Dodgers notes: Prospects on the rise, Chase Utley in England, no more Games 163

Baseball America updated its organizational farm system rankings after the MLB draft was all settled, and the Dodgers check in at No. 2 overall in the sport, behind only the Orioles.

That’s up from eighth in the preseason for the Dodgers, who also own the best record in the majors. BA praised the Dodgers star power — like top prospect Diego Cartaya, or Miguel Vargas who reached the majors this year, and pitchers like Bobby Miller and Gavin Stone who were both just promoted to Triple-A — coupled with the depth, noting “the lower levels of the Dodgers system are loaded with power pitchers, middle infielders with potent bats and power-hitting outfielders.”

On an individual basis, MLB Pipeline also updated their top-100 prospects list this week, with Cartaya now rated the ninth-best prospect in baseball (the catcher is also ranked ninth by Baseball America).

Among the biggest risers on MLB Pipeline’s list compared to the preseason were Vargas (from 94th to 44th) and Miller (No. 57 to No. 27).

Links

• Old friend Chase Utley is moving to England as MLB’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. Matt Breen at the Philadelphia Inquirer has more.
• Gabe Lacques at USA Today laments the loss of Games 163 with the advent of an expanded wild card round, with tiebreakers now used to determine playoff spots instead of an extra regular season game.
• Speaking of that expanded postseason — which begins on October 7 — Dan Szymborski at FanGraphs looked at what sort of effect the compressed playoff schedule might have on October.
• If MLB postseason logos are your bag, Chris Creamer at Sports Logos dot net has a look at this year’s set: