Welcome to the Blue, O’Koyea Dickson!

Along with top prospect Alex Verdugo and useful utilityman Rob Segedin, outfielder O'Koyea Dickson has been called up to the Dodgers as a part of their September roster expansion. In fact, this will mark his debut as a Major League ballplayer. After seven years of toiling in the minors Dickson finally has an opportunity to enter the big show. Per a Dodgers press release:

Dickson, 27, is also being called up to the Majors for the first time in his career after hitting .246 with 70 runs, 22 doubles, one triple, 24 homers and 76 RBI in 116 games with Oklahoma City this season. He appeared in left field the majority of the season (59 games), but has also seen time in right field (23 games) and first base (seven games), posting a combined .990 fielding percentage. The San Francisco native was drafted by the Dodgers in the 12th round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of Sonoma State and spent seven seasons in the minors (2011-17), slashing .279/.349/.491 with 182 doubles, 12 triples, 117 homers and 437 RBI in 736 career games. Dickson has received multiple honors during his seven-year career, including two Player of the Week honors (2014 and 2016), two-time mid-season all-star (2012 and 2014) and the MiLB.com Organization All-Star in 2014.

Welcome to the Blue, Alex Verdugo!

The time has come for the Dodgers next big prospect to play for Los Angeles. As you surely know, outfielder Alex Verdugo is expected to be called up today as a part of the leagues September roster expansion. He is currently ranked as the teams #2 prospect and 28th overall prospect in the league, per MLB.com:

Verdugo was a high school left-hander with a fastball that reached 94 mph and an intriguing slider, but he wanted to play every day and the Dodgers allowed him to do so after signing him for $914,600 as a second-round pick in 2014. He has done nothing to make them regret that decision, winning organization Minor League player of the year honors in his first full pro season and making the jump to Double-A at age 19 to begin 2016.

Blog Kiosk: 9/1/2017 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

It took five months for the Dodgers to experience the pain of a series sweep, and it feels bad. Nevertheless, I still believe there is nothing to worry about. This is just a momentary blip that saw three of our better starters unable to get the job done. They all struggled Per Rowan Kavner at Dodger Insider:

“The starting pitching this series wasn’t there,” said manager Dave Roberts. “When you start behind the eight-ball, it’s tough to continue to fight back. You’re as good as your starting pitching is.”

Per  Steve Gilbert and Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"A lot of mislocated pitches and they took advantage of all of them," said Maeda. "My sliders didn't break as much as I'd hoped. I was trying to stop the losing streak, but unfortunately it didn't work out that way. I didn't execute and I didn't perform."

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1890 the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (Dodgers) and the Pittsburgh Alleghenys (Pirates) play the first ever Triple-Header. Brooklyn sweep Pittsburgh -- 10-9; 3-2; 8-4. Bob Caruthers, Tom Lovett and Adonis Terry all pitch complete games In 1941 Dodger first baseman Dolph Camilli hit his 200th career home run. He would eventually earn NL MVP honors at the end of the season. In 1969 Willie Davis tied a franchise record (Zack Wheat in 1916) by hitting in 29 concecutive games.
• Happy Birthday, Darby O'Brien & Luis Lopez!