Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Five Dodgers make BA's Southern League Top 20

Baseball America published its Top 20 Southern League prospect list today, and five Dodgers made the cut.
10. Allen Webster
12. Alfredo Silverio
13. Nathan Eovaldi
18. Chris Withrow
20. Shawn Tolleson
I predicted yesterday Eovaldi would make the list for sure, with Silverio, Tolleson, Van Slyke and Rubby De La Rosa as potentials. I mistakenly omitted Webster and just didn't think Withrow was going to make it.

I was surprised to see Silverio ranked so high -- ahead of Eovaldi, even. If these lists are any indicator to what the Dodgers' Top 30 could be like -- and that's not guaranteed -- maybe Silverio will be a Top 10 prospect. It'd be quite the jump for the toolsy outfielder.

BA's lovefest with former first-round picks continues with Withrow. His 2011 season wasn't horrible -- certainly not any worse than his 2010 season, but he still needs to improve his command. He might be the 18th-best prospect in the Southern League, but he looks like he might be destined for relief work.

Speaking of relievers, they don't usually rank highly, so Tolleson checking in at No. 20 is surprising and unsurprising at the same time. A 30th-round steal in last year's draft, he could conceivably challenge for a bullpen spot in 2012.

One omission -- not especially glaring -- is Scott Van Slyke. He led the league in batting average and doubles and was in the top five in a lot of other statistical categories. The reasoning, revealed in the chat, is his apparent lack of bat speed and minimal defensive value.

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Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness poses the question: would you trade Andre Ethier and Chad Billingsley for young talent? This is a question that stems from Jim Bowden's post on ESPNLA.com. While pretty unrealistic on Bowden's part, it's the kind of direction general manager Ned Colletti should be looking in to fix the club.

He also has a great review of James Loney's 2011 season.

Brandon Lennox of True Blue L.A. has a nice review of the Dominican Dodgers' season.

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