Dodger minor league report: Week 21 (part two) — Power and dominance
By Cary Osborne
You can’t help but be encouraged by some of the stuff going on at the lower levels in the Dodger organization — teams in playoff position, with power at the plate (including a home run record) and dominance on the mound (including a no-hitter). Obviously, hope is tempered by the fact that these guys have a long way to go, but there are some promising signs.
Great Lakes Loons (Low-A)
Thus far: 63–72 overall; 29–36, 9 1/2 games out of first place in the Midwest League’s Eastern Division second-half standings, ½ game out in wild-card standings
Outfielder Joey Curletta was named to the Midwest League’s All-Star Team. The 2012 sixth-round pick has a line of .281/.338/.385 with seven home runs, 67 RBI and 14 stolen bases. Beyond those stats, we got a report from our guy in Great Lakes, Bruce Gunther, who handles the media stuff out there and sees Curletta on a regular basis.
He points out that the 6-foot-4, 245-pound Curletta has a league-leading 13 assists and big-time power. In 2012, Curletta was the underclassman champion at the fifth annual Power Showcase at Chase Field. He hit one ball 462 feet (with an aluminum bat). His 412-foot shot this month was one of the longest of the season at Great Lakes’ Dow Diamond, according to Gunther.
Jose De Leon had another Jose De Leon outing. The 22-year-old right-hander struck out nine batters in five innings on August 24, allowing two earned runs and walking one in the game. Since being called up to Great Lakes earlier this month, he has struck out 30 batters in 17 innings. He has walked one batter.
Overall this season, he has 107 strikeouts and 20 walks in 71 1/3 innings, and batters are hitting .211 against him.
Dodger third-rounder John Richy has allowed just one earned run in 11 2/3 innings in Great Lakes since an August call-up from Ogden. Opposing batters are hitting .195 off him, but he has walked six.
Ogden Raptors (Rookie League)
Thus far: 33–35 overall, 18–12 first place by 1½ games in the Pioneer League’s South Division
Ogden, after going 10–2 in its past 12 games, has six regular season games remaining and is in the driver’s seat for a playoff appearance.
Justin Chigbogu hit his 19th home run of the season August 24, which passed Brian Cavazos-Galvez (2009) for the most by a Raptor in a season. Chigbogu is homering every 12.6 at-bats in Ogden. Five of his last eight hits are home runs (all coming between August 18–24). He’s also striking out 34.3 percent of the time.
Chigbogu leads the Pioneer League in home runs and is second in RBI with 58. He’s slashing at .251/.325/.519.
First-rounder Grant Holmes went five innings on Wednesday, allowed three hits, two walks and two earned runs while striking out nine. Holmes has struck out 18 batters in 13 1/3 innings in Ogden and 51 in 43 1/3 minor league innings.
Outfielder Andrew Godbold, a 2014 23rd-rounder out of Southeastern Louisiana, has homered three times in his last eight games and has a .574 slugging percentage in 47 at-bats. Godbold batted .349/.448/.515 with nine home runs this season at Southeastern Louisiana.
AZL Dodgers (Rookie League)
Thus far: 25–31, 13–15, 8 1/2 games out of first place in the Arizona Rookie League’s Central Division standings (clinched wild card)
The AZL Dodgers certainly have a flair for the dramatic — clinching a wild-card berth with Thursday’s no-hitter.
The starter, Jairo Pacheco, tossed six no-hit innings. The 18-year-old left-hander was signed out of Venezuela on January 26, 2013. Last August with the DSL team, he allowed one earned run in 15 2/3 innings, allowing just seven hits en route to winning a Dodger Pride Award.
This August he has allowed three earned runs and 18 hits in 30 innings (0.90 ERA), while striking out 36 batters.
There was a question before the 2014 draft as to whether Alex Verdugo was a pitcher or an outfielder. The Dodgers were firm in their belief that the Arizona prep star, armed with a 90-mph fastball, was a position player. It’s early, but he’s certainly proving them right.
He is 12 for his last 29 (.414) and on the season is hitting .347/.423/.518 with 14 doubles and three home runs, his latest coming in the no-hitter game.
Right-hander Derrick Sylvester, a 2014 31st-round pick, has pitched 13 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings out of the bullpen. In 23 1/3 innings on the season, he has a 1.16 ERA and 0.77 WHIP, and opposing hitters are batting .172 against him. In three seasons at Southern New Hampshire University, he had a 2.52 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 246 1/3 innings.
DSL Dodgers (Rookie League)
Thus far: 36–34, finished six games out of first place in the Dominican Summer League’s Northern Division standings
We’ll pick two players who stood out statistically this season for the DSL team to highlight — one position player, one pitcher.
Outfielder Johan Mieses led the team in hits (61), triples (eight), home runs (five), RBI (24), total bases (103), stolen bases (29), OBP (.371), slugging (.505), average (.299) and OPS (.876).
Pitcher Hector Rodriguez pitched five innings of no-hit ball on June 7 and six innings of no-hit ball on July 24. In 63 2/3 innings, he had a 1.98 ERA and 0.86 WHIP, struck out 42 batters and limited opposing hitters to a .185 average.
Photo: Great Lakes Loons
