Column: Corey Seager could be just the start of another long run of top young Dodgers players

The Dodgers have become baseball’s ultimate modern franchise. They have an oversized front office that is heavily dependent on analytics. Many of their starters can’t pitch into the sixth inning. They have replaced everyday players with platoons.

Monday offered longtime fans a welcome return of one of the franchise’s emblematic traditions. Shortstop Corey Seager became the Dodgers’ first rookie of the year in two decades, as he claimed the National League’s award by unanimous vote.

The significance extended far beyond a player earning a well-deserved honor. This was a symbol of the Dodgers’ renewed emphasis on homegrown players, the restoration of a philosophy that made the team a beloved civic institution over the previous half-century.

At least in one aspect, the Dodgers are on their way back to being the Dodgers.

Seager, 22, could be a once-in-a-generation talent, and the organization is unlikely to produce another player of his caliber in the near future. However, he stands at the front of a line of in-house prospects who could shape the franchise’s future, a group that includes left-hander Julio Urias, who made a postseason start as a 20-year-old.

The farm system that was depleted under Frank McCourt’s ownership has been restocked over the last four years to where many now consider it to be the best in baseball.

There was a time when the Dodgers practically owned the rookie-of-the-year award. Their history includes 17 of them, more than twice as many as any other major league team. Jackie Robinson was the first player ever to win the prize, in 1947. The franchise had five consecutive rookies of the year from 1992 to 1996, spanning from Hideo Nomo to Todd Hollandsworth.

“I think our operating philosophy of getting back to a scouting and player-development machine, as a lot of Dodgers teams of the past were, allows us a great opportunity to compete for a championship year in and year out,” said Andrew Friedman, the team’s president of baseball operations.

Building a team around high-priced free agents isn’t a model for sustained success. But this is about more than being smart or cost effective. This affects how the city relates to the team.

There’s value in fans’ being interested in more than wins and losses, of being curious about how a highly rated prospect performs in the major leagues. There’s value in fans’ watching that prospect grow up in front of them, both as a player and a person. There’s value in fans’ forming bonds with their players.

Andre Ethiercontinues to receive some of the loudest ovations heard at Dodger Stadium. Ethier was still in the minor leagues when the Dodgers acquired him in a trade with the Oakland Athletics. He broke into the major leagues with the Dodgers, became an All-Star with the Dodgers, signed a long-term contract with the Dodgers, and is now winding down his career with the Dodgers.

“When you start getting fans who grew up watching you and now they’re in their 20s — they were 10 years old when you were first playing as a rookie and you were their favorite player when they were a little kid — I think that’s what helps,” Ethier said.

Seager, a first-round draft pick in 2012, could be on a similar trajectory. Urias and Joc Pederson could be, too.

Behind them is Cody Bellinger, a power-hitting first baseman who is playing in the Arizona Fall League, a finishing school for baseball’s top prospects. And the lower levels of the minor leagues are particularly flush with talent, the result of the $90 million-plus the Dodgers spent in the 2015-16 international signing period. The group includes Yadier Alvarez, a 20-year-old with a 100-mph fastball.

It was 20 years between Hollandsworth’s being named the league’s top rookie and Seager’s win. It’s unlikely it will be another 20 before the next.

dylan.hernandez@latimes.com

Follow Dylan Hernandez on Twitter @dylanohernandez