Baseball America has released their June revision of their Top 100 prospects, and the Dodgers are well represented. They have a top ten prospect in 21 year old AA OF Josue De Paula. He climbed from #11 to #5. It was not just because of all the graduations. JDP has distinguished himself as one of the best hitters in the Texas League as well as one of the youngest. He leads the Texas League in Hits and Doubles. He is in the top 5 of the Texas League in:
- Batting Average
- On Base Percentage
- Slugging
- OPS
- Runs
- RBI
- BB (Has more BB than K)
- Total Bases
- XBH
Currently the only player in the Texas League who is challenging JDP as the top of the class hitter is Arizona’s 22 year old utility prospect Manuel Pena. Pena came up as a SS but this year has played in LF, 1B, 2B, 3B, and DH. Ironically no SS.
Another fast LAD prospect riser is 23 year old (June 16, 2026) Mike Sirota. He rose from #35 to #19. Per BA the biggest concern with Sirota was how he would come back from knee surgery. Again per BA, those questions have been answered. Sirota has now reached base in 44 straight games covering two levels. He has not missed a beat since being promoted to AA where he is slashing .377/.507/.547/1.054. He needs to sustain at or near those levels for the rest of the season. He could be top 10 going into 2027.
With Alek Thomas, Jack Suwinski, and Zach Ehrhard entrenched at AAA, and Ryan Ward soon to join them, there is not a logical spot for either JDP or Sirota to make that jump. For those who wrote off Ehrhard his slash line is back up to .286/.386/.439/.825. Since May 1, in 110 PA, Ehrhard has slashed .337/.482/.523/1.005. He has walked 23 times and struck out 14. He may not be a top 100 prospect, but for someone who turned 23 in January, he is nobody to scoff at either. Good OF. Would make an ideal #4 OF. Every team needs one.
But the Dodgers were not done with top prospects. With 20 year old CF Eduardo Quintero at #22, that is 3 top 22 prospects and 3 of the top 7 OF prospects.
19 year old SS (for now) prospect, Emil Morales, checks in at #48. Morales has always been slug over hit, but he continues to improve with the hit tool. It is universally projected that Morales will not stick at SS, but his arm is more than good enough at 3B. He is also a potential corner OF prospect. Wherever he lands defensively, he will be at least average, but his bat will be exceptional. It is possible that Morales will get some time at AA this year, again as a teenager.
The Dodgers 4th best OF prospect is #59 overall, Zyhir Hope. Hope has SLG over Bat skills as well. BA had this in their pre-season scouting report:
“The lefthanded batter has plenty of bat speed and boatloads of raw juice, but an uppercut swing makes him exploitable. His overall (33.9%) and zone (26.8%) miss rates were below-average and led to prolonged boom-or-bust stretches at High-A Great Lakes.”
The likelihood that Hope sticks in CF are not projectable, so LF seems a more likely landing spot. His bat tools will have to improve here to push him to MLB.
IMO, Hope is the most likely LAD prospect to be included in a trade package. He is still a top 60 prospect, so that should be highly coveted. I doubt that the Dodgers will overpay for Tarik Skubal. Having Skubal will not guarantee the Dodgers will 3-peat. He lost 2 of the 2025 ALDS games. He pitched well, but still lost both games. With Ohtani, Yamamoto, Glasnow, and Snell as the possible 4 October SP, Skubal may give them marginal better SP but not enough to overpay for him. If Glas and Snell come back healthy, I am not sure how much of an improvement Skubal would be. I know BIG IF. But so is Skubal.
None of the LAD 5 will be graduates this year. But are other Dodgers prospects ready to break through? When asked about Charles Davalan and where he sits, JJ Cooper (BA writer) mentioned in his chat…watch after the next group of graduates. Watch for Davalan to make the mid-season top 100. I am guessing that Zach Root and Chase Harlan will be closely monitored for inclusion, if not mid-season, pre-season 2027.
