July 13th, 2016 at 6:00 am 
by Harold Uhlman The Ogden Raptors are the Dodgers rookie level team in the Pioneer League. Armed with a new coaching staff – manager Shaun Larkin, pitching coach Don Alexander, hitting coach Austin Chubb and coach Pedro Guerrero – and a bevy of new players for the 2016 season the Raptors entered the season with high expectations.
Unfortunately, thus far into the season the Raptors have not lived up to those expectations and presently are 8-16 with the lowest winning percentage in the eight team league. This leaves them seven full games back of the Orem Owlz who occupy first place in the Southern Division of the league. Those same Owlz have faced off with the Ogden squad eight times since the beginning of the season on June 17 and have defeated the Raptors on seven of those occasions. The good news is that the Raptors have won four of their last six games.
The Raptors have won four of their last six games.
(Photo courtesy of Ogden Raptors)
Besides losing seven games to the division leaders the Raptors have had pitching woes that make it nearly impossible for the offense to score enough runs to win. The team ERA is 6.29 – the highest in the entire league – as a result of leading the league with the most earned runs given up (147) and the most walks (99).
Offensively the Raptors are holding their own with an aggregate batting average of .296 while standing second in the league with 26 home runs and first in triples with 14. They run well on the bases but the good speed has not translated into stolen bases. In 24 games they have stolen 19 bases, the fewest of any team in the league.
Raptor’s manager Shaun Larkin sees his team getting closer and closer to victories losing by a run or two. He remains confident.
“It was just a matter of time before we got to know each other, understood the lineup, and understood how pitching works,” Larkin said. “We have good players who work hard and are starting to reap the benefits.”
Meanwhile the Raptors have had exceptional production from their outfielders and that is with Jordan Paroubeck still trying to get on track. He had started the season with the Great Lakes Loons but was assigned to the Raptors on June 16 following a stint in extended Spring Training. His goal is to work his way back to the Loons.
The offensive production is such that the Dodgers front office have a bit of a challenge. That is, deciding which of the Raptor outfielders should be promoted to the Great Lakes Loons and with whom they should be replaced. If they are to continue their plan of rapid promotion, then the time is right in the Ogden outfield to create some upward mobility.
Cody Thomas was selected by the Dodgers in the 13th round of the 2016 First Year Player Draft in June out of the University of Oklahoma. He started the season following the draft with the Arizona League Dodgers and after seven games in Phoenix he had 11 hits in 22 at bats including three home runs. That made it difficult not to notice him.
On July 7, after a quick promotion from the AZL Dodgers, he made his debut with the Raptors hitting home runs in his first three games at home in Ogden. The 21-year-old Thomas – who throws right but bats left – has 11 hits in 23 at bats and a .571 OBP with the Raptors. On the season he has split his time almost equally in all three outfield positions. Thomas is an aggressive but confident hitter and it is difficult not to like his approach.
“I have a pretty fearless approach up there,” Thomas admitted. “I have a good mind-set with two strikes. A lot of people think you have to change a bunch of things with two strikes. It’s just still swing at strikes, take balls.”
Saige Jenco was assigned to the Raptors right out of the gate following the 2016 June Draft in which he was picked by the Dodgers in the 24th round out of Virginia Tech. In his first game with the Raptors on June 28 he doubled twice in four at bats.
Jenco has continued to hit and through 11 games he is hitting .390 with an OBP of .490. He has shown good speed legging out five doubles and two triples while stealing five bases. He has six multiple hit games including four hits on June 5 against the Idaho Falls Chukars.
Also 21 – and like Thomas – Jenco bats left and has spent his time almost equally in the three outfield positions.
Mitch Hansen was a second round selection by the Dodgers in the 2015 Amateur Draft out of Plano High School in Texas. During his first season in the Dodgers minor league system with the Arizona League Dodgers Hansen had a slow start but finished with a good August by posting a .279 batting average and .353 OBP.
Hansen began the current season with the Raptors with a five-game hitting streak and has hit safely in 18 of the 21 games in which he has played including 10 multiple hit games. He is hitting .364 with an OBP of .402 and is tied for the league lead with six home runs.
