Dodgers protect three prospects from Rule 5 Draft

A little bit of offseason news out of Los Angeles this afternoon as the Dodgers added three prospects to their 40-man roster, filling up every available spot.

Right-handed pitcher and LA’s No. 9 prospect Mitchell White, outfielder and No. 12 prospect DJ Peters and utility player Zach McKinstry are all clear from getting pulled by another team on Dec. 12 during the Rule 5 Draft.

White, 24, found a promotion during the 2019 season from Double-A Tulsa to Triple-A Oklahoma City. He pitched a combined 23 games, with 20 starts and finished with a 4-9 record and a 5.09 ERA. It wasn’t smooth sailing for him in Oklahoma City, though, with a 6.50 ERA in 63 ²⁄₃ innings. This move, however, shows the Dodgers organization likely has trust he can eventually end up as an end-of-rotation option.

Peters, a 23-year-old outfielder from Glendora, Calif., spent the last half of the season in Triple-A and had a decent overall season. He hit .249/.358/.453 in 125 games and crushed 23 home runs.

Megan Filipowski/OKC Dodgers

McKinstry is not on the Dodgers’ top 30 prospects list, but made some waves during the 2019 season. Like White, he was promoted from Tulsa to Oklahoma during the season. And he made a mighty good impression. The 24 year old batted .382/.421/.753 in 26 games with OKC and smacked seven home runs.

Now that it’s clear who the protected players are, there are only two players left on MLB Pipeline’s top 30 list that are left unprotected —No. 23 infielder Cristian Santana and No. 26 right-handed pitcher Jordan Sheffield.