Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the The 2024 Prospect Digest Handbook here.
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1. Dalton Rushing, C
| Hit | Power | SB | Patience | Glove | Overall |
| 40/45 | 55 | 20 | 60 | 45 | 55 |
Background: All the signs pointed to Dalton Rushing being one of the more under-the-radar prospects heading into the 2022 collegiate season. The lefty-swinging backstop was locked away on the University of Louisville’s bench for his first two seasons in college, overlooked and nearly forgotten thanks to the presence Henry Davis, the eventual #1 overall pick. Rushing would see sparse playing time, but he certainly performed well in limited action: he batted .308/.419/.577 in 10 games as a freshman and followed that up with a .254/.342/.463 slash line the following season. And right around the time Davis was getting picked by the Pirates atop the midsummer draft, Rushing was opening quite a few eyes in the vaunted Cape Cod League; he would slug .314/.401/.542 in 34 games with the Bourne Braves. And, of course, Rushing would establish himself as one of college baseball’s best bats during his lone season as the starter, slugging .310/.470/.686. But, again, no team called his name in the opening round of the draft, so the Dodgers snagged him with the first pick in the second round. He promptly mashed .424/.539/.778 in 28 games with Rancho Cucamonga during his debut. Last season, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound backstop appeared in 89 games with the Great Lakes Loons, batting .228/.404/.452 with 18 doubles, one triple, 15 homeruns, and a stolen base. His production, per Weighted Runs Created Plus, topped the league average by 46%.
Snippet from The 2023 Prospect Digest Handbook: Rushing continues to play the shadow to other backstops. This time, though, it’s catchers in the 2022 draft class. He’s going to face shifts (for as long as they’re legal). There’s more projection left for someone his age, thanks to his lack of playing time the first few years in college.
Scouting Report: Consider the following:
Since 2006, only five 22-year-old bats posted a 140 to 150 wRC+ with a walk rate north of 15% with one club in any High-A league (min. 350 PA): Rob Refsnyder, Mark Zagunis, Aaron Zavala, Jakob Marsee, and – of course – Dalton Rushing, who owned the worst whiff rate among the group (24.4%).
One of the most saber-slanted backstops in the minor leagues, Rushing’s overall numbers don’t paint an overly rosy picture: he’s bordering on a Three True Outcomes bat, walking in 18.9% of his plate appearances, whiffing 24.4% of the time, and showing above-average power. But it’s deceptive. Prior to missing some time due to a bat conking him on the head when he was catching, Rushing was slugging .265/.436/.503. Once he returned to work 10 days later, he hardly looked the same at the plate, slashing .208/.385/.459 in 49 games. Assuming there’s no ill effects from the head knock in 2024, Rushing could end up making his MLB debut late in the year. 45-grade bat, 55-grade power, premium OBP skills. Defensively, he’s OK, not great, not bad – just OK.
Ceiling: 3.0-win player
Risk: Moderate
MLB ETA: 2025
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2. Thayron Liranzo, C/1B
| Hit | Power | SB | Patience | Glove | Overall |
| 45 | 55 | 30 | 55 | 50 | 55 |
Background: The Dodgers have dominated the offseason with their expensive, flashy free agency additions – and rightfully so. And they’ve never been shy about handing out big dollar contracts to young amateurs either. They also have a knack, seemingly for decades now, of finding some bargains on the clearance rack, often overlooked by anyone outside the organization. And they also have a developmental skill of churning out young catching prospects. Thayron Liranzo falls into the latter two categories: a cheap, inexpensive free agent that went bananas on the Low-A competition in 2023. Signed by the front office for just $30,000 three years ago, the switch-hitting backstop turned in two largely mediocre showings in the Dominican Summer League (.250/.393/.353) and Complex League (.237/.339/.487) in 2021 and 2022. But something happened – maybe gamma rays? – that transformed the seemingly mild mannered, vanilla hitter in the Incredible Hulk last summer. Appearing in 94 games with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound youngster mashed .273/.400/.562 with 24 doubles, two triples, 24 homeruns, and – just for good measure – a pair of stolen bases. His overall production, according to FanGraphs’ Weighted Runs Created Plus, blew passed the league average threshold by a staggering 55%.
Scouting Report: Consider the following:
Since 2006, only four 19-year-old hitters met the following criteria with one club in any Low-A league (min. 350 PA): at least a 150 wRC+ mark and a walk rate of at least 14%. Those four bats: Edgar Quero, Bobby Bradley, Jaff Decker, and Thayron Liranzo.
