Los Angeles Dodgers Prospects: 2024 Midseason Top 30 Update

Notable Risers 

Alex Freeland, SS

Freeland showed hints of his potential in 2023 before truly bursting onto the scene this season. The 22-year-old Central Florida alum was taken in the third round of the 2022 draft and has bullied his way from High-A to Double-A without skipping a beat. The switch-hitter earned high marks from scouts both internally and externally and showed standout tools across the board both in the batter’s box and on defense. 

Eduardo Quintero, OF

Quintero is one of the stars of the Dodgers’ club in the Arizona Complex League, which has served as an extension of the dominant season the team’s prospects put forth in the Dominican Summer League in 2023. Quintero, 18, is a well-rounded player with gifts on both sides of the ball and has the upside of a center fielder who can hit toward the top of a lineup. 

Edgardo Henriquez, RHP

Henriquez re-emerged this season after recovering from Tommy John surgery and has been one of the most dominant relievers in the minor leagues. The 22-year-old can overpower hitters with his combination of four-seam and cut fastballs, as well as a dastardly slider. He’s moved from Low-A to Double-A in just two months and was one of the stars of the team’s Spring Breakout game in March.  

Notable Fallers

Maddux Bruns, LHP

Bruns has long teased with excellent stuff from the left side but needed to re-work his delivery this spring and did not make his debut with an affiliate until April 27. The 22-year-old went on the injured list on May 28 with a balky back and has not pitched since. 

Ronan Kopp, LHP

Kopp’s stuff was notably depressed in spring training and he has struggled mightily to throw strikes. As of June 30, the 21-year-old had walked 26 hitters across 20.2 innings in a relief-only role at Double-A Tulsa.

Notable New Additions

15. Alexander Albertus, 3B

BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme

Track Record: The Dodgers signed Albertus out of Aruba in 2022, then watched as he performed well in both the Dominican Summer and Arizona Complex leagues over the following two seasons. He kick-started his 2024 season with a rousing return to the ACL, then received his first promotion to full-season ball on June 25.

Scouting Report: Grouped with Eduardo Quintero and Joendry Vargas, Albertus has the lowest ceiling but highest floor. He’s an above-average hitter thanks to a quick swing that keeps the barrel in the zone a long time, and he also has the potential for average power. The 20-year-old has mostly settled in at third base, but it’s not a lock he sticks there. Internal evaluators also see second or first base as possibilities. He has the arm necessary for third base, but his lack of quickness and range might push him to the right side of the infield.

The Future: Albertus will now be tested against more advanced pitching as he moves through the minors. He has the potential to be an offensive-minded infielder whose bat will get him regular playing time at multiple positions.

Scouting Grades: Hitting: 50 | Power: 50 | Speed: 40 | Fielding: 45 | Arm: 55

22. Hyun-Seok Jang, RHP

BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme

Track Record: Last summer, the Dodgers dealt complex-league pitchers Aldrin Batista and Maximo Martinez to the White Sox in exchange for international slot money. They used the extra cash to sign Jang, who had been expected to be the top pick in the Korean Baseball Organization’s forthcoming draft. Jang debuted this season in the Arizona Complex League where he showed flashes of hellacious stuff that was otherwise muted by scattershot command and a delivery that tended to get off-kilter.

Scouting Report: When he’s on, Jang can be unhittable. He owns an upper-90s fastball, a mid-80s sweeping slider, a changeup that falls off the table and a true top-down curveball that can be used as a strike-stealer. If everything is working, hitters have no chance. To reach that level more often, he’ll need to tighten up a delivery that can easily get out of whack and lead to strikes that are either low in quality or low in volume. Some evaluators believe he has a tendency to overthrow and hunt for whiffs instead of letting his pure stuff help them come naturally.

