Keibert Ruiz was ranked the top Los Angeles Dodgers prospect for the 2021 season by Baseball America. Ruiz supplants Gavin Lux, who held the honor last year but has since graduated from prospect status.
After Ruiz, the Dodgers’ top 10 is rounded out by Josiah Gray (No. 2), Michael Busch, Kody Hoese, Bobby Miller, Diego Cartaya, Edwin Rios, Ryan Pepiot, Miguel Vargas and Andy Pages.
With the 2020 Minor League season being cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Ruiz was among those included in the Dodgers’ 60-man player pool. Most of his reps came at the club’s alternate site, but did make his MLB debut and enjoyed a brief stint with the Dodgers, collecting two hits in eight at-bats over two games.
In his last full Minor League season, Ruiz hit a combined .261/.331/.347 across 85 games between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City. He is a career .299/.351/.420 hitter in five Minor League seasons.
Like Ruiz, Gray was featured in the Dodgers’ player pool. Despite making a start against the L.A. Angels during the exhibition Freeway Series, he did not appear receive any looks during the regular season or playoffs.
Gray enjoyed a breakout 2019 season, going 11-2 with a 2.28 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings in 26 games between three Dodgers’ affiliates. He has jumped up various prospects rankings, placing first in the Dodgers organization on MLB Pipeline’s end of 2020 season update.
Busch, Hoese and Miller were each selected by the Dodgers in the first round of the past two drafts. Cartaya has been part of the organization since inking a contract at the start of the 2018 international signing period.
Rios has the most MLB experience of anyone in the top 10 rankings, appearing in 60 big league games over the past two seasons. He hit .250/.301/.645 with six doubles, eight home runs and 17 RBI last year, providing value off the bench as a pinch-hitter.
Pepiot, Vargas and Pages are early into their careers. The former was selected in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft while the latter two were international signings.
Minor League Spring Training reportedly could be delayed
It is looking likely that Minor League players (excluding Triple-A) may have to wait longer to join their respective teams this year due to coronavirus vaccines not being available to everyone.
Assuming this holds true, most of the Dodgers prospects in Baseball America’s top 10 rankings will have to endure another slow start to the upcoming season.
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