This is the third in a four-part series, this time looking at the most disappointing Dodgers' prospects.
This list will be populated by guys who were either hyped or high-round picks who just haven't gotten it together this season.
If these guys were to get on track, the Dodgers' system would be a lot better than it is right now. But not every prospect is going to pan out, so you have to account for that.
Most disappointing hitters
1. OF Jonathan Garcia
- Garcia showed a lot of promise in his first two seasons -- albeit in rookie ball. He had an .862 and .892 OPS the last two seasons. He started off on fire this season but has cooled off considerably. With the Loons, he has only a .736 OPS, but 49 of his 103 hits have been for extra bases (28 2B, 2 3B, 19 HR). His BB/K rate is bad right now: 32/125. That has to improve as he moves up the ladder. He is only 19 years old, so he's facing competition on average two years older than him.
2. OF Leon Landry
- Landry had the best debut of any Dodger 2010 draftee, hitting .349/.399/.510 for Ogden last season. He was my ninth-best prospect headed into the season, but he has struggled in the Midwest League. He's been on a tear of late, but his batting average has been in the upper-.230s to low-.250s all season. He's at .260/.317/.377 with four home runs, 21 doubles, 11 triples and 25 stolen bases. He's a candidate to bounce back in 2012 and I wouldn't be surprised to see him repeat Low-A before getting a promotion to Rancho.
3. OF Kyle Russell
- I've never been the biggest fan of Russell, but I penned a piece about him (and Nathan Eovaldi) earlier this season. At the time, he had a .909 OPS. His OPS was down to .847 before getting promoted to Albuquerque two days ago. Russell has power potential and good defense, so he should, at worst, be a bench player. But strikeouts continue to be a problem, as he's whiffing at a 36.3 percent clip. It's actually down from last season (37.6 percent), but it still doesn't bode well for his future success.
Honorable mentions: 3B Pedro Baez, OF/1B Brian Cavazos-Galvez, OF/1B Jerry Sands
Most disappointing pitchers
1. RHP Ethan Martin
- It's the same thing with Martin, who seems to be fairing much better as a reliever in Double-A than a starter in High-A. With the Lookouts, he has a 3.48 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 7.0 H/9, 9.6 K/BB in 31 innings. With the Quakes, he had a 7.36 ERA, 1.85 WHIP, 10.6 H/9, 10.0 K/9 in 55 innings. No matter what team he's pitched for, though, walks have still been an issue. He has a 5.8 BB/9 rate on the season. It's actually down from last season, but still not where it needs to be. The Dodgers should seriously look at converting him to third base because I doubt he'll ever throw enough strikes to be a decent Major League pitcher.
2. RHP Derek Cone
- It's kind of hard for a 31st-round draft pick to be disappointing, but Cone was considered a steal and a nice signing for the Dodgers. Cone struggled at all three of his stops in the minors this season -- those most with the Loons, where he posted a 5.68 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 9.2 H/9 and a Martin-like 6.8 BB/9. He has all the talent to be a solid starting prospect. At 21, he still has time to figure things out.
3. RHP Matt Magill
- Magill was a personal favorite and put up solid numbers last season in the Midwest League. The California League hasn't been so kind to him (as expected by most). He had a 12-strikeout game a couple weeks ago, but he's been up and down overall. His 4.24 ERA is mediorce, but his 1.50 WHIP and 10.2 H/9 isn't going to cut it at any level. He's still just 21, so maybe moving to the Southern League in 2012 will help. His fringe fastball isn't going to be as effective unless he locates it well enough as he moves up through the minors.
Honorable mentions: LHP Aaron Miller, LHP Greg Wilborn, RHP Chris Withrow
Next up: Most disappointing Dodger hitters and pitchers (there is no shortage)
Showing posts with label Kyle Russell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kyle Russell. Show all posts
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Eovaldi, Russell enjoying nice seasons for Chattanooga
Dodgers' RHP Nathan Eovaldi is enjoying a great season at Double-A Chattanooga after having just a mediocre season in 2010 in three levels of the minors.
Eovaldi, who ranked No. 8 on my 2010 Dodger prospect list and No. 28 in my 2011 list, has proven me wrong. As a 21-year-old in the Southern League, he is mostly facing competition who is older than him, but he's been dominant at times. This is quite encouraging for his progress and could even see some time in L.A. later this season (I mean, who woulda thunk Javy Guerra would be in the Dodger bullpen right now?).
Through 11 games (10 starts, one relief appearance), Eovaldi is 4-4 with a 2.98 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 6.8 H/9, 0.4 HR/9, 10.3 K/9 and a 2.81 K/BB ratio. In his lone relief appearance on Tuesday, he fired one relief inning, striking out one and reportedly hitting 101 MPH on the radar gun.
Eovaldi sits in the low-to-mid-90s as a starter with a decent curveball. He's made a little progress with his changeup, but it's probably what will keep him from being a successful starter in the majors.
However, his two-pitch combination -- especially with an upper-90s fastball -- could play very well out of the bullpen.
Kyle Russell, 24, is also enjoying a nice season at Double-A. The former third-round choice from Texas, Russell has 12 home runs, 20 2B and 38 RBI in 59 games this season -- good enough for a .909 OPS. Last season in 76 Southern League games, he was able to OPS .781 with 10 home runs and 23 2B.
