PROSPECTS Meanwhile, Down on the Farm

Tibbs 6 HRs over his past six games, 16 RBIs.

17 round trippers now on the season. Avg and OPS back up to .322/1.085.

 

At the time I figured he'd opt out after two -- age 31 and he could lock in one more long term contract.

But now, that's not looking very likely.

 

May report for the Top 30. How’d they do for the month?


1. De Paula- OF – Top prospect came alive last month! .340 average, 1.060 OPS, 35 hits, 14 doubles, and 6 HRs. 7 steals too. Promotion to AAA soon?

2. Hope – OF – Also a good month. .290 avg/.832 OPS. 22 RBIs in May.

3. Quintero – OF – Nightmarish April turned into a rosy May. .372/.941 month. Just needs power numbers to return… no HR’s last month.

4. Sirota – OF - .333/1.026 May split between A+ and AA. On base in all 11 games for Tulsa, where he’s started at a .342/1.026 clip.

5. Morales – SS - .275/.847 May split between A and A+. Hasn’t adjusted to higher league as fast as Sirota but showing signs of getting there soon.

6. Ryan – P – Three starts returning from IL. 0.60 (both ERA and WHIP). He’s ready!

7. Davalan – OF – April was better, but his .278/.893 May is solid enough and he continues to progress with a batting average of .315 since draft last year.

8. Ferris – P – On the IL for the middle of the month with a hip impingement, sandwiched by 2 starts and five innings but 3.60 ERA is good for that limited action.

9. Zazueta – P – 4.43 ERA could be a fluke with just a 1.03 WHIP. 21 K’s vs just 4 BB’s gives an impressive strikeout/walk ratio.

10.Tibbs – OF – Was getting hits but not much pop until the final week. Ended May w/ 31 hits, 6 HRs, 27 RBIs. 1.029 OPS. 17 total HRs and 51 RBIs lead PCL.

11.Serwinowski – P – After an atrocious start to the season, a 2-0, 3.75 ERA May gives hope.

12.Root – P – Still building him up slowly (12 innings over four starts) but he posted a 0.00 ERA and 0.92 WHIP for the month. 2025 first rounder is looking good.

13.George – OF – It’s a shame that he got “dogged.” .303 average and 11 SBs for the month. So far no word of ligament damage, but they’re getting a second opinion.

14.Ko – OF - .263/.832 but 5 HRs for the month. Dropped some in the prospect rankings from last year and is being overshadowed by other OFers in the system.

15.Lindsey – SS – Came off long-term IL with a bang! .414/1.207 over 58 May at bats. Hitting for average and power so far, with speed on the base paths.

16.Harlan – 3B – Really strong month for the 19-yr old with 7 doubles, 2 triples, 5 HRs, and 22 batted in. .388/1.175 tells me he should get bumped up to A+ soon.

17.Ehrhard – OF – Played 22 games in May, got on base in 22 games in May. .316 batting average, .464 OBP, .913 OPS for the month.

18.Nieves – P – No May action. On IL with undisclosed injury.

19.Ward – OF/1B – Seems to be doing better in LA than in OKC. .202 batting average 1 HR at OKC during the month.

20.Vargas – SS – Nothing too special yet, shows why Lindsey is the better SS prospect in Ontario. .261/.675 for the month.

21.Leiter – P – Stumbled a little this weekend but overall a good month in a managed number of innings. 2.53 ERA and 3:1 strikeouts to walks.

22.Patick – P – 4.24 ERA, May WHIP of 1.63 is too high. But only one run over five innings last start so hopefully the beginning of something.

23.Martin – P – 2.59 ERA over 24.1 May innings plays. Let’s see if he can build off that.

24.Hainline – SS – Stepped up his season stats in May. .282/.872 and 5 HRs.

25.Vidourek – OF – May’s .233/.812 is an improvement on April, but still has a ways to go to match his numbers last year after being drafted in round 3.

26.Tunink – OF – Was not able to keep a hot April going. .189/.666 in May.

27.Miller – SS - .272 avg/.838 OPS, five HRs. The power surprises me. These would be good numbers for MLB, but need to be discounted for the PCL.

28.Copen – P – It’s last year all-over again. After great start, 11.35 ERA in May. Filthy stuff, but not great control, and the league seems to catch up to him.

