Brett de Geus Looks Like A 33rd-Round Find

The odds of finding a future major leaguer in the 33rd round of the draft are not very good.

But the Dodgers might have found a late-round gem in 6-foot-2 righthander Brett de Geus. The 1,000th player drafted in 2017, de Geus put up eye-catching numbers in 2019 and was chosen for the Arizona Fall League’s all-star game in October.

“That was a great job by (area scout) Tom Kunis and (scouting advisor) Paul Cogan. They worked really hard to track this guy,” farm director Will Rhymes said. “They were there and saw flashes of the athleticism and the arm strength. They just saw something in him and really stayed on him . . .

“And Brett kind of invested in himself last year. He lived in LA, worked out at the stadium, had a really good offseason. We had a lot of guys take steps forward this year. I don’t know that anyone took a bigger step forward than Brett.”

Drafted out of Cabrillo (Calif.) JC, de Geus’ first professional exposure didn’t go well. He ran up a 7.26 ERA in 62 innings at Rookie-level Ogden in 2018. But he emerged a different pitcher in 2019 after shifting to the bullpen.

de Geus recorded eight saves, a 1.75 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 62.1 innings between low Class A Great Lakes and high Class A Rancho Cucamonga.

Rhymes described de Geus’ arsenal as a “legit three-pitch mix” with a fastball in the mid-to-upper 90s, a cut fastball that looks a lot like a slider and a curveball. The 22-year-old has shown good control—he walked 1.9 per nine innings during the season—and an understanding of pitching advanced for his age and experience.

“It’s a pretty big arsenal and . . . the bat-missing, the ability to induce ground balls paired with the strike-throwing is a pretty good combination,” Rhymes said.

“It’s kind of rare to see a guy go out with a three-pitch mix where all play above-average and be able to execute them all and work them off each other at that age. It’s what gives him the opportunity to move faster than most because the execution is so good.”

L.A. CONFIDENTIAL

— The Dodgers sent a pair of first-round picks to the Arizona Fall League. Outfielder Jeren Kendall (2017) and first baseman Michael Busch (2019) played for Glendale. Coming off a second straight season at high Class A Rancho Cucamonga, Kendall hit .210 with two home runs and 31 strikeouts in 62 at-bats. Busch was 3-for-13 with a home run and nine walks in five games.