The Los Angeles Dodgers decided to promote top prospect Dalton Rushing to Triple-A Oklahoma City this past week, a well-deserved promotion for the 23-year-old.
Prior to the call-up, Rushing batted .270/.378/.512 with 15 doubles, 17 home runs, 59 RBI and 44 runs scored with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers. The left-handed slugger had played the majority of his reps as a catcher, ranking as the sixth-best backstop prospect, according to MLB Pipeline.
With the Drillers, Rushing played 324.2 innings as a catcher, but prior to joining OKC, he began playing some left field. Now, at the highest level for a prospect, Rushing will only play the outfield, Triple-A manager Travis Babary said via OKC communications director Alex Freedman:
Well, this is interesting. Per manager Travis Babary, Dalton Rushing will exclusively play left field to start his time in OKC. #Dodgers
— Alex Freedman (@azfreedman) August 6, 2024
Taking into account the current catcher group in OKC, Diego Cartaya is receiving the lion’s share behind the plate.
Forecasting how Rushing could be used at the next level, his shift toward being a left fielder opens him up to becoming a possible piece to the Dodgers’ long-term plans.
Already having a mainstay catcher in Will Smith, the front office sees the value in Rushing’s bat, but also a way to get both he and Cartaya playing time with OKC.
The Dodgers thinned out their Minor League catching depth at the trade deadline, trading away Thayron Liranzo, another promising backstop, to the Detroit Tigers. Still having Cartaya, Rushing and a few others in the Minor Leagues, they’re still in solid shape looking into the future.
Could Dalton Rushing play his way onto the Dodgers roster this year?
Being as the Dodgers need a left-handed outfield bat with some thump in the Majors, there is a chance that Rushing could be called up to the big club toward the backend of the year.
It’ll at depend on his performance with OKC, but they aren’t likely to call him up without having a solid outlook of plus-production.
Rushing’s athleticism should play in the outfield, and will allow him to crack a big league roster in more ways than just behind the plate.
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