by Cary Osborne
Baseball’s №1 catching prospect, according to MLB Pipeline/MLB.com, has been called up to the Major Leagues.
Dalton Rushing, the Dodgers’ 2024 Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year, is a Dodger as of Wednesday. The Dodgers designated veteran catcher Austin Barnes for assignment to make room on the active and 40-man rosters.
Rushing was batting .308/.424/.514/.938 with five home runs and 11 extra-base hits in 31 games with Triple-A Oklahoma City this season. The №15 overall prospect and Dodgers’ top prospect, according to MLB.com, also appeared in nine games at first base this season.
Rushing’s 46 home runs over the last three Minor League seasons ranked tied for first among all Minor Leaguers whose primary position is catcher. His .888 OPS and .397 on-base percentage ranked second among primary catchers with at least 750 plate appearances from 2023–2025.
The 2022 second-round pick batted .271/.385/.512/.896 with OKC and Double-A Tulsa in 115 games last season.
Coming into the 2025 season, with the catching position set at the Major League level, Dodger Vice President of Player Development Will Rhymes said a major focus early on for Rushing at the Minor League level was finishing school — getting him ready for the big leagues.
“Since I’ve been here, it would be hard to be more convicted about somebody’s bat,” Rhymes said. “Just his plate discipline, how early sees it, how strong he is, how good his swing is. I mean, this is just a really exciting hitter.”
Now Rushing’s time has come.
Rushing makes it an all-University of Louisville backstop, joining fellow Cardinals alumnus Will Smith behind the plate.
The Dodgers promote top catching prospect Dalton Rushing was originally published in Dodger Insider on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.