PROSPECTS Meanwhile, Down on the Farm

Tulsa lost again and is done.

Great accomplishment for all four teams to make the playoffs, despite three losing in the first round. We'll see how OKC fares next week.

 

@EricCrossMLB
#Dodgers Charles Davalan had a .532 SLG and more walks than strikeouts this season.

He is the first prospect to do that (Min 400 PA) in the last 15 minor league seasons!

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@MLBPipeline
The #Dodgers are promoting MLB's No. 15 prospect Mike Sirota to Triple-A! The 23-year-old posted a .985 OPS across two levels this year, including a 72-game on-base streak: atmlb.com/4yJELGm

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Too bad they couldn't get him there today. Comets had a double header, which they swept. Would've been good to have worked him into one of the games.

 

Sirota in his AAA debut: 1 for 2, a double... plus 3 walks.

And he gunned down a runner trying to take second.

Oh yeah, also Tibbs hit his 30th - a 3-run shot. 107 RBIs now.

 

Sirota went 1 for 4 (3 k's) in his second AAA game, and Ehrhard hit his 30th double as OKC won their final game of the regular season. They finish with an impressive 89-60 record and will begin their best-of-3 championship series against Las Vegas (Athletics) on Tuesday. The PCL only has one playoff round.

Tibbs rested in this one, and Kim went O-fer to end a very disappointing year at .262/.675.

 

This is absolutely incredible!

As you know, Easton Shelton was named the Cal League MVP, and Charles Davalan followed suit as the Midwest League MVP.

Today, Josue De Paula was awarded MVP in the Texas League. Not sure of his odds, but next week Tibbs could try to make it a clean sweep.

The Texas League All-Star team consists of the entire pre-Skubal trade Tulsa outfield: De Paula, Sirota, and Hope. Two other Drillers were named All-Stars - 3B Jake Gelof (34 HRs, 103 RBIs) and reliever Nick Robertson (0.59 ERA, 0.62 WHIP). Not counting Hope, the Dodgers have had 12 All-Stars so far this year.

And with all four teams making the playoffs, this has pretty much been a dream season for the Dodgers minor league system.

 

Hey all,

Thanks for indulging me all season with my too wordy and too frequent posts - reports of this guy making big strides or that guy inching forward. I’m just a dude that spends probably way more time than I should reading articles, blogs, and following box scores. I don’t pay for any subscriptions to get the inside scoop, nor do I go to minor league games or have an account to watch them live online – I just peruse whatever is easily and readily available online and try to form my own statistics-based opinions. It seems like some posters that are no longer here - such as kidwitgame and the knockdown - had more technical prospect information than I do. But they’re not making those board contributions anymore, and this is seemingly the golden age of Dodgers minor leagues, so I’m trying my best to fill their shoes in order to continue having an ongoing understanding of the goings-on in the Dodgers system. I don’t know if I’ll take this on to the same degree next year, but regardless, please always take my opinions with a grain of salt. I really have no greater insight than anyone else here.

That said, with the minor league seasons wrapped/wrapping up, I thought I’d give a quick blurb on each of the Dodgers Top 30 prospects, and how 2026 went for them.

1. Josue De Paula, OF, AA/MLB. Really, there’s nothing needed for me to say here. We all know how he did and how he’s currently doing. Next please.

2. Mike Sirota, OF, AAA/AA/A+. The big story this year was his on-base streak, which ended at 72 games. If I’m remembering correctly, this was the second longest in minor league history and only two short of the record. But the more important part of his 2026 chapter was his overall numbers. He got promoted mid-season and didn’t skip a beat. The only negative is that he’s had some kind of minor injury down the stretch that prevented him from playing every day. At least it wasn’t season-ending like last year’s, but in total his 108 games and 388 at bats were lower than many others in the system, and yet he still managed to amass 119 hits, 28 doubles, and 17 home runs. And if not slowed at the end by the injuries, he may have maintained an OPS over 1.000. Still at .987, it’s a great indication of the potential that he possesses. I expect he’ll open next year at OKC, but he really shouldn’t be there long.