There’s an awful lot to unpack here. Not only was Liranzo one of the best bats in any Low-A league last season, he’s one of the best 19-year-old bats in any Low-A league in the last 18 years. He plays a premium position, spends at least half of his time in a neutral ballpark. He’s a switch-hitter and hits for power. He strikes out quite a bit, and he walks a ton. He hits absolute missiles when he connects, but he’s going to be a dead pull-hitter from the left-side, and the swing seems to be very top hand-driven. Defensively, the big man child has graded out above-average behind the dish, but he’s very likely to move away from the position as he fills out. Here are the basics, though: 45-grade bat, 55-grade power. Even if he moves away from catching, he likely hits enough to be a low-end starting first baseman. The current overall grade, 55, assumes he sticks behind the plate, which, again, is far from a certainty.
Ceiling: 3.0-win player
Risk: Moderate
MLB ETA: 2026
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3. Gavin Stone, RHP
| FB | CU/SL | CH | Command | Overall |
| 55 | 55 | 70 | 45 | 50 |
Background: The Dodgers did about as well as any organization in the hectic, almost unplannable 2020 COVID-interrupted draft. They hit an absolute homerun on their first pick, Bobby Miller, despite picking – arguably – the riskiest position given the circumstances and drafting at the back of the round. Landon Knack looks like a useful big league arm, though his time likely won’t come with the Dodgers. Clayton Beeter was shipped off to the Yankees for Joey Gallo, which may not seem like a smash hit but the trade did add value to the big league roster. And their final pick, Gavin Stone, made his big league debut last season as well. Taken with the 159th overall pick out of University of Central Arkansas, hardly a baseball talent hotbed, it took less than $100,000 to sign the 6-foot-1, 175-pound right-hander. He made 19 starts and a pair of relief appearances with the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliate last season, posting a 120-to-46 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 100.2 innings. He tallied a 4.74 ERA, a 4.52 FIP, and a 4.78 xFIP. He hurled another 31 innings in The Show, averaging 6.39 K/9 and 3.77 BB/9 to go along with a 9.00 ERA.
Snippet from The 2023 Prospect Digest Handbook: Stone takes a simplistic approach to pitching: change speeds, fill up the strike zone with quality offerings, and own a spectacular changeup. [He] fits it that Tony Gonsolin, Tyler Anderson, Ross Stripling mold that the organization seems to utilize / develop exceptionally well.
Scouting Report: Consider the following:
Since 2006, only five 24-year-old hurlers posted a 26.5% to 28.5% strikeout percentage with a 9.5% to 11.5% walk percentage with one club in any Triple-A league (min. 75 IP): Kyle Bradish, Rogelio Armenteros, Randy Vasquez, Alex Meyer, and – of course – Gavin Stone.
It’s clear that Stone went to the Dodgers’ School of Pitching. The former fifth rounder – though it sounds much more impressive when you say something like, “taken in the final round of the draft” – is primarily a fastball / cutter / changeup guy who relies heavily on his two offspeed pitches. The changeup is a dandy, a plus-plus offering that generated a 41.4% whiff rate during his big league time thanks to impressive velocity separation and hard dive. His cutter will sit in the low 90s, though he’ll subtract velocity from it essentially creating a fourth pitch – a slider. It’s an above-average weapon that won’t miss a lot of bats, but it should miss the fat part of the bat a lot of times. His fastball will sit in the mid-90s, but lacks high spin which causes it to tumble. The command backed up a bit last season, though even at a 45 he’s still a solid backend starting option, but – again – with LA running out Walker Buehler, Bobby Miller, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow, Ryan Yarbrough, and Emmet Sheehan, Stone’s time may have to come with another organization.
