2019 top Dodgers prospects: No. 6-10

10. Jeter Downs (SS/2B)

The high-profile prospect in the Dodgers’ trade with Cincinnati this offseason is Jeter Downs. Downs bolsters a middle infield depth chart that has been restocked fairly quickly the past few years. Downs, a former compensation first round pick, is a toolsy athlete that shows promise with the bat and could provide decent pop at an up-the-middle position down the road, but will need further refinement with his swing and approach.

Downs is an excellent athlete that tested out well as a draft prospect, running a sub 6.5 second 60-yard-dash and flashing low 90s velocity across the diamond. He’s not as fluid defensively as you would like and his hands are just average, but the Dodgers have left Downs at shortstop for his current post with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. He is athletic enough to handle a number of positions and could even feature in a super utility role.

Where Downs is most exciting is at the plate, where his high school tape showed a loose and easy swing with good lift, and Downs did manage 38 extra base hits in the Midwest League last season. His recent video shows more rigidity and a swing relying too much on his upper body. He has the batted ball profile for good game power and should hit for solid average with better contact.

The 20-year-old’s approach needs further refinement - understandable for a player his age. His pitch recognition is not on par with his level of play yet, leading to too many late or weak swings. That isn’t too surprising for a natural athlete that has largely been able to get by on his plus tools to this point, and Downs will likely require more time in the lower minors to adjust to the jump in quality of competition.

The Dodgers moved Downs to High-A after a solid season in the Midwest League in 2018, but I would be surprised if he was pushed quickly. Downs still needs to clean up his plate approach and incorporate more of his lower half into his swing to get the most out of his power potential. If he develops as hoped, the Dodgers could have a 20 home run, 20 stolen bases middle infielder/utility man from the right side of the plate, but his ETA is still a few years out.

9. Mitchell White (RHP)

After breezing through the system in his first year and a half as a professional, Mitchell White faced a few more speed bumps in 2018. Nagging injuries and a drop in stuff led to less than expected results, but better health in 2019 could bring the shine back to White’s prospect status, where he’s still seen as a solid starting candidate but possibly strong relief arm.

When he’s right, White attacks hitters with a repertoire that can be best described as hard, hard, and harder. His fastball formerly sat in the mid 90s, but was more 92-93 mph for stretches last season with less life. His curveball was an average offering but will flash plus, and he throws it in the low 80s with big break.

White’s best future pitch will be his cutter, which he threw last season in the upper 80s but probably will sit 90-91 mph with it eventually. It has a little more depth to it than most cutters, giving it a slider quality at times. He commands the pitch well and it gives him a weapon to get inside and underneath lefty bats.

White can hold his stuff deep into his starts, but he hasn’t proven to be durable yet, and might fit best as a multiple inning reliever in the new mold of major league bullpens. Given that at his best, he has three bat missing pitches and his attack mentality, he would likely maximize his effectiveness in shorter stretches, and his arm health might be better managed in such a role.

White is back to striking out hitters at a high rate in Double-A this season, and the Dodgers are still developing him in a starting role. The depth chart ahead of White for starting pitchers is still pretty stacked, and not being on the 40 man roster at the moment could keep him in the minors all season. His timetable could be accelerated in relief, and the Dodgers keep an open mind to untraditional pitching roles and methods of development for their arms at the upper levels, so White could be tried in the pen soon but still move back to starting later.

White just needed to show a return of stuff to get back on the fast track in 2019, as his approach is already refined. He’s an attack minded strike thrower that misses bats at his best, and should move to Triple A and the major league doorstep at some point in 2019.

8. Tony Gonsolin (RHP)

A move to starting suited Tony Gonsolin well in 2018, where he breezed through the California League before helping power Tulsa to the Texas League title. Gonsolin’s power repertoire largely held up over longer outings and he continued to miss bats at a high rate. Whether Gonsolin stays in the rotation when he reaches the big leagues or fills a multi-inning role might depend on organizational need and less on Gonsolin’s abilities.

A two-way player and senior sign out of St. Mary’s, the version of Tony Gonsolin we have seen over the past year and half must exceed even the rosiest of expectations for him when he was drafted. Gonsolin’s velocity has grown every season he’s been in the organization, occasionally climbing into the upper 90s. Gonsolin sat more frequently around 94 mph as a starter, but he doesn’t have to pitch off his riding fastball. Gonsolin’s best pitch is a high 80s split-finger that falls off the table. He will also throw two versions of a breaking ball for strikes, with the curve showing the most promise with big break and good velocity variance from his harder pitches.

Gonsolin’s delivery in 2018 was a modified stretch motion with a high leg kick and quick arm action. He looks to have smoothed it out more in spring training this year, and still hides the ball well. His lack of convention will make him a fan favorite, with the high leg kick matching the high socks, mustache and hair.

