Los Angeles Dodgers 2011 Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review

Los Angeles Dodgers 2011 Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review

I am reviewing my PRE-SEASON list of Top 20 prospects for 2011 for each organization, continuing today with the Los Angeles Dodgers. This list was originally published December 30, 2010. The last team, the Cleveland Indians, will be reviewed tomorrow afternoon.

This is a review of the 2011 Pre-Season Top 20 list. IT IS NOT A NEW LIST.  THESE ARE NOT NEW GRADES

The 2012 list and new grades won't be ready until the season is over and I start writing the book.             

1) Dee Gordon, SS, Grade B:  Hit .333/.373/.410 with 30 steals, 18 walks, 40 strikeouts in 288 at-bats for Triple-A Albuquerque.  Hitting .234/.248/.270 in 111 at-bats for the Dodgers, with 12 steals, two walks, 18 strikeouts. Disruptive on the bases, but lack of patience and power works against him. I think he will gradually improve, but given his relative rawness his struggles should not have been unexpected.

2) Jerry Sands, 1B-OF, Grade B: Hitting .266/.331/.576 with 24 homers, 30 walks, 73 strikeouts in 304 at-bats for Albuquerque. Hit .200/.294/.328 with 17 walks, 33 strikeouts in 125 major league at-bats. I think he will eventually adjust.

3) Trayvon Robinson, OF, Grade B:  Traded to Mariners at the deadline. Hitting combined .289/.374/.552 with 26 homers, 48 walks, 126 strikeouts in 377 Triple-A at-bats between Albuquerque and Tacoma, 9-for-36 with a homer and four doubles so far in the majors. Is power burst real or PCL illusion?

4) Kenley Jansen, RHP, Grade B:  3.65 ERA with 61/21 K/BB in 37 innings for the Dodgers, 23 hits. Outstanding strikeout rate, needs to sharpen control and stay healthy.

5) Rubby De La Rosa, RHP, Grade B:  2.93 ERA with 52/19 K/BB in 40 innings for Double-A Chattanooga led to major league promotion. 3.71 ERA in 61 innings, 60/31 K/BB, 54 hits, 1.32 GO/AO. Impressive rookie season ended early due to Tommy John surgery.

6) Zach Lee, RHP, Grade B: 3.41 ERA with 84/28 K/BB in 95 innings for Low-A Great Lakes, 86 hits. No complaints yet, scouting reports solid.

7) Chris Withrow, RHP, Grade B-:  4.55 ERA with 113/66 K/BB in 113 innings for Chattanooga, 103 hits. Command still wobbles at times, but still picking up strikeouts at a good clip.

8) Aaron Miller, LHP, Grade B-: Limited to 32 innings for High-A Rancho Cucamonga by injury, has a 4.22 ERA with 28/18 K/BB and 36 hits. Components  unimpressive but could improve with fresh start next year.

9) Allen Webster, RHP, Grade B-:   2.33 ERA with 62/21 K/BB in 54 innings, 46 hits, for Rancho, 4.75 ERA with 62/29 K/BB in 78 innings for Chat, with 84 hits. Combined 1.64 GO/AO. Still a lot of potential with this one.

10) Ethan Martin, RHP, Grade C+:  7.36 ERA with 61/37 K/BB in 55 innings for Rancho, 65 hits.  3.33 ERA with 29/15 K/BB in 27 innings for Chat, with 20 hits, performing more effectively at the higher level in the bullpen. Command still an issue but his chances look better than they did three months ago.

11) Scott Elbert, LHP, Grade C+:  3.27 ERA with 21/8 K/BB in 22 major league innings, 15 hits. Could gradually take a larger role as long as command stays decent.

12) Leon Landry, OF, Grade C+:  Hitting .247/.303/.363 with 24 steals, 32 walks, 61 strikeouts in 441 at-bats for Great Lakes. Quite disappointing, I felt he was capable of much better than this and could show more power and OBP.

13) Kyle Russell, OF, Grade C+:  Hitting .256/.340/.495 with 19 homers, 44 walks, 143 strikeouts in 386 at-bats for Chat. Impressive power is still here, but strikeout/contact issues remain serious and he's 25 now.

14) Garrett Gould, RHP, Grade C+:  2.43 ERA with 98/36 K/BB in 115 innings for Great Lakes, 95 hits, 1.00 GO/AO. A fine full-season debut, although transition to less-friendly California League next year will be interesting.

15) Brian Cavazos-Galvez, OF, Grade C+:  .267/.292/.442 with 10 homers, nine walks, 60 strikeouts, 12 steals in 360 at-bats for Chat. He doesn't strike out that much, which is good, but extremely low walk rate finally caught up with him.

16) James Baldwin, OF, Grade C+:  Hitting .257/.344/.486 with eight homers, 11 walks, 52 strikeouts, 18 steals in 140 at-bats for Ogden in the Pioneer League. Power/speed potential stands out, but strikeout rate is too high and overall production isn't great for the offensive context.

17) Jake Lemmerman, SS, Grade C+:  .293/.379/.420 with 47 walks, 90 strikeouts in 400 at-bats for Rancho. Hitting .250/.345/.583 in first six Double-A games for Chat. I don't think he has the range to stay at shortstop, but the bat could be quite useful coming off the bench.

18) Javier Solano, RHP, Grade C+:  4.09 ERA with 45/9 K/BB in 44 innings for Rancho, 54 hits.  1.59 ERA with 19/9 K/BB in 23 innings for Chat, 19 hits. Looks like a solid relief prospect to me.

19) Matt Magill, RHP, Grade C+: 4.05 ERA with 114/46 K/BB in 131 innings for Rancho, 146 hits. Considering the difficult pitching environment in the Cal League, he's done quite well and he could be a big surprise next year in Double-A.

20) Jonathan Garcia, OF, Grade C+:  Hitting .240/.293/.451 with 19 homers, 26 walks, 119 strikeouts in 412 at-bats for Great Lakes. Loads of power, young at age 19, but needs a lot of work with the strike zone.

I think Gordon and Sands will both come around eventually, although in both cases it might not be until people start to give up on them. Lee and Gould have been effective in the Midwest League, but moving up to the Cal League in 2012 will challenge them. There are several toolsy outfielders with strike zone issues, and I thought Landry would be better than this. Rubby's elbow injury is unfortunate but I bet he comes back in 2013 just fine.