2007 Los Angeles Dodgers Prospects

2007 Los Angeles Dodgers Prospects

1. Andy LaRoche, 3B, Grade A- (I really like him as a hitter)
   
2. Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Grade A- (terrific all-around young pitcher)
   
3. James Loney, 1B, Grade B+ (right on the border of A-)
   
4. Scott Elbert, LHP, B+ (great arm but command an issue)
   
5. Chin-Lung Hu, SS, B (awesome defensive player with a bat that could develop further)
   
6. Jonathan Meloan, RHP, B (a personal favorite)
   
7. Blake DeWitt, 2B, B- (needs to break through in '07 to maintain status)
   
8. Preston Mattingly, INF-OF, B- (position a question but has promising tools and bloodlines)
   
9. Josh Bell, 3B, C+ (intriguing power bat, breakthrough candidate)
   
10. Ivan DeJesus, SS, C+ (good glove, bat has some promise)
    
11. Cory Dunlap, 1B, C+ (looks blocked positionally but a nice bat)
    
12. Tony Abreu, 2B, C+ (Triple-A numbers should be interesting)
    
13. Delwyn Young, OF, C+ (needs a change of scenery)
    
14. Kyle Orr, 1B, C+ (lots of power potential)
    
15. Greg Miller, LHP, C (can he stay healthy?)
    
16. Bryan Morris, RHP, C (would be B/B+ if not for Tommy John)
    
17. Eric Stults, LHP, C (he survived Las Vegas)
    
18. Brian Akin, RHP, C (interesting relief candidate)
    
19. B.J. LaMura, RHP, C (interesting relief candidate)
    
20. Mark Alexander, RHP, C (interesting relief candidate)

Others of Note: Matt Berezay, OF; Zach Hammes, RHP; Casey Hoorelbeke, RHP; Eric Hull, RHP; Bridger Hunt, OF; Stephen Johnson, RHP; Brent Leach, LHP; Andrew Locke, OF; James McDonald, RHP; Justin Orenduff, RHP; Xavier Paul, OF; Anthony Raglani, OF: Ryan Rogowski, OF.

The Dodgers in One Sentence: this system has thinned out a lot due to major league graduations, but they've shown the ability to recharge quickly.

As usual the Grade C guys are interchangeable depending on what you like to emphasize. The Dodgers like to sign toolsy and projectable guys from Latin America traditionally, and someone new will emerge soon enough.

ALL GRADES ARE PRELIMINARY. If you hate a grade, feel free to make a case for me to change it, though remember that cases phrased respectfully using logic and facts are more likely to be viewed positively than those featuring insults and invective.

There is a lot of slack in the B-/C+/C range and players may move up and down depending on how my thinking progresses. Feel free to make comments, point out sleepers I may have missed, etc. Note that there is only a limited amount of space in the book, and the max I can do is 35-36 players per team.

And, as always, there is the helpful reminder to Buy My Book, which will lay out reports for all these guys (and more) in detail.