Ceiling: 2.5-win player
Risk: Moderate
MLB ETA: Debuted in 2023
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4. River Ryan, RHP
| FB | CB | SL | CH | Command | Overall |
| 65 | 55 | 55 | 45/50 | 40 | 50 |
Background: The Dodgers’ farm system seems like it’s always full of feel good stories. Guys who have not only beat the odds, sometimes longshot odds, and gone on to crack a big league roster. The credit for River Ryan may not necessarily go to the Dodgers, but they’ve certainly played a (large) role. Drafted by the Padres as an infielder / pitcher coming out of Division II University of North Carolina at Pembrokein the 11th round three years ago, Ryan wasn’t supposed to be a guy. He was 22-years-old at the time, playing small time baseball, and doesn’t fill out of uniform as well as most baseball models. But you know what? Ryan hit pretty well during his debut in the Complex League, putting together a .308/.349/.436 slash in 12 games. But the Padres – clearly – saw something in their late-round pick who moonlighted as a spot-starter / multi-inning reliever during his final year in college so they made him a pitcher. But before he could throw a professional inning, LA shipped veteran bench bat Matt Beaty to the Friars for Ryan. And the rest, as they say, is history. Ryan split his 2022 season between Rancho Cucamonga and Great Lakes, posting a 2.45 ERA in 47.2 innings while averaging 13.2 whiffs and 4.0 walks per nine innings. Last season, the 6-foot-2, 195-pound former infielder made 24 appearances with Tulsa and two more with Oklahoma City, throwing 104.1 innings, posting a 110-to-46 strikeout-to-walk ratio to go along with a 3.80 ERA.
Scouting Report: Consider the following:
Since 2006, nine 23-year-old hurlers posted a 22.5% to 24.5% strikeout percentage with a 9.5% to 11.5% walk percentage with one club in any Double-A league (min. 75 IP): Kyle Funkhouser, Ryan Verdugo, Troy Scribner, Tanner Burns, Adalberto Flores, Dustin Richardson, Evan Kruczunski, Lake Bachar, and River Ryan.
There’s definitely a big league starter’s repertoire here. Mid- to upper-90s fastball bordering on plus-plus. Power curveball in the low-80s and a firm upper-80s cutter, both being above-average offerings. And a 45-grade change but it shows enough promise that it may creep into average territory with a little fine tuning. Ryan’s at the typical age where erratic starters tend to get looks at the big league level as relief arms, but given his lack of mound experience, the Dodgers are likely going to give him at least 2024 to figure out the zone a little bit. Backend starting pitcher with fallback plan as a seventh or eighth inning power arm.
Ceiling: 2.5-win player
Risk: Moderate
MLB ETA: 2024
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5. Andy Pages, RF
| Hit | Power | SB | Patience | Glove | Overall |
| 45 | 55 | 35 | 55 | 50 | 50 |
Background: Double-A is the ultimate make-it-or-break-it level in the minor leagues. It’s truly the first level where pitchers can throw quality breaking balls at any point in the count – ahead, behind, it doesn’t matter. Hitters, of course, can consistently hit breaking balls and plus-plus velocity. If a player doesn’t perform well at Double-A, there’s a strong likelihood that the guy flames out. Two years ago Pages was coming off of a strong showing as a 20-year-old in High-A, batting .265/.394/.539 in 120 games with the Loons. Then Pages’ production came crashing down during his first stint in Double-A the following season: he put together a mediocre .236/.336/.468 slash line. Uh oh… Last season, though, the 6-foot-1, 212-pound corner outfielder looked much more comfortable squaring off against the Double-A competition, slugging .284/.430/.495 with 12 doubles, one triple, and three homeruns in 33 games. The Dodgers’ brass sent him up to Triple-A in mid-May, but that stint lasted just one game before he hit the DL with a torn labrum which required surgery.
Snippet from The 2023 Prospect Digest Handbook: Offspeed stuff gives him fits, like Jarred Kelenic. And he can’t get on top of high, hard offerings either. He’s very pitchable. But he can bang middle-middle stuff.
Scouting Report: The hit tool looked considerably better in 2023. He didn’t seem as vulnerable on pitches up in the zone. But, to be fair, the hit tool was never going to be his carrying tool, though. The power: now that’s what will help push Pages into a big league lineup. He’s a perennial 25-homer threat. Defensively, he’s better in right than centerfield, which isn’t saying much. Likely looking like a .245/.330/.435 type bat. Had he stayed healthy, Pages likely would have made his big league debut at some point in 2023. Now, though, we’ll see how the shoulder holds up.
