Baseball America released their top 10 Los Angeles Dodgers prospect list for the 2023 season, which is headlined by Diego Cartaya for a second consecutive year.
Following Cartaya on the list is Bobby Miller as the No. 2 ranked Dodgers prospect, then Miguel Vargas, Michael Busch, Ryan Pepiot, Gavin Stone, Andy Pages, Dalton Rushing, Nick Nastrini and James Outman.
Cartaya, who has become a consensus top-10 prospect in MLB, began the 2022 season with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, where he played in 33 games before earning a promotion to High-A Great Lakes.
The 21-year-old participated in the 2022 MLB All-Star Futures Game at Dodger Stadium and was named the 2022 Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year by the Dodgers after hitting a combined .254/.389/.503 with 22 doubles, 22 home runs and 72 RBI.
Miller began the 2022 season with Double-A Tulsa and went 6-6 with a 4.45 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 11.6 strikeouts per nine in 91 innings pitched (20 games, 19 starts) before earning a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he went 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA over three starts.
He was also among the Dodgers to participate in last year’s All-Star Futures Game.
Vargas batted .304/.402/.511 with 17 home runs, 82 RBI, 99 runs scored and 16 stolen bases over 112 games with Oklahoma City and earned a selection to the Pacific Coast League All-Star Team.
He participated in the All-Star Futures Game as well, and eventually earned a promotion to the Major League level, along with a spot on the Dodgers postseason roster due to his upside at the plate. Vargas is expected to play a significant role on the 2023 roster.
Busch began the 2022 season with the Drillers, where he played 31 games before being promoted to OKC. Across the two levels, he hit .274/.365/.516 with 32 home runs, 38 doubles and 108 RBI. Busch should compete for a spot on the 2023 Dodgers Opening Day roster, but if he doesn’t break camp with the team, he should make his debut fairly soon into the season.
Pepiot posted a 2.56 ERA and 1.07 WHIP across 91.1 innings for OKC and also spent time up with the Dodgers. He made seven starts for the Dodgers, going 3-0 with a 3.47 ERA and 1.46 WHIP across 36.1 innings pitched.
Stone has been one of the fastest risers, not only in the Dodgers system, but all of baseball. He entered 2022 relatively unknown but finished the year as a consensus top-75 prospect in the league. Stone began the year with the Loons and posted a 1.44 ERA with 28 strikeouts across 25 innings.
Stone was then promoted to Tulsa, where he pitched 73.1 innings with a 1.60 ERA and 107 strikeouts. Because Tulsa wasn’t a challenge, he was then moved to Triple-A, where he continued to dominate, posting a 1.16 ERA in 23.1 innings with 33 strikeouts.
Pages spent the entire season with the Drillers, where he hit .236/.336/.468 with 29 doubles, 26 home runs and 80 RBI, despite being two years younger than the average age of a Double-A player. Pages finished his year playing in the Arizona Fall League, where he appeared in 24 games and hit .300/.389/.500 with two doubles, five home runs and 14 RBI.
His production in the AFL earned a trip to the Fall Stars Game and he also participated in their inaugural Home Run Derby.
Rushing was the Dodgers’ first selection in the 2022 MLB Draft, and all he did was hit once making his professional debut. Rushing spent most of the season playing for the Quakes, but also took six plate appearances in the Rookie League.
The former University of Louisville catcher batted .404/.522/.740 across 134 plate appearances with eight home runs, 11 doubles, and 30 RBI. He also walked as much as he struck out, with 22 of each. He is looking to continue the successful run of Louisville players drafted by the Dodgers, as both Will Smith and Miller also attended that University.
Nastrini, a product of UCLA, has been another quick riser in the Dodgers’ organization thanks to his elite strikeout stuff. He began the year with the Loons where he threw 86.1 innings with a 3.86 ERA and 127 strikeouts. Nastrini was then promoted to Double-A, where he pitched to a 4.15 ERA with 42 strikeouts in 30.1 innings.
Outman was never highly ranked due to his lack of offensive production, but an impressive 2022 season has provided hope of him being a quality everyday player. The outfielder split time between Double-A and Triple-A, hitting a combined .294/.392/.586 with 31 home runs, 31 doubles and 106 RBI.
He also earned a brief stint at the Major League level, where he impressed by going 6-for-13 at the plate with a home run and two doubles. He is now among the favorites to start in center field for the Dodgers in 2023.
Baseball America ranks best tools in Dodgers system
Best Hitter for Average: Miguel Vargas
Best Power Hitter: Andy Pages
Best Strike-Zone Discipline: Michael Busch
Fastest Baserunner: Jake Vogel
Best Athlete: James Outman
Best Fastball: Nick Frasso
Best Curveball: Maddux Bruns
Best Slider: Carlos Duran
Best Changeup: Ryan Pepiot
Best Control: Gavin Stone
Best Defensive Catcher: Diego Cartaya
Best Defensive Infielder: Jacob Amaya
Best Infield Arm: Logan Wagner
Best Defensive Outfielder: Jonny DeLuca
Best Outfield Arm: Andy Pages
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