Life On The Farm: Los Angeles Dodgers (# 23)

Is there more coming from this vaunted system?

Graduated To Majors: Xavier Paul (OF, # 16), Jamie Hoffmann (OF, # 22), A.J. Ellis (C, UR), James McDonald (SP, # 2), Ramon Troncoso (RP, # 12), Travis Schlichting (RP, # 14), Scott Elbert (SP, # 5), Brent Leach (RP, # 21), Victor Garate (RP, # 24, now with Nationals).

The Rest Of The Top 10 (with quick commentary)
Hitters: BA-OBP-SLG, AB, HR-RBI, BB-K, SB-CS
Pitchers: G-GS, W-L, ERA, IP-H-HR-BB-K

1 - Andrew Lambo: LF
AA: .256-.311-.407, 492, 11-61, 39-95, 4-3
Quick Take: Disappointing season, but did skip High A this season.

3 - Ethan Martin: SP
Lo A: 27-19, 6-8, 3.87, 100-85-4-61-120
Quick Take: Above average strikeout numbers for the high school draftee who is being pushed aggressively, as this was his pro debut in a full season league.

4 - Josh Lindblom: SP
AA: 14-11, 3-5, 4.71, 57.1-55-4-14-46
AAA: 20-3, 3-0, 2.54, 39-34-3-12-36
Quick Take: Showed he may be ready next season around June as a reliever, a little longer as a starter.

6 - Ivan DeJesus Jr.: SS
R: .200-.308-.300, 10, 0-3, 1-6, 0-0
Quick Take: Broken leg in spring training results in lost season.

7 - Devaris Gordon: SS
Lo A: .301-.362-.394, 538, 3-35, 43-90, 73-25
Quick Take: The above is the reason he was their most sought after player at the trading deadline.

8 - Josh Bell: 3B
AA: .297-.378-.518, 448, 20-76, 61-98, 3-5
Quick Take: Takes his act to the Orioles system. He will hit, the question is whether he is a 3B or not.

9 - Chris Withrow: SP
Hi A: 19-16, 6-6, 4.69, 86.1-80-3-45-105
AA: 6-6, 2-2, 3.95, 27.1-24-2-12-26
Quick Take: Another strikeout guy who had a pretty strong season and actually got his walks under control at AA. Sample size or small mechanical adjustment?

10 - Nate Eovaldi: SP
Lo A: 26-16, 3-5, 3.27, 96.1-95-2-41-71
Quick Take: Solid season for the full-season debut and innings limit taken into consideration.

AAA: Albuquerque Isotopes (PCL)
Breakout Hitter: A.J. Ellis (UR): .314-.438-.375, 283, 0-39, 64-44, 2-2
Disappointing Hitter: Blake DeWitt (UL): .256-.349-.426, 352, 7-47, 48-44, 2-2
Breakout Pitcher: Travis Schlichting (# 14): 13-0, 1-0, 1.42, 12.2-8-0-8-7
Disappointing Pitcher: Miguel Pinango (UR): 11-11, 2-5, 7.55, 53.2-73-8-18-30
Quick Take: Ellis and Schlichting parlayed seasons to play in the bigs at some point this season. The fact that DeWitt even played in AAA this season is a disappointment to some, but his numbers are a disappointment to all. Pinango was signed from the Mexican League and quickly proved why he was there in the first place.

AA: Chattanooga Lookouts (SL)
Breakout Hitter: James Tomlin (UR): .315-.401-.411, 387, 2-34, 54-73, 12-10
Disappointing Hitter: Russell Mitchell (UR): .241-.298-.406, 456, 13-63, 36-84, 4-1
Breakout Pitcher: Victor Garate (# 24): 46-0, 0-1, 2.08, 52-36-1-23-56
Disappointing Pitcher: James Adkins (# 26): 27-26, 6-10, 4.48, 138.2-144-8-72-81
Quick Take: Tomlin finally began to put his tools to good use and looks like a future 4th OF at worst. Garate pitched well enough that the Dodgers were able to get a return of Ronnie Belliard for him. Mitchell really struggled to put much together while Adkins apparently showed below average command of below average stuff judging by his K/BB ratio.

Hi A: Inland Empire 66ers (CAL)
Breakout Hitter: Trayvon Robinson (UR): .306-.375-.500, 470, 15-54, 50-125, 43-18
Disappointing Hitter: Preston Mattingly (UR): .238-.396-.350, 454, 8-36, 35-150, 24-13
Breakout Pitcher: Steve Johnson (# 15): 18-16, 8-4, 3.82, 96.2-94-14-42-102
Disappointing Pitcher: Josh Wall (# 29): 23-22, 5-8, 5.98, 111.1-135-9-51-77
Quick Take: Robinson put his tools together and now just needs to work on reducing his strikeouts. Johnson joins Bell in the Orioles system and looks to build on his breakout season. Mattingly has been a disappointment since entering the pro ranks. Wall struggled to do much of anything.

Lo A: Great Lakes Loons (ML)
Breakout Hitter: Devaris Gordon (# 7): Line above.
Disappointing Hitter: Austin Gallagher (# 11): .257-.319-.345, 226, 3-30, 21-43, 1-1
Breakout Pitcher: Josh Walter (UL): 32-17, 10-4, 3.27, 110-92-10-49-113
Disappointing Pitcher: Justin Miller (# 20): 21-21, 5-7, 4.70, 115-125-7-46-66
Quick Take: Gordon is one of the top prospects in the game while Walter came out of nowhere to strikeout right around 1 an inning. Gallagher's season ended with a shoulder injury while Miller's line was bad, but not as bad as what he did at Hi A (0-7, 8.13 in 7 starts).

TK's Early 2010 Top 10 Prospects:
1) Dee Gordon: SS
Oozes tools and has production to match.
2) Ethan Martin: RHP
Did nothing to dim his star this past season.
3) Chris Withrow: RHP
Good strikeout rates, can he control the walks?
4) Josh Lindblom: RHP
Convert to relief discounts him a little in my eyes
5) Aaron Miller: LHP
Supplemental 1st round lefty struck out 38 in 30 innings at Low A in debut.
6) Andrew Lambo: LF
Needs a bounce back season, but the tools are there.
7) Kyle Russell: RF
Former Texas OF hit .272 with 26 homers, 72 walks and a 20/22 on steals. He also struck out 180 times in 481 at bats.
8) Nate Eovaldi: RHP
Another of their strikeout arms that they are carefully monitoring with big upside.
9) Ivan DeJesus Jr.: SS
Can he bounce back from a broken leg and be at full strength?
10) Tim Sexton: RHP
Righthander accumulated 100 strikeouts against 34 walks in 157 innings with a frame with a lot of room for projection (6-6, 185)

Dropped From Top 10: None

Final Overview: While strong at the top, this organization still lacks some system depth, but it is returning to its old ways. Gordon looks like a true blue chip guy and both Withrow and Martin have shown flashes of being front of the rotation starters. Not having a pick until the supplemental round limited their ability to restock (though they have appeared to hit on Miller) and the loss of Bell, Johnson and Garate through trades has left this system weaker. Probably still in the 20's in regards to system strength.