Quite simply, there is nothing better than watching the game of baseball when played at the highest level by amazing athletes who possess the combination of skills and abilities not required in any other sport. Unfortunately, baseball fanatics had to wait almost nine months after the last out of the 2019 World Series to watch the next competitive MLB game.

Was the game worth the wait? Not really. The wait was interminable and made worse with the months of public bickering between MLB and the Players Association, but there wasn’t really an option, considering the worldwide pandemic. Even though it is terrific to watch Mookie Betts, Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, and the other players wearing Dodgers Blue play meaningful games, there is a void in professional baseball for those fans who closely follow the development of the next generation of players – the absence of Minor League Baseball.

For many MLB teams, following the progress of players through their minor league systems is about as interesting as watching reruns of a bad “B’ movie. Not so with the Dodgers, who have a depth of prospect talent unsurpassed in the sport. On most days during a regular season, Dodgers fans could also follow multiple prospects playing with one of the franchise’s nine minor league teams:

• Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers
• Double-A Tulsa Drillers
• High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
• Low-A Great Lakes Loons
• Rookie League Ogden Raptors
• two Arizona Rookie teams
• two Dominican Summer League teams

Many of the prospects’ names are well known to Dodgers fans, including six who are included in Baseball America’s top 100 and currently on the team’s 60-man player pool: middle infielder Gavin Lux (no. 4), pitcher Dustin May (22), pitcher Brusdar Graterol (65), catcher Keibert Ruiz (89), pitcher Tony Gonsolin (90), and pitcher Josiah Gray (92). Others who may not have the notoriety of these six but who are exceptional prospects in their own right: catcher Diego Cartaya, infielders Jacob Amaya, Michael Busch, Kody Hoese, Devin Mann, pitchers Bobby Miller, Edwin Uceta, Ryan Pepiot, and outfielders Andy Pages, DJ Peters, and Luis Rodriguez, to name but a few.

When might Dodgers’ prospects next have an opportunity to play organized games? There have been rumors that MLB is considering an expansion of Arizona and Florida Fall Leagues in 2020. Of course, any Fall League expansion will be dependent on the pandemic in the respective states.

Dodger fans can continue to look forward to watching the development of the franchise’s many talented young prospects for many years to come.

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