Los Angeles Dodgers' Best Prospect at Every Position at the Start of 2014

The Los Angeles Dodgers have always been an organization that prides itself on pitching, and the farm system seems to be constantly teeming with promising young arms. The team's most recent successful homegrown pitching talent is Clayton Kershaw, who has blossomed into a two-time Cy Young Award winner.

While the Dodgers still have plenty of young guns in the minors, specifically Zach Lee and Ross Stripling, there is also recent hype surrounding notable minor league position players. Of course, with last season's promotion of Yasiel Puig to the big club, the Dodgers' farm was dealt a blow.

And with the team boasting the highest payroll in baseball history last season, management has focused more on bringing in expensive, established veterans rather than relying on minor league prospects.

But for Dodgers fans who might want to know what the organizational talent pool is like behind position players like Hanley Ramirez, Adrian Gonzalez or Matt Kemp, the following slides will serve to illuminate the up-and-coming faces that are working their way through the ranks in the hope of one day wearing Dodger blue.

Matt Wallach, Catcher

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Matt Wallach, son of current Dodgers bench coach Tim Wallach, began 2013 in Triple-A Albuquerque before being demoted to to Double-A Chattanooga after 30 games.

During his time in Triple-A, Wallach compiled a .245 batting average but fell off after the demotion, only mustering a .215 average in Chattanooga. Wallach threw out a respectable 40 percent of would-be base stealers at the Triple-A level last season.

The 22nd-round draft pick from 2007 has been toiling in the minors for some time now, but he remains the Dodgers' best catching prospect. 

Tyler Ogle, a 2013 Single-A All-Star, has been pegged by some as a better catching prospect, but the organization seemingly has plans to convert him to a first baseman. Ogle only played 14 games behind the plate last season compared to 102 at first base.

As it stands, the Dodgers simply don't have much depth at the catching position behind A.J. Ellis and Tim Federowicz. It remains to be seen whether Wallach will kick off 2014 in Double-A or Triple-A.

O'Koyea Dickson, First Base

The Dodgers selected O'Koyea Dickson in the 12th round of the 2011 draft, and the 5'11", 250-pound first baseman has quickly jumped through the minors.

The San Francisco native has averaged 15 home runs during the first three years of his minor league career while upping his hits total each season. Dickson batted .280 in 2013 with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and was a key cog in their batting order.

As a first baseman, Dickson made most of the plays, only committing eight errors and putting together a .985 fielding percentage at the position.

With Adrian Gonzalez holding down the middle of the order at the big league level for the foreseeable future, it may be a while before we see Dickson in Los Angeles.

Alexander Guerrero, Second Base

The Dodgers signed Cuban defector Alexander Guerrero over the winter to a four-year, $28 million contract, according to the Los Angeles Times' Dylan Hernandez.

Los Angeles is banking on Guerrero stepping in as the everyday starter at second base after the team declined to pick up Mark Ellis' player option for 2014.

Guerrero, 27, has never played an inning of major or minor league baseball and only appeared in 12 games with the Gigantes del Cibao of the Dominican Winter League before suffering a hamstring injury in November.

He was a two-time All-Star in Cuba's Serie Nacional, the top league on the island.

The Dodgers are hoping to strike gold a second time after fellow countryman Yasiel Puig proved to be worth the investment in 2013.

Corey Seager, Third Base

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Corey Seager is one of the Dodgers' most highly touted farm hands, a designation that usually accompanies any first-round selection.

Los Angeles drafted Seager as a shortstop out of North Carolina's Northwest Cabarrus High School in 2012, and the younger brother of Seattle Mariners' Kyle Seager was successful as a member of the Class-A Great Lakes Loons in 2013.

The 19-year-old turned in a .309/.389/.529 slash with 12 home runs and 57 runs batted in through the first four months of the 2013 season. He had a rougher go of things upon his promotion to High-A, hitting only .160 the rest of the way. However, Seager was the youngest player in the league upon his promotion, according to Ben Badler of Baseball America. 

At 6'4", 215 pounds, Seager is fairly large for a shortstop, and the Dodgers may decide to convert him into a third baseman so he can take over in Los Angeles after Juan Uribe's two-year contract expires in the fall of 2015.

At least one scout believes Seager has the potential to become a Gold Glove-caliber third baseman, per Hall of Fame baseball columnist Peter Gammons.

Darnell Sweeney, Shortstop

If the Dodgers plan to move Corey Seager to third base, the next best shortstop prospect is Darnell Sweeney out of the University of Central Florida.

Los Angeles made the lanky shortstop a 13th-round selection in 2012, and that same year Sweeney amassed a .294 average, splitting time between rookie ball and Low-A. 

As a 22-year-old in 2013, Sweeney hit a respectable .275 at High-A Rancho Cucamonga while showing off his speed to the tune of 48 stolen bases.

He continues to progress nicely up the minor league ranks, but the glaring issue is his defense. Sweeney committed 34 errors in 108 games at shortstop in 2013 and will have to clean that up in order to one day make the big club.

Scott Schebler, Left Field

The Dodgers picked Scott Schebler in the 26th round of the 2010 draft, and the Iowa native climbed up the minor league ladder before exploding in 2013.

This past season in High-A Rancho Cucamonga, Schebler smacked 27 home runs and 69 extra-base hits in 125 games. The gaudy numbers earned the outfielder a spot on the California League All-Star team and the Dodgers' Minor League Player of the Year award.

The 27 home runs were more than double his previous high of 13 in rookie ball, but the big swings also led to more misses. Schebler struck out 140 times in 2013 after only whiffing 99 times the season before.

The Dodgers have reason to be giddy when looking at the power numbers, and a few more years in the minor leagues should help iron out any remaining kinks in his impressive swing.

Joc Pederson, Center Field

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Joc Pederson is considered the Dodgers' top prospect heading into 2014.

Originally drafted by Los Angeles in 2010 out of Palo Alto High School in the Bay Area, Pederson accumulated batting averages over .300 at every stop in the farm system before settling in with a robust .278 clip last year in Double-A Chattanooga.

Pederson's name came up in late May when the Dodgers were scuffling, but the team ultimately called up teammate Yasiel Puig instead. Pederson went on to finish the season with 22 home runs, 58 runs batted in and 31 stolen bases, earning the right to represent the Dodgers in the All-Star Futures Game along the way. He was also named a Southern League All-Star.

The center fielder most recently tore up fall ball in Venezuela and should be major league ready at some point in 2014. Considering the Dodgers' outfielders have had trouble staying on the field lately, Pederson and his five-tool potential may be headed to Chavez Ravine sooner rather than later.

Nick Buss, Right Field

At age 26, Nick Buss had his best minor league season in 2013.

In 131 games at Triple-A Albuquerque, Buss hit .303 with 17 long balls and 100 runs knocked in. The solid all-around performance earned the six-year minor league prospect his first taste of big league action.

The Dodgers made Buss one of their September call-ups when rosters expanded from 25 to 40 players. Unfortunately for Buss, he wasn't able to do much with the opportunity, going just 2-for-19 with a walk; however, his first major league hit came against two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum.

Recently, Buss had some success in the Venezuelan Winter League, but the Michigan native will almost certainly be back in Triple-A at the start of the 2014 season considering the Dodgers already have six outfielders on the 40-man roster.