Tim Rogers
The Dodgers started game 5 of the 2021 exhibition season with a lineup consisting of prospects Zach McKinstry, Sheldon Neuse, and James Outman. The prospect pitchers scheduled to start were Josiah Gray, Edwin Uceta, and Ryan Pepiot. The Cubs were the opponent knocked a couple of our pitchers around and the Dodgers defense was a little sloppy. There were some highlights though.
Zach McKinstry continues to impress as he had another single. He just seems to be that guy that will bug opponents quite a bit. For the spring he has three hits in six at-bats.
Zach McKinstry is going to get a lot of hits this year đŸ”¥ https://t.co/5H1yyOdcSA
— Jack (@MidWestLAFan) March 4, 2021
The big debut we were waiting for was for Josiah Gray. He definitely had his moments but it seemed like almost every count was 3-2.
Dave Roberts says that he thought Josiah Gray's fastball looked good and that tonight was a good experience for him.
Offspeed wasnt landing when he threw it.
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) March 5, 2021
Still, there were some highlights as his fastball reached 96 MPH.
Ryan Pepiot was another big name I was looking forward to seeing. He granted us an interview last year and I believe he’s underrated as a prospect. Pepiot has an amazing changeup and continues to improve with his command. He did have one walk along with two strikeouts. Last month I predicted Pepiot would be a top 10 right-handed pitching prospect. I may have been too conservative in my predictions.
Ryan Pepiot Outing pic.twitter.com/oXTiCkgcYK
— Mad Choriyama (@MadChoriyama) March 5, 2021
Edwin Uceta had a very tough outing but he will bounce back. We did see Kody Hoese finally get into a game and many other prospects made appearances. The one I really want to see more of is Michael Busch. That swing needs more TV appearances. The one guy that I’m very high on that we haven’t seen is Gerardo Carrillo. Hopefully, that will be soon. The next game is Friday at 12:05 PM PST against the Royals. It will be a whole NINE innings!
