Baseball America’s latest Dodgers prospect update brought plenty of familiar names to the front of the line, but it also left out one player fans have come to know well: James Tibbs III.
That omission stands out because the Dodgers’ system is loaded. Baseball America’s updated team farm rankings once again backed up the idea that Los Angeles has talent stacked everywhere, from the major-league roster down through the minors. On the list of Dodgers top-100 prospects, the usual group showed up - Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota, Zyhir Hope, Eduardo Quintero, Emil Morales, Christian Zazueta, and Charles Davalan.
Tibbs, though, was nowhere to be found.
For a lot of clubs, he’d look like a premium prospect. He was hitting .286/.410/.565 with a .975 OPS, along with 21 home runs, 68 RBI, and 88 hits in 308 at-bats.
His average exit velocity was over 92 MPH, and the profile points to a hitter who can do damage and keep doing it. MLB Pipeline also notes that he could fit in the Dodgers outfield, or at first base, for years.
But in Los Angeles, he’s fighting for attention in a crowded room. Baseball America listed four Dodgers outfielders among its top-100 prospects, and three of them - De Paula, Sirota, and Quintero - sit at the top of that group. MLB Pipeline has those same four players leading the Dodgers’ farm system as well.
What makes Tibbs especially interesting to Dodgers fans is how close he seems to be. The 2024 first-round pick is tearing it up in Triple-A, and his MLB debut is projected for 2027, if not sooner.
Still, Baseball America’s ranking hints at something bigger: Tibbs may not be viewed by the Dodgers as highly as the other prospects on the list. That’s not exactly a shock given the traffic jam ahead of him. Andy Pages and Teoscar Hernandez are in the way now, and De Paula and Sirota - both ranked in Baseball America’s top-20 - are coming fast.
That’s why Tibbs also fits the profile of a trade chip. The Dodgers have been tied to starting pitchers such as Tarik Skubal at the deadline, and the Tigers are looking for MLB-ready help. Tibbs has already shown what he can do in the minors, and Los Angeles has enough young outfield depth to make him available if the right deal comes along.
For now, Dodgers fans have every reason to keep believing in him. He’s done nothing but hit in Oklahoma City, and that kind of production is exactly why he matters - even if he’s not showing up in every prospect ranking.
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