After recently being named the No. 14 prospect on the MLB pipeline ahead of the 2023 season, there’s immense expectations on 21-year-old Diego Cartaya’s shoulders.
But luckily, the Venezuelan catcher will get plenty of reps and practice this spring with a few Dodgers stars away for the World Baseball Classic.
Dave Roberts shares how Will Smith and Austin Barnes’ temporary absence will benefit the young catcher:
“So I think for me just looking at it right now, I see Diego catching every other day on the back half of games. We’ll get Feduccia starting some games, Mazeika will start some games. But to have Freitas and Cartaya on the back end of games, I think it’s an opportunity that Diego wouldn’t normally have.”
On offense, Cartaya will be a big help if he’s able to translate his minor-league success to the major leagues this season. During the 2022 season, he split his time with Rancho Cucamonga and Great Lakes.
Last year, he slashed .254/.389/.503 with an .892 SLG. Since 2019, he’s hit 36 homers and has collected 125 RBIs.
He was selected to the Futures Game to represent the Dodgers this summer alongside Miguel Vargas and Bobby Miller and was named an All-Star in the minor leagues.
Although he likely won’t play in the big leagues this season barring major injury at that level, this year will be good for him along with the other seven Dodgers who broke into the Top 100 MLB prospects list. His role will primarily be to continue to get some experience at the minor league level, and keep improving his game as a whole.
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