Dodgers Territory - Sheehan, River Ryan Conversation? Next Big Dodgers Prospects

Episode Date: June 8, 2026

Baseball America's Josh Norris joins to talk Dodgers prospects! But first, Alanna Rizzo, Katie Woo, and Clint Pasillas dive into the good and the bad from the weekend against the Angels. (2:56) Roki S...asaki took another huge stride forward. Is it stuff, confidence, or both for Roki? (9:53) Emmet Sheehan was pulled early in his Sunday start against Anaheim and the bullpen imploded thereafter. What are our concern levels with Sheehan and this recent run for the LA bullpen? The hosts discuss. (14:24) A new top-100 MLB prospects list has dropped over at baseballamerica.com. Prospects expert Josh Norris joins to share his insight on the next wave of big names for the Dodgers, including Jose De Paula, Mike Sirota, James Tibbs III and more! 🌶️ To explore coverage, visit aspcapetinsurance.com/FOUL. The ASPCA® is not an insurer and is not engaged in the business of insurance. Subscribe on YouTube!https://www.youtube.com/@DodgersTerritory  Follow our social media channels for more content!https://x.com/LADTerritory https://www.instagram.com/ladterritory/ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61578546105253  Check out DT merch at https://dodgersterritoryshop.com Support Guidry's Guardian at https://guidrysguardian.org Find Clint on YouTube at https://youtube.com/@alldodgers Follow Katie's work at The Athletic https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/author/katie-woo/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey guys, it's us The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.
Starting point is 00:00:08 We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.
Starting point is 00:00:27 Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. This is Michael Rappaport. and my podcast, the I Am Rap Report stereo podcast, is unlike anyone you've ever heard. If you're looking for strong opinions about sports, entertainment, politics,
Starting point is 00:00:40 pop culture, and whatever else catches my attention, then subscribe now. This kid, Jafar Jackson, should absolutely positively get nominated for his portrayal as Michael Jackson. Listen to I Am Rap Report on the I Heart Radio app, Apple
Starting point is 00:00:56 podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Every family has its secrets. But what happens when you discover that your dad has been living a double life? That is not the look of an innocent man. Is everyone lying to me about who they are? I felt such desperation. I felt it was what I had to do.
Starting point is 00:01:19 Listen to Deep Cover the Family Man on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You all want to know. where the heck River Ryan is. And I understand because when you look at the potential of this player and River Ryan's ceiling, I think he's probably the most exciting prospect in the Dodgers system right now. Welcome to a brand new episode of Dodgers Territory, Alana Rizzo, Katie Wu, Clint Paseas with you. Happy that you guys are here. Thanks so much.
Starting point is 00:02:02 Get your comments in the chat. We want to hear from you, of course. Rate us five stars. Like and subscribe as we make our way to 20,000 subscribers. We're trying to get there. We're doing our darned this. trying to get there. We appreciate you guys doing that and spreading the word,
Starting point is 00:02:16 part of the Fowel Territory Network, of course. And don't forget, you can buy all of our stuff. Go to Dodgers Territory Shop.com for all of the latest in gear and goods. It supports us. It supports the show. We appreciate it. And do not forget today, June 8th, 2 p.m. Pacific, 5 p.m. Eastern. It is the first happy hour, the first Dodgers Territory happy hour for all of our members.
Starting point is 00:02:42 You can still become a member. $3.99 a month gets you exclusive access to us. Member shoutouts, members only polls, all of the things just specifically for this group of fans that support us. And really $3.99 a month. Plus you get discounts at the store too. So it's an easy way to get the inside goods. All right. Let's get to the big ticket, guys.
Starting point is 00:03:06 Dodgers taken two of three from the Angels in Anaheim, lose Sunday in an ugly fashion. But let's talk about the positive first. what's your biggest positive takeaway from the Angels, the I-5 series, if you will? Nobody calls it that. For what we're, you know, being transparent here, we don't call it that. It is the freeway series. Listen, you got to feel good taking two or three against the Angels. You got to feel bad about the way they lost on Sunday.
Starting point is 00:03:33 But great start from Roki Sasaki continues to build and get better and better. Very interested in Katie's view of Roki Sasaki in a minute. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, another. good start after he had a run of kind of struggling there, puts together a great start. What you're supposed to do against the Angels, eight innings, two hits, one earned, four K's trying to get the strikeout ball going a little bit again for him. But Yoshi doing ace things against the bad team. Joey Otani, of course, takes it to his former ball club.
Starting point is 00:04:04 Dalton rushing gets off the Schneide in the power department, hitting a big three-run Homer, breaking a 26-game homerless streak. A lot of good stuff in there. Freddie Freeman in a minute, but Katie, I'm interested your view of Rokey Sasaki. You're at that game and 10 strikeouts, career high, seven innings, another good start against those halos. What you think? Yeah, can I get a buy Lila Roki in the chat as the unofficial president of the Patience for Roki fan club? I'm not taking a victory lap here, but Roki might as well, because we've seen a completely different pitcher throughout the month of May and into early June.
