Southern League Recap; Scott Schebler Displays Power

Aug 12, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; A bubble floats along the field during the ninth inning between the San Francisco Giants and the Chicago White Sox at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

In the 2010 draft, the Dodgers spent a little over a million dollars on players taken in the 11th round or later. $600,000 of that went to current top prospect Joc Pederson, much of the rest, $300,000 was dolled out to another high school outfielder, Scott Schebler. LA fans are already well acquainted with the first name. Pederson currently ranks as the  18th best prospect in baseball, per MLB.com, and his name bounced around unrelentingly from June through the July 31st trade deadline.; they’ll even be able to witness the 21 year old outfielder in action when the Dodgers promote him on September 1.

But Schebler, like most 26th round picks, has flown under the radar.  Pederson and Schebler were teammates for their first season and a half of professional baseball but their paths diverged in 2012. That season, Pederson was promoted to High-A Rancho Cucamonga and posted a .396 on base percentage with hit 18 home runs, earning the Dodgers Minor League Player of the Year honor. Schebler, meanwhile, looked overmatched with Low-A Great Lakes, hitting .260 with just six long balls in 560 plate appearances. Pederson became one of baseball’s brightest prospects, Schebler an organizational footnote.

Now, though, Schebler is charging back, and his strong play has earned him the attention of scouts and the Dodgers organization.

“Outstanding athletic ability” MLB.com analyst and former professional scout Bernie Pleskoff wrote of the 23 year old left-fielder last week, “Brings thump, speed, bright, future,”

Pederson may be pacing the PCL with 30 home runs, but Schleber has knocked out 25 for Double-A Chattanooga, tops in the Southern League. That total is bolstered by a his three home run game last week against Jacksonville. The first two shots were long no-doubters to right and right-center field, but the third didn’t even clear the wall. Instead, it was a rip between the right-fielder and center-fielder that Schebler legged into an inside the park home run, showcasing his secondary tool: speed. The Iowa native has 12 steals this season, 16 last year, though he primarily uses his feet to take the extra base; Schebler leads the league with 12 triples.

MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo named Schebler as as the Dodgers’ ninth best prospect in his mid-season rankings, but that was before his recent power surge. Since August third, he has hit seven home runs and slugged .706.

Other news and  notes from around the Southern League. 

>Schebler’s teammate, Corey Seager, is making his best case to take over as the Dodgers starting shortstop next season. With last night’s 2-5 performance, the 20 year old, who became the league’s third youngest player when he was promoted last month, is now has  a 17 game hitting streak.  Over that span he has hit .388 with seven doubles and a .567 slugging percentage. The former first round pick ranks as the 16th best prospect in baseball, per MLB.com

>The Cubs got promising performances from prospects on both sides of the ball as Tennessee downed Montgomery 7-1 Monday night. Corey Black, who Chicago acquired from the Yankees last season, struck out four over five innings of one run ball. The centerpiece of July’s Jeff Samardzija trade with Oakland, Addison Russell went 2-5, with a double, a home run, and a pair of RBIs. Black is now 5-6 with a 3.06 ERA and an 8.6 SO/9 on this season, while Russell has hit .297 with nine long balls since joining the Cubs organization. MLB.com ranks him as the Cubs 3rd best prospect, Black as their 19th.

>Jose Urena navigated a road-bump with his shutout performance against Pensacola Sunday. The Jacksonville starter went seven innings, scattering three hits and two walks while striking out five as the Suns took home a 4-0 victory. Urena, who currently ranks as the Marlins’ #9 prospect, lost and gave up four earned runs over five innings in his last outing, but hadn’t allowed an earned run in his three starts leading up to that. The 22 year old is now 11-8 with a 3.47 ERA on the season, 4-1 with a 1.19 ERA since July 20th.