3 Dodgers prospects who won’t survive the trade deadline and why

The Los Angeles Dodgers are once again one of the best teams in the league. They're led by incredibly talented players like Tyler Glasnow, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts. But they still have plenty of holes to fill on their roster including a few pieces of the lineup and in the bullpen.

That puts them in the prime position to be buyers ahead of the trade deadline. But, in order to buy on players that will help them win this year, they will need to trade away prospects from their farm system.

3. OF Josue De Paula (No. 2 Prospect)

The Dodgers are the type of team that takes every opportunity they can get to make a splash. The trade deadline is no different. MLB insiders have routinely connected the Dodgers to star trade targets like Garrett Crochet, Luis Robert and many others. In order for them to grab a player like that in a trade, they will need to part with one of their top prospects.

The most likely player to headline a blockbuster deal for the Dodgers is their second-ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline, outfielder Josue De Paula. De Paula would most likely be moved in a huge deal to acquire a controllable outfielder like Robert, as the Dodgers would no longer need De Paula in the outfield with Robert there for the next few seasons.

Their next three prospects are all pitchers and these three might be better options for the Dodgers to acquire a pitcher, though they're all 25 years old or older.

De Paula is likely the prospect that many selling teams will want from the Dodgers, assuming top prospect Dalton Rushing is off the board. This means in order for the Dodgers to acquire one of the stars listed above, they'll need to part ways with their 19-year-old outfield prospect.

2. LHP Ronan Kopp (No. 15 Prospect)

When looking into what rebuilding teams want to acquire in the trade market, the top attribute that is looked at by every selling team is potential. There aren't many things in a prospect that scream loaded with potential than a 6-foot-7 left-handed flame thrower, which is exactly what Ronan Kopp is.

Kopp, a reliever by trade, is one of the higher-potential pitching arms in all of baseball. He's quite literally a pitching coach's dream. He has the things that you can't teach: size and handedness. He also has a fastball that consistently sits in the upper 90s, another trait that pitching coaches drool over.

But his control and stamina have been the downfall of his professional career and the reason he isn't in the big leagues already. He's issued more walks than he's allowed hits in each of his three professional seasons where he threw more than 10 innings.

But the selling teams aren't always looking for guarantees in prospects. In fact, these teams routinely will buy on a prospect with a high ceiling and a lower floor rather than a prospect who has a high floor, but the ceiling of an inning eater.

1. OF Zyhir Hope (No. 20 Prospect)

19-year-old outfield prospect, Zyhir Hope fits the mold that selling teams are looking for, much like Kopp and De Paula do. Hope is a young, projectable and developable outfielder that could be a huge piece of any farm system that he's moved to. He's likely to be the kind of player to be dealt in a one-for-one deal for a rental starter, rental bat, or controllable reliever.

Hope sits in Low-A where he has a slash line of .282/.378/.521 on the young season. He's already slugged 11 extra-base hits and drawn 10 walks in 18 games this year. The teenager is playing well enough that he could likely earn a promotion in the coming weeks if he's able to turn his play up another notch.

He has all the tools of a future All-Star, where MLB Pipeline has his power graded 55, his run graded 70 and his arm graded 65 on their 20-80 grade scale. These three tools alone will make him quite the intriguing prospect for any farm system to hold onto.

As he develops into his frame and continues to grow into his game, he could be a difference-maker of a prospect. The Dodgers won't be looking to trade him, but selling teams will be looking to acquire him and Los Angeles may have no choice but to send him elsewhere this year.