It is always great to see former Dodgers prospects do well. players I followed for years while toiling in MiLB. These guys are very good baseball players. When you have played in one organization for your entire professional career, but never make the 40 man after 7 years, it is pretty clear you are not going to get inducted into the MLB HOF as a player. And when you are not snatched up in any of the Rule 5 Drafts you were eligible for, that is another strike. It appears these players are just one step away from realizing a childhood dream, but for some it might as well be a million steps.
Most MiLB players are released relatively early in their careers. Some choose to retire, recognizing that professional baseball isn’t for them. My son had multiple high school friends in the San Fernando Valley he grew up with that chose this path. Some choose to stick around and see if they get moved to another organization for that chance at MLB. If you are fortunate enough to last 7 years in MiLB without making the 40-man roster, you are granted free agency. These players are not all of a sudden going to get a MLB contract, but they will get a new start to impress another team.
Those who watched the Dodgers vs A’s on Sunday got a chance to see such a player…29 year old OF Drew Avans. Drew reached AAA at the age of 25. However, instead of at least getting the call just once, he spent the next 4 years at OKC. At the end of the 2024 season, Drew was granted free agency and signed MiLB contract with the A’s.
Avans was not simply overlooked. James Outman, Jonny Deluca, Andy Pages, and even Miguel Vargas all got opportunities to play in LA. Vargas is an infielder, but he was given the opportunity to become a MLB LF with the Dodgers. It did not work out. Deluca and Vargas have been traded, and while both Outman and Pages remain with LAD, neither are guaranteed a spot on the 26 man roster, much less a regular role in the OF. Other than his parents, nobody believes Avans was more deserving of a chance to fail in MLB over those four.
Avans did not have the requisite power to be a MLB corner OF, and his defense was not quite at the level to offset his “okay” offensive stats. On the CF spectrum, he was not in the first three with Outman, Deluca, and Pages (who is not a CF). And yet he was good enough to stick with the Dodgers, a perennial championship caliber team, for 7 years. Would he have been better served playing for the A’s, Pittsburgh, Miami, Cincinnati, Seattle, or any other 2nd tier and lower team?
A day after Miguel Vargas took Tyler Glasnow deep, LH hitting Drew Avans faced off against 2-time CY winner LHP Blake Snell. Snell is lethal against LH hitters. That did not deter Avans in the least. He pulled a 94.8 MPH 4-seamer that was well inside of the strike zone over the RF fence for a HR. Snell allowed 2 HRs from a LH hitter all year in 2024. In his 2nd AB against Snell, he hit a 102.8 MPH line drive to LF for an out.
Avans is having a very good Spring. However, with Miguel Andujar and Esteury Ruiz as the 4th and 5th OF option ahead of him on the depth chart. It is going to be tough to get that call. In addition, 25 year old Denzel Clark is already on the 40-man, and 24 year old Colby Thomas is slated higher than Avans on the A’s OF depth chart. One point in Drew’s favor is that he is LH and none of the other four are.
MLB used to have a September callup for MiLB players, and this is where many of these level of players got their proverbial “cup of coffee”. One such player with LAD was 2011 12th round draft pick from Sonoma State, O’Koyea Dickson. Like Avans, O’Koyea became a favorite of mine because of his perseverance.
Dickson spent 3 years in OKC before his September callup, September 1, 2017. He made his major league debut the following day as the starting leftfielder and was hitless in three at-bats with one walk. He appeared in a total of seven games and had one hit in seven at-bats for the Dodgers (9 PA). His first major league hit was a single to centerfield off Madison Bumgarner on September 23, 2017. He suffered a shoulder injury late in the month and was placed on the disabled list. Dickson was outrighted to the minors and removed from the 40-man roster on November 6, 2017, and elected free agency the same day.
For 2018, Dickson signed with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles in the JPL. Dickson did sign a MiLB contract with the Nationals in 2019, only to get released early May 2019. He never again played in MLB. But he did get his chance. And if the Astros had not cheated, Dickson would have got a 2017 WS ring.
Following the 2025 season, five LAD prospects will reach MiLB free agent status, and will undoubtedly choose free agency. The most prominent is 27 year old 3B Kody Hoese. It is possible that Hoese could get called at some point in the season and is then protected for three option years. Would the Dodgers do that to Hoese, or just give him free agency so he could pick his next team. Alex Freeland needs to be protected by December 2025, so it is more likely that Freeland would get the call over Hoese.
The other four players in the same predicament are:
- OF/1B Ryan Ward (27 year old) – This will be his 3rd year at OKC
- RHRP Jack Little (27 year old) – This will be his 2nd year at OKC
- LHP Alec Gamboa (28 year old) – This will be his 3rd year at OKC
- RHRP Logan Boyer (27 year old) – This will be his 2nd year at Tulsa or 1st at OKC. Boyer missed two years (2022 and 2023) due to TJ surgery. Logan got off to a great start in 2024 as the Tulsa closer. In 27.2 IP, Boyer had a 1.67 ERA with 5 saves out of 6 save opportunities. However, Boyer was shut down again after his June 29 outing for the remainder of the season.
Making it to MLB is NOT EASY. Some have to be in the right spot with the right team. My son was one of those. Tito Francona liked Andy when both were with the Phillies. After Andy was traded to the Red Sox, they renewed their kinship, and Andy got his chance. Not all are as fortunate.
Here’s hoping that Drew Avans gets his opportunity.
Roberts extended four years by the Dodgers for 8.1 million a year. Yamamoto looks pretty good today. Top of the lineup, sans Mookie, stinging the ball today. Muncy robbed by Alex Thomas on a drive to deep center. Team leaves for Japan on Wednesday. Nice write up on those guys Jeff. You can go back in Dodger history and find many like them.
