The Great Lakes Loons roster includes a trio of position players who are ranked by Baseball America among the top 30 Los Angeles Dodgers prospects.
Two of those prospects are outfielders: Ariel Sandoval (No. 28) and Jordan Paroubeck (No. 30). The other ranked prospect is shortstop Brendon Davis (No. 25).
In 50 rookie-level games last year, Sandoval batted .325 with 8 HR, 33 RBI and 10 SB. He also struck out 49 times and drew only three walks. Baseball America says he has “a hyper-aggressive approach … doesn’t swing and miss at many strikes, but he gets in trouble because he likes to swing at everything.”
Paroubeck split last season between two rookie-level teams, cumulatively batting .331 with 5 HR and 28 RBI in 35 games. BA: “What jumps out most about Paroubeck is his tremendous bat speed from both sides of the plate, with average raw power that could grow. The combination of bat quickness and strength allows him to drive the ball with authority, though he’s not a pure hitter. His discipline needs to improve, and his strikeout rate will need to come down.”
Davis is one of three teenagers on the Loons roster. (He turns 19 on July 28.) He played in 30 rookie-level games last year, batting .254 with 1 HR and 17 RBI. Those numbers aren’t great, but he is young and was coming back from a broken left wrist suffered during his senior year in high school.
The other two teenagers on the roster are 18-year-old infielder Omar Estevez and 19-year-old pitcher Dennis Santana. Estevez, a native of Cuba, will be making his professional debut after signing with the Dodgers last November.
LHP Michael Boyle will be the Loons’ Opening Day starter. He pitched 47 innings (including 18 for Great Lakes) last year, going 3-2 with a 1.91 ERA, one save, 46 strikeouts and 11 walks.
You can see the entire Loons roster here.
The Loons are managed by former major-league infielder Gil Velazquez. You can read about him here and his coaching staff here.