Dodgers sign top draft pick Dalton Rushing

The Dodgers signed catcher Dalton Rushing, their second-round pick of the 2022 MLB Draft, per Jim Callis of MLB.com.

Rushing was taken with the 40th overall pick, which technically made him a second-round selection. He was the Dodgers’ first selection of the 2022 draft.

The team has not yet announced Rushing’s signing.

“I knew as soon as I got that call, it’s a great fit,” Rushing said on July 17. “Louisville players do great in the Dodgers organization, and I’m excited to get going.”

Rushing hit .310/.470/.686 with 23 home runs and 16 doubles in 64 games as a junior for Louisville this season. Thirty-six of those games were behind the plate, compared to just 13 games caught in his first two years in college, when he was behind on the depth chart to starter Henry Davis, who was drafted first overall by the Pirates in 2021.

In addition to catcher, Rushing saw time at first base, and even played some games in the corner outfield while at Louisville. But the Dodgers plan to use Rushing primarily behind the plate.

“The left-handed, power-hitting catcher is an old scouting cliché, but I do think it holds true,” Dodgers vice president of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino said on the first night of the draft.

Baseball America’s scouting report on Rushing said, “While Rushing’s offensive performance certainly improved his stock, what really pushed him into top-two round territory was his defensive play later in the season behind the plate.”

The No. 40 overall pick has a recommended slot value of $1,951,800. Rushing signed for a bonus of $1,959,390, per Callis.

With Rushing in the fold, the Dodgers have reached agreement with 15 of their 19 draft picks. We’ve been tracking each signing as they’ve been reported, and you can check LA’s draft at both MLB Pipeline and Baseball America.

With the reported signing bonuses, the Dodgers are $126,310 below their allotted bonus pool, which is just over $4.2 million. Given that teams can spend up to five percent over the pool without losing a draft pick, and that the Dodgers have done that in every year under this format, one might expect some of that extra money will be funneled to at least one of the four remaining unsigned picks, if not two or more.

Anyone drafted in the 11th round or later, plus all undrafted players, can sign for up to a $125,000 bonus without having that bonus count toward the pool. The five-percent overage allowance basically means the Dodgers have roughly $337,499 to add to any of the remaining bonuses.

The unsigned players include three high school shortstops:

• Kyle Nevin, 11th-round outfielder out of Baylor who transferred to Oklahoma
• Nicolas Perez, 15th-round shortstop out of B-You Academy in Puerto Rico
• Cameron Decker, 18th-round shortstop out of Evansville North High School (IN)
• Carter McCulley, 20th-round shortstop out of Pensacola Catholic High School (FL)

Callis reported that all but McCulley have signed as well.

The deadline to sign draft picks is Monday, August 1.