2283 - 2026 Los Angeles Dodgers Top 10 Prospects

The following players were discussed:
1. Josue De Paula (OF)
2. Zyhir Hope (OF)
3. Eduardo Quintero (OF)
4. River Ryan (RHP)
5. Mike Sirota (OF)
6. James Tibbs (OF)
7. Charles Davalan (OF)
8. Ching-Hsien Ko  (OF)
9. Joendry Vargas (SS)
10. Alex Freeland (SS)

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Greetings everyone. It is Christmas Eve, December twenty fourth, about
two o'clock in the afternoon. Hope this finds everybody well
and getting ready. If you celebrate Christmas starting to wrap
gifts and get everything under the Christmas tree, and you've
got little kids, it's tons of fun. You most probably
won't listen to this podcast until it's When I had

(00:22):
little kids, it was Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were
a blur. You started getting exhausted by the twenty sixth,
and by the twenty seven you were looking for some
kind of distraction. So hopefully this will become a distraction
for you to listen to. At the end of the
twenty six or the twenty seventh, we'll be spending Christmas

(00:42):
even Christmas Day with our grandchildren, so which should be
a lot of fun. Okay, today we're talking about the
Los Angeles Dodgers minor league system, and it's a good one.
They continue to be extremely strong. I've got twenty three
prospects to go through. The ten will be done for everybody,

(01:02):
then we'll break as we typically do, and then finish
up the remaining ones just for our Patreon members. If
you'd like to join us, out at the Patreon site
like this kind of content and information. It's p a
t r e o n dot com forward slash prospect
three six one. Okay, let's get started with the Dodgers.

(01:24):
You know, we always talk about the top three of
the Detroit Tigers with Hoswi Bersini, Bersino, excuse me, Max
Clark and Kevin McGonagall. Probably not necessary in that order,
but as being the three best prospects of any one
team in baseball. But I have to tell you with

(01:44):
the emergence of Eduardo Quintero, and you can make the
argument as a your ho Hossewey, Depaula and Eduardo Quintera
a rot up there, right. I mean, they all three
of them have elite fantasy type of potential, particularly was
Sayer Hope and Edgeward or Quintara with their speed, and
then how'sway to Paula could just be kind of the

(02:07):
Rafaeld Devers two point zero. I mean, that's what it
feels like he's going to turn into. It's just a
power hitting first baseman, third baseman, outfielder type of I
guess we'll play the outfield, but kind of one of
those power hitting thirty plus home run pop with the
guy that can hit, and that's just looking what looks

(02:27):
like and feels like what he's going to do. I
atually think he moves to first base. That's why I
was kind of given the cop of Rafaeld Devers, similar
kind of body types, et cetera. But those three are fantastic.
And then it gets deeper, you know, as you go
through the second tier here of everyday kind of upside
just littered with really nice prospects. How'sway to Paula? I

(02:52):
put number one. If you want Zayr Hope number one,
you buy by all means do that. My AI assistant,
when he did the rankings at the top, put Zayer
Hope number one. He liked what I wrote up and
what I have been saying about zero Hope more than
he does about the Paula. And when I asked him,
it was because of the speed. So I mean the

(03:13):
fantasy upside is there top thirty outfielder with upside? So
I mean I I mean, I think there's a lot here.
The question is is he going to hit? I mean
he did strike out twenty six point five percent of
the time. He will work walks, he doesn't have a
very high chase rate, So there's a lot of things there.
Even though he strikes out too much from an approach

(03:35):
and from a general hit tool that that I think
he's going to be just fine. There's also plenty of
bat speed and plenty of exit velocity that he should
be able to sport at consistent high batting average balls
and play. So when I say he could grow into
a thirty thirty home run thirty thirty threat, that's not hyperbole.
I think that's what's possible with him. Is it going

(03:58):
to happen? I mean, time will tell, But that's the
kind of upside that we're talking about with Zayer Hopes.
If you want to put him one by all means
do that. But Depaula could be a forty home run guy.
I mean, it could be massive power here. There's gonna
be a little bit of speed early in this career,
but I don't think I don't think speed is going

(04:18):
to be a big part of his game. The thing
is he just is a monster working his walks and
kind of playing that part of the game. So if
we go and take a look at what his walk
rates were last season, I mean, he's really can work
the plate, and that's kind of what I like about
him and why in the end I put him above

(04:41):
Zayer Hope. I just think he's a safer bet and
a safer bet that could hit thirty home runs. He
did steal thirty two bases last season as well, so
I don't think speed is going to be a huge
part of his game going forward, but for now it
definitely is. So twelve home runs, thirty two stolen bases.
But eventually, I think you're going to see the power

