Spring Training Options?

With under three weeks left until Opening Day, Spring Training is in full effect and teams across the league are starting to mold their Opening Day rosters. Of course, lots of players will remain on the major league squad, this post is going to talk about a guy that I think should get a shot at the major league team.

It’s hard not being able to watch Dodgers Spring Training games due to the ridiculous TV deal that was signed a few years back but, I have been able to follow some players and notice how they have been doing in the games. Andrew Toles, Logan Forsythe and Jake Peter are doing absolutely stellar. Now you may be asking yourself, “who is Jake Peter? I’ve never heard of him.” Jake Peter was a “no name” player that came from the White Sox in the trade deal that sent Luis Avilan to Chicago and Trevor Oaks to Kansas City and Kansas City sending Scott Alexander to Los Angeles. Peter was an obvious add in to the deal however he was ranked the White Sox #16 prospect. The only downside is that the White Sox organization has a plethora of talented soon to be superstars and Jake Peter was somewhat being overlooked.

Fast forward to Spring Training with the Dodgers. A handful of Dodger players came down with an illness and were forced to miss a few games. In comes Jake Peter. This spring, Peter has hit .375 with three home runs and eleven rbi’s. All this in just eighteen plate appearances! Very good results coming from a player that was supposed to be an “eh you can take him if you want him” type of player.

Now lets take this and see where Jake Peter fits in. He can play all infield positions and all outfield positions. Unfortunately for him, center is out of the question with Chris Taylor being the fielder. Right field is no mans land because of Puig’s superb defensive skills. This leaves left field open to fight for. I say fight because Peter has to compete with Matt Kemp, Joc Pederson and Andrew Toles for the starting spot in left. Unless the Dodgers trade Matt Kemp before Opening Day (which I don’t think will happen) Peter may have to join Pederson and Toles in Triple-A Oklahoma City.

With respect to the current Dodgers team, the future of the Dodgers is in very good shape. I don’t see the Dodgers getting a 3rd consecutive Rookie of the Year award in Alex Verdugo or Walker Buehler, not because they aren’t talented enough but because I don’t think they will get enough playing time during the regular season. In the long term, I do see a Rookie of the Year award in DJ Peters. Peters is a 6’7″ slugger who just recently won the 2017 California League MVP award with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. He reminds me of Cody Bellinger but with more power if you can imagine that, and both have won the Cal League MVP with the Quakes.

As always, thank you for reading and I hope you’ll continue to read. Don’t forget to comment with your thoughts or ask me questions about certain topics regarding the Dodgers or baseball in general!