March 3rd, 2017 at 6:00 am 
by Harold Uhlman On Wednesday, March 1, word leaked out, and then flooded out, that the Dodgers had traded highly regarded fan favorite Chase De Jong, to the Seattle Mariners. For his many fans who have closely followed him since he was poached from the Toronto Blue Jays on July 2, 2015, his departure is more than a glancing body blow. It is akin to a knockout punch.
Granted, De Jong was backed up in a relatively long line of Dodger pitching talent. However, he just turned 23 in December, and coming off a superlative season with the AA Tulsa Drillers in 2016, the young right-hander was poised to be a regular starter with the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers in the current season. Not only that, he may well have been ready to jump the queue. I expect many of us Dodger minor league fanatics felt that was the case, expecting De Jong to make his first MLB appearance in 2017. We no doubt may well think that is still the case, but it will be with the Seattle Mariners, not our beloved Dodgers.
Now, as loyal Dodger fans – some more than a bit downcast with the trade – we have to look at the other side of the equation. The Dodger front office came away with two young prospects that they must feel will counter balance the loss of De Jong, at least over the long run. It doesn’t seem likely that will be true in the near future.
Because he is from Long Beach, CA and grew up a Dodger fan himself, the lost of Chase De Jong isn’t sitting well with Dodger fans.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
It has been reported that the Mariners were hot on the trail of Chase De Jong as early as mid-season in 2016 so it is not surprising that they gave up two prospects to acquire him. My thinking is that three might have been more in order as the Mariners farm system is not one of the stronger systems in MLB baseball. It has frequently been ranked outside of the top 20 MLB farm systems.
Drew Jackson
It appears the Dodgers, in this surprise trade, must have targeted 23-year-old shortstop Drew Jackson. He is a native of Berkeley, California and attended Miramonte High School in Orinda, which is about nine miles from Berkeley. Jackson was drafted out of high school in the 37th round of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, having been selected by the San Francisco Giants. He chose not to sign at that time and registered at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
Jackson’s first two years with the Stanford Cardinals were characterized by a massive struggle at the plate in which he collected only 35 hits in 190 at bats for a combined .184 batting average.
However, things turned around for the 6’2”- 200-pound shortstop in his junior year at Stanford. He hit a solid .320 with an even more solid .396 OBP. He was selected in the fifth round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft by the Mariners and was considered to be a bit of a steal.
The steal part of the draft for the Mariners really rolled out in press releases following the draft as Jackson went on a tear in the rookie level Northwest League with the Everett AquaSox. In 59 games, he tore the league apart with a .358 batting average along with a .432 OBP and 47 stolen bases while being caught stealing only four times. He struck out 35 times and had 30 walks.
In 2015 Drew Jackson simply ran away with the Northwest League MVP award, pretty much unchallenged.
With high hopes, Jackson was bumped up to the Bakersfield Blaze of the High-A California League in 2016, a league known to be somewhat hitter friendly. He had a good first half for his first year at a much higher level but faded in the second half finishing with a .258 batting average and a .332 OBP. He stole only 16 bases and was caught stealing eight times. More concerning for the young shortstop was his 105 strikeouts compared to 50 walks.
Jackson might be at a pivotal point in his young career. However, he has much going for him. He has a laser for an arm while his athleticism is unquestioned. He has an uncanny knack of making plays at shortstop that many would consider to be impossible.
Most reports indicate that there is no question Drew Jackson can play shortstop at the MLB level. The issue is whether he can hit enough to get the job done. If so, combined with his speed, it could be a recipe for a leadoff hitter at baseball’s highest level. The upcoming season may well see him begin the campaign with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League. Regardless of his level, he will have to return to be a good contact hitter who can steal a base while snuffing out rallies in the field.
The second player coming over to the Dodgers in the Chase De Jong trade is pitcher Aneurys Zabala. Not as much is known about the just-turned-20 youngster from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.
Aneurys Zabala
The Mariners signed Zabala out of the Dominican Republic as part of their 2013-14 international class and have moved him along very slowly. Zabala played his first year in 2014 with the Dominican Summer League Mariners and spent the past two years with the Arizona League Mariners. In the AZL he has pitched the past two campaigns strictly in relief and has pitched only 102.1 innings in his young career.
The 6’2” – 175-pound right-hander has a fastball that flashes up to 99 mph while pushing triple digits and a secondary curveball that comes in in the mid to low 80’s. His main difficulty is the age-old challenge for pitchers – control. Although his strikeouts have gone up in his three years of professional baseball, his walk rate is still high. In 2016 he struck out 10.1/9 innings and walked 5.4/9 innings. It should be noted that he gave up only 15 hits in 25 innings over 16 appearances and posted a 2.88 ERA.
I would expect him to move up to the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League at some point in 2017. If he can harness his fastball, he could have “closer” tattooed all over him.