29.Smith – P – Ho hum May, 4.05 ERA although WHIP is good at 1.15. 2023 3rd rounder needs more consistency.

30.Heubeck – P – Great start this week, his first action since middle of ’25. Let’s see if it’s for real or not.

 

Prospect Team of the Week features Tibbs and De Puala:


OF: James Tibbs III, Oklahoma City Comets (Triple-A)
Dodgers No. 10
.375/.500/1.000, 6 G, 9-for-24, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 8 K

Tibbs got off to a red-hot start this season with seven homers in his first eight games. The power waned a bit after, including a stretch of 21 straight games without a roundtripper, but he's back in a big way. The 2024 first-rounder went deep six times last week, including one off rehabbing All-Star reliever Josh Hader in his third multihomer game of the season. The left-handed hitter, who has played almost exclusively designated hitter the past month, has shown almost no platoon split, with a has shown .324/.435/.648 slash line against righties and .319/.407/.681 line against lefties this season. This is his second career Prospect Team of the Week nod after previously making it in June 2025.


OF: Josue De Paula, Tulsa Drillers (Double-A)
Dodgers No. 1/MLB No. 8
.500/.538/1.000, 6 G, 12-for-24, 2 HR, 6 2B, 6 RBI, 11 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 SB

De Paula has hit safely in 15 of his past 16 games and ended last week with his best performance of the season: a four-hit, two homer game. The 21-year-old is the only player in the Texas League with three four-hit games this season and ranks top-five on the circuit in all triple-slash categories (.323/.424/.545). The cherry on top is that is doing it all with more walks (33) than strikeouts (30), thanks in part to a 20 percent chase rate that would rank among the league leaders in the Majors.


Highlight reel on both for the week, including Tibbs taking Hader deep: https://www.mlb.com/news/prospect-team-of-the-week-june-1-2026?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

 

good shit @lastatman

 

@LouisAnalysis
The Dodgers might have another one in Easton Shelton.

The 20-year old 1B comes in at 6'4", 225 lbs and has hit 13 HR through his first 45 Single-A games. This does come with a 36.5% K%, 55.3% Contact% & 21.5% SwStr%, but the power is undeniable.

68.6% Z-Con% is an issue.

 

@AustinBru99
Dodgers 2026 MiLB Stats (with League Ranks):

• 114 wRC+ (1st)
• .373 OBP (1st)
• .178 ISO (1st)
• 25.2 Pitching K% (6th)
• .561 Win% (3rd)

4 Players of the Week this past week (Tibbs III, De Paula, Makarewich, Elkins).

The Dodgers player development is firing on all cylinders!

 

Here's the most recent report I could find on Tibbs as a fielder:

While he possesses below-average speed, Tibbs has good instincts on the bases and in the field. He can swipe an occasional bag, provides decent range on the outfield corners and handles himself well at first base. He has average arm strength with a quick release, helping him record 11 assists in 93 outfield starts last year.


From what I've read, if he sticks in the OF, it will be only in left - he doesn't have the speed for center nor the arm for right, but he's a "good enough" left fielder. His 20-80 scouting score is 45 overall fielding, 50 arm. More likely, he ends up at 1B at some point in his career.

In comparison, Ryan Ward rates as a 40 for both arm and overall fielding. I'm glad that he's getting the shot he has earned - let me say that now. But I think Dodgers are flirting with disaster putting him in left field. My hope is that he continues to show some success at the plate and they parlay that soon into a much younger prospect from a team that could DH him or stick him at 1B. Neither of those are going to be an option on this team, and time is bound to prove that outfield shouldn't be one either.

 

Wow, they finally took off the kid gloves with Zach Root, and he had himself quite a day, adding to his recent brilliance:

7 IP
1 H
0 BBs
0 ERs
9 K's
59 of 88 pitches for strikes

His ERA is down to a buck-fifty and I have to wonder if there's a more impressive '25 first rounder in the minors so far.

 

De Paula may have had only one hit tonight but Sirota had two, with a double and a couple ribbies.

Yet this night belonged to Hope who went deep twice among his three hits and knocked in 6.

By next spring all three plus Tibbs could be ready to move to the big leagues. So annoying that we're committed to three more years of Tucker. What a disaster that signing is turning out to be.