Prospect Q&A: Dodgers outfielder Pages

Nearly five years since he signed with the Dodgers, Andy Pages seems to be the next in a line of excellent Cuban prospects to climb the Minor League ladder.

The 21-year-old has an innate ability to find gaps and hit the ball over the fence, and he’s done just that this season for Double-A Tulsa. Pages has bashed 26 homers and added 27 doubles while batting .236/.339/.472 with 80 RBIs in his first season in the Texas League.

A prototypical corner outfielder with a big arm and big power, Pages signed with Los Angeles for $300,000 in October 2017 after leaving Cuba. He’s been one of the club’s best prospects ever since and is currently one of seven Dodgers’ prospects ranked in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 (No. 69).

Pages came stateside in 2018 after opening the year with the Dodgers’ Rookie-level Dominican Summer League team. He played the final 10 games of the Arizona League season and finished with a .229 average, .856 OPS, 10 homers and nine doubles in his first professional action.

The Havana native enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2019 with Rookie-level Ogden, collecting 43 extra-base hits, including 19 homers, and driving in 55 runs while batting .298 with a 1.049 OPS. While the pandemic slowed his momentum, he still proved to be a power threat with High-A Great Lakes last year. He clubbed 31 homers and 25 doubles while batting .265 with a .933 OPS.

During his breakout campaign in 2019, Pages established something of a worrisome trend in his profile. His 28.3 percent strikeout rate in Ogden has been his highest so far, but he’s continued to strike out in more than 24 percent of his at-bats since, including a 24.9 percent mark this year.

In the latest Prospect Q&A, Pages looks back on his year in Tulsa and discusses his target goals for the offseason. He also discusses his life as one of the best players in the world, literally, at the video game MLB: The Show, and the unfortunate events that have led to his hiatus from the game. (Drillers pitching coach Luis Vasquez stepped in as interpreter for this Q&A. Vasquez, 36, signed with the Dodgers out of the Dominican Republic in 2009 and pitched for 10 seasons in the Minors.)

MiLB.com: If you had to look back on your year and how it went, how would you evaluate the season?

Andy Pages: I'll go back and think like it's a good season. I know it's not like everybody expected, so I just go everyday through my stuff and just go out there and just play the game and, you know, whatever's come out has come out. And I just put the work in every day and go out and I just think it's really good.

MiLB.com: How is your comfort level in the Minors compared to when you first got to the States?

Pages: I knew when I first started playing, I can hit and when I get to the league, I knew I could hit. My swing has not been consistent like that, but I just go in there every day ... my swing has not been consistent this year.

MiLB.com: Was there something that you came into the year wanting to work on or improve?

Pages: Throughout the years, like the consistency and stuff, I always tried to do good and be patient when things aren't going good. Like, I always want to hit the ball. And now I feel a little bit more confident. ... I think just going in and trying to do my best, just put in the work every day.

MiLB.com: You've been able to tap into your power in the past couple seasons. What led to that?

Pages: I didn't work on anything special or, like, specific to develop his power. I just didn't want to do that because I've been like that my whole my whole life. It's just, swing at the ball and try to get good conduct on the ball carries off the bat.

Andy Pages showing off his arm, firing an absolute 🚀 from deep right field to nail the West Michigan runner @greatlakesloons #DodgersOnTheFarm pic.twitter.com/53O6H6kZ2C

— Dodgers Player Development (@DodgerPlayerDev) May 12, 2021

MiLB.com: Besides the baseball adjustments over the past couple years, how have you continued to adjust to life in the United States after leaving Cuba?

Pages: It's been hard because I've had six years here without seeing my family. I'm pretty much by myself here. You know, going through everything like, it's like thank God I got the coaches to help me but it's like, it's not easy to just be yourself with family back in Cuba. I get out of Cuba to come here to play baseball. And that's what I try to do. Try to enjoy myself and enjoy the game here. But it's still difficult because I can see my family.

MiLB.com: I've seen stories about you being one of the best MLB The Show players, literally, in the world. Is this true?

Luis Vasquez: Yeah, it's true.

MiLB.com: How did this come to be?

Pages: I've been playing a lot, but last year and this year, I became one of the best. But right now I've run into an issue. Somebody hacked my account and MLB The Show blocked my account, and now I can't play. I have to get in contact with them and try to figure out what's going on. Because it wasn't me. Somebody hacked my stuff. It was like three weeks ago, and possibly they'll block me for like three months.

MiLB.com: What did playing the game do for you? Anything helpful for a Minor Leaguer?

Pages: Sometimes when I'm struggling on the field, I'll go back home and [the game] takes me out of the struggle. Because I know I can go home and compete and refresh my mind, and then come back the next day and try to do what I do in the game, in MLB The Show. It's helpful because it takes me out of that, you know, stress and all that stuff.

MiLB.com: The regular season is ending soon. Do you have any goals for the offseason?

Pages: I just want to maintain my form like, my body and swing and all that stuff and work. And little things went wrong this year, during the season, with my swing and patience, and all that stuff that he needs to work for next year.