3. Eduardo Quintero, OF, AA/A+. After being league MVP at low-A in 2025, he started the year miserably in high-A. His .195 batting average and .585 OPS in April didn’t quite go according to plan. But in May, he quickly put the disastrous start in the rear-view mirror and became an offensive dynamo again. Got really close to mirroring his 2025 numbers, but at a more difficult level in a league that’s considered pitcher friendly, which shows his ability to adjust to greater competition. In the end, his .942 OPS is his best since rookie league in 2023, and now I’m really looking forward to seeing what a year in the Texas League looks like.

4. Emil Morales, SS, A+/A. His promotion came early in the season and then he too stumbled a bit at Great Lakes. In the end though, the dust settled and he had driven in 119 runs on the year. 139 hits, 34 doubles, 26 home runs, and a .928 OPS all just scream “bright future.” He should be in Tulsa by early next season, if not game 1. Dodgers may have to clear some room. They have Hainline in AA and Miller in AAA, also top-30 guys, but there’s not a lot of room to move them to other positions so Dodgers are going to need to deal or otherwise get creative. Emil is not the type of prospect that you allow to remain blocked from advancing.

5. Christian Zazueta, pitcher, AA/A+. Statistically, it was a solid year for the team’s top pitching prospect. His 3.65 ERA was higher than his 2.41 in ’25, but his WHIP (0.97) dropped, his strikeouts (144) climbed, and his stellar K:BB ratio increased to a career-best 7.01. He tossed 103.2 innings, which is significantly higher than last year (67.1), so the team’s expectations continue to grow. Maintained the same level for 12 starts after moving up to Tulsa which can be a tough adjustment for a pitcher. In my mind he remains the org’s best pitching prospect.

6. Charles Davalan, OF, AA/A+. Last year, he only played 8 games in low-A after getting drafted, and while numbers looked great, it was a very small sample size, so he had a lot to prove this year. Well, he was only the Midwest League MVP… that’s all. 29 doubles, 24 home runs, a .291 average, and .955 OPS. And he reportedly played a strong center field. I guarantee there are many MLB teams right now asking, “How did we let this guy drop to 41?”

7. James Tibbs, III, OF/1B, AAA. You can almost break up his season in different chapters. He came out of the gates screaming hot, hitting a ton of homers, then went really cold, then hit a few more homers, then had a stretch with a lot of hits but not much power, and in the end it was more of a balanced approach. The final numbers are 30 home runs, 107 RBIs, .287/.941. He struck out 150 times, which is about 24% of the time. Would be good to see this number come down a little before he’s exposed to ML pitching, but either way that move is right around the corner. This may be just me, but I wouldn’t mind seeing his trade value cashed-in. At 5’11” he’s 3 inches shy of the average first baseman height, and there are already too many mouths to feed in the outfield.

8. Zach Root, P, AA/A+. First season as he didn’t pitch after getting drafted last year. They took it really slow with him at the beginning, but by the end of the year he was getting more typical starter innings. His high-A numbers were great – 2.40 ERA. He didn’t fare as well over four AA starts, but that’s not all that surprising based on how it’s more an offensive-minded league. We’ll see how he does next year, but I’m betting he makes the necessary adjustments.

9. Chase Harlan, 3B, A+/A. The ’24 third round pick was torrid in low-A in his second minor league season with an OPS of 1.009. Then was promoted to Great Lakes and had a strong first week but faded after that. He went on the injured list with an undisclosed injury on August 9 and remained there the rest of the season. Overall, his 14 bombs, 22 doubles, and .298/.912 metrics give promise that he can continue to progress in ’27.

10.Bo Lowrance, SS, N/A. The 2026 first round selection hasn’t played yet, which isn’t uncommon for players drafted out of HS in the year they were selected.

