Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Dalton Rushing was promoted to High-A Great Lakes and will be with the Loons as they open the Midwest League playoffs on Tuesday.
Great Lakes had their regular season finale rained out and finished the year 76-55. The Loons went 40-26 to finish in first place of the Midwest League East division during the first half but overall came in one game behind Lake County (Cleveland Guardians) in the standings.
Rushing was selected by the Dodgers with their first pick of the 2022 MLB Draft at No. 40 overall, which was made in the second round. The catcher out of Louisville began his professional career with the Arizona Complex League but only played in two games before getting promoted to the Quakes.
While with Rancho Cucamonga, Rushing hit .424/.539/.778 with 11 doubles, eight home runs, 30 RBI, a .564 wOBA and 225 wRC+ over 28 games.
Rushing earned California League Player of the Week honors for Aug. 22-28, hitting .522 with one home run, seven RBI and 20 total bases during that span.
Now on the Loons roster, the 21-year-old joins fellow Dodgers catching prospect Diego Cartaya. He began the season with the Quakes before getting promoted to High-A in early June.
The Dodgers signed Rushing to a $1,959,390 bonus that was above the slot value of $1,951,900.
Dodgers confident Dalton Rushing can stick at catcher
While in college, Rushing made starts at first base, left field and right field in addition to catcher. There were some questions over his viability of remaining behind the plate heading into the Draft, but the Dodgers don’t harbor such concern.
“I do think his athleticism is a little underappreciated, so whether there’s multiple positions down the road, sure,” Dodgers vice president of amateur scouting Billy Gasparino said.
“But we believe strongly in that catching outcome. I think most of the industry had doubts. He only caught like two days a week, and I think some of the sporadic playing time back there clouded that he’s a talented catcher.”
Are you following Dodger Blue on Instagram? It’s the best way to see exclusive coverage from games and events, get your questions answered, and more!
