With the minor league season quickly approaching, it’s time to take a look at what Dodger fans can expect out of the four full season affiliates, starting with Oklahoma City. This will be the team’s 11th season serving as the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate, with Scott Hennessey returning to manage his second year.
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The Comets had a strong 2025 campaign, winning the East Division in the first half of the season and finishing with an 84-66 record but narrowly missing the playoffs. Top prospects such as Dalton Rushing and Alex Freeland contributed before making their major league debuts, while Ryan Ward led the offense on his way to winning Pacific Coast League MVP.
Landon Knack led the team in innings pitched and strikeouts, while Dodgers’ postseason hero Will Klein made 20 appearances in relief and Justin Wrobleski made 10 starts. It was the prime destination for rehabbing major league pitchers, as Clayton Kershaw, Roki Sasaki, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow all made appearances there on their way back from injury.
Looking forward to 2026, it appears the Comets will have another competitive squad. Alex Freeland is likely to return along with Ward, while highly touted prospects such as James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard should join them. Noah Miller, who is arguably the best defender in the organization, should return to captain the defense at shortstop. Michael Siani’s glove in center gives the Dodgers another strong defender up the middle, while veterans with major league experience such as Nick Senzel and Keston Hiura could man the corners of the infield.
The pitching staff should feature some familiar names, as the depth the organization has accumulated spills over from the major league squad to the minors. Depending on how many starters the Dodgers carry on opening day, some of Wrobleski, Knack, Ben Casparius, River Ryan, or even Roki Sasaki could start the season with the Comets. There’s also a chance that lefty Jackson Ferris, acquired with Zyhir Hope in the Michael Busch trade, could be promoted to Triple A after spending all of last season with Double A Tulsa.
Kyle Hurt and Bobby Miller will transition to relief roles. They’ll potentially be joined in the pen by the likes of Paul Gervase, Ronan Kopp, Jose Rodriguez and Carlos Duran. Lefty Antoine Kelly, signed out of the Rockies’ org this offseason, has looked good in spring training and could add another hard-throwing southpaw to the OKC pen.
Just for fun, let’s look at what the Comets’ Opening Day lineup could look like.
LF Zach Ehrhard
RF James Tibbs III
2B Alex Freeland
1B Ryan Ward
3B Nick Senzel
DH Keston Hiura
CF Michael Siani
SS Noah Miller
C Eliezer Alfonzo
P River Ryan
That’s a strong group of guys that should be fun to watch. Some former and future major leaguers that should produce on offense and defense.
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We’ll see how accurate this is come Opening Day, which is two weeks from Thursday for Triple-A and the following week for the other three levels.
Stay tuned next week when we look at Double-A Tulsa.