The Midwest League is not made for players who grew up in So Cal or the Dominican. The spring games are played on barely thawed tundra and if you have never played a baseball in weather below 60 degrees it can be a bit daunting to make the transition. San Fernando boy Andrew Lambo must have been counting the days until he got his promotion and last week he got his wish. I'm sure it came as a surprise to him and his fans who wanted to see him play closer to home in the Cal League when he was skipped all the way to the Dodger AA Southern League, but he seems to be handling the extra promotion just fine. He can say goodbye to Scott Elbert who gets the call to the big leagues and bide his time until he gets the same call.
For a guy one year removed from high school this is quite a jump but at the moment he is not in over his head. In his first 18 at bats the kid has driven in 11 runs and at this point has to be the best offensive prospect left in the Dodger organization. I know we are supposed to ignore RBI's and concentrate on the peripherals but my old baseball card skills keep getting in the way. Later we can look at his bb/k ratios' and his LD% but for now allow me to get carried away with his 11 rbi's in 18 at bats. I need something to hang my hat on with the big club looking like the Tampa Dodgers while the Dodger Bays are looking like what we are supposed to be.
To me he is looking like the best hitting prospect since Matt Kemp was tearing up the FSL in 2005. The Great Lake Loons are our low single A affiliate. We have only been there for two years and I don't know what the park factors are but I'm starting to doubt the dismal offensive numbers our guys are putting up.
After several promising seasons, Carlos Santana went to the MWL and was awful for most of the year. Once he left that league he then went on to destroy the Cal League and win the MVP honors. He has left the Cal league thanks to Ned, and is now thumping the Carolina league. He is in fact even showing more power so for those who said he was a Cal League wonder they may want to reconsider that stance.
Anyway, back to Lambo. Travis Snider is considered by many to be the next great offensive prospect left with so many gifted hitters having graduated to the show. Lambo is only one year removed from HS and has already made the jump to AA, something Snider did not do until his 2nd year out of high school.
Ned has thinned out the minor league core but we can rest assured that Andrew Lambo and DeJesus will give us at least two top 100 prospects, maybe even top 50.