Gavin Lux was ranked the top Los Angeles Dodgers prospect for the 2020 season by Baseball America. Lux supplants Keibert Ruiz, who held the honor heading into 2019 but has slipped to third this year.
Sandwiched between the two is Dustin May, who like Lux, made his MLB debut last season. The Dodgers’ top 10 prospects list is rounded out by Tony Gonsolin (No. 4), Josiah Gray, Jeter, Downs, Diego Cartaya, Kody Hoese, Michael Busch and Luis Rodriguez.
The honor is hardly a surprise for Lux, who previously was named the 2019 Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America. He began the 2019 campaign with Double-A Tulsa, hitting .313/.375/.521 with seven doubles, four triples, 13 home runs and 37 RBI in 64 games.
Lux was among the affiliate’s eight players named to the Texas League All-Star Game, which the Drillers hosted. He earned a promotion to Triple-A Oklahoma City shortly after and continued to shine.
Lux hit safely in his first 16 Triple-A games, which also included a stretch of at least one home run in five consecutive contests. When including combined time with the Drillers and Oklahoma City, Lux had a 50-game on-base streak from early June to the middle of August.
Overall with OKC, he batted .392/.478/.719 with 18 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs and 39 RBI in 49 games. Lux finished his Minor League season ranked fourth in batting average (.347), 10th in on-base percentage (.421), sixth in slugging (.607) and fourth in on-base plus slugging (1.028).
He had bright moments with the Dodgers as well and earned a spot on their postseason roster for the National League Division Series.
At 21 years and 314 days old, Lux became the second-youngest player in MLB history to hit a homer in his first postseason plate appearance, the youngest in Dodgers franchise history to slug one in the postseason, and their first to leave the yard in his first at-bat in the playoffs.
May navigated a path similar to that of Lux, also beginning the 2019 season with the Drillers before joining Oklahoma City and eventually making his MLB debut. May’s time with the Dodgers included pitching in relief, but he’s a candidate to complete their rotation in 2020.
Ruiz was with the Drillers into the middle of July but a broken finger ended his season after appearing in just nine games for OKC.
Gonsolin was one of the eight rookies who made his MLB debut last season. The Dodgers named Gonsolin the organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2018.
Gray joined the Dodgers last year via trade with the Cincinnati Reds and proceeded to impress at every level: Low-A Great Lakes, High-A Rancho Cucamonga and Tulsa. Downs was also part of the trade, and he spent time with the Quakes and Drillers.
Just 18 years old, Cartaya has quickly made a name for himself since signing with the Dodgers out of Venezuela. His trajectory has fueled speculation the Dodgers could be moved to trade Ruiz.
Hoese and Busch are early into their careers as selections from the 2019 MLB Draft. Rodriguez, an outfielder, was signed by the Dodgers on the first day of the 2019-20 international signing period. He projects as a plus-hitter with potential plus-power.
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