June 8th, 2021 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka His name is Diego Cartaya, and if you are a baseball fan – more specifically, a Dodger fan – it would behoove you to remember his name.
Cartaya is a 19-year-old right-handed hitting and throwing catcher who was signed by the Dodgers as a free agent on July 2, 2018 – as a 16-year-old.
In 2019 – at 17 – the Maracay, Venezuela native appeared in 49 games in the Dominican Summer League, where he posted a slash line of .281 / .343 / .432 / .775 with 12 doubles, two triples, four home runs, and 22 RBI. He then appeared in 36 games with the Arizona Rookie League Dodgers (also in 2019), where he slashed .296 / .353 / .437 / .790 with 10 doubles, three home runs, and 13 RBI. Because of the pandemic, he spent all of 2020 at the Dodgers alternate training site at USC.
And then came 2021.
When the 2021 minor league season began, Cartaya was assigned to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the newly realigned (and renamed) Low-A West League (formerly the California League), where he is absolutely positively tearing it up. Heading into play on Tuesday evening, Cartaya is 13-for-31 with three doubles, five home runs and 11 RBI for an alien-like .419 / .486 / .1.000 / 1.486 slash line. He has also scored 13 runs in the eight games he has appeared in with the popular Dodgers minor league affiliate located at LoanMart Field in Rancho Cucamonga a short 48 miles due east of Dodger Stadium.
(Photo credit – Tim Rogers)
“I’ve played with these players before at (instruction league) and also in Arizona with many of these players,” Cartaya told Steven Douglas of Hot Stove Baseball Talk and Dodgers Tailgate through an interpreter during a recent exclusive interview. “The majority of these players are Latino, so I’ve acclimated myself better with the team since I’ve played with them before. And yes, I’m batting strong, I’m hitting well, and I’m getting good pitches, so that’s awesome.
“One of my strengths is my ability to throw the ball to the different bases, whether it’s first, second, third, just a very strong throw to either one of those bases to get the man out,” Cartaya said of his catching skills. “That’s my strength and something that I’m going to continue to work on. And how to call specific pitches according to the pitching count. So that’s something I’m going to continue to work on to develop and strengthen as I continue my career with the Dodgers.”
Although stranger things have happened, in all likelihood and with Dodgers top-ranked prospect Keibert Ruiz – also a catcher – currently at Triple-A Oklahoma City and currently on the Dodgers 40-man roster, the chances of Cartaya seeing action with the Dodgers anytime soon is a bit of a reach – especially at 19-years old. However, that ‘stranger things have happened’ thing might include an injury to current Dodger catchers Austin Barnes or Will Smith. As Dodger fans know, Barnes suffered a mild ankle sprain during Saturday’s 6-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. And though all indications are that Barnes will avoid the IL, Cartaya could be but two injuries away from making his MLB debut … regardless of his age.
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With catchers Smith, Barnes, Ruiz, Federowicz, Berman, Taylor, Todd, and Feduccia in the organization I don’t see any chance that the Dodgers would put Cartaya on the 40-man roster any sooner than the Fall of 2022.
I respectfully disagree, Bum, not about the 2022 thing, but the list of other catchers in the system you mentioned (besides Barnes and Smith).
I think Barnes is gone at the end of this season (or sooner), and the rest of the guys you mentioned are basically professional minor league catchers and/or bullpen catchers at best (which every organization absolutely needs).
With Cartaya drawing comparisons to Yadier Molina, and if he continues to mash the ball as he has been, I see him leapfrogging (almost) all of the guys you mentioned, and relatively quickly.
Next to a stable of great aspiring young and talented pitchers, I see having two or three excellent catchers as key pieces of any successful major league organization.
Yep, we disagree.
If Barnes and Smith are both lost for the 2021 season then the Dodgers will go with Keibert Ruiz and Tim Federowicz. If something should happen to one of those catchers then I believe the team would turn to its best defensive minor league catcher, Stevie Berman. I believe Feduccia, or Todd would also be used rather than rushing a teenager, who has less than 50 plate appearances in Low A, into a pennant race.
I also disagree with you, SoCalBum. I doubt they would use Tim Federowicz-looking at his numbers, he has never been very good, and even his defense is questionable. He will never play another game in Dodger Blue, regardless of injuries. Stevie Berman would only replace Austin Barnes, not Will Smith, because of his defense and offensive numbers. If Smith goes down, you would likely see Keibert Ruiz come up and replace him. Cartaya is already the #6 prospect in our system, and he’ll be a top 100 prospect in MLB as of next year. Out of all 3, I’d go as far to say Cartaya has the brightest future of all 3-Smith has been good, but his defense has made it clear he’s a platoon catcher, no matter how good he is offensively. I’m calling it now-Austin Barnes will leave once his contract is up after 2022, and come 2023(Ruiz will likely be traded sometime later this year or next),Cartaya will be our starting catcher-Will Smith will likely platoon at C with Cartaya and 3rd with Hoese after Turner’s contract ends(also next year).
No matter what, a 19yr old catcher with less than 100 pro games under his belt will not make this roster no matter what. If for no other reason they will protect his service time.