Dodgers ready to test their proven Draft skills
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This story was excerpted from Juan Toribio's Dodgers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Over the last decade, it’s hard to find an organization that has had more regular-season success than the Dodgers. Los Angeles has won 10 of the last 11 National League West titles and has paired that with three trips to the World Series and a few other NL Championship Series appearances.
In order to sustain that success, an organization has to dedicate themselves to drafting well and developing players within the farm system. The Dodgers have continued to do that, prolonging their championship window.
In a few days, Los Angeles will be looking to use those skills once again, with the MLB Draft scheduled to start on Sunday and run through Tuesday. This Draft season, the Dodgers have $6,114,700 in pool money, the second lowest in the Majors ahead of just the Astros.
As good as the Dodgers have been during the regular season at the big league level for more than a decade, they’ve been just as successful in drafting and developing players within the farm system.
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The Dodgers have the No. 23 overall pick in the Draft. Los Angeles will have $3,676,400 to work with on their first selection. They can, of course, choose to select someone who will sign below the slotted money in order to be more competitive with their picks in the later rounds.
While the Dodgers' farm system isn’t among the very best in baseball at the moment, it’s still producing some Major League talent and the organization has plenty of players other franchises value highly.
Let’s take a look at the Dodgers’ first selections from each of the past five seasons and see how they’ve fared.
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2023: OF Kendall George
George was a bit of a surprising choice with the No. 36 pick, but the 19-year-old outfielder has some tools that the Dodgers think will translate to a solid big leaguer in the future. George, ranked as the club's No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline, is arguably the fastest player in the system and he has shown it in his first full season with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, swiping 21 bags in 57 games.
2022: C Dalton Rushing
Since being selected with the 40th pick in the 2022 Draft, all Rushing has done is hit at every level in the Minors. This season, the club's No. 1 prospect has had a lot of success with Double-A Tulsa, hitting 10 homers and posting a .836 OPS in 229 at-bats.
With Will Smith locked up for the next decade, the Dodgers will have to figure out what Rushing’s best position is at the big league level. Rushing will continue to be a popular trade target, which speaks to how highly-touted he is in Los Angeles' system and across MLB.
Regardless of what happens, the Dodgers hit it out of the park with Rushing, especially considering when they selected him in the Draft.
2021: LHP Maddux Bruns
The Dodgers raved about Bruns’ advanced pitching mix when they took the left-hander out of high school 29th overall in the 2021 MLB Draft. Since then, Bruns (No. 13 prospect) has shown that he has some strong tools, but the left-hander hasn’t been able to get deep into games and hasn’t had much game experience over the last three years.
Bruns has made just 56 starts since being drafted and has yet to pick up a win in the Minors, mostly because of the lack of length. Bruns is currently on the injured list and has missed the last two months.
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2020: RHP Bobby Miller
Miller was arguably the Dodgers’ best pitcher heading into the 2023 postseason, but this season has been a real struggle for the 25-year-old right-hander. Miller had the worst start of his career on Tuesday against the Phillies, allowing nine runs over four innings.
After that start, the Dodgers decided to option the right-hander, their first time doing so since he made his Major League debut last May. The future is still bright for Miller, but there’s been a significant hiccup this season.
2019: 3B Kody Hoese
It’s been quite the journey for Hoese. He was one of the top prospects in the system a few seasons ago, but severe struggles saw him become a forgotten man in the Minors. This season, however, Hoese has shown some solid signs with Triple-A Oklahoma City, posting a .830 OPS in 270 at-bats. Hoese, of course, is 26 now and the clock has started to tick.