The Dodgers AAA affiliate is the reigning Pacific Coast League (PCL) Champions. They have also undergone a name change from the Dodgers to The Oklahoma City Baseball Club.
“For the last nine years, it has been an honor and a privilege to share one of the most iconic brands in all of professional sports,” said Oklahoma City Baseball Club President/General Manager Michael Byrnes. “However, we’re excited this new era affords us the opportunity to strengthen our connection to our community and reinforce that we are Oklahoma City’s team.”
The process to develop the team’s new permanent identity is already underway, with the organization previously hosting a series of meetings and focus groups with key community leaders and stakeholders to receive input.
The team has introduced a variety of uniforms that will be worn during the season.
During every Sunday home game, the team will wear its City Celebration jerseys and hats, which were introduced in 2023 in conjunction with the 25th anniversary of Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. During every Thursday home game, the team will wear refreshed Oklahoma City 89ers jerseys and hats.
OKC and LAD have announced the 27 man roster for The Oklahoma Baseball Club, and it is a veteran club, with very few top prospects. Per Baseball America:
- Andy Pages OF – (#3) – (pronounced “PAH-hez”)
- Landon Knack RHP – (#11)
- Trey Sweeney SS – (#16)
- Gus Varland RHRP – (#22)
- John Rooney LHRP – (#29)
For MLB Pipeline
- Andy Pages OF – (#3)
- Landon Knack RHP – (#14)
- Trey Sweeney SS – (#22)
While this is a veteran team that is built to provide depth for the ML team, OKC will have only 8 players on the 40 man:
- Andy Pages OF
- Landon Knack RHP
- Gus Varland RHRP
- P. Feyereisen RHRP
- Matt Gage LHRP
- Ricky Vanasco RHRP
- Hunter Feduccia C – 3rd season at OKC
- Miguel Vargas LF – 3rd season at OKC
Returning for his 4th season at OKC is OF Drew Avans. Ryan Ward is returning for his 2nd full season at OKC.
Kody Hoese has earned his first trip to AAA at the age of 26. He will be a 3B/1B/DH. His bat is going to have to show life if he is going to make the lineup.
The other position players are first year players in the LA organization and all have MLB experience:
- Jonathan Araúz INF (BOS, BAL, NYM)
- Chris Owings INF (AZ, COL, BAL, PIT)
- Andre Lipcius INF (DET)
- Kevin Padlo INF (TB, SEA, SF, PIT, LAA)
- Chris Okey C (CIN, LAA)
It is the pitchers that are truly providing the depth. The one starter from within organization is Landon Knack. The others will probably be vying for relief roles at the MLB level, even though some are going to need to step up and start.
- Nabil Crismatt – RHP – MLB Experience
- Tanner Dodson – RHP – MLB Experience
- P. Feyereisen – RHP– MLB Experience
- Alec Gamboa – LHP
- Stephen Gonsalves – LHP– MLB Experience
- Kevin Gowdy – RHP
- Jesse Hahn – RHP– MLB Experience
- Dinelson Lamet – RHP– MLB Experience
- Michael Peterson – RHP
- Drew Pomeranz – LHP– MLB Experience
- John Rooney – LHP
- Eduardo Salazar – RHP– MLB Experience
- Ricky Vanasco – RHP
- Gus Varland – RHP– MLB Experience
Of that group, Eduardo Salazar has generally been a starter. Others who have starting experience, even though they are more relievers now: Dinelson Lamet, Alec Gamboa, Drew Pomeranz. Although after Friday’s game, I would hazard a guess that Michael Grove will be headed back to OKC as a starter.
Not on the active roster are three pitchers on the IL:
- Nick Frasso – RHP – 60 Day IL
- Matt Gage – LHP – 7 Day IL
- River Ryan – LHP – 7 Day IL
The team is comprised of a lot of former MLB players/pitchers that should provide depth for the parent club. Unfortunately not a lot on the 40 man, so there will have to be significant injuries to 60 day IL or DFA.
Nick Frasso is on the MiLB 60 day IL and will remain on 40 man roster. He would have to be recalled from MiLB to be put on the MLB 60 day IL, but that would start his service clock. Not going to happen.
The team opened their season on Friday night playing the Tacoma Rainiers in Tacoma. Tacoma is the affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.
Landon Knack started for OKC and pitched a strong 5.0 scoreless innings. He allowed 3 hits, but no walks, and 6 Ks, on 73 pitches. Knack was followed by 4 relievers who each pitched a scoreless innings.
Landon Knack, my No. 14 #Dodgers prospect, in his season debut tonight in Triple-A:
5.0 IP
3 H
0 R
0 BB
6 K
15 whiffs
39 CSW%
72 P / 47 SHeck of a first start for Knack, who will definitely be filling innings in the Majors this season pic.twitter.com/PgnuXsos07
— Bruce Kuntz (@Bnicklaus7) March 30, 2024
- Gus Varland – no hits or BB, 2 K
- P. Feyereisen – no hits, 2 BB, 0 K
- Kevin Gowdy – no hits or BB, 1 K
- Ricky Vanasco – 2 hits, 2 BB, 2 K
Unfortunately, the offense could not generate any runs on 4 hits. Drew Avans had 2 hits including a double. Kevin Padlo and Hunter Feduccia also had singles.
