Dodgers dominate new Baseball America Top 100 despite farm thinning

Sorry, but we were told the Los Angeles Dodgers were in a desperate place after cashing in their Keibert Ruiz and Josiah Gray chips last summer for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner?

We were told that, despite years of evidence that the Dodgers knew how to sign international gems, draft brilliantly from the back of the first round, and turn unknowns into Max Muncy, that they no longer held the trade leverage they once did due to their now-barren farm system?

People actually said that the farm system was now top heavy, featuring one single crown jewel and very little else?

Clearly, those people don’t work at Baseball America, our premier prospect-rating publication, that just presented the Dodgers with five top-100 prospects in their latest rankings (subscription required).

Is … is five good?

Los Angeles Dodgers have 5 prospects on Baseball America’s Top 100

Catcher Diego Cartaya, several years away from MLB time but just as impressive a prospect as Ruiz was, is the very anticipated topper of the list, checking in at No. 23.

Seeing Bobby Miller and Miguel Vargas so high really got our attention, though. Turns out the flamethrower and power-hitting third baseman aren’t just top of the Dodgers’ individual team top 10 list by default. They actually do rank among the top half in the entire league, according to one of the highest-pedigree scouting staffs.

Add in Busch and Pepiot, a bonus right at the back end, and that makes Los Angeles’ farm one of the most highly-ranked in the game today. For example, the “surging” Boston Red Sox? They netted just four names in the top 100. And this is supposed to be the end of LA’s golden age?

Now, we’ve seen very little of Cartaya; he’s still a toolsy mystery who’s growing into his final form. What we have seen has been remarkably impressive, though; the 20-year-old hit .298 with a .409 OBP and 1.023 OPS in 31 Single-A games last year, drilling 10 homers and turning around 97 MPH with authority.

Will all five players have a future in Dodger Blue? We can’t guarantee it.

To see so much Dodgers talent recognized by the experts — without a mention of breakout candidates like Julio Rodriguez and Wilman Diaz, too — indicates a bright future that most of the league doesn’t seem to want to talk about right now.

There are still plenty of gems to mine.

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