In November of 2015, the Dodgers signed 17-year-old Cuban free agent middle infielder Omar Estevez to a contract that included a $6 million signing bonus. At the time, the collective eyebrows of the international scouting community were raised, as the teenager was not considered a top prospect and the bonus was regarded as an overpay by the Dodgers – not to mention the luxury tax they had to pay for exceeding their International Bonus pool in 2015.

Although his physical tools were described as average at best, Estevez possessed a baseball IQ that was considered very strong and well-advanced for his age. He had been one of the best hitters in Cuba’s junior national leagues, moving up to Cuba’s elite Serie National League at age sixteen, where he held his own playing against the older and highly skilled competition. As one scout put it, he was “kind of under the radar talent-wise, but he can hit.”

Normally, the Dodgers assign Latin American teenagers to one of their summer teams in the Dominican Republic, or if the player is more advanced, to one of their their Arizona Rookie League team, or possibly even their more advanced Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer Rookie League. But the Dodgers pushed Estevez to the Low Single-A Great Lakes Loons in the Midwest League to start his professional career in 2016.

As an 18-year-old, Estevez was playing with and against players who were, on average, forty-two months older than he, many with a couple of years experience in college baseball. Talk about culture shock! Almost four years younger than other players, moving from the tropical climate of Cuba to Midland Michigan, while coping with a new culture, and language.

All things considered, you would think that a .255 / .298 / .389 slash line in Low-A ball would be commendable for an 18-year-old in his first professional season. But Baseball America’s scouting report was not kind to Estevez. Even though he was rated in the Dodgers Top-30 prospects (number 24), the critique was harsh: “…well below average runner… limited range and agility … below average arm strength … did not consider his bat as a plus … only fair bat speed … not athletic.”

Nonetheless, the Dodgers aggressively pushed the 19-year-old Estevez to Advanced Single-A of the highly-competitive California League for the 2017 season. Once again, significantly younger than the average player in the league (by forty-three months), Estevez only managed a mediocre .256 / .309 / .348 / .657 slash-line in the hitter-friendly league. Based on his two seasons of professional baseball, Baseball America dropped Estevez out of its Top-30 Dodgers prospects.

Following the 2017 season, Estevez worked on his swing, including weighted ball hitting drills designed to help players hit through the ball.  Once the 2018 season started he continued to muddle along, roughly at the same rate as his first two seasons, but he continued to employ his new hitting mechanics and it finally clicked-in for the last six weeks of the 2018 season, slashing .340 / .418 / .547 / .965 to finish the regular season at .278 / .336 / .456. With increased confidence, Estevez started to demonstrate the patience, plate awareness, and offensive maturity that Dodgers scouts had observed as a teenager in Cuba.

Baseball America returned Estevez to its Top-30 Dodgers prospects (number 26) for 2019 with the following assessment: “After looking like a poor investment for two years, Estevez overhauled his approach, swing and preparation and turned into a different player in 2018. On the back of a scorching second half, Estevez led the California League in runs (87) and doubles (43).”

But was the last six weeks of the 2018 season a break-through, or would the now 21-year-old Estevez revert to mediocre results? Invited to the Dodgers Major League camp for spring training 2019, Estevez impressed, slashing .296 / .321 / .593 / .914, with two home runs and two doubles, while fielding well at shortstop and second base. As a result, he was assigned to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League out of spring training. He has rewarded the Dodgers for doing so by posting .429/ 471 / .651 / 1.122, with two home runs, eight doubles, and only seven strikeouts in 69 plate appearances in his first 16 games with the Drillers.

The 5’-10” / 185-pound middle infielder has developed gap-to-gap power that should make him an offensive threat, whether he plays shortstop or second base. This season Estevez and fellow middle infielder Gavin Lux have alternated at the two positions, with Estevez showing the better defense at shortstop.

By the way and worthy of mention, both Estevez his double play partner Lux are almost three years younger than the average Texas League player.

Look for one or both of these talented youngsters to be playing for the Dodgers in 2020 … if not sooner.

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