Dodgers' Dalton Rushing: Set to be promoted to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Dodgers will promote Rushing from Double-A Tulsa to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Monday, Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reports.
Rushing will make the leap to Triple-A after producing a .270 average with 17 home runs, 59 RBI and 44 runs scored over 324 plate appearances in 77 games with Tulsa this season. The 23-year-old operates mostly as a catcher, but he has gotten four starts in left field recently, opening up another avenue for playing time if the Dodgers call him up later on this season.
Dodgers' Dalton Rushing: Clear improvements this year
Rotowire
Rushing is slashing .261/.376/.473 with 10 home runs in 56 games for Double-A Tulsa.
Rushing has improved many of his metrics from his time last year at High-A, cutting his groundball rate from 40.1 percent to 31.8 percent while also cutting his strikeout rate from 24.4 percent to 21 percent. His walk rates have always been high, but it's encouraging to see him putting more balls in play this season while also optimizing his batted-ball profile. Additionally, his hard-hit rate is up from 25.1 percent last year to an elite 34.7 percent this season. The biggest knock on Rushing for dynasty leagues is that Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani are locked up at catcher and designated hitter long term.
Rushing (head) was back in action for High-A Great Lakes on Friday after missing time due to a head injury. He went 0-for-3 with a pair of walks and a run.
Rushing missed 10 days after getting hit on the head by a backswing in a game June 13. He was the Loons' designated hitter in his return and wasn't in the starting lineup Saturday, so the organization may be taking a cautious approach by easing the catching prospect back into action. Rushing has looked good in his first stint at the High-A level, slashing .260/.435/.494 with seven homers, 32 RBI. a stolen base and a 21.4 percent walk rate over 207 plate appearances.
... See More... See Less
Dodgers' Dalton Rushing: Sidelined at High-A
Rotowire
High-A Great Lakes placed Rushing on its 7-day injured list Wednesday with an apparent head injury, Bruce Kuntz of TheSportingTribune.com reports.
Rushing was hit in the head by a backswing Tuesday, and while he was able to stay in the game initially, the catching prospect was removed after he stumbled while making a catch later that inning. Though a diagnosis of his injury hasn't been provided, the backstop is presumably following the concussion protocol and will likely be sidelined for at least a week. Rushing is viewed as one of the best catching prospects in baseball, and he's put up a .939 OPS for Great Lakes over 202 plate appearances this season.
Dodgers' Dalton Rushing: On-base machine for Loons
Rotowire
Rushing has the highest OBP (.427) and highest wRC+ (169) of qualified Midwest League hitters who are 22 or younger.
Rushing is a little old to still be at High-A, and he has been putting up monster numbers for the Great Lakes Loons as a result. He has a .257/.427/.507 slash line with seven home runs, a 24.3 percent strikeout rate and a 20 percent walk rate. Rushing has made 21 starts at catcher, 11 starts at designated hitter and seven starts at first base, which is an accurate representation of how he is likely to be deployed in the majors in a year or two.
