Dodgers 200 Minor League Countdown: 200 - 191

Welcome again to the most comprehensive analysis of the Dodgers minor league system.  For the 3rd straight year, I am going to provide a summary of virtually every player in the Dodgers minor league system as of November 30th who meets the following qualifications:  (1) played in the Dodgers minor league system during 2010, or was injured during the entire 2010 season; (2) is still within the Dodgers organization as of season end; (3) is under 28 years old as of Opening Day 2011; 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.  Like Baseball America, I do not take into account service time, and therefore it is possible that I have included prospects who will not technically be rookies in 2011.

I know that writing up 200 players seems a little excessive, especially since the majority of these players are obviously not prospects.  However, I really look at this as a “get to know your Dodger minor league system”.  My goal is for Dodger fans to know at least a little something about all players in the Dodgers system because it makes looking at the minor league box scores more fun.  There won’t just be a bunch of names, but instead players that fans have at least heard of. 

Even still, the 1st half of this list still might seem a little bit mundane, but the way you have to look at it is that you never know when a player will have a breakout season.  For example, I ranked Rafael Ynoa #172 last year because he had been terrible, but after a solid 2010 he has moved up the prospect charts significantly.  Similarly, Allen Webster was #100 on my 2009 list, and now he is a top prospect, so you never know.

What also makes this fun is that because this is the 3rd year I am doing this, you can track where each player has ranked over the past few seasons.  So you can see whether a player has made moved up or down my list over the years.  I’ve included where each prospect played in 2010, how each was acquired by the Dodgers, their height, weight, and age as of opening day 2011, and finally their 2010 combined minor league statistics.  I will generally post 10 players at a time, and will be posting 1 to 2 times a week.  My goal is to finish my posting before 2011 Spring Training starts.

200.  Ricardo Rivas, RHP (21 IP in the Pioneer League in 2010)

Signed by the Dodgers out of an open tryout in March of 2010

6’1”, 180 lbs, 27 years old

2-1, 10.29 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 4.82 FIP, 7.29 K/9

Pre 2010 Rank: N/A;     Pre 2009 Rank: N/A

When the Dodgers held an open tryout in March of 2010, 85 athletes showed up hoping to make their baseball dream come true.  At the end of the day, only one player was signed by the Dodgers, and it was Ricardo “Ricky” Rivas.  When I initially heard about this signing, I really didn’t understand it because Rivas was already 26 years old, so unless he was flashing a 98 mph fastball it seemed like a waste of time.  Well at the end of the day it probably was a waste because the Dodgers ended up assigning Rivas to the Pioneer Rookie League where he was terrible despite playing against much younger competition.  In case you are interested in his background, Rivas was a 48^th round pick out of El Paso Community College in 2004, however he did not sign and played two years at Oklahoma State.  Prior to getting a job with the Dodgers, Ricky was playing independent baseball for his hometown El Paso Diablos.  I doubt that Rivas will be in the Dodgers organization in 2011.

For propsects 191 - 199, please

199.  Frank De Jesus, C (17 games in DSL in 2010)

Signed by Dodgers in 2010

6’1”, 192 lbs, 22.75 years old, switch hitter

.205 average, .590 OPS, 0 HR’s, 3 RBI’s, 0 SB

Pre 2010 Rank: N/A;     Pre 2009 Rank: N/A  

It’s really a mystery as to why the Dodgers signed Frank De Jesus in 2010.  He was a 22 year old international free agent without any baseball experience, and the DSL Dodgers were already stocked with 6 other guys capable of playing catcher.  The only thing he has going for him is that he is a switch hitter, but that doesn’t matter when you only hit .162 against right handed pitchers.  If he were 18 that would have been one thing, but why sign a 22 year old?  Maybe he is a relative of Ivan De Jesus, and they were doing him a favor.  Anyways, to nobody’s surprise he had a terrible season, and it’s almost a given that he will not be back in the organization next year.

198.  Jose Lugo, C (25 games in DSL in 2010)

Signed by Dodgers in 2009

6’1”, 200 lbs, 20.75 years old, bats right handed

.176 average, .479 OPS, 0 HR’s, 7 RBI’s, 0 SB’s

Pre 2010 Rank: 176;     Pre 2009 Rank: N/A

Jose Lugo was terrible for the Dominican Dodgers in 2009, and even worse in 2010.  One of 7 catchers on the team, Lugo actually caught the 2^nd most games for the Dodgers this past year, but did absolutely nothing at the plate.  The young Venezuelan recorded just 1 extra base hit on the year, and had a dismal slugging percentage of .196.  While he may find his way back on to the DSL Dodgers again next season, the 20 year old will clearly never play baseball in the United States.

197.  J.J. Whetsel, RHP (33.2 IP in the Pioneer League in 2010)

Non Drafted Free Agent signed by the Dodgers on 3/29/10

6’1”, 190 lbs, 26.25 years old

0-0, 7.75 ERA, 1.93 WHIP, 5.90 FIP, 7.22 K/9

Pre 2010 Rank: N/A;     Pre 2009 Rank: N/A

J.J. Whetsel was signed by the Dodgers as a non drafted free agent just a few days before the 2010 season.  In 2009, he had played for the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association Independent League, and before that played his college ball at Troy University.  Even though he was already 25 years old when he signed, the Dodgers assigned Whetsel to the Pioneer Rookie League where he struggled mightily.  He had awful stats, but the one that stood out was that he allowed 7 homers in just 33.2 innings.  I’m going to venture a guess that Whetsel will not be in the Dodgers organization next season.

