Kevin Goldstein of BP recently did a scout banter story and of the 10 prospects, the Dodgers got two mentions. Chin-Lung Hu and Greg Miller.
The scouts have fallen in love with Hu and here are a few quotes.
"He's definitely an everyday shortstop in the big leagues for me,"
"I think he's going to hit .290 or so with around 15 home runs a year, and he does it all defensively," he added. "At the very least he's solid, but he might be an All-Star as well," concluded the scout.
Another scout was just as impressed. "He's just really come on this year. He's bigger and stronger and he's always had good hitting instincts, but now he's driving balls."
So three different scouts and each one came away impressed. I know Andrew and Underbruin have run some numbers and have come away unimpressed with Hu's breakout season. It will be curious to see which group is correct, the scouts or the stats.
Greg Miller is a different story. He was Clayton Kershaw before Clayton existed. At age 18 he handled High A well enough that he was promoted to AA and this is where the numbers were just scary. At the age of 18 he made 4 starts in AA and pitched 26 inning, gave up 15 hits, and struck out 41 batters while only walking 7. His K/9 was 13.50 at the age of 18 in AA. Three years and several surgeries later Miller is a relief pitcher who throws hard but can't throw strikes. Here are some scout quotes about him.
"I've seen him up to 95-97 mph, but depending on when you see him, he either has it or he doesn't--not just game-to-game, but inning-by-inning,"
"I've seen the 94-97 mph, and I've seen the command issues, but he's still really interesting to me because he's still left-handed, and even though it seems like he's been around forever, he's still only 22,"
The raw stuff is still dominant but the huge questions about command and health still dog him. He was impressive this spring but upon returning to AAA he simply lost all sight of the strike zone. He walked 46 in 28 innings while still striking out more then one batter per innings. Hoping to salvage something he was moved to AA and his control has improved but not enough to say he's turned the corner. While working in relief he had accumulated 14 innings, with 17 walks and 17 K's. What are you going to do? His arm is still one of the best in baseball and as the scout said he is only 22. He recently got a start at AA. I'm not sure if they are putting him back into the rotation on a regular basis or not but I'll be keeping an eye on him. He was the reason I started following the kids again and I continue to hope he will figure it all out.