Dodgers Minor League Baseball Blog

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.