Dodger Dev Lab Prospect Report: August 4, 2026
By Emily Sanders ·
The Untouchable: Josue De Paula Is Making the Dodgers' Decision Easy
There is a reason the Dodgers reportedly consider Josue De Paula (AA, CF, Rank: 1) off the table in any trade discussion, and he spent last week reminding everyone why. De Paula collected 9 hits and 4 home runs across 29 plate appearances, driving in 9 runs while drawing 4 walks and getting hit twice more. That is not a hot stretch against weak competition; it is the continuation of a season-long performance that has him slashing .314/.411/.553 with 20 home runs, 28 doubles, and 28 stolen bases across 94 games at Double-A Tulsa. The counting stats alone make him one of the best offensive prospects in baseball at any level, and the 63-strikeout total against 61 walks is a contact-and-patience combination that gives scouts comfort the production is real.
The profile is built around an above-average feel to hit, advanced pitch recognition, and a loose, leveraged swing that generates genuine power to his pull side and the gaps. The main questions involve how that long swing handles premium velocity at the highest levels, and the defensive fit is realistically left field rather than center long-term. But with a 55 hit tool, 55 power, and a track record at 21 years old that is already dwarfing his 2025 High-A line (.263/.406/.421, 12 HR), the ceiling conversation is moving. Over the last 30 days specifically, he has hit 5 home runs and driven in 16 runs across 86 plate appearances. You can see why no amount of trade pressure is moving him.
Scorch Alert: Charles Davalan Has Become the System's Best-Kept Open Secret
Charles Davalan (A+, OF, Rank: 8) is posting numbers that look like a typo, and the weekly line confirmed it is not a fluke. He went 8-for-19 with a pair of doubles, a home run, and 4 RBI over 19 plate appearances, walking 3 times against just 2 strikeouts. The season line now reads .295/.410/.530 with 17 home runs and 44 strikeouts in 407 plate appearances at High-A Great Lakes. That strikeout-to-walk ratio (52 BB, 44 K) is exceptional for a power-producing corner outfielder at any level, let alone one who just turned 22.
Davalan is a 60 hit tool backed by real contact skills: a compact left-handed stroke that sprays hard contact, controls the zone, and has produced a power grade that reads 45 on paper but is performing well above that in games. The last 30 days have been absurd: slashing .389/.457/.833 with 8 home runs and 19 RBI over 81 plate appearances, with only 8 strikeouts in the stretch. The defensive profile is corner-only, and the power may not be truly plus when he reaches the upper levels, but the hit tool and on-base ability make him a legitimate prospect who deserves a higher public profile than he currently has. A promotion to Double-A figures to be the next real test of whether this breakout has legs.
Quick Hits
Carson Hobbs (AA, RHP, Rank: 46) · threw four scoreless innings without allowing a hit, walking one and striking out 6. That outing extended a stretch that has become genuinely remarkable: over his last 30 days, Hobbs has pitched 12.1 innings across 8 appearances, allowed 3 hits, zero earned runs, and struck out 16 against 4 walks. The season ERA sits at 3.35, but that number significantly understates how locked in he has been since early July. He carries fringe-average stuff (92-94 mph fastball, 84 mph slider), so the run of dominance is rooted in deception, sequencing, and competitive moxie more than raw velo; the test will be whether upper-minors hitters figure that out.
Zach Ehrhard (AAA, OF, Rank: 28) · put together a quietly strong week on the hitter list: 9 hits across 28 plate appearances, 6 RBI, and 7 walks against just 5 strikeouts. His season line at Oklahoma City sits at .294/.404/.481 with 15 home runs and 66 walks, a contact-and-patience profile that plays well for a bench/fourth-outfielder ceiling. Over the last 30 days he is hitting .343 with a .472 OBP, leaning into the plus speed and zone control that define his game. He is not a power threat in the traditional sense, but his bat-to-ball skills and defensive versatility across all three outfield spots give him a real shot at a major league roster in an injury window.
