Dodgers' prospect Jerry Sands has had his fair share of success early in the spring. In his nine Spring Training games, Sands is 6-for-13 with two home runs, a triple and three walks.
While it is certainly a small sample size, he's been impressive thus far.
It'd be tempting to give him a chance to start in left field opening day -- especially if he keeps up this pace -- but the Dodgers must resist that option. He needs to play against advanced pitching before getting his chance with the Dodgers.
If James Loney suffers an injury during the season and Sands is handling himself well at Triple-A, he could get a call-up earlier than expected. That is where Sands' future lies. Unless Loney goes nuts this season, there is a better-than-good chance he will be non-tendered next winter (or traded), paving the way for Sands to play first base.
Sands' batting average (and subsequently on-base and slugging percentages) dropped when he moved up to Double-A last season, but his power numbers remained relatively similar.
The only thing that fell significantly was the number of singles he hit. That is encouraging, especially since he had a similar number of at-bats and plate appearances.
Sands probably isn't going to be a .300 hitter in the big leagues, but a .270+ average and 30+ home runs a season is certainly not out of the question.
As my No. 1 Dodger prospect, Sands looks poised to prove people who are not yet believers in his abilities wrong. If he doesn't exhaust his rookie status this season, he has a legitimate chance to be atop the Dodger prospect rankings on a variety of lists.
Perhaps I'm jumping the gun a bit, but it's really exciting to see a power-hitting prospect like Sands. Matt Kemp still has great power potential, but Sands is the Dodgers best power prospect since Paul Konerko and Mike Piazza before him.
And perhaps the best part of all this is his walk-up music that will be blaring on the obscenely loud (at times) Dodger Stadium speakers, even if Mike Petriello of Mike Scioscia's Tragic Illness doesn't agree.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Dodgers' team leaders after the first week-plus of Spring Training
The Dodgers are 3-7 in their first 10 games of Spring Training. Here's how the numbers break down through those 10 games.
Hitters
Batting average: Jamie Hoffmann and Matt Kemp - .417
Hits: Hoffmann, Kemp, James Loney, Aaron Miles - 5
At-bats: Gabe Kapler, Miles - 15
Runs: Jerry Sands - 3
Doubles: Marcus Thames - 2
Home runs: Rod Barajas Juan Castro, Sands - 1
RBI: Castro - 4
Stolen bases: Tony Gwynn - 4
Walks: Justin Sellers - 4
Strikeouts: Xavier Paul - 8
On-base percentage: Loney - .545
Slugging percentage: Castro - .727
Pitchers
Games: Roman Colon, Lance Cormier, Wilkin De La Rosa, Jon Huber, Jon Link, Carlos Monasterios, Luis Vasquez, Oscar Villarreal - 3
Innings: Clayton Kershaw - 7
ERA (> 1 IP): Colon, W. De La Rosa, John Ely, Jon Garland, Huber, Kenley Jansen, Kershaw, Mike MacDougal, Tim Redding, Ramon Troncoso - 0.00
Walks: Scott Elbert - 6
Strikeouts: Kershaw - 6
WHIP: Troncoso - 0.30
Saves: Nathan Eovaldi, Villarreal - 1
Hitters
Batting average: Jamie Hoffmann and Matt Kemp - .417
Hits: Hoffmann, Kemp, James Loney, Aaron Miles - 5
At-bats: Gabe Kapler, Miles - 15
Runs: Jerry Sands - 3
Doubles: Marcus Thames - 2
Home runs: Rod Barajas Juan Castro, Sands - 1
RBI: Castro - 4
Stolen bases: Tony Gwynn - 4
Walks: Justin Sellers - 4
Strikeouts: Xavier Paul - 8
On-base percentage: Loney - .545
Slugging percentage: Castro - .727
Pitchers
Games: Roman Colon, Lance Cormier, Wilkin De La Rosa, Jon Huber, Jon Link, Carlos Monasterios, Luis Vasquez, Oscar Villarreal - 3
Innings: Clayton Kershaw - 7
ERA (> 1 IP): Colon, W. De La Rosa, John Ely, Jon Garland, Huber, Kenley Jansen, Kershaw, Mike MacDougal, Tim Redding, Ramon Troncoso - 0.00
Walks: Scott Elbert - 6
Strikeouts: Kershaw - 6
WHIP: Troncoso - 0.30
Saves: Nathan Eovaldi, Villarreal - 1
- The Good: Sands getting on base, Gwynn stealing bases and Kershaw and Billingsley dominating and Troncoso is impressing thus far
- The Bad: Paul striking out way too much and Andre Ethier is 1-for-13
- The Ugly: Castro is atop the HR, RBI and SLG categories
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Dodger pitching prospects looking to bounce back
Many highly-ranked Dodger prospects had poor 2010 seasons. The 2011 season is a chance for them to either prove they're still legitimate, high-ceiling prospects or if they're going to be middling, mediocre players.
