Tim Rogers
The Dodgers open the season in Colorado in a few hours as they begin their defense of the World Series title. Just like the World Series roster in 2020, the Dodgers will field 14 homegrown players on Opening Day. There will be few contending teams that can field something close to what the Dodgers have done. It is a tribute to the Dodgers scouting, player development, and front office decisions that they are a team we’ve seen grow from their own beginnings.
Pitchers
Position Players
Why It Matters
Unlike some teams, the Dodgers don’t just panic and trade most of their farm system. When the Dodgers draft or sign a player there is a decent chance we can follow his career from the very beginning to the majors. Sure, some are traded as the Dodgers have a pretty stacked lineup. At least it is a team filled with players who originally were signed or drafted by the Dodgers. What other teams really struggle with is actually developing the players into major-league players, not just into prospects.
We can go to a game at Rancho Cucamonga and know that some of those players will actually play for the Dodgers. To be honest, if the Dodgers weren’t run this way it would be tough to have a website like this. Last year the Dodgers had seven players reach past their rookie status and now they only have one to start the season in Zach McKinstry.
Outlook
There are more prospects on the way as I wrote about some prospect names to remember from Spring Training. The organization doesn’t have a ton of big-name prospects right now but they are super deep. By the end of 2021, there will be a number of Dodgers in the top 100.
For now, we celebrate a new season for the Dodgers. Go Dodgers!
