Cartaya keeps raking, takes Snell deep

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Cartaya takes former AL Cy Young Award winner deep (May 4)
Diego Cartaya was at it again at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, this time launching a two-run blast off former American League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell, who is rehabbing from a groin injury with Lake Elsinore.

Cartaya’s blast was a no-doubter and continued a recent hot streak that has raised his average more than 100 points in less than a week. Cartaya has gone deep in three straight games, slugging four homers in that span while driving in 11 runs. Baseball's No. 27 overall prospect added two more hits to his ledger, including a ground-rule, two-run double in the 10th inning that helped seal the Quakes' 9-7 win.

The Venezuela native improved his OPS to .978 with six homers and 18 RBIs in 18 games. – Juan Toribio

Cartaya finding power stroke with Quakes (May 3)
Top Dodgers prospect Diego Cartaya homered for a second straight game and notched another multihit effort to lead Single-A Rancho Cucamonga's 5-4 victory over Lake Elsinore.

Stepping into the box with a 3-0 count, the 20-year-old got the green light and cranked a solo shot to left in the sixth. It was his third long ball in the past two games. Baseball's No. 27 overall prospect also added a single back up the middle in the seventh.

Cartaya has five dingers on the season, and is 7-for-13 with five extra-base hits, seven RBIs and seven runs scored over his last three games with the Quakes. -- Rob Terranova

Cartaya homers twice, drives in six (April 30)
In Single-A Rancho Cucamonga’s 21-run offensive outburst, it was top Dodgers prospect Diego Cartaya who led the way.

The 20-year-old homered twice, doubled and drove in six runs out of the cleanup spot in the first four-hit and three extra-base hit game of his career. Cartaya blasted a two-run homer in the first inning and tacked on another two-run shot in the sixth. He reached base in all six plate appearances, adding a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

It’s been a slow start to the 2022 season for Cartaya, as he has struck out 22 times in 58 at-bats, but he has recorded a hit in nine of his 14 games. On the year, the catcher has four home runs, 13 RBIs and a .849 OPS. -- Nick Trujillo

Beeter deals, Amaya goes deep for Drillers (April 28)
Two of the Dodgers' top prospects were on point, one from the mound and one in the box. Clayton Beeter equaled a career high with eight strikeouts over four hitless frames and Jacob Amaya homered for the fifth time in five games during Double-A Tulsa's 9-4 extra-inning loss.

Beeter, the No. 15 Dodgers prospect, fanned two batters in each inning while working around a pair of walks. The 23-year-old tossed 55 pitches, 35 for strikes) and lowered his ERA to 3.86 in his longest outing of the season.

Amaya went deep for the second straight day and for the sixth time this season. The 19th-ranked Dodgers prospect also walked twice and is batting .340/.444/.811 with 12 extra-base hits and 11 RBIs in 15 games, including nine in his last five. -- Michael Avallone

Busch, Amaya find the seats for Drillers (April 27)
After his streak of five dingers in five games came to an end on Tuesday, Michael Busch was back at it again on Wednesday.

The No. 66 overall prospect broke a scoreless game in the sixth with a solo blast to right-center. The jack put Double-A Tulsa ahead for good. Busch is batting .305/.468/.746 with eight homers and 19 RBIs over 17 games this season.

Jacob Amaya won an eight-pitch battle in the seventh after depositing the ball beyond the fence in left. The 19th-ranked Dodgers prospect worked the count full before fouling off two straight pitches and then crushing the next offering from Chandler Casey for a solo shot.

It's the 23-year-old's fourth long ball in the past four games. Amaya is sporting a .340/.431/.780 slash line with five taters and 10 RBIs in 14 games. -- Rob Terranova

Busch slugs fifth homer in five games (April 24)
When Michael Busch takes the next step up the Dodgers’ ladder from Double-A Tulsa to Triple-A Oklahoma City, it’ll only be about a 105-mile trip. His bat looks ready for the journey.

Baseball’s No. 66 overall prospect Busch homered for the fifth time in as many games and added a walk, driving in two runs as Tulsa fell in its finale at Springfield, 12-8.

Busch had to wait until his penultimate plate appearance to continue his homer surge but did so in the top of the seventh when he cranked a two-run blast to right field to cut his team’s deficit to 7-6. Full story »

Amaya racks up Minors-best 13 bags in Drillers rout
After collecting a season-best 16 hits on Friday, the Dodgers' Double-A Tulsa Drillers eclipsed that mark with 18 more in their 16-8 win over Springfield on Saturday, led by Jacob Amaya, who recorded several career bests in route to racking up a Minor League season-best 13 total bases. The Dodgers' No. 19 prospect went 5-for-5 with two homers, two doubles and six RBIs -- the hits, homers and RBIs all marking career highs for the 23-year-old shortstop.

