Here is yet another part of my Dodger prospect countdown.  I appreciate the recognition on the main page, to let everyone know that I am doing this.  It does take up quite a bit of time, but I find it to be a fun hobby.  As a reminder, my ranking includes players in Dodgers minor league system who meets the following qualifications:  (1) played in the Dodgers minor league system during 2009, or were injured during the entire 2009 season; (2) is still within the Dodgers organization as of season end; (3) is under 28 years old as of Opening Day 2010; and (4) the player is still considered a prospect by Baseball America Standards, which means that pitchers must have less than 50 innings pitched in the majors, and hitters must have less than 130 at bats in the majors, regardless of service time.  Also, remember that the players age I’ve listed is their age as of the start of the 2010 season.

170.  Matthew Smith, RHP (7 innings in HiA in 2009)

Drafted by Dodgers 2008, 22nd round

6’6”, 195 lbs, 23.25 years old

0-1, 12.86 ERA, 3.57 WHIP, 3.86 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: 120

As I mentioned last year, Smith was drafted by the Dodgers in 2008 because of his size, not because of his college stats at Wichita State.  He recorded a 6.11 ERA during his 2008 season with the Shockers, and a 7.41 ERA during his 2007 season.  Nevertheless, Smith was able to use his size to his advantage during his professional debut as he posted some pretty respectable stats in the Pioneer Rookie League in 2008.  2009, however, was a totally different story, as Smith had probably the worst stats out of any Dodger minor leaguer.  While he only pitched 7 innings, he was absolutely horrendous.  Besides his 12.86 ERA and 3.57 WHIP, it should also be noted that batters hit an astonishing .541 against Smith.  Also, while he must have been injured most of the season, it should be noted that he was healthy at the end of the year, because he pitched on September 5th of 2009, which was one of the 66ers last games.  Overall, even though Matt has had really bad stats in 3 of his last for collegiate/professional pitching seasons, I have some faith that he’ll rebound at some point based on his great pitching frame, and I’m guessing that he’ll be back in the California League in 2010.

169.  Joseph Becker, SS (20 games in AA, 17 games in LoA, 11 games in HiA, 3 games in Arizona League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 1/11/07

5’11, 175 lbs, 24.25 years old, bats right handed

.299 average, 1 HR’s, 21 RBI’s, 1 SB

Prior Year Ranking: 190

Joseph Becker did quite a bit of traveling in 2009.  He played at four different levels, ranging from the Arizona Rookie League, all the way up to AA.  When it was all said and done, his stats were actually pretty respectable for the year, especially when compared to what he did in 2008.  He finished the season in LoA, and was part of the Great Lakes playoff roster.  Unfortunately, he only hit .211 in 19 at bats during the Midwest League playoffs.  Becker was originally signed by the Dodgers as a non drafted free agent in 2007.  His college experience consisted of two years at Antelope Valley College, where he hit .350 for his career.  As a middle infielder, Becker is mediocre at best, and even though he’s listed as a shortstop, he also plays 2nd base.  He also has no power or speed to speak of.  At this point, while he had a solid average during the 2009 season, he appears to be more of an organizational player for the Dodgers.  In 2010, the 24 year old will probably bounce around again to different levels that need a middle infielder.

168.  Travis Vetters, OF (36 games in LoA, 4 games in Arizona league in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 6/28/06

6’2”, 190 lbs, 26.5 years old, bats right handed

.237 average, 1 HR’s, 20 RBI’s, 0 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: 73

