Dodgers invite top prospects to 7th annual Winter Development Program

As they've done for seven straight years, the Dodgers are holding their Winter Development Program at Dodger Stadium, beginning Sunday.

The main goals of the program are to help Dodger minor-leaguers not only prepare for the majors, but also to prepare themselves for the off-the-field aspect of being a Major League Baseball player.

From the Dodgers' official press release:

"Fifteen of the club’s top minor league prospects will be in Los Angeles for the event, which includes seminars with Dodger staffers and workouts that focus on fundamentals, strength training and conditioning. Throughout the week, Dodger prospects will familiarize themselves with the greater Los Angeles area through social events and a community service visit to A Place Called Home, a youth center in South Los Angeles. The program is highlighted by sessions with Don Mattingly, Tommy Lasorda, Don Newcombe, Maury Wills, Eric Karros, Shawn Green, Stan Kasten and Ned Colletti and the annual Legends Dinner with Dodger alumni."

The attendees are as follows:

Pedro Baez
Chili Buss
Jose Dominguez
Yimi Garcia
Zach Lee
Matt Magill
Jarret Martin
Pratt Maynard
Chris O'Brien
Joc Pederson
Chris Reed
Miguel Rojas
Seth Rosin
Scott Schebler
Ross Stripling

Lee, Magill, Pederson and Reed all attended the 2013 Winter Development Program.

Baez, Garcia and Martin were added to the 40-man roster in November, so they were locks to be there. Lee and Schebeler were the Dodgers (and my) minor-league pitcher and player of the year, respectively.

Rosin was acquired from the Mets after they selected him from the Phillies in December's Rule 5 Draft. Stripling is the best prospect of the first-timers.

Magill threw a handful of games with the Dodgers, while Dominguez pitched briefly with them last season before suffering a quad injury. Buss had the smallest cup of coffee of any of the minor-leaguers invited to the program.

O'Brien

The two catchers -- Maynard and O'Brien -- both played in the Arizona Fall League (as did Garcia and Martin).

The most interesting -- and I use that term loosely -- is the inclusion of Rojas. General Manager Ned Colletti mentioned Rojas by name in a radio interview a couple weeks ago as someone who could be in the second base mix if Alexander Guerrero isn't ready to go. I blew off the thought, as did others. But the invitation to the program leads me to believe there's at least been some talk about him either being a utility infielder or the team's second baseman come March in Australia.

The Dodgers are really doing this just to spite me. I still maintain there's no way Rojas is on the Dodgers' roster come opening day. His glove may be really good (though, it probably isn't even a 65 or 70), but one has to at least hit a little to be a major leaguer. Rojas has displayed minimal ability to hit at the minor-league level. If I can say something nice about his offense, it's the fact he's walks a little (7.6 percent) and doesn't strikeout a whole lot (11.4 percent).

Photo credits: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Dodgers' 2013 Arizona Fall League update: Seager, Garcias, more

The Dodgers didn't send a lot of talent to the 2013 Arizona Fall League, but they did send one of their top prospects in Corey Seager.

He hasn't played particularly well, but it's hard to get discouraged at AFL numbers. Keith Law fell into that trap last year when Joc Pederson hit .096/.161/.154 in 56 plate appearances. Law has since did a reversal on Pederson.

Here's a brief update on all the Dodger prospects who have participated in the AFL. They're playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs.

Hitters

Brian Cavazos-Galvez, OF
.250/.300/.389, 1 HR, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K
- Not a bad showing thus far, but Cavzos-Galvez is 26, so he's a bit older than most of the competition in the league.

Chris O'Brien, C
.100/.296/.200, 2 2B, 3 RBI, 6 BB, 5 K
- O'Brien is having a rough go of it, though, the six walks are nice. However, he's been tweeting quite a bit about his AFL time -- especially about Twins' super prospect Byron Buxton.

Pratt Maynard, C
2-for-8 (.250/.455/.625), 1 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 0 K
- Not a ton of data on Maynard, but 2014 will be a telling season for the former third-round pick.

Corey Seager, SS
.162/.262/.243, 3 2B, 4 RBI, 5 BB, 12 K
- Not Pederson-esque, but not especially great, either, considering how much he struggled with his late-season promotion to Rancho Cucamonga.

Pitchers

Pedro Baez
4 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K
- The converted third baseman has thrown well so far in Arizona. Many thought he would be the second coming of Kenley Jansen. Those people would be wrong. Baez is no longer on the Desert Dogs' roster.

Onelki Garcia
No stats
- Yet to pitch, but he just replaced Baez on the roster. Could use a little seasoning.

Yimi Garcia
6 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K
- Garcia has been the best performer of any Dodger prospect in Arizona so far. While his fastball is no better than a 55 pitch, his slider will determine how long his Major League career will be.

