Los Angeles Dodgers Minor League Spring Training is underway at Camelback Ranch, with notable prospects Landon Knack, Bobby Miller, Ryan Pepiot and Diego Cartaya joined by a large group of others not on the 40-man roster, including Robbie Erlin.
On Friday, the likes of Maddux Bruns and Knack were among those to throw live batting practice on the backfields of the Dodgers’ facility. That opportunity went to Erlin and along with other pitchers on Saturday.
Erlin has spent parts of seven seasons up in the Majors, including last doing so with the Atlanta Braves in 2020.
However, experience didn’t work in his favor during a matchup with Cartaya as the catcher slugged a mammoth home run, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group:
Top #Dodgers prospect Diego Cartaya goes deep vs big-league experienced lefty Robbie Erlin in live BP pic.twitter.com/jjy7x8gTJb
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) March 5, 2022
Per multiple reports, Cartaya’s moonshot reached the Camelback Ranch parking lot just beyond the left field fence.
Cartaya is coming off an injury-shortened 2021 season with Low-A Rancho Cucamonga that saw him hit .298/.409/.614 with 10 home runs and a 157 wRC+ in 31 games. He is said to be fully recovered from lower back and hamstring trouble that resulted in missing time last year.
Cartaya among top prospects
Although Knack, Miller and Pepiot are much closer to making an impact for the Dodgers, Cartaya has widely emerged as the organization’s top prospect.
He was ranked the No. 37 overall prospect by FanGraphs, and named by Baseball America as the Dodgers’ best Minor League player heading into the 2022 season.
The 20-year-old may open this season still with the Quakes, but should earn a promotion to Double-A Tulsa at some point during the year.
Have you subscribed to the Dodger Blue YouTube channel? Be sure to ring the notification bell to watch player interviews, participate in shows and giveaways, and stay up to date on all Dodgers news and rumors!
