Former Bishop Gorman standout Easton Shelton is beginning to turn heads in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization after betting on himself and bypassing college baseball out of high school.
Now in his first full season with the California League’s Ontario Tower Buzzers, Shelton leads the league in home runs (23) and RBIs (76), with both marks ranking among the top five in Minor League Baseball.
The 20-year-old is batting .291 with a 1.002 OPS while emerging as one of the Dodgers’ fastest-rising offensive prospects.
The former Gatorade Nevada Baseball Player of the Year and Class 5A Mountain League Player of the Year bypassed his commitment to UNLV after his senior season at Bishop Gorman, signing with the Dodgers as an undrafted free agent in 2023.
At the time, the Rebels were coming off a season in which they missed the Mountain West tournament, but Shelton decided to begin his professional career rather than play collegiately.
“You don’t often get the chance to sign with a professional team,” Shelton said. “The Dodgers are known as one of the best organizations in baseball.
“They were taking a chance on me, so I figured I might as well sign and see what they have to offer. I haven’t looked back since.”
During his senior season at Bishop Gorman, Shelton hit .400 with a state-leading 12 home runs and 48 RBIs while posting a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage at first base.
“(Representing Las Vegas and Bishop Gorman) is special,” Shelton said. “The year before me was Justin Crawford, and the year before that was Tyler Whittaker, so it’s really cool to follow in their footsteps.
“With Gorman being a prestigious school surrounding academics and athletics, it’s special because I get to carry on a legacy.”
Shelton appeared in one game for the Dodgers’ Arizona Complex League affiliate in 2023, collecting three hits and three RBIs in his first three professional plate appearances.
Since then, he has played 131 games throughout the Dodgers’ farm system before breaking out this season with Ontario.
“People see that we are playing games, but they don’t see that we are here every day,” Shelton said. “We arrive six hours before the game and have a full practice, including defensive work and cage work.
“They don’t see how much extra work goes into every single day.”
Shelton is one of several highly regarded prospects in the Dodgers organization, joining a farm system that features three players ranked among MLB’s top 20 prospects, including outfielders Josue De Paula, Mike Sirota and Zyhir Hope.