Too bad Travis Vetters can’t just make a career out of playing in baseball’s Rookie Leagues.  For his career, Vetters is hitting .332 in 398 Rookie League at bats (in the Gulf Coast League, Arizona Rookie League, and Pioneer Rookie League), and .223 in 220 LoA at bats.  The difference is amazing as he goes through some sort of transformation when he plays in the Rookie Leagues.  One reason for his success in the Rookie Leagues has to be attributed to his age.  Most guys are between 18 and 20 when they play in the Rookie Leagues, but not Travis.  He was signed as a non-drafted free agent in June 2006 when he was almost 23 years old, and managed to stay in the Rookie Leagues for the better part of 3 years.  When he did get a chance to play in Lo-A in at the beginning of 2008, he struggled so bad that the Dodgers sent him to the Pioneer League for the rest of the season.  They let him try Lo-A again at the beginning of 2009, but his results were similar.  He struggled at the beginning of the season, got injured and rehabbed in the Arizona League (where he of course hit .333 in 4 games), and returned to Lo-A in July where he struggled some more.  So needless to say, the 26 year old Vetters is not much of a prospect.  The one thing he’ll always be able to tell his kids, however, is that during the 2008 season, he hit .404 in the Pioneer League in over 150 AB’s, and hey, I’ll give him props for that, because hitting over .400 in that many at bats is a major accomplishment.

167.  Jorky Infante, 2B (26 games in Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers in 2009

6’0”, 155 lbs, 19 years old, switch hitter

.143 average, 0 HR’s, 3 RBI’s, 2 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

Let’s start with the positives for Jorky Infante.  First, he has a great name.  Second, he is a switch hitter.  Third, Infante played the entire 2009 season as just an 18 year old.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any other good things to say about Jorky.  His .368 OPS looked more like a batting average, and he didn’t show any power or speed.  He also plays 2nd base, which limits his value on the field.  In addition, from the looks of his stats, Infante appeared to be limited to a pinch hitting role during the 2009 season as he only had 35 at bats in 26 games.  Nevertheless, I expect improvement out of Infante in 2010.  He is obviously still young, and he still has the chance to develop into an average player next season.  If he does progress enough during 2010, he might be in line for a move to a U.S. based rookie league in 2011.

166.  Justin Dignelli, RHP (14 innings in Arizona League in 2009)

Drafted by Dodgers 2009, 34th round

6’4”, 220 lbs, 23 years old

1-1, 7.71 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 11.57 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

Dignelli was a low risk, high reward draft pick for the Dodgers in 2009.  The 6’4” pitcher out of George Washington University allowed more than a run per inning in his college career.  In addition, Justin walked a ridiculous number of batters in college, a stat that followed him into his professional career.  Nevertheless, the Dodgers decided to take a chance on Dignelli because they felt his size might lead to a promising future.  Sure enough, in his limited time with the Dodgers during his professional debut, the Dodgers got a glimpse of what they were hoping for as Dignelli struck out 18 batters in 14 innings, and allowed just a .216 batting average against.  They also saw his lack of experience, however, as demonstrated by his 7.71 ERA.  While the Dodgers will want to be aggressive with Dignelli, they also have to be careful with his right arm as he was constantly injured throughout his college career.  I expect Dignelli to play in the Pioneer League next year, and hopefully he’ll be able to show significant improvement.

165.  Jose Mateo, RHP (14.3 innings in Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers in 2009

6’8”, 190 lbs, 21 years old

1-2, 8.16 ERA, 2.16 WHIP, 7.54 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

The most interesting thing about Mateo is his extreme size.  The 6’8” Dominican towers over his Dodger teammates, and I would guess that he was the tallest player in the entire Dominican Summer League.  With his size comes wildness, however, as Jose walked as many batters as he struck out, which almost came out to one walk per inning.  It is for that reason that you don’t find many pitchers taller than 6’6” in the major leagues, because it is very difficult for extremely tall pitchers to harness their stuff.  In addition to his wildness, Jose must have also left too many hittable balls over the plate, as opposing batters hit .322 against him.  Even though Mateo was 20 years old in his debut season, the Dodgers used him sparingly, spreading out his 13 appearances evenly from June through August.  Overall, I don’t see too many positives in regards to Mateo besides the fact that he had a strikeout rate that was just a tick above average.  Nevertheless, his height makes him such a wildcard that I can’t help but have some hope that he’ll have a dramatic turnaround next year and burst on to the prospect scene, setting himself up for a U.S. debut in 2011.

