Dodgers Minor League Baseball Blog

This is a hitters league but the Lookouts did have some standouts on the mound.  Here’s a look at some of the better hurlers in 2011.

Chris Withrow – He only went 6-6 but he had one of the better strikeout rates amongst starters with 130 strikeouts in 128 2/3 innings.  Walks are a concern (75) but he only gave up eight home runs in 128 2/3 innings.  One nice thing about this is 22 year old is he doesn’t have much of a platoon split so while he’s not death on righties, he’s better then usual against lefties.

Nathan Eovaldi – Eovaldi had a solid 2.62 ERA and a batting average against  of .203 in 103 innings.  He finished 6-5 with a 99/46 strikeout to walk ratio and this earned him a big league call up where he logged 34 2/3 innings.

Scott Rice – With a 1.95 ERA, it’s hard to argue Rice’s effectiveness.  He had a 4/1 ground ball to fly ball ratio and that definitely helped but he still struck out 42 and walked 17 in 50 2/3 innings.  He’s 30 so he’s hardly a prospect but this big left hander definitely got it done this season.

The Lookouts won their division and with that, they had their share of hitting stars.  Here are the best players on the team this past season.

Scott Van Slyke – Van Slyke led the team in home runs (20), RBIs (92), walks (65) and OPS (1.022).  He’s struggling in the Venezuelan Summer League though and he’s now 25 so his prospect status isn’t quite clear. Still, he had an awesome season and if he can replicate it in 2012, he might see some time with the Dodgers next year.

Alfredo Silverio – Silverio was an extra base machine and he finished with 42 doubles, 18 triples and 16 home runs.  He hit .306 and he finished with a team high 90 runs.  He only walked 30 times though and that suppressed his .883 OPS. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a good number but it could be better if he works on his plate discipline.

Kyle Russell – Russell was second in home runs with 19 but he hit only .259 so his OPS was .840.  He had a decent enough showing in the Arizona Fall League but he’s already 25 so we’ll see how much more time Russell has.

John Sickels penned his list of the top 20 Dodgers prospects and it’s been a while since the Dodgers had a top notch farm system.  Ther’e some talent at the top but no longer any blue chip guys.  Topping the list is right handed pitcher Zach Lee.  He had a solid season for the Loons but Sickels still thinks he could be a future number two starter.  Number two is another right hander, Nate Eovaldi.  Sickels thinks he’d be better coming out of the pen so we’ll see what the Dodgers end up doing with him.

Number three is another right hander, Allen Webster.  Webster had a tough time in Double-A but Sickels thinks he could be a middle of the rotation guy.  Rounding out the top five are Garrett Gould (RHP) and Alfredo Silverio (OF).

Baseball America put out their top ten Dodgers prospect lists.  Here’s the players that made the cut.

1)  Zach Lee  RHP
2)  Allen Webster  RHP
3)  Nate Eovaldi  RHP
4)  Alfredo Silverio  OF
5)  Chris Reed  LHP
6)  Garrett Gould  RHP
7)  Chris Winthrow  RHP
8)  Josh Lindblom  RHP
9)  Joc Pederson  OF
10)  Tim Federowicz  C

The ‘Topes had some mashers and while not many players were around for more then 100 games, three guys stand out in the hitting friendly PCL.

Jerry Sands – Despite playing only 94 games, Sands led the team in home runs with 29 and RBIs with 88.  His OPS was .931 and while he “only” hit .278, he made up for that with a slugging percentage of .586.

Trayvon Robinson – Right behind Sands was Robinson with a .926 OPS.  He had 26 home runs and he was a couple walks short of the team lead with 48.  Robinson did play in nine more games then Sands though so keep that in mind.

Jamie Hoffman – Hoffman led the team in games (133), and runs (91).  He was also third in home runs with 22 and he finished with an .853 OPS.  His 141 hits were also the best on the team.

It’s tough being a pitcher in the PCL so sometime looking at ERA and even WHIP aren’t always indicative of a quality season. Still, here were some of the ‘Topes best pitchers in 2011

Dana Eveland – Eveland led the team in innings (154), Wins (12), strikeouts (107) and walks (61).  Still, there’s a lot of good here.  HE did have a 4.38 ERA but keep the PCL in mind.  He also only gave up just eleven home runs in his 25 starts.  Eveland was the workhorse on the team and this did translate into some success with the Dodgers where he had five solid starts.

Merkin Valdez – Valdez was on of the ‘Topes better relievers.  He struck out 43 in 50 1/3 innings for the Topes and he finished with four saves and four wins.  He gave up only one home run all season and oddly, his groundball ratio wasn’t that extreme.  His 3.58 ERA was one of the best on the team.

Albuquerque Isotopes – 70-74, seventeen games back of first place Round Rock
Chattanooga Lookouts – 42-27 in the second half, first place in the Southern League
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes – 42-28, first place in the California League
Great Lake Loons – 33-37 in the second half, fifteen games back of the first place Dayton Dragons
AZL Dodgers – 34-22, first place in the AZL
Ogden Raptors – 19-19, five games back of first place Orem

The Lookouts playoff run was cut short after a three game sweep at the hands of the Tennessee Smokies.  The finale was a 7-2 pasting that ended their season.  Allen Webster gave up seven runs (just three earned) on six hits and three walks with six strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings.

Jake Lemmerman went three for three in the loss.  Alfredo Silverio belted a solo home run.

The Isotopes lost their fifth straight game and it was a tough one in their finale because they blew a two run lead.  David Pfeiffer gave up three unearned runs and he fell to 1-3.  He also gave up a hit and a walk and he wasn’t able to get a batter out.

John Lindsey went two for five with a home run and two RBIs.  Jamie Hoffman went one for five with a double and a run.

It was a back and forth game but the Loons came up short in their 5-3 loss to the Silver Hawks.  Tim Sexton fell to 3-6 and he gave up four runs on nine hits with two strikeouts in six innings of work.

Jesse Bosnik went one for two with a walk and a run.  David Iden went one for three with a run and a walk.