MIDLAND, Mich. -- The Dodgers have extended their player development contract with the Class-A Great Lakes Loons for two more years, through the 2016 season, the Loons announced on Tuesday.
The Dodgers have been affiliated with the Midwest League team since the beginning of 2007, their second-longest active affiliate. The team has had a rookie-level team in Ogden of the Pioneer League since 2003 and like the Loons have also extended with the Dodgers through 2016.
"The Dodgers have been terrific partners through the first eight seasons of Loons baseball," Great Lakes VP and general manager Scott Litle said in a press release. "It’s a relationship that has been beneficial for both sides and we look forward to extending it for another two years."
There have been 32 different major league players developed in Great Lakes, the first of whom to reach was Clayton Kershaw in 2008. Kershaw with the Loons in 2007 was 7-5 with a 2.77 ERA in 20 starts at age 19, with 134 strikeouts and 50 walks with 97⅓ innings.
So far this month, the Dodgers have also renewed player development contracts with Ogden and Class-A Rancho Cucamonga through 2016. The Dodgers are expected to purchase the Oklahoma City RedHawks for their Triple-A franchise, though nothing has been officially announced, and their Double-A choices are down to Tulsa, Mobile, New Britain and the incumbent Chattanooga.