Dodgers 7, Diamondbacks 5: Give me ALL your Ryu Australia puns

The Dodgers avoided a bit of a late scare to hold off the D-Backs and sweep the opening 2-game series in Australia.

• Hyun-Jin Ryu was excellent in five innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out five. He left the game after injuring his toe. It, thankfully, does not sound serious.
• Yasiel Puig had himself a 3-hit night (double, two singles) and drove in two as well. Puig was also bitten by the injury bug as his back is sore.
• Dee Gordon and Juan Uribe also chipped in with three hits and a run driven in apiece.
• Adrian Gonzalez stole a base.
• Alex Guerrero had his first official plate appearance and struck out. He's almost certainly about to be sent down for some minor league seasoning.
• The bullpen ran into some trouble in the ninth with a big lead. Jose Dominguez fared the worst -- two walks and a 2-run single -- while Kenley Jansen was taken deep by Mark Trumbo.

Photo Credit: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Looking at the Dodgers' numerous bullpen options for 2014

The Dodgers have a LOT of guys who are viable bullpen options, not even counting starting pitchers who are biding time. It's likely all these guys see action at some point during the year, but what should the pecking order should be?

I looked at the peripheral stats for all the guys and projected how I think they'll do this year. The rigorous approach led to some surprises and insights. Here's my list of candidates, and projections for these players, with Dodger Stadium as their home park, in 2014.

Pitcher	K/9	BB/9	HR/9	ERA
Kenley Jansen	12.6	2.5	0.7	2.10
Brian Wilson	8.9	3.9	0.3	2.77
Jose Dominguez	8.5	4.3	0.4	3.15
Paco Rodriguez (L)	10.2	4.5	0.7	3.29
Jamey Wright	7.0	3.5	0.6	3.53
Yimi Garcia	8.6	3.3	1.1	3.64
Javy Guerra	7.5	4.0	0.7	3.76
Chris Perez	8.4	3.4	1.1	3.89
J.P. Howell (L)	7.6	3.8	0.9	3.91
Scott Elbert (L)	9.0	4.3	1.0	3.96
Brandon League	5.4	2.7	1.0	4.08
Seth Rosin	6.5	3.6	1.1	4.15
Onelki Garcia (L)	7.9	5.4	0.9	4.17
Chris Withrow	9.1	5.2	1.2	4.79

Kenley Jansen, of course, is a beast, and I feel good about Brian Wilson ($10 million looks like an overpay in light of later "closer" signings this winter, but whatever). Rodriguez ought to bounce back from a poor close to the season. That's three good guys, which goes a long way to having a solid bullpen. Relievers are volatile, but you can be pretty sure about the A-listers here at least.

Chris Perez and Brandon League are what they are -- and it could go a lot worse than what you see here.

Some guys I thought were pretty good actually just got lucky last year, or temporarily elevated themselves (I'll believe it's permanent if they do it again), and I'm not sure I see them carrying their performance level through to 2014. I'm speaking specifically about J.P. Howell and Chris Withrow.

A lot of people are down on Withrow, and I couldn't see why. I remember him getting a lot of outs last year. He did better in the majors than he ever did in the minors in terms of strikeouts and walks. He also had a completely unsustainable .205 batting average on balls in play (BABIP). Howell also had a crazy-low BABIP (.241) and a HR rate 1/3 of his career average.

On the other hand, I think there's a few guys who I weren't thinking of that highly who could surprise this year.

Jose Dominguez , Yimi Garica and Javy Guerra look ready to make the jump to solid big-league contributors. Dominguez is going to get the strikeouts with that 100 MPH fastball, and I think he'll continue to limit the number of home runs he allows. His control isn't great, but it'll play. Yimi Garcia has a great slider that's striking out everyone. Guerra has been up and down, but if you normalize his BABIP & HR/FB, he actually looked good last year in both the majors and Triple-A. Jamey Wright is an ageless marvel. Seth Rosin, I don't see what the Dodgers see.

Rodriguez and Howell have the two lefty spots pretty much locked up. Scott Elbert Onelki Garcia are both recovering from surgery. Elbert is a mid-year return, while Garcia hopefully is ready close to opening day.

As far as minor-league starters spending a little time in the bullpen, I see Zach Lee (4.22 ERA) and Stephen Fife (4.28) as not that great this year. Chris Reed (4.69) and Matt Magill (4.96) just do not look good to me. Ross Stripling (3.56) is the one guy I think could contribute in that role. The numbers in parentheses are how I project them as major league starters, so perhaps they'd do a bit better in the bullpen (on average, bullpen ERAs are about 0.3 lower despite having lower quality pitchers than starting rotations). However, maybe they'd have a hard time adjusting (Fife's season was basically ruined by the disruption last year).

