Dodgers prospects: Dalton Rushing, Jeral Perez, Chris Newell
Andy Pages officially graduated to the majors last week, when his 45 days and 130 at-bats in LA allowed him to shed the 'prospect' label and become a fully fledged major leaguer. Pages smashed onto the scene when he was called up in mid-April, and by the end of the month he was batting .300 with a seven-game hitting streak he extended to 10 in his first few games of May. He's settled down since then, but he had a three-hit series against the Mets this week, celebrating his graduation with an RBI single on Wednesday during a drama-filled series closer in Queens.
Updated MLB Pipeline rankings published in mid-May put Pages at No. 1, bumping Dalton Rushing down a spot ... only for the catcher to reclaim first position with Pages' status change.
Rushing had himself a day this week, too; on Monday, he hit his first career grand slam in Double-A and singled to drive in five runs in a single game, a career high. He's on a better home run and RBI pace this year in Tulsa than he was last year in High-A Great Lakes and is clearly cementing his place as the top Dodgers prospect and one of MLB's top 100.
Dodgers prospects: Dalton Rushing's career firsts, Jeral Perez's top 30 debut, Chris Newell's hot streak
Pages' graduation gave way to more shuffling in the pipeline than just Rushing reclaiming his crown; it also made room for second baseman Jeral Perez to make his debut in the top 30 at No. 17. Perez was an international signee in 2022 at 17, and he appeared in 47 games in the Dodgers' Dominican Rookie-level affiliate that same year. He came over to the States and was promoted to Single-A to close out 2023. In 39 games with the Quakes this season, he's hitting .306 with a .926 slugging, six home runs, and 25 RBI.
It's telling that he not only arrived in the top 30, but also bypassed the back 10 entirely by zipping all the way up the list this week.
Not in the Dodgers top 30 is centerfielder Chris Newell, a 13th-round draft pick in 2022 who's currently hitting bombs in High-A. From May 23 to May 25, Newell hit three home runs, two of the opposite field variety. He was also in the midst of a bunch of different RBI streaks, but the jist of things is that he's only hitting .220 but has a .543 slugging. That means the Virginia product is really hitting when it matters most.