The two teams went into the 10th 0-0. Both teams stranded runners on 3rd in the 10th without scoring.
In the 11th, Chris Owings started on 2B. Andy Pages popped out, and the Rainiers RHRP, Ty Adcock, intentionally walked Trey Sweeney to get to Miguel Vargas. After starting out 0-2, Miguel worked himself into a BB. Kevin Padlo lined out to the SS on a 3-1 pitch, and Ryan Ward flew out to CF to end the inning.
John Rooney came out for his 2nd inning, but a run scored on a late throw to the plate. Tacoma wins the first game in the PCL season, 1-0.
Bobby Miller was dealing.
Michael Grove and Ryan Brasier…not so much.
He is making the case for being the Dodger’s Ace. What a splendid start, 11SOs. When was the last time a Dodger pitcher did that?
Just what I’ve been thinking. 100-mph heat and some wicked movement.
With all the attention on Yoshi and Glasnow, perhaps Miller winds up leading the way.
Heading out to California this morning, you guys have a great Easter.
Miller throws hard. Anytime I see a starter throwing 100 mph over 6 innings I worry.
Grove had one good inning. Maybe that should be enough. Brasier did ok. 1 inning 1 hit. Unfortunately that 1 hit was with the bases loaded.
Ohtani 0 for 4. Maybe a little distracted? Mookie OPS’n 1.970. That would be a record.
If the team keeps scoring like that against LHP they should be alright.
Raining again. Supposed to rain all day and most of the night. No game in Mudville tonight.
Ohtani got on base 3 times in the opener. Clearly he wasn’t distracted a day earlier?
Ohtani is doing fine.
But right now Miguel Rojas leads him in HRs!
I don’t expect it, but Rojas’s glove and his ability to hit lefties has me wondering if we’ll wind up with a Rojas/Lux platoon, with Mookie shuttling between SS and 2B much as Teoscar shuttles between LF and RF.
For those worried that Mookie’s new position(s) will affect his hitting, well, it looks like it might improve it.
I like Chris Taylor playing when Heyward sits, but didn’t like his 3 Ks in this game.
Ohtani is OPSn .698. I don’t see that as fine, but, I guess it’s ok with others. Maybe it’s just a slow start.
Make that .638.
Grove is there to pitch multiple innings as Yarbs did the night before. There are other good 1.0 inning pitchers at OKC (Gus Varland, Ricky Vanasco, J. P. Feyereisen). Next up in that role should be Kyle Hurt.
Some will look at Brasier and see that his ERA is 0.00 and think he is unhittable. For relievers, I always look at inherited runners and inherited runners scored. Brasier inherited three runners, and all three scored. Zero impact on his ERA. Don’t forget, Nolan Arenado just missed the 3-run HR, and instead, just one scored on a sac fly. He is supposed to be the high leverage reliever that gets out of those jams. He has not pitched well all spring. Hopefully the more he pitches, the better he will get and resume his dominance of 2023.
Thanks for the preview of the OKC team, Jeff.
Good first start by Knack in a tough 1-0 loss. I appreciate guys like Drew Avans who is playing hard in his 4th year at OKC. He hit 368 in spring training for the Dodgers, and has a 780 OPS in AAA, but does not have the size and power of an MLB starter. Hopefully, someday he will get some time in the MLB as a 5th OF, even if it is with another team.
Drew Avans was a 33rd round draft pick out of that baseball college hotbed of Southeastern Louisiana. Within a year he was playing most of the 2019 season at AA, and was most certainly not overmatched: .286/.346/.414/.760. He lost the 2020 season due to Covid, but started right back up at AAA in 2021, and has been there ever since. Last year was his least productive year at the plate.
He is a good defensive OF who primarily sits in CF, with limited HR power. He has good base running speed. I do not know how much of an athlete Drew Avans is, but he is a very good baseball player, and I agree he deserves a chance with a MLB club.
I like Jason Heyward, and I am glad he is a LAD. But how much win loss disparity would the team have incurred if the team did not re-sign J-Hey, moved Teoscar to RF, and put Avans in LF with his LH bat. He could have been a platoon candidate.
Of course the same can be said about Miguel Vargas. However with Avans you get much better defense. Regardless, at some point don’t you have to let one of these guys come up and see what they can do? Last year Vargas had that opportunity. It did not work in 2023, but maybe it could have in 2024. James Outman did as well, and he succeeded.
Thanks for the info Jeff. I enjoy watching Avans play. He is a grinder who seems to love baseball.
I often root for guys like Avans and Ward to be added to trade packages, just to improve their career prospects. Turning a 2-for-2 deal into a 3-for-2 trade can open opportunities for younger prospects.
