The Los Angeles Dodgers have a plethora of talent at the catcher position at all Minor League affiliates, to go along with Austin Barnes and Yasmani Grandal at the Major League level. Among those developing in the Minors is Connor Wong.
A third-round pick in the 2017 Draft, Wong entered the 2018 season as the No. 15 prospect in the Dodgers organization, per MLB Pipeline. The 21-year-old is in the midst of a breakout season at the plate, batting .305/.368/.603 with seven doubles, 10 home runs and 27 RBI through 33 games for High-A Rancho Cucamonga.
Wong has surpassed last season’s home run total of five, which he did so in less than half of the plate appearances. Defensively, he has embraced the possibility of improving his versatility by playing additional positions, per Josh Jackson of MiLB.com:
“It was a little bit of anxiety at first, but it was a lot of fun. Just being able to do everything, being able to help the team in whatever way I can is a lot of fun,” Wong said. “[Playing multiple positions is] something we talked about in Spring Training and last year. After signing, [the Dodgers] said they wanted to stick with versatility, but for me, it’s been more focusing on catching in Spring Training, to learn to be the best that I can back there and [the versatility’s] something that’s come naturally to me — being athletic.”
Wong is viewed in the same mold as Barnes, as they both have similar profiles and excellent defensive skills behind home plate.
Barnes has already established himself as one of the better pitch framers in all of baseball, while showing he’s also capable of playing some second base when called upon.
The Dodgers strongly value positional flexibility, and that especially holds true with Kyle Farmer receiving an increased workload at third base this season while Logan Forsythe and Justin Turner were on the disabled list.
Wong hasn’t yet seen much playing time outside of catcher for the Quakes, as he’s made just one start at second base.
