Andrew Friedman comments on struggles from Dodgers top catching prospect

On top of producing pitchers hand over fist, the Los Angeles Dodgers always seem to have a plethora of young catching talent. Not long ago, Diego Cartaya headlined the up-and-coming catchers in the Dodgers' organization.

Coming off an appearance in the 2022 Futures Game, Cartaya was ranked among the top 20 prospects in the game by Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus entering the 2023 season.

At 22 years old but still raw, Cartaya brings the potential of rare power and the ability to hit to all fields. There was once a time when some speculated Cartaya would replace Will Smith, despite Smith being one of the game's best catchers.

However, in 2023, Cartaya's prospect stock took a hit after he struggled with Double-A Tulsa. Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman does not appear to be phased by these struggles, and recently spoke about his expectations for him.

“He’s a really naturally talented player who’s coming off a down year,” Friedman said. “And I’ve seen that a lot in the past with really good players, the ones who have really good makeup, bounce back from that. And so it wouldn’t surprise me at all Diego comes out this year and has a really good year.”

Andrew Friedman via Dodger Insider

After lighting up Low-A with a 1.023 OPS in 2021, the Dodgers promoted Cartaya to High-A in 2022. He continued to show his offensive capabilities with a .855 OPS, and again the organization promoted him.

Cartaya spent all of 2023 with Tulsa, where he hit the first road bump of his young career. He still showed prodigious power, hitting 19 home runs in 93 games. However, his batting average and OBP dropped to .189 and .278, respectively.

This came with a drop in prospect rankings to third in the organization and 56th overall, according to MLB.com. 

Cartaya is still well ahead of schedule. Playing in Double-A last year means he faced, on average, players three years older than him. He has plenty of time to find his form and turn into the next great Dodger catcher. Friedman seems to believe as much.