Ceiling: 2.5-win player
Risk: Moderate
MLB ETA: 2024/2025
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6. Josue De Paula, OF
| Hit | Power | SB | Patience | Glove | Overall |
| 55 | 30/45 | 50/40 | 50 | 40/45 | 55 |
Background: Perhaps the “funnest” of fun facts I’ve stumbled across the past season: According to his MLB.com’s profile, De Paula has a few of high profile cousins – two-time All-Star Stephon “Starbury” Marbury; Sebastian Telfair, the first point guard to go straight to the NBA from high school; and small forward Jamel Thomas, who briefly played for the Nets, Warriors, and Celtics. The Dodgers pilfered De Paula, the baseball player, off the international free agency market prior to the 2022 season, signing him to a deal worth about a trey ($3,000) less than $400,000 (see what I did there?). The 6-foot-3, 185-pound teenager would pop up in the Dominican Summer League for his professional debut a few months later looking like the second coming of Babe Ruth, slugging .350/.448/.522 with 13 doubles, two triples, and five homeruns in 54 games. Last season, the front office opted to send the young corner outfielder straight up to Low-A, having him bypass the stateside rookie league all together. De Paula promptly responded with a rock solid.284/.396/.372 slash line with 15 doubles, two triples, a pair of homerun, and 14 stolen bases (in 17 total attempts). His overall production, as calculated by Weighted Runs Created Plus, surpassed the league average mark by 18%. Not bad work for an 18-year-old against significantly older competition.
Snippet from The 2023 Prospect Digest Handbook: It wouldn’t be surprising to see De Paula rank among the team’s Top 5 prospects by the end of 2023. Breakout candidate.
Scouting Report: First, a fun little fact:
There were only eight 18-year-old hitters that accrued 300 plate appearances with one team in any Low-A league last season. De Paula’s overall production, 118 wRC+, ranked as the third best, trailing Baltimore Samuel Basallo and San Diego’s Samuel Zavala.
Consider the following:
Since 2006, only two 18-year-old hitters posted a 113 to 123 wRC+, a double-digit walk rate, and a 16% to 20% strikeout rate with one club in any Low-A league (min. 300 PA): Justin Upton, Cheslor Cuthbert, and – of course – Josue De Paula.
Very simple left-handed swing, De Paula looks effortless at the dish, not trying to do much in each at bat. Above-average bat speed and quick hands, the young rightfielder profiles as a hit over power guy, but should develop into a 15- to 20-homer threat at full maturity. The lefty-swinging De Paula showed no platoon concerns, though he remains a project at this point – particularly on defense. He plays rightfield like Stephon Marbury playing D in an All-Star game. He’s tracking an awful like Alex Verdugo (with more patience) at a similar point in their careers.
Ceiling: 2.5-win player
Risk: Moderate to High
MLB ETA: 2026
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7. Jackson Ferris, LHP
| FB | CB | SL | CH | Command | Overall |
| 55 | 55 | 55 | 55 | 40/45 | 50 |
Background: The Cubs are out to make a liar out of me. After noting previously how they refocused their efforts on high upside impact bats, the front office pulled a fast one and went nearly all arms during their 2022 Draft. Jed Hoyer & Co. used 16 of their 20 picks on hurlers, one of them being prep left-hander Jackson Ferris, who earned a well-above slot bonus just north of $3 million. A product of newly discovered baseball hotbed IMG Academy, Ferris would make his professional debut with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans in the Carolina League last season. He would make 18 starts, throwing 56.0 innings while recording 77 strikeouts (12.4 K/9) and 33 walks (5.3 BB/9). The 6-foot-4, 195-pound lefty tallied a 3.38 ERA, a 3.27 FIP, and a rock solid 3.60 xFIP. The Dodgers acquired the talented southpaw, along with outfielder Zyhir Hope, this offseason in exchange for budding slugger Michael Busch.
Snippet from The 2023 Prospect Digest Handbook: Polished beyond his years. Removing any injury risk from the equation, Ferris might be the safest prep arm to gamble on in the 2022 draft. His poise and deep arsenal make him a potential quick-riser once he enters the minor leagues – if he can find a touch more consistency with the strike zone. Ferris doesn’t have an elite ceiling, but he has the potential to be a quality mid-rotation caliber arm. There’s some Max Fried-type potential. Mid-first round grade.”
Scouting Report: Consider the following:
Since 2006, only six 19-year-old hurlers tallied a strikeout percentage between 31.5% to 33.5% with one club in any Low-A league (min. 50 IP): Clayton Kershaw, Shelby Miller, Joey Estes, Carlos Duran, Jose Suarez, and Jackson Ferris. But only two of those teenagers posted a walk percentage north of 12% – Kershaw and Ferris.
It’s easy to understand how the big lefty commanded such a hefty bonus as he diced up the Low-A competition during his debut last season. The former second round Bonus Baby has four above-average offerings: a low- to mid-90s fastball, a hard diving curveball, a slider that was hell for left-handed hitters, and a quality straight changeup. The control was worse than expected which may force the organization to pump the breaks on his ascension through the system. As noted in last year’s draft, Ferris doesn’t have an elite, top-of-the-rotation caliber potential, but he’s tracking like a very solid #3 / #4-type arm if he can find the zone with a little more frequency.
