Dodgers: Experts Evaluate Top LA Prospect Diego Cartaya

A look at how ESPN, FanGraphs, and The Athletic evaluated the Dodgers top prospect Diego Cartaya.

Dodgers catching prospect Diego Cartaya headlines a LA farm system that's one of the best in baseball according to most experts. This month, ESPN, Fan Graphs, and the Athletic released their top 100 prospect lists.

Cartaya was included in each list, but where he landed seemed to have a high rate of variability. One site had him in the low teens, while another had him outside of the top 25.

FanGraphs - No. 37

FanGraphs' summary of Cartaya suggests that they more concerned about the 20-year-old's recent injury history than the experts at ESPN and The Athletic. Cartaya suffered back and hamstring injuries in 2021 that limited him to playing just 31 games in Single-A. 

Nonetheless, FanGraphs does think that Cartaya could be a very important player for the Dodgers in the future.

“There’s extreme variance here because we’re talking about a very young catcher, one who hasn’t played all that much yet, but Cartaya has the ability to be a star.”

ESPN - No. 26

Kiley McDaniel of ESPN was a little more excited about Cartaya's offensive capabilities, especially his power potential.

“Cartaya hasn't played much yet in pro ball, all the pieces are here for a 50 hit tool with a good amount of walks, 70 power (30+ homers) and at least average defense. For reference, the No. 1 player on this list is a catcher with a a 60 in all three categories…”

McDaniel and FanGraphs both compared Cartaya to another Venezuelan catcher: Salvador Perez.

Cartaya has a long road ahead, but Dodgers fans would be ecstatic if he did become an All-Star catcher like Perez. 

The Athletic - No. 13

The Athletic's Keith Law had Cartaya ranked the highest of the three sites on his top prospect list. Law is quite confident of the catcher's offensive upside, but did admit that he needs more development.

“Cartaya is going to be a monster at the plate with patience and power…he’s already so skilled for his age that he has No. 1 overall prospect upside.”

Law isn't alone with his future projection of Cartaya. Jim Callis of MLB.com also thinks that Cartaya will be a top-ten prospect this time next year.