Since signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in 2018, Diego Cartaya has emerged as one of the best catching prospects in all of baseball.
The 20-year-old was ranked the No. 37 overall prospect by FanGraphs, and named by Baseball America as the Dodgers’ best Minor League player heading into the 2022 season.
Cartaya began his professional journey with a successful showing for the organization’s Rookie-level affiliate in 2019, and followed up by hitting .298/.409/.614 in 31 games for Low-A Rancho Cucamonga last year.
Dodgers director of player development Will Rhymes believes Cartaya has the makings of a great two-way catcher, citing his talent and personality, via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic:
“I mean, we’ll see over the next few years how difficult it is to continue that progress, but as of now, he’s on a great track on both sides. He’s good at it naturally. His personality is good for a catcher in that he’s kind of magnetic. People want to be around him. That’s a good place to start and it gains the trust of the pitchers quickly. His intuitive game-calling is good, receiving is good. He throws well, likes to back-pick. He’s an active catcher. So I mean, it’s kind of how you would draw it up.”
Cartaya began the season with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga, where he played in 33 games before earning a promotion to High-A Great Lakes. Overall he batted a combined .254/.389/.503 with 22 doubles, 22 home runs and 72 RBI.
The 21-year-old participated in the All-Star Futures Game at Dodger Stadium and was named the 2022 Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year by the Dodgers.
Diego Cartaya learned to navigate ‘ups and downs’
Cartaya’s excellent showing with the Quakes last season was all the more impressive when considering he couldn’t play in 2020 due to the Minor League Baseball season being canceled.
Cartaya still was able to continue his development at the Dodgers’ alternate training site and credited some of the organization’s older prospects for helping him learn how to deal with adversity.
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