Teams with most top 100:
- Milwaukee – 7
- Tampa Bay – 6
- LAD – 5
- Seattle – 5
- Cleveland – 5
- Minnesota – 5
- Miami – 5
- San Francisco – 5
- Washington – 5
Three teams had 5 top 75 (Milwaukee, LAD, Miami), with only Miami matching LAD with 5 in the top 60.
3 teams had 4 top 100 prospects; 7 teams had 3; 8 teams had 2; 3 teams had 1. Every team had at least 1.
We are coming up to the MLB draft (July 12 -14) where the Dodgers will again select #40, and have no chance for an elite prospect. Maybe in the next CBA they can allow for teams to trade draft picks. Maybe CWS would have gotten a major haul for this year’s #1, or in other words, UCLA SS Roch Cholowsky. I have to believe AF/BG would have been all over that if it were allowed. It isn’t so why lose any gray hairs over it.
Considering draft picks, it is entirely possible, perhaps probable, that last year’s #40 (Zach Root) and #41 (Chuck Davalan) overall draft picks will be in the top 100 before 2027.
One more thing, with the talent LAD has in the top 100, and with how pi** poor KC is playing, maybe we should start a Free Bobby Witt Jr. campaign. I elect Bums for the leader of that campaign.
Note – All stats mentioned above are before Friday’s games.
MiLB GAME SUMMARY REPORTS (7 GAMES)
Round Rock Express (Texas) 6 – OKC Comets 2
LHRP Logan Allen started and was good for 2 innings. In the third, Allen walked the first batter, but got 2 outs. Next batter slugged a 2-run HR. A single and a 2nd 1-run HR gave Round Rock a 4-0 lead.
In the 4th, a double and RBI single pushed the Express lead to 5-0.
RHRP Jerming Rosario was not sharp, but in 1.2 IP he did not allow a run, even though he gave up a single and 3 BB.
In the 6th, RF Jack Suwinski doubled (15) and scored on LF Ryan Fitzpatrick’s RBI single.
With RHRP Nick Frasso on the mound, he gave up a pair of singles with the lead runner reaching 3B. The runner scored on a WP.
In the 8th, R. Fitzgerald walked and moved to 3rd on 2B Hyeseong Kim’s single. R. Fitzgerald scored on a C Chuckie Robinson ground out.
OKC drew closer in the 9th when 3B Tommy Edman walked and scored ahead of IB James Tibbs III’s 2-run HR.
- Jack Suwinski – 3-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 2 doubles (16)
- Hyeseong Kim – 2-5
- Chuckie Robinson – 2-3, 1 BB, 1 RBI, double (4)
- James Tibbs III – 1-3, 2 BB, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR (18)
Amarillo Sod Poodles (Arizona) 10 – Tulsa Drillers 7
With RHSP Peter Heubeck on the mound, in the 2nd inning he allowed a 1-out BB with the runner moving to 2nd on a ground out. The run scored on a single.
Tulsa scored the tying run in the 3rd on 3B Jake Gelof’s HR (8).
Heubeck gave up a HR in the 3rd to go back in front.
CF Mike Sirota tied it back up in the 4th with his 2nd HR at AA. He has now reached in 45 straight games.
LHRP Christian Suarez pitched a scoreless 4th.
In the top of the 5th, RF Josue De Paula hit his 20th double. He has now hit in 13 straight and reached safely in 22 straight.
The game was tied at 2-2 going into the home half of the 5th. Then LHRP Maddux Bruns entered. Things went wrong…very wrong from here.
Bruns faced 4 batters, all reaching safely; 3 straight singles and a BB. RHRP Lucas Wepf followed Bruns, and he wasn’t a lot better. A WP and a 2nd run of the inning scores. Wepf walked the next batter and the bases were loaded. A force out and ground out scored 2 more. A run scoring single brought home the 5th run of the inning.
