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Prospects in the lower levels of the Minors have a long road ahead to the big leagues, but four young position players in the Dodgers' system have been generating a lot of excitement within the organization -- and they share the same outfield. Josue De Paula, Zyhir Hope, Mike Sirota and Kendall George have been making strides in their development with High-A Great Lakes, complementing one another with the different strengths they bring to the Loons' outfield unit. De Paula (MLB Pipeline's No. 2 Dodgers prospect, No. 33 overall) and Hope (Dodgers No. 3, No. 45 overall) are the most well-known of the four. The two 20-year-olds were non-roster invitees to this year's Spring Training, where they impressed in their time around the big league club. "I think that those two guys do a good job of controlling the strike zone," manager Dave Roberts said during spring. "They hit the ball hard. They're very confident, young players. They're very talented, young players. And it's fun to see those guys take advantage of opportunities. They've opened up a lot of eyes, certainly on our side of things." |
Sirota and George are perhaps a tad more under the radar. Sirota (Dodgers No. 19 prospect) was part of the return in the deal that sent Gavin Lux to the Reds this past offseason, and George (No. 13) was the Dodgers' first-round pick in the 2023 Draft. The Dodgers have been impressed with how Sirota, 21, has handled the adjustments that come with being in a new organization. He made his professional debut this year with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, where he hit .354 with a 1.130 OPS in 24 games before being promoted to Great Lakes. The organization wanted to see how Sirota's bat played at Single-A, and didn't quite foresee the hot start that would help him get to High-A -- where he's gone 14-for-32 (.438) and gotten on base at a .500 clip in nine games. "He really impressed with the way he goes about it and works every single day," Dodgers director of player development Matt McGrath said recently. "The swing is real. The at-bat quality is real. I'm not sure any of us saw him going off quite like this to start the year, but he's really confident in his abilities." |
George, meanwhile, has been honing his top tool -- speed -- and understanding how to use it effectively, both on the basepaths and in the field. The 20-year-old George still has room for growth with his swing, but he's a dangerous runner when he gets on base. His 21 stolen bases are tied for second most in the Midwest League, and six of them came in a single game on May 18. "Kendall is probably one of the fastest players in the Minor Leagues," McGrath said. "I think he's really understood how to use that as a weapon, both with his continued progress defensively and then as he continues to kind of get the swing into a good place, where he's both able to damage the ball and also use the speed as a weapon on the basepaths, too." |
De Paula, Hope, Sirota and George all have their own strengths, but the standout quality of the four of them collectively has been the way they've already pushed each other to be better. They work together in the cages and in the field, where they're learning each other's tendencies and becoming a unit defensively. At this stage in their development, they're at least a couple of years away from the Majors. If or when they get there, there's no guarantee that all four will still be sharing an outfield, given that decisions at the big league level dictate what happens with an organization's prospects. For the time being, the interplay between De Paula, Hope, Sirota and George has the Dodgers excited about how they will continue to grow. "There's some level of a friendly competition, where it's four really talented players who are both rooting for one another and also kind of out there being like, 'Hey, I want to go show up today, too,'" McGrath said. "It's just really cool to see four really talented players who are all very good, and also pushing each other to be better every single day, too." |
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Last Wednesday, the Dodgers teamed up with Will and Cara Smith's Catching Hope Foundation to host the second annual Catching Hope Community Clinic at Dodger Stadium. There were 200 students from Manhattan Place Elementary School in attendance for the clinic, which featured on-field stations as well as STEM-based activities to promote health, wellness, learning -- and of course, having fun. Blake Treinen, Jack Dreyer, Andy Pages and Dalton Rushing were on hand alongside the Smiths to help out. "I used to be a first grade teacher, so seeing kids out here just enjoying and having fun is, I mean, what it's all about," Cara Smith said in a video posted on the Dodgers' social media. "Education is fun, so that's kind of what we're here doing, showing them that you can learn, but also have a lot of fun doing it." |
The Dodgers return home on Friday, when they'll open a three-game set against the Yankees -- a rematch of the 2024 World Series. After that, the Dodgers will complete their season series with the Mets, to whom they dropped two of three in Queens over the weekend. There will be two giveaways on the upcoming homestand: a Tommy Edman bobblehead on Monday, and a Sandy Koufax Brooklyn Dodgers jersey on Wednesday. For the Dodgers' full promotional schedule, click here. |
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