The Great Lakes Loons made official on Tuesday what was first reported on Sunday, that infielder Emil Morales was promoted to High-A. He’s batting cleanup and playing shortstop in his Loons debut on Tuesday.
Morales, who turns 20 in September, joins fellow top-100 prospects Josue De Paula (start of 2025) and Eduardo Quintero (last July) as Dodgers teenagers getting promoted to Great Lakes.
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Morales hit .323/.385/.570 with a 134 wRC+ and 24 extra-base hits in 36 games for Class-A Ontario, and counting his time with Rancho Cucamonga last season hit .330/.401/.560 with 26 doubles, 11 home runs, and three triples in 66 games in Class-A.
He hit home runs on both Saturday and Sunday, his final two games with the Tower Buzzers.
With Ontario, Morales played 23 games at shortstop and nine at third base this season, with Joendry Vargas splitting time between shortstop and second base. Kellon Lindsey, another shortstop and the Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2024, returned from the injured list last week and played his three games at second base. This frees up time at shortstop in Class-A. Jose Izarra and Eduardo Guerrero covered the innings at shortstop for Great Lakes before Morales’ arrival.
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Morales was named to five top-100 prospect lists in the offseason, and has since moved up in a few rankings. He’s now ranked 57th by MLB Pipeline, up from 92nd in January, and at Baseball America Morales went from unranked in the offseason to the No. 61 prospect in baseball now.
From Josh Norris at Baseball America:
Amid a sea of talented outfielders, Morales stands as the Dodgers’ best infielder. After early struggles last year in the Arizona Complex League, he righted the ship and continued his success at Low-A before the close of the season. That success has extended into 2026, which has seen him hit for both average and power. He might not stick at shortstop, but his bat should profile easily at any position on the diamond.
