Los Angeles Dodgers announce Arizona Fall League roster: an overview

The Arizona Fall League rosters have been released this week with a lot of intriguing prospects on each team. There are six teams full of prospects from teams that will play starting October 6th. I’ll be writing an article and making Twitter posts about each team’s roster. This will cover the Los Angeles Dodgers who are on the Glendale Desert Dogs this fall. The team will consist of players from the Braves, Cardinals, Dodgers, and White Sox organizations too. This will be the first article for the team.

Los Angeles Dodgers:

Justin Chambers LHP: Acquired in January 2024 from the Brewers in exchange for Bryan Hudson Chambers has been struggling with injuries since joining the Dodgers organization. Last season he was recovering from Tommy John Surgery and was only able to pitch 3.2 innings in the Complex League while this year he’s moved up to A ball but still has only pitched 35 innings this year. He doesn’t have the most overpowering stuff right now but after just turning 20 the 6’2” 212 lbs lefty still can grow into his body. He’s still been pretty solid throughout this season, he’s pitched 20 innings out of the bullpen in A ball this season to a 2.70 ERA and 3.10 FIP. He has a 29.3% strikeout rate but his walk rate is 11%. He’s struggled with walks in his limited innings in the Complex League too. It’ll be great to get some Statcast data this fall to see how much his pitches have improved. 

Hyun-Seok Jang RHP: The South Korean prospect was signed by the Dodgers in 2023 for $900,000. The 21 year old is really explosive with some really good secondaries but he isn’t able to throw them for strikes consistently which has made hitters sit on his fastball that has dropped in velocity and only sits at 94 mph now. He’s allowed some harder contact but mostly his problem has come from walks. Through an injury riddled season this year Jang has made 13 starts and pitched 40.2 innings where he’s walked 18.3% of batters. He does have a strong strikeout rate at 30.9% but he’s been unable to find the zone and less hitters are chasing his pitches. His CSW% has dropped from 3.7% last season to only 26.1% this year and his swinging strike percentage has dropped 8% to only 12%. I’m guessing the Dodgers are wanting to get him as many innings as possible this fall and hopefully work on him throughout the offseason because with these numbers Jang won’t be able to continue to start much longer. 

Alex Makarewich RHP: The Dodgers have something with Makarewich. The 2-pitch reliever has some nasty stuff with a fastball that touches 100 mph and a curveball that sits in the high 80s with nasty movement. Makarewich's problem is he has no control of either pitch. This is something that has gone back to his college years at Northwestern State and has been seen at every level for the Dodgers. This season after 13 innings in low A he was promoted to A+ where he has a 31.6% strikeout rate but a 27% walk rate! He has 49 walks this season in 44 innings. The stuff can carry Makarewich far and maybe even to the majors but he’ll never be a consistent bullpen arm with this level of control. His walks have been getting better, in his last 18 innings since July 10th he’s only walked 11 with 7 outings without a walk. If he can tap into that in Arizona and continue it into next year he can climb through the minors quickly.

Payton Martin RHP: Not a very overpowering arm but the former 17th round pick has a very solid arsenal. He has a five pitch mix starting with a fastball that sides in the mid 90s. He also has a bunch of breaking balls including an upper 70s curveball and upper 80s cutter that induce weak contact and a slider that’s been his best swing and miss pitch. He also throws a changeup at times that’s probably his worst pitch. His fastball has cost him the most though as it hasn’t been explosive enough to get whiffs. He also allows too many homers with 10 in 18 appearances this year in high A. He has solid command, only walking 8.6% of batters this year in A+. Not a very high potential arm but one that can move quickly with more weak contact.

Jakob Wright LHP: The 4th round pick for the Dodgers last year Wright made is organizational debut this year in low A but has missed months with an undisclosed injury and has only started 9 games for 19.2 innings this year. Wright doesn’t have much experience as he had a surgery his freshman year in college and only pitched 18.2 innings and then had a breakout season last year at Cal Poly with 88 innings and a 2.97 ERA before being drafted. He has a good arsenal with a fastball that jumped from sitting 92 mph to 96-97 this spring and it has good armside movement and great spin. He also has a low 80s slider that gets a good amount of swing and miss. He also adds a mid 80s cutter and a curveball that gets some weak contact. He has recently started to throw a changeup that hasn’t gotten great results so far. I’m excited to see his Statcast pitches this fall and hopefully he’ll get a couple starts to add to his decent season. 

Logan Wagner 2B/3B: A prospect with big raw power Wagner has dealt with injuries since being drafted in 2022. His first pro season he broke his right hamate bone and last season after a breakout 38 games in low A he broke his left hamate bone. This year was finally his first whole non-injured season at high A and he looked pretty good at the plate with a .216/.345/.380 slash line and a 112 wRC+. He’s shown great pull side power and a good knowledge of the strike zone with 14.6% walk rate this season. He’s not great defensively and has played every infield position the past two years but will likely settle into either the corner infield or try the corner outfield. His power and ability to walk could carry him through the minors but he’ll need to make a bit more contact.

Josue De Paula OF: Probably the best prospect to head to Arizona De Paula was just recently promoted to AA so he could keep getting at bats and will continue to get even more this fall. Before getting called up De Paula had a .263/.406/.421 slash line with a 143 wRC+ in high A. He has big raw power that he hasn’t shown it off a ton in games. He also has shown elite plate discipline with a 19% walk rate this season. He’s able to work long counts and waits for his pitch. He’s also a threat on the bases with 32 steals this season. His top prospect ranking isn’t about what he’s currently doing but mostly what his projection is. The 20 year old still has a lot to grow especially into his swing but he’s an elite level prospect that can become a Silver Slugger type of hitter. He needs more work in the outfield though. He has a big arm but doesn’t always look comfortable playing out there. The Dodgers want him to continue getting at bats after De Paula missed a few weeks in early August and hasn’t got a hit since being promoted. He’ll be really fun to watch this fall against older arms.

Kendall George CF: The former 2023 1st round pick has been super impressive in his first year in high A. In 514 plate appearances George has a .295/.409/.370 slash line and a 131 wRC+ with more walks than strikeouts. He also showed off his speed with 100 stolen bases! He was able to make more contact this season and rarely swings and misses. He has the potential to be a great centerfield defender like most speedy players do but he hasn’t shown great routes so far. He’s a very fun prospect who’ll be fun to watch this fall.

Thank you for reading for shorter breakdowns check out my Twitter @drew-durstock. Each day I'll release a new team's prospect breakdown.