Hitter of the Week
The life of an undrafted free agent can be trying. Going 20 rounds without hearing your name called can be discouraging. But Easton Shelton is making the most of his time with the Dodgers by dominating the California League.
After not hearing his name called during the 2023 Draft, Shelton decided to forego his commitment to UNLV and signed with the Dodgers. He spent his first few seasons in rookie ball, where he piled up strikeouts and wasn’t showing the light-tower power that got him into the org. Now, he’s in the middle of a massive breakout campaign, showing he’s one of the better power hitters in all of minor league baseball.
Despite a slow start in April, Shelton has seen his OPS jump from .728 in the first month of the season to 1.044 in May, 1.182 in June and is now sitting at 1.403 in July. His five-hit, two-homer performance on Sunday increased his Cal League home run lead to 28; Ching-Hsien Ko is currently tied for second at 15. He’s two homers shy of the minor league lead and is tops in extra base hits with 51.
Since May 1st, Shelton’s slashing .340/.437/.736 with 25 home runs in 62 games. He’s also started seeing some time at third base after Chase Harlan’s promotion. However, he’s not the most athletic player and may end up a full-time first baseman. He’s also striking out at a 33.5% clip on the year, though he is whiffing less lately. If he can improve the defense at third and cut down on the Ks, he’ll force his way onto prospect lists.
SHELLY STRIKES AGAIN pic.twitter.com/QXkSCvF6Cy
— Ontario Tower Buzzers (@towerbuzzers) July 20, 2026
Pitcher of the Week
Another week, another dominant performance from Luis Gamez. The 19-year-old Mexico native continues to dazzle in the Arizona Complex League. It seems like it’s just a matter of time before he’s in Ontario.
On Saturday, Gamez faced 18 hitters over five innings and struck out 10 of them. He scattered a couple hits and a couple walks, not allowing a run and lowering his season ERA to 2.72. In his last five appearances, he’s faced 66 batters and struck out 37 of them, surrendering just one earned run on four hits.
It’s important to remember that this is rookie ball and it’s a small sample, but Gamez is dominating to the point where he’s going to force the Dodgers to promote him. He should join the Tower Buzzers sometime in the next few weeks.
Triple-A Oklahoma City
Zach Ehrhard had four hits over the weekend, including his 15th HR which sets a new career-best for the 23-year-old. He’s now slashing .286/.391/.486 for OKC in 86 games.
Career-high 15 home runs for Zach Ehrhard☄️ pic.twitter.com/Ytg42zcvfR
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) July 19, 2026
Hyeseong Kim smacked his first homer of the season for the Comets on Friday and piled up six hits in three games, raising his average in Triple-A to .293.
Hyeseong Kim’s first homer with OKC this year ties the game☄️ pic.twitter.com/D7hUStsaWO
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) July 18, 2026
James Tibbs III hit safely in all three games, adding a pinch-hit double on Sunday in the Comets’ rout of the Rainiers. Ryan Ward hit his 100th home run with OKC on Saturday (not all in the same game).
That’s homer # 1⃣0⃣0⃣ for Ryan Ward in his Oklahoma City career☄️ pic.twitter.com/JlVO1Xpwdv
— Oklahoma City Comets (@OKC_comets) July 19, 2026
Ryan Fitzgerald added a five-hit game of his own on Sunday. Austin Gauthier and Chuckie Robinson both homered on Sunday.
On the mound, Blake Snell made his first rehab start on Saturday, striking out four of the six batters he faced. He was pulled after 1 ⅓ innings, making 32 pitches. Cole Irvin pitched six shutout innings on Sunday, earning his 9th win of the season and lowering his ERA to 3.28.
Double-A Tulsa
Zyhir Hope continued his home run barrage this week, smashing a pair of homers on Saturday to give him 21 on the season. After hitting four in May and four in June, Hope already has eight in July in just 14 games. He also stole three bases, giving him 17 in 20 attempts.
Hope with a solo shot!
