More than one month into the season, Baseball America released their updated top 100 prospects list for 2017, which featured five Los Angeles Dodgers prospects in Cody Bellinger, Yadier Alvarez, Alex Verdugo, Walker Buehler and Willie Calhoun.
All except Buehler were ranked in the publication’s top 100 prospects list prior to the season beginning. Bellinger moved from seventh to third, while Alvarez remained at No. 26, Verdugo moved up from 58 to 53, and Calhoun went from No. 92 to No. 86. Buehler made his debut on the list at No. 77.
Bellinger may not be eligible to be considered a prospect much longer, as he was called up to the Majors for a stint that has lasted longer than expected. Los Angeles is 16-5 since Bellinger joined the club.
The 21-year-old was batting .291/.365/.651 with 23 RBIs entering play on Saturday. Bellinger’s eight home runs are tied with Yasiel Puig for the team lead.
Alvarez, a 21-year-old right-handed pitcher, has spent the season with High-A Rancho Cucamonga. The Cuban native has appeared in six games (five starts) and yielded a 5.82 ERA and 1.71 WHIP, while striking out 22 and walking 13 in 21.2 innings of work.
Verdugo has torn his way through the Dodgers farm system, as the 2014 second-round pick began this season with Triple-A Oklahoma City. The 20-year-old is batting .311/.396/.377 with four doubles and 15 RBIs in 35 games.
Calhoun, a teammate of Verdugo’s with Oklahoma City, is also off to a hot start. He’s hitting batting .319/.357/.570 with eight doubles, eight home runs and 17 RBIs in 36 games. Calhoun was selected by the Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2015 Draft.
Buehler, who was the organization’s first-round pick in 2015, was briefly with the Quakes before earning a promotion to Double-A Tulsa. In five starts with Rancho, he yielded a 1.65 ERA and 0.80 WHIP, striking out 27 compared to only five walks in 16.1 innings.
In his first start with the Drillers, Buehler he gave up six hits and two runs while striking out three and walking one in four innings of work. He followed that up with 3.2 shutout innings, setting a career high with nine strikeouts in perhaps his best outing as a professional.
