Dodgers Prospects Win Organization's Top Honors

Pederson, Seager and Urias could become household names in a few years

They could be the Dodgers next big three in a few years.

Julio Urias, 18, Corey Seager, 20, and Joc Pederson, 22, all dominated their respective competition this season and, Friday, Urias was named the Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year, and Seager and Pederson were named co-Minor League Players of the Year.

The players were honored before Friday night’s game against the Rockies.

Pederson, who also won player of the year in 2012, has ascended to the big leagues after torching the Pacific Coast League at Triple-A Albuquerque. The Palo Alto, California native’s league-leading 33 homers and 30 steals capped off the fourth 30-home run/30-stolen base season in PCL history.

He also led the league in runs scored (106), walks (100), on-base percentage (.435), he tied for first in OPS (1.017), and he was second in total bases (259). Pederson was named the league’s Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year.

Seager had a breakout 2014 season. The Dodgers number-two prospect, according to Baseball America, split time between Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Chattanooga, and raked in each place.

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In 80 games for the Quakes, Seager hit .352 with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs. After his promotion to the Lookouts, he hit .345 in 38 games. His 50 total doubles were the most in the minor leagues, and his 75 extra-base hits ranked second. He was named the California League's Most Valuable Player, and he represented the U.S. at Major League Baseball’s Futures Game during All-Star weekend.

Urias may be the most intriguing of the trio. At 17 years old, he was the youngest player in the California League but his skill set defies his age. He’s only 5-feet-11-inches tall and a 160 pounds, but his fastball has been clocked as high as 95 MPH. The Dodgers have kept a close eye on youngster, limiting his pitch counts and innings over his first two minor league seasons.

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His 2014 campaign showed that Urias may be closer to being big league ready than expected. In 87 ⅔ innings he struck out 109 batters, walked 37 and held opposing hitters to a .194 batting average. The relatively small sample size was enough to convince MLB he’s the real deal, as Urias was named to the World Team for the Futures Game.

Previous winners of the Pitcher and Player over the Year awards currently on the Dodgers Major League club: Chad Billingsley, Dee Gordon and Scott Van Slyke.

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