Ceiling: 2.5-win player
Risk: Moderate
MLB ETA: 2026
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8. Diego Cartaya, C
| Hit | Power | SB | Patience | Glove | Overall |
| 40 | 60 | 30 | 55 | 55 | 55 |
Background: It’s not uncommon for a Top Prospect, even one that’s regarded as a Consensus Top 20 Prospect, to take a step back and have everyone adjust their expectations. What is uncommon, though, is to see a Consensus Top 20 prospect with a rather lengthy track record of established success crater as badly as Diego Cartaya did in 2023. It was so bad that you have to question whether he’ll be able to re-establish his prospect status in the coming years. Recognized as one of the top – if not the top – free agent on the international market in 2018, Los Angeles did what they’ve always done (at least in recent memory): they handed the power-hitting backstop a massive contract – $2.5 million, to be exact. And immediately Cartaya looked like an impact bat at a premium position, slugging .296/.353/.437 in the old Arizona Summer League as a 17-year-old. After minor league action returned from its COVID-induced hiatus, Cartaya put on an absolute show – albeit in an incredibly abbreviated campaign – in Low-A in 2021, mashing .298/.409/.614. And it proved to be a harbinger of things to come. The 6-foot-3, 219-pound catcher split his 2022 season between Rancho Cucamonga and Great Lakes, slugging .264/.389/.503 with 22 doubles, one triple, 22 homeruns, and – just for good measure – a single stolen base. Then everything came crashing down. The Dodgers’ brass opted to send the then-21-year-old up to Double-A for the start of the 2023 season. Cartaya promptly responded with a depressingly poor .189/.278/.379 slash line with 10 doubles and 19 homeruns in 93 games, spanning 403 plate appearances. His overall production, as calculated by FanGraphs’ Weighted Runs Created Plus, was a staggering 29% below the league average threshold.
Snippet from The 2023 Prospect Digest Handbook: Cartaya’s never going to be confused with Johnny Bench or Yadier Molina behind the dish, but he’s solid enough where he’s likely to remain at the spot, though his bat – clearly – plays at any power-hitting position. As much raw power as any hitter in the Dodgers’ system. He looks like a young Juan Gonzalez throughout his swing.
Scouting Report: The first thing that comes to mind when referencing Cartaya’s collapse is another top catching prospect that happened to have a complete offensive collapse in Double-A, who – surprisingly – completely resurrected his prospect-dom: Cleveland’s Bo Naylor. The stat lines are almost too similar to actual believe:
| Season | Name | Team | Level | Age | PA | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | BB% | K% | wRC+ |
| 2021 | Bo Naylor | CLE | AA | 21 | 356 | 0.188 | 0.280 | 0.332 | 0.612 | 10.39% | 31.46% | 68.90 |
| 2023 | Diego Cartaya | LAD | AA | 21 | 403 | 0.189 | 0.278 | 0.379 | 0.656 | 9.18% | 29.03% | 70.97 |
From a physical standpoint Cartaya still looks like a Top Prospect, possessing tremendous bat speed and premium raw power (plus in-game power). The former international Bonus Baby has always shown a power-over-hit approach, but the Double-A competition seemed to exacerbate that in 2023. The swing is long and exploitable at this point in his career, but it’s important to remember his age and track record. Last season wasn’t all terrible for Cartaya, though: typically a slightly better-than-average glove behind the plate, his defense graded out as plus. Even if the bat doesn’t rebound like Naylor’s (Cleveland’s young backstop batted .263/.392/.496 the year following his struggles), Cartaya’s newly minted defense and premium power make him a solid, league average starter. Not a star, which was once forecasted, but I’m still not moving off of Cartaya.
Ceiling: 3.0-win player
Risk: High
MLB ETA: 2024
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9. Joendry Vargas, SS
| Hit | Power | SB | Patience | Glove | Overall |
| 50/60 | 50/55 | 50/40 | 50 | 40/45 | 55 |
Background: Ranked by MLB Pipeline as a Top 5 prospect available on the international free agency market last year. The Dodgers and their seemingly limitless wallet handed the wiry 6-foot-4, 175-pound shortstop a hefty $2,077,500 bonus in mid-January. Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Vargas stayed in his home country to begin his professional career last summer. Appearing in 48 rookie league contests, he batted.328/.423/.529 with 12 doubles, one triple, seven homeruns, and 19 stolen bases (in 24 attempts). Per Weighted Runs Created, his production topped the league average mark by a 49%.
