Los Angeles Dodgers Top 5 Prospects
I’m hungry, sleep deprived and I have a fever. This could be a fun one.
I make no secret of the fact that I’m not a big fan of the Dodgers organization. It’s always been my stance that there is no organization with a greater aptitude for wasting talent, yet at the same time showing a great aptitude for acquiring that talent. (Regarding prospects, not veterans). That probably won’t change in the near future, as early rumblings suggest that Colletti will still be with the Dodgers come 2009.
Oh yeah, they have some decent enough prospects, as we’ve come to expect, although I’m very happy that Kershaw has graduated because he was always extremely hard to rank. I’m not happy that I only realized that after I did his writeup. Let’s get on with it.
1. LHSP Scott Elbert
Who?: Hopefully a nice comeback story. After being plagued by injuries the last couple of years, Elbert was stuck in the bullpen to limit his innings. He had his inconsistencies, but he also showed some of the old dominance and got stronger as the season went on. The arm is still special when it’s in one piece, so a healthy Elbert would be a very formidable prospect!
Projection: Because of his two very plus pitches the idea of Elbert as a reliever is intriguing, but only as a back-up plan. He’s a nice starting prospect, but because of his continued control issues his ceiling suffers - let’s call him a #3.
2. RHSP Josh Lindblom
Who?: After dominating as a closer in his last year of college, the Dodgers got the bright idea to move Lindblom back into the rotation, where he had previously struggled. Well, let me just say - great idea! Lindblom has a power repertoire inlcluding a 92-95 FB, a slider and a splitter, and he used that repertoire to dominate in his first pro action. He ate up Low-A ball to the tune of 33 K and 4 BB in 29 innings, even getting in a (good) start at AA before the end of the season.
Projection: Big, power repertoire, good command. What’s not to like? It won’t be that long before he’s putting up Low-4 ERAs in the majors.
3. RHSP Ethan Martin
Who?: A rare bird - a high school pitcher I like. Martin already has command of three very good pitches, good body, good mechanics, there aren’t a lot of red flags here. What’s more, if he fails as a pitcher (no matter how good a pitcher is out of high school, that’s still the most likely scenario), Martin has the potential for a Bogusevicesque switch back to the other side of the plate, playing 3B.
Projection: Martin has some front-of-the-rotation potential, but let’s wait until he’s thrown a professional pitch.
4. RHSP James McDonald
Who?: McDonald is mostly a control guy who didn’t show tremendous control in AA this year. He has pretty good control, pretty good K numbers, concerning HR rates and somewhat mediocre stuff. However, besides his flyball tendencies, there’s nothing you can really call ‘bad’ either. So what does it look like he’s going to be?
Projection: A ‘not bad’ pitcher. He’s been near the back of both Top 100 lists, so he’ll feel right at home at the back of a rotation somewhere. Say what you will about the Dodgers, but you can be damn sure that they won’t be starving for pitching in the near future.
5. 2B Tony Delmonico
Who?: Many MIF drafted in the middle rounds are either the midget types who almost never amount to anything, or the types who’ll be playing RF in the near future. Delmonico doesn’t really fit either category. He has the plate approach you’d expect out of the midgets, but he has pretty good power as well - his combined college and minor league stats this year total 18 HR and 59 XBH. The Dodgers have already abandoned the dream of keeping him at SS, but it’s very reasonable to expect Delmonico to stick at 2B, and if he does he’s definitely a prospect to watch.
Projection: Definite potential to be a well-above-average MIF. Something like .275/.350/.450 is attainable.
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