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Dodgers dominate new Baseball America Top 100 despite farm thinning

Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Dodgers Way

DENVER, CO - JULY 11: Michael Busch #15 of National League Futures Team fields a ground ball against the American League Futures Team at Coors Field on July 11, 2021 in Denver, Colorado.(Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

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.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard and Dodgers Way for 4 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast twice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for eight years. Previously, he was a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.