196.  Aris Angeles, RHP (13.1 innings in DSL in 2010)

Signed by Dodgers in 2010

6’0”, 179 lbs, 21.5 years old

1-0, 6.08 ERA, 2.70 WHIP, 5.60 FIP, 10.80 K/9

Pre 2010 Rank: N/A;     Pre 2009 Rank: N/A

Aris was signed by the Dodgers prior to the 2010 season even though he was already 20 years old.  He was used sparingly throughout the season, appearing in only 10 games and throwing just 13.1 innings.  As you can see from his terrible WHIP, Angeles allowed way too many base runners in his limited time on the mound and is much too old to ever make an impact with the Dodgers.  It’s too bad because his name would have fit perfectly in Los Angeles.

195.  Angelo Ponte, C (11 games in Arizona Rookie League in 2010)

Non Drafted Free Agent signed by the Dodgers on 6/15/10

5’11”, 215 lbs, 24.25 years old, bats right handed

.152 average, .415 OPS, 0 HR’s, 3 RBI’s, 0 SB’s

Pre 2010 Rank: N/A;     Pre 2009 Rank: N/A

Angelo Ponte wasn’t drafted in 2010 after playing his college ball at Fordham University, but was signed by the Dodgers shortly after draft day by the Dodgers.  As most people know, Fordham was the college that Vin Scully graduated from, so there are some ties between the school and the Dodgers.  In his 4 years at Fordham, Ponte had a career .283 average and only hit 4 home runs, so he obviously doesn’t have much upside.  He is also already 24 years old and had a terrible time in the Arizona Rookie League, although he only played in 11 games.  I’m not sure if Ponte is worth keeping around, although like other light hitting catchers he does give the Dodgers some extra bodies who can catch the ball in spring training.

194.  Railing Feliz, C (14 games in DSL in 2010)

Signed by Dodgers in 2010

5’11”, 184 lbs, 19.75 years old, bats right handed

.182 average, .482 OPS, 0 HR’s, 1 RBI, 0 SB’s

Pre 2010 Rank: N/A;     Pre 2009 Rank: N/A  

Railing Feliz has a great name, but that’s about the only thing that he has going for him.  The young man from the Dominican Republic was with the Dominican Dodgers all year, as his appearances were spread throughout the season, but he only got into 14 games.  And when he did play, his stats were awful as you can see from his .182 average.  While he did play most of the year as an 18 year old, that isn’t an excuse in the Dominican Summer League as the league is full of teenagers.  The Dodgers may bring back Feliz for one more season if they need depth at catcher, but even that seems unlikely at this point.

193.  David Iden, 2B (30 games in Arizona Rookie League in 2010)

Drafted by Dodgers 2009, 35^th round

5’9”, 160 lbs, 24 years old, bats right handed

.267 average, .663 OPS, 1 HR’s, 14 RBI’s, 5 SB’s

Pre 2010 Rank: 175;     Pre 2009 Rank: N/A

A late round pick for the Dodgers in 2009 out of Cal Lutheran University, David Iden is the type of player who just wanted a chance to prove himself.  Upon being drafted by the Dodgers, Iden was “ecstatic... relieved…and anxious”.  At Cal Lutheran, the Thousand Oaks native was a career .343 hitter, and ranked in the school’s top 10 for career RBI’s (100), runs scored (121), and stolen bases (63).  Unfortunately, Iden has done nothing to prove himself in his two years as a professional.  In 2009, he was sent to the Pioneer League and struggled to produce.  He was then demoted to the Arizona Rookie League in 2010 despite being already 23 years old, and hit only .267 in 30 games, with 1 HR and 5 SB’s.  At 5’9” Iden is undersized, which is another thing working against him, and with two bad seasons under his belt he’s a candidate to be released.

192.  Gabriel Gutierrez, C (5 games in HiA in 2010)

Signed by Dodgers in 2002

5’11”, 190 lbs, 27.25 years old, bats right handed

.368 average, .850 OPS, 0 HR’s, 2 RBI’s, 0 SB’s, bats right handed

Pre 2010 Rank: 187;     Pre 2009 Rank: 161

The Mexican born Gutierrez was on loan to the Diablos Rojos of the Mexican League for almost the entire season, where he hit .283 in 106 at bats with just 8 RBI’s.  I’m not exactly sure how the loaning of players works, but he was one a few players in the Dodgers organization to play in the Mexican League in 2010.  Gutierrez returned to the USA and played with the 66ers for the final week of the season where he hit pretty well in limited at bats.  An interesting thing about Gutierrez is that he has been in the Dodgers organization since 2002, making one of the longest tenured players in the organization.  By my count, only a few players like James Loney, Jonathan Broxton, and minor leaguer Eduardo Perez have been around longer.  Since Gutierrez is a catcher, he continues to provide value to the team during times such as spring training, so he’ll probably stick around for at least another year.  However he is a minor league free agent and an organizational player at best, so he might just play full time in Mexico.

191.  Ricardo De La Rosa, OF (35 games in DSL in 2010)

Signed by Dodgers in 2010

6’0”, 184 lbs, 19.75 years old, bats right handed

.163 average, .517 OPS, 0 HR’s, 4 RBI’s, 2 SB’s

Pre 2010 Rank: N/A;     Pre 2009 Rank: N/A  

Even though he was born in the same city as Rubby De La Rosa (Santo Domingo, DR), I’m pretty sure that Ricardo is not the brother of Rubby.  It is possible they are related, but I couldn’t find any mention of it on the internet.  Even if they are related, I don’t think that it would matter because Ricardo is going nowhere fast.  The light hitting outfielder got into 35 games, but only accumulated 49 at bats for the entire season.  His only hits were 8 singles, so his OPS was a measly .517 for the year.  The only positive stat for the 19 year old was his walk to strikeout ratio, as he walked 14 times and stuck out in just 11 plate appearances.  He is another player who may or may not be back next year.