Less than one month remains in the 2021 regular season schedule for the Dodgers Low-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. As the dog-days of summer wind down, we will take a look at a few of the players in the Dodgers minor league system who have performed well, perhaps exceeding expectations.

We begin our review by considering several of the Quakes pitchers, and over the next two weeks work our way up the organization ladder to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers.

As most Dodgers fans know, the team’s organizational development staff make certain that the young, talented pitchers are not abused as they progress through the organization. Innings and pitch counts are closely controlled, and it is not uncommon for pitchers to spend time on the Injured List to rest arms and bodies. For example, none of the 2021 Quakes pitchers have reached the minimum number of innings pitched to qualify for year-end pitching awards.

Only five Rancho Cucamonga hurlers have pitched more than 65 innings this season: Kendall Williams (75.1), Robbie Peto (70,2), Gavin Stone (70.0), Carlos Duran (68.2), and Hyun-il Choi (65.1).

The 21-year-old South Korean Choi was the Quakes most consistent pitcher with  a 3.17 ERA, and holding opposing hitters to a .197 batting average. Although the young right-hander doesn’t yet possess elite velocity or secondary pitches, his pitch command is exceptional — 75 strike outs, and only seven walks in California League competition. Choi’s performance earned him a promotion to the High-A Great Lakes Loons, where he has started five games (22.2 IP) with a 2.78 ERA, 21 strike outs, and only six walks.

Rancho Cucamonga’s top starting pitcher this season was 22-year-old right-handed Gavin Stone, the Dodgers fifth round selection in the condensed 2020 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. Stone’s above average fastball, with solid breaking pitches, and command resulted in a 3.73 ERA, with 101 strike outs, and only 20 walks. Like Choi, Stone’s quality pitching for the Quakes earned him a recent promotion to Great Lakes. So far, he has found High-A hitters more challenging, allowing seven earned runs in his first nine innings pitched.

The Quakes had several relievers whose performance earned them quick promotions to higher levels in the system: right handers Cameron Gibbens (0.87 ERA; 23 strike outs in 10.1 IP) and Jacob Cantleberry (1.98 ERA; 27 strike outs in 13.2 IP), and left hander Franklin De La Paz (2.45 ERA; 25 strike outs in 18.1 IP). But those promotions made way for one of the more intriguing Dodgers 2021 draft selections, right-hander Nick Nastrini.

At the beginning of the 2021 college season, Nastrini was considered to be one of the very best pitchers on the West Coast who was eligible for the Major League draft. He had a high velocity fastball, with developing secondary pitches, and a strong, athletic build (6-foot-3, 215 pounds. Unfortunately for the young man, his season at UCLA was marred by awful control (walked 38 batters, and nine wild pitches, in 31 IP) concerning talent evaluators that he had developed a bad case of the yips. But the Dodgers saw first round talent available in the third round and made Nastrini their selection.

So far, based on an extremely small sample size (3.2 IP), the Dodgers may have once again found a diamond in the rough, as Nastrini has allowed one earned run, has ten strike outs, and walked two. A pitcher who was bypassed by every other MLB team — three times — fits the Dodgers MO over the last several years. They find players with exceptional talent and start the development process to nurture the young player into a highly regarded prospect.

Next, we will review the Quakes position players, then move on to the High-A Great Lakes Loons, then the Double-A Tulsa Drillers, and finally the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. Let us know if there are other prospects you would enjoy reading about — we will do our best to track down the most recent data.

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