Five Dodgers prospects named in MLB Pipeline top 100

The folks at MLB Pipeline unveiled its top 100 prospects in baseball on Thursday, which will be accompanied by a discussion and analysis on MLB Network at 8 a.m. PT on Saturday.

Five Dodgers prospects made the top 100, and it’s the usual suspects who have made most of these national lists. It gives us a consensus of sorts of how several Dodgers farmhands rank across the sport.

Diego Cartaya has the top spot among Dodgers on MLB Pipeline, just like he did at five of six national lists (he was second on the team at Baseball Prospectus). MLB Pipeline rates Cartaya No. 28 overall, and it’s easy to see why. He burst onto the scene with 10 home runs in only 31 games in Low-A Rancho Cucamonga, all before turning 20 in September.

He’s also making strides on defense.

“Though he’s big and physical and possesses well below-average speed, Cartaya is agile behind the plate,” says MLB Pipeline’s scouting report. “He has the soft hands and strong arm to become a solid receiver and control the running game, though he needs more polish after committing 11 passed balls and throwing out just 20 percent of basestealers last year.”

Cartaya is one of two Dodgers prospects in all six of these national top-100 lists — Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, FanGraphs, ESPN, The Athletic, and MLB Pipeline. His highest rating was 13th at The Athletic, and his lowest 55th at BP.

Bobby Miller is the other Dodger on all six lists, including 57th overall on MLB Pipeline’s list. The 2020 first-round draft pick has impressed thus far as a professional, and could see time in the majors this season.

From MLB Pipeline’s scouting report on Miller:

The Dodgers have helped Miller tone down his delivery and throw more strikes since turning pro. After averaging 3.6 walks per nine innings in three college seasons at Louisville, he cut that rate to 2.1 in his first year in the Minors. Hitters struggle to barrel his quality stuff, he’s locating his pitches better than ever and he has a strong 6-foot-5 frame built to handle innings, so he has all of the ingredients to become a frontline starter.

Other Dodgers ranked in the top 100 prospects are second baseman Michael Busch at 67th, slugging outfielder Andy Pages 68th, and third baseman Miguel Vargas 94th. Busch and Pages have each been named on five national lists. Vargas was on four lists, but he topped out at 36th overall at Baseball Prospectus, making him BP’s top Dodgers farmhand.