Dodgers Let Prospect Alex Freeland Develop At His Own Rate


Two years after being drafted in the third round by the Dodgers, shortstop Alex Freeland shined in a breakout season—but his 2024 performance was not without blemishes.
The switch-hitting Freeland began the year at High-A Great Lakes and finished it with 39 games at Triple-A Oklahoma City. He spent most of his time at Double-A Tulsa.
Overall, the 23-year-old Freeland hit .260/.387/.442 with 18 home runs and 31 stolen bases in 136 games. Just five minor league batters drew more than his 91 walks
“There’s the switch-hit ability,” Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes said of Freeland. “It’s a really strong work ethic, a baseball rat. The instincts and IQ are really high level. Putting all those things together really saw him take off last year.
“He’s a great match with our (player development) department.”
Freeland’s season made him a Top 100 Prospect, but it was a season that still left room for improvement.
Freeland did his best work at High-A early in the season. He hit just .219 in June, July and August. Leveling off those peaks and valleys will be a challenge in 2025.
“He was amazing early on and kind of flattened out a little bit in the second half,” Gomes said. “So I think it’s taking what he learned last year, taking that into Triple-A again this year and continuing to learn how to navigate a full season, which is naturally a challenge for everybody.”
Like most switch-hitters, Freeland is far more dangerous batting lefthanded.
Born with a clubfoot, Freeland underwent several surgeries as a child to correct the problem. It could still be affecting him as a righthanded batter, where his strikeout rate ballooned to 30%.
Hitting exclusively from the left side is something that could be considered, Gomes said.
“The versus-left stuff is just a higher strikeout rate,” Gomes said, “just trying to figure out the balance of that. Does he continue to switch-hit and sell out for power and say, ‘Hey, we’ll take the strikeouts if you’re slugging?’
“The good thing is we don’t have to rush him. We can let him mature at his own rate.”
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
— Former big league manager Eric Wedge has joined the Dodgers organization as manager at Double-A Tulsa. Wedge managed the Guardians from 2003 to 2009 and the Mariners from 2011 to 2013. He was named the American League Manager of the Year in 2007, when he led Cleveland to 96 wins and a first-place finish in the AL Central.
— Despite spending $6.5 million to sign Japanese star righthander Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers still had enough money in their international bonus pool to sign 28 other players, including Adrian Torres from Panama and Joseph Deng from South Sudan. The Dodgers acquired bonus pool money in two trades—with the Phillies and Reds. Torres is considered one of the best lefthanded pitchers in this year’s signing class and received a $365,000 bonus. Deng is a 6-foot-7 righthander who is one of just two players to sign from Africa.