Dalton Rushing: Dodgers 2024 Minor League Player Of The Year
From the moment the Dodgers made Louisville catcher Dalton Rushing their top pick in the 2022 draft, they knew he did a lot of things right as a hitter.
“He can really control the zone,” Dodgers GM Brandon Gomes said. “His pitch recognition and swing decisions are incredibly strong. He can really impact the ball and he can cover different pitches and locations.”
But there were things Rushing needed to improve on. And after he hit just .228 at High-A Great Lakes last year—albeit with an .856 OPS and 15 home runs in 89 games—the Dodgers challenged him on that.
“Last year, he had a hole where you can beat him up (in the strike zone) with velocity,’” Gomes said. “It was really a calibration thing.
“We talked to him about it and showed him last year and said, ‘Get geared up for the fastball. You’re talented enough and can look over a baseball in a way that you can make the adjustment off the fastball rather than sitting soft and trying to adjust to the fastball.’ “
The results were apparent this season, which began at Double-A Tulsa and progressed to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Aug. 6. Overall, the lefthanded-hitting Rushing batted .271/.384/.512 with 26 home runs in 114 games.
“The things that we challenged him on this year—which was hitting velocity in the zone—he’s not only made strides in those areas, those have become actual strengths for him,” Gomes said.
“He’s covering real major league velocity. He’s handling lefthanded pitching really well also, so it doesn’t feel like this is a platoon bat. He has all the components that you look for when you’re projecting out a really good major league hitter “
The 23-year-old Rushing continued to hit even as he handled a position change at Triple-A, where he saw most of his time in left field. Gomes said the Dodgers still see him as “catcher first,” even after signing Will Smith to a 10-year extension in March.
“It’s always good to have options,” Gomes said. “I don’t think Dalton is a finished product by any means.
“So it’s continuing to watch him develop and see how he fits into the roster and whether he continues to perform very well or if there’s injuries—there’s a lot of different paths where he can contribute to our major league team.”
L.A. CONFIDENTIAL
— Low-A Rancho Cucamonga righthander Reynaldo Yean has been one of the hardest throwers in baseball this season. The reliever’s fastball was clocked at 104 mph in May. During a game in August, he got a ground out on a 105 mph fastball and struck out a batter at 103. Yean struck out 44 of the first 111 batters he faced but also walked 25 and hit four, leading to a 6.08 ERA after 23.2 innings.
— Acquired in a trade with the Cubs, 20-year-old lefthander Jackson Ferris finished his third pro season with a promotion to Double-A Tulsa, where he posted a 2.54 ERA in seven starts. Ferris led all Dodgers minor leaguers with 145 strikeouts in 126.2 innings for High-A Great Lakes and Tulsa.