The burning question is, of course, with former first round draft pick and 2016 National League Rookie of the Year Corey Seager expected to be firmly planted at shortstop for the Dodgers – hopefully for many years to come – why on earth would Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi trade away an MLB-ready, innings-eating, strikeout specialist for a guy who, at best, would be a back-up for a guy who is already be among the best shortstops in the game – especially when the Dodgers already have a plethora of utility bench players who can spell Seager?
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Up to this point Friedman and Zaidi have come across as geniuses in the moves they have made, but this one makes absolutely zero sense to me.
The Dodgers simply did not need another shortstop who will have a very difficult time making it to the Bigs behind Corey Seager; nor did they need another mediocre reliever who will be lucky to ever see Triple-A.
Obviously I am extremely biased in this trade, as Chase and I have become good friends ever since his arrival to the Dodgers at Rancho Cucamonga.
It is impossible for me not to declare the Mariners the (big) winners of this trade.
My heart hurts.
I agree Ron. The read on Jackson sounds good until you see he is a soon to be 24 year old playing in A ball. Zabala? I like any 20 year old who can touch 100 mph, but we already have a few of those who also have trouble with command. The best move the Dodgers could make at this time is to find an instructor who can turn a 100 mph ball into a 97 mph strike at the knees on a corner.
Great to hear from you Badger!
As you know, the Dodgers have outstanding pitching coaches throughout their minor league system, so I imagine that Zabala will get plenty of excellent tutoring. But as you noted, they already have a few of those. They didn’t need him.
Barring an unforeseen miracle (or utter disaster), this trade was completely unnecessary. At Clyle Alt noted on Twitter:
Gavin Lux, Brendan Davis, Tim Locastro short term – lots of shortstops. We have to remember FAZ loves shortstops as most are athletic and have the versatility to play other positions. Is Jackson the right shortstop to acquire. Badger hit it – will be 24 in July and one good pro season. he has to start in Tulsa and succeed to be on track for MLB.
In his first two years as a teenager Frankie Montas had an equal number of strikeouts and walks. Even in 2015 his K/BB ratio was about 2/1. You can never have too many young pitchers with good arms. Time is on his Zabala’s side. I think the amazing thing with the Loons in 2016 was the number of youngsters with excellent K/BB ratios. Maybe Zabala can join that group in due course.
I personally think Chase was undersold.
Hey Bluenose – quick question as I’m out the door with no time to look it up – where is Lux playing this year?
Chase sold? To who, Univest? I think I just read that. Fox Chase. $244 million. They coulda got $250 million if they held out. Stupid Fox Chase. Wait, what? Wrong Chase? Never mind.
I expect Lux will start with the Loons and look for a move to RC before the season is over. He will play the entire season as a 19-year-old.
First, let me be clear that I like De Jong. That being made clear his scouting report included a few caveats, like “an extreme fly ball pitcher with little room for error,” his lone above average pitch is curve ball, and on the 80 scale overall his rating is 45. Even in the Mariners’ system they have initially put 7 RH pitchers in front of him on the top 30 list. As good as De Jong was last season, both Stewart and Oaks were better; and, other pitching prospects are more highly rated (Sborz, White, Buehler, Abdullah, and Alvarez for example). Regarding the return, hard to ignore a top fielding SS with plus-plus arm and speed who, according to reports, lengthened his swing in Hi A trying for more power. Dodgers minor league hitting coaches have a good reputation and if they can get Jackson to return to his contact oriented stroke from Lo A then he could move rapidly through the system. Locastro, Maggi, Culberson, Archer are utility type players, Lux and Davis could start the season at Lo A. If Jackson doesn’t hit, would not be surprising for Dodgers to move him to the mound where his 70 fastball is rated at same level as Alvarez. Zabala? 75 fastball and just turned 20 a good risk to take. I believe this FO does an excellent job of evaluating minor league talent. Of course, we will know better at the end of the season.
Good perspective SCB. My concern with Jackson is the 105 K’s in the hitter friendly California League. He has never had power so most likely will not develop it now. He had no home runs in three years of college ball, 2 at short season Everett and six with the Blaze. So to seek power was a big mistake. If he concentrates on his strengths of speed and contact hitting he will continue to progress. His SB total in 2016 was not impressive so work on that.
If he is to be converted to pitching, then do it this year. Put him in the Driveline program and do it now. He might be another Kenley or Pedro Baez.
Spot on!
This won’t be a popular opinion on this site, but I believe this is exactly the kind of move the FO needed to make. First, De Jong and Locastro came over from the Blue Jays for international bonus slots. They were lottery tickets to begin with. Locastro has super utility player written all over him; switch hits and plays all over the diamond. De Jong’s best asset is pitch-ability. Like SoCalBum said, most of his stuff grades out as fringe average. It may play up on account of immaculate execution, but think of the last Dodger farm arm that had a profile like that: Zach Lee. The more developed depth ahead of DeJong (Oaks, Stewart, Stripling) and the higher upside arms (Beuhler and Alvarez especially) made him expendable.
