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On Sunday, December 6th, Jonathan Mayo of MLB Pipeline published an article entitled, “10 names to watch ahead of the Rule 5 Draft.” Needless to say, Mayo listed multiple Dodgers prospects.
For our readers who do not know about the Rule 5 Draft (which will take place Thursday, December 10th, at 9 AM PT), here’s an excerpt of the definition from MLB’s website:
Held each December, the Rule 5 Draft allows clubs without a full 40-man roster to select certain non-40-man roster players from other clubs. Clubs draft in reverse order of the standings from the previous season. Players signed at age 18 or younger need to be added to their club’s 40-Man roster within five seasons or they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft. Players who signed at age 19 or older need to be protected within four seasons.
To sum up, this draft gives certain teams the opportunity to sign some solid prospects from other teams. Again, with a farm system as good as developing players as the Dodgers, it is no surprise to see three Dodgers prospects on MLB Pipeline’s list.
1. Omar Estevez
Up first on the list, we have Cuban middle infielder, Omar Estevez. Estevez is a 22 year old, whom the Dodgers signed as a free agent back in 2015. He has played for many of the Dodgers affiliates, but has yet to make his Major League debut. Despite missing quite a few games in 2019 with a hamstring injury, Estevez was still able to put up a productive, shortened season. He hit .291/.352/.431 in 83 games with the Tulsa Drillers.
2. Marshall Kasowski
Second on the MLB Pipeline list is Marshall Kasowski. Kasowski is a 25 year old, right-handed pitcher out of Texas. The Dodgers drafted him in the 13th round of the 2017 draft. With a 98-mph fastball, Kasowski is a power pitcher with a heightened ability to miss bats. He is another Dodgers prospect who has played the entirety of his professional career with the Dodgers, but still has yet to make his Major League debut.
3. Jordan Sheffield
The last Dodger on the list is Jordan Sheffield, another 25 year old, right-handed pitcher. His fastball sits in the mid-90’s and showed real promise out of the bullpen in 2019 when it came to striking hitters out (12.11 K/9). However, he also had some control problems in 2019, posting an average of 7 walks per nine innings. The Dodgers do seem to see a lot of potential in him with invites to Spring Training earlier this year, as well as appearances in the Arizona Fall League.
Summary
It will definitely be interesting to see where these prospects end up. They all would be nice to keep within the organization, but that also means they could be hot commodities for teams participating in the Rule 5 Draft.
