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Team-specific prospect rankings were unveiled by Baseball America on Monday and MLB Pipeline on Friday. That gives us essentially a complete look at how national outlets rate the Dodgers prospects within their own system.
Fourteen different Dodgers prospects were named among the top 10 within the organization by at least one of Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, MLB Pipeline, ESPN, The Athletic, and FanGraphs.
The top prospects, we are more familiar with. Catcher Diego Cartaya is rated the Dodgers’ best prospect by all six of those national outlets. Pitcher Bobby Miller was rated second by five of the six, and third in the other. Miguel Vargas is rated between second and fourth on all six lists.
Four others were ranked among the top 10 prospects in the organization — pitcher Gavin Stone (average ranking 4.7), second baseman Michael Busch (5.2), outfielder Andy Pages (7.0), and pitcher Nick Nastrini (8.5). Dalton Rushing, the catcher drafted last July out of Louisville, came close. He was named the team’s fifth-best prospect by both ESPN and The Athletic, and was among the team top 10 on five of six lists. His average ranking is 7.5.
A few trade pickups last year are rated highly in 2023. Nick Frasso, who had a 1.83 ERA and 76 strikeouts in 54 innings last season, was acquired from the Blue Jays in the Mitch White trade in August. Frasso was rated the Dodgers’ seventh-best prospect by ESPN and No. 8 by Baseball Prospectus. River Ryan, the pitcher acquired from the Padres for Matt Beaty last March, was rated ninth in the Dodgers’ system by The Athletic and 10th by FanGraphs.
Outfielder Josue De Paula was ranked seventh in the Dodgers’ system by FanGraphs, a remarkable rating for someone who doesn’t turn 18 until May. De Paula hit .350/.448/.522 with 13 doubles, five home runs, and two triples in 53 games in the Dominican Summer League in his professional debut, and the power was intriguing enough that FanGraphs wasn’t alone on an island. ESPN rated the oufielder 11th in the system, Baseball America had him 12th, and The Athletic rated De Paula 18th.
Also notable is newcomer Joendry Vargas, the 17-year-old shortstop Dominican Republic signed by the Dodgers for a reported $2.08 million on January 15, the beginning of the international signing period. Vargas is ranked the team’s No. 15 prospect by FanGraphs, No. 20 by ESPN, No. 25 by MLB, and 29th in the system by Baseball America.
