Dodgers prospect news: Diego Cartaya talks Futures Game nod
By Kevin Henry
LANSING, Mich. — Diego Cartaya, the top prospect for the Los Angeles Dodgers, took batting practice before his Great Lakes Loons met the Lansing Lugnuts on Thursday night. Not only was it good for the Loons to see Cartaya back in the cage after missing some time earlier this week, but it was also a chance for the High-A team to congratulate him on being named to the 2022 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
The honor is special for Cartaya, who will take the field for the National League on the field where he hopes to be the next chapter in Los Angeles Dodgers catching lore.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Cartaya said of the Futures Game nod. “It was one of my goals for this year, but I wasn’t expecting it. Thank God I made it.”
Cartaya is one of three Dodgers prospect named to the NL Futures Game squad, joining right-hander Bobby Miller (pitching for Double-A Tulsa), and infielder Miguel Vargas (playing in Oklahoma City).
Great Lakes manager Austin Chubb was the one to deliver the good news to Cartaya, who missed a couple of games earlier this week after a wrist situation sprung up on Sunday. However, the 20-year-old Cartaya was back in the lineup on Thursday, serving as the team’s designated hitter.
Cartaya said Chubb didn’t try to play any tricks in delivering the good news, but still surprised him with it.
“We had lost earlier that day and he called me into the office,” Cartaya said. “I thought he was going to talk to me about the game, but then he gave me the news and I was really happy.”
Former Dodgers catcher Mike Scioscia will manage the National League Futures Game team, bringing together the past of Los Angeles catching with its future. Cartaya said he has met Scioscia at spring training in the past and said it will be “amazing” to share the dugout with him.
“We talked about catching stuff in spring training, like calling the game and all of that,” Cartaya said. “To see him again and have him as the manager will be pretty special.”
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Cartaya was promoted from Low-A Rancho Cucamonga on May 31 after slashing .260/.405/.550 with nine home runs and 31 RBI. At Great Lakes, in 88 at-bats, Cartaya has posted a .318/.444/.591 slash line with five homers and 17 RBI.