Dodgers have trove of future stars with ‘tremendous upside’ on the farm. GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Dodgers are coming off their second World Series championship in five years and have made 12 straight trips to the playoffs, averaging 99 victories per full season during that span. They didn’t rest on their success this offseason, shelling out more than $400 million in free-agent deals, highlighted by the additions of Blake Snell and Tanner Scott and the retention of Teoscar Hernández, while also adding coveted Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki.
Los Angeles has as many financial resources as any team, and maximizes them with a willingness to spend and a penchant for investing wisely. It also excels at acquiring and developing young talent. Its farm system came in fourth in MLB Pipeline’s latest rankings, and no organization has a better collection of teenage position-player prospects.
Outfielder Josue De Paula sits at No. 40 among our Top 100 prospects, and shortstops Emil Morales and Kellon Lindsey are poised to join him on the list this year. Outfielders Eduardo Quintero and Ching-Hsien Ko, shortstop Joendry Vargas and third baseman Chase Harlan all have the potential to become at least big league regulars.
“From a quality and number standpoint, we’ve never had so many players this young and this interesting,” said vice president of player development Will Rhymes, who joined the Dodgers as a pro scout in 2016. “All of the upside and athleticism is really cool.
“It’s very exciting for where we’re at as an organization. With the long-term deals we have, this gives a few years for these guys to develop and accelerate the tremendous upside that they have.”
The most advanced young hitter the system has seen in several years, De Paula looks like a slightly smaller version of Yordan Alvarez with a similarly tantalizing combination of quality swing decisions and elite exit velocities. Signed for $397,500 in 2022, he slashed .268/.404/.405 with 10 homers and 27 steals between two Class A stops last year, leading the system in on-base percentage and posting a 136 wRC+ as the second-youngest regular in the High-A Midwest League during the second half.
“Josue is one of the most exciting and projectable young bats in the Minor Leagues,” Rhymes said. “He has been very productive and you can see another gear in performance that he can reach. His underlying metrics are so good.”
Morales and Lindsey both joined the organization last year, with the former signing for $1,897,500 out of the Dominican Republic in January and the latter turning pro for $3,297,500 as a first-round pick in July. Morales is very physical for an 18-year-old, yet still has projection remaining in his 6-foot-3 frame. He was named Dominican Summer League MVP after leading the Rookie-level circuit in slugging (.691), OPS (1.169), homers (14 in 46 games) and total bases (105). One of the fastest players in the 2024 Draft, Lindsey resembles Trea Turner at the same stage of their careers.
“Emil can really hit,” Rhymes said. “He has the highest offensive ceiling of our young shortstops. Kellon can fly, has a chance to be a very good defender and could be the most balanced of those shortstops. What he has done in the offseason with his strength and his swing is so impressive. The ball jumps off his bat now. He’ll surprise some people who haven’t seen him since before the Draft.”
The sleeper in the group is the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Ko, who signed last June for $650,000 out of Taiwan and has played just nine games in the DSL. When he turned pro, director of Pacific Rim scouting Jon Deeble compared Ko to Cody Bellinger. The 18-year-old has all the ingredients to hit for average and power, and his solid arm strength adds to his right-field profile.
