Dodgers shortstop Emil Morales has been on an absolute tear, piling up 115 RBI in 113 games this season, all before he even celebrates his 20th birthday on September 22. With the regular season for Class-A and High-A wrapping up, his performance is turning heads across the league, and for good reason: that kind of production from a 19-year-old is something we simply haven’t seen much of in baseball history.
Morales’s Mind-Blowing Numbers Put Him in Elite Company
Morales kicked off his season with the Ontario (Class-A) club before getting a well-deserved promotion to Great Lakes (High-A) in May, and he hasn’t slowed down one bit. Baseball America took notice, rating him the 29th overall prospect back in August. But the real story is those 115 RBI in 113 games. Think about it: in the last 50 years, only four other Dodgers minor leaguers managed to hit at least 100 RBI in their age-19 season or younger. We’re talking about names like Mike Marshall (1979), Candy Maldonado (1980), a ridiculous Adrían Beltré (who did it at age 18 in 1997!), and Cody Bellinger (2015). Morales isn’t just good, he’s historically good.
Shelton’s Power Surge and a Race Against History
But Morales isn’t the only one crushing it down in the Dodgers’ system. Over at Ontario, first baseman Easton Shelton, who occasionally plays third, has been a home run machine. The 20-year-old has blasted 35 homers this year, which is a whopping 15 more than any other player in his circuit. He’s also driven in 106 runs in 106 games. Now, here’s where it gets really interesting: both Morales and Shelton are on the cusp of joining an even more exclusive club. If either of them finishes with at least 100 RBI and as many runs batted in as games played, they’d be the first Dodgers minor leaguers to do it since Greg Brock put up 138 RBI in 135 games for Triple-A Albuquerque way back in 1982. Only two other Dodgers minor leaguers in the last 50 years have accomplished that feat: Kelly Snider in 1977 and Mike Marshall in 1981, who was also named Pacific Coast League MVP that year.
Who Else Is Chasing Triple-Digit RBI?
The RBI chase isn’t just limited to Class-A. Josue De Paula, widely considered the Dodgers’ top prospect, is sitting right on the verge with 99 RBI and 11 games left in Double-A Tulsa’s season. De Paula already has 100 runs scored this year, and if he gets one more RBI, he’d be just the second Tulsa Drillers player since Carlos Peña in 2000 to hit triple digits in both categories. Joe Koshansky was the last Tulsa Driller to notch 100 RBI in 2006, when they were a Colorado Rockies affiliate. And don’t forget about James Tibbs III, who has 96 RBI for Oklahoma City and nearly three weeks left in the Pacific Coast League season.
With the regular season for Class-A and High-A wrapping up by Sunday, everyone will be watching to see if Morales or Shelton can etch their names even deeper into the history books by reaching that super-rare 100+ RBI with as many games played benchmark. Meanwhile, De Paula and Tibbs still have games to go, so don’t sleep on them crashing this exclusive party either. This is truly an unbelievable year for Dodgers hitting prospects, and it’s exciting to see what happens next!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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