Unless you are a die-hard follower of the Dodgers minor league teams, the names Omar Estevez, Matt Beaty, and Donald Scott (DJ) Peters may not be familiar to you. But hitting back-to-back-to-back home runs in the seventh inning yesterday was a great way to introduce themselves. Peters with an exclamation point, as he also hit a home run earlier in the game.

Only Peters name can be found amongst the Dodgers top 10 prospects (number nine), with scouting reports praising his athleticism, power, base running, and arm; only the high rate of strikeouts keeping him from a loftier ranking. Beaty (number 22) and Estevez (number 30) fit into the top 30 prospects, both with the potential to move further up the list.

Injuries kept Beaty on the Injured List for much of the 2018 season, with his prospect status taking a step back from 2017, when he was the Texas League Player of the Year, with a slash-line of .326/.378/.505/.883 and 15 home runs. He did so while playing first, third, second, and both corner outfield spots.

Estevez’s prospect status had been falling in the last 2 years, but his breakout season with the bat in 2018 earned him a spot in the top 30.

The backgrounds of the three players could not be more different. Estevez signed with the Dodgers in 2015 as a well regarded 17-year-old prospect, receiving a six million dollar bonus (the Dodgers also had to pay a 100 percent tax penalty). On the other hand, Beaty was drafted in 2015 after his senior year at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, signing for $60,000. And Peters was drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 draft out of Western Nevada College in Carson City, where he was considered one of the best power hitters and athletes of his class, receiving a $247,500 signing bonus.

2019 is an important year for all three of these young men. Beaty has terrific bat-to-ball skills and is capable of playing multiple positions but is currently blocked from the active roster with guys named Max Muncy, Cody Bellinger, Joc Pederson, Alex Verdugo, Justin Turner, David Freese, and (possibly) Andrew Toles ahead of him on the Dodgers depth chart. He also turns 26 in April.

Estevez will most likely be assigned to Double-A Tulsa out of spring training to prove that his 2018 stats (278/.336/.456/.792 with 43 doubles, 15 home runs, and 84 RBI) were truly breakout numbers and not an anomaly.

Peters must demonstrate that the shortened swing he has been working on with Dodgers coaches will significantly reduce his strikeout rate, while not adversely effecting his power. He and Beaty will most likely break camp en route to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

The trio started off their respective journeys well on Sunday with their back-to-back-to-back jacks and have undoubtedly captured the attention of every Dodger fan – especially those previously unfamiliar with them.

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