This Dodgers prospect has all the tools to succeed -- can he put them together?

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Long after all of his Glendale Desert Dogs teammates had gone inside, Chase Harlan stood at the hot corner underneath the Arizona sun before Tuesday’s game and had infield coach Philip Caulfield pepper grounders to his left, right and in front of him. Even after a short hop drilled his hand, Harlan jogged back to his position drenched in sweat and immediately got down in his stance.

“It was never something I used to think was that big of a deal until I got to professional ball, because I grew up outside of Philly, so it was hard for me to get on the field because I was always stuck in a facility during the cold months of the winter,” Harlan said of his defensive work. “Being able to get out on the field out here is just a huge pro for me to get out there and get better at defense, because that's something that I know is the next step for me to move up.”

“I think his potential is so high that he's starting to understand what it means to put the work into the routine aspect of it, and he's become pretty curious of that on the defensive side,” Caulfield said of Harlan. “He has so many tools as a player, but he's been really responsive and curious about things he can do better. Having that hunger that he has to get better is great.”

When the Dodgers popped Harlan in the third round of the 2024 Draft out of the Pennsylvania prep ranks and handed him more than double his slot ($1.7 million signing bonus), they were largely banking on his prodigious power playing. He pummeled a 453-foot homer during the Draft Combine that year, the furthest ball hit on Day 1 at Chase Field.

But after growing up as a shortstop, it was apparent he’d slide off the spot in pro ball. The Dodgers announced him as a third baseman and then had him undergo surgery to repair the labrum in his right hip, delaying his pro debut until 2025. He has the above-average arm strength to handle the spot, but in the 127 games Harlan has appeared at the hot corner in the pros, he’s made 32 errors.

“I think every player at some point realizes that the defensive side of the game is very important,” Caulfield, who also served as a coach for the Braves’ High-A affiliate in 2026, said. “Sometimes that's earlier, sometimes that's later, but I think at some point every player -- especially an infielder -- will realize, ‘Hey, my defense is very important.’ And so once that light bulb clicks and they learn how to translate what they do from an offensive standpoint as far as focus, routine, things like that, to the defensive side, and they see themselves get better on the field, then they start getting hooked on the work.”

What the Dodgers' No. 9 prospect did from an offensive standpoint was nearly unparalleled during May, as he won California League Hitter of the Month honors behind a .388/.481/.694 slash line with 14 extra-base hits and 22 RBIs in 22 games while walking more than he struck out for Single-A Ontario. After a stretch that included five homers in four contests, he kept on raking in June, prompting his first promotion to High-A Great Lakes at just 19 years old.

While he started out clicking on all cylinders, he hit .176 with a .546 OPS over his final 20 games. It was a reminder that for all of the tantalizing offensive potential, there’s still a ton for him to learn.

“When I'm going good, I genuinely feel like I can't be stopped,” Harlan said. “I feel like when I'm hot, I'm hot. And then when I'm cold, that's where I need to learn how to get out of that quicker instead of letting it drag on.

“And that's one of the things growing up in baseball, that's what you're trying to learn, especially being 20 years old in pro ball. I'm still learning how to deal with failure. You never fail in high school, and up to this point, you're never failing.”

That Harlan is getting an extra six weeks of game action under his belt in the Arizona Fall League stems from a swing he took on Aug. 8. He unleashed his vicious right-handed cut, and on his follow through, felt a sharp, stabbing sensation in his left oblique. It messed with his sleep and was a pot hole to his regular season, but it also delivered unintended positives of allowing him to strengthen his core and spend more time in the weight room, packing more size onto his 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame.

Harlan’s spin with Glendale -- which has also given him more time to play alongside Charles Davalan (LAD No. 6/MLB No. 79), “a big brother to me” -- has allowed him to reclaim his swing. He’s struck out in 16 of his 34 at-bats, but when he’s made contact, it’s been loud, with four balls in play at 106+ mph, including a 113.4 mph base hit on Oct. 15. He’s one of 13 players on the circuit with multiple homers entering play Wednesday.

“When I'm going good, I just keep it the same and don't change anything -- it's all a confidence thing for me,” said Harlan. “My confidence when I'm going good is so high. I feel like no pitcher would be able to beat me. I feel like in those moments when I'm hot, I feel like I could go to the big league field and compete.”