Ranking Dodgers minor leaguers by likelihood they'll be called up September 1

MLB rosters expand from 26 to 28 on Tuesday, September 1, and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in need of an offensive boost. Fans have already been speculating on which lucky player will get the call, and some are campaigning for the top prospect or minor leaguer of their choice.

The vast majority of them are outfielders and — just their luck — LA has two highly-paid outfielders who have disappointed this year.

The top of the Dodgers' pipeline is still choked with high-ceiling players, and there are a few with experience and little versatility. The Dodgers have options galore, but which one makes the most sense?

Ranking the most likely Dodgers September call-ups

Josue De Paula and Mike Sirota are the Dodgers' top prospects, and have been hitting so well fans are begging to see at least one of them skip Triple-A and head directly to the majors when rosters expand. If you're among that camp, I hate to break it to you, it's almost certainly not happening.

The Dodgers are reportedly more attached to De Paula than perhaps any prospect we've seen since Andy Pages. No one in their minor league system is untouchable, and yet, De Paula supposedly was at this year's trade deadline. If that's the case, they're not going to curb his development by letting him or Sirota skip a grade entirely.

There are exceptions to this rule. The development-heavy Detroit Tigers allowed their No. 1 prospect skip Triple-A, and he's in line to be the American League Rookie of the Year. If the Dodgers are so convinced of De Paula, maybe he too would be a rare exception. But we'll bet on the Dodgers erring on the side of caution with this one. There are way too many "what ifs" to do otherwise.

Hyeseong Kim is the elder statesman on this list, when you combine his years in the KBO with his up-and-down travails in the majors. He would be the safest option (therefore maybe the likeliest option when it comes to the Dodgers), and his defense would be the closest to replicating Pages' in center field.

But with the Dodgers' offense just barely waking up after a deep slumber throughout most of August, they probably won't be prioritizing defense. Kim is hitting for average in Triple-A, but the power they were hoping to develop hasn't materialized.

Ryan Ward finally got a couple of shots this year, but neither lasted long. He was one of the Pacific Coast League's best hitters in 2024 and 2025, but was ignored by the big-league team despite veterans who under-performed.

Ward is still putting up respectable numbers in Oklahoma City — he's hitting .256 with an .816 OPS, five homers, and 21 RBI — and the Dodgers may prefer his experience in the majors over others on this list.

James Tibbs has barely cooled down since his headline-grabbing early run, when he seemed to be hitting a home run every two at-bats. Through 124 games in Triple-A Oklahoma City, he's hitting .295 with a .965 OPS, 27 homers, and 96 RBI. His batting average hasn't dipped below .281 throughout the entire season.

If he were part of any organization other than the Dodgers, fans would say he's too good to keep down, but we've seen them do that to good prospects aplenty. Tibbs, however, seems like the most likely option as Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Tucker continue to struggle.

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