Starting point is 00:04:40 And it was funny on Friday, we talked to Dave Roberts before the game, and I asked him, you know, you've been very cautious with Roki and pulling him in the six, pitch limit aside and just making sure that he's leaving each start on a positive note. Do you feel like it's time to push him? And Dave Roberts said, you know, yeah, I think that's the next step for Roki is when he gets into, you know, later in the games. Can we push him to see if he comes out of that next step? So to see Roki take the seventh in a zero, zero ball game and he came out there,
Starting point is 00:05:06 that to me was Dave Roberts testing Roki. Roki aced it. I mean, the way that he was attacking hitters in that seventh inning, a lot of times, especially again, in a tight ball game, no score, you'll see pitchers get kind of cute, although I'll try to fine-tune some pitches and he'll try to attack differently. Roki stepped up his game to another level and attacked in the zone, a lot of confidence.
Starting point is 00:05:26 He's really trusting his fastball, the Velo is back. He leaves to a well-deserved standing ovation. And I think we are now starting to see the trust-the-process results of Roki Sasaki, because over the last six starts, he's been fantastic. And we asked Friday Freeman after the game, is this kind of what you expected from Roki? And I thought Freddie's answer was interesting. He said, it's not all we expected, it's what we heard.
Starting point is 00:05:48 And I think the reason that we all know about Roki's pedigree and coming over from Japan, the hype, the status, but we forget sometimes he is so young, he is still technically a pitching prospect. So for him to come over the last month, make significant strides and now start to look at the type of pitcher the Dodgers we're hoping to get. I mean, the ceiling is so high for this guy. And we're continuing to see Roki build more and more across the board. super encouraging for him and the Dodgers.
Starting point is 00:06:13 Yeah, we wanted some improvement year over year, and we're seeing that. We're not only seeing it year over year with him, we're seeing it start after start. He continues to head in the right direction, and it's great to see the confidence also on an uptick as his stuff is also on an uptick as well. Don't forget, guys, I wanted to mention Josh Norris of Baseball America
Starting point is 00:06:32 is going to be joining us shortly to talk about all of the prospects, the Dodgers' top prospects coming up. But another positive from the freeway series, Clint, Um, Yoshinob Yamamoto, uh, another strong performance from him on Saturday, eight innings, two hits, one earned four Ks. Yeah, Yama, like I said, he had a downstretch there where, uh, I got the numbers in front of me. Let's pull him up real quick because I was doing that.
Starting point is 00:06:57 And then I didn't get a chance to finish it. Anyways, he gave up. I think it was like three earned, three earned four, five, something like that. He had a tough stretch, but he's been locked back in being the ace that, you know, Dodgers are paying a lot of money for. He is the ace of the staff. They got a lot of aces. but Yamamoto is a guy that will put this team on his right shoulder when they need it,
Starting point is 00:07:16 and love seeing him get back on track. But I think we know the pitching is good for this organization, guys, or at least at the big league level right now. Katie, what I really enjoy is Freddie Freeman, what he's doing. It's not even getting back on track. This is Freddie. This is the Freddie that we're waiting for for a majority of the season. There's a reason why I'm making him today's Fandul Daily Dinger pick,
Starting point is 00:07:41 know what we're going to do we're going to do this oh we're going to do a little bit graphics we're going to have some stuff shout out fanduel uh for being uh presenting sponsor of this segment of the show but freddie freeman had five hits in this series of course as we get all the right buttons in the right places uh five hits in the series had the walk off on friday to make the roki saki start that much better because it's always better when you win but he's been on fire since the start of may katie and it feels like again um the rumors of his age which are not rumors, but the rumors of his demise greatly exaggerated when it comes to Freddie Freeman. No way. Online rumors and speculation greatly exaggerated. I've never heard of that before in my life.
Starting point is 00:08:23 You know, as I'm becoming more and more familiar with this team, there is one player who, you know, potential game winning situation as an opposing fan I don't want to see in the box. And that's Freddie Freeman. He is Mr. Walkoff. No one does walk-offs like Freddie. It was really cool Friday after that fantastic Rokey start to see him hit that walk-off Homer and the entire stadium is chanting Freddie so loud that you couldn't even see what he was saying to Kirsten Watson post game on the post game score on the scoreboard
Starting point is 00:08:49 like and this is a game against the Angels in June. It is so fun for me to see Freddie Freeman just kind of hit his stride again especially with the top of the order struggling. We still haven't seen the best version of Kyle Tucker nor Mookie Betts. So for Freddie Freeman to look like Freddie Freeman Mr. Walkoff on Friday. Love
Starting point is 00:09:05 it. Fully expect him to carry it into this road trip against the pirates and the White Sox. I love Freddie. I just think he's getting back to the consistency. I think one thing that is sometimes detrimental to players is the constant tinkering. And I think the one thing about Freddie is he's been so consistent over the course of his entire career. And we know at length the discussions we've had about him being upset that he didn't finish his career average last year, 300 or above.
