Dodgers Prospect Notes: Quintero & Linan shine for Quakes, Rushing & Kim start well, Hope & De Paula mashing, more

Bruce Kuntz 04/08/2025 Prospect Notes 3 Comments

Top Farm Batter

After Eduardo Quintero was dominant in his first two minor league stops, he scuffled a bit following a late-2024 promotion to Single-A. He was just 18 years old but was forced to make some adjustments.

It looks like he’s done just that, as Quintero dominated the first series of 2025. While playing center field all three games for the Quakes, the Venezuelan teenager went 6-for-11 at the plate with a pair of doubles, four walks and two stolen bases.

Quintero looked extremely poised at the plate despite his age, letting his patience and bat-to-ball skills shine through as he reached base at a .625 clip. He ranked No. 11 on my preseason Dodgers prospects list and could climb quickly with a good year in Single-A.

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Top Farm Pitcher

Sean Linan didn’t start for the Quakes this weekend, instead getting his action in relief. Entering midway through the fourth inning Sunday, Linan went the distance, striking out 11 over 5 1/3 frames. The Colombian right-hander allowed just two hits while landing 45 of his 61 pitches for strikes and tallying 19 whiffs.

Linan split time last year between the Arizona Complex League and Rancho Cucamonga, posting a 4.37 ERA mostly in long relief. He has an impressive combination of strikeout stuff that is kept under control. The 20-year-old paired his 31% strikeout rate last season with a 9% walk rate.

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Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets

Dalton Rushing established himself as an upper-echelon caliber prospect in baseball a season ago. Although there wasn’t much of a path for him to break camp with the Dodgers, he has carried his momentum into a good start to 2025. Rushing has slashed .346/.455/.538 across his first eight Triple-A games of the new year. Maybe just as interesting, the Louisville alum has had his defensive innings split up quite a bit: he’s made four starts at catcher, two at first base and one in left field. For Rushing to make the leap to the majors, he’ll need the versatility to fill in wherever is needed for the Dodgers.

Hyeseong Kim has had a solid start to the season. He’s reached base at a .368 clip while moving around defensively. The offseason international signee will likely be placed in a utility role whenever the Dodgers believe he’s comfortable enough to make his MLB debut. So far for the Comets, Kim has had his defensive innings evenly split across second base, shortstop and center field.

Nick Frasso has made his way back from labrum surgery that held him out for the entirety of 2024. He’s been limited to just two innings in each of his first two outings, but they have both been starts, as it appears the Dodgers will stretch him out at least to begin the year. The 6-foot-5 right-hander gets seven feet of extension down the mound, which has always helped his velocity play up. His heater has averaged 92.8 mph through four innings.

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Double-A Tulsa Drillers

The Dodgers took John Rhodes in the minor league stage of last winter’s Rule 5 Draft. This is the 24-year-old’s fourth consecutive season with time in Double-A, but it’s his first with Tulsa, and he’s gotten his time in the organization started on a high note. The 2021 third-round pick homered twice over the weekend, collecting four total hits. Rhodes struggled mightily last year with Baltimore affiliate Bowie, but he’ll look to get his offensive profile back on track this year while playing first base and corner outfield.

Jose Ramos is beginning his third season in Tulsa after turning in offensive production just shy of Texas League average the last two years. The Panamanian outfielder has fallen off of most Dodgers prospect lists, but he still has quite a bit of raw power if he could finally translate it onto the field and overcome his whiff issues. Over the first weekend of play, Ramos went 4-for-12 with a homer.

Jackson Ferris has a ton of momentum as one of the best young pitching prospects in baseball. He got the opening night nod for Tulsa to kick off his 21-year-old season, and he didn’t skip a beat from last year. Tossing 4 1/3 innings, the left-hander tallied seven strikeouts and 20 whiffs out of his 75 pitches. Although he allowed six hits and two runs, it was certainly a positive outing.

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High-A Great Lakes Loons

Great Lakes may be the most exciting lineup in the system to start the season. Zyhir Hope has made the move to High-A alongside Kendall George, and Josue De Paula remains with the Loons to start 2025. The Virginia native Hope is coming off an impressive stint in big league spring training. He had a huge opening weekend for Great Lakes, going 4-for-9 with a homer, three walks and three stolen bases.

De Paula impressed to start the season as well, going 4-for-11 with a homer and three walks. The duo of Hope and De Paula will be exciting to watch, and despite the fact they are both in their age-20 seasons, it is certainly conceivable that they both could get a taste of Double-A this year.

Patrick Copen made an excellent opening night start for the Loons. It was his first time back on the regular-season mound since a brutal injury off a comebacker to the face ended his 2024. After a long recovery timeline, Copen struck out nine across 3 2/3 hitless innings on Friday. The right-hander will look to improve his command this year as he continues to move through the system.

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Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes

This weekend marked the opening of Rancho Cucamonga’s final season as the Dodgers affiliate. The franchise will be moving to a new ballpark in Ontario next year, where a new team identity will assume the Dodgers affiliation. The Quakes name and ballpark will remain, being taken over by the Angels’ Single-A affiliated franchise.

It’s a very intriguing group of players making the move to full-season ball with the Quakes this year. Jaron Elkins is one of them, and he got his Quakes tenure started on an excellent note. The 20-year-old outfielder tallied four hits on opening night, including a double and a homer. Elkins, a former standout high school running back, is physically gifted both in terms of strength and foot speed. He could skyrocket up rankings if he can keep his swings and misses in check.

Joendry Vargas also made his Single-A debut over the weekend. My No. 9 preseason Dodgers prospect, Vargas was put right into the middle of the Quakes batting order. He rose to the occasion by going 5-for-13 with five runs driven in and a two walks. The 19-year-old started all three games, playing two at third base and one at shortstop. He will have to split shortstop opportunities with Kellon Lindsey, the Dodgers’ 2024 first rounder who posted a .364 on-base in his first two professional games.

Jakob Wright looked good in his professional debut, starting the series finale and striking out five. The Cal Poly alum didn’t allow a run across 3 2/3 innings, showing off the slider that made him a fourth round pick in last year’s draft.

I was on the radio play-by-play call for Rancho Cucamonga’s season opener. The full broadcast can be found here, and I’ll link a half-inning demo reel below.

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Rookie Ball

A few higher-profile prospects remain in Arizona as the season begins. A few are at least partially due to injury (Maddux Bruns, Noah Miller, Chase Harlan). It appears Emil Morales and Ching-Hsien Ko will be making their domestic debuts in the ACL once games get going on May 3.

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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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