Scouting Report: Just for fun, think about some of the most beautiful swings in the history of baseball. Ken Griffey Jr. immediately comes to mind. Ted Williams has to be up there. Will Clark, too. There are others, but those are the ones that I think of without expounding to much energy. But there’s rarely – if ever – any right-handed hitters that are associated with gorgeous swings. Let me say something: Joendry Vargas, a right-handed bat, has a gorgeous swing. Fantastic bat speed, short, quick stroke, and the potential to be a perennial 20- to 25-homer threat. Defensively, he’s raw and he’s not likely to stay at shortstop, but the bat is going to play anywhere. Admittedly, I’m ranking him very aggressively and there’s a massive range of outcomes, but there’s something potentially special here.
Ceiling: 3.5-win player
Risk: Extreme
MLB ETA: 2027/2028
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10. Maddux Bruns, LHP
| FB | CB | SL | CH | Command | Overall |
| 60 | 60 | 60 | 55 | 35 | 60 |
Background: Bruns already has a few ties to baseball superstardom, all three Hall of Fame golden. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound youngster, whose full name is Maddux John Bruns, was named after Braves Hall of Famers Greg Maddux and John Smoltz. And if that wasn’t enough pressure already, when the Dodgers grabbed Bruns in the opening round of the 2021 draft he became the first lefty teenage arm the club drafted in the first round since Clayton Kershaw, the epitome of Dodger royalty. After signing on the dotted line for a little less than $2.2 million, Bruns looked remarkably erratic during his abbreviated debut in the Complex League that summer, posting a 5-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio in five innings of work. But, hey, it’s just five innings of work, so we don’t want to read too much into it. That is, until he went out and lost all feel for the strike zone as he moved up to the fires of Low-A in 2022. Making 21 starts with Rancho Cucamonga, Bruns averaged a whopping 13.6 strikeouts and an almost impossibly conceivable 9.1 walks per nine innings in 44.1 innings of work. Unsurprisingly, the frustratingly talented young arm found himself back in Low-A for another go around in 2023. After six mostly decent outings, the front office relented and pushed him up to the Midwest League in mid-May. He would throw 76 innings with the Loons of Great Lakes, posting a 93-to-54 strikeout-to-walk ratio to go along with a 4.74 ERA.
Snippet from The 2023 Prospect Digest Handbook: If Bobby Miller’s baseball ceiling is the equivalent to a million dollar mansion, then Bruns’ house is in the same neighborhood – it just needs a little TLC. And strikes. Lots of strikes.
Scouting Report: Consider the following:
Since 2006, only three 21-year-old hurlers posted a 26% to 28% strikeout percentage with a walk percentage north of 14% with one club in any High-A league (min. 75 IP): Hector Perez, Miguel Ullola, and – of course – Maddux Bruns.
Ignoring results – at least, momentarily – you could make the argument that Maddux Bruns is the most talented young arm in the minor leagues. If not, he’s awfully close to the top of the list and he certainly could be the most talented left-hander in the minors. When he’s at his best, Bruns will feature a plus, late-life’d fastball sitting in the 94- to 96-mph range; a plus horizontally sweeping mid-80s slider; a plus low 80s deuce, and a very rare, above-average changeup. It’s an elite arsenal that can simply overpower hitters – very competent, strong minor league bats. Now the bad news: even when he’s on, he’s off. Bruns owns 30 command, if you’re being generous. But it’s improving and was significantly better in 2023 than it was the previous year. He’s very reminiscent of the Orioles’ DL Hall, another talented, erratic southpaw. The Orioles, at least up to this point, haven’t been able to coax consistent strikes from Hall out of the rotation (maybe the Brewers can?); we’ll see if the Dodgers can achieve that with Bruns. One final thought: Bruns looked very good commanding his slider, more so than any other offering. For now, I’m betting heavily on the talent and not the results at this point, but this could look awfully bad in the coming years, like really bad.
Ceiling: 4.0-win player
Risk: Extreme
MLB ETA: 2025/2026
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All statistics were provided via the following website: Baseball Reference, FanGraphs, TheBaseballCube, BaseballProspectus, ClayDavenport.com, Baseball America, and X-user @mk237700 (for compiling Statcast Data)
