Roger Arrieta
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA – A successful organization takes the present and the future hand in hand. The Los Angeles Dodgers are often accused, without much reason, of arming themselves with a happy wallet in hand. In fact, there is nothing further from reality. The truth is that the Dodgers’ strengths lie in the depth in the farm system, the development of players, and the wise selection in the Amateur Drafts or International Signing Periods. This is the stuff on which the team’s triumphs are based.
Today, we’re looking at how the top three prospects, according to Fangraphs, have performed so far this season.
No. 1. Michael Busch
The infielder has paid all the debts with the expectation on him at the start of the season. He leads the Tulsa Drillers in AA in almost every offensive category. He has a .308 average and an OPS of 1.041. In addition, he leads the team in RBI with 11, hits with 12, and home runs with 3. As we like to say, the category is too small for him.
He has gotten 11 strikeouts and 10 walks. He is also taking it easy in the batter’s box as he sees 4.314 pitches per at-bat average. One effectiveness scares me. the fact is that he has driven as many teammates to home plate as he has left in circulation. He is 6-for-8 with runners in scoring position (two home runs) and an OPS from another galaxy, 2.394.
No. 2. Andy Pagés
The Havana outfielder is second on his team (Tulsa Drillers) in batting average, .289, in RBI with nine, and leads stolen bases with two. His OPS is also second even though he has yet to meet with his specialty, the home run.
Andy is hitting .500 with runners in scoring position (14-7 with 3 doubles and 9 RBI), second only to Michael Busch in all major performance metrics.
No 3. Diego Cartaya
The Venezuelan catcher was assigned to the Class A team, Rancho Cucamonga. In seven games he has yet to find the form that has placed him third in the organization and allowed the Dodgers to let Keibert Ruiz go without much concern.
In 31 at-bats he is hitting .161 with two home runs and six RBIs. The great uncertainty is how his internal mechanism will engage before a full season. In 2021 he only played in 31 team games.
Diego is only 20 years old and plays at a position that takes time to mature, but one where the Dodgers have an interesting history. The most recent page is still being written by Will Smith.
We will be updating the most interesting stories from the Dodgers’ Farm regularly, the ones that should bring to the majors the World Champs of the near future.
