August 14th, 2017 at 6:00 am 
by Harold Uhlman The Dodgers have continued to play the position-player-to-pitcher conversion game during the 2017 season. In fact, they have accelerated the game. That is, converting position players to the mound. The Dodgers player development department has made a conscious effort to make players much more versatile by playing multiple positions and working from their strengths by changing home plate from something to be protected to being a target.
During the current season, at least three positions players have laid down their bats and taken up their new stations on the pitching mound.
Allie had been selected as a pitcher by the Pirates in the second round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft out of St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio. At that time, he was described as one of the few athletes in the draft that could be considered a prospect as a hitter or pitcher.
The native of Orlando, Florida pitched one season in 2010 with the State College Spikes of the New York-Penn League during which he struck out 29 hitters in 26 innings pitched. It was to be his only minor league season as a pitcher as his strikeout total that season exceeded his walk total by one.
After two-thirds of an inning in 2012, the Pirates made the decision to make Allie a full-time position player. He played first base for a year before settling in as an outfielder during the 2015 season.
During his five minor league seasons with the Pirates he had a batting average of .241 while hitting at least 16 home runs in each of those seasons and topping out at 21 in both 2013 and 2014.
Following the 2016 season, Allie elected minor league free agency and was signed by the Dodgers to a minor league contract on November 11 with an invitation to spring training.
Allie’s athleticism as a position player is a huge asset to him as a pitcher.
(Photo credit – Ross D. Franklin)
After 32 games and 88 at bats with the Tulsa Drillers in 2017, in which he hit .216, Allie was placed on the 7-day DL on May 30. On June 24, he was assigned to the Arizona League Dodgers on a rehab assignment and is still listed on the team’s roster.
The interesting part is that Allie has made four appearances with the AZL Dodgers during what is listed as a rehab assignment and all four have been from the rubber on the pitching mound. During his four outings, the 6’2”/230-pound right-hander has logged four innings, giving up but one hit, while walking four and striking out four.
The next step for Allie would be to move up to the Ogden Raptors or Great Lakes Loons to test out what was once described as his triple-digit fastball.
Jones was selected by the Dodgers in the 25th round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Nebraska. He was the 759th overall pick in the draft.
He was born in Omaha, Nebraska and attended Greta High School in the city of Gretna located about 22 miles from Omaha. Following his senior high school season Jones, who pitched and played the outfield, succumbed to Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.
After his senior high school year Jones enrolled at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and red shirted in what would have been his first season with the Huskers while studying and rehabbing from his Tommy John surgery.
Jones transferred to Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kansas for the 2014 season. He had a standout season with the Blue Dragons in their Dodger look-alike home uniforms. He led his team with 10 home runs while hitting .372 and driving in 50 runs.
Jones began his professional career on July 1, 2014 with the Arizona League Dodgers. He had a bit of a slow start to his career but broke out in the 2015 season with the Pioneer League Ogden Raptors as he hit an even .300 with 18 doubles, 3 triples and 11 home runs while driving in 47 runs and scoring 50 in 67 games.
He played with the Great Lakes Loons in 2016 but was limited to 283 at-bats as a result of several trips to the dreaded DL. His production was down as was his batting average.
When the 2017 minor league rosters were announced he was again listed with the Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League. That was not surprising after his injury plagued season in 2016.
The surprise was that he was listed as a pitcher and it turned out not to be a mistake. The 23-year-old right-hander made his professional pitching debut on June 19 in a game against the Orem Owlz in which he gave up two earned runs in 1.2 innings.
On the season in 13 appearances, Jones has pitched 19.1 innings posting a 1.40 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP along with 15 strikeouts and eight walks. In his last 12 appearances, he has given up only one earned run.
At 6′-7″ Matt Jones is Randy Johnson-like intimidating to batters. After making 13 relief appearances for the Ogden Raptors, he picked up his first professional save on July 30. (Photo courtesy of @who_mattjones_)
The 6’7”/250-pound right-hander might have had a premonition that he would return to the mound way back in June of 2014. At that time, he said: “They want me to focus on hitting, but if I have a tough time there, they could also use me as a pitcher.”
Davis was a first round selection by the New York Mets in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft out of Arizona State University in Temple, Arizona. He had previously been drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 19th round of the 2005 MLB draft out of Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.
