Gavin Lux trade is example of how overrated the Dodgers' farm system is every year

With Gavin Lux's trade to the Cincinnati Reds, the Los Angeles Dodgers whittled the number of homegrown position players on the 26-man roster down to two: Will Smith and Andy Pages.

With Walker Buehler gone to Boston, most of the pitching staff is either bought or acquired as well; Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Edgardo Henriquez, and Michael Grove are the only Dodgers draftees or amateur international free agent signings left (even though Grove doesn't feel likely to stay for long).

There are also the players who have spent time in the majors but were exiled to Triple-A for poor performance or to keep in reserve in case anyone better gets hurt (James Outman, Bobby Miller, and Landon Knack), and the former top prospects were traded because they couldn't make much of an impression in the majors and/or minors (Diego Cartaya, Michael Busch, and Miguel Vargas).

All of these players were, at some point, ranked in the Dodgers' top 30. Cartaya reigned at the top for two straight seasons and Lux was there in 2020, but Cartaya was a bust and Lux, if not a bust, just wasn't going to work out in LA long-term.

But the Dodgers' farm system has been consistently named one of the best in baseball for years. Dating back to 2017, MLB Pipeline has even ranked them mostly in the top five with only two deviations (but never lower than 15). With this much mediocrity or outright inadequacy from a lot of highly-touted prospects over the past half decade, though, do they really deserve it?

Dodgers farm system continues to rank highly in organization lists despite multiple prospect busts

The Dodgers have had a lot of success stories as well — Smith earned himself a 10-year extension, Corey Seager and Joc Pederson still great, Walker Buehler struggled this year but has a history of excellence behind him and room to bounce back — and it's always a dice roll with prospects; some of them work out, some of them don't.

However, if you look at a team like the Dodgers versus a team like the Tigers, who were still a middling squad for most of 2024 but still managed to make it to the ALDS on the backs of homegrown talent, it makes LA's farm system pale in comparison.

It's pretty clear that the Dodgers have had their priorities in order for a while now. For the most part, they use prospects as trade fodder and buy big acquisitions, but the former top prospects still with the team have been, for the most part, underwhelming. Even those they've traded away, like Alex Verdugo, Oneil Cruz, and Keibert Ruiz, make just decent ballplayers at best.

In 2024, MLB Pipeline ranked the Dodgers' system at No. 5 in late summer, up three seasons from their preseason ranking. They'll probably be ranked highly again for 2025, but they may not totally deserve that distinction.