3 Dodgers who are making LA’s player development look wildly overrated

The Dodgers have developed a great reputation for being able to turn coal into diamonds, scooping up players off of other teams' scrap heaps and turning them into anywhere between serviceable and very good major league players. They also have one of the best farm systems in baseball, per both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline.

However, this may not be a reputation that the Dodgers hold onto for much longer. While the roster is packed with players either acquired and extended or signed out of free agency, there are a few homegrown guys who have been letting everyone down recently, and have made LA's player development look like it's losing its touch.

3 Dodgers who are making LA’s player development look wildly overrated

Bobby Miller

Miller's struggles have been one of the more confusing developments over the past two seasons. After posting a 8.52 ERA in 13 starts last year, the Dodgers brought him back for another chance on April 16 as part of their rotation carousel, and he didn't look any better, giving up six earned runs and two homers. He got another shot against the Mets on Saturday, but as a part of the bullpen this time. He was sent back down again after giving up a run with three hits, a walk, and a hit by pitch in just two innings.

The respectable rookie season he turned in in 2023 (124 1/3 innings pitched, 3.76 ERA) feels like it was forever ago, and he doesn't look great in the minors this year either, with a 4.63 ERA over 35 innings. He's still young, but he's making it harder and harder for the Dodgers to give him chances at the major league level while simultaneously sinking his trade value.

2025 Max Muncy

To be fair to Muncy, he has gotten a little better since the last day of April, when he started wearing glasses at the plate to treat an astigmatism, but he's still barely raised his batting average above .200 and is still sitting on some of the worst slugging numbers of his career; he has just three homers when this time last year he had nine.

In years past, Muncy has been a huge success story for the Dodgers, who signed him to a minor league deal after he was released by the Athletics in 2017. Now, he's making everyone wonder where the magic has gone. The Dodgers hitting staff is presumably still trying to work out what's wrong, but he's digging himself into a deep hole and making his departure from the team at the end of the season look inevitable.

Justin Wrobleski

Wrobleski, unlike Miller, has never looked very comfortable in the majors. He ended 2024 on a 5.70 ERA over 36 1/3 innings and currently has an 8.00 ERA over nine innings in 2025. He's already been optioned three times as part of the rotation carousel, even though he pitched a respectable, scoreless four innings against the A's on May 15.

He's still the Dodgers' No. 10 prospect this year but has looked similarly shaky in Triple-A. The Dodgers did accelerate him to the majors at a breakneck pace last year — he was promoted to Triple-A on June 22 and promoted to the majors on July 7 — and his struggles in the majors couldn't have helped his confidence. The Dodgers can't afford to just let him steady out in the minors because of all the injuries to the major league pitching staff, but he probably could've benefitted from more development in Triple-A.