ESPN Ranks Dodgers' Farm System In MLB's Top 5 (And It's Not No. 5)

Maren Angus-Coombs | Aug 14, 2024

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Before the 2024 season began, ESPN ranked all 30 Major League Baseball farm systems. A lot can change over the course of one season — some prospects get promoted, others get injured, others are traded.

Now, with the trade deadline and first-year player draft behind them, the Los Angeles Dodgers have managed to maintain their status as one of the best player development pipelines in baseball, according ESPN's newest rankings.

Kiley McDaniel determined the rankings based on several details.

"The dollar amounts for each farm system come from projecting what each is expected to do, using historical examples," writes McDaniel. "With that, it's pretty easy to project how much they'll be paid in their six-plus cost-controlled years for that projected performance, adjust for time value of money/performance, apply the price teams pay per win on the free agent market for how much that performance is worth and poof: each player has a dollar value. Then, you simply add up the values for each prospect and have the surplus value of the whole farm system."

The Dodgers entered the year ranked No. 8. Despite trading several minor league players for major league talent in July, they have moved up to No. 3.

Right fielder Josue De Paula is currently considered the club's top prospect. One rival scout compared him to Houston Astros designated hitter Yordan Alvarez.

Dalton Rushing is also flying through the farm system. The catcher out of the University of Louisville was recently promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City and has been playing left field exclusively. He was selected in the second round of the 2022 draft.

Since the re-ranking, only outfielder Andy Pages has graduated from prospect status this year. He was recalled by the Dodgers on April 16 and has been with the big league club ever since.

Pages has played in 95 games at the major league level. He is batting .248 with 21 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 33 runs batted in.

Pitchers River Ryan and Justin Wrobleski were the latest call-ups to help out a big league club hit hard by injuries and underperformance.

Unfortunately, Ryan joined that list of injuries on Saturday when he exited his start in the fifth inning with forearm tightness. Manager Dave Roberts confirmed with reporters on Sunday that he will miss the of the season and surgery could be an option.

Wrobleski held his own in his four starts with the Dodgers. He was only charged with a decision once and it happened to be a loss. He has a 4.05 ERA and struck out 15 batters across 20 innings.

Eduardo Quintero, Emil Morales, Joendry Vargas, and Alex Freeland have made huge improvements as position players in 2024. Kellon Lindsey and Chase Harlan, two prep position players with upside, headlined the draft class.

The Dodgers dealt a handful prospects at the trade deadline, including Thayron Liranzo, Alexander Albertus, and Jeral Perez.