General Manager Heaps Praise on 3 Dodgers Prospects

The Dodgers' homegrown depth has been tested in May.

A glance at the Dodgers' innings leaders this month reveal their top four most-used pitchers, and six of their top seven, have only played for the Dodgers organization (in North America, at least).

Rookies Jack Dreyer and Ben Casparius have been a big boost to the bullpen. On the position-player side, both Hyeseong Kim and Dalton Rushing were promoted to the big leagues earlier this month — for now, if not for good.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers' farm system continues to produce talent.

In a recent interview with MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, general manager Brandon Gomes discussed the progress of three prospects: Pitcher Jackson Ferris, outfielder Josue De Paula, and outfielder Zyhir Hope.

“I think Jackson has been far better than his surface level numbers," Gomes said of Ferris, who's 3-3 with a 5.31 ERA at Double-A Tulsa. "Watching all his outings, the fastball/slider combination’s been really strong. He’s continuing to find spots to mix in the curveball, which is a nice front-to-back option, and the changeup."

"He’s incredibly advanced," Gomes added of the 21-year-old left-hander. "The makeup is outstanding. he’s an 80-grade competitor. There’s a lot to like about Jackson. We’ll just keep getting him in, getting his reps in, getting that number of innings down so he’s ready when we need him. The big picture’s really bright for Jackson.”

De Paula and Hope have given the advanced Class-A Great Lakes Loons two of MLB Pipeline's Top 50 prospects in the same outfield. The two 20-year-olds rank 1-2 on the team in most major offensive categories.

"Josue’s like one of the best pure hitters we’ve seen," Gomes said. "He’s kind of velocity, pitch-handedess, it doesn’t matter. There’s just a calmness in the box that’s impressive, to watch him go about his business. We’re challenging him on the defensive side of things and that’s been a big target. I know he’s working really hard along with Hope and the guys in Great Lakes."

“Zyhir, is just like an incredible dude, makeup’s outstanding, and hits the ball as hard as I think anybody in the big leagues even," Gomes said. "He’s done a great job for somebody who’s that young, who swings that hard, hits the ball that hard, that he doesn’t really punch (out) that much, he’s still walking. There’s a lot of good things from both of those guys to dream on, to know that they’re that young and performing really well in a tough hitters' league, the Midwest League.”