Dodgers Prospect Notes: De Paula continues to dominate AA, Sirota’s on-base streak reaches 53, Shelton smashes No. 20, Gough strong in pair of starts, Ehrhard powers up, more

Jared Massey 06/15/2026 Prospect Notes Leave A Comment

Josue De Paula

Hitter of the Week

It’s becoming increasingly difficult to describe how good a hitter Josue De Paula is. Generally, a young player going from A-ball to Double-A would require an adjustment period and some struggle. But JDP has somehow performed even better against much older competition.

De Paula batted .458 last week with a double, a triple, and his 11th home run of the season. That 11th homer came in his 60th game of the season, which is notable given his career high of 12 last year in 102 games. He drew five walks to four strikeouts last week and even stole three bases.

At this point, the only thing holding JDP back is his defense but it hasn’t been as much of an issue recently. He’s athletic enough to develop into a solid defender but needs to prove he’s dedicated to improving. Once that happens, he’ll be ready to give the Dodgers a second homegrown outfielder alongside Andy Pages.

Pitcher of the Week

While the Dodgers haven’t developed a ton of homegrown players over recent years, they have shown a keen eye for acquiring minor league talent through trade to infuse their farm system. The latest example is Tyler Gough, a former top 30 prospect in the Mariners’ system they acquired last offseason.

The 22-year-old right-hander missed the 2025 season due to elbow surgery but has come back healthy and extremely effective. In two starts last week, he pitched 7 ⅓ innings, allowing just one run while striking out 10. Through six starts this year, he’s posted a 1.93 ERA.

He’s not the biggest and doesn’t throw the hardest, but he has a quick arm and comes from a high arm slot to create some deception. He throws lots of strikes, walking only three batters in 18 ⅔ innings this year. With some of the system’s top arms struggling, Gough has been a bright spot this season.

Triple-A Oklahoma City

It was an impressive week for OKC outfielders, starting with a personal favorite, Zach Ehrhard. The 23-year-old got off to a slow start this season, OPSing .623 in April. However, he’s since turned things around and has posted a 170 wRC+ since May 1st. Last week, he hit .320/.414/.880 with four home runs, nearly doubling his season total.

Another power barrage was displayed by Jack Suwinski. Though he’s not a prospect, Suwinski was picked up by the Dodgers this spring and has hit extremely well for the Comets. He also clubbed four homers last week to give him 17 on the season.

And then there’s James Tibbs III. He didn’t have the best week but did pick up home run #19 on Saturday.

Hyeseong Kim hit .333 with a pair of doubles and a stolen base. Infielder Taylor Young joined the squad last week and hit .357 with a pair of homers. Griffin Lockwood-Powell earned a promotion to Triple-A and made his debut on Saturday, going 0 for 5.

River Ryan made his 7th start of the season on Wednesday. He lasted just four innings but struck out seven and gave up just a single run. He’s been pitching on five days’ rest in his last few outings so expect to see him make his next start tomorrow.

In other non-prospect news, Evan Phillips has been rehabbing with OKC and made a couple appearances last week. He allowed a solo homer and a walk, hit a pair of batters and struck out one in his two innings of work.

Double-A Tulsa

While Mike Sirota didn’t have the most impressive week on paper, he’s in the middle of a 53-game on-base streak, easily the longest in the minors this season. That streak has stayed alive thanks in large part due to his ability to draw walks; his 56 free passes ranks among the top in minor league baseball and his .483 OBP is the highest mark in the minors.

Zyhir Hope went 5 for 22 last week with a pair of doubles and a pair of stolen bases. Kyle Nevin hit .375 with two doubles and a homer. Jake Gelof continued his power surge with a pair of homers, while Sean McLain added a couple three-run shots on Sunday. Catcher Hayden Gilliland joined the team on Friday and homered on Sunday. Kendall George remains out after his freak injury, though he still hasn’t been placed on the injured list.

Wyatt Crowell, a 24-year-old lefty, gave the Drillers four innings of no-hit ball on Saturday. Payton Martin contributed six quality innings on Wednesday with six Ks.

High-A Great Lakes

Eduardo Quintero continues to hit after his cold start to the season. He batted .273 last week with a double and his 3rd home run of the season. It was the first homer he hit since April 25. He also stole a pair of bases, giving him 26, the third most in the Midwest League.

Charles Davalan only hit .200 but did add six walks and his 8th homer of the season on Saturday. He now has 38 walks and just 31 strikeouts in 57 games for the Loons.

It’s been an adjustment for Emil Morales, who hit .136 with nine strikeouts last week. His walk and strikeout rates have slightly increased in High-A, but his BABIP has dropped nearly .200 points. Not a surprise for a teenager, but he’ll need to make some improvements to his approach to get back to his Single-A production. Samuel Munoz had a big week, batting .389 with a pair of doubles and a stolen base. Eduardo Guerrero hit .294 with three walks and a stolen base. 

Zach Root continues to impress with another strong start. The lefty struck out seven over five innings of one run ball. That actually caused his ERA to rise to 1.55 on the season. Brooks Auger was effectively wild, scattering three hits and two walks over 3 ⅔ innings while striking out six. Aidan Foeller went three and faced one over the minimum while striking out four. Christian Zazueta allowed a run over 3 ⅔ with five strikeouts. He ranks 8th in the Midwest League with 59 punchouts.

Single-A Ontario

The Dodgers have a new home run king in the minors. Easton Shelton, who was signed as a free agent out of high school, has been crushing the ball like few others with the Tower Buzzers.

After slugging three homers last week, he now has 20 homers in just 56 games, an absurd pace that is hard to ignore. What’s also hard to ignore is the strikeouts, as he leads the circuit in that category as well with 89. If he can somehow cut down on the whiffs while maintaining even a fraction of this power, he could turn into an intriguing prospect.

Chase Harlan continues to produce at the plate. While he didn’t homer last week, he did add four doubles and three walks, pushing his season slash line up to .335/.450/.563. That’s an extremely impressive line for a guy who’s still 19. Catcher Conner O’Neal hit .385 with a double and a homer. Mairoshendrick Martinus tripled twice. Landyn Vidourek homered on Sunday.

Cam Leiter struck out seven of the eleven batters he faced on Thursday. He also walked three and has now issued eight free passes in his last three outings, spanning 7 ⅔ innings. Brady Smith allowed three unearned runs in his three innings while striking out five. He now ranks 6th in the California League with 64 strikeouts in just 39 innings.

Brock Stewart is back rehabbing in Ontario. He made two appearances last week, giving up a run on three hits while striking out four over his two innings.

Rookie Leagues

In the Complex League, 18-year-old Jhon Gil hit his second homer of the year and stole five bases while drawing four walks. Aidan West has been noticeably absent from the lineup since the end of last month. 19-year-old catcher Eduardo Rojas hit .500 last week with a pair of doubles.

Down in the Dominican Summer League, Ezequiel Melburne and Rubel Arias both doubled twice. 19-year-old Erny Orellana hit .333 with a double and his second homer.

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About Jared Massey

Former co-host along with Dustin Nosler of the Award-eligible Dugout Blues podcast. Founder of the Greg Miller Marching and Chowder Society. Certified Prospect Hugger.
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