Dodgers Minor League Baseball Blog

Eric Stults got it done on the mound for Las Vegas in their 6-1 win over Portland.  He gave up a run on five hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in six innings of work.  The win improves his record to 3-4 on the season.

Tony Abreu had a nice day at the plate with four hits and an RBI.  That boosts his season batting average to .360 and he has 33 runs in 36 games.  Sergio Garcia went two for five with a double, a homerun and two runs scored.

Las Vegas lost 6-5 to the River Cats but Tony Abreu had a very nice game at the plate.  He went four for five with a double, a triple, three RBIs and a run.  Larry Barnes went one for three with a walk, an RBI and two runs.

Joe Mays had a medicore start.  He gave up three runs on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts in five innings.  Matt White took the loss when he gave up three runs in the bottom of the eighth.

Eric Stults had a good enough start.  He gave up just three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts in six innings of work and he left the game with a tied.  Unfortunately Spike Lundberg gave up three late runs as the 51s lost 6-4.

Mitch Jones hit a solo homerun in the loss.  Tony Abreu went two for four with a double and a run.

Eric Stults got it done on the mound for the 51s with another solid start.  He gave up just one run on eight hits and a walk with six strikeouts in the 2-1 win.

All of the offense was provided by Andy LaRoche.  His two run homer accounted for both Las Vegas runs.  Tony Abreu singled and he scored on the homerun.

The 51s kept up their winning streak in a 7-4 win over Colorado Springs.  Tony Abreu and James Loney led the way with the bats.  Abreu went three for fou with two doubles and three runs while Loney drove in three.

D.J. Houlton picked up the win with 5 decent innings.  He gave up three runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

The top of the order really got it done in this game.  Tony Abreu went five for five with a homerun and three runs scored while Larry Bigbie had four hits and three runs.  Delwyn Young and Mitch Jones also went yard with Young driving in three runs in the 10-2 win.

Eric Stults picked up the win with five shutout innings.  He gave up three hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

Las Vegas finally picked up their first win of the season in a 9-4 win over Salt Lake.  Tony Abreu had a big game at the plate.  He went two for five with a triple, three RBIs and two runs.  Larry Bigbie had four hits and Delwyn Young hit a solo homerun.

Greg Miller had a tough start and he walked five and gave up a run in three innings.  Eric Hull ended up with the win after he pitched two innings of shutout relief.

Baseball America took one last look at the Dodgers spring camp with a “who’s hot” and “who’s not” format.  James Loney had a prominent place with his great spring and Tony Abreu gets some time.  Andy LaRoche and Scott Elbert showed up in the “who’s not” category.

Coming in tied with Ivan DeJesus is Tony Abreu, the second baseman who the Dodgers signed out of the Dominican Republic back in 2002.  He showed up on only one of the three lists, but Baseball America had him as the fifth best prospect so here he is.

He made his minor league debut in the Gulf Coast League in 2003 where he showed he can make decent contact with the ball but hit for almost no power.  His batting average was a solid .294 but he had only seven doubles and five triples with no homeruns so it was somewhat punchless.  He found some power when he got promoted to Columbus in 2004 where he hit an even more solid .301/.326/.474.  In 2005 e split time between Vero Beach and Jacksonville where he showed more doubles power with a little more patience at the plate.  He was pushed up to Double A where he struggled but he repeated at that level in 2006 and had a nice showing (.287/.343/.392).  He doesn’t strike out a lot but he doesn’t walk much either so unless he shows he can hit a little better, he might not pan out to be more then just utility infielder.  If some of those doubles turn into homeruns now that he’s getting older (he turned 22 in November) then he could replace Jeff Kent at second base when he decides to retire.

Baseball America released their list of the top ten Dodgers prospects today.  No major surprises and despite all of the promotions last year, the Dodgers remained stocked with talent.

Andy LaRoche comes in at number one.  LaRoche had solid numbers at both Double A and Triple A and he could be the teams starting third baseman this year if he has a solid spring.  If there’s one Dodger prospect to keep an eye on, it’s LaRoche because he has a legitimate shot at becoming an everyday starter right now.

Number two is the Dodgers first pick in last years draft, Clayton Kershaw.  The lefthander slipped to the Dodgers when Andrew Miller slipped to the Tigers and he completely lit up rookie ball.  He won’t turn 19 until March and we’ll be keeping an eye on him as he should start at either Low A or High A in 2007.

Number three is another left handed pitcher.  Scott Elbert was the Dodgers first round pick in 2004 and he had outstanding seasons at both High A and Double A.  He’ll probably start at Triple A but if he shows us something this spring, he could make the pen for the Dodgers.  I’d like to see him get time as a regular starter though so I think some time in Triple A would do him some good.

James Looney comes in at number four and he’ll suffer because the Dodgers picked Nomar Garciappara back up.  Regardless though, he’s shown all he can in the minors so he’ll probably make the team as a reserve left handed bat.

Rounding out the top five is second baseman Etanislao Abreu, who is a decent spray hitter.  He put up decent numbers in 2006 at Double A and we’ll probably see him in Las Vegas in 2007.