The Dodgers have long been praised for their ability to identify, acquire, and groom talent, yet one area that sometimes flies under the radar is how effectively they draft, trade for, and develop prospects. California’s club currently has five top-100 prospects listed by MLB Pipeline, tying them for third-most in the majors. The group includes four outfielders—Josue De Paula (No. 15), Zyhir Hope (No. 27), Eduardo Quintero (No. 30), and Mike Sirota (No. 60)—all within the top 60. Of these, De Paula and Quintero are international signings, while Hope and Sirota were obtained via trades.
Sirota arrived as part of last year’s deal that sent Gavin Lux to the Cincinnati Reds. A year earlier, the Dodgers acquired Hope and promising right-hander Jackson Ferris from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for infielder Michael Busch and right-hander Yency Almonte, who has since returned to the organization on a minor league contract.
Ferris, who pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in his second Cactus League appearance this past Saturday for the Dodgers’ 7–6 split-squad loss to the Texas Rangers at Surprise Stadium, observed a notable difference after moving from the Cubs to the Dodgers.
“It was different,” Ferris recalled at Camelback Ranch last month. “It was honestly a breath of fresh air. The coaches understood exactly what they wanted from me and how they planned to approach it.”
Ferris also highlighted the contrast between the two organizations. While he praises the Cubs as a strong organization with a solid minor league system, he says the Dodgers do everything just as well, if not better, at both the minor league and big league levels.
Ferris joined the Cubs’ minor league camp in early January 2024, ready to work. A few days later, he learned he had been traded, which initially surprised him after posting solid numbers in his debut season.
“I wasn’t really expecting a move after only about 55 innings in my first year and doing well,” he said. “But I heard good things about the Dodgers’ coaches, so I was excited.”
He credits the Dodgers with a heightened level of detail that helped him grow as a pitcher. “It was my first pro season, so perhaps I was still learning,” he explained. “With the Cubs, it felt a bit like, ‘Go out there and see how you do.’ Here, they analyzed my mechanics, proposed drills, and we took off in our first year together.”
In his first season within the Dodgers’ system, Ferris posted a 3.20 ERA across 34 starts between high-A Great Lakes and double-A Tulsa, earning the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year honors. Last season, he logged a 3.86 ERA over 26 games and 126 innings at Tulsa.
This year, Ferris appears poised for a potential big-league promotion. In his first two Cactus League outings this spring, he has yielded just four baserunners and no runs across 2 2/3 innings, boasting a versatile five-pitch mix that includes a four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball, a power slider, a straight changeup, and a 12-to-6 curveball.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts recently expressed his interest in Ferris: “I like Jackson. I like the player. He’s a good kid with plenty of talent. Our job is to harness that arsenal, get him ahead in counts, and finish hitters with his secondary offerings while keeping his pitch efficiency in check. I truly like him.”
And this is where the discussion gets intriguing: as the Dodgers cultivate a pipeline that blends in-house development with strategic acquisitions, how will Ferris and the other top prospects translate into sustained major-league success? Do you think his five-pitch mix gives him a genuine path to a rotation spot this season, or are there lingering questions about command and consistency that could slow his ascent?
