Dodgers: Latest prospect update sees multiple Dodgers climb the ranks

Alex Verdugo went from a talented prospect with a lot of upside to be one of the most elite prospects in all of baseball. With this jump in the rankings, Verdugo cracked the top ten prospects list at nine, a list that he was not a part of before. Easily already years beyond his age, Verdugo is definitely big league ready and it is questionable why he is not up yet.

Well, the reason he is not up yet is likely Joc Pederson. The Dodgers already have a left-handed hitting center fielder and don’t need another. Although you can argue Verdugo is already a better hitter than Pederson, the team is not going to shift their roster as it has been successful. With Chris Taylor and Yasiel Puig playing good, it becomes more complicated.

Yet still, you can’t help but think that Verdugo would be the perfect lead off guy for the Dodgers. He has decent speed, but most importantly, he squares the ball up and puts it into the gap. Verdugo is batting .332 in AAA this season 47 RBIs and 57 runs scored.

In fact, Verdugo strikes out in less than 10% of his plate appearances. Owning a .407 on-base percentage shows that he has a knack for getting on base, something the Dodgers would benefit from greatly in the postseason. Taylor has been great, yes, but I would want him in a run producing role.

Oh, did I mention that Verdugo is also an above average fielder and has one of the best arms in the minors? The kid can seemingly do it all and arguably should be ranked much higher than 28.