Chris Withrow goes on minor-league DL with injury

Aaron Miller started for Chattanooga on Saturday. The tall lefty, who might ultimately be destined for the bullpen, went just 2 2/3 innings. It was surprising to me he started.

The Lookouts appear to have a glut of starting pitching options, but as a former first-round pick, the Dodgers are wise to keep trying him as a starter until he proves he can't handle it.

Enter Chris Withrow, who is expected to be a top-of-the-rotation guy in his fourth stint with the Lookouts. Unfortunately, he's on the 7-day disabled list (in the minors) to begin the season.

Tyler Brown at LA Dugout has the details (subscription required).

This is a make-or-break year for Withrow. I took a brief look at what he has to lose this season -- and it's a lot. He'll need to figure out his control if he wants to stay in the rotation. If not, I'm sure his mid-90s fastball and power curveball could do him well out of the bullpen. Even then, he'll still need to throw enough strikes. Tough break for him. Here's hoping he's OK and figures things out.

Baseball America released a slew of minor-league transactions. Here are some notes about the Dodgers:

Longtime Dodger farmhand Jaime Pedroza has officially been released. The 2007 ninth-round pick played 572 games in the Dodgers' minor-league season and posted a .281/.366/.439 line in his career. He appears to have decent on-base skills, but at 25, he's not much of a prospect anymore. I wouldn't be surprised to see him catch on elsewhere.

Tim Sexton, another longtime Dodger minor-leaguer (2007 25th-rounder), was released. Primarily a starter, Sexton was just not a good pitcher. He posted a 5.15 ERA, 1.49 WHIP and a terrible 11.1 H/9 rate in 613 1/3 innings.

Triple-A roster fodder Ryan Tucker and Shane Lindsay are both on the disabled list. When healthy, they should both end up in Albuquerque.

The Dodgers also released Brandon Mims, who was signed out after the open tryout in Spring Training.

Other names of note released: Brian Anderson (former White Sox's outfielder-turned-pitcher), Matt Chico (Diamondbacks' 2003 third-round pick) and Andy Sisco (6 feet, 10 inches tall, spent 147 2/3 innings in the majors).

Photo credit: SD Dirk, Flickr