Top Farm Batter
This season, Eduardo Quintero has been one of the standout players not only in the Dodgers system, but all around baseball. He’s pacing the Single-A level in multiple major categories: Quintero leads with a 174 wRC+, a .472 wOBA and a 1.027 OPS. All this offensive production has come alongside a staggering 33 stolen bases across 52 games.
#Dodgers No. 8 prospect Eduardo Quintero homered in back-to-back games during the series against San Jose.@USAFRecruiting #AimHigh pic.twitter.com/gCoCRiF4Kh
— Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (@RCQuakes) June 10, 2025
The sky seems to be the limit for the Venezuelan teenager. He’s continuing to play a good center field with a plus throwing arm, leaving Quintero with above-average or better tools all across the board. He’s currently looking up at a crowded Great Lakes outfield, but if the 19-year-old continues playing like this, he should get a taste of High-A before the end of the year.
Since at least 2006, there has not been a teenager in Single-A who produced better numbers than Quintero. He’s the only one to have a season with a wRC+ above 150 (Quintero’s clears this easily at 174) and 30 stolen bases (Quintero already has 33). With only two statistical hurdles to clear for the sake of this comparison, Quintero is enjoying a season better than anyone else has in decades.
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Top Farm Pitcher
Patrick Copen earned a promotion to Double-A after carving his way through the Midwest League. Through 10 starts with the Loons, the right-hander had a 39% strikeout rate and 2.25 ERA. His Tulsa debut still showed good signs as he struck out nine and four of the five runs he allowed were unearned.
Patrick Copen slider strikeout pic.twitter.com/WIBLJVHlYH
— Follow @bnicklaus7 (@burce_media) May 13, 2025
Copen has done a great job limiting hard contact this year, turning in a .135 average against. His only weak spot has been command, as the 23-year-old has a 16% walk rate on the year. That doesn’t change that it’s been a highly impressive season for Copen as he’s established himself as one of the top pitching prospects in the system.
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Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets
Ryan Ward is raking again for Oklahoma City. The defending PCL home run champion is leading the Dodgers system handily with 17 long balls this year. His 155 wRC+ and .435 wOBA are notable improvements from last season, and he’s boosted his walk rate while cutting down his strikeout rate as well. Ward still figures to be a tough fit for the Dodgers due to his limited defensive ability and versatility, but the 27-year-old’s bat is certainly making some noise.
#Dodgers OF/1B prospect Ryan Ward went OFF tonight for OKC:
• 5-for-5• 3 HR• 6 RBI
Ward, who lead the Pacific Coast League in homers last year, has 12 long balls and a .976 OPS this season pic.twitter.com/pNcJ7Vzdq3
— Bruce Kuntz (@Bnicklaus7) May 30, 2025
Alex Freeland has cooled off a bit since the beginning of May, batting only .212, but he has still illustrated why he has a high-floor profile. Even with that low batting average, Freeland has a .742 OPS in that span mostly thanks to a 19% walk rate. Freeland gets on base and his glove doesn’t slump, even if he may not be a perennial All-Star in the future.
Jose Rodriguez has had a funky season. His 8.31 ERA is flat-out hideous, but his peripherals tell a drastically different story. Between Double-A and Triple-A, the right-handed throwing swingman has a 34% strikeout rate, 10% walk rate and 3.90 xFIP. The problem arises when you notice his 2.77 HR/9 clip supported by an unsustainably large 31% HR/FB rate. Rodriguez allowed just three home runs total in 90 2/3 innings last season; he’s already at eight in 26 innings this year. Whatever is going on, Rodriguez should still be fixable, both with some adjustments to limit hard-hit fly balls and just some luck swinging his way.
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Double-A Tulsa Drillers
The jury is out on whether Peter Heubeck will be a reliever or a starter. But, for now, he’s starting, and he’s doing a pretty solid job. In his first Double-A action, the 22-year-old has a 30% strikeout rate, 11% walk rate and 3.46 FIP. As is often the case with talented young pitchers reaching the upper minor leagues, Heubeck has had a handful of excellent outings this year alongside some blow up starts.
Peter Heubeck 6IP 8K last week pic.twitter.com/BV8C8bGakd
— Soo-Min (@Min_6822) May 20, 2025
Jackson Ferris is in a similar boat to Heubeck in that he’s looked excellent at his best, but his worst starts have dragged down his numbers pretty far. Widely regarded as the best pitching prospect in the system, Ferris has a 5.73 ERA thus far in his 21-year-old season. The southpaw has really only had three starts that were a continuation of his quality performance from last year, while the remaining eight outings have lagged behind. It’s not time to jump ship; patience is key with the leap from High-A to Double-A.