Paul Maholm (3.83), Josh Beckett (3.80) and Chad Billingsley (3.55) all might or might not be asked to get in the bullpen business too, with Dan Haren (3.62) as an extreme outside shot. Most likely, they'd be at least toward the middle to upper-end of the pack if they had to do that.

A lot will go into the decision besides performance -- who has what kind of contract situation in terms of minor league options, Rule 5 status, etc. There's also who the Dodgers might want to showcase for a trade, or how Beckett's recovery is going, and so on. But opening day is just a point in time. People will get injured or be ineffective and others will get their chances.

Photo credit: Dustin Nosler, Feelin' Kinda Blue

Seth Rosin's chances of remaining with Dodgers better than some expect

When the Dodgers acquired right-hander Seth Rosin from the Mets, following New York selecting him in the 2013 Rule 5 Draft, not much was made about it at the time.

Rosin, 25, has never pitched above Double-A, and was just mediocre at the level in 2013 (4.33 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 6.8 K/9). But that was as a starting pitcher. He'll shift back to the bullpen, where he has spent a majority of his minor-league innings.

At 6'6, 250 pounds, it's hard to miss him on the field. With a low-90s fastball that touches 94 MPH, he has the velocity to succeed in the majors. He also seems to have the command to do so. His career walks per nine innings rate is 2.7. Sure, it'd probably tick up a bit in the majors, but he's adept at throwing strikes.

If Rosin were able to miss more bats consistently, he could find himself in a Major League bullpen. To make the Dodgers' bullpen, a lot of things are going to have to go in his favor.

Dodger relievers with MLB deals
J.P. Howell
Kenley Jansen
Brandon League
Chris Perez
Brian Wilson
Jamey Wright

Dodger relievers with MiLB options
Jose Dominguez
Paco Rodriguez
Chris Withrow

Barring anything unforeseen, all six of the pitchers from the first list are going to make the team in some fashion. The only conceivable way one doesn't is if League is designated for assignment.

Of the three on the second list, Rodriguez is a sure bet to be in the Dodgers' bullpen come opening day. If he weren't, that means Howell would be the team's only left-handed reliever.

Eric Stephen wrote a piece about Rosin earlier this week. He got an interesting quote from General Manager Ned Colletti.

"'I'm very interested in seeing what he can bring. Great arm, very competitive, very sharp,' (Colletti) said. 'He may be a power arm out of the pen, he may be somebody who could pitch multiple innings out of the pen, he could be a spot starter.'"

That versatility is an attractive feature to have, especially to the Dodgers, which lack a true long-reliever right now.

Colletti also had good things to say about him in Bill Plunkett's article on Baseball America on Sunday.

"'We had good reports on him,' (Colletti said). 'He's a big guy with a live arm and he's a smart kid. The day we traded for him, he finished his last final to get his degree from the University of Minnesota.

'That doesn’t speak to the baseball side but it says something about the kid.'"

This probably means absolutely nothing, but the Dodgers' 2013 first-round pick Chris Anderson is from the Minnesota area and second-rounder Tom Windle went to the University of Minnesota. Just interesting to note.

Rosin was invited to the Dodgers' Winter Development Program, the Dodgers' annual symposium-type even for prospects and young players close to the majors. If the Dodgers didn't really think Rosin had a chance to make the club, he would not have been invited.

As a Rule 5 draftee, Rosin would have to be on the active roster when the seasons start -- either on the 25-man roster or on the disabled list. If the Dodgers do not retain him, he'd be placed on waivers for any team to claim. If he goes unclaimed, he'd have to be offered back to the Phillies for $25,000. If they refuse, the Dodgers could then send him to the minor leagues. The Dodgers could also negotiate a trade with Philadelphia to keep him around. I don't see him making it that far. If he throws well in spring, the Dodgers could find a way to keep him. If he is waived, he'd surely be claimed.

As a flyball pitcher, his profile fits well in Dodger Stadium. I put a 70 percent chance he'd be cut to make room on the 40-man roster. After hearing the good things about him from the Dodgers, I'm not so certain.

A team can never have too much pitching. That adage usually holds true, unless one of those pitchers is a Rule 5 draftee.

It's a tough road ahead for Rosin, but he has a better chance of remaining in Los Angeles than it may seem. I'll say this: I'd take Rosin over league in a heartbeat.

Photo credit: woolenium, Flickr

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