(05:01):
come up and look at twenty percent walk rate and
nineteen percent excuse me, twenty percent strikeout rate and nineteen
percent walk rate. So it's just I mean, it feels
and smells a lot like Raphael Devers with early speed
in his game. And that's why again I have him
number one, just because I think he's a better hitter
than Zay your Hope. Both those guys are fantastic. I

(05:25):
know a lot of our Patreon members believe that Edgwardo
Quintero should be number one, and I totally get that
as well, and I have quint and a bunch of
Dynasty leagues. I picked up on him when he was
originally signed by the Dodgers, and he was originally signed
by the Dodgers as a catcher, but he's got seventy
great speeds, so he's moved to center field. Turns out

(05:47):
he plays a great center field. He's got a really
good arm, so there's a lot to like from a
defensive standpoint. Doesn't have a ton of power, but I
think there's enough that he's going to hit twelve to
fifteen home runs, and I think he'll be able to
steal as many bases as he wants. I mean, it
is tremendous speed with him, So I talk about a
fifteen forty upside, kind of that Carl Crawford type of ceiling,

(06:11):
and I think that's who the player could become. So
there's a lot to like there. So, and he's actually
hit better than I thought. I thought there'd be some
concern about how much he would hit, but that has
turned out to be just a much better hit tool
than we thought when he was originally signed. Twenty two

(06:32):
percent strikeout rate, a sixty percent walk rate. He hit
two ninety three last season across low and high AY
and even if he got to high A there's a
little bit more strikeouts, but it's still reasonable twenty four percent,
really high walk rates. I would like to see him
get a little bit more aggressive at the plate. I
think that would help his overall walk rate. But he's

(06:54):
patient at the plate. It just does not swing at ball.
So again, take your pick. I've got all three of
them very highly ranked, all top I think all three
of them are in the top twenty five of minor
league prospects. Let me go and take a look. Put
it on Paul's I might to hit it a smitch
to quickly apologize for that, but here's here's the ranking.

(07:18):
Eleven Howsway to Paula sixteens a year, Hope twenty at
Eduardo Cntera. So we got three top twenty players here
in the mix. That's pretty impressive. If we take a
look at where Max Clark is at three, Kevin mcgonagal's
at six, it's just that alone, and Hosway Pristina's at

(07:39):
twenty two. So if you add the numbers up, it's
clear that I think more the Detroit Tiger's Big three
than a do the Dodgers. But I mean the Dodgers,
I mean from a pure fantasy standpoint, all three of
those guys are athletic, particularly in howsway to Paula's case,
a chance for big boy power. All three can run,

(08:00):
So it's just really really impressive. What is going on there?
All right, let's continue on and there's you know again,
this top ten is chock full of guys, as is
all the way through. River Ryan's at number four. I
don't think I've ever ranked a kid that's twenty seven
years old this high. He looked great. I told everybody

(08:22):
I thought this kid could really pitch, and when he
got up to the major leagues he looked great. Of course,
he blew out his elbow at the end of the
twenty twenty four season. The good news is he should
be back to begin the twenty twenty five season as
well as should Stone. Remember Stone looked really good as well,
So that Dodgers are just loaded. How much opportunity does

(08:42):
River Ryan get? Is he become trade fodder? All these
questions are ones that I don't have an answer for.
But I think River Ryan can pitch, and assuming he
comes back healthy, which you know, there's no guarantee he will,
I think he has a chance to pitch at the
top of the rotation, and that's what I and still considering. Now. Obviously,

(09:04):
if he comes back and he's got the minished stuff
for his control is not where it needs to be,
we can adjust. But before he left, I thought he
was one of the best pitching prospects in the game,
and I still have him ranked very, very high. Mike
Sarota comes in at number five, another kid that I
like a lot. He was taken where was he taking

(09:25):
the twenty twenty four draft, felt to number three. He
had a disappointing season in his last year in college,
but you know the Dodgers that do what the Dodgers do,
and that's they got his swing a little bit more level.
He was throwing open his front shoulder, got that all
tidied up, and he just posted a monster beginning to

(09:47):
the season three thirty three four point fifty two six
sixteen slash line with thirteen home runs in fifty nine games,
primarily in High A. And then unfortunately he hurt his
shoulders lighting in the second base I believe, and he
missed the rest of the season. So excuse me. It's
not his shoulder's knee. So hopefully he comes back healthy.

(10:09):
You do worry with knee injuries that you know that
there could be some lingering issues there, but assuming he does,
it's just another high end, fantasy worthy prospect, and then
Serota have a number of shares in Serota as well.
James Tibbs. The third the fact that they got James
Tidd and Earhart for Dustin May, for a rental for

(10:33):
Dustin May for the Boston Red Sox, and then May
just wasn't very effective. He wasn't very effective when he
paid play for the Dodgers, and then when he got
traded to the Red Sox was terrible. And I think
James Tibbs is a really good prospect. I got off
the slide poorly when he was signed by the Giants,
but once he got to Boston things really started to click.