Nathan Eovaldi (my 2009 prospect rank: 8), Josh Lindblom (4), Ethan Martin (2) and Chris Withrow (3) all come to mind. It's just a coincidence that they're all hard-throwing right-handed pitchers, but they all had poor 2010 seasons.
Eovaldi had the "best" season of the bunch, posting a 4.30 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 9/9 H/9 and 1.95 K/BB ratio last year. He seems to be ticketed for the bullpen. One bright spot is he pitched against the White Sox on Monday and just went right through the hitters. Of course, this was in the ninth inning against minor leaguers and guys who likely won't make the team, so take it for what it's worth.
Eovaldi needs to be in the bullpen from now on. He has yet to develop a third pitch and his strikeout rate is low for a guy who throws in the mid-90s. If he focuses on being a power reliever, his stock could improve dramatically this season.
Lindblom is in a similar situation to Eovaldi, except for the fact many prognosticated that he'd end up being a reliever when the Dodgers drafted him in the second round of the 2008 MLB Draft. He has a heavy low-to-mid-90s fastball and a potential out pitch with his slider. He pitched better out of the 'pen at Albuquerque last year and the Dodgers have finally come to grips with him being a reliever. That could be the best thing for his development.
Martin is one of the most athletic players in the system and looked promising after his 2009 debut. However, he fell flat on his face in 2010. He failed to throw strikes which led to his poor performance. If Martin has another bad season on the bump, the Dodgers could -- and should -- seriously consider moving him to third base. A lot of teams saw him as a power-hitting third baseman out of high school, but the Dodgers were intrigued with mid-90s fastball and power curveball that they couldn't pass up a chance at another prep, right-handed flamethrower.
And then there's Withrow, who many people are still high on despite a bad season at Double-A. Withrow has the most talent and potential of any starter not named Zach Lee, but he, like Martin, failed to throw strikes last season. If he can get back on track, the system would improve greatly.
The Dodgers don't necessarily need all four of these guys to regain their previous form (but it wouldn't hurt). The Dodgers have a lot of pitching depth in the minors, but if just one of the future starters or relievers come through, the system's strength improves.
The two most likely guys to bounce back are Lindblom and Withrow. Lindblom has 225+ innings under his belt and seems to finally be settled as a reliever. Withrow, despite the poor showing, still had an 8.3 K/9, which isn't terrible. He still has strikeout stuff. If he throws strikes, he's more likely to get back to his 2009 Double-A form than Martin is getting back on track.
The bottom line is, the Dodger system has improved in Baseball America's organizational ranking to No. 12 this season -- a season after the above four had bad seasons. If these guys bounce back, it will on spell good things for the Dodgers. They are future pieces to the team or pieces in a future trade.
Nathan Eovaldi (my 2009 prospect rank: 8), Josh Lindblom (4), Ethan Martin (2) and Chris Withrow (3) all come to mind. It's just a coincidence that they're all hard-throwing right-handed pitchers, but they all had poor 2010 seasons.
Eovaldi had the "best" season of the bunch, posting a 4.30 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 9/9 H/9 and 1.95 K/BB ratio last year. He seems to be ticketed for the bullpen. One bright spot is he pitched against the White Sox on Monday and just went right through the hitters. Of course, this was in the ninth inning against minor leaguers and guys who likely won't make the team, so take it for what it's worth.
Eovaldi needs to be in the bullpen from now on. He has yet to develop a third pitch and his strikeout rate is low for a guy who throws in the mid-90s. If he focuses on being a power reliever, his stock could improve dramatically this season.
Lindblom is in a similar situation to Eovaldi, except for the fact many prognosticated that he'd end up being a reliever when the Dodgers drafted him in the second round of the 2008 MLB Draft. He has a heavy low-to-mid-90s fastball and a potential out pitch with his slider. He pitched better out of the 'pen at Albuquerque last year and the Dodgers have finally come to grips with him being a reliever. That could be the best thing for his development.
Martin is one of the most athletic players in the system and looked promising after his 2009 debut. However, he fell flat on his face in 2010. He failed to throw strikes which led to his poor performance. If Martin has another bad season on the bump, the Dodgers could -- and should -- seriously consider moving him to third base. A lot of teams saw him as a power-hitting third baseman out of high school, but the Dodgers were intrigued with mid-90s fastball and power curveball that they couldn't pass up a chance at another prep, right-handed flamethrower.
