ESPN expert sums up Dodgers’ farm system with aggressive quote

ESPN’s prospect insider Kiley McDaniel doesn’t give you just the typical bland, by-the-numbers assessments that many projectionists do, and Los Angeles Dodgers fans should be especially thankful for that this week.

A few days after dropping his Top 100 Prospects list (subscription required), McDaniel also posted his complete MLB Farm System rankings (subscription also required) to wrap the week.

Surprise, surprise, but the Dodgers attained a good deal of praise.

The team finished eighth overall (as opposed to No. 1 in Keith Law’s heart), and improved — in McDaniel’s book — from the 15th spot last offseason even after jettisoning Keibert Ruiz and Josiah Gray. If that’s not Diego Cartaya belief, then we don’t know what is.

McDaniel further summed up exactly what drives his love for the Dodgers in a savage quote that he shared and expanded upon on Twitter.

In a word? Relentless. These scouts are relentless.

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel calls the Dodgers the “And1 Mixtape” of aggressive scouting

See, that’s the juice we’re looking for when we read a piece like this.

Like most of the Rays and their acolytes, Andrew Friedman’s Dodgers have been super aggressive in all facets of their system, from emphasizing player development and unlocking tools to scouting deeper than anybody else to find late-round and under-appreciated gems.

According to McDaniel, it’s getting a bit too ferocious.

The Patriots have “Do Your Job” and the Dodgers have a scouting department scouring the country for high school recruits no one’s ever seen before. It’s just the method that works.

Also noteworthy in McDaniel’s flowery writeup was the prospect he cited specifically: not Cartaya, Bobby Miller, or Ryan Pepiot, but rather 2021 first-rounder Maddux Bruns, who he claims might be one of LA’s biggest (potentially rewarding) player development challenges yet.

According to McDaniel, Bruns has the best stuff of any of 2021’s prep arms — but quite possibly the worst command.

Sounds like just the kind of challenge LA’s brass signed up for. Who’s got next?

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