FRI: 4️⃣TUL: 2️⃣ pic.twitter.com/0CUTRdzwWQ
— Tulsa Drillers (@TulsaDrillers) July 19, 2026
Mike Sirota saw his on base streak come to an end on Friday after failing to reach safely. His mark of 72 games was just two shy of the minor league record. He did start a new on base streak Sunday after collecting three hits.
Josue De Paula hit his 16th HR of the season on Friday but had an otherwise quiet weekend. Kendall George had a single and a pair of walks to go along with his 33rd stolen base.
Josue De Paula goes the other way for his 16th homer of the year for the Double-A @TulsaDrillers ?
MLB’s No. 4 prospect (@Dodgers) is hitting .388 with 8 XBH over his past 10 games: pic.twitter.com/mmwg8OYXFb
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 18, 2026
Adam Serwinowski struck out seven over five innings, allowing four runs. He became the first Dodgers’ minor leaguer to reach 100 strikeouts this year.
High-A Great Lakes
Chuck D (Charles Davalan) homered for the third straight game on Saturday in the first of a doubleheader, his 13th of the year. He also had a pair of hits on Sunday.
Charles Davalan laces his 13th homer of the year for the High-A @greatlakesloons!
MLB’s No. 83 prospect (@Dodgers) has homered in three straight games, dating back to before the break. pic.twitter.com/hewgLvCfjT
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 18, 2026
Eduardo Quintero hit safely in all three games during the weekend, doubling on Saturday and drawing a pair of walks. Emil Morales drew a walk on Saturday and singled on Sunday.
Chase Harlan played in just one game and didn’t reach base. He’s cooled off after his hot start with the Loons, with just six hits in his last 34 at bats.
Zach Root started Saturday and struggled with his control, walking four in five innings, but only allowed one earned run and struck out five. His ERA on the season is now 2.32.
Single-A Ontario
Jaron Elkins continues to tear through Cal League pitching the second time around. He had three straight multi-hit games this weekend, with a double, a triple and a pair of stolen bases. He’s now batting .340 on the year with an OPS over 1.000 and a strikeout rate that’s dropped 6.5% since last season.
Jaron Elkins legged out his fifth triple of the season and tied the game in the process pic.twitter.com/avdEqx2RDP
— DodgersLite (@dodgerslite) July 19, 2026
Joendry Vargas hit safely in all three games as well, clubbing a pair of doubles and stealing a pair of bases. Kellon Lindsey hit his 4th HR of the year, his first since the middle of May.
Brady Smith put together a solid start on Sunday, striking out five over 4 ⅔ innings while allowing just one run. His first strikeout of the game was his 100th of the season, joining Serwinowski as the only other prospect to reach that milestone.
Mason Estrada went 5 ⅔ innings, a personal best as a pro, allowing two unearned runs while striking out six.
Edwin Diaz continued his rehab assignment with the Tower Buzzers, pitching another pair of scoreless innings on Friday and Sunday.
Rookie Leagues
In the ACL, Aidan West had a huge game on Thursday, collecting five hits before being replaced by a pinch hitter. He added a pair of doubles earlier in the week. He’s now batting .338/.416/.615 in his first 19 professional games.
Davion Hickson made his second career appearance and allowed a run on four hits and two walks. Edwin Diaz also made an appearance with the ACL club early in the week, striking out two in a scoreless frame.
22-year-old right-hander Joel Cruz started the ACL game on Monday before it was suspended due to weather. He went 2 ⅔ innings, allowing a pair of runs with five strikeouts. The game was resumed on Saturday, and he pitched another 5 ⅓ innings with nine more Ks. His total line for the game spanning two separate days was 8 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 4 BB, and 14 Ks.
In the DSL, Fran-Jean Haseth, Helvin Mendoza and Tom Apfelbaum were named to the All Star team. The game was played on Sunday, with Haseth striking out in his only at bat, Mendoza walking, striking out and scoring a run, and Apfelbaum facing just two batters, allowing a hit and recording a groundout.
