November 30th, 2016 at 11:03 am 
by Ron Cervenka The Dodgers and the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) have announced that they will host a Dodger Youth Camp Series, which will feature instruction from 10 Dodger minor league prospects including first-round picks Walker Buehler, Gavin Lux, and Will Smith, and 2016 Arizona Fall League All-Stars Willie Calhoun and Alex Verdugo. The Dodger Youth Camp Series includes LADF Winter Youth Baseball Camp, Dodger Big League Experience Camps and Dodger Training Camps. LADF Winter Youth Baseball Camp and Dodger Big League Experience Camps will take place at Dodger Stadium and the Dodger Training Camps will take place at GBG Training Academy, 2607 Manhattan Beach Blvd. in Redondo Beach.
Fan favorites Willie Calhoun and Alex Verdugo will be among the 10 instructors at the Dodger Youth Camps, which begin on December 10. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
The Dodger Youth Camp Series builds on the success that LADF has had with its summer and winter camps and utilizes the Dodgers’ player development and minor league staff and partners to offer more options for youngsters in the greater Los Angeles community. These options include various dates and times, price points and locations. All proceeds from LADF’s Winter Youth Baseball Camp benefit LADF and a portion of proceeds from Dodger Big League Experience Camps and Dodger Elite Training Camps will benefit LADF.
LADF’s Winter Youth Baseball Camp will take place at Dodger Stadium Saturday, December 10 through Sunday, December 11 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. It is open to boys and girls ages 7-12 of all abilities for $450 per camper.
Dodger Big League Experience Camps will take place at Dodger Stadium. Parents can choose between three time options for $399 per camper: 1) Tuesday, December 13 through Thursday, December 15 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. 2) Tuesday, December 13 through Thursday, December 15 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. 3) Sunday, December 18 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Dodger Training Camps will be held at GBG Training Academy (2607 Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach, 90278) and are for players who want to focus on skill development in a more intimate environment. Parents can choose between four time options for $249 per camper: 1) Tuesday, December 13 through Thursday, December 15 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. 2) Tuesday, December 13 through Thursday, December 15 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. 3) Saturday, December 17 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 4) Saturday, December 17 from 3:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
All these camps are open for registration now at www.dodgers.com/camp. Any questions about these camps can be sent to camps@ladodgers.com.
Camp instructors will feature 10 Dodger minor league prospects and members of Northwest Prospects Academy and GBG Training Academy. Dodger prospects scheduled to serve as instructors are:
- Imani Abdullah (RHP) – 19-year-old from San Diego, was drafted out of high school by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2015 MLB Amateur Draft. In 16 starts with the Great Lakes Loons, he went 4-4 with a 3.61 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 72 1/3 innings
- Walker Buehler (RHP) – former Vanderbilt star and the Dodgers’ 2015 first-round draft pick, made his professional debut with Great Lakes and the Arizona League Dodgers after recovering from Tommy John surgery in 2015. In three games, Walker struck out six batters in five innings and did not allow a hit
- Willie Calhoun (INF) – spent the entire season with Double-A Tulsa, hitting 27 home runs with 88 RBI. He was named the Texas League Player of the Week twice and was both a Midseason and Postseason All-Star with the Drillers. Willie also played in the Future Stars Game this year and represented the Dodgers in the Arizona Fall League
- Brendon Davis (INF) – 19-year-old shortstop from Lakewood, California, was drafted by the Dodgers in the 5th round of the 2015 MLB Amateur Draft. He played 109 games with Great Lakes this year, hitting 18 doubles, two triples and five home runs with 49 RBI
- Gavin Lux (INF) – Dodgers’ first-round pick this year and 20th overall out of Indian Trail High School in Wisconsin. The 18-year-old shortstop made his professional debut with the Arizona League Dodgers and finished the year with the Ogden Raptors, batting .296 with 13 doubles, five triples and 21 RBI in 56 games
- Trevor Oaks (RHP) – Riverside native was drafted by the Dodgers out of Cal Baptist University in the 7th round of the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft. After starting the year in Rancho Cucamonga, he moved up to Double-A Tulsa and then finished the year with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. He was a Midseason All-Star with the Drillers and earned Pitcher of the Week honors twice
- Josh Sborz (RHP) – from Washington, D.C., 74th overall pick in the 2015 MLB Amateur Draft, was selected as the Single-A California League Pitcher of the Year with Rancho Cucamonga and earned an August promotion to Double-A Tulsa, combining to go 8-5 with a 2.81 ERA in 30 games (19 starts)
- Andrew Sopko (RHP) – drafted from Gonzaga University in 2015, began the season with the Great Lakes Loons and finished with the Drillers. The 22-year-old from Montana went 13-4 with 132 strikeouts on the year, earning Midseason and Postseason All-Star honors with Rancho Cucamonga
- Will Smith (C) – 21-year-old catcher from the University of Louisville, was drafted by the Dodgers in the first round this year (32nd overall pick). After starting the season with Ogden, he was promoted to Great Lakes and finished the year with Rancho Cucamonga. In 55 games, Will hit four home runs with 24 RBI and caught 25 runners trying to steal in 60 attempts
- Alex Verdugo (OF) – left-handed outfielder from Tucson, Arizona and the No. 3 prospect in the Dodgers’ farm system. He spent the year with Double-A Tulsa, batting .273 with a career-best 13 home runs and 63 RBI, earning Player of the Week and Midseason and Postseason All-Star honors. Along with Willie Calhoun, Alex was named an All Star in this year’s Arizona Fall League.
About Northwest Prospects Academy (NPA) and GBG Training Academy
NPA and GBG Training Academy have created a ground-breaking business infrastructure that pairs our nation’s youth with high-profile men and women of influence who teach from a position of professional experience and expertise in baseball, softball and football. Instructors are comprised of former MLB All-Stars, NFL, D-1 college standouts, Team USA participants, NCAA record holders, NCAA College World Series Champions, NCAA All Americans, professional scouts and a Super Bowl Champion. More information on NPA can be found by visiting http://www.nwprospects.com/ and more information on GBG Training Academy can be found by visiting http://www.gbgtrainingacademy.com/.
(Article courtesy of Dodgers PR Department and bzapr.com)
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The Dodgers have always been community minded (especially with youth) since their move to LA. They were/are a HUGE sponsor for RBI one of the most successful inter-city youth baseball programs around. I cannot count the number of RBI dinners I attended. What is really encouraging is the list of players involved in the clinic. These represent some of the best prospects LAD has, but also exemplifies the quality of men they are. Everyone of those players has a shot at being very good at ML level, but they are already great citizens. Congratulations to the Dodgers and the players.
I remember in 1957-58 Dodgers held youth training camps and tryouts at the Rose Bowl. We were coached by the current players at our particular position. Peewee Reese taught base stealing and we were able to take batting against the first team pitchers. I was fortunate enough to bat against Koufax. I got lucky and chipped a foul ball, never saw the rest of the pitches.
Reminds me of the old story of a batter in the box against Koufax. After the pitch, which the umpire called a strike, the batter said “That sounded outside to me.” Without missing a beat, the umpire said “It sounded like a strike to me.”