Dodgers Farm System Gets More Accolades

The LA Dodgers Farm System just got some more accolades from the new 2023 Baseball America Prospect Handbook. The Baseball America Prospect Handbook has been published for 23 years and is the creme de la creme for identifying and rating prospects. How do I know? Well, I just do, and it so happens that I have every one of them ever published… except this year’s copy, which is allegedly on the way, but they do send an advance electronic copy, which everyone who bought one has.

The first year it was published was 2001, which was a little smaller in size than the ones produced after that. But, before that, from 1983 until 2000, BA published the rankings of each team’s top 10 Prospects. Someday we might take a look back at that. But, I now have the Baseball America Top 30 Prospects for each team. We had the TOP 10 a couple of weeks ago when they released that – now we have the entire TOP 30.

To refresh your memory, here are the Dodgers’ Top 10 Prospects:

1. Diego Cartaya – C
2. Bobby Miller – RHP
3. Miguel Vargas – 3B
4. Michael Busch – 2B
5. Ryan Pepiot – RHP
6. Gavin Stone RHP
7. Andy Pages – OF
8. Dalton Rushing – C
9. Nick Nastrini – RHP
10. James Outman – OF

Before we talk about the next twenty, there are some comments that are worth reviewing. Kyle Glazer opened with this:

“The Dodgers won a franchise record 111 games in 2022 despite setbacks that would have sunk almost any other team.“

Kyle Glaser

… and who was the manager of that team? He then went on to enumerate all the losses of players and injuries and the combination of sub-par seasons by Bellinger, Muncy, Gallo, JT, and Kimbrel, et al. It makes you wonder how the Dodgers won 111 games, but of course, Dave Roberts gets no credit for that – he only gets credit for the losses. Glaser finished with this:

“The faces may be changing, but just as has been the case with the Dodgers for years, the winning ways should continue unabated.”

–Kyle Galser

He also wrote that “The Dodgers boast not only one of the best farm systems in baseball but one of the most major league-ready!”

It is positively the best time in history to be a Dodger fan!

Dodger Prospects 11-30

11. Jacob Amaya – SS (of course, he is gone);

12. Nick Frasso – RHP

13. Josue De Paula – OF

14. Emmet Shehan – RHP

15. Eddys Leonard – SS/2B

16. Ronan Kopp, LHP

17. River Ryan, RHP

18. Jonny DeLuca – OF

19. Michael Grove – RHP

20. Maddux Bruns – LHP

21. Jorbit Vivas – 2B

22. Devin Mann – 2B/OF

23. Landon Knack – RHP

24. Jose Ramos – OF

25. Yeiner Fernandez C/2B

26. Peter Heubeck – RHP

27. Damon Keith – OF

28. Kyle Hurt – RHP

29. Carlos Duran – RHP

30. Justin Wrobleski – LHP

A couple of things I learned: I wondered why Landon Knack seemed “stalled” in his development. Glaser wrote that Knack had lost his pinpoint control as his conditioning had worsened. They say he has poor nutrition and poor sleep habits that affect his weight and make it difficult for him to maintain his delivery. They also say that his poor conditioning is the root of the frequent muscle pulls and strains he suffers every year. It is reported in BA that the Dodgers have challenged him to improve his fitness in 2023.

If Landon Knack improves his fitness, sleep habits, nutrition, and overall conditioning, he could be a stud. If not, he is on the “dud” pile!

This is the best Dodger Farm System I can remember. Rating prospects is not an exact science, and of course, not all of these prospects will make it, but there are some very high-quality players here. It’s amazing the Dodgers keep coming up with more.

Where to Order:

You can order the 2023 Baseball America Prospect Handbook at www.BaseballAmerica.com or www.Amazon.com.

MLB Pipline Names Vargas #5 Best 3B Prospect

… and he might not even play 3B. Also, Joendry Vargas was named the #3 Best International Prospect. He is a 6′ 4′ SS out of the DR. Did I mention that 2023 is a great time to be a Dodger fan?