Gauthier was promoted from Double-A Tulsa to Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Eric Stephen of SBNation.com reports.
This ends up being a 25th birthday present for Gauthier, who has surprisingly played 21 of 24 games this year at shortstop. Most scouting reports have Gauthier pegged as a Zach McKinstry type who can play all over but fits best at second base. The most impressive aspect of Gauthier's profile is his batting eye, as he walked more than he struck out at Double-A in 2024 and 2023, as well as during his 2023 stint at High-A and his 2022 stint at Single-A. Gauthier slashed .280/.445/.488 with four home runs and two steals in 110 plate appearances prior to his promotion, but given that he was several years older than most of the best pitching prospects at Double-A, it's hard to fully buy into that level of production carrying over at Triple-A.
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Dodgers' Austin Gauthier: Ready for spring opener
Rotowire
Gauthier is listed as an available bench player Thursday in the Dodgers' Cactus League opener versus the Padres, Juan Toribio of MLB.com reports.
Gauthier didn't appear in any minor-league games after Sept. 14 last season due to a broken pinkie finger, but he arrived at spring training with no restrictions and is attending Dodgers camp as a non-roster invitee. The 24-year-old isn't a serious candidate for the Dodgers' Opening Day roster and is likely to be assigned to Double-A Tulsa or Triple-A Oklahoma City to begin the 2024 campaign. After a mid-season promotion from High-A Great Lakes, Gauthier slashed .293/.411/.433 with six home runs and 15 stolen bases in 392 plate appearances for Tulsa last year before being shut down with the finger injury.
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Dodgers' Austin Gauthier: Breakout season ends with injury
Rotowire
Gauthier suffered a broken pinky finger Sept. 14 and missed the last few games of Double-A Tulsa's season, according to Dodgers Daily.
It's unclear if Gauthier will be able to get healthy in time to be an option for the Arizona Fall League, but he already had a breakout season. He saw over 15 starts at third base, shortstop, second base and left field this season while slashing .316/.435/.476 with 12 home runs, 19 steals and more walks (100) than strikeouts (84) in 124 games across High-A and Double-A. Gauthier's age (24) and fringe-average game power (24.9 percent hard-hit rate) are the two main knocks on him, but his impressive hit tool, swing decisions and defensive versatility should get him to the big leagues.