Starting point is 00:09:31 But I think he's just kind of getting back to, and I'm not going to try to break down the mechanics of his swing. But he's getting back to what's worked for him in the past and what he's, relied on. And one thing about Freddie Freeman is I never worry about this guy just because he is Mr. Consistency. He's the guy that doesn't want to be out of the lineup. He's the guy that's always going to post. His defense never takes a day off as you saw that unbelievably incredible play between Miguel Rojas and Freddie. Every time a guy goes down that goes down like that in the splits at first base, like I just, I want to go to the hospital. It looks like it hurts so badly. I'm like, how does he do this? But again, his defense never takes a day off and offensively, he's
Starting point is 00:10:09 He's just getting back to, you know, what's made him a first ballot Hall of Fame player, in my opinion. So it's great to see Freddie Freeman doing Freddie Freeman things, but he's a guy. He's like Justin Turner for me. He's a guy like I just never really worried about just because his back of his baseball card is that way for a reason. And there's more black type on there than there's not. So Freddie Freeman is a Hall of Fame person, Hall of Fame player. But the MLB season is in full swing. Fan duel is giving you a chance to call your shot with Daily Dingers.
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Starting point is 00:11:05 Opt-in, required, bonus issued. As non-withdrawable, profit boost tokens, restrictions apply, including any token expiration and max-wager amount. See terms at sportsbook.fandul.com. Gambling problem call or text, 1-800 gambler. All right, the big ticket continues, guys. Back to the Angels series. Sunday got away from the Dodgers, a very short Sheehan start.
Starting point is 00:11:30 Emmett Sheehan, that is, one-in-third innings. What do you guys see? Katie, we'll start with you. Emmett Sheean. I mean, it's bound to happen to everybody. What did you see? I think all across the board, a bad game was due for everyone involved. For Emmett Sheean, I understand the quick trigger with Dave Roberts.
Starting point is 00:11:45 No manager is going to let any starter throw 40 plus pitches in an inning. So to get him out of there, certainly disappointing, but I'm really not going to put too much talk into it because Emmett Sheehan has looked really good. He's coming off arguably his best start against the debacks. He was due for a clunker. The Dodgers bullpen also due for a clunker. They've been so good. Lights out in May.
Starting point is 00:12:03 We talked about that scoreless streak. they've hit a little bit of a little bit of a slide here but that's to be expected um i'm not overwhelmingly worried about either party i think it was just a bad game and you know again i'm not going to sweat over a sunday loss to the angels we've already wrapped up the series and have played some very very good baseball over the last six weeks katy one of the things i wonder about is uh you know if we're looking at six dudes in this dodger starting rotation right now shean is the worst one and he's still very very, very solid. He's for the greater part, given this team innings and all of that. But as we get towards welcoming Josh Norris in a second to talk about prospects, a lot of people really want
Starting point is 00:12:44 to see River Ryan at the big league level. Do you think there's going to be a point where the Dodgers maybe, I don't even know if there's a concern level when it comes to Sheehan, but do you want to start seeing what River Ryan can give you again at the big league level? They've only seen four games three years ago at this point, I think it is. You kind of need to see what you have in this dude so you know whether or not you need to be active, exceptionally active at the trade deadline, maybe move some of the prospects we're going to talk about shortly in a deal for a Terrick Scoobel. Yes, I mentioned it this time. I hate talking about the schoolable trade stuff. Not coming. It's not happening. Is it sort of like a grass is maybe greener on the other side
Starting point is 00:13:24 with River Ryan time? Well, Clint, thank you for the perfect segue for me to promote our newest mailbag on the athletic, myself, Fabine Ardaya, answered all your athletic subscriber questions. So part one is up today, part two is up tomorrow. And wouldn't you know it? You all want to know where the heck River Ryan is. And I understand, because when you look at the potential of this player and River Ryan's ceiling, I think he's probably, you know,
Starting point is 00:13:46 I'll call on the prospect, the most exciting prospect in the Dodger system right now. But there is a big difference between building up a player or a pitcher from a pitch limit workload to building up a foundation. Right now, River Ryan and AAA has six innings on lock. I think he's back-to-back starts of six innings. He's had the pitch count. He has built up to a starting pitcher's workload at the major league level. Where the Dodgers feel he has not built up is his foundation with his strength and making sure that he can avoid injury for the long term.