And then there's Withrow, who many people are still high on despite a bad season at Double-A. Withrow has the most talent and potential of any starter not named Zach Lee, but he, like Martin, failed to throw strikes last season. If he can get back on track, the system would improve greatly.
The Dodgers don't necessarily need all four of these guys to regain their previous form (but it wouldn't hurt). The Dodgers have a lot of pitching depth in the minors, but if just one of the future starters or relievers come through, the system's strength improves.
The two most likely guys to bounce back are Lindblom and Withrow. Lindblom has 225+ innings under his belt and seems to finally be settled as a reliever. Withrow, despite the poor showing, still had an 8.3 K/9, which isn't terrible. He still has strikeout stuff. If he throws strikes, he's more likely to get back to his 2009 Double-A form than Martin is getting back on track.
The bottom line is, the Dodger system has improved in Baseball America's organizational ranking to No. 12 this season -- a season after the above four had bad seasons. If these guys bounce back, it will on spell good things for the Dodgers. They are future pieces to the team or pieces in a future trade.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
2011 Los Angeles Dodgers Season Preview: Right Field
In the conclusion of a nine-part series, I preview the Dodgers' right field situation for 2011.
Let's hope no pinkie injuries arise this season.
Andre Ethier
- Ethier was the best hitter in the game through May 14 before a freak injury while swinging broke the pinkie on his right hand. Ethier was leading the National League in all the Triple Crown categories before the injury. He didn't end with terrible numbers, but like most Dodgers in the second half of 2010, he struggled. Ethier still needs to get better against left-handed pitching, but he is penciled in as the Dodgers' No. 3 hitter and right fielder. The only way he gets moved off right field is if Tony Gwynn hits enough to bump Kemp from center- to right field, subsequently shifting Ethier to left field. He is the Dodgers' best hitter and they're going to need him this season. His defense is atrocious, but his bat, as we all know, is legitimate.
Matt Kemp
- I only include Kemp here in the extremely rare scenario when Gwynn plays well enough in Spring Training to be the Dodgers' center fielder. The best potential defensive outfield lies with the Dodgers playing Gwynn in CF, Kemp in RF and Ethier in LF. That isn't likely to happen, though. Kemp will, in all likelihood, be the Dodgers' Opening Day center fielder.
Others: Jay Gibbons, Gabe Kapler, Jerry Sands
Analysis
The Dodgers should get above-average offense from right field, no matter who is playing there. Unless Ethier made some real strides this off-season on defense, the glove work in right will be well below average. Ethier was the worst defensive right fielder in baseball, according to UZR, in 2010. I don't think Ethier's defense will be as bad as it was in 2010, but I wouldn't expect him to win a Gold Glove anytime soon.
That concludes my season preview series. I hope you enjoyed it. Go Blue!
Let's hope no pinkie injuries arise this season.
Andre Ethier
- Ethier was the best hitter in the game through May 14 before a freak injury while swinging broke the pinkie on his right hand. Ethier was leading the National League in all the Triple Crown categories before the injury. He didn't end with terrible numbers, but like most Dodgers in the second half of 2010, he struggled. Ethier still needs to get better against left-handed pitching, but he is penciled in as the Dodgers' No. 3 hitter and right fielder. The only way he gets moved off right field is if Tony Gwynn hits enough to bump Kemp from center- to right field, subsequently shifting Ethier to left field. He is the Dodgers' best hitter and they're going to need him this season. His defense is atrocious, but his bat, as we all know, is legitimate.
Matt Kemp
- I only include Kemp here in the extremely rare scenario when Gwynn plays well enough in Spring Training to be the Dodgers' center fielder. The best potential defensive outfield lies with the Dodgers playing Gwynn in CF, Kemp in RF and Ethier in LF. That isn't likely to happen, though. Kemp will, in all likelihood, be the Dodgers' Opening Day center fielder.
Others: Jay Gibbons, Gabe Kapler, Jerry Sands
Analysis
The Dodgers should get above-average offense from right field, no matter who is playing there. Unless Ethier made some real strides this off-season on defense, the glove work in right will be well below average. Ethier was the worst defensive right fielder in baseball, according to UZR, in 2010. I don't think Ethier's defense will be as bad as it was in 2010, but I wouldn't expect him to win a Gold Glove anytime soon.
That concludes my season preview series. I hope you enjoyed it. Go Blue!
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