In high school Davis was 23-0 with a 1.85 ERA and in college he had a 2.25 ERA as a pitcher. That certainly would not suggest he couldn’t pitch but it he was seen more as a hitter when the Mets selected him in 2008.
Initially it appears the Mets had made the right call when the 6’4”/220-pound left-hander hit 19 home runs as a MLB rookie in 2010 while driving in 71 runs. His peak year came in 2012 when he hit 32 home runs and had 90 runs batted in.
Things slowed down offensively for Davis in the ensuing years and during the 2013-2016 seasons he played with the Mets, the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Oakland Athletics and the New York Yankees. He was unable to rediscover his earlier magic and was released by the Yankees in August of 2016.
The Dodgers signed Davis to a minor league contract on January 27, 2017 and invited him to spring training.
After 35 games with the Oklahoma City Dodgers in which he hit .212, Davis went on the DL on May 5 and was not re-activated until July 31. He was assigned to the Arizona League Dodgers on a rehab assignment and on August 6 made his first appearance with the Dodgers. He did so on the mound instead of facing the mound. The 30-year-old Davis has now made two appearances against AZL opponents pitching two innings while allowing one hit, no runs, one walk and striking out four.
In addition to pitching for the OKC Dodgers, Davis also participated in the World Baseball Classic for Team Israel.
(Photo courtesy of MLB.com)
The news that Davis – the son of former Yankee reliever Ron Davis – had converted to pitching reached to the top of the Dodgers organization and manager Dave Roberts.
“Hopefully he can get a lefty out,” Roberts told MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick upon learning of Davis’ bullpen. “Can he strike the slider? The curve? If he can throw 90, throw strikes, strike the curve, I’m good with it. Ike’s a good athlete. If he’s open to it, he’s had a good career as a position player. He can be the next Brooks Kieschnick.”
Timing is everything and Davis most likely will get a chance to pitch at a higher level in the Dodgers minor league system before the season ends and then perhaps head off to winter league baseball in Latin America.
Posted in 
I’m not convinced that Ike Davis will ever make it back to the Bigs as a pitcher. As for Matt Jones and Stetson Allie, in my opinion Matt has a legitimate shot but Stetson may have a tougher time of it. That being said, both of them absolutely MUST have a successful 2018 season.
I was somewhat surprised that Matt wasn’t promotion back to Low-A after his conversion to a pitcher. I get that he needed to re-learn the game from an entirely different perspective, but at 23 years old, he’s a bit old to still be in Rookie ball.
I have to believe that Allie will begin the 2018 season at OKC, especially since he will be 27 in March … that’s if he hasn’t been released by then.
All of these guys are not pitching at age appropriate levels. Matt is the closest as some of the pitchers drafted by the Dodgers in 2017 are 22 years old and just beginning at the short season level.
Davis is a lefty so who knows what might happen. Allie needs a break through in control. I think Jones is working on refining his pitches. I expect to see him at RC at some point in 2018.
I look for SS Drew Jackson to be the next position player moved to the mound. With a 70 rated arm that is described in scouting reports as a canon, Jackson’s offensive struggles may result in a move to the mound sooner than later.
I think that the Dodgers’ upper management is still not 100% on-board with this conversion thing just yet. Granted, they have the Kenley Jansen and Pedro Baez success stories in front of them, but both of those guys had already converted to pitching before F&Z were with the team.
I have always appreciated the fact that the Dodgers – primarily De Jon Watson and now Gabe Kapler – seem to be willing to give guys one last shot at pitching before sending them on their way, but the number of guys who actually make it to the Bigs as pitchers – Dodgers or otherwise – is extremely small. That being said, I will be the first to admit that I am a HUGE Matt Jones fan and can’t wait until he gets to Rancho.
The Dodgers have tried a few other conversions but as mentioned they don’t seem to work out too well.
Blake Smith(2013) – still pitching and had a few innings with the White Sox.
Clint Freeman(2015) – released in 2016.
Colin Hering (2015) – released in 2016.
Jordan Schafer (2016) – went to Cardinals as FA. Rehabbing from TJ surgery.
Kenley Jansen and Pedro Baez by far the best. I think making the conversion later in career is a difficult transition, but if a player has a plus-plus arm and his bat will not play at the ML level why not give him a chance on the mound — who knows when the next Jansen or Baez will happen.