11.Kendall George, OF, AA. 2026 will always be known as the dog year for Kendall. The 2023 first-rounder was having his best season with a .329 average and .815 OPS, leading the league in steals again when the incident occurred. Tried to come back after a month on the IL and wasn’t the same, so then he opted for surgery. Still only 21 so he can bounce back. Hopefully he regains his blazing speed and can continue making his way up next year.

12.Ching-Hsien Ko, OF, A. This one’s interesting, as I could summarize his year with either a positive or negative slant. He’s doing enough to remain relevant – actually 2026 was his best overall season. Found his power stroke and his HR total went from 4 in 2025 to 21. RBIs also went up from 62 to 89. However, it was at the expense of hitting for average – that dropped from .310 to .260, and his OPS went down a tick from .876 to .862. That’s still a solid number. In the end though, while most of the other top prospects moved up one or two levels, he ended ’26 exactly where he ended ’25 – in A ball. Is that telling?

13.Kellon Lindsey, 2B/SS, A. While both ’25 and ’26 were marred with injuries for the Dodgers 2024 first-rounder, this year they had less of an impact. He doubled his games played over last year, allowing him to exceed his numbers in every statistical category. Still played in only 66 games which shows he spent a lot of time dealing with small injuries. But he was able to hit 10 doubles, 4 triples, and 13 HRs during the time he was on the field, as well as amass 20 steals while getting caught only once. He may be the second fastest prospect in the organization behind George, so to have that and still end the season with a .957 OPS shows how well-rounded his game is. If he could only stay healthy all of next year, he could easily progress a couple of levels.

14.Adam Serwinowski, P, AA. In ’25, Dodgers got him with Gervase and Rortvedt for Feduccia. Immediately he opened eyes in the organization when he posted a 1.83 ERA over 6 starts at Great Lakes. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to maintain that success in Tulsa this year, ending the season at 5.31. Five miserable April starts set the tone with an 11.00 ERA for the month. He did much better in May and June at 3.75 and 1.63, respectively. That was followed by 6.48 and 6.53 the next two months, and ended at 3.86 over two September starts. Maybe he needed a year to adjust to the hitter’s league. Or maybe ’25 was a fluke. He’s going to have to prove himself next year or may stall right where he is.

15.Zach Ehrhard, OF, AAA. Drafted by Boston in ’24 out of Oklahoma State, he put together his best season of three so far. Career highs in just about every category, including 155 hits, 30 doubles, 20 HRs, 93 RBIs, 120 runs scored, .291 avg, .400 OBP, and .872 OPS. Stole 28 bases too. Tibbs may be ahead of him as the next outfielder to get the call, but by all statistical accounts, Ehrhard is ready to get his shot next season for some MLB club. I’m a fan as I see him the more consistent of the two that came over in the trade, but next winter (2027) he will become Rule 5 eligible, so if there’s not going to be room for him in a crowded outfield, the team should look to cash in on his strong numbers this offseason and not wait until they lose leverage.


16-30 to follow when I free up some more time.


Edited with colors. Green means the player progressed during the year. Yellow means no progression, no regression. Red means he regressed.

 

he’s been my sleeper watch for quite some time, and it’s been cool watching him progress from a mere top-100 prospect, to top 30, 10, and now a top-5er
not sure what the future holds for mookie at SS, but as long as he continues to rake there’s always going to be a spot for his bat — the only question is where
my guess would be emil gets called up at some point next season (possibly a la depaula), with a legitimate chance to make the team in 2028
mook to 2B possibly, freeland to 3B, Kim where???… i don’t really know tbh, but if everyone is hitting it’ll be a good problem to have

 

He's 6'3" so the question will always be if he'll stick at short or move to third. Muncy is under contract next year, his age 37, and then team option the following year. If '27 is his last, they'll need to fill third and there are a couple of prospects, Harlan and Wagner at that position, but if they don't progress then the team may try to move Morales there. Especially because there are plenty of shortstops in the org -- Miller, Hainline, Linsdey, Vargas, West, and Lowrance. Will be interesting.

