Los Angeles Dodgers prospects Gavin Lux and Dustin May were named to the National League roster for the 2019 MLB Futures Game, which is set to be played in Cleveland on Sunday, July 7, at 4 p.m. PT. The annual showcase will air live on MLB Network and stream on MLB.com.
After 20 years of pitting U.S. and World teams against each other, the Futures Game switched to American League vs. NL. The annual prospect showcase also has been shortened from nine to seven innings for the first time since the inaugural 1999 contest.
Of the 50 players named to the rosters for this year’s Futures Game, 37 are included on MLB Pipeline’s list of the top 100 prospects. Lux and May are both part of that, ranking 31st and 51st, respectively.
With the graduation of Alex Verdugo this year, MLB Pipeline considers Lux the Dodgers’ No. 2 overall prospect, with May checking in third.
The two were teammates with Double-A Tulsa and received simultaneous promotions to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday.
Lux batted .313/.375/.521 line over 64 games with the Drillers, ranking in the top five in the Texas League in all three slash line categories and second with an .896 on-base plus slugging percentage. Additionally, his 13 home runs tied for second-most in Double-A, and are just two shy of matching a career high set last season between Tulsa and High-A Rancho Cucamonga.
The 21-year-old went into the season ranked the No. 70 prospect by MLB Pipeline but has hit his way to a 39-spot jump.
May similarly dominated for the Drillers, punctuated by setting a career high with 14 strikeouts over seven shutout innings his last time out. May went 3-5 with a 3.74 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in 15 starts for Tulsa. He recorded 86 strikeouts against 20 walks in 79.1 innings during those games.
Earlier this month, Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman acknowledged there was a possibility May and Tony Gonsolin, the organization’s top two pitching prospects, would potentially reach the Majors and contribute out of the bullpen this season.
Gonsolin received his first call-up this week and made his MLB debut in a spot start against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was optioned back to Oklahoma City the following day.
Last year, the Dodgers were represented in the Futures Game by Yusniel Diaz and Keibert Ruiz. Yadier Alvarez and Alex Verdugo played in the 2017 showcase, Jharel Cotton and Willie Calhoun participated the year prior, Kyle Farmer and Juan Gonzalez earned nods in 2015, and Corey Seager and Julio Urias were part of the 2014 rosters.
