DSL Dodgers — Rookie (Dominican Summer League)

A rough day in the Dominican for our youngest prospects. The DSL Dodgers dropped both ends of their schedule, falling 2-8 to the DSL Royals Fortuna and 2-9 to DSL CLE Mendoza. Two lopsided losses. Not much to celebrate, but there were a couple of individual performances worth pulling out of the wreckage.

In the loss to DSL CLE Mendoza, Helvin Mendoza was easily the best bat in either lineup. He went 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, a stolen base, and an RBI. That’s the kind of well-rounded offensive game you want to see from a young outfielder — power, patience, and speed all in one box score line. Mendoza also scored a run. When almost nothing else went right, he was the exception. Keep an eye on this one.

Jose Rivas added a 2-for-4 day behind the plate, including a double and a run scored. Quiet but productive. For a catcher at the DSL level, consistent contact and extra-base hits are good signs.

On the mound, Miguel Herrera turned in a solid outing despite the final score — 4.0 innings, zero earned runs, and three strikeouts. The four walks are the one blemish. Command is always the thing to work on at this stage, and Herrera clearly has the stuff to get outs. If he can cut down the free passes, there’s something to build on here. The bullpen, unfortunately, couldn’t hold things together behind him.

As for the first game against the DSL Royals Fortuna, there simply wasn’t much to write home about. A 2-8 loss without any standout individual performances from our side. These are development games, and days like this are part of the process — but you’d still like to see more competitive at-bats up and down the lineup. We’ll move on.