In July I attempted to predict which players in the Dodger minor league system would win the Dodger Pride Awards at each minor league level. I successfully selected eight of the fourteen which was not quite as successful as I had hoped. I found the experience to be a bit frustrating without a spread sheet of July statistics. I was also unsure on what basis the awards would be given. That is, strictly statistical or with a built in reward factor for players. The statistical part was difficult as I expect my value attached to certain statistics may not match those of the individuals making the actual selections. Perhaps the selections are made by minor league managers and coaches who are on the scene and really have a feel for who should receive the awards.

In any event the process was enjoyable as I learned so much about the minor league players I researched. Names that I previously had not recognized are much more familiar to me now. So here are my August predictions for Dodger Pride Awards for pitchers and position players.

Dominican Summer League Dodgers

Pitcher: Jairo Pacheco, a six foot, 165 pound left hander has moved from a role strictly in relief in June to a starter in August. In his four August starts he pitched 15.2 innings. Just turning seventeen in July, Pacheco gave up seven hits in those four starts, struck out 13 and walked seven. His ERA was 0.57 with a WHIP of 0.92 and a BAA of .132. Only Francisco Martinez (July Pride Winner) and Wellington Serrano (June Pride Winner) have pitched more innings for the DSL Dodgers in 2013 than Jairo Pacheco. He is my choice for the DSL Dodgers.

Position Player: Ibandel Isabel who won the DSL Pride Award in July appears to be a very likely repeat winner. His main challenge would be from Jose Javier who won the award in June. Isabel continued his hot hitting with a .371 batting average in 62 at bats. Among his 23 hits were seven doubles, two triples and one home run. He had 14 RBI’s and scored six runs. His OBP of .443, slugging percentage of .597 and his OPS of 1.040 were easily the highest on his team in August. Turning 18 in June the 6’4” outfielder lead his team in seven offensive departments in 2013.

Arizona League Dodgers

Pitcher: The possible choices are Bernardo Reyes, Wascar Teodo ,Victor Arano and Lenix Osuna. Teodo won the award in July and may well qualify for it again in August. Although Arano has pitched more innings in August than the other three, I am going with Bernardo Reyes. Reyes, 18, is a 175 pound right hander. The six foot Reyes pitched 17.1 innings in four starts, walked five and struck out 16. His ERA was 2.60.

Position Player: Faustino Oguisten may be one of the candidates for the Pride Award. Oguisten, 22, is a 6’2” shortstop from La Romana in the Dominican Republic. In August he hit .282, scoring 14 runs and although he only has three runs batted in, he had a .440 OBP, .462 slugging percentage and a .902 OPS. The other possibility would be first baseman Josmar Cordero. Cordero hit .325 with six runs and ten RBI’s. From Barquisimeto, Venezuela Cordero had an OBP of .378, a slugging percentage of .475 and an OPS of .853. It’s almost flip a coin as the players get so few AB’s in the AZL. The coin toss goes to Faustino Oguisten who went on to hit well in four games with the Ogden Raptors.

Oguisten was promoted to the Ogden Raptors late in the season.
(Photo credit – Gretel Daugherty)

Ogden Raptors

Pitcher: Not knowing the rules for selecting players for Pride Awards is definitely an impediment. The choices with the Raptors are James Baune, Michael Johnson and Zachary Bird. Bird presents a problem as he may well have been the Dodgers best minor league pitcher in August but split his time between Ogden and Great Lakes. Since he pitched a few more innings with the Raptors I am going with him as their Pride winner. In three starts in August Bird went 2-1, pitched 18 innings, walking four and striking out 20, His WHIP was 1.00 and his ERA 2.00. Bird, 19, was drafted by the Dodgers in the eighth round in the 2012 draft.

Position Player: The Raptors have several candidates for the Pride Award. Kyle Farmer, Jacob Scavuzzo, Adam Law, Alex Santana and Joey Curletta all hit well in August. Adam Law continued with a hot bat after being the Dodger Pride Award with the AZL Dodgers in July but Joey Curletta gets the nod because of his continued growth during the season and his power numbers in August. He had six doubles and three home runs during the month with three doubles and three home runs coming in his last 10 games. He had a .333 batting average and scored 16 runs to go along with a .855 OPS. Curletta, 19, was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

Great Lakes Loons

Pitcher: A large number of pitchers deserve consideration with the Loons: Chris Anderson, Owen Jones, Crayton Bare, Luis Meza, Ralston Cash, Julio Urias, Zachary Bird and Geoff Brown. Bird, already selected with the Raptors, falls out of contention. Ultimately my choice is Geoff Brown, a 24 year old signed by the Dodgers from the Joliet Slammers of the Frontier Independent League in August 2012. Brown has been a workhorse, a Clydesdale so to speak, among young stallions. In August he pitched 25.2 innings, winning three games while walking five, striking out 22 and compiling a 2.52 ERA. Each of his appearances of at least four innings followed Julio Urias who was on an innings limit.

