(Editor’s note: This is the third of a three-part series by ThinkBlueLA’s minor leagues staff writer Harold Uhlman of his annual 20-and-under team. This year it is broken down into infielders, outfielders and pitchers. The age given is the age as of today’s writing).

(Author’s note: The 2017 Dodgers 20 and under pitching staff is based on at least 30 innings pitched in 2016).

The 2017 Dodgers 20 and under pitchers

Yadier Alvarez (20) – RHP

Yadier Alvarez

The Dodgers signed Alvarez on the first day of the 2015 -16 international signing period. At that time, the 19-year-old from Montanzas, Cuba was considered to be the most coveted Cuban prospect. One anonymous National League official told MLB.com Alvarez was the best 18-year-old pitcher he’d ever seen.

Listed at 6’3”/175-pounds, Alvarez is armed with a fastball that reaches 99 MPH. He made his professional baseball debut with the Arizona League Dodgers on June 20, 2016 pitching 3.2 innings of one-hit ball and striking out seven. After five appearances with the AZL Dodgers he was moved up to the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League. In his first start with the Loons on July 20, Alvarez held the Kane County Captains to three hits in five innings while striking out 10. He duplicated his 10-strikeout performance in his next start against the Clinton LumberKings and did so in four innings.

On the season, Alvarez made nine starts with the Loons in which he posted a 2.29 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. In 39.1 innings, he struck out 55 and walked 11 while yielding only one home run.

Imani Abdullah (19) – RHP

Imani Abdullah

Abdullah was selected by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Madison High School in San Diego. He signed quickly after being contacted by the Dodgers own Magic Johnson. He made his professional debut with the Arizona League Dodgers on July 16, 2015 pitching a scoreless inning against the AZL Athletics. Although he posted a 1.08 WHIP and struck out 13 in 13 innings pitched, he gave up seven earned runs in his six appearances.

During the 2016 season the 6’4”/205-pound Abdullah made 16 starts with the Great Lakes Loons posting a 3.61 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP over 72.1 innings while striking out 59 and walking 12. In two mid-August appearances, he gave up only two earned runs in 10 innings pitched. Unfortunately, he went on the 7-day DL shortly after those appearances and missed participating in the Loons play-off run.

Caleb Ferguson (20) – LHP

Caleb Ferguson

Ferguson was selected by the Dodgers in 38th round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of West Jefferson High School in Ohio. He was coming off Tommy John surgery and made his first appearance with the Arizona League Dodgers one year later, on June 20, 2015. His inaugural season was a testing one as he allowed 17 hits in 14.2 innings while striking out 17 and walking 21.

The 6’3”/215-pound lefty began the 2016 season with the Arizona League Dodgers and followed that with a brief stop in Ogden with the Raptors. He posted a 1.50 ERA with the Dodgers and a 0.90 ERA with the Raptors while striking out 22 in 16 innings between the two teams and walking two.

Ferguson debuted with the Loons on July 17th and made 10 starts with the Great Lakes squad during the regular season schedule. It became almost breaking news when he walked a batter during the 2016 campaign. He struck out 41 in 50.1 innings pitched and walked but three while posting a 1.03 WHIP and a 2.68 ERA.

His strong play carried over into the play-offs in which he pitched 9.2 innings giving up seven hits and one earned run along with 11 strikeouts and one lonely base on balls.

Leonardo Crawford (19) – LHP

Leonardo Crawford

Crawford was signed by the Dodgers as a minor league free agent in 2014 as a 17-year-old out of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. He played his first year of professional baseball with the Dominican Summer League Dodgers in 2015 posting some surprising numbers. He recorded a 1.41 ERA along with a 1.03 WHIP and struck out 74 in 63.2 innings while walking only 10.

The 6’ 0”/180-pound Crawford continued to impress in 2016. He made 12 appearances -four of them starts – with the Arizona League Dodgers posting a 2.58 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. He struck out 39 in 38.1 innings and walked but seven.

The step from the Dominican Summer League in 2015 to the Class-A Midwest League in 2016 was a giant step, but that is exactly what Crawford did when he debuted with the Loons on August 7,2016. During August and early September, he pitched 28.2 innings with the Loons posting a 2.20 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP while striking out 24 and walking seven.

Dustin May (19) – RHP

Dustin May

May was selected by the Dodgers in the third round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Northwest High School in Justin, Texas.

He reported to the Arizona League Dodgers in early July making his first professional appearance on July 6 against the Arizona League Indians. He pitched two scoreless innings. May made six starts with the Dodgers in 2016, along with four relief appearances. In 30.1 innings, the 6’6”/180-pound right-hander posted a 3.86 ERA which was inflated somewhat by one bad outing. More importantly, he struck out 34 and walked 4.

Dennis Santana (20) – RHP

Dennis Santana

Santana was initially signed as a shortstop in 2013 out of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic. The Dodgers quickly moved him to the mound in 2014, where he was 2-1 with a 1.05 earned run average, earning a trip to the United States in 2015.

He split time between the Arizona League Dodgers and Ogden Raptors in 2015, finishing with a 2-5 record and a 6.42 earned run average. He struck out 52 in 47.2 innings while walking 38.

The 6’2”/160-pound Santana proved to be a very valuable member of the Loons pitching staff in 2016 leading the entire staff in innings pitched with 111. He made 14 starts but in mid-July he was cast into a long relief role, perhaps to manage his innings pitched, and made 11 relief appearances. He pitched equally well in both roles recording a combined 3.06 ERA while giving up only 74 hits in his 111 innings pitched. He struck out 124 hitters and allowed only two home runs in 2016. His WHIP was higher than he would have liked, as he walked 56.

Santana, the converted shortstop, has a quality arm. There is no reason to believe that his control will not continue to improve as it did in 2016. When it does, he will be included with the higher profile young arms in the Dodger minor league system.

Dean Kremer (20) – RHP

Kremer was selected by the Dodgers in the 14th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, becoming the first Israeli citizen to sign with a MLB team.

He reported to the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League at the end of June in 2016 and made his first appearance with the Raptors on July 3rd. He made six starts with the Raptors while being limited to three innings per start. As a starter, he posted a 3.86 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP while striking out 13 in 16.1 innings and walking three.

The 6’3”/180-pound Kremer reported to the Great Lakes Loons on August 13th giving the Loons a much-welcomed arm as they started their play-off run. He made six appearances with the Loons during the regular season, all of them in a relief role of two or three innings. In those six outings, he pitched 15.1 innings with numbers off the charts. He gave up only four hits and walked four resulting in a 0.59 ERA and a WHIP of 0.52. He struck out 22 enemy batters.

During the play-offs, Kremer made four appearances pitching a total of 11.1 innings. He gave up eight hits and walked but one while striking out six and allowing only one earned run.

Honorable Mention – Walker Buehler (22) – RHP

Walker Buehler

Although Walker Buehler is now 22 years old, he was 20 when selected by the Dodgers in the first round of the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Vanderbilt University, having led the Commodores to the 2015 College World Series. The Dodgers drafted Buehler knowing that he would immediately require Tommy John surgery, which he underwent on August 5, 2015. Upon his return late in the 2016 season, he started two of the Loons playoff games but was limited to two and three innings respectively in his starts. He gave up no runs and in both games was followed by Leonardo Crawford. The Loons won both games with Crawford being credited with both wins. Buehler pitched a total of 10 innings giving up six hits and two runs while striking out 11 and walking one.