Talent Runs Deep In Dodgers’ Double-A Tulsa Rotation
Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman called the pitching staff that started the season at Double-A Tulsa the “deepest and most talented” group he has ever seen in the minor leagues.
“I think up and down the staff there are a great number of guys who are going to pitch in the big leagues for a number of years,” Friedman said.
The group didn’t stay together for long. Righthanders Emmet Sheehan and Landon Knack were promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City in June.
Before he could even throw a pitch in Triple-A, Sheehan was called up to Los Angeles and pitched six hitless innings in his debut.
Still in Double-A and dominating hitters were righthanders Nick Frasso, River Ryan, Nick Nastrini and Kyle Hurt. Seventy-five games into the season, Drillers pitchers led the Texas League in ERA (4.01), strikeouts and opponent average (.214).
“The first and most obvious thing is . . . they’re all bringing major league stuff to the table,” Friedman said. “All do it in slightly different ways and are at varying stages of their development.”
Friedman called the 26-year-old Knack the most advanced of the group with a better handle on some of the “finer points of pitching.” But it was the 23-year-old Sheehan who won the race to the majors with “some of the best stuff I’ve seen in the minor leagues,” including a fastball that hitters have found uniquely difficult to hit.
The Dodgers collected the talented group in a variety of ways. None were first-round picks. Just three were even Dodger draft picks—Knack the highest of the trio as a 2020 second-rounder. Nastrini and Sheehan were 2021 draft picks in the fourth and sixth rounds.
Frasso, Hurt and Ryan were acquired in trades with the Blue Jays, Marlins and Padres.
“I think them all being on the same team at the same time is more coincidental,” Friedman said.
“But them all being in our organization at the same time speaks to our amateur scouting group, our pro scouting department, our player development group and just how talented each of them are and how well they work together.”
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
— Double-A Tulsa manager Scott Hennessey has taken a medical leave of absence after being diagnosed with stage 3 squamous cell carcinoma, a curable form of skin cancer. Hennessey has begun treatment for the illness, and doctors believe it has not spread from beyond the initial area in his neck where it was detected. Hennessey was set to begin a seven-week program of chemotherapy and radiation treatments in late June. The 52-year-old Hennessey has been the Drillers’ manager since 2017.
— Outfielder Andy Pages was promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City for the first time in mid May. But he played only one game before having season-ending surgery for a torn labrum in his shoulder. Pages is expected to be back to full strength in time for 2024 spring training. The 22-year-old hit .284 with a .925 OPS—but just three home runs—in 33 games for Double-A Tulsa before his promotion.
