GLENDALE, Ariz. – Logan Wagner tapped out early. It was nearly midnight, and the Glendale Desert Dogs had a day game the next day. As much as he wanted to watch the end of Game 3 of the World Series, his eyelids got heavy after the 17th inning, more than six hours after first pitch.
Thankfully, fellow Dodgers prospect and Glendale teammate Payton Martin was awake. And wired.
Martin burst into the room to alert a sleeping Wagner, who was jolted awake and had to settle for watching highlights. He knew from that point on, he couldn’t be the one lacking in the Fall League Dodgers’ group chat, which had become almost a nightly ritual among the group in Arizona.
The 2025 World Series champions are well represented during the Fall League. The organization’s contingent consists of infielders Wagner (No. 30 prospect) and Jose D. Hernandez, right-handers Martin (No. 20), Hyun-Seok Jang (No. 21) and Alex Makarewich, left-handers Jakob Wright (No. 28) and Justin Chambers, catcher Jesus Galiz and development coach Braelin Hence.
The group – which has the advantage of working out and spending time at the club’s complex in Glendale – was consistently locked in throughout the chase for a second consecutive World Series crown, right up to the final moments, including Miguel Rojas’ game-tying homer to Andy Pages’ leaping grab to Will Smith’s go-ahead home run to Freeman squeezing the final out in Game 7. It’s a reminder that members of the organization are often just like fans – susceptible to going wild in celebration.
COMPLETE DODGERS PROSPECT COVERAGE
“I remember seeing Miggy Ro hit that bomb [in Game 7] and I’m in the hotel room, I’m screaming,” laughed Hence. “I’m pretty sure they want to call up and ask about it, but hey, what a great moment.”
“It was insane,” said Makarewich. “I mean, just like every other fan of baseball, that was incredible to watch. Every game, it felt like it could go either way, tip either way. Very happy that it went our way. It was awesome.”
The goal of a Minor League system, in its purest sense, is to produce talent for the Major League club. The Dodgers have not only been able to achieve that consistently over the past decade, but they’ve also instilled a winning culture all throughout their system.
From 2016-2023, Los Angeles’ combined organizational record each season ranked among the top 10 in baseball and top 3 in the National League. Winning in the Dominican Summer League, Arizona Complex League, Rancho Cucamonga, Great Lakes, Tulsa and Oklahoma City has bred winning in Los Angeles.
“There’s a laundry list of things [that lead to success], whether it be how they coach, how they treat you in player [development], but I think it always boils down to the people,” said Makarewich. “I think that we’ve got a lot of great people like Braelin around us every day pushing us to be better, but also caring for us and supporting us when things aren’t going as well.”
And it’s not just the players the Dodgers have drafted and developed in their system from Day 1 that have picked up on the culture. Chambers, a 20th-round pick in the 2023 Draft by Milwaukee, was acquired in an offseason deal just months later. He’s spent ample time at the Glendale complex around myriad members of the organization as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery over the past two years.
“Honestly, as soon as I got here, not a single person was an unfriendly face to see,” said Chambers. “I can go to anyone, ask anyone about my throw and they’ll give me 20 minutes on what I could do better. … It’s just awesome to be around.”
“Even as a [player development] staff member, I get that same culture vibe, that same aspect from our staff,” said Hence. “I let these guys know all the time, I may learn more from them than I ever teach them.”
During the Fall League, players – no matter their current level – get to don the threads of the big league club they one day aspire to take the field for. The prospect of stepping on a field in front of 56,000+ at Dodger Stadium with a World Series on the line is a ways off for this group, but Mookie Betts is an AFL alum. So is Freeman. So is Smith. And the list goes on, with over 40 percent of this year’s World Series participants having once played in baseball’s finishing school long before the bright lights of the Fall Classic.
Which is to say, in a system flush with talent, the Dodgers are using their slots of players – and coaches – to tab for the Fall League with intent.
“I think a lot of it’s the structure and just the guys that we bring in,” said Wagner. “Our staff, it’s amazing – they care about you honestly on the field, but then off the field as well. Just feeling so welcome to be yourself has just been an amazing culture to be a part of.”
