Dodgers: Top 10 Prospects Right Now

1.Cody Bellinger, 1B/OF, Triple-A

ETA: 2017

Best Tool: Defense

Since Julio Urias made his debut for the Dodgers’ last season, Cody Bellinger has taken over as the most talked about prospect in the system and with good reason. He is that rare hybrid of both a gifted all-around hitter and an elite athlete on defense, even more notable because he isn’t a short stop or center fielder.

Essentially, he’s a potential 5-tool-player that is major league ready and all that is holding him back is just a contract detail that will allow the Dodgers’ to keep him under their control longer, explained eloquently by my colleague Michael Wittman here. 

An anomaly in regards to first base prospects, the Scottsdale, AZ product is just as gifted with the leather as he is with the stick. Defense is usually an after thought when it comes to top prospects because once an OPS is high enough, the errors could matter less.

To add to that, first base is usually where the prospects with no true position but size end up. Bellinger, the son of a former big leaguer who played every defensive position besides catcher and pitcher, is not that player. MLBpipeline.com rates Bellinger as a 70 on the 20-80 scale for defense, which says a lot about his potential as a Gold Glove winner down the line.

The offensive numbers are equally as impressive, having seen the 21-year-old hit a combined 61 home runs over the last 2+ seasons in the lower levels. So far this year in Oklahoma City, he has batted .339 with a 1.087 OPS and five home runs in just 16 games. His strike out rate is concerning, having been rung up in close to a third of his at-bats this year, but he has been trending in the right direction for that statistic for the past few years and will only continue to improve his plate protection and pitch recognition.

Any way you spin it, Bellinger is a multi-talented prospect who will be playing at the major league level before it even gets too hot in Los Angeles this summer. As sad as it is to think about for Dodgers’ fans, Adrian Gonzalez’s days may be numbered with Bellinger ready to go.