The Los Angeles Dodgers began the 2019 MLB Draft with three selections over the first two rounds on Day 1, adding the likes of Kody Hoese, Michael Busch and Jimmy Lewis to an already deep farm system.
Lewis was the only player of the trio drafted out of high school. The Dodgers’ heavy emphasis at the collegiate ranks was a theme that echoed throughout the three-day event.
Of the club’s eight selections on Day 2, all of them represented college players. Highlighting the assortment of picks was Butler University right-hander Ryan Pepiot, who many consider a potential steal after falling in the Dodgers’ laps at No. 102.
The pattern continued on Day 3 when the Los Angeles zeroed in on an abundance of college arms. From Rounds 12-40, the club selected five left-handed college pitchers.
Moreover, seven of the Dodgers’ picks on Day 3 consisted of right-handed college pitchers. Twenty-three of their total selections on June 5 were college players in general.
Dodgers director of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino came away impressed with the club’s overall haul in the 2019 MLB Draft, specifically mentioning the plethora of picks made on Day 3, via Ken Gurnick of MLB.com:
“We feel great about the outcome,” said scouting director Billy Gasparino. “We feel even better about the amount of quality players we got this year. We really got some unique college players.”
“We thought the left-handed college pitching group on Day 3 was a really strong group and we ended up taking five of them,” Gasparino said. “That was the demographic we thought was the strongest, so it was a huge score for us.”
The Dodgers’ front office has shown a tendency of scoping out under-appreciated players in recent years, and the hope is that they were able to work their magic again in the 2019 MLB Draft.
Los Angeles is reaping the rewards of excellent drafting over recent years, seeing contributions this season from the likes of Walker Buehler and Will Smith, to name a few.
The Dodgers overall made a total of 41 selections in the 2019 MLB Draft — 34 of which were college players. The selections comprise of 20 pitchers (12 right-handers, eight left-handers), 10 outfielders, nine infielders and two catchers.
Of the 21 drafted position players, 14 are right-handed hitters, five are left-handed hitters and two are switch-hitters.
