July 13th, 2018 at 12:00 pm 
by Ron Cervenka It’s no secret that Dodgers top pitching prospect Dustin May has been and continues to be the focal point of trade talks by interested teams as the July 31 trade deadline is rapidly approaching. It’s also no secret that Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman, general manager Farhan Zaidi, and the entire player development staff have made it abundantly clear that the popular 20-year-old Justin, Texas native and Dodgers 2016 third-round draft pick out of Northwest High School in his hometown is absolutely positively off the MLB trading block. In fact, his promotion from the Dodgers Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers is probably imminent.
Why all of the hype and hoopla over the 6′-6″ / 180-pound hard-throwing right-hander with the bright red flowing hair, you ask?
Check this out:
Through his first 13 starts with the Quakes, May went 5-3 with a 3.13 ERA; very respectable in the hitter-friendly California League.
…and then came Thursday night.
In his 14th start of the season against the Cal League South second place Lancaster JetHawks at LoanMart Field, May allowed three runs (two earned) on two hits, while walking one and striking out a career-high 12, to lead the first place Quakes to a dominating 8-4 win over their primary Cal League South rivals. In doing so, the Quakes are now 54-38 (.587) on the season and a remarkable 19-3 (.864) in the second half. And even though May did not figure in the decision on Thursday night, he lowered his ERA to 3.09 and now has 83 strikeouts on the season.
“Dustin was electric last night,” Quakes manager Drew Saylor told ThinkBlueLA. “He was able to get to both sides of the plate and his fastball was dominate. Hitters looked very uncomfortable in the box.
“He’s such a competitor and our team feeds off him,” Saylor added. “He sets the tone from the first pitch. It was a great outing for Dustin.”
As if he even needed to, 20-year-old Dustin May showed once again exactly why he is currently the Dodgers fourth-ranked pitching prospect (10th overall) and exactly why he is untouchable on the trading block.
(Photo credit – Chloe Melanson)
As Quakes fans know, Saylor’s team won the Cal League South first-half title, thereby guaranteeing themselves a berth in the postseason. Quakes fans also know that Saylor’s team just set a new franchise record by winning 15 consecutive games – a historic streak that finally came to an end on Wednesday night when they fell to those same JetHawks by a score of 6-2.
But having taken 3-of-4 from the just-concluded four-game series with Lancaster, and with their Dustin May-backed win on Thursday night, they have officially begun their run to break their new record.
One down, 15 to go.
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I tuned in to that game last night. May might have pitched his last game for Rancho because he was flat-out dominant in that one, especially after serving up that unfortunate 3-run HR to the opposing team early on. It was like he just kicked it into another gear after that! Definite ace mentality he’s showing this year. As for trading him, forget it. Only way the Dodgers move him in a deal is if Jacob deGrom is coming back in the exchange. Yeah, what are the odds of THAT happening??? Lol…
If Dustin May is so good, why wouldn’t a trade package centered around him bring back deGrom?
My biggest want at the trade deadline is an ACE. Realmuto would be nice, Machado would be nice, but I want more pitching. deGrom is controllable for two more years after this year and Syndergaard is controllable for three years after this year. The word is the Mets, if they are smart, will trade them. Let’s get it done.
“If Dustin May is so good, why wouldn’t a trade package centered around him bring back deGrom?”
Simple, deGrom has performed so well for the Mets this season that they might end up changing their original plan of flipping him for a huge haul and just extend him instead. Like I’ve already said before, the Mets will never get full value back in any deal for him right now because he’s been THAT good on the mound as of today and are better off holding on to him for the long term. So don’t be surprised if that front office scoffs at a trade package centered around a fast-rising pitching prospect like Dustin May for instance…
I agree with you, why would the Mets trade either deGrom or Syndergaard? They are the top two players on their team that I would want to rebuild around.
You are probably right that neither will be traded. Rarely do teams get “full-value” back when they dump their stars to rebuild, that’s why we want the Dodgers checking in.
The Mets probably just put feelers out there to see if anyone would completely blow them away with an offer, but deGrom or Syndergaard are exactly the kind of players (with their contracts and age) that I would make a big prospect depleting offer for.
May seems like a future ace, so I guess we’re not getting Machado!!! Unfortunately, you have to give up something of future quality, to get something of quality(Machado)!!! We need to upgrade the infield with either Machado or Scooter Gennett, would be acceptable!!!
The Dodgers do not currently have an untouchable prospect. The farm is so deep now that they can afford to give up top guys and really still be set. In addition May is not Seager or Buehler or Bellinger status yet where there is a high probability of success at the MLB level. I’m not saying he can’t reach that status but currently I believe Dustin May will not be the hangup in any blockbuster trade. Quite possibly in a different farm system he might be untouchable but the Dodgers farm is just so deep right now. He would not be missed anytime soon.
May could be included in a blockbuster, but not for a 2 month rental like Machado