Alex Verdugo (@okc_dodgers on Instagram)

by Cary Osborne

Alex Verdugo is arguably the hottest hitter in the minor leagues.

Prior to tonight’s game, the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers outfielder was 10-for-16 in his four previous games and from June 6 to July 4 (22 games), he batted .432/.479/.659 with seven three-hit games. Verdugo came into the day leading the Pacific Coast League in batting average (.351) and was 11th in OPS (.914) and had the ninth lowest strikeout rate (12.5 percent).

Oklahoma City (Triple-A)

Andrew Toles went on an eight-game tear from June 24 to July 1 where he was 16-for-32 at the plate with two homers and four doubles. Toles came into tonight batting .339/.380/.512 in 30 games.

Verdugo, pitchers Manny Bañuelos and Pat Venditte and catcher Rocky Gale will represent OKC in the Triple-A All-Star Game on July 11.

Bañuelos, 27, has a 3.14 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 15 games (14 starts), averaging 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Venditte, the 33-year-old switch pitcher who has pitched eight games with the big league Dodgers, has a 1.95 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 31 relief appearances with OKC. Gale, 30, came into tonight batting .317/.343/.444 with four homers in 53 games.

The Texas League couldn’t contain third baseman Connor Joe, so he was promoted to OKC on June 21. He hasn’t stopped hitting since his arrival. Coming into tonight, Joe was hitting .297/.400/.622 with three home runs in 12 games with OKC. With Double-A Tulsa, he hit .304/.425/.554 with 11 homers in 57 games.

Tulsa (Double-A)

Outfielder D.J. Peters, 22, has homered in four of five July games to bring his total for the season up to a Texas League-leading 18. He has six homers in his last nine games. Peters hit 27 homers last year with Rancho Cucamonga and was the California League Most Valuable Player. He’s hitting .244/.334/.485 on the season.

California League strikeout leader Dean Kremer was promoted from Rancho to Tulsa on Thursday and threw seven-shutout innings, striking out 11 while allowing three hits and three walks for the Drillers. Kremer had a 3.30 ERA, ranked third in the league with a 1.18 WHIP and struck out 114 batters in 79 innings.

Outfielder Zach Reks, a 10th-round pick in 2017, has collected two hits in three straight games and five of his last six, going 10-for-23 in that span. On the season, he’s batting .343/.412/.455 with Tulsa in 41 games.

Right-hander reliever Andrew Istler, 25, has been outstanding in a season split between Tulsa and High-A Rancho Cucamonga, with a 2.58 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in 52 1/3 innings. Istler has walked seven batters and allowed 33 hits on the season.

Rancho Cucamonga (High-A)

Third baseman/second baseman Rylan Bannon, 22, leads the California League and the Dodger farm system with 19 home runs. Bannon came into tonight batting .294/.399/.571.

After going hitless in his return from the disabled list on June 26, middle infielder Gavin Lux hit safely in his next seven games, going 10-for-27 in the span. The 2016 first-rounder came into tonight batting .315/.394/.519 in 66 games.

Since being promoted from Low-A Great Lakes on May 14, right-hander reliever Zach Pop has a 0.36 ERA in 17 games with the Quakes. He has held opposing batters to a .150 average in the hitter-friendly California League.

Great Lakes (Low-A)

Corner infielder Brock Carpenter, a 2016 20th-round pick, started his season with the Loons on June 13 and has gotten off to a hot start with .321/.387/.625 line with three homers and six doubles in 16 games.

Outfielder Brayan Morales is now up to 35 steals in 49 attempts. The 22-year-old is batting .277/.338/.400.

Ogden (Rookie)

Cuban third baseman Miguel Vargas collected three hits and knocked in four runs on Thursday night. In four games with Ogden, the 18-year-old is 10-for-15 with seven RBI. In 12 games this season with Ogden and the Rookie Arizona League Dodgers, he is 23-for-46.

Dillon Paulson, a 2018 13th-rounder has 16 RBI in 13 games. He’s OPSing 1.073.