Jarret Martin
8 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 12 BB, 6 K
- Oof, 12 walks in eight innings isn't going to get it done. His future lies in the bullpen. He'll need to get his command and control down if he wants to ever crack a big league bullpen.

Michael Thomas
5 2/3, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
- Thomas is an under-the-radar prospect who could be a left-handed specialist in the majors one day. He had a rough start in Arizona, but has managed to turn it around a bit.

Photo credit: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Podcast: 'Dugout Blues' episode 56 - Kemp, Ramirez, injuries, Guerrero

On this episode of "Dugout Blues," Jared Massey (Dodger Diamond) and I chat about the Dodgers' recent struggles as Tuesday night's Dodger game is taking place. Spoiler alert: they won 9-3 and the Dodgers are one win (today or tomorrow) from clinching the National League West title.

Matt Kemp made his triumphant return. Well, it was supposed to be, as Don Mattingly sent him up in a crucial situation only for him to strikeout. Fortunately, he looked like the Matt Kemp of old last night, going 4-for-4 with two doubles (one that would have been a home run in most any other stadium in baseball) and three RBI. Welcome back, Matt.

The Dodgers also have a rash of injuries to deal with in the season's final two weeks. The aforementioned Kemp is coming back, Hanley Ramirez came back (and he looks good to go again), Carl Crawford has a bad back and Andre Ethier has a sparined ankle. Here's hoping everyone is good to go in a couple weeks.

Alexander Guerrero may or may not be a thing. The latest is he signed with Scott Boras, making his previous two agreements with the Dodgers null and void. At this rate, I'd rather the Dodgers go after someone else at second base come 2014.

The Dodgers are sending Onelki Garcia, Yimi Garcia, Shawn Tolleson and Michael Thomas to the Arizona Fall League to go along with Brian Cavazos-Galvez, Pratt Maynard, Chris O'Brien and Corey Seager.

Episode dedications
Jared: Hong-Chih Kuo
Dustin: Pedro Astascio

Finally, we get to listener questions. There were a lot of really good ones. Please, keep them coming.

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Look for new episodes of "Dugout Blues" every Wednesday. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast and review us on iTunes. We want to make this the best podcast we can so we're always looking for suggestions and ways to improve.

If you have questions you'd like us to answer or certain topics/players you want to hear more about, feel free to email us (ladugout@gmail.com or feelinkindablue@gmail.com) or send us messages on Twitter (@Dodger_Diamond or @FeelinKindaBlue). You can also "Like" the podcast on Facebook. We always welcome audience participation.

Image credit: Joe Martin

Corey Seager leads eight Dodgers' prospects to 2013 Arizona Fall League

The Dodgers sent eight players to the Arizona Fall League last year, including Joc Pederson and Yasiel Puig. Pederson struggled mightily and Puig didn’t play due to a staph infection.

This year, the Dodgers will again send eight players, led by 2012 first-round draft pick Corey Seager. Joining him -- for now -- are catchers Pratt Maynard and Chris O’Brien, as well as outfielder BrianCavazos-Galvez. There should be four pitchers joining that quartet, which will be announced later. I can confirm Rob Rasmussen will be one of the four.

My initial prediction had Onelki Garcia, Yimi Garcia and Jarret Martin joining Rasmussen. I’m pretty sure Martin will go (hat tip to Deejaydezz, via Twitter). The other two are unknown. Chris Reed went last season and could go again. I’d like to see the Garcias get in, though.

Seager’s inclusion comes as a surprise to me, as I didn’t think he’d be eligible for the AFL.

Before last year, players had to be on the Double-A roster before Aug. 1. But now, two Low-A players or first-year draftees (signed by July 13), two High-A players and as many as three Double-A, Triple-A or young major leaguers are eligible.

Dodger prospects will play for the Glendale Desert Dogs. They’ll play their home games at Camelback Ranch, home of Dodgers’ (and White Sox’s) spring training.

The best of the best usually attend the AFL. For example, Byron Buxton will be on the Desert Dogs’ roster. Buxton is baseball’s top prospect.

However, performance isn’t always the best indicator of how these players will do going forward. Pederson had a miserable 2012 AFL season (.096/.161/.154) -- so much so that it caused some prospectors (hi, Keith Law) to rank Pederson lower in offseason lists than he should have been.

It’ll be interesting to see how Seager does against some of the game’s best. He should see ample time at shortstop. Marcus Semien is the only other true shortstop on the roster, and third base is likely to be occupied by Marlins’ 2013 first-round draft pick Colin Moran. Scouts from all over will get a look at Seager and we should have a more accurate representation of the future star.

Those in the organization think he can stick at shortstop. Those outside don’t. Perhaps some scuttlebutt from Arizona could reaffirm one opinion or the other.

Photo credit: Dustin Nosler, Feelin’ Kinda Blue