PROSPECTS Meanwhile, Down on the Farm

Davalan plus Quintero plus Morales plus Nico Perez went 7 for 16 with 5 runs and 5 RBIs yesterday. Perez hit 2 long balls. Quintero doubled and swiped 2, bringing his season total to 39 steals. Harlan and Elkins DNP, but this group of prospects continues to produce.

 

MLB Pipeline did their 2026 post-draft re-ranking today. Here's a list of the changes, slot by slot. I'm still remote so I won't be able to do a full analysis, but I have a few comments to share.

1-8. No change from a couple weeks ago when the ranking was tweaked to account for Hope and Ryan's departures. In order, they remain JDP, Sirota, Quintero, Morales, Zazueta, Davalan, Tibbs, Root. Davalan is the real deal, and his being ranked no higher than 6 really speaks to the strength of the organization's system.

9. Chase Harlan moves up from 14. Having a solid season despite a recent cold spell. Ferris gets dropped down. He's been wildly inconsistent.

10. 2026 first round pick Bo Lowrance slots in at #10 for his inaugural ranking.

11-13. no change, remains George, Ko, Lindsey.

14. Previously Harlan, now it's Serwinowski who drops from 10, likely from his uninspiring start to the season. Has improved some recently but not with a lot of consistency.

15. Still is Ehrhard's spot, no change. In my opinion he deserved a bump as he's probably been OKC's most consistent hitter plus is solid in the field. I'd have him ahead of Ko (wow, racist).

16. Leiter moves up 3 spots.

17. Ferris lands here after dropping 8 spots.

18. Taking over here is Elkins who was added to the list at 24 recently, and perhaps his seemingly fast assimilation in high-A earned him this additional bump. Vargas was here and seems to have completely dropped off the list. This may not have been that much of surprise at the end of last month as he's mostly sucked this year, but he's been on fire in August and last week was named the California League player of the week. I figured he'd be down in the 20's, but they dropped him out of the top 30.

19. Wagner was just added to 20 after Brady Smith was traded, moves up 1.

20. Ryan Ward was 17... moves down 3.

21. Foeller was also added after the trades, to #25. Moves up 4.

22. Hainline moves up one from 23.

23. Nico Perez continues to rake and moves up 3 here.

24. Patick drops 3 from 21.

25. Kmatz, added to 27 after coming over in the Feduccia trade, moves up 2.

26. Noah Miller, previously 29, moves up in the rankings. This one really surprises me. I assumed he'd be gone. Hit well at the beginning of the season and maybe that bought him points among the judges, but his bat has been pretty pedestrian of late.

27. Nieves - big drop from 16 - the 6.75 ERA this year didn't help.

28. Aidan West, last year's 4th round pick makes his first appearance on the list. The shortstop got promoted from the rookie leagues to single A and takes the place of Tunink here, 2024 draftee who has been entirely ineffective this year.

29. Pitcher Brooks Auger, with a 3.21 ERA in high-A this year, sneaks into the top 30.

30. Catcher Eduardo Rojas - a name I've never seen before - slots in the final spot. This makes him the highest rated catcher in the Dodgers system. Nineteen year old signed for $97000 out of Venezuela in '24. OPS of .921 in Arizona rookie league. Switch hitter.

Other comments:

Payton Martin is just not earning his keep, so he drops off. Copen is off the list, too, as he should be. This may be the last time we see him here and an unsatisfying end to a feel-good story. That said, he's been used in long-relief his last couple of games and has been really effective. We'll see if that amounts to anything.

I was really hoping that super power hitter Shelton and super utility player Martinus would've made the list, as well as certainly Tyler Gough with his 1.90 ERA and possibly their second pick this year, 4th rounder Sandefer. Goes to show how strong the Dodgers system is as I believe most if these four would make other teams' top 30. Still, I wouldn't hesitate to put them in place of Nieves, Patick, Miller, and Ward, who at 28 should not still be rating as a prospect IMO.

Of course, my opinion is based on performance stats and second-hand information. I'm not witnessing their natural skills first hand. So here's hoping that all 30 continue to progress and justify their spots on this list.

 

Quintero is incredible. OPS by month:

April .585
May .941
June 1.011
July 1.135
August MTD 1.285

 

Not Quintero because he's still in high-A, but maybe De Paula or Sirota. And not Tucker because of the contract, but maybe Teo.

 

@msalas24 · 12m
#Dodgers Tulsa Drillers placed CF Mike Sirota on the 7-day injured list.


great
one potential tucker replacement down

 

@OKC_comets
James Tibbs III now has seven homers in seven games in Sugar Land☄️

 

Yeah, he's getting going again. 4 for 4 with 2 hit out yesterday.

Today your boy Emil went 4 for 4 with a HR.

Ferris, Zazueta, Copen and Root have all had strong starts recently/today.

Glasnow just finished 5.1 innings for OKC. 1H, 1ER, 1BB, 9Ks. 77 pitches, 54 for strikes.

 

Shelton notched his 25th double, 35th homer, and 106th RBI.

 

Since the trade, Kmatz has tossed 7.2 innings for Tulsa. 3 hits, 2 walks, 10k's, 0 runs.

 

he’s also only 19 so hopefully he’ll improve as he matures

 

@msalas24
#Dodgers Gavin Stone is through one inning. 2 strike outs and a ground out. FB 97 mph / slider 86 mph / sinker 93 mph / change up 87 mph

 

@MLBPipeline
Emil Morales (MLB No. 24) follows up a four-hit night with his 24th homer of 2026, giving him the MiLB RBI lead (108)! @Dodgers | @greatlakesloons | @DodgerPlayerDev

my boy emil

 

He finished 3 perfect innings, striking out 5. 30 of 38 pitches were strikes.