Starting point is 00:14:16 River Ryan, unfortunately, so far, career has been pretty, there's been a lot of injuries there. The Dodgers want to make sure that when he comes up to the majors, because we will see River Ryan at some point this season, he's there to start. day. There is no good rushing him up after four starts in the minors when this is a guy who has thrown a hundred plus innings just once in his professional career and he has not had a lot of innings over the last two seasons combined Tommy John aside. So 23, 24. You're building him up more than just your can you take a start every week workload. You're working up the long-term foundation. So they're going to keep him in AAA until they believe they can get there because they think that River Ryan can be a true weapon for them in the second half of the season, at least in the rotation and maybe
Starting point is 00:14:57 even depending how that bullpen looks like coming out of relief. Can you imagine River Ryan in a short stint and that velo? But there's no good in having that if you risk it in June coming up when they don't necessarily need him. They signed it or they traded for Eric Lauer for a reason. They want to make sure that River Ryan is full strength ready to go to be a legitimate threat for the long term. They need that much more in September than they do in June.
Starting point is 00:15:19 So I hate this word of the fan. We've talked about this before. Patience is required with River Ryan. But when we talk about him being built up, I strongly encourage everyone to look at the other definition of being built up because, yes, he is built to a pitching limit or a pitching innings workload. But the Dodgers want to see more of that strength, more of that foundation, so that when he comes up, he has the less chance of getting injured again.
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Starting point is 00:16:06 Osiaga, 26. Every day you listen is another chance to win. Hey, it's us to Jonas Brothers, and guess what? We have some big news. What's the news, new? Huge news. We created our own podcast called, Hey, Jonas. We invented a podcast?
Starting point is 00:16:21 Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a... We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts. trend. But this one's extra special. So how did we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember. I think it was on a call about what we should call it.
Starting point is 00:16:38 Oh, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey Jonas. and then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.
Starting point is 00:17:04 Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. This is Michael Rappaport, and my podcast, the I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast, is unlike anyone you've ever heard. We're a variety show, and if you're looking for strong opinions,
Starting point is 00:17:22 funny opinions about sports, entertainment, politics, pop culture, and whatever else catches my attention, then subscribe now. This kid, Jafar Jackson, is as good as Rami Malik as Freddie Mercury, and it's as good as Timothy Shamaulay as Bob Dylan. And I say that with love and respect for both of those actors. And I don't know how many Oscar nominations they give out, I don't know if it's five, six for best actor. 150% this kid Jafar Jackson should absolutely positively get nominated for his portrayal as Michael Jackson.
Starting point is 00:18:00 Listen to I Am Rap Report on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. It's a lot of information. And the mailbag. Check it out. That Katie Wu just threw down at us. Check her out. You guys, check out the mailbag again, Katie and Fabian Ardaya on. on this. All right, it is time now to welcome in Josh Norris, baseball America expert talking all
Starting point is 00:18:29 things Dodgers prospects. Great to be with you, Josh. Thank you so much for being here. We always appreciate the insight. I'm going to start with the new top 100 prospects list out, of course, at Baseball America. We're not going to give away the list. We're not going to do any spoilers. I'll let you talk about who you'd like. Six Dodgers, though, in the top 104 of those in the top 50. What can you tell us? This is on me. You got a lot of really good outfield. Sorry, now you're good.
Starting point is 00:18:54 You've got a lot of really. Okay. They've got a lot of outfielders, and they've got a lot of really good outfielders, which is going to give them a lot of flexibility here in a couple weeks, months, at the trade deadline. They've got two, three, borderline elite ones, depending on how you want to define elite.
Starting point is 00:19:10 I'll spoil it for everyone. It's Oswey DePaula at number five, Mike Strota at number 17, and Eduardo Quintero at number 20. And at last check, those last two guys were both. running on base streaks of between 30 and like 45 games. So that's pretty nice start to have. And then to have Emil Morales, Zaire Hope, and Charles Davalon all on the list too. That's a really enviable position to be in.
Starting point is 00:19:36 And like I said, it's going to give them a lot of flexibility both at the deadline and in the future. Some of these guys are probably not going to be Dodgers. Some of them are. And it's up to their evaluators to figure out which ones are which. and they have a lot of extraordinarily talented evaluators in their system. You know, everybody talks about the financial advantages the Dodgers have and how they use it on players, but they also use it a lot on guys or smart baseball people who can scout, and that's how they get a guy like a Mike Sorota in a smaller deal,
Starting point is 00:20:10 and he becomes one of the best outfield prospects in baseball. It's how you get a guy like a hostway DePaul, and he becomes one of the best outfield prospects in baseball. And I could go on. So, you know, in the next couple of months, it's going to be very interesting to see which guys I'm writing about in the 2027 handbook and which guys might be on a different one of my colleagues chapters.
Starting point is 00:20:30 Well, Josh, we look at the Dodgers and their prospect list in general, but their outfield specifically, as we talked about, is stacked. One guy everyone wants up at the big leagues right now, though, James Tibbs III. He's not in the top 100. What kept him off that list? In-zone miss is a problem for him for one. And there's some other stuff there.
