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Dalton Rushing, Dodgers Digest’s No. 1 preseason Dodgers prospect, is being promoted to Triple-A, a source with knowledge of the situation said.
BREAKING: Source says top #Dodgers catching prospect Dalton Rushing is being promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City
— Bruce Kuntz (@Bnicklaus7) August 4, 2024
He homered twice today for Tulsa pic.twitter.com/gWRABIJWKP
Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic has also reported that Rushing is being promoted.
Dodgers catching prospect Dalton Rushing is going to be promoted to Triple A, as @Bnicklaus7 said (OKC doesn't play again until Tuesday after tonight). Worth nothing that Rushing has gotten four starts in left field of late.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 4, 2024
Rushing has been red-hot recently for Tulsa, concluding his Double-A hot streak with a two-homer game Sunday before he was promoted. Over his last 11 games, Rushing has homered seven times and driven in 13 runs. He is slashing .438/.500/1.188 to begin the month of August.
Through 77 games this season, Rushing has posted an .890 OPS with 15 doubles, 17 home runs and 59 RBI. The 23-year-old owns a .934 OPS thus far in his minor league career, which has spanned two-and-a-half seasons since he was drafted in the second round in 2022.
Although he is primarily a catcher, Rushing has begun to play some games out in left field. He has made four starts there over the last month. Both catcher and first base, the positions Rushing has experience at, are blocked in the majors both this year and into the future for the Dodgers.
Rushing has an excellent all-around offensive profile, reaching base at a great .378 clip thanks to a solid hit tool and fantastic plate discipline. He also is slugging .512 with a manageable 20.6% strikeout rate, leaving little room for critiques of his offensive game.
The former Lousiville catcher has dealt with some injuries as a pro, including a concussion that he suffered last year in High-A. He has played in just 196 career minor league games but has performed at every level that he has reached. He will now be just one step from the major leagues.
A debut for Rushing should be more realistically expected to come in 2025. The only conceivable way he could fit on the Dodgers roster this year is in the outfield, where he is just beginning to accumulate experience. However, with Oklahoma City also having Hunter Feduccia and Diego Cartaya as catchers on the roster, Rushing will likely see his fair share of innings in the outfield down the stretch this year.
Ranked as MLB Pipeline’s No. 46 overall prospect, this promotion happening now leaves the door cracked — if not fully open — for a late-season debut in 2024. Rushing would have to continue his offensive tear when he arrives in Triple-A, but this early-August promotion signals that the front office is certainly monitoring his progress. Rushing would have to be added to the 40-man roster by August 31 to be postseason eligible, if the Dodgers are truly considering that as an option.
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Ardaya of The Athletic has also reported that infield prospect Alex Freeland and flame-throwing right-handed relief prospect Edgardo Henriquez (who touched 104 mph in an appearance today) are also being promoted to Triple-A.
Along with Dalton Rushing, the Dodgers are also promoting infielder Alex Freeland and right-handed reliever Edgardo Henriquez to Triple A, per a source. https://t.co/AXbnbUNG4A
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) August 4, 2024
