The Dodgers are being completely unfair to top prospect Dalton Rushing

Los Angeles Dodgers top prospect Dalton Rushing has nothing more to prove in the minor leagues. At this point, he's being treated completely unfairly by the organization.

With a home run and another multi-hit effort on Wednesday, Rushing is now batting .323 with an OPS of .962 and four home runs on the season. In 2024, Rushing hit an impressive 26 home runs splitting time between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City.

The 24-year-old catcher has had success at every level of the minor leagues, but he's still being held back by the Dodgers' big league roster and the organization's close-minded mentaltity.

Dalton Rushing is being held back by the Dodgers

It's a difficult spot to be in with Will Smith being one of the best catchers in baseball. I'm not asking for Rushing to take Smith's place, and given Smith's 10-year, $140 million extension that keeps him under club control through the 2033 season, I'm well aware that the Dodgers won't be needing a starting catcher anytime soon.

But that's exactly why Rushing should be getting work at some different positions. After being called up to Triple-A in 2024, Rushing started only six games at catcher while playing 27 games in left field. It seemed like the Dodgers were preparing Rushing to make the move a permanent one and positional versatility seemed to be an emphasis of spring training for the 24-year-old.

"I've bounced around. I've been at many different positions. It's been a grind," Rushing said during spring training, via MLB.com's Sonja Chen. "I think the biggest thing is make sure the bat's ready and I'm prepared, from a defensive standpoint, to go do my job."

Rushing to left field makes sense

Left field is the logical fit for Rushing. Dave Roberts believes that Teoscar Hernández is going to be "inactive for a while" after he was placed on the injured list this week. There's a hole on the big league roster right now and the Dodgers have Shohei Ohtani as their permanent DH with Freddie Freeman holding down first base and the aforementioned Will Smith behind the plate. There are no at-bats at C/1B/DH coming available any time soon.

Inexplicably, the Dodgers seem to have changed course when it comes to developing Rushing to play other positions. Rushing has made just one start in the outfield this season. According to MLB.com's Sonja Chen, "the organization doesn't want [Rushing] to focus on learning a new position. The aim is for him to hone in on his development as a catcher, with starts at first base mixed in to get him more at-bats."

I don't see a world where Rushing is able to get regular MLB at-bats as a catcher, first baseman, or designated hitter anytime soon. He's already 24 years old. He has raked at every level of minor league baseball, proven to be versatile, and kept an open mind. Yet still, the Dodgers seem stuck on making Rushing a catcher and keeping him down in the minor leagues. That's not fair to a young player who is more than deserving of a big league call up.

I'd hate to see Rushing waste away in the minor leagues and not having the opportunity to truly start his big league career until he is 26 or 27 years old. Sure, he'll probably make his debut for LA at some point this season, but will he actually get consistent playing time? In 29 other organizations he'd already be in the big league lineup every day.