Speaking of deals, I’m sure Michael Busch is happy starting for the Cubs–and I’m happy the Dodgers now have Ferris and Hope.
Pleasantly surprised to see that veteran Chris Owings is on the OKC roster. He played well in the Spring and I thought his deal allowed him to opt out in case he could snag a gig in the majors. An injury or two could bring him up, though I would prefer a younger player like Sweeney to break through.
Let’s give Bobby 15y/$300m right now.
Bobby Miller has a lot of Walker Buehler in him. They both exude huge levels of competitiveness while wearing their emotions on their sleeve. Walker was able to control his emotions early on, and it looks like Bobby is starting to understand that, but he nearly lost it in the 6th, and it was not because he lost his stuff. After the inning, I am sure that Mark Prior was not talking to Bobby about his pitches, but about controling his emotions. When he lets his emotions get the better of him, he begins to overthrow, and then overcompensate. He is good enough to get out of the situations. Once he truly realizes that, he will be in the special column.
Speaking of Walker Buehler, he gets an OKC rehab start on Sunday and is expected to go 4-5 innings. This will be the first of four rehab starts for Walker. He could be ready to rejoin the rotation by end of April, 1st week in May.
Buehler is a special talent, and the Dodgers will take extra care in bringing him back.
For me, it was more of being tired.
Miller is better looking.
Fangraphs posted a recent article on the Will Smith signing.
I think this is the best Dodger move of the offseason. Will has been a top 2-3 catcher in baseball over the last 5 years. He is the ultimate team player, and played a key role in the 2020 world championship. Dodgers do not win a WS without Will’s 3 run HR in the 6th inning of game 5 against the Braves. They trailed in the series 3 games to 1, and trailed 2-1 in the game. His at bat was fabulous as he had to overcome two questionable umpire calls that put him down 0-2 in the count. But he battled back to a full count and hit a pretty good pitch for a HR that turned the game around and staved off elimination for the Dodgers. Great clutch performance by Smith.
Will Smith also had 2 RBI in game 7 against the Braves in the 4-3 comeback win.
Even as a rookie he came close to being a postseason hero. In the horrible loss to the Nationals in game 5 in 2019, Will Smith nearly hit a walkoff HR in the 9th inning. His drive to right center looked to be a HR or at least a game winning double, but it was held up in the cold October air and caught at the wall. The next inning Howie Kendrick hit a grand slam and the Dodger season was over.
The Will Smith contract is a team friendly deal with an annual AAV of only $12.2 million. While the 10 year deal is lengthy for a catcher, Will is athletic and may be able to play other positions as he ages. The deal makes Will Smith a Dodger for life and gives him generational security. Great to see the Dodgers retain a homegrown/long term talent. Hopefully, they can sign Buehler to an extension as well as he gets ready to pitch a rehab game in OKC. They should prioritize rewarding their own players who have helped build the organization.
He’s not what the team thought he would be, and I’ve heard the scouts admit it and acknowledge their error.
but I feel good for Kody H. sticking with it and making it this far.
“The Dodgers AAA affiliate is the reigning Pacific Coast League (PCL) Champions. They have also undergone a name change from the Dodgers to The Oklahoma City Baseball Club.” Can somebody coach me up on why the Dodgers name was dropped? And where the “Eighty Niners” name came from?
I drool over the prospect of having Buehlar and Miller in the same rotation with Glasnow and Kershaw back for the 2nd half.
Best possible rotation heading into the postseason might be Glasnow, Miller, Yamamoto, Buehler with Paxton in the pen along with May.
Diamond Baseball Holdings bought the OKC Dodgers at the end of the 2021 season. They wanted the name to be more reflective of Oklahoma City than “Dodgers”. Brand identity change.
Diamond Baseball Holdings is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a sports and entertainment company that owns UFC, Euroleague Basketball, ELeague, IMG, and a myriad of other holdings. At around the same time, Diamond Baseball Holdings announced the purchase of nine minor league teams, including Triple-A teams of the Yankees, Cubs, and Cardinals, and all four of Atlanta’s domestic affiliates.
Oklahoma City’s current baseball franchise began competing in 1962 and was known as the Oklahoma City 89ers. The original name made reference to the Land Run of 1889, which led to the founding of Oklahoma City. The name remained from 1962 to 1997.
From 1998 to 2008 the team name was Oklahoma RedHawks. From 2009-2014, they were known as the Oklahoma City RedHawks. In 2015, they became an affiliate of the Dodgers and the name was changed to Oklahoma City Dodgers.
Speaking of OKC and via Josh Thomas:
Eduardo Salazar is pitching tonight for OKC, and what in the world did the the Dodger lab do with his sinker? Horizontal movement:
2023 – 10”
Today – 18”
Well, Doc mismanages into a loss tonight. Why didn’t he pull Kelly after the 4th batter? Dodgers will not win another WS with Roberts.
Let nobody say OhioDodger doesn’t leap to conclusions
Was that a WS? Less than half a complete season? Not in my way of thinking.