Hansen has played 11 games in left field, two in center field and six in right field while serving as the DH on two occasions. The 20-year-old Plano native hits left and is starting to display the power expected of him with three home runs in his last two games.
Here is a MiLB.TV clip of Hansen’s second home run last Monday:
The fifth man in the outfield vying for a promotion to the Great Lakes Loons is 20-year-old D.J. Peters who was selected by the Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2016 First Year Player Draft out of Western Nevada College. He is the only right-handed hitter among the outfielders, although Jordan Paroubeck is a switch hitter.
The Glendora, California native made his debut with the Raptors on June 20. Since that debut he has hit safely in 15 of 19 games including a nine-game hitting streak. On the season he is hitting .321 with a .391 OBP. In the field he has played errorless ball playing primarily in center field along with six games in right field.
On the one hand, it might be premature to promote these youngsters to Class-A ball based on a relatively small sample size. And yes – the Pioneer League is definitely a hitter-friendly league – so maybe the statistics are a bit inflated by that factor. Nevertheless, you still have to hit the ball regardless of the league and its hitter-friendly or pitcher-friendly venues. These guys are simply raking at this point in the season.
On the other hand, the Dodgers front office has shown a propensity to advance players more quickly than has been done even in the recent past. They have already set a precedent with the Raptors promoting outfielders Darien Tubbs and Luke Raley to the Loons, both after five games with the Raptors. One of the factors making promotion difficult may well be that the Great Lakes outfielders are not hitting well – other than Tubbs and Raley – and are perhaps past the stage of returning to the Raptors.
The question is – how do you see this one playing out? Who would you promote to the Loons?
Posted in 
Thomas seems like the right choice for next promotion. Hitting very well with power, plus his experience as a OU Sooner QB may give him an advantage in tougher competition. Stepped away from baseball in 2015 to compete for starting QB spot, then had a very good 2016 season. Dodgers may have found a gem in 13th rd. Raley playing some 1b as well as OF, perhaps room for Peters as well.
My personal favorite is Mitch Hansen. But I can also see merit in a promotion for Cody Thomas. Hansen has 88 AB at Ogden compared to 23 AB for Thomas. Thomas has made the most of those 23 AB, but Hansen has done it over a more prolonged period of time. I am a believer in moving prospects to a level where there should be some struggle. That is how you learn to adjust. Both Hansen and Thomas do not seem to struggle at the rookie ball level, so a jump for both would seem appropriate.
But to promote players, that would necessitate the demotion or release of other players. With Luke Raley and Darien Tubbs recently promoted, and playing well at Great Lakes, they need to stay. I would consider moving Deivy Castillo (20) back to Ogden (once he returns from the DL), and perhaps release Dian Toscano who is 27 at Low A. Toscano was a salary dump included in the Bud Norris trade, and while not playing much, is still taking a spot from another player who deserves to be there. Logan Landon and Gage Green are both 23 at Low A, which would seem to indicate organizational depth (which I am a huge believer in). Perhaps either one could be included in any upcoming Deadline trade. Promote both Hansen and Thomas. There should be enough ABs for all four (Raley, Tubbs, Hansen, and Thomas). If only one, I would promote Hansen because he has produced at Ogden for a longer period of time.
I knew from previous comments that Hansen was a favorite of yours. I agree he would be the first choice both because of the number of games played this year and he is in his second year. Hansen, Jenco, Thomas and Peters are hitting very well with RISP and especially well with two outs. I always think that is a good sign.
I thought Gage Green would hit better with the Loons but he can’t seem to get going.
F&Z have shown us that they are not opposed to and, in fact, favor using the rosters system-wide to fill immediate needs and then ship them back. While there may be some merit in this, it does little to instill confidence (or trust) in “the new Dodger way.”
The very obvious problem is that once the MLB draft is completed and those drafted sign with the team, there is now an abundance of (very young) talent and somewhere up the line someone has to go – as both Harold and AC eluded to. While there is something cool about having veteran minor leaguers around (e.g. – John Lindsey and Chris Jacobs, etc.) it is not what the minor leagues were designed to accomplish.