While Gonsolin looked like the second coming of Walker Buehler in spring training, I’m more skeptical that he can match Buehler’s high octane performance over 150 innings in a season. His arm has low tread from his college and bullpen days, but his stuff did tick back toward the end of last season. If they leave him in the rotation, I see him as a 4-5 inning/two-times-through-the-order type starter, but still missing plenty of bats. He could eventually make a powerful one to two inning bridge to Kenley Jansen in the near future, and might have a bright early career as a bullpen ace not-closer.

Regardless of what role Gonsolin breaks into the majors in, he’s likely to do it some point in 2019, health-willing. He will turn 25 this year and has gleaned all he needs to from minor league hitters. If Gonsolin can match his spring results in the big leagues, this ranking will look rather low in retrospect.

7. Dustin May (RHP)

After breaking out on the Dodger prospect scene in 2017, Dustin May had his national exposure widen in 2018, cracking several top 100 lists and being a consistent target in trade talks. The Dodgers were resistant to part with May and he could soon reward them as a solid mid-rotation strike thrower, with enough upside to climb to No. 2 status if his stuff takes another step forward.

Long legs, a rail-thin build and cartoonish red hair help May to stand out on the mound, but he’s defined by his two plus pitches and ability to throw strikes consistently with them. May’s fastball sits in the mid 90s with plus run and sink. He commands the pitch well in the zone and can dial it up for swings and misses or down for soft contact on the ground.

His breaking ball has always been a high spin offering but he’s had to work to refine the shape of the pitch. It still sits between a slider and curve shape and velocity-wise, but that’s not uncommon with a low 3-4 release. He nonetheless gets two plane break and will get right handers to chase the ball off the plate. He will have to be careful not to work too much around the ball to keep it from losing tight shape.

May is so effective with his two top pitches that he has had little need for a third offering, but his changeup shows promise as a heavy fade pitch to combat left handed hitters. May knows how to work in and out of the zone with all of his pitches and has been effective in inducing ground balls with his two primary offerings.

The only thing holding May back from turning the corner as a No. 2 starting prospect is his ability to hold his top end stuff over the course of a full season, which has hampered him from reaching his potential for more swing and miss in his game. May’s durability has been strong, but his fastball would sit 91-93 mph over some mid-season starts and his breaking ball would also lack the sharpness needed to miss bats. His command will keep him competitive even without his best stuff, but more physical development should help him pitch more often at the upper bands of his velocity.

The 21-year-old was electric over a stretch of starts in Spring Training, but he could still use more time in the upper minors to build up his strength and stamina. He’s seen a jump in his numbers early in 2019 Texas League campaign, and could be moved to Triple-A at some point in the first half of the season. Given his age and room for development, May’s ceiling exceeds Gonsolin’s and his advanced approach and command could see him make his major league debut at some point in the 2020 season.

6. DJ Peters (OF)

Few players can impact a baseball quite like DJ Peters at the minor league level. Despite some scary strikeout rates, Peters has still managed to put up loud power totals, flirting with 30 home run seasons over two different minor league levels and posting isolated slugging percentages over .230 in both campaigns. While strikeouts will always be a worry with Peters, if he can make enough contact he will maximize the value of those balls in play.

Peters is a rare athlete in terms of size and skill. He moves very fluidly for a player standing 6’6”, and doesn’t look out of place in center field. He runs well underway but thus far base stealing has not been a big part of his game.

Power is obviously Peters’ calling card. He has the best raw power in the organization and gets to plenty of it in game action. He has good bat speed and looks to lift and pull anything he can, and with his length, that covers a fair amount of the plate.

The problem is that his size frequently gets him in trouble at the plate. Peters has a large strike zone that he will likely always struggle to defend. His swing length will get long and he can be beaten on the inner half and up. When he’s going right, he won’t chase too much out of the zone, but he will run hot and cold with his plate approach.

With less contact and balls in play than the average player, Peters’ can be a very streaky producers, with numbers coming in gobs one week, and then vanishing the next. He will need to work to manage his plate approach better even when he’s not producing to help dampen the impacts of his hitting droughts.

Peters can still be highly productive with strikeout rates in the 30% plus range and averages around .230 because of his power and defensive value. He doesn’t quite match Joey Gallo in terms of plate discipline or raw power, but he’s quite close on the latter and Gallo has produced solid seasons for Texas with a similar profile. He’s not going to be every fan’s favorite flavor of prospect, and will frustrate many with the strikeouts, but the total package can still be a 2-4 win player.

Peters has turned heads a few times in the past two Spring Trainings to suggest that 2020 could be his first real shot at big league play, but step one will be overcoming adversity in the Texas League. Peters has returned to Tulsa for 2019, where he has struggled out of the gate, but can use this repeat trip to work on consistency in his approach. If he can learn to live with the swing and miss in the zone and avoid the tendency to expand the zone during droughts, he will blast plenty of 100+ mph exit velocity home runs to keep everyone happy.