Dalton Rushing

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Dalton Wayne Rushing

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Biographical Information[edit]

Dalton Rushing played three seasons with the University of Louisville, where he was a catcher and first baseman. He hit over .300 in both 2020, when the season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2022, when he hit .310 in 64 games, with 23 homers and 62 RBIs. In 2020 and 2021, he played behind Henry Davis, the eventual first overall pick in the 2021 amateur draft, which cut into his time behind the dish. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2nd round of the 2022 amateur draft.

After he turned professional, the Dodgers had him concentrate more on catching, although he did play some first base when he was not behind the dish. His first professional experience came with the ACL Dodgers in 2022, for just 2 games, before he was promoted to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League, where he hit .424 with 8 homers in 28 games. He was named the circuit's Player of the Month for August. In 2023, he moved up to the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League, where he hit .228 in 89 games, with 15 homers and 53 RBIs. He was selected to play in the 2023 Futures Game and was named an organizational All-Star at the end of the season.

In 2024, he split his season between the AA Tulsa Drillers and AAA Oklahoma City Baseball Club, getting into 115 game and hitting .271/.384/.512 with 26 homers and 85 RBIs. The question at that point was whether he would start the 2025 season in the majors, as the back-up catcher's job was there for the taking, giving the sub-par production of long-time incumbent Austin Barnes. The Dodgers decided to have him start the year back in AAA, where he hit .308 with 5 homers and 17 RBIs for the re-named Oklahoma City Comets. He was called up to the Show on May 14th, when Barnes was designated for assignment. He made his debut on May 15th against The Athletics, starting at catcher and going 2 for 4 with a walk and 3 runs scored in a 19-2 win. He hit the first homer of his career in another blowout win, this one against the New York Yankees on May 31st. He took over at DH for Shohei Ohtani in the 6th with the game already out of reach, and homered off position player Pablo Reyes in the 8th to account for L.A.'s final two runs in an 18-2 win. On August 24th, he blasted a three-run homer in the 7th inning off Jeremiah Estrada of the San Diego Padres to put the Dodgers ahead in what was an almost must-win game, with the Padres having just taken the NL West lead from the Dodgers. The two teams ended the day tied following L.A.'s 7-2 win, with no more head-to-head meetings scheduled until the end of the season. He finished the year at .204 in 53 games with 4 homers and 24 RBIs and an OPS+ of 63. He appeared in only one postseason game, striking out in his only at-bat in the Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies as the Dodgers used the more experienced Ben Rortvedt as Will Smith's back-up on their way to winning their second consecutive championship.

He did get a chance to play against the Toronto Blue Jays on April 6, 2026 when he started the first game of a three-game set behind the plate at the Rogers Centre. He had a career game, going 4 for 4 with two solo homers and three runs scored in a 14-2 beatdown of a team that looked nothing like the defending American League champions.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Further Reading[edit]

  • Jim Callis: "What to expect from MLB's No. 15 overall prospect Rushing in Majors", mlb.com, May 14, 2025. [1]
  • Sonja Chen: "Rushing authors 1st signature MLB moment to help knot NL West once again", mlb.com, August 24. 2025. [2]
  • Sonja Chen: "Rushing's career night fuels Dodgers' 5-homer outburst in return to Toronto", mlb.com, April 7, 2026. [3]

Related Sites[edit]

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