The Future: The Dodgers paid $900,000 for Jang’s services, and his ceiling is high enough to back up that outlay. Without more smoothness and consistency in his delivery, however, he has serious reliever risk.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 40

23. Eriq Swan, RHP

BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme

Track Record: Swan was selected with the Dodgers’ supplemental fourth-round pick in 2023 out of Middle Tennessee State, where he struggled to match production with his stuff. He didn’t pitch in an official game after signing, then made one start at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga before landing on the injured list with a strained left oblique. After three rehab appearances in June, Swan returned to Low-A on June 25.

Scouting Report: Swan works with a three-pitch mix that is headed by a fastball parked in the mid-to-upper 90s with average life. He backs it with a horizontal-breaking slider that scouts pegged as below-average during his amateur days despite its ability to generate whiffs in bunches. He also features a changeup that usually sits in the upper 80s. His control at Middle Tennessee State was well below-average, and he walked 5.6 hitters per nine innings before turning pro.

The Future: Swan has the size and athleticism to one day turn his raw stuff into a very interesting finished product. It might take a long way to get there, but the Dodgers have a strong history of getting the best out of their pitching prospects. 

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 55 | Curveball: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 40

28. Patrick Copen, RHP

BA Grade/Risk: 45/High

Track Record: The Dodgers popped Copen in the seventh round of the 2023 draft out of Marshall and signed him for $225,000. He got his feet wet as a pro with 4.1 innings split between the Arizona Complex League and Low-A. He returned to the latter level to begin 2024 and advanced to High-A on June 25.

Scouting Report: Copen is a massive, physical righthander with high-octane stuff that needs to be reigned in but could ultimately lead to a very high ceiling. He throws three fastballs—a four-seamer, a cutter and a sinker—and backs them up with a sweeper slider and a fringe-average curveball. He’s still learning how to best deploy his arsenal and will have to work to keep his big body in sync to throw quality strikes more often. 

The Future: If everything breaks right, Copen has a chance to fit in a rotation. Most scouts believe his future lies in the pen, where his stuff won’t need to be as fine and he can blow hitters away with velocity that will likely often land in the triple-digits. 

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 60 | Slider: 60 | Curveball: 45 | Cutter: 55 | Control: 40

29. Chris Newell, OF

BA Grade/Risk: 40/High

Track Record: An unsigned 37th-round pick of the Cardinals in high school, Newell flashed huge tools but struggled to translate them into consistent production at Virginia. He posted a .952 OPS for Harwich in the Cape Cod League after his junior season, leading the Dodgers to draft him in the 13th round and sign him for an above-slot $147,500. Newell underwent a swing change with the Dodgers and got off to a loud start at Low-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2023, but his production fell off after a promotion to High-A Great Lakes. He battled elbow problems late in the year and had season-ending surgery to remove a bone chip.

Scouting Report: Newell is a strong, athletic lefthanded hitter, who knows the strike zone and crushes balls when he connects. He has plus-plus raw power and sends towering home runs out to all fields. He routinely posts exit velocities over 100 mph. Newell takes big, aggressive cuts and swings and misses in the strike zone alarmingly often, especially against elevated fastballs. He projects to be a well below- average hitter reliant on getting to his power. Newell is a fringy runner, but he runs clean routes and is playable in center field. He’s a technically sound defender with an above-average arm and can play all three outfield spots. Newell has shown off both his power and speed in 2024, with 20 home runs and 19 stolen bases through 77 games at High-A Great Lakes, but he was also striking out 33.6% of the time.

The Future: Newell has a chance to be a backup outfielder who provides power from the left side. He’ll try to prove he can hit higher-level pitching in 2024.

Scouting Grades: Hitting: 30 | Power: 50 | Speed: 45 | Fielding: 50 | Arm: 55

Significant Injuries

Zyhir Hope, OF

After a strong start, Hope suffered a stress fracture in his rib and was placed on the injured list on April 30. Nonetheless, the Dodgers were enthused by early returns from Hope, who was one of two prospects they acquired from the Cubs in the deal that sent Michael Busch to Chicago. Outside scouts also were effusive in their praise of Hope, who now ranks in the top 10 of the Dodgers’ system. 

Nick Frasso, LHP

The lefthander had surgery over the offseason to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. He is slated to miss the entire 2024 season.