L.A.'s Nos. 3 and 17 prospects, Michael Busch and James Outman, set the tone at the top of the Drillers' lineup, as they each homered and combined to go 6-for-12 with four runs and five RBIs. Busch's homer was his fourth in four games and his sixth of the season, which ranks second in the Texas League. The 24-year-old infielder also ranks second in the league in total bases (36) and third in OPS (1.190), and he's tied for third in RBIs (16) and first in walks (14).

Both Amaya and Busch are repeating the level at Tulsa this year. Amaya struggled to a .216/.303/.343 line with the Drillers in 2021, while Busch slashed .267/.386/.484 with 20 homers and 129 strikeouts in 409 at-bats. Both have improved those marks considerably in the early going, with Amaya slashing .359/.444/.744 across 11 games, and Busch boasting a .320/.470/.720 line through 14 contests.

Pepiot compiles eight strikeouts in scoreless start (April 22)
After getting a rough introduction to Triple-A last season, Dodgers No. 6 prospect Ryan Pepiot has delivered a complete 180-degree turn in 2022. The 24-year-old right-hander reeled off his third scoreless appearance of the year in Oklahoma City's win over Sacramento, setting a season high with eight strikeouts.

Facing a River Cats lineup that boasted multiple members with past big league experience, Pepiot deftly worked around three hits and three walks, locating 50 of his 81 pitches for strikes. The 6-foot-3 righty received some vital assistance from his defense in the third inning, as center fielder Drew Avans cut down a runner attempting to advance to third base, nullifying a run that otherwise would have crossed the dish unabated.

From that point on, Pepiot locked in, striking out each of the next five batters.

Through four starts, Pepiot has compiled a 1.15 ERA with 22 strikeouts across 15 2/3 frames and is yet to yield a home run in the offense-heavy Pacific Coast League. -- Jesse Borek

Dodgers' Busch clubs pair of home runs (April 21)
Michael Busch has spent the last season plus 12 games with Double-A Tulsa. His performance makes it likely his time in the Texas League could be nearing an end.

After homering and tallying three hits on Wednesday night, baseball's No. 66 overall prospect left the yard twice more on Thursday in Tulsa's 9-6 loss to Springfield. It was the second multihomer performance in eight games for Busch, who's up to five homers and 13 RBIs on the season.

The 24-year-old wasted no time in the first inning, jumping on the first pitch he saw for another opposite-field home run to left-center field. Busch was at it again in the third, again taking the first pitch out of the yard, this one to right-center field. The Minnesota native also walked for the 11th time in his first 55 plate appearances, improving his on-base percentage to .473. Full story »

Busch snaps mini-skid with homer, three hits (April 20)
Michael Busch broke out of a brief 1-for-11 slide with a two-run homer and later added a double and a single that propelled Double-A Tulsa to a 7-5 win over Springfield. The No. 3 Dodgers prospect opened the scoring with a long opposite-field shot to left, his third roundtripper and first since he hit a pair on April 13.

His three hits were a season high and marked his first multihit performance since he ran off four straight from April 10-14. The 24-year-old improved his slash line to .308/.451/.590 with five extra-base hits and 11 RBIs in 11 games. -- Michael Avallone

Outman drills first two homers of the season (April 16)
Coming off back-to-back seasons of swatting nearly 20 homers (19 in 2019 and 18 in 2021), James Outman is determined to finally reach the mark. The No. 17 prospect drilled his first two homers of the season in Game 2 of Double-A Tulsa’s doubleheader, driving in two of the team’s three runs in the 3-2 victory.

Both of the 24-year-old’s home runs went to center field, with the first one coming on the first pitch he saw in the third to break the scoreless tie. After Amarillo took the lead in the top of the fifth, Outman launched the equalizing blast on the seventh pitch of his at-bat. Five of the outfielder’s eight hits to start the season have gone for extra bases. -- Stephanie Sheehan

Busch slams two homers, drives in six (April 13)
As the second of Michael Busch's two homers sailed over the right-field fence, it took with it the remnants of a middling start to his 2022.

Baseball's No. 66 overall prospect went deep in consecutive at-bats, the latter a grand slam that gave Double-A Tulsa a lead it would not relinquish in its 13-11 win over visiting Amarillo. Busch's first two long balls of the year produced six RBIs, equaling a career high set last Sept. 4 against Springfield when he tallied his first multihomer game.

"It was a good night," Busch said. "I saw the ball well and put together some real good at-bats. I'll certainly take it. Not all of them went the way I wanted, but baseball's a tough game." Full story »