Dodgers Prospect Watch: Brett de Geus

Dodgers Prospect Watch: Brett de Geus

Name: Brett de Geus

Vitals: Relief pitcher. 6' 2', 190. Age 22. Bats right, throws right. From Pleasanton, CA.

How acquired: Taken in the 33rd round of the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft, out of Cabrillo College.

Potential date for major league debut: 2022.

Highest level of play: 2019 High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.

Spring Training stats: 6 G, 6 2/3 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 Ks, 2.70 ERA, 1.500 WHIP.

Baseball America scouting report (subscription required):

“[T]th Dodgers might have found a late-round gem in 6-foot-2 righthander Brett de Geus…put up eye-catching numbers in 2019 and was chosen for the Arizona Fall League's all-star game in October…legit three-pitch mix with a fastball in the mid-to-upper 90s, a cut fastball that looks a lot like a slider and a curveball…good control -- walked 1.9 per nine innings during the [2019] season -- and an understanding of pitching advanced for his age and experience…bat-missing…ability to induce ground balls [and] strike-throwing…three-pitch mix where all play above-average…able to execute them all and work them off each other…opportunity to move faster than most because the execution is so good."

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Comment: Ranked 29th among Dodgers prospects by MLB.com, de Geus played one season of JC-ball at Cabrillo College (2016-17, Aptos, CA), going 9-3, with a 1.94 ERA, 93 strikeouts in 102 innings over 16 appearances and 14 starts. Following the 2018 draft, he reported to the Dodgers short-season Odgen Raptors, struggling to a 7.26 ERA, 1.694 WHIP, 58 Ks in 62 IP over 15 games and 14 starts.

With a blank slate and a full-time switch to the bullpen last year, de Geus was a completely different pitcher. Beginning the 2019 season at the Low-A Great Lakes Loons, the right-hander finished games in 11 of his 19 appearances, sporting a 2.35 and 0.750, with 36 strikeouts in 30 2/3.

Promoted to Rancho Cucamonga and with an almost identical workload (31 innings, 20 games, 15 finishes), de Geus improved his ERA to a glittering 1.16, with a 1.129 WHIP  and 36 strikeouts. The Dodgers rewarded the 22-year-old with a slot in the Arizona Fall League, where he was essentially unhittable: 8 G, 9 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 11 Ks, 0.00 and 0.429. 

The invite to 2020 Spring Training was further reward for de Geus, and minus the COVID-19 pandemic and likely cancelling of a minor league season, he was headed to a full season to progress at least as far as the AA-Tulsa Drillers, and perhaps even to the AAA-Oklahoma City Dodgers. Stay tuned, Dodgers fans.

And remember, glove conquers all.

Howard Cole has been writing about baseball on the internet since Y2K. Follow him on Twitter.

Photo credit: Jacob Amaya, by Gail Verderico. Follow her on Twitter or at Instagram.