Bruns has now pitched 15.2 innings. He has allowed 27 runs (26 earned), 17 hits and 30 BB. That works out to 14.94 ERA and 3.0 WHIP. Almost 2 BB per inning. In what baseball universe is that acceptable? He needs to go onto the development list.
Tulsa got 1 back in the 6th when C Griffin Lockwood-Powell slugged his 7th HR.
LHRP Evan Shaw restored order in the 6th (temporarily).
Gelof hit his 2nd solo HR of the game in the 7th followed by LF Chris Newell’s solo HR (7).
Shaw allowed the first two batters to reach (single and BB) before being lifted for RHRP Kelvin Ramirez. 2nd batter Ramirez faced hit a 3-run HR.
In the 8th, 1B Kyle Nevin singled and scored on Gelof’s double (7). 2B Taylor Young was HBP, and JDP hit an RBI single to score Gelof.
- Josue De Paula – 2-4, 1 BB, 1 RBI, double (20)
- Kyle Nevin – 2-5, 1 run
- Jake Gelof – 3-5, 3 runs, 3 RBI, double (7), 2 HR (9)
- Griffin Lockwood-Powell – 1-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (7)
- Mike Sirota – 1-4, 1 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (2)
- Chris Newell – 1-5, 1 run, 1 RBI, HR (7)
Great Lakes Loons 4 – Lansing Lugnuts (A’s) 0
When you see a 1-hit shutout, your mind goes to superb pitching. Well it was a shutout, but superb pitching? RHSP Brooks Auger went 4 innings, allowed the one hit, but issued 5 BB. LHRP Jacob Frost pitched the last 3.1 innings, did not allow a hit, but also issued 5 BB. When you issue 10 walks, you cannot call that a well-pitched game. At least I cannot.
In between Auger and Frost, LHRP Matt Lanzendorfer pitched 1.2 innings. He retired all 5 batters he faced, including 1 K.
In the home half of the 1st, CF Eduardo Quintero singled and scored ahead of 2B Nico Perez’s HR (7).
In the 5th, Quintero walked, ad RF Jose Meza hit a 2-run HR (7) for a 4-0 lead. This is how the game would end. There were a total of 8 hits in this game.
- Jose Meza – 2-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, double (6), HR (8)
- Nico Perez – 1-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR (7)
Ontario Tower Buzzers 10 – Stockton Ports (A’s) 4
Stockton scored a pair in the 2nd off RHSP Cam Leiter. A leadoff single. The runner moved to 3rd on a double and scored on an E6 on the play. The runner moved to 3rd on error and scored on a ground out. In 2.1 IP, Leiter allowed the 2 runs (1 earned) on 2 hits, 2 BB, and 3 K. He threw 49 pitches (28 strikes). It looks like Leiter is still on a 50 pitch limit.
In the 3rd, with 2 outs DH Ching-Hsien Ko drew a walk and moved to 3rd on 3B Mairo Martinus’ double (12). Martinus scored when 1B Easton Shelton slugged a 2-run HR.
In the 4th, RF Landyn Vidourek drew a BB and stole 2nd. Vidourek scored on LF AJ Soldra’s single.
RHRP Will Gagnon came in relief in the 5th. He allowed 2 runs, both unearned, on 2 hits, and 2 BB. He did strike out the side.
In the bottom of the 5th, Ko drew a BB and moved to 3rd on Martinus; 2nd double (13) of the game. Shelton, Vidourek, and SS Joendry Vargas each walked scoring two. Soldra was then HBP to plate another run.
In the 6th, CF Jaron Elkins and Ko each drew a BB. Martinus singled to load the bases. Elkins scored on a balk, and Ko scored on a Vargas SF.
In the 7th, Soldra walked and C Bryan Gonzalez Garcia was HBP. Soldra scored on a passed ball but Garcia was out at home attempting to score.
In the 9th with RHRP Jhonny Jimenez issued 2 walks, gave up a single to load the bases. He then allowed a run-scoring single and BB to force in a 2nd run. RHRP Jose Cabrera relieved Jimenez. Got a K, but issued a walk for the 3rd run. Cabrera got the final 2 outs to end the game and got his save of the year.
