Dodgers-Yankees: Who would win an all-prospect World Series?

Who would win a Dodgers-Yankees World Series … all-prospect version?

This week on the MLB Pipeline Podcast, prospect gurus Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo (along with host Jason Ratliff) chewed on that hypothetical courtesy of longtime listener and mailbag contributor “Blah Blah.”

“If we ranked the mailbag questions we’ve gotten over the course of the year, this might be my favorite mailbag question of the year,” Callis said on the show.

Then the gang dug in. They selected a team made up entirely of both Yankees and Dodgers prospects, and after comparing the groups, projected who would win a hypothetical Fall Classic of the future between the two squads.

YANKEES (670)
C: Edgleen Perez (No. 15) — Overall scouting grade: 40
1B: Rafael Flores (No. 30) — 40
2B: Roderick Arias (No. 4) — 50
3B: Jorbit Vivas (No. 16) — 40
SS: George Lombard Jr. (No. 3) — 50
OF: Jasson Domínguez (No. 1/MLB No. 14) — 60
OF: Spencer Jones (No. 2) — 50
OF: Everson Pereira (No. 10) — 45
DH: Brando Mayea (No. 13) — 45
P: Will Warren (No. 5) — 50
P: Chase Hampton (No. 6) — 50
P: Brock Selvidge (No. 7) — 50
P: Ben Hess (No. 8) — 50
P: Bryce Cunningham (No. 9) — 50

Mayo: The Dodgers win this one handily.

Callis: They have the clear edge.

Callis: The Dodgers have a million shortstops, so we’re going to put Alex Freeland at shortstop, and we’re going to go with a couple of their young guys that are really going to pop this year with Joendry Vargas at second and Emil Morales at third. All of those guys are potential Top 100 guys and Alex Freeland is on the Top 100 right now.

Mayo: The Yankees’ infield group isn’t terrible. But this is also the Dodgers.

Verdict: Dodgers

Callis: Outfield is the strength of this Yankees team. You have their lone Top 100 prospect, their No. 2 prospect, and then you can take some combination of Everson Pereira, Brando Mayea, Francisco Vilorio, all ranked in their top 15.

The Dodgers are younger. With the Yankees you have a big leaguer in Domínguez, Spencer is in Double-A. I’m looking at this projecting how good players are going to be in the long run. … I might call it a tie, but I would give the Yankees a slight edge because their guys have proven it at higher levels. And I think it’s closer than people realize because the Dodgers guys haven’t played above A ball.

Mayo: This is the closest group, but I still think the Dodgers have the slight edge. If Spencer Jones had had a better year, that would make it a little more interesting. We were all very excited for him this year and it was not as expected. With the Dodgers, the list is deeper. If Jones would have had a Top 100-caliber year, I think it might be closer. But it still might be a slight edge to the Dodgers.

Callis: I would go Dodgers here. This one is tough because River Ryan and Frasso are coming off surgeries. … I do like the Dodgers. … They’re not as dominant here as say catching or the infield, but I’d give the Dodgers the edge at pitching as well.

Mayo: If everyone is healthy, then I don’t think it’s close. I think the Dodgers have the clear edge. Those are some really interesting arms. That’s a decent Yankees list. I would wager that if you put that up against a lot of other farm systems, they might come out ahead. Just against the Dodgers, I do think the Dodgers have the edge. Not as big as in the infield but a slight edge nonetheless.

Callis: If we’re basing this on “How good are these players going to become?” then I’ll pick the Dodgers in five games. I’ll go with Josue De Paula having a huge series offensively to win Series MVP.

Mayo: I’ll agree with Dodgers in five. For MVP, I don’t want to go with an obvious choice. I am not going to take one of the Top 100 guys. So I’ll say the MVP is going to be Kellon Lindsey. I’m a huge Kellon Lindsey fan.

Verdict: Dodgers in five.