Starting point is 00:20:51 There's, I don't know, how to dance around it. There's some stuff they want him to work on. I'll just leave it there. Also, the injury that he's got going on, and he started to get back from it, I believe, is a little bit of the problem. But we're not universally sold on him. There's other writers out there.
Starting point is 00:21:10 It's their top 100. We have six or seven people contributing at any given time, and it's, you know, if four of us don't agree on it, let's say there are seven of us in the meeting, then he's not going to be on. We want to see a little bit more from him in terms of the in-zone miss rate getting better. He's extraordinarily streaky. He's on a hot streak right now, but he went almost a month without a home run after that initial barrage. So let's see a little more consistency, a little more defensive value, and a little more, a little less in zone miss.
Starting point is 00:21:43 Yeah, I've definitely heard a lot about the swing and, miss with James Tibbs. Everybody sees the homers, obviously the social media side for the Oklahoma City Comments. It's a great job of highlighting all 18 of those bombs, but I need to see a little bit more consistently, a little bit more defensive versatility or prowess in the outfield. We know the outfielers are the biggest, I guess, shine for the Dodgers prospects for the minor leagues right now. This organization has been phenomenal for the last few years is on the pitching side. I don't feel like it is a strength right now down at the pitching level or down to my league level pitching wise for the Dodgers what's kind of I don't know it's a stunted growth thing or
Starting point is 00:22:27 maybe they just had so much success over the last five or six years that now they're kind of coming back down to earth but some of their guys like Jackson Ferris felt like a can't miss dude a year ago now he's struggling with an ERA north of seven what's kind of going on with the pitching and maybe is it more of like the numbers aren't quite telling the whole story or is the fact that none of them are on the top 100 right now telling a bit more of a story? Well, I think, you know, I did a story in the beginning of the year where I said, this is the first time our initial top 100, I think maybe since I've been alive, and I'm 41 years old, that there has not been a Dodger on the top 100 prospects to open the season.
Starting point is 00:23:11 So it's been a while. And part of that was we change our graduation rules if Roki Sasaki He had been still eligible. He would have been on it to start the year, but that's either here nor there. The biggest problem in the early going is a lot of these guys either were hurt. River Ryan was hurt for a little while or hadn't been throwing strikes. And they've gotten a lot better in that regard, but nobody was performing outside of, you know, guys here. It says WADA was probably the best of the bunch.
Starting point is 00:23:37 Zach Root has turned it on of late. He wasn't going particularly deep into games. You know, we wrote him up for the hot sheet today. Go check that out at Baseball America. But he's gone like three or four out or innings every time maximum. And then this last one, he went seven. So the leash is off, and he's definitely a guy you could see in the top 100 sometimes soon. I know we've gotten plugs from outside evaluators saying he should be on the list or in consideration for certain.
Starting point is 00:24:04 And we should have three guys graduate today. We're going to have a few more graduate in the next couple weeks. So he definitely has a chance. But the strikes are the root of the issue right now. and there's been a lot of the higher profile guys who just weren't throwing them. And you mentioned Ferris, you know, obviously he's been injured too. So it's just kind of a little bit of a mix of circumstances there. And also, you know, the class to get Roki Sasaki was kind of winnowed.
Starting point is 00:24:29 You know, you've done all your money on Sasaki. You didn't sign virtually anybody else. And you guys draft lower. And sometimes you just, you don't have as many picks or as high picks as other clubs. And that's the silver lining. That's the one fall from winning the World Series so often. I think you'll take that. Josh, as many times as people are talking about Tibbs and wondering when we're going to see him,
Starting point is 00:24:55 I think on the pitching side, people are continuing to clamor for River Ryan. He's in the club's top 30, but he's not in Major League Baseball's Top 100. But it feels like you can make an argument about him being one of the better pitching prospects in baseball. Are we too high on him? What are we missing when it comes to River Ryan, if anything? Well, I think Katie just kind of personaliquy there, kind of summed up everything I'm going to say, which is, you know, he hadn't been going very long in the games.
Starting point is 00:25:22 His injury history precedes him. He's, you know, I think he's at 24 innings right now, which is four innings of the total he threw two years ago. But the dance they're going to have to do is getting him up not only to a big league starter workload, or at least the bulk reliever's workload, but getting him to the point where they can be comfortable with him eventually going 100 innings or 150 innings. He too had injury issues this year.
Starting point is 00:25:46 So that's the thing. You've got to keep him healthy. The stuff is unquestioned, but it's keeping him healthy. And it's hard to see right now getting to a point where he can consistently go five, six innings and outing if you need it. I understand he's been going six in each of his last two. But how does that workload look once you've done? get into July and August and you're bumping up against more innings that he's thrown in a while. It's kind of a tough needle that Dodgers pitching development people have to thread.