- Mairo Martinus – 3-5, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 2 doubles (13)
- Easton Shelton – 1-3, 2 BB, 2 runs, 2 RBI, HR (14)
- Ching-Hsien Ko – 1-2, 3 BB, 3 runs
- Landyn Vidourek – 0-1, 3 BB, 1 run, 1 RBI
ACL Angels 18 – ACL Dodgers 11
Not much pitching in this one.
- SS Daniel Mielcarek – 2-5, 1 run
- DH Cameron Decker – 2-3, 1 BB, 4 runs, 2 RBI, double (3), HR (1)
- 3B Moises Bolivar – 2-4, 1 BB, 3 runs, 3 RBI, HR (5)
- 1B Oswaldo Osorio – 2-3, 1 BB, 2 runs, 4 RBI, triple (3), HR (2)
- 2B Reyli Mariano – 3-4, 1 BB, 2 RBI, triple (3)
LAD DSL Bautista 10 – DSL Red Sox Blue – 8
DSL Red Sox jumped out to a 6-0 lead after 4 ½ innings. LAD DSL Bautista scored 8 in the bottom of the 5th. In the bottom of the 5th, Bautista put together 5 BB, 2 HBP, 1 single, 3 WP, 1 error, and two sac flies to score 8 runs.
In the bottom of the 6th, 3 BB, 1 single, and 1 WP scored another pair.
In summary – 10 runs, 8 BB, 2 HBP, 2 singles, 4 WP, 1 error, and 2 SF.
Bautista had 3 singles on the day.
And the Red Sox Blue scored 3 in the 7th.
They couldn’t hit, they couldn’t pitch, and yet they won.
DSL LAD Mega 11 – DSL Red Sox Red 9
DSL Mega scored 11 runs on 8 hits and 6 BB. In the 1st, a BB, infield single, and BB loaded the bases. WP brings home a run, a ground out brings home another, and a single scores the 3rd run.
Red Sox Red scored 4 in the 3rd to take the lead. In the 4th, 2B Juan Macero doubled (1) and scored on a fielding error to tie the game.
In the 5th, a one out BB, single, force out and throwing error scored 1, infield single, SB, WP scores a 2nd run of the inning. Another BB and a 2 run double (1) by 1B Jesus Villaflor gave Mega an 8-4 lead.
With one in the 5th and 3 in the 6th Red Sox Red tied it up at 8-8.
In the 7th, a single, WP, a ground out with runner getting to 3rd. A HBP, and sac fly scores 1. A 2-run HR (1) by RF Erny Orellana gave Mega a 3-run lead. Red Sox Red scored one in the bottom of the 7th to end the game.
- Juan Macero – 3-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI, double (1)
- Erny Orellana – 1-4, 1 run, 2 RBI, HR (1)
- Jesus Villaflor – 1-3, 3 RBI, double (1), SF
Weighted Runs Above Average (wRAA) Definition
wRAA measures how many runs a hitter contributes, compared with an average player — so a player with a 0 wRAA would be considered league average, offensively. It’s calculated by finding the difference in the number of runs contributed between a player and the league average (which is determined by the league average wOBA).
Because wRAA uses wOBA to determine how many runs a player is worth, a player with an above-average wOBA will have an above-average wRAA. But — unlike wOBA — wRAA is a counting stat. As a result, players with a higher number of plate appearances can accrue a higher wRAA than an equal player with fewer plate appearances.
The formula
((wOBA – wOBA of the entire league) / annual wOBA scale) x PA
Why it’s useful
Obviously, a hitter’s goal is to contribute runs in any way possible. wRAA measures how well players do so in relation to the rest of the league. And because it’s scaled to the league, you can compare players on different teams or from different seasons.
Can we stop with the Roki Sasaki is a bust?
