Where the Dodgers farm system ranks among MLB teams

Feb 5, 2023 - 1:08 PM

It’s been a prospect-heavy last week or so, with MLB top-100 lists coming out at MLB Pipeline, The Athletic, and ESPN.

A consensus has formed, with catcher Diego Cartaya rated as the Dodgers’ No. 1 prospect at five national outlets, with an average rank of roughly 16th overall among all MLB prospects.

Similarly, Bobby Miller is rated as the top Dodgers pitching prospect at six national sites, and his lofty status on MLB-wide lists puts him in an area comparable to other recent top Dodgers pitching prospects Julio Urías, Walker Buehler, and Dustin May.

Along with the ranking of individual players, some sites have unveiled their organizational rankings as well.

Keith Law at The Athletic ranked eight Dodgers prospects in his top 100, more than any other team. So it wasn’t much of a surprise that Law also rated the Dodgers as having the No. 1 farm system in the sport, the second year in a row Los Angeles claimed Law’s top spot.

“They have outstanding depth in up-the-middle position players and hard-throwing pitchers who still project as starters,” Law wrote.

“They are among the best organizations in baseball at helping hitters execute swing changes,” Law added. “They’re also willing to take risks, like moving a first-round pick from first base to second base — not a common position switch — because they believe in their process, and also have the capacity to absorb the hit if it doesn’t work out.”

Kiley McDaniel at ESPN also accompanied his top-100 list with organizational rankings, the latter released on Friday. McDaniel combines his future value scouting rating with Craig Edwards’ previous work at FanGraphs assigning monetary value on those tiers, which results in a total dollar value for each team’s prospects.

The Dodgers on McDaniel’s list this year are ranked the No. 6 farm system in MLB, up from eighth at ESPN last year. The Dodgers’ depth best shows up in how they are approaching this year, with several rookies poised to potentially make an impact in 2023, and beyond.

“By my count, there are seven prospect-eligible pitchers in the upper minors who I give at least a 45 FV (i.e. fifth starter/setup man expectation),” McDaniel wrote. “Meanwhile, Miguel Vargas and Michael Busch should provide help on the corners and James Outman can play all three outfield spots.”