Tagged: Tom Windle
Hello, Howie Kendrick (and sons)
Howie Kendrick with his sons Tyson and Owen on Friday at Dodger Stadium.
For more photos from today’s press conference, visit LA Photog Blog.
By Cary Osborne
It might have started as Howie Kendrick’s morning, but it was quickly taken over by his two children — 5-year-old Owen and 3-year-old Tyson.
The youngsters roamed the Dodger Stadium interview room like two kids exploring a playroom for the first time at Kendrick’s introductory press conference. Fittingly, it was their father’s first opportunity to truly explore Dodger Stadium. He has played at Dodger Stadium many times before as an Angel — 33 games in fact. But on Friday he got his first proper tour as a Dodger.
“Great organization,” Kendrick said. “I’ve played against this organization for a long time. It’s definitely great to be a part of the history the Dodgers have, and hopefully we can make some more history.”
That’s the point — making history. And Kendrick was just one of the flurry of moves the Dodgers have made in the last couple of weeks to try and win the World Series.
Minor league highlights from 2014
In the October issue of Dodger Insider magazine, Cary Osborne took this snapshot of highlights from the Dodger farm system in 2014, and I thought it would be nice to share with our blog audience before this year passes into next. Click the image above to enlarge.
— Jon Weisman
Dodger minor league report: Week 17.5 — Tools of Joc and Pride of the Dodgers
By Cary Osborne
There has been a lot of focus on Joc Pederson for what he’s doing offensively, but the above video is an example of what he can do defensively. Last year, he was rated the Double-A Southern League’s best defensive outfielder by Baseball America in its midseason Best Tools report.
In its Best Tools in Triple-A report, released today, Pederson is rated as the most exciting player, best batting prospect and as having the best strike-zone judgment in the Pacific Coast League.
Here’s an interesting bonus that MLBPipeline.com’s Jim Callis provided in his blog after the Dodgers’ Top 20 Prospects list was released in July — the guys who just missed the top 20.
There are a lot of familiar names in today’s Dodger Insider report below, as well as the July Dodger Pride Winners.
Dodger minor league report: Week 12 — Pederson and Bellinger banged up
By Cary Osborne
Shoulder injuries to Dodger prospects Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger marred an otherwise positive week for the Dodger organization. Corey Seager and Julio Urias were selected to play in the annual Futures Game, draftees are getting their feet wet and other top prospects are surging. Continue reading
Rancho’s ‘Fab Three’ meet adversity head on
Quakes pitching coach Matt Herges works with Julio Urias.
By Cary Osborne
Inside the Tommy Lasorda Clubhouse at Rancho Cucamonga’s LoanMart Field, Quakes pitching coach Matt Herges is in manager P.J. Forbes’ office, looking worn.
It’s all over his face as midnight Saturday morning approaches. Herges had to take over managing duties Friday in the eighth inning, after Forbes was tossed for arguing balls and strikes on a night their pitching staff surrendered 14 runs.
But in a hallway that leads to the field after his meeting with Forbes, Herges lights up when talking about what he called the “Fab Three.”
The Quakes have three pitchers – Julio Urias, Chris Anderson and Tom Windle – who are top-10 prospects in the Dodgers system.
The “Fab Three” comment Herges made up on the spot because he knew as far back as March when these players were assigned to High-A Rancho Cucamonga that he had something special. Continue reading
More Dodger prospects to watch in 2014
Dodger VP, Player Development De Jon Watson watches a prospect take batting practice at Dodger Stadium on Jan. 6.
© Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers,LLC 2013
By Cary Osborne
The Dodgers’ minor league system is at a place where it hasn’t been in De Jon Watson’s eight seasons.
That’s the view of Watson, the Vice President of Player Development who oversees the annual Winter Development Camp and is responsible for developing and evaluating all players in the organization. The resources are available to infuse young talent into the system, and because of that, a number of young players have been brought into the organization and have flourished.
Some of the Dodgers’ top prospects spent last week getting their feet wet at Dodger Stadium for the annual Winter Development Camp — but not all. There was a large number of Dodger prospects who opened eyes in 2013 who weren’t at the camp. Watson talked to Dodger Insider about some of them.
Julio Urias made his professional debut with the Single-A Great Lakes Loons last season at just 16 years old. The left-hander from Mexico went 2-0 with a 2.48 ERA, striking out 67 batters in 54.1 innings.
“Really talented young kid,” Watson said. “The kid will pitch this year at 17. He went to the Midwest League last year at 16 and he showed the poise of a 27-year-old coming out of a 16-year-old-body. Nothing about the game flustered him. The competition wasn’t a problem. His fastball was anywhere from 90 to 97. … He was really exciting to watch as a young player. To be able to handle himself, it was pretty impressive.”
The Dodgers top two picks from last season’s First-Year Player Draft were high school rivals in Minnesota before going off to college. First-rounder Chris Anderson went 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA in 12 starts for Great Lakes. Second-rounder Tom Windle went 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA in 12 starts for the Loons.
“Chris Anderson has an aggressive power arm,” Watson said of the 21-year-old right-hander. “He’s going to get better as he continues to mature and work with our coaches. He also has an above-average slider and the makings of a solid-average change-up. He could be a quick mover in our system if needed.”
On the 21-year-old left-hander Windle: “We’re really excited. Really looking forward to him coming to camp. He features four pitches with solid-average command of all his pitches. He seems to have an innate ability to read swings and make adjustments.”
Dodgers 2012 first-round pick Corey Seager. Photo: Great Lakes Loons
The ceiling is high for 2012 first-rounder Corey Seager, who saw a late-season promotion from Great Lakes to High-A Rancho Cucamonga. In Great Lakes, the 19-year-old shortstop batted .309 with 12 home runs and 57 RBI. In Rancho, he batted .160 with four home runs and 15 RBI in 100 at-bats. Seager played for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the prestigious Arizona Fall League and was selected to play in the league’s Fall Stars Game.
“Corey swung the bat well, played a solid shortstop, the range continues to improve. His feel for the game continues to improve,” Watson said. “We pushed him up to the Cal League and he ran into a little snag, but he’ll make the adjustment to dominate in that league and go higher. The one thing that’s really neat about the kid is his poise. He never seems to get flustered. His internal clock on defense is really amazing — to watch such a young player understand the flow and pace of the game. He never panics. He handles himself like a pro.”
Watson threw out some other names of guys who took some significant steps in 2013.
Dodger prospect Justin Chigbogu played for the Ogden Raptors. Photo: Ogden Raptors
- First baseman Justin Chigbogu, 19, hit .268 with 14 home runs and 50 RBI in 60 Rookie League games last year.
- Outfielder Jacob Scavuzzo, 20, hit .307 with 14 home runs and 42 RBI in 63 games at Rookie League Ogden.
- Puerto Rican outfielder Jon Garcia, 22, hit 17 home runs with 44 RBI in 68 games with Rancho last season before a promotion to Double-A Chattanooga, where his power dipped.
- Right fielder Joey Curletta, 19, batted .326 with five home runs and 42 RBI last season in Ogden.
- Puerto Rican outfielder Noel Cuevas, 22, batted .284 with 12 home runs, 66 RBI and 38 stolen bases for Rancho in 2013.
- Middle infielder Darnell Sweeney, 22, batted .275 with 11 home runs, 77 RBI, 16 triples and 48 stolen bases last season for Rancho.
Dodger Insider 
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