How Dodgers have fared with recent top Draft picks
Juan Toribio
@juanctoribioLOS ANGELES -- 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.
In a few days, the Dodgers will be able 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 $7,274,600 in pool money, which is the seventh-lowest in the Majors.
The Dodgers’ first pick comes during the Competitive Balance round at No. 36. Los Angeles’ first-round pick was dropped 10 spots from No. 26 because the club exceeded the competitive-balance tax threshold by more than $40 million. The Dodgers will have $2,362,700 to work with on their first selection.
Continuing to drop 10 spots isn’t ideal, but it’s certainly not unusual for the Dodgers. They have consistently blown past the CBT and have been dealt some Draft-related penalties in the past. But that hasn’t stopped them from consistently having one of the best farm systems in the league.
With that being said, let’s take a look at the Dodgers’ first selections from each of the past five seasons and see how they’ve fared.
2022: C Dalton Rushing
Since being the 40th pick in last year’s Draft, all Rushing has done is crush the baseball. In 287 at-bats in the Minors, Rushing has 16 homers, 65 RBIs and a 1.042 OPS. He is quickly becoming one of the best hitting prospects in the Minors. With Will Smith in the Majors and Diego Cartaya in Double-A, the Dodgers will have to make a decision on a long-term position for Rushing. But they still have time, and we’re not exactly sure Cartaya will be a long-term catcher, given some of his back problems already.
Either way, the Dodgers, at least for now, look like they nailed that pick.
2021: LHP Maddux Bruns
Bruns really struggled with his command in his first season in pro ball, but the young left-hander has been able to have a lot of success this season. In 16 starts, Bruns has a 2.06 ERA and earned a promotion to High-A Great Lakes earlier this season.
One thing the Dodgers and Bruns need to work together on, however, is letting the 21-year-old get deeper into games. He has yet to earn a win in the Minors, mostly because he doesn’t qualify for one very often. But in his Friday start, Bruns took a step in the right direction, punching out eight in five innings.
2020: RHP Bobby Miller
In an ideal world, Miller would probably be wrapping up his Minor League career right now and getting ready to make his big league debut. But with the Dodgers desperate for starting pitching this season, they turned to Miller in May and the right-hander has been solid to start his career.
Miller took the baseball world by storm in his first four starts, but he has gotten hit hard in his past four. It’s an adjustment that every young pitcher goes through in the Majors. Despite some uneven results, Miller has looked the part.
2019: 3B Kody Hoese
Just a few seasons ago, Hoese was one of the Dodgers’ top prospects. He has suffered quite the fall. Hoese’s bat just hasn’t developed and he has struggled in Double-A this season as a 25-year-old, hitting just three homers in 147 at-bats. Considering the other names on this list, this can be tallied as a miss by the Dodgers.
2018: RHP J.T. Ginn
Ginn was drafted with the No. 30 pick in the ‘18 Draft and was widely expected to sign with the Dodgers and begin his Minor League career out of high school. But the right-hander elected to go to college at Mississippi State. He was drafted again in the second round in 2020 by the Mets and is now in the A’s organization.