(Editor’s Note: Here is the second installment of our own Harold Uhlman’s picks to win the Dodgers July Dodger Pride Awards for position players Down on the Farm. The actual winners will be announced by the Dodgers in the coming days):
July Dodger Pride Awards Predictions – Position Players
Dominican Summer League Dodgers
Outfielder Ibandel Isabel might be a very easy choice for the Pride Award with the DSL Dodgers. In 74 at bats the 18 year old Isabel had 26 hits leading to a .351 batting average and a .430 OBP. Among his 26 hits he has 10 extra-base hits along with 12 runs and 14 runs batted in. In July Isabel raised his batting average and on base percentage by more than 100 percentage points over his June statistics . Third baseman Jose Luis Javier would also warrant some consideration. He had a very good July but not one that matched the performance of Isabel.
Arizona League Dodgers
The AZL Dodgers have a rather easy choice for the July Pride Award. Adam Law (3B) , son of Vance Law, must enjoy the heat of summer in Arizona. In 91 at bats the 23 year old selected in the twelfth round of the 2013 draft hit .418 with a team leading 38 hits, 19 runs , 17 stolen bases and a .481 OBP. He struck out 14 times and had 9 walks. By now Law should be packing his suitcase for Ogden.
Ogden Raptors
A number of Raptors met with considerable success in July – Kyle Farmer, Justin Chigbogu, Alex Santana, Brandon Trinkwon, Jesus Valdez, Jesmuel Valentin, Joey Curletta, Jacob Scavuzzo. Under other circumstances a number of those players might have been selected for the Pride Position Player Award. However, three of them had exceptional July’s.
Joey Curletta (OF) – .329 BA, 19 runs, 27 hits, 2 home runs, 18 RBI, .409 OBP, .909 OPS
Jacob Scavuzzo (OF) – .316 BA, 25 runs, 30 hits, 8 home runs, 23 RBI, .340 OBP, 1.035 OPS
Brandon Trinkwon (SS) – .361 BA, 18 runs, 39 hits,3 home runs, 21 RBI, .405 OBP, .970 OPS.
The choice narrows to Scavuzzo and Trinkwon. Both continued their hot hitting from June. Scavuzza had 18 extra base hits in July, while Trinkwon had 15. Each struck out 15 times in July with Trinkwon walking 6 times and Scavuzza walking 3 times. It is almost a toss of the coin but the nod goes to Brandon Trinkwon. The 21 year old seventh round selection in 2013 hit .375 with runners on and .410 with RISP. The 19 year old Scavuzzo, drafted in the 21st round in 2012, hit .329 with runners on and .217 with RISP.
Great Lakes Loons
In any other year Robbie Garvey, James Baldwin and Jeremy Rathjen would be given serious consideration for their work with the bat in July. However, they are playing at the same time as Corey Seager (SS) who has the following July stat line in 27 games: .330 BA, 16 runs, 33 hits, 4 home runs, 22 RBI, .411 OBP, .979 OPS, 15 extra base hits, 16 strikeouts and 16 walks. Pretty hard to compete with that. The 19 year old shortstop also must be getting ready to pack his suitcase for Rancho Cucamonga.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Second baseman Casio Grider has had a good July and deserves mention for the July Pride Award. He hit .386 with 18 runs, 9 runs batted in, stole 8 bases and had an OBP of .476. Noel Cuevas(OF) also had a solid July but it would seem that Scott Schebler (OF) could be a repeat winner having won the award in June. In July Schebler had a .348 batting average, scored 29 runs, drove in 29 runs, hit 11 home runs, had an OBP of .395 and an OPS of 1.134.
Chattanooga Lookouts
July was somewhat the month of dead bats for the Lookouts. The big bats of Joc Pederson, Angelo Songco and Brian Cavazos-Galvez were among the missing. Rafael Ynoa was not his usual self with the bat, Yasiel Puig was tearing it up with the Dodgers, Sean Burroughs never did heat up and Jon Garcia cooled down. The choice became a contest between two unlikely candidates – Matt Wallach (c) and Miguel Rojas (SS). With a close set of July statistics, Matt Wallach gets the nod because of having similar stats with 20 fewer at bats. Wallach batted .291, scoring 4 runs, with 5 RBI and a .361 OBP in 55 at bats.
Albuquerque Isotopes
Matt Angle has had a very successful July but his stick work has been trumped by two of his teammates – shortstop Dee Gordon and outfielder Nick Buss. Buss, the Dodger Pride winner with the Isotopes in June continued his good hitting. His July line reads: .333 BA, 16 runs, 30 hits, 4 home runs, 23 RBI, .400 OBP, .944 OPS. Dee Gordon made significant gains in July over June in an almost identical number of at bats with Buss. His batting average, hits, stolen bases, OBP and OPS all improved significantly. His BB/K ratio also improved to 19/17. His line reads: .350 BA, 18 runs, 35 hits, 8 RBI, 18 SB, .450 OBP, .880 OPS. Since Nick Buss won the award in June and Dee Gordon has shown a marked improvement at the plate, I would reward Dee with the July Pride Award.
RT @Think_BlueLA: New post – DOTF – July Dodger Pride Awards Predictions – Position Players
Harold, you are a prophet – both Seager and Trinkwon were promoted late last night; Seager to Advanced-A Rancho Cucamonga and Trinkwon to Low-A Great Lakes.
Well played, sir, well played.
I would like to see Adam Law moved to the Raptors from the AZL. However, Alex Santana, 19, is hitting quite well with the Raptors and plays third base.
Adam Law had three hits in Ogden last night.