On Tuesday, January 12, Baseball America (BA) released their 2021 preseason Top-10 Dodgers prospects that included one outfielder, two catchers, three right-handed pitchers, and four infielders. We reviewed the background and scouting reports of the two catchers (Keibert Ruiz and Diego Cartaya) on the 13th. Today we focus on the three pitchers.

Leading off is BA’s number two Dodgers prospect Josiah Gray, acquired by the Dodgers on December 21, 2018, from the Cincinnati Reds along with veteran pitcher Homer Bailey and infield prospect Jeter Downs for outfielders Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig, pitcher Alex Wood, and utility player Kyle Farmer. At the time, Gray was ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Reds 20th prospect (Downs was rated number seven).

How does a number 20 prospect from the Reds well-regarded minor league system become the number two prospect for the Dodgers highly respected development organization in the space of one minor league season, plus the 2020 summer camp? The answer is likely multifaceted, beginning with Gray being undervalued by scouts and moving to arguably the best development program in MLB.

• Gray graduated from New Rochelle (NY) high school as a skinny, athletic shortstop with a strong right arm. He accepted the only scholarship offer he received, Division II Le Moyne (NY), whose perceptive coach saw a power pitcher’s potential.
• By his junior year, Gray had physically matured and developed into one of the best pitchers in college baseball with an 11-0 win-loss record, a 1.25 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, striking out 105 and walking only 20 in 93.1 IP; hitters batted a cumulative .192 against Gray. Still, that was against Division II hitters, not elite Div. I batters.
• He was not drafted by the Reds until the supplemental segment of the second round in 2018, then pitched 52 innings for their rookie team with a 2.58 ERA.
• After the trade to the Dodgers, Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser slotted Gray somewhere between number 11 and number 20; but, by midseason, Gray had moved to number seven based on his performance at Low-A Great Lakes (1.93 ERA) and High-A Rancho Cucamonga (2.14 ERA).

Now 6′-1″ and a strong 190 pounds, Gray was the Dodgers 2019 Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He is a power pitcher with a plus, moving fastball (93-96 mph) that he maintains deep into games and can reach back when needed to 97-98 mph. Reportedly, Gray improved his slider during summer camp, making it a plus pitch. His changeup remains a work-in-progress, but he continues to command the strike zone as he did in college. With a high baseball IQ, talent, and competitiveness, Gray is seen as a middle-of-the-rotation pitcher. With an improved changeup, he could be a top-of-the-rotation pitcher.

The Dodgers number five prospect is Bobby Miller, the Dodgers first-round draft selection in the 2020 MLB entry draft. Where Gray started his professional career from a little-known, Division II school, Miller honed his pitching skills at one of the most prestigious baseball programs in the United States, the University of Louisville. Alums of Louisville include Dodgers catcher Will Smith, Yankees right-hander Chad Green, and Rays left-hander Brendan McKay, among others.

If you have not seen Miller pitching from a mound, imagine a bigger version of Walker Buehler with the same intensity. He is an imposing presence at 6′-5″/220 pounds and throws a plus-plus fastball (99-mph), a plus slider-changeup (splitter), and an average 12-to-6 curve. Miller did not become a full-time starter until his junior season at Louisville in 2020 and only had four starts before the pandemic shut down the college season. He was at the Dodgers alternate site last summer, then participated in the Arizona Instructional League, further honing his skills.

Even though he has yet to throw a competitive pitch as a professional, the Dodgers have him on a fast track, and if needed, he could pitch for the team in 2021. He has the tools, physicality, and competitive fire to be a top-of-the-rotation starter or a late-innings shutdown reliever.

BA has 23-year old Ryan Pepiot (Butler University) as the Dodgers number eight prospect; a huge difference from Major League Pipeline’s number 24 ranking. At 6′-3″/215 pounds, he may remind fans of Chris Withrow on the mound or a bigger version of Chad Billingsley. For those who watched Dodgers summer camp games, you may remember a dominant Pepiot striking out Cody Bellinger, Matt Beaty, and Gavin Lux in his two innings of work.

The Dodgers drafted Pepiot in the third round of the 2019 entry draft. He has an above-average mid-90’s fastball, a major league average slider, and a devastating plus-plus changeup. The only negative was the command of his pitches. He was the Big East Conference leader in strikeouts in 2019, but he also had the second-most hit batters and third-most walks in the league. That issue carried over to his first professional season with Arizona Rookie teams and Low-A Great Lakes, where he walked a total of 13 hitters in 23.1 innings pitched. The team considered him one of the best pitchers at the alternate site, as he refined his mechanics and was able to locate all of his pitches. He could advance quickly if he can continue to command his pitches. Control is all that is in the way of Pepiot becoming a right-handed power pitcher for the Dodgers.

Remember that these three young pitchers are in the Top-10. There are others, like Clayton Beeter, Kendall Williams, Edwin Uceta, Mitchell White, et al. who are aggressively pursuing their dream of pitching for the Dodgers.

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