Starting point is 00:26:17 So I'm interested to see where it goes, and that's another guy that I do expect him to some point this year, and I don't expect to be writing about him next year because he's got 30-something inning that he's under his belt or however many days to graduate from consideration. So I do expect there's a lot of fewer guys that I'm going to be writing about this coming year that I wrote about this year. Josh, I covered the Cardinals for five years. So I don't have a lot of experience in covering deep farm systems. So when I come and I see the Dodgers and their elite group of outfielders,
Starting point is 00:26:50 it just felt honestly overwhelming that there could be this much talent in one position group. Now, when you're looking at 20-year-old Eduardo Contaro, talent evaluators seem to be very, very high on him. And with this group specifically with the Dodgers, I'm wondering, what do you see with him that makes him such an alluree? prospect? I mean, it's one of those things where you know it when you see it. I'm kind of coincidental. I'm going down to Arizona tomorrow to start looking at the complexes. But I remember two, three years ago at this point going down to the Dodgers complex. And the first swing I saw
Starting point is 00:27:22 from Quintaro, I texted our group and I said, hey, guys, this is going to be a top 50 prospect very soon. It's just that kind of swing that you don't see very often. He started slowly, and that's because it's really, really, really cold in the Midwest League to begin the year. If anybody has success hitters-wise in the Midwest League to begin the year, that's a bonus. But now that it's warmed up, he's crushing it. It's something like a 900 OPS since May 1st. This is the player we thought he would be or I thought he would be. And, you know, threading the needle on kind of splicing these outfielders apart,
Starting point is 00:27:59 if you asked six different people about these outfielders, he probably gets six different answers. Quintaro entered the year as our top guy, and that's because he's more well-rounded than anybody else in the group. DePaul has the highest offensive upside. Zaire Hope shows flashes of his potential. Davalon can really hit. Soroda does it all.
Starting point is 00:28:19 The only question I had about Sorota coming into the year was whether or not he would recover from that knee injury, and it sure looks like he has. And, you know, unfortunately, the guy we're not talking about here who started really well and we're not going to see for a while is Kendall George. So that's another guy that was having a great year. And then what happened happened. But he had risen his talk as well.
Starting point is 00:28:39 But getting back to Quintaro, it's just a really well-rounded package of a prospect. There's not a whole lot he can't do, but there's not one truly outstanding tool on the card. And say, we don't blame the dog, by the way, with Kenny George and his injury. Listen, the dog was doing, it's a hard working pup. It's a hard working pup. We'll leave him alone. Neither. My background involves a lot of bad dogs.
Starting point is 00:29:01 Yeah. Exactly. You get to see that. We need more bad dogs at the big league level. But Josh, you've mentioned Mike Serota a couple of times here, just talking about him there. He's somebody I'm really, really high on between all of the outfield prospects. I feel highest on Mike Sarota. We'll probably talk to Paul in a second. But he's making a lot of noise right now as he moved up to AA. Is it too much to say that this guy is a can't miss kind of prospect? Where are you at with Sarota? Well, I don't believe there's such a thing as it can't miss. I've seen too many players miss and broke my heart. But I'm looking at our hit data on him right now, and green is good on our sheet, and it's pretty much all green. He does just about everything you want in terms of hard hit percentage. He hits it harder more often than even James Tibbs.
Starting point is 00:29:56 He doesn't miss very often. He doesn't chase. He nails fastballs. He hits spin. He gets the ball in the air. He's fair against changeups. He hits lefties. He hits righties.
Starting point is 00:30:08 This is a really good chance big leaguer. And the only thing that maybe is keeping it from a truly well-rounded profile is defense. But this dude can hit, and he's probably going to hit in the big leagues within the next year. Josh, everyone's talking about a Terrick scubel to the Dodgers trade. I don't know that that's going to happen. but if it were going to happen, if Detroit, in fact, was going to send scoobble someplace else, what do you think makes the most sense in terms of farm pieces that would go in terms of that type of haul? Would it be the Dodgers or do you perhaps see another team that makes more sense?
Starting point is 00:30:46 Oh, I think. I mean, there's any number of teams that can play at this table. The Dodgers can obviously say, hey, Detroit, pick two of your outfielders and maybe if you really like it, one of those young controllable starters that isn't a prospect anymore, but, you know, certainly has value. The brewers can play at that table. There's a lot of other, I think the Cardinals could probably do it too. There's any number of teams that are up there.
Starting point is 00:31:11 The Rays probably have the pieces to do it. You just pick your best farm systems who are in contention, and they can probably do it. Like I said, the brewers are super elite right now. They've just got about whatever you want right now. The Rays system is in a good spot too. I think, but yeah, if we're on Dodgers territory, they certainly have the amputation to get it done. I would love to see the...
