First baseman Ibandel Isabel was promoted from the rookie level Ogden Raptors to the Great Lakes Loons of the Class-A Midwest League on Wednesday, June 3. The 6’4”– 225-pound native of Yaguate, Dominican Republic was signed by the Dodgers as a minor league free agent during the 2012-2013 signing period.

Now in his fourth year as a Dodger minor leaguer Isabel has pretty much flown under the radar and is still not included in the Dodgers Top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline.

He has not flown under the radar on ThinkBlueLA and was acknowledged in the December 5, 2013 Year in Review.

“Another Dodger Pride Award winner in 2013 the 18-year-old outfielder was signed by the Dodgers in April out of the Dominican Republic. I twice chose him for a Dodger Pride Award. In 2013 Isabel hit .327 (10th), had an OPS of .898 (6th), SLG .500 (3rd) and an OBP of .398. Twenty-three of his 64 hits were for extra bases. Although BABIP is, in my opinion, a bit of an iffy statistic as it can be affected by poor defense and ineffective pitching, it is still relative to all other hitters in the league. Isabel’s BABIP was .430, eighth best in the league and eighth best in all of minor league and MLB baseball. BABIP may also mean he hits the ball hard.”

He was again acknowledged in the ThinkBlueLA 2014 Dodgers 20 and Under Team posted on March 23, 2014.

At the time of his promotion to the Great Lakes Loons Isabel was leading the Raptors with 29 runs batted in and was second on the team with a .351 batting average in 32 games. He had posted an OBP of .432 and a 1.002 OPS.

Ibandel Isabel
(Photo credit – Benjamin Zack)

Ibandel Isabel has indeed built up a reputation for hitting the ball hard and has been especially good as a right-hand bat driving the ball to right field. On June 30, 2016 – against the Orem Owlz – he gave the home town Raptor fans an unexpected treat. His solo shot to left field traveled 488 feet and is thought to be the longest home run ever hit at Lindquist Field. Texas Ranger first baseman Prince Fielder once took aim at the fences in Ogden but did not deliver a home run of that distance.

When asked if he had ever hit a ball that hard before Isabel responded as if the feat was common place for him.

“Yes, of course,” Isabel said through translator Pedro Guerrero.

His manager was not all that surprised with the blast and figured it was just a matter of time until Isabel harnessed that energy.

“Ibandel has some big-time power,” Ogden manager Shaun Larkin said. “We’ve known that for a while now. In (batting practice) his exit velocities have always been really good. Now he’s starting to put good at-bats together.”

Isabel’s homer was recorded at 119 mph off the bat. Against Idaho Falls the day before his moon shot, Isabel hit a line drive that was recorded at 118 mph, but it was hit directly at the left fielder.

“I thought to myself, man, if that ball gets up in the air, it ain’t coming back,” Larkin said.

At the inter-league All-Star game played at Lindquist Field, Isabel – along with teammate D.J. Peters – represented the Raptors in the home run derby.

Isabel hit 11 home runs in the opening round of the derby to lead the Pioneer League squad. He was the only player for the Pioneer League to have double-digit home runs, as Raptor outfielder Mitch Hansen, Missoula Osprey catcher Ryan January and Idaho Falls Chukars catcher Meibrys Viloria finished with seven, three and six home runs, respectively.

In the subsequent round Isabel hit two home runs before making his seventh out. Salem-Keizer Volcanoes outfielder Gio Brusa of the Northwest League had only one home run through his first six outs. On his next two swings, Brusa hit his second home run to tie Isabel and then hit his third to win the crown.

The 21-year-old Isabel made his Loons debut on Thursday, August 4 against the Lake County Captains. He was immediately slotted in the clean-up spot and responded with two hits in five at bats including a double on a line shot to right field.

Isabel arrived at an opportune time for the Loons who are closing in on a wild card spot in the second half of league play although there was no lack of hitting during his first game at the Class-A Level.

The Loons came away with an impressive 12-3 win over the Lake County Captains. The fans at Dow Diamond were teased once again as dominant right-hander Mitchell White was limited to two innings of play. A second-round selection in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft, White struck out three in his two innings. In six starts since signing, White has thrown 12 innings giving up but one unearned run on five hits while walking three and striking out 17.

Right-hander Dennis Santana followed White, picking up the win, as he limited the Captains to one run through five innings on two hits, two walks and six strikeouts.

Designated hitter Erick Meza led the 16-hit attack with three hits, two runs and four runs batted in.

Loons win! Loons win!