Dalton Rushing's breakout is the real reason the Dodgers have MLB in a chokehold

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a team many believe is breaking baseball, and for obvious reasons. They've won back-to-back World Series titles, are off to another ridiculous start this season and have spent an exorbitant amount of money on superstars like Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Mookie Betts, just to name a few. Their offseason expenditures over the last two or three winters have cracked the $1 billion mark, and their tax bill just this season alone is more than several teams' payrolls combined.

But while sure, those big names are the main reason why the Dodgers have been so successful, their run of dominance extends far beyond them. Dalton Rushing's breakout is a prime example.

Dalton Rushing is blossoming into the latest Dodgers star

Rushing, once considered one of MLB's top prospects, didn't do much with his first chance in the Majors last season, but he's done nothing but thrive in 2026. After hitting a pair of home runs on Monday, the 25-year-old has now gone deep seven times on the year in 2026, tying him for second in the National League. What's craziest about this power surge is that he's hit seven home runs in just 27 at-bats.

He's slashing .444/.464/.1.296 in those ABs, going 12-for-27 with nine extra-base hits. His 380 wRC+ leads the Majors by a wide margin among those with at least 20 plate appearances this season. When he's played, he's been statistically the best hitter in the game.

Even with Freddie Freeman on the paternity list, the Dodgers didn't miss a beat. That speaks to how absurdly loaded this team is and how good a player Rushing is becoming.

Dalton Rushing is a good "problem" for the Dodgers to have

What's most interesting about Rushing is that despite his dominance, he's started two games in a row just once all season. He's a catcher who can chip in at first base and DH, but those positions are occupied by Will Smith, Freddie Freeman and Shohei Ohtani nightly. He's a bench player on this team, yet it's basically impossible to get him out right now. On one hand, it feels like the Dodgers have to either find a way to play him every day or trade him for a player who will help the team more regularly. On the other hand, since when was having so much depth a bad thing?

Either way, the Dodgers win. Rushing's value is through the roof right now, to the point where he can headline a package for just about anybody L.A. would want at the trade deadline. Rushing is also an absurdly valuable luxury for any team to have; it has to feel good to have someone this good waiting in the wings in the event of an injury. Remember, Will Smith was injured at the beginning of last year's postseason.

It'll be interesting to see what the Dodgers do with him, but again, no matter what they decide, they'll win. And things like this are why the Dodgers are the Dodgers.

Dalton Rushing is only the latest developmental success for the Dodgers

Yes, the Dodgers have spent a lot of money, but they've also found other ways to be successful, with Rushing as a prime example. Los Angeles selected Rushing in the second round of the 2022 MLB Draft. This means that all 30 teams had a chance to select him, and most teams had a chance to do so twice. They all passed, allowing the Dodgers to add him to their organization.

There's more to this than drafting, though. We've seen several players, even No. 1 overall picks, flop. The Dodgers were able to develop Rushing in the Minor Leagues to the point where he was considered a top prospect and is now one of the most dominant hitters in the sport when he plays. Development is something that the Dodgers are among the best in baseball at.

And Rushing is only the latest star they've developed. Max Muncy has been one of the best third basemen in the National League for years, but the Dodgers got him off the waiver wire. Every team had a chance to acquire Muncy for nothing, but L.A. identified him and developed him. Andy Pages leads the Majors in batting right now, but it's easy to forget that he was signed in international free agency for only $300,000. Emmet Sheehan was a sixth-round pick and has absurd upside. Mike Sirota, one of their bevy of top outfield prospects, was acquired in a minor deal for Gavin Lux. These guys could have been had by any team.

Even players who aren't on the team anymore like Chris Taylor and Justin Turner looked like disappointments with their former teams before the Dodgers got the most out of them. This happening repeatedly is not a coincidence.

Yes, the Dodgers have a big advantage with the money they can spend, but they wouldn't feel so unbeatable if they didn't have the guys they developed on the same roster as the superstars.

There's a reason the Dodgers have been the most consistent team

It's easy to forget that the Dodgers' success goes back much further than their two straight titles. They've made the playoffs in each of the last 13 seasons and have won 12 NL West crowns in that span. The only year in which they finished in second place saw them win 106 games and then defeat the division-winning San Francisco Giants in the NLDS. It's just that nobody cared when Los Angeles was making it to the playoffs routinely because they kept falling short in October.

Yes, they've spent even more money now than they did then to get over the postseason hump, but that alone wouldn't have been enough if a foundation weren't already in place. Even as their stars eventually age, it's not like they'll stop developing on the margins.

The Dodgers can build a future around the likes of Rushing, Sheehan, Pages and arguably MLB's top farm system featuring guys like Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope. They can also continue trading the players they've developed for current stars, as they've done to perfection in recent years.

There's just nothing this organization isn't good at. Throwing a bunch of money around helps, but it is not foolproof. We've seen that with their bullpen, in particular, the past couple of years. The Dodgers' ability to develop is what rounds their team out and makes them a legitimate superteam. Having someone as talented as Rushing stuck in a backup role only emphasizes that.

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