Starting point is 00:31:38 That said, you know, the rumor lately is that he's not up for sale yet, so we'll see. And I'm looking at that Tiger's standings. Doesn't look great. But, you know, I would love to see the brewers in on this because this would be so un-brewers-like and kind of just like one last hurrah before whatever happens at the CBA. I don't think it'll happen. but I love chaos. So let's get our fingers crossed. One more for you, Josh, and thanks so much for joining us
Starting point is 00:32:06 as we break down all these Dodgers prospects. We've got to talk about the highest one on the top 100, DePaula, hitting the list at number five. When you look at him, what do you think his floor is and more exciting? What's his ceiling? Well, his ceiling is the guy he's been comp to for a billion years. That's hard for a 21-year-old to do.
Starting point is 00:32:26 But your Don Alvarez. I mean, he's that kind of monastic. He can hit, he can hit for power. He has a pretty natural knowledge of the strike zone. It's just about getting him to unleash a little bit more. The defensive value is not going to be particularly large, although it's gotten better. His floor is as a productive big leaguer who hits in the middle of a lineup. His ceiling is superstar.
Starting point is 00:32:50 He's number five on our list for a reason, and you're starting to see hints of it in double A. This last two weeks ago, where he punished a couple of home runs in a game. run under the game. That's what he can do. That's what this kind of prospect is. He's been around so long, but you forget he turned 21 like a week ago. So he's just now getting into his man's body and his man's strength and he's learning to play this game. It's a really scary thought about what he can be. Some of the best hitting prospects weren't fully formed at this age. He's younger than some of the guys you're going to see going in the draft here in a few weeks or so, a month or so. that's the kind of player he is and it's fun to dream on what he will be yeah to see a true honest to god
Starting point is 00:33:35 dodger slugger come up would be fun i would caution dodgers fans be ready for depala to headline some sort of trade for a big piece but we'll deal with that when we get that far josh we appreciate the time here a lot of great stuff uh go check them out check out the work baseball america dot com go subscribe over there by the way also subscribe to their youtube channel uh there's a whole bunch great prospects content there. And I'll tease myself. I direct their hot sheet show that goes out on the TV and all of that kind of stuff.
Starting point is 00:34:05 But Josh, we appreciate the time, man. And we'll talk again soon. Probably around some trade deadline type stuff. Hey, who are these guys going to be moving? But thanks a lot, man. Thank you, nice. All right, guys. We got a little bit more DET to be coming up.
Starting point is 00:34:19 First, we got a word from our friends at Fowell Territory. Then we'll get into Last Lakes. But how about, I probably find button there. My dog Bella would do anything for a treat and I want to give her a treat that will take care of her long term. And a quick message from today's sponsor, the ASPCA pet health insurance program. If you're frantically looking for what to do with your pup when they have an issue, the program offers customizable accident and illness plans making it easier to get your pet the care they need. When you enroll in an ASPCA pet health insurance plan, you can get a $25 Amazon gift card. It's a little treat
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Starting point is 00:35:19 and produced by PTZ Insurance Agency Limited. The ASPCA is not an insurer and is not engaged in the business of insurance. experience. You and a pal in Montreal and Oceaga with four nights at Residence in downtown Montreal. Flights from Porter Airlines, two weekend gold tickets, and $1,000 of cash. Please, Lord, Zara Larson, Tim McRae, Sombor, 21 pilots, and more. Download IHard Radio. Listen to Iheart new music for 10 minutes and enter to win. Oceaga, 2026. Every day you listen is another chance to win. That was a heck of a segue because I have ASPCA insurance for my pup and it's going right into last licks.
Starting point is 00:36:08 This is core, also named Corazon, because he has a heart shaped little, I don't know, his back looks like a heart on his fur. So that's why we called, see? I told you. And that cute. So we called him Corazon, which is heart in Spanish. He is available for adoption. He is currently in San Diego, Texas, but we can get him to you in California. We, of course, do our due diligence and make sure every home that we get our dogs into is the perfect home. We are awaiting his DNA test results, but we assume he's a terrier mix. He's a good boy, and he's healthy and he's young, and he's ready to go home. So if you're interested in learning more about GordaSone, please reach out to giddreysgardian.org.
Starting point is 00:36:49 We appreciate it very much. Okay, guys, baseball thought for the road. One of my favorite cities, I think it's a sneaky underrated city is Pittsburgh, and that is where the Dodgers are headed today to start. started three-game series. You know, third place in the NL Central. Katie, this is a team. Obviously, you've seen quite a bit in your time in that division.
Starting point is 00:37:07 But no team should be overlooked. And this is the pitching matchup. We were all waiting for Eric Lauer versus Paul Skeens on Tuesday. I really like what the pirates are doing. The whole NL Central has been surprising to me after watching five years of maybe not so great baseball. They're a very competitive division. And what the pirates have that not a lot of teams do,
Starting point is 00:37:28 is really, really solid starting pitching. You're seeing Paul Skeens, Jared Jones, Mitch Keller, your probabilities for the Pirates this series. I will not be there. But then again, you'll get Lauer. And then you got Otani and Justin Robleski. So this should be across the board, very well pitched. These are not the pirates that we used to know.
