While most Dodger fans are understandably excited whenever one of their team’s top-ranked prospects like Alex Verdugo, Matt Beaty, Kyle Garlick, Josh Sborz, Tony Gonsolin, Edwin Rios and, of course, Will Smith (to name only a few), get called up to The Bigs, their call-up affects the entire franchise exponentially.

I mean, let’s face it. When a position player or pitcher moves up within the system, the minor league team from which they came needs to fill their vacancies all the way down the line. And unless you’ve been on another planet lately, you are very well aware that there have been a lot of call-ups to the Dodgers over the past month or so; many of which were first reported right here on ThinkBlueLA, thanks to several very reliable and trusted sources.

Although there are rare exceptions, nearly every Dodgers call-up comes from their Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City Dodgers. In fact, you have to go back to 2008 to find the last Dodgers player to be promoted directly from the Double-A level to the major leagues … some guy named Clayton Kershaw, who never made a pitch for the (then) Dodgers Triple-A Las Vegas 51’s.

Early Thursday morning, ThinkBlueLA broke the news that utility infielder / outfielder Edwin Rios had been called up to the Dodgers. It was later widely reported that veteran MLB left-hander Zac Rosscup (whom the Dodgers recently picked up from the MLB free agent scrap heap on June 12 and signed to a minor league deal) has also been called up, with left-hander Caleb Ferguson and right-hander Tony Gonsolin being optioned back to OKC. The Dodgers also transferred veteran outfielder A.J. Pollock from the 10-day injured list to the 60-day IL (retroactive to April 30) to create a 40-man and 25-man roster spot for Rosscup. (Rios was already on the Dodgers 40-man roster).

As is often the case whenever a call-up is made to the big league club, the aforementioned exponential promotions to fill the vacancies go unnoticed except for the most savvy of Dodger fans. However, with the latest batch of promotions from Triple-A Oklahoma City to the Dodgers, several of the vacancies at OKC were filled with extremely noteworthy players from the Double-A Tulsa Drillers.

Without question, the two most significant promotions to Triple-A OKC were those of 21-year-old right-hander Dustin May (the Dodgers third round draft pick in 2016), and 21-year-old middle infielder Gavin Lux. (the Dodgers first round draft pick in 2016). But also of great significance was the promotion of 23-year-old outfielder and Southern California native (Glendora) DJ Peters (the Dodgers fourth round draft pick in 2016).

Dodger fans who also follow the team’s Advance Single-A affiliate Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are undoubtedly very familiar with May and Peters, as they spent nearly the entire 2017 season with the Quakes, while Lux spent the entire 2018 season with the eventual California League Champions. And even though all three began the 2019 season at Double-A Tulsa, their recent promotions to the Dodgers highest minor league level has undoubtedly put a huge smile on the faces of Quakes fans.

The promotions of May, Lux and Peters to Triple-A should not be taken lightly by Dodger fans. In addition to now being only one step away from completing their respective lifelong dreams of one day playing in the major leagues, they are all now (Heaven forbid) but an injury (or a prolonged slump) away from fulfilling that dream. They are also now on a much bigger stage on which their talents will be showcased for potential future trades, although this might not sit well with Dodgers and Quakes fans.

But of even greater significance is the likelihood that one or perhaps even all three are now in an excellent position to receive a September call-up to the Show.

…or sooner.

Play Ball!

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