by Megan Garcia
Roki Sasaki has been a part of the Dodgers’ organization and Major League Baseball for less than a week. Now the Japanese phenom is already the №1 prospect in baseball in two prominent rankings.
MLB.com/MLB Pipeline and Baseball America both have the 23-year-old right-handed pitcher atop their lists of top 100 prospects.
Both lists were released this week, with MLB.com/MLB Pipeline unveiling their rankings on Friday.
It was another positive in what has been an eventful past half-year that has included a World Series championship and big-name signings in the offseason — one being Sasaki who agreed to a Minor League contract on Wednesday after being posted by the Chiba Lotte Mariners of the Nippon Professional Baseball league.
The Dodgers landed the same six prospects on each list but in a different order.
Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects — Dodger rankings:
· RHP Roki Sasaki (№1)
· C Dalton Rushing (№30)
· SS Alex Freeland (№46)
· OF Josue De Paula (№47)
· OF Zyhir Hope (№51)
· LHP Jackson Ferris (№82)
MLB Pipeline Top 100 Prospects — Dodger rankings:
· RHP Roki Sasaki (№1)
· C Dalton Rushing (№30)
· OF Josue De Paula (№40)
· LHP Jackson Ferris (№ 71)
· SS Alex Freeland (№72 )
· OF Zyhir Hope (№75)
The Dodgers’ six top-100 prospects are tied for the second-most on Baseball America’s list with Tampa Bay behind Seattle’s seven. Seattle and the Chicago Cubs are the only teams with more top 100 prospects than the Dodgers on the MLB.com list.
Sasaki is the first Dodger prospect to be ranked №1 by both publications since Corey Seager in 2016.
Sasaki is the second consecutive right-hander to be named the top prospect in baseball. Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes was the 2024 №1 prospect and eventually won the National League Rookie of the Year after posting a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts with an 11.5 strikeout rate.
Sasaki pitched four seasons in the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization. He went 30–15 with a 2.02 ERA and 0.89 WHIP.
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As for Rushing, he elevated 20 spots from his 2024 ranking in Baseball America’s Top 100 list. The 23-year-old catcher was the 2024 Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year after he set career highs in home runs (26), RBI (85), runs (69), hits (114) and doubles (21). Rushing slashed .271/.385/.512/.896 between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Oklahoma City last year. He was the Dodgers’ top prospect last season.
Freeland ranked second among Dodger minor leaguers with 100 runs scored in 2024. Freeland set a career high with 18 homers and 74 RBI in 2024 and hit .260/.387/.442/.829.
De Paula, the Dodgers’ top outfield prospect, batted .268/.404/.405/.809 in 2024 with High-A Great Lakes and Single-A Rancho Cucamonga.
Hope made a big impression in his first season in the Dodger organization. He slashed .290/.419/.484/.903 in 61 games in 2024 at the Single-A and Rookie levels after he was traded to Los Angeles by the Cubs on Jan. 11, 2024, for Michael Busch.
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Ferris rounds out the prospect rankings for the young Dodger group. He was the Dodgers’ 2024 Branch Rickey Minor League Pitcher of the Year after he posted a 3.20 ERA with 145 strikeouts in 27 starts.
The left-hander was also part of the trade deal that sent Busch to Chicago.
Ferris started the season with High-A Great Lakes and made 20 starts with a 3.39 ERA and 119 strikeouts. He was promoted to Double-A Tulsa later in the season and posted a 2.54 ERA in seven starts.
Roki Sasaki named MLB’s №1 prospect, leading a pack of top talent for the Dodgers was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.