Position Player: The Dodger Pride Award for August should almost automatically be given to Aaron Miller. Miller, 25, converted from pitching this year, struggled mightily in the early going. Credit should be given to the coaching staff for giving Miller ample playing time and instruction. In August he hit .323 scoring 13 runs and driving in another 18. He had six doubles and four home runs. We may recall Aaron Miller was selected by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft. He was drafted as a pitcher rather than outfielder.

Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

Pitcher: Lindsay Caughel, Gustavo Gomez, Raydal Sanchez and Daniel Columbe deserve consideration as do Edwin Carl and Matt Shelton(July Winner). Juan Noriega has pitched very well but for only 7.2 innings. It is difficult to pass over Daniel Columbe with a 2-0 record in 14.1 innings and a 2.51 ERA. He walked six but struck out a staggering 25 batters in his 11 appearances. His BAA against was .128. Lindsay Caughel who didn’t have a win but pitched 32.2 innings with a 2.20 ERA is also hard to pass over. He walked eight and struck out 32. His WHIP was 1.24. However, Lindsay was very good while Daniel was exceptional although in a different role. The nod goes to Daniel Coloumbe. The 185 pound left hander was drafted by the Dodgers in the 25th round of the 2012 draft.

Position Player: As mentioned the criteria for selecting Pride Award winners is not known, at least by me. On the basis of August statistics, Scott Schebler could be in the running for a three- peat as he led the Quakes in runs, home runs and runs batted in. However, Darnell Sweeney is in line for the award having a .297 batting average in August with 14 runs scored and 16 runs batted in. He has nine doubles, 6 triples and 2 home runs along with 9 stolen bases. His OBP was .360 along a slugging percentage of .541 and an OPS of .901. Sweeney was selected by the Dodgers in the 13th round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft.

Many compare Darnell Sweeney to Dee Gordon, although Sweeney has a lot more pop. The two are also good friends. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Chattanooga Lookouts

Pitcher: Three possibilities for the Lookouts are Zach Lee (April Winner), Ross Stripling(June Winner) and Yimi Garcia (July Winner). For me Ross Stripling would be a repeat winner. His stat line: 32.1 innings, 10 BB, 24 K, 1.67 ERA, BAA .238, WHIP 1.21. Stripling was drafted in the fifth round of the 2012 draft and has moved very quickly up the minor league depth chart.

Position Player: Joc Pederson had gone through a very dry spell in July hitting .203 with two home runs and six runs batted in. He rebounded quite well after the middle of August to post the best offensive numbers on the Lookouts. Pederson scored 15 runs, drove in 15 runs, had 7 home runs and an OBP of .387. His slugging percentage was .516 and his OPS a respectable .904. He had previously won the Dodger Pride Award in April.

Albuquerque Isotopes

Pitcher: There are also three possibilities on the Isotopes: Angel Castro, Red Patterson (June Winner), Kelvin De La Cruz. De La Cruz had a good month: 2-0, 12.1 innings, 16 K, 6BB. However, Red Patterson had an unreal month. He won only one game in five starts, three of them at Isotopes Park. His ERA was 1.57 and his WHIP was 1.13. He pitched 28.2 innings , walked 15 but gave up only 17 hits. He struck out 27 while his opponents hit an anemic .173 against him. Red Patterson, my choice, may also be a repeat winner. He was selected by the Dodgers in the 29th round of the 2010 draft.

Position Player: Nick Buss would be in line to be a repeat winner having won the Pride Award in June. His main competition would be Scott Van Slyke and Alex Castellanos . However the award goes to Buss who scored 17 runs, had 9 doubles, 1 triple and 2 home runs. He had a team leading 19 runs batted in August and stole 4 bases. He finished well with 12 runs batted in his last 10 games. Buss was selected by the Dodgers in the eighth round of the June 2008 First-Year Player Draft.