Dodgers Prospect Notes: Rushing & Ferris shine, Hope on fire, Casparius & Duran great, Morales continues domination, more

Bruce Kuntz 08/13/2024 Prospect Notes Leave A Comment

(Via @MLBPipeline)

Content over the last month got crazy with the draft, the trade deadline and then the midseason prospect list. Let’s catch up on some good old notes.

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Top Farm Batter

Dalton Rushing has been on fire of late, earning a promotion to Triple-A. Since July 1, between both Double-A and Triple-A, Rushing has posted a 151 wRC+ while also partially adjusting to a new defensive role in left field.

Also worth noting: The timing of this torrid streak fell right around the trade deadline, when other teams were surely interested in the young catching prospect. Rushing has seemingly slugged his way into nearly-untouchable status, and his left field defensive assignment shows that the organization is looking for a way to get his bat in the MLB lineup for the foreseeable future.

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Top Farm Pitcher

Jackson Ferris has been on a hot streak of his own and has also earned a promotion. Ferris moved up from High-A to Double-A as his first season in the Dodgers organization has continued to trend upwards. The 20-year-old southpaw has a 0.91 ERA across his last six starts and he allowed just one run in his Tulsa debut.

Ferris’ best start in this stretch came on August 1 when he tossed eight no-hit innings in his final start for Great Lakes. A case could be made for either Ferris or Justin Wrobleski to be the top left-handed pitching prospect in the system, but if Ferris continues his current trajectory, he could secure that mantle by the end of the year.

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Triple-A Oklahoma City Baseball Club

Sweeper extraordinaire Ben Casparius has been fantastic since being activated off the IL on July 14, posting a 2.56 FIP and 35.5% strikeout rate across five starts. He had one blowup game on August 3 but bounced back with six shutout innings and eight strikeouts in his last outing. Casparius is Rule 5 eligible this offseason and is likely to be rostered, so if the Dodgers need some innings filled over the next month-and-a-half, it could make sense for him to be considered.

Diego Cartaya has settled into a groove over his last 25 games, posting an .817 OPS with nine extra-base-hits and 18 RBI. Of course, that only translates to a 102 wRC+ in the PCL, but Cartaya’s peripherals have been impressive as well; his 23.6% strikeout rate and .204 ISO are improvements over his season-long clips. He has found this production while splitting playing time with Hunter Feduccia.

Edgardo Henriquez and Alex Freeland each got bumped up to Triple-A alongside Rushing. Henriquez getting full Statcast readings has been just as nutty as expected; although he ran into some trouble in his last outing, he averaged 99 mph on his fastball and reached triple digits on five of his 17 heaters. Freeland started all six games at shortstop in his first Triple-A series.

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Double-A Tulsa Drillers

Despite an early-season injury that held him out nearly two full months, Damon Keith has produced at a high level since getting healthy. In his first Double-A campaign, Keith has turned in a 135 wRC+ and .236 ISO. He’s still striking out at a higher-than-comfortable 28.8% rate, but given his resurgence in power output compared to last year, Keith has had a very positive season.

Carlos Duran has found his stride as he’s worked back from Tommy John surgery this season. Another right-hander with a devastating slider, Duran has posted a 1.35 ERA and 31.8% strikeout rate over his first six Double-A starts. Duran is an interesting player when it comes to the Rule 5 Draft this offseason; he is eligible already and might need roster protection as his success makes it more likely he would get taken.

Ronan Kopp had a brutal start to his first Double-A campaign as he struggled mightily with walks. Luckily, he has turned things around of late, pitching to a 2.25 ERA and 20.3 K-BB% in his last 10 appearances. Command will always be a battle for Kopp, but now that he appears to be a relief-only prospect, his control won’t need to improve quite as much as if he has remained a starter.

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High-A Great Lakes Loons

Former Texas Longhorn Dylan Campbell has been solid all year but he has taken his production to another level of late. Since the start of July, Campbell has a 124 wRC+ and has begun to hit for more power. As he continues compiling professional experience, Campbell could become a valuable player if he slugs alongside his positive defensive and physical attributes.

Apologies for the third Rule 5 Draft mention in an article that’s being published in August, but Jose Rodriguez has made himself an interesting candidate for the draft this winter. He turned 23 years old in July and has posted a 0.83 ERA and 24.1 K-BB% in his last six appearances. Rodriguez’s combination of command alongside strikeout stuff and a large frame make him very intriguing.

Speaking of red-hot Great Lakes relievers, Brandon Neeck has posted a 1.78 ERA and 30.2% strikeout rate across his last 30 1/3 relief innings. The 24-year-old left-hander was a ninth round pick back in 2022 and has a 3.18 ERA this year while working out of the bullpen in mostly one or two inning stints.

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Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

The other side of the Michael Busch trade, Zyhir Hope has been on a tear since being activated from the injured list two weeks ago. He has already homered three times since returning and is reaching base at a .516 clip across 13 games. Hope is just 19 years old and owns a 163 wRC+ in 31 games this season.

Kendall George has played better and better as this season has gone on. Over his last 25 games, the 2023 first rounder has a .294/.407/.363 slash line with 15 stolen bases. The Quakes’ current teenage outfield group of Hope, George, Samuel Munoz and Eduardo Quintero is a wonderful collection of talent.

Back on August 3, Cameron Decker had a career-night at the plate, totaling six hits and 10 RBI in a single game. According to MiLB, these numbers hadn’t been achieved in a single minor league game since at least 2005. Decker, a 2022 18th rounder out of high school, has taken a large step forward this year with a .928 OPS between rookie ball and Single-A.

Roque Gutierrez had a slow start to the season, but since June 8, the right-hander has posted a 3.27 ERA, 37.2% strikeout rate and 8.9% walk rate. Despite being listed at just 5-foot-9, Gutierrez has shown an impressive combination of strikeout stuff and good command throughout his time as a pro.

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Rookie Ball

The Arizona Complex League Dodgers won the ACL championship back on July 29. Their roster was absurdly stacked, even with some departures to Single-A that happened throughout the season.

Hyun-Seok Jang made a gem of a start in the playoffs for the ACL team, striking out eight in three nearly-perfect innings. Jang struggled with command overall on the season but showed good enough strikeout stuff to be promoted to Single-A, where he will likely spend the rest of 2024.

Emil Morales has continued to demolish the Dominican Summer League, proving he is right up in the crop of top international hitters alongside Joendry Vargas and Quintero. There is not a glaring weakness looking at Morales’ numbers in the DSL; He is slashing .331/.474/.669 with 13 home runs and a 20.5% walk rate in 43 games.

Ching-Hsien Ko has been assigned to the DSL after being signed as an international prospect midseason this year. The 18-year-old outfielder from Taiwan has three doubles, a homer and nine RBI across his first 20 at-bats in the organization.

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About Bruce Kuntz

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I'm a Long Beach State journalism student and I've been writing about the Dodgers and their farm system since I was in high school.
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