(10:54):
And then he kept hitting once he got to the Dodgers.
So after kind of a slow start with the Giants,
with the Red Sox, and with the Dodgers, he played well.
I think he's a bat first guy. It's probably a
right fielder, maybe a left field kind of profile. I
don't think he's going to be good enough to play
center field, but it's a big walk rate, his strikeout

(11:17):
rate is reasonable. I think you'll have twenty twenty five
type of home run pops it. It's it's a guy that
I'm still pretty bullish on. And again, the Dodgers are stacked.
I've got his eta in twenty twenty six. I think
he could be ready at some point in the second half.
Not suggesting just because of where he plays and how

(11:39):
deep of a farm system, how deep of a roster
it is with the Dodgers. I'm not suggesting you pick
him up for draft and hold links. I'm just suggesting
that even though he's been traded a bunch of times,
unless there's something that's that I have not been informed
of in terms of attitude problems or things like that,
because he has been traded twice in a year, and

(11:59):
that's all, he's disconcerting. There's a lot to like here.
James Tibbs, Charles Davilan, who was their first pick, the
Dodgers first pick, another kid that just got off to
a smoke and start. It wasn't many games that he
played in, but in Rancho Kukamaga, that Northern Division of

(12:20):
the California League is a real hitters paradise and heat
at five hundred with a seven thirty five slug I
granted it was only in eight games, but he looked very,
very strong. It's not a big kid, only five foot nine,
but I think there's you know, I think he could
hit twelve to fifteen home runs. I am as a
fifteen to fifteen guy, but there could be more speed

(12:42):
there than fifteen, so it could be twelve twenty type
of player. I think he's going to hit. And it's
another guy that if I'm in first year player drafts
number forty one off the board. I mean I write
in here that you might even consider him as a
late first round target. Definitely a second round target. So
I do not get out of that draft without some

(13:05):
shares of Charles Daveling. Number eight is Ching senn Co.
Tim's probably got a better pronunciation than I do. He
was one of my favorite kind of deep sleeper sitting
in the in the Dodger system. I goosed him up
pretty high again, long lever power, so it's got a

(13:25):
big swing, steps in the bucket to get some power.
He's got good plate discipline. He's a big kid, but
he walks a ton. I think he could be a
two fifty two sixty hitter with some big boy power,
early speed, just because he's young. But I don't think
that's ever that's going to stick around. But just another
guy that's really young and making a lot of noise

(13:47):
with the Dodgers organization. Joe Hendry Vargas is a kid
that I've always liked. He's really struggled to stay healthy.
Last year he missed most of the season. There is
some swing a miss in his game, more swing and
miss than I thought. But it's got great bat speed.
So a big two million dollars signing. And look, the
Dodgers haven't always hit on international players. We've seen Quintana.

(14:10):
They hit on him, but some other guys in the
past they just have missed on. And maybe Vargas is
a miss, but I'm unwilling to say he's a miss
at this point because I still think there's gonna be
big boy power there. He needs to stay healthy. And
then it's Alex Friedland comes in at number ten, made
it to the major leagues. It's likely a platoon player,

(14:32):
you know that with the Dodgers. Could he get moved
to the I want to say Pittsburgh. With Pittsburgh signing everybody,
so they're signing all these kind of mid level mid
tier kind of players, and I guess they're just trying
to go with a more mature veteran corps to add
in probably kind of Griffin and all their young pitchers.

(14:52):
Maybe that's what they're doing. But I think Freeland could
play in a lot of other teams as a decent
second base and maybe a shortstop. I mean, it's it's
got some platoon issues, but I begain he can play
all over the field, a little bit of speed, a
little bit of power, and it's a kid that I

(15:15):
would consider and maybe maybe did I put him as
part of my Uh I'm trying to figure if I
put him as part of my targets. I consider putting
him as part of my targets for my shortstop, but
I wasn't sure of the playing time. I think he's
going to have to get moved to get playing time.
But I kind of do like the player a little
bit as a guy. Once he gets the call, could

(15:35):
make some noise a little bit of an older prospect
as well. That is our top ten. I got thirteen
more to go through with their Patreon members. If you'd
like to go on Patreon member patr o n dot com.
Forward Slash Prospect three sixty one. Enjoy if you celebrate Christmas,
and Merry Christmas. If you, hopefully you're all celebrated festiv
Is yesterday. I know my wife and I did always

(15:56):
a lot of fun for that, and Tim and I
will be back on Sunday for our Patreon members, hang
on and I will finish up the list right after
this