GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Scott Schebler homered in the eighth inning on Tuesday to tie the game for the Dodgers against the Rockies. One inning earlier the Dodgers almost tied it, but catcher Austin Barnes was stranded on third after his leadoff triple.
Those are two of the several young Dodgers who made an impression in the first week of spring training games.
"It's been interesting for us in this camp because we've got a lot of our own prospects that have been climbing the ladder that all of a sudden seem to be right here knocking on the door," manager Don Mattingly said on Tuesday. "We've also made some trades for some guys that have come from other organizations who have been fun to watch.
"Usually when you take the regulars out of the game you're not quite sure what you are looking at, but now it's almost like the second half of the game is just as interesting as the first half."
Spring stats mean next to nothing, but that doesn't make it any less fun to see several young Dodgers performing well in their opportunities
- Schebler, drafted in 2010, is 6-for-14 (.429) with a home run and a team-leading three doubles.
- O`Koyea Dickson, drafted in 2011, is 4-for-11 (.364) with a double and two home runs.
- Darnell Sweeney, drafted in 2012, is 4-for-10 (.400) with a home run and his played three different positions.
- Kyle Jensen is 26 so he's not exactly a kid, but is still looking to make his major league debut. He was acquired by the Marlins in November, and is 4-for-11 (.364) with two home runs.
- Barnes, acquired from the Marlins in December, had the triple today. He's 1-for-7
- Enrique Hernandez, acquired from Miami, is 0-for-13 but has played four different positions and has already shown he can hold his own in his 42 games in the big leagues last year.
- Corey Seager, the crown jewel, is 3-for-9 (.333) with two doubles and a team-best five walks.
This doesn't even count Joc Pederson, who is 5-for-11 (.455) with two doubles while trying to nail down the starting center field job. He counts more as a regular than the others.
Does that mean any or all these players will make the team? Of course not, but it doesn't mean the last week hasn't been a fun one.
"It's good to see it. Spring is a tough time to read. You don't want to make too much of spring and you don't want to make too much of September," Mattingly said. "But their season will tell you much more than these few at-bats. Obviously it's good to see them swinging the bat well. It's fun to watch games, as the game goes on you know these guys are going to come up."