I remember the time when the Dodgers sent out Trent Oeltjen a couple years back and Don Mattingly, then in his second year as manager, predicted Oeltjen could be a fourth outfielder somewhere in the major leagues. Maybe that wasn’t factually incorrect. Still, no team ever gave Oeltjen that chance. He spent a year in the minors, went back to his native Australia for a while, then retired.
So take this quote with a grain of salt:
Don Mattingly: "I think every player we sent out yesterday (Britton, Sweeney, Zarraga, Seager, O'Brien) plays in the big leagues." #Dodgers
— J.P. Hoornstra (@jphoornstra) March 19, 2015
Mattingly said that after I asked him to reflect on Corey Seager‘s camp. Here’s the full quote:
“It’s hard to look at Corey without looking at all those kids: (Scott) Schebler, (O’Koyea) Dickson, (Darnell) Sweeney, all those kids. I think every player we sent out yesterday plays in the big leagues — Britton, both catchers. … I don’t know what Andrew and the guys are thinking, about September call-ups. I think if we’re fairly healthy, I don’t expect to see him with us on an everyday basis.”