Predicting arrival timelines for the top 5 Dodgers prospects

Bobby Miller: Midseason 2023

Bobby Miller is the No. 2 prospect in the Dodgers organization, and he is going to get to showcase his nasty stuff in front of his future home fans. This will not be the first time that Miller has pitched at Dodger Stadium, as he faced the Angels in Spring Training at Dodger Stadium.

And let’s just say that Miller was absolutely filthy in the three scoreless innings that he tossed against the Angels.

https://twitter.com/SportsNetLA/status/1511514794792140803

That success has not fully translated to Double-A this season, as Miller is currently sporting a 4.45 ERA with the Tulsa Drillers in 14 starts. However, it is his stuff that matters, and there is no denying that Miller has the stuff. The Dodgers will keep working with him, and when he is ready, he will be a difference-making arm at the MLB level.

You could make the case that Miller is a trade candidate with the other talented right-handed arms behind him, particularly Pepiot. However, there really is not a top-end trade target that makes a lot of sense for the Dodgers this deadline, so Miller should be safe from being moved.

With that being said, his big-league debut seems like it will most likely be at some point during the 2023 season. Injuries happen in baseball, particularly with the pitching staff, and there will be a moment midseason where Miller needs to come up and make a start (or a few) for the Dodgers.

That will set the table for Miller to potentially join the rotation on a full-time basis to start the 2024 season.

Michael Busch: 2023 Opening Day roster

If MLB still had the old rules with September call-ups, then Michael Busch would absolutely make his MLB debut with the team this season. However, with rosters only expanding two spots and another player on this list being a guarantee, Busch will likely have to wait until 2023 to get his chance.

Granted, there is always the possibility of the Dodgers getting beaten up with so many injuries that they are forced to go to Busch. The fact that the team has called up Jake Lamb over Busch should be all we need to know in that department, though.

If Busch was right-handed, his path to the big-league roster would be a lot easier, as the team is lacking in right-handed bats, especially if Trea Turner does not re-sign with the Dodgers this offseason. Busch would have been such a logical replacement for Hanser Alberto.

That being said, Busch has shown a lot of progress this season against left-handed pitching, which makes him easier to call up on the Opening Day roster in 2023. While he struggled in previous years, Busch has actually been a reverse splits guy this season. He has a .288 average and .977 OPS against southpaws and a .257 average and .884 OPS against righties.

Busch was tearing it up at the Double-A level and was quickly promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City. In 42 games there, Busch has hit 10 home runs, driven in 31 RBI and has a .240/.298/.474 triple-slash. Still some work that needs to be done there.

Andy Pages: Late 2023

In terms of the logistics, there is a good case to be made for Andy Pages to make the big-league roster next season. The Dodgers are really thin in the outfield and Pages would give the team a fourth outfielder with power.

However, Pages is still only 21 years old and he is not even on the 40-man roster yet. While he is posting pretty promising numbers in the minors, he is still only in Double-A, and the Dodgers are going to want to develop his bat more.

It serves Pages much better if he actually can start everyday and get at-bats in OKC rather than coming up to the big-league club and being the fourth outfielder. The Dodgers are more likely to fill that outfield depth need with a free agent in the winter, with Pages likely making his MLB debut in late 2023 to get some reps with the big-league club.

Pages won’t be a full-time member of the roster until the start of the 2024 season.

That is, as long as the Dodgers do not trade him. The Dodgers do not have a lot of outfield depth in the system, especially considering first-round Jeren Kendall has been a flop, so they probably won’t trade him. However, the team already did try to trade him and would have alongside Joc Pederson and Ross Stripling if Arte Moreno had not grown impatient.

Miguel Vargas: Before the 2022 season ends

Miguel Vargas is the fifth-ranked prospect in the Dodgers system, but he is the most likely to get playing time this season. Vargas has been tearing it up at the Triple-A level and he checks so many boxes for the Dodgers.

Vargas is going to continue getting his at-bats down in Triple-A, and he will likely get called up in August or September when the roster expands to help the big-league club. Once there, Vargas is a candidate to make the postseason roster as a depth player in a similar fashion to Gavin Lux in 2019.

Vargas gives the team a nice right-handed bat and, at the very least, would be a significantly better option than Hanser Alberto. The infield prospect also gives the team another option if Max Muncy and Justin Turner continue to play horribly (although Turner is turning around). Heck, the Dodgers are even playing Vargas in the outfield in Triple-A to see if he can help there.

It is not a matter of if Vargas gets called up this season, but a matter of when. He is on a 25+ home run and 100+ RBI pace in Triple-A with an OPS of .878. He has proven that he can swing it, and the big club could really use his bat.

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And who knows, maybe Vargas could end up being a postseason hero as a depth option. Gavin Lux hit a home run in his first-ever postseason at-bat, after all.