Dodgers: 2017’s (a Little Past) Mid-Season Prospect Rankings

10. Will Smith

Smith is a guy I’ve mentioned a few times this year, not only for his great name but because he’s one of the most athletic catchers in all of the minor leagues. His athleticism and defensive ability are what gave him this spot over another great catching prospect in the system, Keibert Ruiz. Ruiz has had a better year swinging for average, but Smith has flashed the power, and that is a tool less equipped to catchers these days.

Smith recently made the move up from Rancho to the Tulsa Drillers. This will be a real test to see how his bat fares against better pitching. His strikeout rate has been high this year and is probably his biggest concern going forward. His elite-level defense will take him very far, but he will need to reduce the punches if he wants to join the likes of Yasmani Grandal and Austin Barnes.

9. Mitchell White

Another draftee from the class of 2016, Mitch White was somewhat of a surprise when the Dodgers selected him last year in the second round out of Santa Clara. Since then, he has been nothing short of dominant at every level he’s been at. Before suffering an injury this year, many thought White was on a fast track to the bigs and may have even breached the bullpen by the time this season was over. As nice as that may be to think about, there is certainly no rush for the 22-year-old at this point.

Like Smith, White recently was moved up to Double-A Tulsa, where he made his first outing since the injury, and he looked to be on the same track as he was before. His 2.17 ERA over his minor league career has got to have the organization drooling over him, and his 11.2 K/9 is pretty nice as well. White could be the first member of the 2016 draft class to hit the major league level so keep your eyes on him over the next year or so.

8. Dustin May

When the Dodgers took May in the third round of the 2016 draft, I was immediately intrigued because of his size and awesome flow coming out the back of his ballcap. Seeing as how the Dodgers’ current player with long, beautiful, red hair has worked out fairly well, I didn’t see why it was bad to have another. The 6’6 farmhand from Northwest High School in Texas has proven himself capable so far in professional baseball and has tons of room to grow.

His ERA so far in 2017 is 3.75 over 19 starts for the Great Lakes Loons, good enough to earn him a trip to Midwest League All-Star Game. May’s nearly 5:1 strikeout to walk ratio has got to make the front office happy as well and shows that their projections on him have panned out. Coming into the draft last year, May was said to have one of the best spin rates for both his fastball and curveball, which translates to giving hitters a harder time picking up the pitch.

7. DJ Peters

Peters is a guy I’ve got to see a few times, and he has really made strides this year in High-A for the Quakes. First, this guy has a pretty ideal frame for a major league outfielder and is a presence in the box. Standing at 6’6, he towers over squatting catchers and makes the outfield look like the size it is at Williamsport. Peters has knocked 19 home runs so far this year while touting an OPS of .926.

When I watch him play, I see two comparisons to the player he may become. Off the top, he looks like a former large Dodgers outfield prospect, Jayson Werth. Not only is it the hair, but the large frame and flashes of early power give him that same type of feel as a player. 

The second comparison would be to Indians rookie stud Bradley Zimmer, another guy with a big frame and scary athleticism that has already allowed him to become one of the best outfielders in the major leagues. Whether it be power or speed, the bat or the glove, Peters has a lot of tools to help him keep advancing in this Dodger system, and that is exactly what I expect him to do.

6. Brock Stewart

Dodger fans got a taste of the future Wednesday night with Brock Stewart making his first start of the season for the big league club. Although the outing was less than ideal with Stewart not escaping the fourth inning, people around the Dodgers love this young man and expect big things from him.

The Illinois State alum has a heavy fastball that he pairs with a plus change up for the majority of his pitches. His lack of a major league-level breaking pitch is what is holding him back at this point, but all signs show he has been working on it tirelessly since joining the organization.

In his start against the Twins, it was clear that their hitters were waiting on his two pitches, knowing the breaking stuff was easy to see out of hand. To paraphrase Orel Hershiser, pitchers can compete with one solid pitch, they can win with two, but they can dominate with three. That’s the goal for Brock Stewart.

5. Jeren Kendall

Kendall was the Dodgers’ first round pick just a few weeks ago and has started out his career with ten hits in his first five games including a dinger, a triple, and a two-bagger. Kendall was as high as second on some prospect lists for the Dodgers already, but I felt a little uneasy having him any higher than this without playing more baseball.

He’s started the year with the Ogden Raptors in the Rookie League, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Rancho Cucamonga with the Quakes pretty soon. A lot of scouts have touted Kendall as the most talented player from the 2017 draft, but a lot of teams were scared away by his high strikeout rate. The Dodgers have shown with their last decade of drafting that they are not afraid to take players like that, with Cody Bellinger being the prime example.