 

That keeps us all coming back.

 

Minor league game results don't rank high on my list of importance, and I doubt they do on yours. However, OKC starts their best-of-3 championship series tonight and while I'm not going to lose any sleep if they don't win, it would be nice to see at least one of the Dodger affiliates, who all made the playoffs, go the distance.

If you have any interest in keeping one eye on the Dodgers game and the other on the Comets, it's the minor league free game of the day. You just need to download the BallySport app. Game starts at 7:05.

Sirota, Tibbs, Ehrhard, and Noah Miller are Top-30 prospects, as well as tonight's starter Ferris who was shit for 4+ months and then lights-out over the last six weeks (1.00 ERA and 0.92 WHIP over final 6 starts/36 innings, plus 48 K's).

 

I watched this game. Comets lost 13-11. Extremely sloppy game. Both teams combined for 21 walks and 6 errors. OKC fell behind early, clawed back to within one, fell way back again, and made a late rally just to keep it interesting.

More observations:

- Both Ehrhard and Tibbs hit solo homers. Ehrhard was particularly impressive out of the leadoff spot, going 2 for 3 and on base five times with 2 walks and a HBP. Tibbs had just the one hit and a walk.

- Alek Thomas was a rally killer in the two-hole, grounding into a DP and stranding some runners. He also made the final out, leaving Tibbs in the on-deck circle.

- Jackson Ferris did not pitch well. Was victimized early by a walk after being ahead 0-2 and then a defensive miscue. But it seemed like the stage was too big for him. He's still young (3 years younger than their starter) and hopefully this will give him some valuable experience. Ended up allowing 6 runs (5 earned) in 3 innings.

- Sirota also seemed a little out of his element at the plate. Gotta be hard for a guy to get called up a level and immediately be playing for a championship on the road. He went 0-4 with 1 K, but he did have a drive to the wall in deepest center that got run down by the fielder. Then he walked in his last AB which was an integral part of the almost-comeback. By the way, there were low strikes called on him in early ABs that I wondered why he wasn't challenging. In his walk AB, it was first called strike 3 and he immediately challenged. Pitch was 2 1/2 inches low. I think ump screwed him in earlier ABs.

- There was a procession of Comet relievers who mostly got hit hard or walked-in numerous runs. The only one with a clean inning was Bobby Miller. Let me just say that Jonathan Hernandez is the absolute worst and had no business being on the Dodgers roster earlier this season. He needs to be cut as soon as this series is over.

- First time I've watched Noah Miller and he seemed sure-handed as advertised at short. At the plate though he went 1-5 and seemed overmatched by their power pitchers.

- Hyeseong Kim made a dazzling diving snag of a screaming one-hopper to save a run. But he also went back on a pop up and lost it behind second. Took one away, but gave it back. 2 for 4 at the plate with his patented opposite field pokes.

- Rortvedt had the best game I've ever seen from him at the plate with a single, a double over the center fielder, and two walks. Unfortunately, his one out came in the ninth inning in the form of a GIDP. The next batter was Ehrhard with his HR. Had Ben got on, the HR would have capped a miraculous comeback.

- Last point... I am completely dismissing the possibility of Tibbs ever being an everyday first baseman for the Dodgers. He had three poor plays. On the game's second batter, he came in to field a bunted ball that left the base unmanned. It was Ferris' play to make and should've been an easy out, instead changing the course of the inning. On a popup behind him in foul territory, he lost the ball and didn't even get a glove on it. Freddie makes that play 10 out of 10. And lastly, two runs scored on a one-hopper to his left. He just stuck out his glove and tried to pick it instead of getting in front of it. First base is not his calling. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't have the reputation of being a great outfielder either.