164.  Adolfo Gonzalez, 2B (59 games in HiA in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 3/8/02

5’11”, 160 lbs, 24.75 years old, bats right handed

.271 average, 4 HR, 24 RBI’s, 2 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: 104

Adolfo Gonzalez regressed significantly in 2009.  After spending all of 2008 in AA and hitting .298, the Dodgers demoted Gonzalez to Hi-A in 2009.  At Inland Empire he got off to a hot start, but then steadily declined before his season early on June 30 due to some sort of injury.  A smaller player who is pretty much limited to 2nd base, I’m not sure why I ranked Adolfo all the way at #104 last year because I really don’t like him as a player.  He just really isn’t that good.  Nevertheless, the Dodgers already re-signed this Venezuelan native after the 2009 season to a minor league contract, and I suppose he’ll return to Hi-A in 2010.

163.  Faustino Oguisten, SS (24 games in Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers in 2009

6’2”, 165 lbs, 19 years old, bats right handed

.190 average, 0 HR’s, 6 RBI’s, 2 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: N/A

Faustino Oguisten’s stats were obviously pretty ugly in 2009.  Not only was his batting average only .190, but so was his slugging percentage.  That’s right, all of Oguisten’s hits in 2009 were singles.  Nevertheless, this Dominican deserves some recognition in my ranking due to his youth and his position.  Oguisten was just 18 years old during his first professional season, and played the premium position of shortstop (even though he made 11 errors in just 24 games).  In addition, Faustino has good size, and if he is able to put on some muscle in the future, he could be a pretty scary offensive threat.  That potential still a long way off, however, and I’m positive that Oguisten will return to the Dominican Summer League in 2010.

162.  Miguel Sanfler, LHP (89 innings in HiA in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 10/2/02

5’11”, 165 lbs, 25.5 years old

1-0, 5.48 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 6.13 K/9

Prior Year Ranking: 102

Back in 2005, Sanfler was rated by Baseball America as the 19th best prospect in the Gulf Coast League.  This was only four spots ahead of one of the Dodgers top prospects Ivan DeJesus Jr.  At that time, Miguel boasted a 95 mph fastball and a devastating curveball.  Four years later, Sanfler’s stuff seems to have faded.  While the California League has been historically tough on pitchers, it is no excuse for the control problems that plagued Sanfler in 2009.  He walked almost as many batters as he struck out, which inflated Miguel’s WHIP to 1.64.  Sanfler also tends to leave the ball up when he misses, and allowed 7 HR’s in 2009, a remarkably high number for a reliever. At 5’11”, 165 lbs, and 25 and half years old, Sanfler doesn’t appear to have what it takes to make it to the show, and I’d be surprised if he was promoted to AA next year.  Lastly, Sanfler is currently playing in the Dominican Winter League, and has a 10.80 ERA in 1.7 innings, which doesn’t bode well for his assignment next year.

161.  Charlie Mirabal, SS (61 games in Dominican Summer League in 2009)

Signed by Dodgers 3/1/07

5’11”, 164 lbs, 23 years old

.254 average, 0 HR’s, 26 RBI’s, 9 SB’s

Prior Year Ranking: 79

As I said last year, Charlie Mirabal is an interesting story.  He was signed by the Dodgers after he performed well during an open tryout before the 2007 season.  Originally a middle infielder, Mirabal struggled during the 2007 season in the Dominican Summer League.  So the Dodgers decided to try him out as a pitcher during 2008, and he put up some great numbers.  He had a 1.99 ERA in 32 innings and had an outstanding strikeout rate.  Based on those facts, one would think that Mirabal would continue to pitch in 2009 in one of the U.S. based rookie leagues right?  Wrong.  The Dodgers had different plans for Miarbal, and decided to move him back to shortstop in 2009.  I don’t really understand this decision at all given Charlie’s success on the mound in 2008, and the only reasonable explanation would be that he had some sort of a minor injury to his pitching arm.  Whatever the case, Mirabal had another lackluster season as a position player in 2009.  He did rank 3rd on the Dominican Dodgers in RBI’s and stolen bases, but he was also one of the oldest players in the league.  It is for this reason that I dropped Charlie significantly in my ranking from last year.  When the 2010 season starts, the 5’11” Mirabal will be 23 years old.  I can’t see him making any sort of an impact as a shortstop, but maybe the Dodgers will give him yet another chance on the mound to see if he can repeat his 2008 performance in a more advanced league.