Starting point is 00:37:47 They still have some places to go. They have some places to improve, but they can really pitch. They're pretty lights out. So excited to see what that looks like against the Dodgers lineup. That is still, especially the top of the order, trying to hit their stride. Yeah, it's a good team.
Starting point is 00:38:00 Good team to be hitting your stride against there. And I do like that the pirates are a little bit better. I always want to see the Dodgers. Riz, we've talked about this bunch. Playing slightly better competition helps them. This is a team that's over 500. So that, you know, some fans think Dodgers play down to their competition. But they are in the thick of, you know, a pennant, not a pennant race.
Starting point is 00:38:23 I guess a division race there in the Central. And that's good. That's good for everybody else that took was. Katie leaving the NL Central and they're all. The cooler. Yeah. They figured some things out. But this is an opportunity.
Starting point is 00:38:34 Bare minimum. Bare minimum. You're going to lose that first game. It's Paul Skeens against Eric Lauer. I think maybe the Dodgers could sneak. But you got to take two or three. Just keep winning series. Baby, that's all you got to do.
Starting point is 00:38:45 Winning teams win series, book it. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that we beat Paul Skeens. I'm going to say we take the game against Paul Skeens. Yeah, that's right. I said it. That's right. And I'm not even drinking yet because happy hour isn't until 5 p.m. Eastern.
Starting point is 00:38:56 Hey, hey. Hey, by the way, if anybody is a Dodger fan and you do have the opportunity to go to Pittsburgh to take in this series, PNC is my favorite ballpark in all 30, not Dodger Stadium, calm down. I'm saying not named Dodger Stadium, PNC Park is the most beautiful park in all of baseball. It's flanked by two rivers. It's gorgeous. It's a very walkable city. And you must, you absolutely must, before you go to the game, go to the Roberto Clemente Museum and take that in. It is one of my favorite off days ever in 20 plus years of doing this.
Starting point is 00:39:28 Going to the Roberto Clementsé Museum was absolutely inspiring and wonderful. So please do yourself a favor. Go to that museum. There's a winery in the basement and then go to the game. Is that why? 10 out of 10 off day. No, no. That was just an added bonus.
Starting point is 00:39:45 It's on my list. It's one of the spots I really need to get out to. It's a great city. It's an underrated city. Then when you're done with the game, you can go to Red Beards for the best. wings in Pennsylvania. I'm not on this trip, but I do miss redbeards. See? I mean, look at all that we are offering on this episode of Dodgers territory. All of the things that you can do, just come to us for your information. Don't forget, guys, become a member because we are
Starting point is 00:40:10 having our first happy hour. It is today. Yeah, yeah. Become a member still. Join myself and Katie and Clint at 2 p.m. Pacific, 5 p.m. Eastern today to join us. I will have some fun, some shenanigans. And don't forget to check out our store, Dodgers Territory Shop.com, for all of the stuff. We appreciate you guys very much. Philip Fountain, 874, was I supposed to wait
Starting point is 00:40:34 until 2 p.m. to start drinking? Oops, me. No, not at all. No rules. There was a super chat. I want to make sure we get that in before we say goodbye. With the $5. Development is not linear
Starting point is 00:40:47 and lessen some inpatient people for some impatient. You trust the process. This is in regards to Roki Sasaki. Trust the process. Always believe in the Dodgers. They will figure something out with you. As long as your name is not Noah Sindegard, I think.
Starting point is 00:41:01 Had to feel that. If you win some, you'll lose some. That was beyond repair, beyond reproach. All right, guys, I appreciate you being here. Thank you so much. Don't forget to like and subscribe. And the members, we will see you at 2 p.m. Pacific. Bye.
Starting point is 00:41:13 Bottoms up. The record sold. Awards, sold out tours. You think that Jonas Brothers are satisfied? Nope. It's podcast time. We get to ask other people questions. because we're sick and tired of being asked questions.
Starting point is 00:41:34 Hey Jonas is available now, and their first guest is a big one. Paul Rudd. You know, Steve Carell is a great singer. Can you tell you not to audition at the office or something? I told him. Whoa. We were filming Anchorman. Clearly, I was the idiot.
Starting point is 00:41:46 Thank God he didn't listen to him, right? Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Michael Rappaport, and my podcast, the I Am Rapaport Stereo Podcast is unlike anyone you've ever heard. If you're looking for strong opinions about sports, entertainment, politics, pop culture, and whatever else catches my attention, then subscribe now. This kid Jafar Jackson should absolutely positively get nominated for his portrayal as Michael Jackson. Listen to IMRAP report on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. For years, the unhoused have been presented as a monolith in mainstream media. Weean House is a podcast that's changing the narrative.
Starting point is 00:42:34 I'm Theo Henderson, and I created the show why I was unhoused on the streets of Los Angeles. We've grown into a two-time Webby Award-winning podcast, the only podcast that shares unhoused stories and news from the unhoused perspective. Listen to Weythian House on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

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