Josiah Gray still ‘a ways down the road’ from returning with shoulder impingement

Dodgers top prospect Josiah Gray would have been a candidate to be called up to the majors to help fill in when Dustin May injured his elbow, but then Gray was scratched from his start for Triple-A Oklahoma City on May 11 with a right shoulder impingement.

Gray is on the minor league injured list and still remains in the Dodgers plans to potentially fill major league innings this year if needed. But he hasn’t pitched for Oklahoma City since the injury, and his throwing activity has been limited.

“I think he’s just maybe playing catch. I don’t think he’s thrown any ‘pens or let alone facing hitters,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday. “He’s sort of a ways down the road. Hopefully we can revisit this conversation, and he can be a part of things.”

The 23-year-old Gray had the best average ranking among Dodgers prospects on various national lists this offseason, and was the club’s top prospect per FanGraphs, ESPN, The Athletic, and Baseball Prospectus.

“It would be hard to say [prospect rankings] don’t strike my interest from time to time, but I truly try not to pay any attention to it,” Gray said in May. “Those things, I try not to get too caught up over. You can be number one in all of baseball, but if you’re not going out there every night and putting up the numbers and helping your team win, then that stuff doesn’t mean so much.”

Player of the day

Rancho Cucamonga third baseman Brandon Lewis homered twice, driving in five. He hit a two-run shot off Visalia left-hander Liam Norris in the first inning, then a three-run shot off Norris in the third. Lewis reached base five times in the win, also collecting a single, walk, and hit by pitch.

It was the 11th multi-hit game of the season for Lewis, the Dodgers’ fourth-round draft pick in 2019 out of UCI. One of those multi-hit games was a four-hit performance last Sunday. Lewis is hitting .278/.380/.543, and leads the Quakes in home runs (eight), runs scored (31), hits (42), doubles (14), and walks (23). The 22-year-old also leads Rancho Cucamonga in strikeouts (55), with a 30.7-percent K rate above the league average (27.9 percent) in Low-A West.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

Luke Raley and Matt Davidson homered in OKC’s road win over the Round Rock Express (Rangers). That backed five scoreless innings from Vidal Nuño, the 33-year-old who signed with the Dodgers last week.

Rehab update: With the caveat that minor league rehabilitation assignments are more about getting game reps rather than actual statistics, Yoshi Tsutsugo was 0-for-3 with a walk on Saturday, hit third consecutive hitless game with Oklahoma City. Tsutsugo, on the injured list with a right calf strain, is 0-for-9 with four walks, four strikeouts, and a sacrifice fly in three games so far in Triple-A. He’s played first base the last two games after playing left field on Thursday.

Double-A Tulsa

Down 5-0 in the seventh inning, the Drillers rallied to beat the Arkansas Travelers (Mariners). After a pair of runs in the seventh inning, Miguel Vargas homered in the eighth, his first hit in 12 at-bat since getting promoted to Tulsa. He then added an insurance run with an RBI single in the ninth.

The winning blow came from Jeren Kendall, whose bases-loaded triple came in his only at-bat of the game. He pinch ran for Ryan Noda in the sixth inning but was caught stealing.

Gerardo Carrillo, who is on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, allowed a pair of home runs and five runs in his 4⅔ innings, striking out five. His ERA on the season is 5.85.

High-A Great Lakes

Zack Plunkett allowed a game-tying home run in the ninth inning, then a one-out single to score the free runner in the 10th, lifting the Lansing Lugnuts (A’s) over Great Lakes.

Second baseman Zac Ching homered and doubled, and third baseman Deacon Liput hit his first home run of the season for the Loons. Clayton Beeter, the Dodgers second round supplemental pick last year, pitched his longest outing as a pro with two scoreless innings, with two strikeouts while allowing only a single.

Cameron Gibbens struck out four and walked one in two scoreless innings. The 25-year-old Australian right-hander has yet to allow a run in nine innings for Great Lakes, with 16 strikeouts and a 47.1-percent K rate.

Low-A Rancho Cucamonga

Lewis led the offense, and the Quakes cruised over the Visalia Rawhide (D-backs). Shortstop Alex De Jesus doubled, singled, and walked twice, and first baseman Imanol Vargas hit his first home run of the year.

Starting pitcher Carlos Duran allowed only three singles and two walks in five innings, striking out four in the win.

Transactions

Triple-A: Nate Jones, who was designated for assignment on Wednesday, cleared waivers and was sent outright to Oklahoma City. As someone with at least five years of major league service time, Jones cannot be assigned to the minors without his consent. It is not yet known if he will accept the assignment, or decline and become a free agent.

Saturday scores

• Oklahoma City 4, Round Rock 2
• Tulsa 7, Arkansas 5
• Lansing 6, Great Lakes 5 (10 innings)
• Rancho Cucamonga 8, Visalia 3

Sunday schedule

10:05 a.m.: Great Lakes (Logan Boyer) at Lansing (Stevie Emanuel)

12:10 p.m.: Tulsa (Andre Jackson) at Arkansas (Tyler Herb)

2 p.m.: Rancho Cucamonga (Gavin Stone) vs. Visalia (Rigoberto Borbolla)

4:05 p.m.: Oklahoma City (Mike Kickham) at Round Rock (Wes Benjamin)