State of the Minor League System - Relief Pitchers

I was at the game tonight, so I haven't had a chance to read any of the game thread.  However, I'm sure there was some bitterness toward our relief pitchers after blowing the game and causing such a tough loss.  Hopefully this post will provide a little bit of relief as the Dodger have at least a few solid young arms who could potentially help the Dodgers in the near future.  Some in fact have already contributed tto the big league club this year.  So follow the jump for the mid-season rankings of the Dodgers minor league relief pitchers, as well as additional analysis.

The Dodgers seem to focus more on pitching when it comes to their drafts, and it has paid off as the Dodgers have a solid group of relief pitchers in their system.  There are obviously quite a few names here, and since I don't have time to discuss all of them this post this will be more of an open forum to discuss my midseason ranking of these players.  However, I will mention a few names of interest. 

I think that is it is pretty obvious that Kenley Jansen is now our #1 relief prospect.  He has shot up the prospect charts and has impressed everyone by consistently having strong performances.  Travis Schlichting has also moved up a few spots due to his solid relief with the Dodgers this season.  Javy Guerra, on the other hand, has slipped a bit since he's been injured most of the 2010 season thus far.  Lindblom is finally back where he belongs as a reliever, so he'll now get to focus on putting all his energy into 1 or 2 innings.  Hopefully the results in relief will continue to be favorable for him. 

Justin Miller and Kyle Smit's conversion to relievers have been very successful as both have put up great numbers thus far in 2010.  At this point they both seem like potential options in the Dodgers bullpen one day.  Steven Ames also continues to amaze us as a 17th round pick, even though he got hit hard the other day.  In addition, Javier Solano has a great FIP this season (2.51) and has an amazing strikeout to walk ratio.

There are a few 2010 draftees who I have been impressed with thus far.  21 year olds Andrew Pevsner and Logan Bawcom, drafted just one round apart, seem to be solid pitchers who could turn into solid prospects.  Shawn Tolleson is another one who has had a very good professional debut.

Getting further down the list, Jimmy Marshall has always been a favorite of mine, and Chris Handke is a 6'11" pitcher who the Dodgers are hoping will be a legitimate pitching prospect once he matures and grows into his body.  Finally, there are several younger players in the Dominican Summer League with solid pitching frames who may or may not pan out.  I especially like 17 year olds Abdiel Velasquez and Jackson Mateo, who both currently have ERA's close to or below 3.