The return fit the needs for organizational depth to a T. Jackson immediately graded out as having the best arm, and speed in the system by the MLB.com farm analysis. If he could add even a little versatility with center field, 2nd or 3rd, he is easily Pinch runner/defensive substitute. Plus, he hits right handed. BlueNose mentioned a lot of middle infield depth, but most of them are lefties. Worst case scenario, imagine if Seager gets hurt. Impossible to replace the bat. But, if you can plug in a plus defender with plus speed, it could at least slightly mitigate a potential Seager DL stint. With his present profile, he doesn’t need power to add a unique dimension or two to the big club.
This winter showed a kind of market correction for bullpen arms. Developing designated bullpen arms is going to become much more common. Zabala has one thing that can’t be taught or developed, plus to double plus arm strength. I hope Kenley is a career Dodger. He needs a side kick/understudy.
So, a hopeful backend starter for right-handed middle of the diamond defensive depth, and a high risk, high reward bullpen lottery ticket… and a 40 man roster spot to boot… Being in Montana I have lots of Mariner’s sympathies, so seeing Chase there doesn’t hurt all that much.
Why won’t your opinion be popular? It got me thinking.
Somebody rank these guys – Locastro, Mejia, Jackson, Brito. All of them read decent on scouting reports. I think I just saw Jackson listed on the Tulsa roster. Is Mejia still with us? He hit .287 at RC last year. I think that deserves a promotion. Then there’s Brito. Where is he playing? And all of them are just occupying space between Seager and Lux. SS rich is a good thing. Are we?
Yes, Mejia still with Dodgers and had a triple a couple of days ago. However, he had 31 errors at SS for RC many of which were throwing errors (remind you of someone?). Other day he was at 2b for Dodgers which is likely his position in 2017. With 70 speed and 70 arm Dodgers could move him to CF, or a RH hitting second baseman
Oh yeah, now I remember seeing that triple in the box score. His scouting report is positive, as is Locastro’s, but I don’t know how all these shortstops shake out. The team paid $2 million for Brito, right? 7th highest bonus dished out in our IM spree.
I’ve been gone a while. What’s the temperature in here on Calhoun?
He really hasn’t played yet in the spring. They have been working hard with him to help him with his second base fielding skills and also I think his conditioning. Ranked as #4 Dodger prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Calhoun? I think there is a lot of wishful thinking/hoping. His time in ST working with Woodward should determine whether he has a chance or not. My guess, he changes positions and moves to LF.
I agree with SCB that Calhoun may well wind up in left field. Maybe Drew Jackson will be moved to second base.
I’m on record – I like him. He’s putting in a lot of time on footwork and fielding grounders. I realize he has a ways to go, but my gut tells me experience is all he needs. That and about 200 grounders a day.
I’m with you on Calhoun, Badger. Kid is a gamer. He showed up two weeks early for ST and acknowledges that he needs work on his defense. He puts in more hours per day than anyone else in camp. Also has a GREAT attitude.
Erick Mejia – age 22 – still with Dodgers Good bat- no glove
(38 errors 2017) SH
Brito – age 17 – DSL Dodgers SH
Tim Locastro – closest to MLB in my opinion. One year older than
Jackson RH
Brendan Davis – age 19 – keep an eye out RH
Gavin Lux – age 19 – hopefully to RC this year LH
Errol Robinson – age 22 To Loons this year RH
None of these youngsters have shown much power – pretty much all alike in that respect. I think Davis has the most power potential but also a position change.
Drew Maggi – age 27 – has played a lot of shortstop. Very versatile player. Could get a cup of coffee in MLB in 2017 RH
Right now I would rank Jackson behind Locastro as being closest to MLB.
Michael Ahmed has also played SS, but looks like he is being groomed for utility role; 19 home runs last season for RC in only 111 games.
Mike Ahmed was probably my favorite player at Rancho last season. Good all around athlete with some pop.
Good eye, SCB.
I would be fine with Ahmed earning the back-up infielder spot on this team. I think he’s the most athletic of any of them.
Thanks Bluenose. That came in a timely fashion.
As an old SS I have a particular fondness for up the middle players. 38 errors? Dang. I think I can do better than that. I don’t have the range I had 40 years ago but I think I can still pick ’em and throw straight.
Ahmed. That’s another name I forgot. Is he a switch hitter? One or more of those guys is if I recall.
Mike Ahmed is R/R.
His brother plays for the DBacks.
This is Ron’s article on Michael from last June. Michael Ahmed
Mejia is listed as a switch hitter. He got into another one yesterday. Ahmed and is brother are both athletes.