Dodgers Prospects Represented in Future Stars Game
The roster for the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game were announced on Friday with news that two Dodgers prospects would be represented. Catcher Keibert Ruiz and outfielder Yusniel Diaz will play for the World Team as they take on the U.S. Team.
C Keibert Ruiz and OF Yusniel Diaz, Dodger prospects currently with Double-A Tulsa, are on the World roster for the 2018 All-Star Futures Game.
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) July 6, 2018
Ruiz is currently ranked as the Dodgers second best prospect. At 19-years-old, the Venezuelan native is batting .248 with six home runs in Double-A Tulsa.
Diaz is also spending 2018 in Tulsa, where is batting .295 with five home runs. He is a 21-year-old Cuban native who currently ranks as the Dodgers fourth best prospect.
David Ortiz will be managing the World Team as Torii Hunter will manage the U.S. Team.
In the 20th year of this event, the All-Star Futures Game has featured 12 wins for the U.S. Team and 7 wins for the World Team.
The only Dodgers player to ever win MVP of the event was Chin-lung Hu in 2007. Several Dodgers have participated in the event including Clayton Kershaw in 2007, Joc Pederson in 2013 and Corey Seager and Julio Urias in 2014.
The game will take place on July 15 at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. and will be aired on MLB Network at 1PM PT.
Analysis
The All-Star Futures Game represents a major moment for players as they aim towards their ultimate goal of making it the the Show. Kershaw, Pederson and Seager all received their call to the Major Leagues a year after participating in this event. Even last year’s Futures Game featured Alex Verdugo, who already got his taste of the Big Leagues. If history repeats itself, we may find Keibert Ruiz and Yusniel Diaz donning Dodgers uniforms in 2019.