The problem with him -- always has been, always will be -- is his K-rate. Last season, he struck out 37.5 percent of his at-bats. This season, he's actually improved to 35.4 percent. But that's still way too high for a Major League regular. That's actually between the career K-rate of Adam Dunn (33.1 percent) and Mark Reynolds (38 percent). Russell does play excellent defense in right field, so his power/defense combo could be enough for him to be a bench player at worst in the bigs.
One thing that concerns me is he's 24 (25 on June 27) and still in Double-A. It's not the worst thing in the world, but I'd like to see the Dodgers push him to Triple-A (despite the high K-rate) to see if there's any hope for him as a regular. It might be a little hasty on my part, but if he goes to Albuquerque and succeeds, he could be in the mix next season or used as a trade piece.
In all likelihood, though, he'll reach the majors as a part-time player.
The Lookouts' roster has improved with Allen Webster and Shawn Tolleson being promoted and Kenley Jansen returning on a rehab assignment. Some would say Jansen could benefit from some time in the minors to work on his secondary offerings. That isn't the worst idea, especially with Guerra, Scott Elbert and Josh Lindblom (in limited time) holding their own in the Dodgers' bullpen.
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Dee Gordon made his Major League debut this week and so far, so good. He's 3-for-8 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Despite looking like a bat boy, he is the most exciting prospect the Dodgers have and manager Don Mattingly said he's going to play every day (I wish he'd make the same commitment to Jerry Sands). Update 2:37 p.m.: Well, it looks as if Sands will be playing every day... but in Albuquerque. He was optioned to Triple-A with the Dodgers recalling Trent Oeltjen. Sands will be back.
Pure speculation here, but perhaps the Dodgers are not sold on Rafael Furcal's health for the rest of the season. It's nice to see a lot of prospects on the team, though. Six players have made their debut this season: Ivan DeJesus, Rubby De La Rosa, Gordon, Guerra, Lindbolm and Sands. It's entirely possible for guys like Eovaldi, Trayvon Robinson and Russell to make their debuts later this season.
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The Dodgers begin a four-game series in Colorado tonight. Expect a lot of frustration, even with Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley and Rubby De La Rosa pitching three of the four games.
Eovaldi, who ranked No. 8 on my 2010 Dodger prospect list and No. 28 in my 2011 list, has proven me wrong. As a 21-year-old in the Southern League, he is mostly facing competition who is older than him, but he's been dominant at times. This is quite encouraging for his progress and could even see some time in L.A. later this season (I mean, who woulda thunk Javy Guerra would be in the Dodger bullpen right now?).
Through 11 games (10 starts, one relief appearance), Eovaldi is 4-4 with a 2.98 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 6.8 H/9, 0.4 HR/9, 10.3 K/9 and a 2.81 K/BB ratio. In his lone relief appearance on Tuesday, he fired one relief inning, striking out one and reportedly hitting 101 MPH on the radar gun.
Eovaldi sits in the low-to-mid-90s as a starter with a decent curveball. He's made a little progress with his changeup, but it's probably what will keep him from being a successful starter in the majors.
However, his two-pitch combination -- especially with an upper-90s fastball -- could play very well out of the bullpen.
Kyle Russell, 24, is also enjoying a nice season at Double-A. The former third-round choice from Texas, Russell has 12 home runs, 20 2B and 38 RBI in 59 games this season -- good enough for a .909 OPS. Last season in 76 Southern League games, he was able to OPS .781 with 10 home runs and 23 2B.
The problem with him -- always has been, always will be -- is his K-rate. Last season, he struck out 37.5 percent of his at-bats. This season, he's actually improved to 35.4 percent. But that's still way too high for a Major League regular. That's actually between the career K-rate of Adam Dunn (33.1 percent) and Mark Reynolds (38 percent). Russell does play excellent defense in right field, so his power/defense combo could be enough for him to be a bench player at worst in the bigs.
One thing that concerns me is he's 24 (25 on June 27) and still in Double-A. It's not the worst thing in the world, but I'd like to see the Dodgers push him to Triple-A (despite the high K-rate) to see if there's any hope for him as a regular. It might be a little hasty on my part, but if he goes to Albuquerque and succeeds, he could be in the mix next season or used as a trade piece.
In all likelihood, though, he'll reach the majors as a part-time player.
The Lookouts' roster has improved with Allen Webster and Shawn Tolleson being promoted and Kenley Jansen returning on a rehab assignment. Some would say Jansen could benefit from some time in the minors to work on his secondary offerings. That isn't the worst idea, especially with Guerra, Scott Elbert and Josh Lindblom (in limited time) holding their own in the Dodgers' bullpen.
#####
Dee Gordon made his Major League debut this week and so far, so good. He's 3-for-8 with two runs scored and a stolen base. Despite looking like a bat boy, he is the most exciting prospect the Dodgers have and manager Don Mattingly said he's going to play every day (I wish he'd make the same commitment to Jerry Sands). Update 2:37 p.m.: Well, it looks as if Sands will be playing every day... but in Albuquerque. He was optioned to Triple-A with the Dodgers recalling Trent Oeltjen. Sands will be back.
Pure speculation here, but perhaps the Dodgers are not sold on Rafael Furcal's health for the rest of the season. It's nice to see a lot of prospects on the team, though. Six players have made their debut this season: Ivan DeJesus, Rubby De La Rosa, Gordon, Guerra, Lindbolm and Sands. It's entirely possible for guys like Eovaldi, Trayvon Robinson and Russell to make their debuts later this season.
#####
The Dodgers begin a four-game series in Colorado tonight. Expect a lot of frustration, even with Clayton Kershaw, Chad Billingsley and Rubby De La Rosa pitching three of the four games.
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