Dodgers news: David Price’s grand gesture, MLB draft TV details & more

This morning’s Dodgers links and news tidbits have a heavy amateur tilt to them, which seems only natural since the MLB Draft is coming up in a few days.

Price is right

David Price’s wonderful gesture of paying Dodgers minor league players $1,000 for June — as commendable it is for Price, it’s shameful for major league owners to create a system of substandard pay for minor leaguers that such a gesture is needed in the first place — came to fruition this week. Just ask Nolan Long, the Dodgers’ 16th-round draft pick in 2015 who posted a 2.29 ERA with 81 strikeouts and 39 walks in 63 innings for Double-A Tulsa last year.

Dodgers draft radar

Kiley McDaniel at ESPN in a pre-draft conference call touched on a number of topics, among them who the Dodgers might pick in the first round, at 29th overall.

He mentioned Texas Tech right-hander Clayton Beeter as an option, noting that even though he is recovering from Tommy John surgery it hasn’t scared away the Dodgers in the past.

“I would also say that Cole Wilcox and Cade Cavalli, out of Georgia and Oklahoma, are both players that sort of show the upside elements that teams are confident in their core development, which the Dodgers are one of them,” McDaniel said.

Draft TV details

MLB invited 23 prospects to take part in the MLB Draft broadcasts, which begin Wednesday on MLB Network and ESPN. Thursday coverage shifts to MLB Network and ESPN2. Among the 23 prospects, who were all furnished with phones by MLB to join the telecasts remotely, are infielders Ed Howard and Nick Loftin, plus pitchers Tanner Burns and Slade Cecconi, all of whom have been linked to the Dodgers in national mock drafts.

All 30 major league teams will have someone from the baseball operations department available remotely for the television broadcasts of the draft. For the Dodgers, that will be Andrew Friedman, as mentioned by VP of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino two weeks ago.

“All the pressure is turned to him there,” Gasparino joked. “We’re expecting big things out of Andrew.”

Wear the robe, Andrew!

Fun with streaks

Jeff Passan at ESPN broke down in great detail what’s on the table in negotiations between MLB players and owners, and noted the owners could implement a schedule of 48 games. Which got me thinking about baseball records.