Seven Dodgers named to MLB Pipeline top 100 prospects

MLB Pipeline unveiled its top 100 prospects for 2023 on Thursday afternoon, with a total of seven Dodgers making the list.

The top three Dodgers prospects, in order, is the same as both Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus. Catcher Diego Cartaya is ranked the No. 14 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, up from 28th before last season. Pitcher Bobby Miller is 24th, up from No. 57 prior to 2022.

Miguel Vargas improved from 94th last year to 37th this year, the biggest gain among Dodgers who were named in the top 100 before 2022.

Six Dodgers were named in the top 100 prospects at Baseball America, and nine Dodgers made the top 101 prospects at Baseball Prospectus.

Michael Busch checks in at No. 54 overall, up from 67th last year. He was rated last week by MLB Pipeline as the second-best second base prospect in baseball, tied with Cartaya for the highest positional ranking by MLB. Busch, a first-round pick by the Dodgers in 2019, hit .274/.365/.516 with a 118 wRC+ between Double-A Tulsa (31 games) and Triple-A Oklahoma City (111 games) last season. Busch in 2022 led all Dodgers minor leaguers in hits (151), doubles (38), home runs (32), runs scored (118), and RBI (108).

“I think something that is undersold about Michael Busch is his overall athleticism,” Oklahoma City play-by-play broadcaster Alex Freedman told True Blue LA in an interview last week.

Jim Callis at MLB.com went as far as touting Busch, who was added to the Dodgers 40-man roster in November, as the best Rookie of the Year candidate among second base prospects.

“At least half of our Top 10 should make their big league debuts this season, with Busch having less to prove in the Minors than any of them,” Callis wrote. “That said, he’ll have to find at-bats on a crowded Dodgers roster that also includes talented rookies Miguel Vargas and James Outman.”

Other Dodgers to be named among the top ten at their position by MLB Pipeline were Miller (sixth-best right-handed pitcher), Gavin Stone (No. 10 RHP), and Vargas (No. 5 at third base).

Stone checked in at 56th on the top 100 list, his debut on an MLB Pipeline list. That matches his ranking at Baseball America, and was ranked 50th by Baseball Prospectus.

Ryan Pepiot, who made his major league debut for the Dodgers in 2022, was ranked 70th this year by MLB Pipeline. His was not in their top 100 last year.

Outfielder Andy Pages saw the biggest Dodgers drop from last year’s MLB Pipeline top 100 (No. 68), getting ranked 81st by MLB this year. He suffered a similar drop at Baseball Prospectus, checking in at 68th before last season and No. 90 in the 2023 BP list.

Keith Law at The Athletic tweeted that his top 100 list would be revealed on Monday, which would leave ESPN and FanGraphs as the pending national prospect lists.