Steve Webb
LOS ANGELES, CA — Catcher Diego Cartaya is acknowledged to be the best prospect in the Dodgers’ minor league system right now. But there is another catcher who is making his presence known in 2022. The Dodgers’ first pick of the 2022 draft, Dalton Rushing is having a start to his career that ballplayers dream of.
Though he was Dodgers’ first pick, Rushing was actually selected in the second round of the draft. Due to breaking the salary cap, the Dodgers were dropped 10 picks in the draft this year, so instead of choosing 30th, they ended up with the 40th pick.
However, Rushing burst onto the scene and absolutely raked after joining the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes back in July. In 28 Single-A games, he slashed .424/.539/.778 (1.317 OPS) with 19 XBH and 30 RBI. And by the end of the season, he was promoted to High-A and finished the minor league season with the Great Lakes Loons.
Though Rushing was primarily a catcher in college at Louisville, he moved around a bit for the Quakes. He started 15 games at catcher for the Quakes, plus five games at first base and seven at designated hitter. “We really believe that the catching outcome is going to be possible and a path he can can do,” said vice president of amateur scouting at the time of the pick. “We like his strength, we like his athleticism. We thought he could hit with power and control the zone.”
If indeed Rushing stays at catcher, this creates a bit of a logjam at the position, as Diego Cartaya is already moving up the in the system ahead of Rushing. Cartaya also split time between Rancho and Great Lakes this season, compiling a .254 average with 22 homers and .895 OPS along the way.
Plus, we got another Louisville grad by the name of Will Smith who doesn’t have any plans of going anywhere anytime soon. Still, it’s a good problem to have. If either of these guys continues to develop, they can be used as a nice trade piece a la Keibert Ruiz, who along with Josiah Gray, were enough to pry Max Scherzer and Trea Turner away from the Nats at the trade deadline last year.
Stay tuned on this one. But it looks like once again the Dodgers have hit the jackpot on this pick, and we’ll continue to be rooting for him as he continues to develop.