Hyun-Seok Jang (A+, RHP, Rank: 36) · turned in his best outing of 2026 after a promotion to Great Lakes: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K. The zero-walk line matters most given that command has been his biggest obstacle all year; he has a 5.42 ERA combined across levels with 29 walks in 73 innings. The fastball sits 96-98 mph with a legitimate plus slider at 84, so the stuff is real. One clean outing does not solve the command questions, but his last 30-day stretch at Low-A (3.24 ERA, 23 K in 16.2 IP, just 3 BB) suggests the promotion may be catching him at the right moment.
Mike Sirota (AA, CF, Rank: 3) · went 5-for-24 with 2 home runs, 3 RBI, and 6 walks. The walk total is the story here: Sirota's .471 OBP on the season and his .467 mark at Double-A specifically are the product of a genuinely disciplined approach, not just pitchers nibbling around him. He is a plus runner with a 55 hit tool and plus defense in center, and 16 combined home runs across levels this year have started to answer questions about game power. The everyday ceiling remains very much in play.
Mairoshendrick Martinus (A, SS, Rank: 32) · collected 10 hits in 25 plate appearances with a homer and 4 RBI, though he walked just once against 8 strikeouts. That approach profile is the tension in his season: Martinus is slashing .317/.359/.537 with 15 home runs and 30 stolen bases, but only 20 walks against 91 strikeouts in 421 plate appearances. The power and speed are ahead of where scouts projected them; the swing decisions are still the variable separating him from a legitimate prospect from a tools curiosity.
Adam Serwinowski (AA, LHP, Rank: 10) · gave Tulsa six innings of one-run ball, scattering just 1 hit while striking out 6 against 3 walks. The 2026 season has been a grind (5.23 ERA, 52 BB in 94.2 IP), but he has punched out 116 batters and his fastball-slider combination still generates consistent swing-and-miss. A multi-inning relief role looks more probable than a rotation future given the command profile, but his last 30 days (26 K in 21.1 IP) suggest the stuff is still very much there when things click.
Tyler Gough (A+, RHP, Rank: 58) · worked four innings at Great Lakes: 1 hit, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K. The walk total continues to be the recurring headline, but the season ERA of 1.83 across 44.1 combined innings is too good to dismiss. Gough has a 93-96 mph fastball and a slider that can flash above-average, and 56 strikeouts against 20 walks on the year shows the stuff is effective. Given the elbow history, the Dodgers appear to be stretching him slowly; command gains will determine whether the up-down reliever ceiling is a floor or a ceiling.
Kellon Lindsey (A, SS, Rank: 9) · drew 7 walks across 24 plate appearances, collecting 5 hits including a triple. He scored nothing, but the .474 OBP over the last 30 days is a meaningful development for a player who grades out with __-grade speed and a 50 hit tool still being shaped against pro pitching. The season line across levels reads .336/.463/.550 with 6 home runs and 11 stolen bases, which is a pleasant surprise from someone whose offensive questions were supposed to be the main development story this year.
Payton Martin (AA, RHP, Rank: 29) · had the best start of his past month: 7.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K. That one start does not offset a brutal stretch (8.84 ERA over 18.1 innings in the last 30 days), but it is a reminder of what his mid-to-upper-90s fastball and above-average slider can look like when things align. The 5.34 season ERA reflects consistent command struggles, not a lack of stuff.
James Tibbs III (AAA, RF, Rank: 13) · went 7-for-23 with 2 doubles, a triple, and 3 RBI against just 3 strikeouts, continuing a quiet stretch of solid contact work. Tibbs is hitting .288/.409/.539 with 21 home runs at Oklahoma City, a season that makes a real case for a big-league look. The .306 average over the last 30 days is contact-first, with no home runs in that window, but 21 long balls on the year with a 55 hit tool and 55 power in a corner remains a legitimate profile.