Tanner Dodson (born May 9, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization.

Amateur career

Dodson attended Jesuit High School in Carmichael, California. In 2015, as a senior, he batted .430 along with pitching to a 2.10 ERA. He was selected by the New York Mets in the 31st round of the

2015 Major League Baseball draft The 2015 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks ...

, but he did not sign and instead chose to attend the University of California at Berkeley to play college baseball for the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

. As a freshman at California in 2016, Dodson pitched innings (19 games with nine being starts) in which he compiled a 3.36 ERA. In 2017, as a sophomore, he began playing center field along with pitching. That season, he batted .297 with three home runs and 26 RBIs in 185

at-bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

while pitching to a 2-6 record and 5.37 ERA in 19 games (seven starts). After the season, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

for the Wareham Gatemen in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

, where he was named a league all-star and batted .365 in 29 games, earning him the league batting title. Prior to the 2018 season, Dodson was named a preseason All-American by

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

. In 54 games, he batted .320 with one home run and 27 RBIs while along with posting a 2-1 record and 2.48 ERA in 40 relief innings pitched. After the season, he was named to the All-Pac-12 team and the All-Defensive team.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Rays

Dodson was selected 71st overall by the Tampa Bay Rays in the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

as a two-way player. He signed for $775,000 and made his professional debut with the Hudson Valley Renegades of the Class A Short Season New York–Penn League. He spent the whole season there, batting .273 with two home runs and 19 RBIs in 49 games along with pitching to a 1-0 record and a 1.44 ERA in 25 relief innings pitched. Dodson spent 2019 with the Charlotte Stone Crabs of the Class A-Advanced

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

but missed the last three months of the season after undergoing

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

. Over 15 games, he batted .250, and over 17 innings pitched, he compiled a 5.29 ERA. He did not play a minor league game in 2020 since the season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To begin the 2021 season, Dodson transitioned to pitching full time, was assigned to the Bowling Green Hot Rods of the High-A East, and then was promoted to the Montgomery Biscuits of the Double-A South on August 1. Over 37 appearances for the year, Dodson went 5-2 with a 3.20 ERA and 64 strikeouts over innings.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On March 18, 2022, Dodson was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Luke Raley. He was assigned to the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

of the Double-A Texas League for the 2022 season, where he was 4–0 with a 8.39 ERA in 29 appearances. He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Glendale Desert Dogs after the season. For the 2023 season, he returned to Tulsa and was promoted to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers. Between the two teams, he pitched in 50 games with a 5–7 record and 4.88 ERA.

References

External links

California Golden Bears bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodson, Tanner Minor league baseball players 1997 births Living people Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Sacramento, California California Golden Bears baseball players Wareham Gatemen players Hudson Valley Renegades players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Montgomery Biscuits players Tulsa Drillers players Glendale Desert Dogs players Arizona Complex League Dodgers players Oklahoma City Dodgers players