The Dodgers’ corner outfield production has become hard to ignore, and the numbers tell the story. Among major league outfielders with at least 200 plate appearances entering Friday, Teoscar Hernández and Kyle Tucker were sitting near the bottom of the FanGraphs WAR leaderboard - Hernández at 87th and Tucker at 94th. Hernández was hitting .250/.313/.401 with a 97 wRC+ and 0.4 fWAR, while Tucker was at .232/.327/.368 with a 95 wRC+ and 0.3 fWAR.
That kind of output makes the idea of turning to one of the organization’s minor league outfielders feel increasingly practical. The Dodgers have several productive options in the system, and the conversation this week has centered on whether one of them should get the call.
Dustin Nosler of Dodgers Digest made the case for 21-year-old Josue De Paula, the club’s top prospect, getting promoted straight from Double-A Tulsa. On the Baseball America Hot Sheet podcast, Geoff Pontes said De Paula is still raw, but noted that his looming addition to the 40-man roster this November to keep him out of the Rule 5 Draft means a call-up now would not really change his long-term path.
Keith Law of The Athletic took a different view. He said he is higher on another Dodgers outfielder, Eduardo Quintero, and described Mike Sirota as the better athlete with the better long-term ceiling. Law, appearing as a guest of Jeff Speigel on the Dodger Heads podcast this week, also talked about De Paula and suggested James Tibbs III as the more realistic Dodgers outfield promotion if the team decides to make one this season.
In Other News...
Diamondbacks Turn To Former Dodgers Fill-In As Infield Trouble Grows
Arizona has dipped into familiar territory for help in the infield, bringing in Santiago Espinal on a minor-league deal as the Diamondbacks try to steady a roster hit by injuries. The move comes after a rough run for Espinal in his brief initial stint with the Dodgers in early 2026, when his bat never got going and he was designated for assignment twice.
The fit is obvious enough from the Dodgers perspective, since they know exactly what the veteran utility type can and cannot provide. Arizona needs coverage with Ketel Marte on the 10-day injured list after knee inflammation, following a stretch on the restricted list, and Espinal gives them another option while they sort through the rest of the infield picture. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Fans Got An Eye-Catching First Look At Cam Leiter
The Dodgers farm system delivered a little bit of everything on the mound and at the plate, but the most eye-catching debut came from Cam Leiter, who wasted no time making an impression for Great Lakes. In his first High-A start, Leiter carved through hitters for seven strikeouts across 3 1/3 scoreless innings, the kind of opening line that tends to get attention quickly in an organization always watching for pitching depth.
Elsewhere, Jackson Ferris turned in a solid five-inning outing while allowing one run in Oklahoma Citys Triple-A win, and Chris Newell provided the biggest swing of the night with a grand slam in Tulsas one-run loss. There were other notable contributions across the Dodgers minor league clubs, but Leiters debut stood out as the sort of performance that makes a player worth tracking the next time the farm system scoreboard lights up. [Read more 🡒]
Dodgers Just Got A Kobe Release That Feels Pure Los Angeles
Nikes new Kobe Collection has already found its way into the Dodgers clubhouse, giving the team a very Los Angeles kind of off-field moment. The brand gifted players merchandise tied to the line, including the Kobe 5 Protro and Air Force 1 Protro shoes, and the club shared video of the unboxing as guys like Blake Snell and Tucker took it in. The timing fits, too, since the collection was released Aug. 15 with early access at the Mamba League Invitational, blending Kobe Bryants legacy with the city he still symbolizes.
For the Dodgers, it was less about a simple apparel drop and more about a piece of local culture arriving in the middle of the season. The collections design language is built around Bryant and Los Angeles, which is why the reaction inside the room mattered, even in a short clip. It is the kind of crossover that resonates in this market, where basketball and baseball are always brushing up against each other, and where anything connected to Kobe tends to carry a little extra weight. [Read more 🡒]