April 11th, 2019 at 4:00 pm 
by 0799291000348 At the conclusion of the 2018 Winter Meetings, Dodgers minor leaguer Drew Jackson was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the annual Rule 5 draft. Jackson wasn’t with the Phillies long, as he was traded that same day to the Baltimore Orioles for international bonus slot money.
Although Jackson was not considered a “top” prospect in the Dodgers organization, he had intriguing skills for the talent-starved Orioles. Jackson was coming off his best minor league season in 2018, slashing .251 / .356 / .447 / .804 for the Double-A Tulsa Drillers; that included fifteen home runs. Scouting reports listed his best skills as “plus” running speed, “plus-plus” arm strength, and defensive versatility.
Jackson had a terrific spring training with the Orioles, slashing .316 / .355 / .447 / .741 in 62 plate appearances, earning a spot on their opening day roster. But after only three plate appearances in the regular season, he was Designated for Assignment (DFA) to make room on the roster for recently-signed right-hander Dan Straily. In accordance with Rule 5, once Jackson cleared waivers he was offered back to the Dodgers for $50,000; one-half of the $100,000 Rule 5 fee paid by the Phillies.
Seems like a “no-brainer” decision for the Dodgers to take back the utility player they acquired from the Mariners in March 2017, along with right-hander Aneurys Zabala for right-hander Chase De Jong. The Dodgers are always looking to add organizational depth and bringing back the 25-year-old Jackson – for either the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers the Double-A Tulsa Drillers roster – made good business sense; in effect, renting Jackson to another team for $50,000.
Don’t be surprised to see utility infielder / outfielder Connor Joe also return to the Dodgers sometime this week. Joe was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the same Rule 5 draft as Jackson, then traded to the San Francisco Giants, who DFA’d him last week. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman remains high on Joe’s ability to hit, so taking him back seems like another no-brainer.
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Kinda relieved to see Jackson back in the Dodgers’ system. He had a bit of a breakout season last year in AA and actually had him pegged for OKC this season.
On a sidenote, recently acquired Reds’ RHP prospect Josiah Gray just completed his outing for Low-A Great Lakes today going 5 PERFECT INNINGS while striking out 5 and throwing only 52 pitches total. Gotta feeling he won’t be long for the Midwest League at this rate. Like I said before, getting him as part of that Kemp/Puig/Wood/Farmer deal the Dodgers made with the Reds this past offseason totally makes up for them not being able to sign last year’s 1st rounder JT Ginn. Gray’s starting to look like a big-time sleeper pick that’s about to awaken…
Thanks for the report. I will definitely keep an eye on him. Looking forward to seeing him when he gets to Rancho.
A lot to like about Jackson, perhaps a late bloomer. With a “70” rated arm (same as Yadier Alvarez) and very athletic, I will not be surprised if Dodgers give him an opportunity to pitch at some point a la Dennis Santana. Scouting reports on Josiah Gray are excellent — Dodgers did very well in acquiring him and Jeter Downs in the trade with Cincinnati.
Yeah, I always felt that Jackson might’ve been better off being converted into a pitcher since his arm clearly outranks his other notable tools. That was until last year, of course. Now it looks like he might have a big-league future as a super-utility player, ala Enrique Hernandez/Chris Taylor.
As for Gray, that was indeed a sweet return the Dodgers got back from the Reds (along with Jeter Downs, who I’m starting to like VERY much of late). Thing about Gray, he was originally a SS back in high school until he got to college where the coaching staff successfully convinced him to give it up for the mound. So not only does he have relatively low mileage on his arm, he might still be improving his velocity as he steadily gains more strength and experience.
And before I forget, might be time for the Dodgers to finally give up the starter “experiment” that is Yadier Alvarez. Last night, hung his Tulsa team out to dry again in the first two innings and didn’t even make it out of the 2nd for that matter. This enigmatic Cuban with the million-dollar arm is beginning to remind me of a young player who received too much too quickly and not really honoring his end of the deal. Pray they put him back in the pen for good, but even then he might not be anything more than a 1-inning “quitter” at best. I swear his mental maturity is that of an impetuous child, very fragile and oh so volatile…
I swear his mental maturity is that of an impetuous child, very fragile and oh so volatile. Can you explain why you say this, as I have mentioned, I don’t get much viewing time on the minor league players?
A couple of years ago, a patron of another Dodger blog, used to profess that Alvarez was the next big thing? I have kind of kept my eye on his stats…but they never amounted to the hype that made me look at them in the first place?
I’m in agreeance with what you say, just wondering about that last statement is all.
Thought it was pretty self-explanatory, lol. Just means Alvarez is the type that really doesn’t know how to handle the slightest bit of adversity whenever it finds him. Everytime it does, he folds like a bad poker hand. He has all the talent in the world for a pitcher, but it’s not gonna come to fruition if he doesn’t start toughening up mentally (which at this rate is probably NOT likely to happen)…
Thanks! To most it probably was, but I live in the backwoods and need splainin’ from time to time…thanks again!
Sounds like a good evaluation to me.
I also assume you are talking about the Lee kid as well?
The Arruebarrena kid waked off [with help] and failed to hold his end of the bargain up, but he wasn’t a pitcher, so that’s why I assumed you meant Lee.
Lee brought us CT3…who is similar to the Castro kid, Jessie just examined and scripted a thread about.
Regarding Yadier Alvarez. A couple of months ago, in spring training, I had the opportunity to stand by the waist high fence down the right field line of Field 1, very close to Alvarez playing catch. Charlie Hough was working with Alvarez, to my surprise it appeared to be the most basics of pitching mechanics. The previous spring I watched Alvarez pitching live batting practice to minor leaguers Cody Thomas and Mike Ahmed, both of him were crushing Alvarez fastballs. Still ranked in Dodgers top 30 — I’m not seeing it.
Neither am I, truthfully speaking. Makes me wonder if he took the bonus money and just sat on his rear end the whole time. His well-documented prima donna attitude problems certainly hasn’t endeared himself with the Dodger brass either. I’ll be surprised if he’s still in the system beyond this season.
Dodgers spent a total of $32MM to sign him. I think they will keep him in the system just in case he finally comes close to his immense potential
Is Alvarez untradeable, such as Arruebarruena was?
No, whereas Arruebarrena was guaranteed millions per year over the term of his five year contract, Alvarez received a large bonus of $16MM with minor league contracts. Dodgers would likely not get much in return for Alvarez, but some team might be willing to give up a low level prospect in return.
Thanks for the info Jesse. Sorry I called you Jessie earlier. I need glasses more-so then Alvarez needs that rubber-band contraption.
No problem with Jessie; I have been called much worse. Have a great evening. GO DODGERS!
You do the same
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