017 – #6 MiLB, #3 PCL
7,697 – 2018 – #11 MiLB, #5 PCL
7,849 – 2019 – #8 MiLB, #4 PCL
4,043 – 2021 – #28 MiLB, #7 PCL
5,037 – 2022 – #29 MiLB, #7 PCL
5,211 – 2023 – #27 MiLB, #7 PCL
Between the River Cats games, and my son’s MiLB games, I cannot count the number of MiLB games I saw from 1997-2008. I also attended a lot of the Lancaster JetHawks games from 1996-2000 when I lived down south.
I like to associate their affiliation with San Francisco for the massive drop in attendance.
Vivek Ranadivé is the owner of the River Cats, and Sacramento Kings. He wants to bring MLB baseball to Sacramento. We will see how Sacramento responds. They will have three years to showcase.
The A’s and River Cats will jointly use the stadium, but there will be games that the River Cats will play at Oracle Park in SF. Oakland Coliseum is also considered to be a venue to play some AAA games.
Good news for Sacramento. The A’s may not have a good team, but having MLB games in Sactown will be great. The stadium is small but right on the river, and should sellout most games. I plan to travel up there to see a few games if the deal goes through. The A’s have a few local kids who may be ready by next year. Tyler Soderstrom is from Turlock and in AAA now, while Daniel Susac from Jesuit High is in AA currently.
Hope you get to see some games there Jeff.
I will be there. It is small, but it is a fantastic venue. I will probably get a limited game season ticket package.
I run into Susac’s uncle at my Starbucks office. He is very good friends with a friend of mine, Tim Anderson, who was a first round LAD 1986 draft pick. Tim is also from Jesuit. Dodgers current AAA RHRP Tanner Dodson is from Jesuit, as was former LAD RHRP JP Howell. Daniel Susac’s brother, Andrew (6 years MLB), and former LAD catcher Mike Rose also played for Jesuit. Not bad for a small Catholic All Boys High School (975 enrollment).
As bad as things are going for Miami, they just got worse news…RHSP phenom Eury Perez will be undergoing TJ surgery and be out for all of 2024 and part of 2025. That is the Fish’s two top pitchers out with TJ, Perez and Sandy Alcantara. I imagine most teams will be monitoring LHSP Jesus Luzardo between now and the deadline. Or perhaps even earlier. He has team control through 2026.
One year after making the playoffs, Miami has started 0-7 in the year after they effectively dismissed Kim Ng. Bruce Sherman must be so proud.