I have to strongly disagree with anyone who thinks Prospects aren’t important to the Dodgers. Here’s a list of Players who have been (in one way or another) developed by the Dodgers over the past 10 yaesr and I am not even going to talk about Garvey, Lopes, Russell, Cey, Yeager, et al:
2015
Corey Seager
Austin Barnes
2016
Julio Urías
Brock Stewart
José De León
Andrew Toles
Rob Segedin
Jharel Cotton (A’s)
Ross Stripling
2017
Cody Bellinger
Alex Verdugo
Walker Buehler
Kyle Farmer
Willie Calhoun (Rangers)
A.J. Alexy (Rangers)
2018
Caleb Ferguson
Dennis Santana
Tim Locastro (Dodgers)
2019
Will Smith
Dustin May
Tony Gonsolin
Matt Beaty
Edwin Ríos
Gavin Lux
2020
Keibert Ruiz (Dodgers)
Zach McKinstry (Dodgers—first Big-League PA in 2020)
2021
DJ Peters
Luke Raley
Zach Reks
Edwin Uceta
Josiah Gray (Nationals)
Jordan Sheffield (Rockies)
2022
Ryan Pepiot
Michael Grove
Miguel Vargas
James Outman
Jacob Amaya (Marlins)
2023
Bobby Miller
Emmet Sheehan
Gavin Stone
Jonny DeLuca
Kyle Hurt
Michael Busch (Cubs in 2024, but prospect/developed by LAD)
2024
Andy Pages (Dodgers)
Landon Knack (Dodgers)
River Ryan (Dodgers)
Nick Nastrini (White Sox)
Jorbit Vivas (Yankees in 2025; phantomed in 2024)
2025
(injury/roster shuffling year for several LAD prospects)
Nick Frasso (rehab/optioned; tracking toward debut window)
Dalton Rushing
Alex Freeland
The Dodgers have been victims of their success, which has forced them to draft near the end of each round, but Friedman has changed up his methods, and right about now, the system is looking excellent.
I didn’t even include Yordan Alvarez and O’Neill Cruz. So, prospects are VITALLY IMPORTANT! You can use prospects to get other players (Kopech, Edman), get more prospects (Hope and Ferris) or they can become stars. The Dodgers spend tens of millions of dollars a year on player development, so they take it very seriously. It’s the only way to keep a system healthy.
I think that Alex Freeland and Dalton Rushing will both certainly spend most (if not all) of their 2026 season at the Big League Level. Mike Sirota will most likely not be ready until 2027, but I see him as a good defensive CF’er with a .270 BA and 20 HR. Zyhir Hope, Josue DePaula, and Kendall George are slotted for 2028. Hope and DePaula could be outstanding players, while George is likely a 5th outfielder-type. Two players who could be sneaky good are Eduardo Quintero and Emil Morales. Both are young, raw, and extremely talented. Quintero would be outstanding in LF, and Morales is likely to be a power-hitting 3B.
I think the Dodgers will kick the tires on Bo Bichette and Kyle Tucker, but both players may get huge paydays. I can see Bichette as a Dodger, but not Tucker. I think Tucker is going to get close to $500 million – of course, his injuries may impact that.
To minimize the impact of a strong farm system is purely delusional, and as you can see, the Dodgers have been successful at developing players. There are four teams over the past ten years who stand out in Farm Systems Player Development: The Dodgers, Rays, Padres, and Pirates. The first three have been pretty successful. The Pirates are run by morons.
Don’t be a moron – develop your players.
Discussion (10)
Disagree, not disagreeable
anyone else seen enough of trienan?
You’re welcome. That’s the classic reverse jinx by criticizing MC and then having him perform.
I feel like Kike is done with the Dodgers, I think that play where he didn’t slide in home plate marked his departure, or non-return to LA.
I think it is way too soon to think about Miggy Ro or Kike next year.
I think that Pages could spend one more year in CF before Sirota takes over in 2027. BA said that Sirota “might be a steal.” Pages will end up in RF… just maybe not next year. What if Tucker wants to be a Dodger (I don’t think that will happen)?
Freeland is my favorite player… due to his story, but there are a lot of things to be decided between now and then.
Kike is beloved by his teammates.
Miggy Ro said he wants to return next season. Question, should LA sign him, most likely blocking Freeland? Kike is a free agent. I think he is at the point in his career where his offensive production in the filed during the regular season makes him a liability. I would not resign him. I would resign Miggy as a mentor for Freeland. They also have Kim and Edman who can more than ably fill Kike shoes. I also think there will be a serious discussion about moving Pages to right. He has been better, but he is much better suited for the corner position in RF.
I agree with you on his defense Porpoise Boy. Not the worst by any means, but definitely a C- in the field. But…….last year teoscar was a playoff monster and we certainly can’t call him an A+ outfielder. It’s all about tradeoffs. The perfect team is unaffordable, even for Mark Walters
4:10 PM ET
Giants (76-79)
Dodgers (88-67)
SP Trevor McDonald R
0-0 9.00 ERA
SP Emmet Sheehan R
6-3 3.17 ERA
Confirmed Lineup
DH S. Ohtani L
SS Mookie Betts R
1B F. Freeman L
3B Max Muncy L
CF Andy Pages R
LF M. Conforto L
2B Miguel Rojas R
RF Alex Call R
C D. Rushing L
82° Wind 7 mph Out
Today the Dodgers break the 4 million mark in attendance
John Ferguson. All due respect. Your last post noted that you think Conforto is rounding into something that could be helpful. I still think he’s a defensive liability. I think he should have made that catch in left field in the first inning and not making that catch cost. Them two runs. He made up for it on offense but basically that only made him even for the night. He’s a defensive liability and always will be. And just because he makes an unexpected catch now and then doesn’t change that.
Cheers!
Great article. I do like Will Klein and his stuff is intriguing.
From what I can tell (from my uninformed POV) is that the Dodgers basically hunt superstars and seek value everywhere else. They didn’t do this with Yates, and I’m still confused by that signing. You could argue they didn’t do it with Hernandez too, I guess.
But with those exceptions, I think it’s close or pointing to their actual philosophy.
The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.