Dodgers Top 10 Prospects List Released By BA

Baseball America’s Ben Badler released his top 10 Dodgers prospect list today.

While the Dodgers have won the division in each of the last three years and never really have high draft picks, they’ve been able to build one of the best farm systems in baseball. Their willingness to spend on the international market helps their case, but it doesn’t necessarily give them an unfair advantage.

Baseball America is working on a top-10 list for every team, and this morning they released the top-10 list for the Dodgers.

I don’t want to give out the full list here as that takes away from his work. The list can be seen in the link, but there aren’t many surprises as Corey Seager and Julio Urias are the top two prospects on the list.

Seager still has his status as a prospect, but has to be the favorite to be the team’s opening day shortstop. He got a September call-up and was stellar in his first month in the big leagues, posting a .337/.425/.561 slash line with four homers and 14 walks to only 19 strikeouts in his first 113 plate appearances. Seager should be a frontrunner heading into the season for the NL Rookie of the Year and all Dodger fans should be excited to see what the kid can do with a full season.

Sep 11, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Jose Peraza against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Seager is one of three players listed by Badler that got time in the majors last year. Jose Peraza, who was acquired mid season in the Hector Olivera–Alex Wood deal, only got 25 plate appearances and dealt with hamstring injuries late in the season. He didn’t do a lot, but his speed was evident and depending on what the Dodgers do in the offseason, he could be a candidate at second base next year.

The other was Austin Barnes, who was acquired in the Dee Gordon trade last winter. Barnes is probably one of my favorite prospects and fits the Dodgers perfectly. He’s listed as a catcher, but played at second and third as well last year for the Dodgers. He only had 37 plate appearances and had six hits, six walks and six strikeouts. He’s been an OBP machine in the minors, as he posted a .398 OBP in 2014 and .389 in 2015 while batting over .300 in both years.

Badler ranked Cody Bellinger as the Dodgers’ fifth best prospect, and that’s probably the rating that excited me the most. Bellinger was a fourth round pick in 2013 and leapt onto the scene with a solid 2014, but took a gigantic step last year at High-A Rancho Cucamonga. In 478 plate appearances, Bellinger slashed .264/.336/.538 with 30 home runs and 33 doubles. Rancho isn’t exactly known as a hitter park, but Bellinger still showed a ton of power. He started the season ranked 21st in the Dodger farm system on MLB.com, but rose to ninth. While I love Adrian Gonzalez, he’s only getting older and the Dodgers didn’t seem to have a natural replacement for him before this season, but Bellinger could be ready to take those reins in 2019, when Gonzalez’s contract expires.

Seven of the 10 prospects listed were drafted by the Dodgers, which goes to show how great Logan White was as the Dodgers’ scouting director. Losing him to the Padres, in my eyes, was a much bigger loss than any other player.

Of the lists released prior to today, Olivera is the only name I see that the Dodgers have let go. He’s listed as the Braves number one prospect, but the Dodgers might have dodged a bullet there, as the Braves have decided to permanently move him to the outfield. According to AJC writer David O’Brien, Olivera was released by his Winter League team in Puerto Rico and no reason was given.

Next: My Dream Dodgers Offseason

For all we know, half the list could be moved before the end of the Winter Meetings. But as of now, the Dodgers have an extremely talented and deep farm system, which could get stronger with more international signings and as many as four picks in the first two rounds of next years’ Amateur Draft.

Badler will be holding a chat about Dodgers prospects in about an hour, and that can be found here.