Format = Position Player | Age on 4/1/2024 | Highest Level Played | Estimated Time of Arrival
1. OF Andy Pages | 23 | AAA | 2024
Pages could be part of the Dodgers’ story in 2024 from chapter one if he can hit a little this spring. Might need an injury or two to break camp but figures to get written into the lineup by the time summer rolls round. Might’ve happened this year if not for a torn labrum that ended his season in June, just one game into his Triple-A career. At 6’1” 212 lbs, Pages features double-plus power, plus patience and a strong throwing arm from a corner-outfield profile. The shoulder injury throws this into question, of course, but if he comes all the way back, he could make an early impact.
2. OF Kendall George | 19 | A | 2027
80-grade runner at 5’10” 170 lbs. Plus hit tool. Double-plus defender. 37th overall pick in 2023’s draft. Burners aren’t always the highest probability bet on the board but I’m way too curious to miss out on George, who slashed .370/.458/.420 with 17 stolen bases in 28 games across two levels in his debut season.
3. RHP River Ryan | 25 | AAA | 2024
2023 wasn’t a smooth ride for Ryan, who went 1-and-6 despite pitching well in Double-A then posted a 10.29 ERA in his two Triple-A starts despite striking out 12 batters in seven innings. Looking at the whole picture, he recorded 110 strikeouts in 104.1 innings and set himself up well to support the big league staff at some point in 2024. A two-way player in college, Ryan has been making major gains since converting to pitching full time, particularly in terms of off-speed functionality and command, which is where I give him a slight edge over his cohorts on this list.
4. RHP Nick Frasso | 25 | AAA | 2024
A long-levered 6’5” 200-pounder who gets great extension on a double-plus fastball, Frasso can dominate a lot of lineups when he’s commanding just that one pitch. When he’s effectively mixing in his slider and changeup, he looks like a long-term rotation stalwart. He took the ball 25 times across two levels, covering 95 innings and collecting 107 strikeouts as the Dodgers meted out his workload in conservative doses.
5. RHP Landon Knack | 26 | AAA | 2024
Demonstrates a real aptitude for repeating his delivery. Might be a bit less interesting in other organizations, but the Dodgers continue to coach their young arms into generating positive outcomes at the major league level. Their rotation heading into 2024 currently contains three guys who were rookies in 2023 (Miller, Pepiot, Sheehan). And they’d be projected to win the division today anyway. Weird wild stuff. Knack’s lack of a dominant offering makes him a bit unlikely to crack that group, but Ryan Yarbrough is in there, too, and so is Walker Buehler on his way back from a second TJ. Plenty of innings to be had assuming they don’t sign a bunch of starters.
6. 2B Michael Busch | 26 | MLB | 2024
Dude has pretty much always hit, so . . . everything zen? I don’t think so. I’ve always struggled to see how he fits into a first-division Los Angeles lineup, and they’ve been prospect hugging pretty hard these past few cycles, so his chances of getting traded into a kinder playing time climate aren’t all that high. The post-shirt world just doesn’t have much room for Busch-shaped second basemen, always out here asking us to please clap for their slash lines of .323/.431/.618 with 27 home runs in 98 Triple-A games while ignoring how embarrassing that feels to all of us when we see their general uselessness on defense. If the club doesn’t have enough designated hitter options to fill a full season, Busch has a chance to smash, and it’s certainly possible that he could grab hold of the DH gig and never let it go.
7. OF Josue De Paula | 18 | A | 2026
A 6’3” lefty who’s growing quickly enough that I’m hesitant to even include his listed weight of 185 lbs, De Paula struggled early in Low-A but improved throughout the year and finished with a slash line of .284/.396/.372 and a 17.9 percent strikeout rate. Obviously, it’d be nice to see a little more power than that, but he’s got plenty of time to get that part figured out. Have to image he’ll open the year in High-A. Turns 19 on May 24. Will he make a game-power and be pushing for Double-A by then? Who’s to say, of course, but he’s that kind of athlete in that kind of org.
8. 2B Jorbit Vivas | 23 | AAA | 2024
I’ve always had a lot of verve for Vivas, a 5’10” left handed hitter who strikes out about ten percent of the time no matter who he’s hitting against. He hit 13 homers and stole 25 bases across two levels last year and will spend the early part of the season lurking behind whoever takes the second and third base jobs out of spring training.
9. C Dalton Rushing | 23 | A+ | 2025
Some people are in a real hurry to run Rushing up their lists, and I guess I can see it. He’s a powerful hitter (15 HR in 89 High-A games) with extreme patience (18.9 % walk rate) and a decent chance to remain behind the plate. Trouble for our game is that even if Dalton can make enough contact at the upper levels with his low-swing-volume approach, Will Smith might slap the job opportunity right out of his mouth just as he’s taking the big stage.
10. C Diego Cartaya | 22 | AA | 2025
We could copy and paste a fair bit of Rushing’s report here. If Kyle Hurt can remain a starter, he’d get this spot and probably land a little higher up the list, but I dropped him off because I’m reading the tea leaves of one start in seven Triple-A appearances. Also just kinda the way he moves read as relieverish. Might be jumping to conclusions on this one. Smykowski would be proud. Anywhoozles, could kick this spot to SS Joendry Vargas, too. He’s the most likely to hop an escalator to the top floor after slashing .328/.423/.529 with seven homers and 19 steals in 48 DSL games. He’s the pretty easy choice among these three in a rebuild type scenario. Cartaya hit just .189 in 93 games at Double-A, but he was young for the level, catchers often travel that long and winding road, and perhaps most importantly for this arena, he still has significant trade value, if my leagues are any indicator. I suppose he’s kind of a Made Guy now. You never really know until a player flails for a full season and then gets flipped for real big leaguers regardless. Always a fun one to see on the transaction feed.
Thanks for reading!
