De Paula and Hope are ranked on several top-100 prospect lists. George was Dodgers’ first-round draft pick in 2023. Loons open Friday at home vs. Lake County
The Great Lakes Loons, the Dodgers’ minor league High-A affiliate in the Midwest League in Midland, Michigan, opens up its 2025 schedule on Friday at home against Lake County.
Great Lakes announced its opening day roster on Thursday, which is headlined by a trio of 20-year-old outfielders. Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope are consensus top-100 prospects in the sport, and Kendall George was the Dodgers’ first-round draft pick in 2023.
De Paula is the only one of the three who played in High-A last year. He hit .254/.422/.356 with six doubles, four home runs, and a 136 wRC+ in 52 games with Great Lakes over the final two and a half months of 2024.
Behind the scenes at Loons Media Day pic.twitter.com/6wsvlLoBcf
— Great Lakes Loons (@greatlakesloons) April 2, 2025
All three outfielders are ranked among the Dodgers’ top 20 prospects at Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, MLB Pipeline, and The Athletic, with George’s average ranking 16th at those four sites.
Three 2024 Dodgers draftees are on Great Lakes’ roster, sixth-round pitcher Brooks Auger, and ninth-round outfielder Kole Myers. Both will be making their professional debuts with the Loons. Left-hander Evan Shaw, last year’s 16th-rounder out of Kansas, pitched in five games for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga last season.
Patrick Copen, the Dodgers’ seventh-round draft pick in 2023 who was hit in the face by a line drive with Great Lakes last August. He impressed this spring training and will start opening day for the Loons on Friday night.
Jair Fernandez is in his second season managing the Loons, this year with a brand new staff of coaches around him.