Busch Named PCL MVP; Stone Named PCL All-Star
Infielder and pitcher helped lead OKC to franchise’s first league title since 1996
With a Pacific Coast League title one victory away, two of the Oklahoma City Dodgers’ top players delivered.
Michael Busch connected on a three-run home run in the fifth inning of Game 2 of the Pacific Coast League Championship Series to give the Dodgers a four-run lead against the Round Rock Express at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark.
Gavin Stone racked up 10 strikeouts, allowing two runs and four hits over 6.1 innings, as he pitched Oklahoma City to a 5–2 win and helped complete a Dodgers’ sweep in the best-of-three playoff series.
The duo put together clutch performances as Oklahoma City won its first league title since 1996, but Busch and Stone — ranked as two of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ top-five prospects by MLB Pipeline—found success throughout the 2023 season.
Pacific Coast League managers went on to name Busch PCL Most Valuable Player and the league’s Top MLB Prospect. They also voted Stone to the PCL All-Star Team, Minor League Baseball announced in October.
Busch, who turned 26 earlier this month, became the first Oklahoma City player to win a league MVP award since Nelson Cruz in 2008 and is the sixth OKC player to win a league MVP award during the team’s Triple-A history.
The infielder played in 98 games with OKC in 2023. He led PCL qualified hitters in slugging percentage (.618) and on-base plus slugging (1.049). He also ranked second in batting average (.323), third in on-base percentage (.431), fourth in home runs (27), fifth in RBI (90), fifth in extra-base hits (57) and fifth in total bases (241).
Over three postseason games, Busch went 5-for-13 at the plate with a team-best five RBI and two home runs — including a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning of the Triple-A National Championship Game against Norfolk at Las Vegas Ballpark.
He was named the 2023 Los Angeles Dodgers Branch Rickey Minor League Player of the Year and the 2023 Los Angeles Dodgers Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America. He was one of three finalists for Minor League Baseball’s Hitting Prospect of the Year Award and was named to the All-MiLB Prospect First Team.
Busch, who hails from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., received PCL Player of the Week honors for June 6–11 and was named PCL Player of the Month for July.
He also played in 27 games this season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who selected him with the 31st overall pick of the 2019 MLB Draft from the University of North Carolina.
Stone, who turned 25 in October, was named PCL Pitcher of the Week three times during a span of nine weeks starting July 3 as he posted a 2.49 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and .168 opponent batting average over the final three months of the season.
Over 21 games, including 19 starts overall this season, the Lake City, Ark., native posted a 7–4 record and 4.74 ERA. He led Oklahoma City in both strikeouts (120) and innings (100.2) and his strikeout total ranked tied for sixth in the league overall.
He also appeared in eight games (four starts) this season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, who selected Stone in the fifth round of the 2020 MLB Draft from the University of Central Arkansas.
