Grant Holmes was selected by the Dodgers with their first round pick in the 2014 First Year Player Draft last June. Drafting Holmes was not a surprise and also has proven thus far to be a good choice. The 18-year-old right-hander already ranks fourth on the MLB Prospect Watch Top 20 for the Dodgers behind Corey Seager, Julio Urias and Joc Pederson.

The Dodgers second round selection in 2014 was perhaps a surprise to some but more likely a surprise to Logan White, the Dodgers former Vice President of Amateur Scouting, and his drafting team. I am sure that they waited nervously no doubt expecting Alex Verdugo would not be available when they made their second round pick with the 62nd overall selection. Shortly after the Cleveland Indians selected right-handed pitcher Grant Hockin with their 61st pick Alex Verdugo became a Dodger. It would seem the Dodgers were very high on Verdugo as he was subsequently signed for $914,600 – quite a large chunk of their drafting pool.

Besides the decision to draft Verdugo Logan White and his team had to decide if they would draft him as a pitcher or an outfielder. White has had a penchant for drafting athletic-type all around players and the best player available when the time came for the announcement from the podium. A left-handed pitcher and hitter, Verdugo’s selection is reminiscent of Aaron Miller’s first round selection by the Dodgers in the 2009 June draft. Miller, also a left-handed pitcher and hitter, was drafted as a pitcher. In 2013 Miller was belatedly converted to the outfield.

Alex Verdugo created a bit of a dilemma for the Dodgers player development staff when they drafted him – Is he a pitcher or is he a hitter? (Photo credit – Robby Lloyd)

Verdugo was considered by many to be the best two-way player available in the draft. ESPN’s Keith Law ranked him as the 31st best prospect in the 2014 draft class while Baseball America ranked him 41st and MLB.com assigned him a ranking of 54th. No doubt the Dodgers were indeed fortunate that he was still available when their second round pick of 62 finally arrived.

The 6’ 0”, 200 lb Verdugo was drafted out of Sahuaro High School in Tucson, Arizona. During his time with the Sahuaro Cougars he put up some impressive numbers and gained national attention. In 2012-13 high school season he posted huge numbers at the plate and on the mound. He batted .484 with nine doubles, seven triples, seven home runs and 40 RBIs. On the mound he was 10-0 with 130 strikeouts and a 1.29 ERA in 65 innings pitched. He walked 29 on 65 innings. During his senior year in 2013-14, Verdugo again excelled both on the mound and with the bat. He compiled a 2.26 ERA in 52.2 innings along with 93 strikeouts and 31 walks. As a senior his batting average rose to .532. He scored 36 runs, drove in 32, doubled 18 times and hit three home runs. In his junior and senior years he walked a combined 42 times and struck out 17 times.

High School Awards

• 2013 Louisville Slugger Pre-Season Honorable Mention All American
• 2013 Louisville Slugger 1st Team All-American (End of Year)
• 2013 Under Armor All American – selected MVP of game
• 2013 Division II Arizona Player of the Year
• 2013 Underclass 1st Team All Americans and All Regions

• 2014 Louisville Slugger Pre-Season All-American
• 2014 USA Today 1st Team All-American
• 2014 Louisville Slugger 1st Team All American
• 2014 Perfect Game 1st Team All-American
• 2014 West – All Region 1st Team

• First Team All State – 2012, 2013, 2014

Alex Verdugo was one of thirty-six players in the United States selected to participate in the 2013 Under Armour All-America Baseball Game on August 24th. He and the aforementioned Grant Hockin were awarded the MVP trophies for their respective teams following the completion of the game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field. Dodgers first round draft pick in 2014, Grant Holmes, was also selected to participate the in Under Armour game as a teammate with Alex Verdugo.

The MLB.com scouting report, as did most scouting reports on Verdugo, suggested he would be drafted as a pitcher. “When the spring began, Verdugo was one of the few two-way prospects in the Draft class that may have had a split camp over whether he should hit or pitch. As the Draft drew closer, it became increasingly apparent that most teams saw his future on the mound.”

The Dodgers appear to have done their own homework and selected Alex Verdugo as an outfielder. Logan White explained “He would have been a very high pick as a pitcher, but he loves to hit. He’s not a flyer like, say, a Dee Gordon. I compare him more to a Joc Pederson. He’s a line drive, gap-to-gap guy who’s got power. I feel we were able to get a player who a lot of people were focusing on as a pitcher. We’re going to send him out as a hitter, and if he doesn’t hit, he’s going to go right on the mound like a Kenley Jansen or a Pedro Baez and be a big league pitcher.”

It may well be too soon to begin a comparison with Joc Pederson who played his first full year on 2011 as a 19-year old mostly with the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League. To say he hit well in the Pioneer League would be an understatement. The 18-year old Verdugo certainly made his mark with the Arizona League Dodgers in 2014 before a late season promotion to the Raptors. In 49 games he hit .347 with an OBP of .423. He had 33 runs batted in but has not hit with the power of Pederson by producing just three home runs during the season

Verdugo also does not have the speed of Peterson and perhaps will eventually patrol right field with an arm that is described as the proverbial “canon”. He continued to have a good eye at the plate in 2014 by striking out but 18 times in 190 at bats. He drew 20 walks. ESPN.com, one of the few sites that suggested Verdugo could be drafted as an outfielder, feels he will hit with good average power and steal some bases: “Defensively, Verdugo has the speed, athleticism and arm strength to play any of the three outfield positions, but right field seems to be his most natural position. He’s a good runner on bases, with speed that could steal you 20-25 bases.”

Alex Verdugo has begun to be listed as a top 10 prospect in the Dodgers farm system so the expectations for him have already began to escalate. I expect he will begin the 2015 season with the Ogden Raptors and finish it with the Great Lakes Loons of the Class-A Midwest League putting him on the Joc Pederson path. The intrigue is how closely he can follow that path.