I was extremely disappointed when the Dodgers released RHP Lindsey Caughel at 24 years old. Here is a guy who was a pure innings-eating workhorse. But he was not a F&Z draftee and wasn’t as sexy as a Julio Urias or a Jose De Leon, so they cut him loose during the final week of ST this year.
That being said, every team needs to make room for incoming draftees and if a guy isn’t sexy or the FO doesn’t think that he has trade value (which Lindsey definitely did, in my opinion), then they have to cut guys loose – period.
The MLB is definitely a trickle-down business. When a guy gets optioned back down to Triple-A, somebody on the Triple-A roster has to be sent back down to Double-A (or go on the mystery DL) and so on. This does not bode well for kids just starting out in the low minors playing their guts out trying to move up.
And to think … they “get” to do this for below the minimum wage.
Ron, I could not agree more with what you state. I do not think most fans realize just how hard a life it is for minor league ballplayers (especially career minor leaguers). Yes, I know they are playing a game for a “living”. They only get paid during the “Championship Season”, so they only get a small per diem stipend during Spring Training and before the Season starts. Most players do not get big signing bonuses, and the minor league salaries are based on a scale of minor league level and years at that level. In 1997, a 26th Round pick received a $1,000 bonus, and plane ticket, and received $1,000 per month. That is about 2 ½ months for a Short Season A ball league. It really didn’t go up much after that until they become Minor League FA; then maybe $15,000 per month… if a team wants you.
They also do not get many days off. Ogden gets 9 days off over a 76 game schedule over 84 days. Rancho gets 13 days off for a 140 game schedule over 152 days. That is more now than it used to be. Many of those days off are travel days. Travel is not fun. The buses are not as bad as displayed in Bull Durham, but they are still buses. And it is hard to sleep on a bus at night after a long night game, and be prepared to play the next day.
After the season, many go to such luxurious winter league teams in Venezuela and poor and poorer Mexico, and most of the time without family. You are not taking family into those areas. Life is cheap in some of those locales. Those that are deemed worthy and can stick it out may get that proverbial cup of coffee at the ML level. Most do not. And if you are really lucky, you get that call during a WS run and are rewarded with a WS Ring.
I am not talking about the Kershaw’s and Seager’s. Most fans watched super star ballplayers in high school/college/professional ball, and wondered where they went. If they make it to professional ball, most of those players leave the system before 2-3 years and do not look back. It really is no longer a game to them, but a business with not a lot of perks unless you are one of the lucky 750.
AC – I wrote this back in January of 2013.
Life in Minor Leagues
And this in March of 2014.
Minor League Emancipation
I fully understand what they go through and that is why I value each minor league player regardless of their rankings in depth charts , not just those with high profiles.
BD, Thank you for those articles. They said far more eloquently what I tried to say above. Great read!!
I haven’t been able to find it again – and should have book marked it – but I have read the Dodgers are providing much more nutritious post game meals that most other MLB organizations.
Los Angeles Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler ensured all of the Dodgers’ minor-league squads were fed organic food last season, which Gelb credits for increasing the focus on nutrition across the minors.
Ron, didn’t Caughel have shoulder surgery in 2015? Maybe knowing how tough it is to come back from that, and without naming any names, they decided to cut their losses. I see he is pitching very well for an indie league team; hopefully some team will give him a shot.
And you’re right–the minor leagues are are the plantation. It’s shameful when you consider how much money teams throw around at the major-league level. Thanks to Harold for posting the articles above.
Jenco was just promoted to the Great Lakes Loons. Toscano to the Quakes.
Guess they fooled us, eh!
I am very good at that. 😮
I can see Jenco getting a promotion. It seems very worthy and deserving. As you initially stated, it could have been any one of four that got the promotion. Toscano is still a puzzle to me, but there really is nobody else that could have been moved. Jenco, Tubbs, and Raley seem to be a good OF for Great Lakes. And now Hansen, Thomas, and Peters should be uninterrupted at Ogden. Another HR for Hansen tonight. Two good OFs to follow.