Dodgers insiders' take on James Tibbs III makes him sound like Ryan Ward 2.0

Los Angeles Dodgers fans' excitement over No. 7 prospect James Tibbs III died down a bit after his mammoth start to the season, but his production didn't slow down just because we were preoccupied with other things. After a dip in June, he came back and finished strong in his last three months. Overall, he hit .287 with a .941 OPS and led the Oklahoma City Comets in homers (30) and RBI (107).

As a first baseman and outfielder, there are ways the Dodgers could wiggle him onto their roster in 2027. Freddie Freeman is entering the last year of his deal and is clearly slowing down, so LA could give him more rest days and keep Tibbs on the bench for pinch-hitting opportunities in between the occasional start, much like they did and have done with Dalton Rushing behind Will Smith.

However, according to Katie Woo and Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, we may not see Tibbs in the major leagues next season unless an injury creates a dire need.

This is a tale as old as time for most Dodgers prospects, but something about this feels eerily similar to LA giving Ryan Ward the runaround for years.

Dodgers insiders don't view top prospect James Tibbs III as an essential piece of LA's 2027 roster

Of course, Tibbs has a pedigree that Ward didn't. Even though he was the Pacific Coast League MVP in 2025, there was something about Ward that made evaluators and (clearly) the Dodgers want to pump the brakes on too much excitement there. Tibbs is more than just a fan favorite who managed to force his way into the conversation; he was a first-round pick for the San Francisco Giants in 2024.

Woo and Ardaya did offer something of a timeline as to when we might see Tibbs in the majors, with a loose estimate of "sometime in 2028." We've heard that many times before, though. The Dodgers added Ward to their 40-man ahead of the 2026 season (something they won't have to do with Tibbs until 2028) and promised to find ways to get him reps.

A lot can (and will) happen between now and 2028. Maybe Freeman does break down at some point in the season and Tibbs comes up; maybe the Dodgers respond to Freeman's not-so-subtle hints that he'd like a contract extension positively and block Tibbs for two more years.

This just proves that no matter how dire the Dodgers' need to get younger, they still have to deal with the constraints of their current roster, and prospects will still end up drawing the short end of the stick more often than not.

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