Dodgers send 8 prospects to Arizona Fall League

LOS ANGELES — The 2016 Arizona Fall League gets started in just under two weeks, and the Dodgers will send a total of eight players to play for the Glendale Desert Dogs.

The already announced prospect trio of Cody Bellinger, Willie Calhoun and Alex Verdugo will be joined by pitchers Chris Anderson, Joe Broussard, Ralston Cash and Corey Copping, plus infielder Tim Locastro.

Anderson was the Dodgers’ first-round pick in 2013, and had a rough year in his fourth professional season. He put up a 4.81 ERA with nearly as many walks (46) as strikeouts (51), and was demoted to Class-A Rancho Cucamonga and switched from starting to relief work.

Broussard, 25, put up a 1.72 ERA between Class-A Rancho Cucamong and Double-A Tulsa, with 78 strikeouts and 16 walks in 68 innings before finishing off the season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, including putting up a 4.15 ERA with five strikeouts in five relief appearances during OKC’s playofff run. Broussard was drafted in the 15th round in 2014.

Cash, who turned 25 in August, pitched in eight games in relief in the AFL in 2015. The 2010 second-round pick posted a 2.87 ERA in 46 games between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City in 2016, with 84 strikeouts and 33 walks in 69 innings, and two saves. He increased his strikeout rate from 24.2% in 2015 to 29.3% in 2016.

Copping, 22, was a 31st-round selection in the 2015 draft. He put up a 4.50 ERA in 22 games between rookie-level Ogden and Class-A Rancho Cucamonga, including 22 strikeouts and six walks in 19⅓ innings and a 3.72 ERA with the Quakes.

Locastro, who turned 24 in July, hit .285/.341/.389 between Rancho Cucamonga and Tulsa with 25 doubles in 131 games, and stole 24 bases in 30 tries. He made 60 starts at second base and 57 at shortstop, and also mixed in some time at first base, center field and left field in 2016. Locastro was acquired with pitcher Chase De Jong from the Blue Jays on July 2, 2015 for three international bonus slots.

Arizona Fall League play begins on Tuesday, Oct. 11 and runs through Thursday, Nov. 17, with the championship game played at Scottsdale Stadium.

The Desert Dogs play their home games at Camelback Ranch, and are comprised of prospects from the Dodgers, White Sox, Astros, Cardinals and Nationals.