This story was excerpted from Sonja Chen’s Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Prospects such as River Ryan and James Tibbs III have given Dodgers fans plenty of reasons to tune into Triple-A Oklahoma City and get a glimpse of the team's future. At the moment, there are also storylines surrounding the Comets that could have implications for L.A. in the present day.
From rehabbers to players looking to get back on track, the Dodgers have several notable names with their Triple-A affiliate. Here are three to keep an eye on in Oklahoma City:
Tommy Edman
Edman, who began this season on the injured list while recovering from offseason surgery on his right ankle, joined the Comets on May 26. He's expected to remain on his rehab assignment for the maximum 20 days allowed, so after playing out this week with Oklahoma City, he should be an option to return to the Dodgers.
When Edman returns, the switch-hitting utility man should take over the bulk of the starts at second base, with occasional appearances in center field. Interestingly, Edman has also made starts at third base, where he made 13 appearances last year when Max Muncy was on the IL, and left field, where he hadn't played since 2020.
"It's just more of kind of covering all of our bases," manager Dave Roberts said.
Edman expanding his versatility could potentially open up some more opportunities for Alex Freeland, who has shown some growth in his second stint in the big leagues this season, to continue to get reps at second base. While the Dodgers look forward to getting one of their veteran bats back, they also recognize the need to see what they have in their younger players in order to keep their window of contention open for the foreseeable future.
Evan Phillips
One year to the day after having Tommy John surgery, Phillips made his first rehab outing with Oklahoma City on June 4. Like Edman, Phillips has a long stay with the Comets in store and is likely to take the maximum 30 days allowed for pitchers to build up his arm. That lines him up to return to the Dodgers in early July.
Some of the boxes Phillips will need to check on his rehab assignment include pitching on back-to-back days and two out of three days, as well as doing an up-down.
The Dodgers' bullpen has been among the best in baseball, as entering Sunday, they ranked seventh in the Majors with a 3.30 ERA -- and that's without closer Edwin Díaz, who is out until the second half after surgery to remove loose bodies from his right elbow. Phillips, who was one of L.A.'s most trusted leverage arms in previous years, could help a great 'pen become even better.
It may not be long until Brock Stewart, who is on the IL for a second time this season with a left foot bone spur, joins Phillips in the Comets' bullpen. Stewart will throw live batting practice at least one more time before beginning a rehab assignment, although that is also contingent on his foot feeling good while participating in PFPs.
Hyeseong Kim
Kim has been back with the Comets for just over a week, as the Dodgers are looking for him to work on his swing. Notably Kim, like Edman, has been branching out defensively lately.
Since returning to Oklahoma City, Kim has started at second base, third base, shortstop and center field. He also made an appearance for the Dodgers in left field one game before he was optioned to Triple-A. The team has spoken about developing him into a true super-utility player in the past, but in practice, he has primarily appeared in the middle infield for L.A.
The most important thing for Kim, though, is getting his swing back to where it was at the beginning of the season.
"There's some stuff in his setup, and it started to drift to a little bit more, like what we saw last year," general manager Brandon Gomes said when Kim was optioned. "Thought when he first came up, he'd done some really good work with our hitting guys down in Triple-A. So our guys are going to get together as a group and put together a plan and … hopefully get him back to where he was earlier in the season."