4.  Yadier Alvarez

This is probably the hardest guy on this list to place because of the discrepancy between his ceiling and what he has put out on the field so far. There may be a day that is looking back on this list; I roast myself for having a guy this talented out of the top-3 as he tears up major league hitters with triple digit heaters and knee-buckling sliders. There may also be a time when people are calling him a major bust or a player who just didn’t live up to the potential.

Alvarez started the year as the unquestioned, unmovable top prospect for the Dodgers. Now, it has been more about the players above him on this list having exceptional years rather than him underperforming, but he still has a lot left to prove. The 21-year-old has played at two levels now this season, and his ERA still is up near five. People will love his 66 strike outs in 63 innings, but he will have to become a more efficient strike-thrower if he wants to keep moving up the ladder.

3. Willie Calhoun

For the year he is having, it feels like people still don’t give Calhoun the respect he’s deserving. I’ve put him at No. 3 on this list because he has gone out and earned it. The toughest part about putting this list together is judging based on potential talent and what they have already done, which holds more value. For the Vallejo product, he has hit too well to put him any lower on this list.

Calhoun is amongst the league leaders for all of Triple-A in home runs and leads his club in total bases, RBI, runs, OPS, and triples. Not a bad year so far. Despite all that, there had been almost no rumors of him moving up to the big leagues this season.

Now, with the current state of the big league club, that’s not needed, but there was a time this year when Logan Forsythe went down, and Chase Utley was hitting below .200. Those times have passed, but the concerns over Calhoun’s defense have not, and that’s really his biggest knock.

He’s been a true second baseman since he was drafted and has improved over these last few years but not enough apparently. Some people say Calhoun is great trade bait for an AL team because of the defense as he could DH there, but it seems to me that he is a bit young to just give up on the glove.

2. Alex Verdugo

The 21-year-old has had a tremendous season in Oklahoma City, and if you’ve checked in on Dodgers’ Twitter the last few days, you must have seen him hit one of the craziest home runs of this decade on Tuesday night. If you haven’t, check out the Canseco-type blunder here.

Verdugo has been a trending topic all year because of his work in the batter’s box and of course as a part of a potential blockbuster trade for the Dodgers. He lands at No. 2 on the list because of his consistency and ability to live up to the hype. One of two Dodger representatives in the Futures Game, Verdugo has earned his spot amongst the game’s elite prospects.

He currently leads OKC in batting average and hits and is second in doubles, triples, and walks. Although he doesn’t generate power like many other young prospects in the organization, he gets on base a ton and could be seen as a table-setter for the future of the lineup. He’s had a hitting streak of over 20 games this year as well an on-base streak of over 30.

His defense is just as solid as well, and he has proven to be the defender a lot of scouts made him out to be. So far this campaign, he has played every outfield position for the Triple-A club and hasn’t recorded an error yet.

The Arizona native will most likely have an uneasy next few days as he waits to hear about his future with Los Angeles or with another club. In my opinion, if the Dodgers make a move to get an elite level pitcher, Verdugo will more than likely be a large part of that deal.

 1. Walker Buehler

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After being selected with the 24th pick in the 2015 draft, Buehler has taken an interesting road to becoming the nearly unanimous top prospect. As discussed in an earlier article, he underwent Tommy John surgery immediately after being drafted and rose three levels in the minors just this year.

At each stop he was lights out, posting a combined ERA of 3.44 over 65.1 innings and striking out 91. His high strikeout rate and high velocity have landed him a spot in Triple-A where a lot of people have rumored him to make a move to the bullpen for the year to maybe make the leap to the big leagues this fall. His stuff is certainly major league quality, but there are always limitations on players this young as well as the hesitation of being a TJ recipient.

The Vanderbilt standout struggled in his first start at Oklahoma City and did not manage to get out of the first inning while allowing four runs and not retiring a batter. That was just a bump in the road for Buehler, and his dominance of the two levels before this are great evidence that he will soon succeed in OKC. He bounced back in his second start Wednesday going five innings and allowing one run with nine strike outs.

Next: Dodgers Close to Acquiring a Starting Pitcher

For now, it’s probably not likely the righty, who turns 23 on Friday, will ascend all the way to the top this summer, but he had made his presence felt. While many began the year touting Yadier Alvarez as the only untouchable arm in the Dodgers’ system, it now seems that Buehler has claimed that throne.