The Dodgers will promote top outfield prospect Alex Verdugo to make his Major League debut, tweets J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group. The 21-year-old will need to be added to the 40-man roster, though the Dodgers could create space for that move simply by moving lefty Grant Dayton to the 60-day DL. (Dayton had Tommy John surgery recently.)
Notably, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register tweets that Joc Pederson will not immediately be called up when rosters expand tomorrow. Pederson, unlike Verdugo, will remain in Triple-A for the time being — likely until the minor league season comes to a close, according to Plunkett.
Verdugo is batting .314/.389/.436 with six homers and nine steals through 495 plate appearances in Triple-A Oklahoma City this season. He’s currently ranked as the game’s No. 22 prospect, per Eric Longenhagen of Fangraphs. Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com rated him 28th on their summer top 100, while Baseball America pegged him 35th.
The free report from Callis and Mayo praises the former second-round pick as an “extremely advanced hitter for his age,” noting that contact comes so easily for Verdugo that some wonder if it will cut into his walk rate. Verdugo uses the opposite field well and has average speed with the instincts to handle center field, the MLB.com duo adds.
Verdugo’s name has been oft-mentioned in trade rumors over the past year, though never in the sense that the Dodgers were shopping him or even willing to move him. To the contrary, teams such as the Twins, Tigers, Rangers and Orioles have all reportedly eyed Verdugo when marketing established veterans to the Dodgers, but president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and his staff have steadfastly refused to make Verdugo available in talks.
Given the timing of his promotion, the earliest that Verdugo could qualify for arbitration would be upon completion of the 2020 season. He’s controllable through at least the 2023 season for the Dodgers, though those timelines could both be delayed if the team ultimately decides that Verdugo requires further minor league refinement and gives him some more work at Triple-A in 2018.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sweet
He should be wearing a Detroit Tigers uniform.
Unfortunately, Verdugo’s AAA OBP is .389 not .489
Ha, indeed it is. Impressive all the same, but not quite as ridiculous. Thanks for the heads up on the typo!
Walker Buehler should be arriving soon too
I think he’s a little overrated since he doesn’t have great power, but everyone needs good contact guys to get on for their boppers.
The dodgers are going to be scary for a long time, most of their young players are their best ones.
Power won’t be that huge of a deal if he can stay in CF.
I’d take his low power numbers over Joc’s power if he can actually make contact with a baseball. He might see his power improve with the jumping baseballs at the MLB level too. Either way I’m excited to finally see him at the MLB level.
Well, this may spell the end of Joc’s days with us. Time to give this guy a chance
Thank you Johnny Superscout
I see ender enciarte 2.0 maybe more slightly more pop
Excellent comparison, though I think he’ll trade some defensive effectiveness in for on base skills
That would be amazing
I wonder if anyone else that hasn’t been promoted yet this season will get the call, since today is the last day to be added to the mlb roster to be eligible for postseason play.
Yeah, you keep wondering that. Even though it doesn’t matter.
Unless the rules were changed without my approval, you only need to be in he organization by Sept. 1 to be eligible for the postseason. For example, K-Rod was called up in the middle of Sept. 2002, but was a key piece in the Angels World Series run.
No you just have to be in the org to be eligible for playoffs.
Great move!!! It’s time to see what Alex can do over the next month
Danngit. OKC was coming into town tomorrow and I was hoping to see him play again in person. Guess Joc and Ethier will have to work .
They’re being promoted too from what I understand. My condolences.
Article specifically says Joc will stay in AAA.
Ethier is getting activated from the 60-day DL and going to LA tomorrow.
Awesome. Now we can completely change out the outfield that was winning games at a .780 clip. Pederson, gone, ethier in right, grandyman in left. Taylor can ride the bench. What can go wrong?
Awesome.
I like his name. Verdugo means “executioner” in Spanish.
As long as a player is in the organization regardless of the level they’re playing come September, they are eligible for the postseason
Joc is done. He’ll hopefully be traded this offseason…hopefully as part of the Verlander trade.