Baseball is such a tough way to try to make a living. Long ago, I had 2 buddies who were in the minors for several years and never got the call. They both came back with alcohol issues and one died in a DUI accident. Those long bus rides took a toll. Wishing the best for Drew.
That is rough. I would have loved to have had the chance, but alas, I wasn’t that great. I went into the Army instead. Played the game as much as I could until physically, I could not do it anymore.
Apparently Gerrit Cole’s 2nd opinion on his elbow was the same as the first. But this one was with Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and Cole will have his TJ surgery on Tuesday AM.
Confirmed by MLBTR.
Very interesting Jeff, kind of stuff love hearing about and rarely get to, thanks.
To me, Jeff’s article about guys getting a shot and this Gerrit Cole news ties in together.
We have a LOT of 24-27 year old pitchers who need a shot, whether here or somewhere. The Yankees should be interested in a few of them.
I can see a Michael Busch/Ferris-Hope type trade with the Yankees where they get a potential starter from us and we get more Hope/Ferris types.
Yankees only have one player in the top 100. Jasson Dominguez. I don’t see much else in their system above A+. They do have George Lombard’s kid at A+.
Gonsolin? May? Miller? Knack? Wrobleski?
That’s a five-man rotation worth of trade candidates.
These are the starters that (a) the Dodgers may be willing to trade and (b) might attract the interest of the Yankees, Orioles or any other contender that needs pitching.
My guess is that the Yankees, needing to replace Cole, would prefer a proven star like Alcantara or Cease. But who knows?
Gonsolin, coming off an injury, is the most accomplished and a former all-star–but May and Miller are thought to have higher ceilings.
Miller, a former first-rounder, would also come with years of control, so he may be the most appealing. Knack has been dependable but is not the sexy choice. Wrobleski seems to be improving–and is the only lefty in this bunch.
So how about… Miller + Peter Huebeck + Kody Hoese for the Oriole’s Coby Mayo. He’s a top 3B/1B power prospect (MLB #14) who is currently blocked in Baltimore… but could be Max’s successor.
My thinking is that Miller and Mayo are similar high-upside talents who play different positions. Miller would help the Orioles immediately, while Mayo would head to OKC and be knocking on the door.
Huebeck was a Maryland prep star who has a shot at the majors. Hoese may be long shot at this point–but Mayo would take his job in OKC.
Start with Miller-for-Mayo and build a blockbuster from there.
Of the five trade candidates I list, May is the one I’d most like to keep. Fragile, but his stuff is wicked.
At any rate, the Dodgers have another five-man rotation on the IL or due in ’26: Stone, Sheehan, Ryan, Frasso and Ferris.
Pitchers dropping like flies again all across the league. Guess the panel hasn’t got the real insight yet as to why there are so many needing surgery.
Hunter Feduccia is looking more and more like a MLB catcher.
What chance does he have to make our team though? So is he just trade bait only? Barnes does not seem like he is going to give up his back up job very easily.
Hunter will be the insurance catcher at AAA if anything happens to Smith or Barnes. He is already on the 40 man, is considered a better catcher defensievly over Rushing, and he is not getting embarrassed as a hitter.
I hope he gets a shot.
I like Hunter, best hitting catcher we have in ST.
Yankees lose Cole until at least 2026 All Star break. They should have let him walk when they had the chance. Now he will have time to work on covering 1B.
Trevor Bauer is available for league minimum. 😀
Bauer would gladly go to the Yankees for nothing. He has kept pitching almost all year round in any league that will have him. Still touches the high 90’s with a mean slider.
Great piece. Enjoy the fine content here.
Agree!
One of my daily Dodger blogs.
Doc has made it known that our #5 starter to begin the season is…………………Dustin May.
A number of us had wondered where Catman disappeared to. Turns out he hurt his back lifting weights. Back problems can be difficult for pitchers. Just ask Clayton. No mention as to how long he might be out.
I believe we now have something like 13 pitchers who are unable to pitch in games at present, including guys on the 60-day IL plus guys who are just not throwing at the moment.
The pitching depth AF/BG built seemed a little over the top during the off season, but losing Groves and Gonsolin going down with his back, all in 24 hours reminds us how fast things can change in this game.
Lifting weights is so passe. It’s ok if you’re in prison, but if you are a professional athlete, there are far better ways of training than lifting weights.
Trust me, back problems are difficult for anyone, not just pitchers.
I counted 10, but I could be missing a couple of minor league arms.
Yesterday provided a perfect example of why I would like to see a full-time ABS System calling balls and strikes and NOT a challenge system.
In the bottom of the 5th, both Smith and Muncy got strike calls by the HPU that were questionable.
Neither could be challenged as the Dodgers were out of challenges.
\That is a completely avoidable circumstance if the ABS was employed full-time. Just get every pitch right without the foolish restrictions.
It is absurd. Totally agree. Just get every pitch correct.
There you go! No better analysis than this.
Last summer you said you went to a game where ABS was being used. You mentioned that the system stopped working for at least one pitch. If the umpire is not calling balls and strikes how would suggest the situation be handled?
Sam, I guess the HPU would have to be prepared to call the pitch. Or it would be called “no pitch”. That certainly would be a special problem. But that is such anomaly that I see that as no reason to scrap ABS System.
If I read the specs right, the ump has a device in his ear which tells him ball or strike. Of course if the batter swings, we all know what the pitch is. I am no huge fan of the challenge system.
If ABS is being used, how attentive will the umpire be? I doubt very much. “No pitch” as you say could be problematic, particularly in a playoff game.
If you are going to fully implement ABS, you need a backup system in place. Basically, two measurements being done at the same time.