GLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Dodgers are coming off their second World Series championship in five years and have made 12 straight trips to the playoffs, averaging 99 victories per full season during that span. They didn't rest on their success this offseason, shelling out more than $400 million in free-agent deals, highlighted by the additions of Blake Snell and Tanner Scott and the retention of Teoscar Hernández, while also adding coveted Japanese right-hander Roki Sasaki.
Los Angeles has as many financial resources as any team, and maximizes them with a willingness to spend and a penchant for investing wisely. It also excels at acquiring and developing young talent. Its farm system came in fourth in MLB Pipeline's latest rankings, and no organization has a better collection of teenage position-player prospects.
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Outfielder Josue De Paula sits at No. 40 among our Top 100 prospects, and shortstops Emil Morales and Kellon Lindsey are poised to join him on the list this year. Outfielders Eduardo Quintero and Ching-Hsien Ko, shortstop Joendry Vargas and third baseman Chase Harlan all have the potential to become at least big league regulars.
"From a quality and number standpoint, we've never had so many players this young and this interesting," said vice president of player development Will Rhymes, who joined the Dodgers as a pro scout in 2016. "All of the upside and athleticism is really cool.
"It's very exciting for where we're at as an organization. With the long-term deals we have, this gives a few years for these guys to develop and accelerate the tremendous upside that they have."
The most advanced young hitter the system has seen in several years, De Paula looks like a slightly smaller version of Yordan Alvarez with a similarly tantalizing combination of quality swing decisions and elite exit velocities. Signed for $397,500 in 2022, he slashed .268/.404/.405 with 10 homers and 27 steals between two Class A stops last year, leading the system in on-base percentage and posting a 136 wRC+ as the second-youngest regular in the High-A Midwest League during the second half.
"Josue is one of the most exciting and projectable young bats in the Minor Leagues," Rhymes said. "He has been very productive and you can see another gear in performance that he can reach. His underlying metrics are so good."
Morales and Lindsey both joined the organization last year, with the former signing for $1,897,500 out of the Dominican Republic in January and the latter turning pro for $3,297,500 as a first-round pick in July. Morales is very physical for an 18-year-old, yet still has projection remaining in his 6-foot-3 frame. He was named Dominican Summer League MVP after leading the Rookie-level circuit in slugging (.691), OPS (1.169), homers (14 in 46 games) and total bases (105). One of the fastest players in the 2024 Draft, Lindsey resembles Trea Turner at the same stage of their careers.
"Emil can really hit," Rhymes said. "He has the highest offensive ceiling of our young shortstops. Kellon can fly, has a chance to be a very good defender and could be the most balanced of those shortstops. What he has done in the offseason with his strength and his swing is so impressive. The ball jumps off his bat now. He'll surprise some people who haven't seen him since before the Draft."
The sleeper in the group is the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Ko, who signed last June for $650,000 out of Taiwan and has played just nine games in the DSL. When he turned pro, director of Pacific Rim scouting Jon Deeble compared Ko to Cody Bellinger. The 18-year-old has all the ingredients to hit for average and power, and his solid arm strength adds to his right-field profile.
"Ko is enormous, so physical," Rhymes said. "It's a great swing from the left side, real power, and he gives off a real natural hitter vibe. He easily lifts balls to his pull side. That power might play from the get-go."
Quintero is a polished hitter who ranked second in the Rookie-level Arizona Complex League in on-base percentage (.459), runs (49) and steals (29) last year. Vargas stands out with his plus raw power and arm strength, and he slashed a combined .316/.415/.513 with 11 homers and 30 steals in 86 games in his first two years as a pro. They teamed up to win championships in the DSL in 2023 and the ACL in '24.
Like Lindsey, Harlan has yet to make his pro debut since landing a seven-figure bonus ($1,747,500 in the third round) in the 2024 Draft. Already 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, he hit the ball harder than most players who took batting practice at the Draft Combine and offers solid power and arm strength.
Camp standout: Zyhir Hope
We didn't discuss Hope above because he turned 20 two months ago. But the outfielder acquired in the trade that sent Michael Busch and Yency Almonte to the Cubs in January 2024 is one of the most exciting young prospects in the game.
Hope makes advanced swing decisions and a lot of hard contact, producing upper-end exit velocities, and he also comes with solid speed and fearlessness in center field.
Hope slashed .287/.415/.490 in 54 games at Single-A last summer despite dealing with a stress fracture in his rib that sidelined him for three months, then was the most electrifying player in the Arizona Fall League. He opened eyes during his time in big league camp with an opposite-field home run and quality defense.
"Zyhir's batting practice is the stuff of legend at this point," Rhymes said. "He took a righty changeup out to left field at 104 mph. His baserunning and defense has stood out too. He looks like the total package."
Breakout potential: Brady Smith
Smith offered one of the best combinations of stuff and strikes in the 2023 high school class, which prompted Los Angeles to draft him in the third round. He has yet to make his pro debut, however, because he had Tommy John surgery soon after signing. Based on how he has looked in the offseason and during Spring Training, he could emerge as one of the system's best pitching prospects this year.
"I'm super excited for Brady," Rhymes said. "His fastball has been coming out hot in the mid 90s with elite metrics. He has really improved his secondary pitches, and now has a plus slider and a good changeup. It will be a normal year for him, though we'll have to be careful with his innings."
Bounceback candidate: Payton Martin
A North Carolina high school prospect, Martin originally committed to East Carolina as a shortstop before making a handful of starts on the mound as a senior in 2022 and intriguing the Dodgers enough to sign him for $125,000 in the 17th round. After he opened eyes with a mid-90s fastball and plus mid-80s slider in his 2023 pro debut, his velocity and control regressed last season as his strikeout rate declined from 30.2 to 17.1 percent.
"Payton's stuff was down a little bit last year while he was dealing with some nagging things," Rhymes said. "He had a more normal offseason this year and he's getting back to the 2023 version we were all excited about."