Is Dalton Rushing surpassing Diego Cartaya in Dodgers’ farm system?

While most organizations would kill to have a catching prospect of note with real upside in their farm system, the Los Angeles Dodgers have at least two that fit the bill in Diego Cartaya and Dalton Rushing.

Cartaya is well-known to Dodgers fans as being considered to be the Dodgers' top prospect overall by multiple publications thanks to an offensive tool kit that you don't see very often amongst backstops. However, Dalton Rushing has quickly become a guy that is making some noise of his own at the plate and is making a real run at being considered a better, or at least more certain, catching prospect. Let's take a look at how the two compare.

Dodgers' Diego Cartaya and Dalton Rushing are both mashers with some defensive questions

Let's get this out of the way: both of these guys are elite catching prospects and there will be no slander here suggesting otherwise. One of the things that both guys have going for them is power and plenty of it. Cartaya has power grades that range from plus to plus-plus, depending on who you talk to, and his 22 homers in 2022 bear that out.

Rushing may not have quite Cartaya's power upside thanks, in part, to a slightly smaller frame, but he certainly isn't up there at the plate looking to slap the ball for singles. He is built like a linebacker and his swing is geared to deal damage, but he also is very good at being selective on pitches that he knows he can do damage on. Through 25 games so far in 2023, Rushing has seven homers and is slugging .602 which, again, you don't see too often from catchers.

That said, both players also have some defensive questions. Cartaya is still very young, and while he has a cannon for an arm and a really strong work ethic, he is still working on moving efficiently behind the plate to best control the running game. His blocking/receiving skills are also still developing.

Rushing has a bit more polish to his receiving and blocking it seems, but he doesn't have as strong an arm as Cartaya and seems to be just "good enough" defensively instead of a standout defender. In short, Cartaya has more defensive upside to be sure, but there isn't much that separates the two at present.