That slider he incorporated and the increased velo has made a world of difference for Roki. Hope he keeps this up.
Looks more like the pitcher the Dodgers thought they had signed.
dePaula has nothing left to prove in AA. I would move him up .
Well, we have all collectively put our positive mojo into Roki, and he now appears to be on the right track. Can we now turn our attention to the Elephant in the room, Mookie. Everyone complains about our .250 right fielder, but Mookie is hitting 60 points below him. Many say he’ll turn it around, he needs more at bats, and I hope so, but dropping him from 2 to 4 has produced very little results. In fact I believe his batting average has gone down. If he gets on a hot streak maybe he’ll elevate to the “Mendosa” line. All glove no bat players do not bat 2nd or 4th. It was only last year when mired in another season long slump that many suggested a standing ovation at Dodger stadium to get Mookie going, maybe another one is needed now. Lots of .250 hitters in the lineup, but the one neon light is the .179 batting cleanup.
Due to his resume, Mookie gets a lot of rope, but I am also very concerned. Most of us were wrong about Sasaki. So maybe there is still hope for Mookie. He won’t be at cleanup forever.
Most of us were right about Conforto, however! 😉
BTW, Conforto is OPS’ing .866 for the Cubs.
Go Figure!
Will someone please tell me why you think we need Skubal? Our present pitching staff is the Best in baseball with two Aces on the IL in Snell and Glasnow. Semi Aces Stone and Ryan will also be ready to contribute at some point, If you trade for Skubal ,you CAN’T give him a qualifying offer because of a midseason trade,he’ll want a long term contract for big money and with the new bargaining agreement ,the Dodgers probably will have decrease payroll and you will have to give up controllable prospects in the trade. I feel VERY confident going into the October with our pitching staff WITHOUT Skubal. Also our bullpen will also be improved with Diaz,Phillips ana Stewart working their way back from the IL.I don’t see AF/BG making the trade for what Detroit will want in return. They will be in it and drive up the price to acquire him. AF rarely gives up controllable pitchers in any deal. Andy lastly will he be the same pitcher he was before the scope? HUGE uncertainty!
Same would go for Diaz and Snell then with the uncertainty.
I wold not give the farm for Skubal but if the price is right I would do it.
A Sheehan,Tibbs, Kopen orsomething similar offer I would be fine with. Would not include dePaula, Siroa and Morales. For me those three are as close to untouchable as it gets with prospects and would not include them for a rental.
ANother argument for a Skubal trade is it would keep him away from another contendder. Would not like to face the Brewers, Braves , Philllies etc. with Skubal in their rotation
Totally agree Andrew
… and they will have to give him a new $300 MILLION CONTRACT!
NO WAY!
TrueBlueLA wrote this:
“It only takes one swing of the bat to win the deadlocked game in the bottom of the ninth. Freeman accepted the challenge and ended the 0-0 pitcher’s duel with a solo home run against old friend Kirby Yates to walk it off for the Dodgers. It was Freeman’s 20th career walk-off home run.”
That is FALSE.
It was Freddie Freeman’s 20th walk-off hit… not walk-off HR.
As soon as I read it, I knew it was wrong! No way!
Where’s Tibbs on that list? The 23 year old is banging AAA. Is he just another Outman?
Hope: “The left handed batter has plenty of bat speed and boatloads of raw juice, but an uppercut swing makes him exploitable“. Tell that to Freddie. Ted Williams recommended an uppercut. Bat path – plane of ball. Hope’s miss rates do need to be fixed.
3 hits? Against the Angels?
Why do we need Skubal? Maybe we don’t. But my take: you can never have too much excellent pitching. Glasnow and Snell aren’t even there, Yamamoto and Ohtani are possibly being overworked. And, there’s rumors the Phillies, Brewers, and Padres are interested in him. I don’t want the Dodgers to face him in the playoffs. Look what Reid Detmers did to this lineup.
Another great report Jeff. Nice work.