Yeiner Fernandez is the Dodgers prospect version of Padres first baseman Luis Arraez. His .278/.366/.373 slash line with a strikeout rate just a hair south of 10% demonstrate his quality bat-to-ball skills. Fernandez has had the chance to regularly play catcher again after Tulsa’s backstop innings were clogged by Dalton Rushing and Diego Cartaya for much of 2024.
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High-A Great Lakes Loons
Mike Sirota is still raking. He’s going to be a top 100 prospect everywhere he isn’t already by the end of the year. The 21-year-old is leading full-season ball with his 190 wRC+ and 1.083 OPS. He may soon be ready for Double-A already. The Dodgers struck gold with his acquisition.
RBI TRIPLE MIKE SIROTA pic.twitter.com/xTIQhHnGVJ
— Great Lakes Loons (@greatlakesloons) June 12, 2025
Payton Martin may have gotten himself back on track. Since returning from a rehab stint in the Arizona Complex League, the 21-year-old right-hander has posted a 2.51 ERA in three starts. Martin has been searching for the quality of stuff and results he had in 2023.
Another Great Lakes arm that is looking much better is Eriq Swan, who twirled the first six innings of a combined no-hitter on June 5. The 23-year-old fireballer backed up that performance with eight strikeouts across six one-run innings last time out. Command and health are the two obstacles for Swan to overcome and let his high-quality stuff provide results.
Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope are also still producing well. They each have a 151 wRC+, tied for seventh best in the Midwest League. De Paula has walked more than he’s struck out and Hope is batting .300. It truly is a remarkable group with De Paula, Hope and Sirota seemingly on track to move through the rest of the system together (or at least closely).
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Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
Ryan Brown was drafted mid-Tommy John rehab in 2023. He missed all of last year and has pitched exclusively in relief so far this season, where he has been excellent. The 22-year-old’s 45% strikeout rate feels like a typo but is fourth best among all minor league pitchers with at least 20 innings. He has a ridiculously good double-plus changeup and a mid-90s fastball that could put him on the map as a relief weapon.
Ryan Brown faced 7 batters & struck out 5, which, if you’ve followed him, should come as no surprise. Dude strikes out everything he sees with his Vulcan Change and good fastball.
His ERA is down to 1.17, his average against is just .113, and he’s only allowed 1 run in his last… pic.twitter.com/Oq7TK1mRZz
— Dodgers Daily (@dodger_daily) May 17, 2025
Samuel Munoz has rebounded from his struggles last year to put up a quality campaign so far in 2025. The 20-year-old has boosted his wRC+ nearly 50 points, going from a 74 wRC+ clip last season to a 1212 wRC+ through 53 games this year. Munoz walks quite a bit and while hope to continuing adding strength so his bat can fit a corner outfield spot.
Kellon Lindsey has spent nearly a month on the injured list now, although the Dodgers’ 2024 first-rounder was sent on a rehab assignment to Arizona last week. He has yet to appear in a game in the complex, but you’d imagine the rehab assignment signals he’s somewhat close to a return. In the first month and a half of the season for the Quakes, the teenage shortstop posted a 125 wRC+ with 10 stolen bases, but he did struggle with a 32% strikeout rate.
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Rookie Ball
Ching-Hsien Ko is pacing the Arizona Complex League with a 196 wRC+ through 28 games. He’s somewhat ridiculously hitting .421 with a .494 BABIP, which may not be sustainable, but that’s not his fault. A 14% walk rate, 15% strikeout rate and .200 ISO are all encouraging numbers as well. The 18-year-old was signed just over a year ago out of Taiwan and looks to be another gem outfield prospect for LA.
Brendan Tunink has found success as well, posting a 144 wRC+ with a .291/.402/.553 slash line. The 18-year-old outfielder was drafted in the seventh round out of high school in Illinois last year. Tunink is highly athletic and could grow into some serious raw power as he gets older.
Emil Morales hasn’t lit the ACL on fire quite like he did the DSL last year. Through 28 games, the 18-year-old shortstop has a .241/.317/.420 slash line. His 10% walk rate and 31% strikeout rate are both worse than last year and signal some adjustments to be made.
One more newer name to keep an eye on: Right-hander Marlon Nieves has showed off some impressive stuff so far in Arizona.
