With a few last second votes in both regulation and a switched vote in overtime, Ivan De Jesus was finally able to win the #12 TBLA prospect vote. He barely beat out Jonathan Garcia, 20 votes to 19. De Jesus and Garcia are very different prospects, which is why the vote was so divided. Since the vote was so close last round, and because nobody else got a significant amount of support, I’m going to award the #13 prospect spot to Garcia so we don’t have to waste a round of voting. Refer to the left sidebar of the website for the TBLA ranking thus far.
Since we are getting pretty close to the end of our top 20 voting, I’m going to add a few names to the mix. The players who were recommended were Josh Lindblom, Javier Solano, Jon Link, and Travis Schlichting, so that is who I am adding this time. There are still a few more guys who I will probably add before we get to the final couple of rounds. But for now, we actually have 14 candidates for round #14. With just 7 votes remaining, it seems like there are going to be some pretty good names left out of the TBLA top 20.
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As always, use this thread to talk about the voting and other things, and only use the other Fanpost to submit your votes.
The round 14 candidates (ages as of 2011 opening day):
Scott Elbert (25.5 years old) LHP – Battled personal problems and injuries in 2010, but the lefty is still just 25 and has nasty stuff when he is able to get it over the plate. According to a recent interview, it sounds like he will be strictly a reliever in the future.
Kyle Russell (24.75 years old) OF – Best known for his plus power and his strikeout totals, most prospect hounds either love him or hate him. Russell dominated the California League before getting promoted to AA where he struggled initially before hitting a hot streak over the final month of the season. Kyle is also a solid defender with a very good arm in right field.
Nathan Eovaldi (21 years old) RHP – Throws gas, but has never recorded particularly high strikeout numbers. According to Charlie Hough, the low strikeout totals are due his poor command. Had a mediocre season in 2010, and was limited due to a mid season oblique strain. He is still being groomed as a starter, although it has been rumored that consistency with his breaking pitches will determine his future role.
Brian Cavazos–Galvez (23 years old) OF – After an outstanding 2009 season, BCG got off to an extremely slow start with the Great Lakes Loons. By the time 2010 season was over, however, Cavazos-Galvez had put together one of the best all around seasons of any Dodger minor leaguer. He hit .318, smacked 18 homers, stole 43 bases, and drove in 77 runs. The negatives about BCG are that he was a little bit old for LoA, and that he isn’t a very strong outfield defender.
Matt Magill (21 years old) RHP – Magill surprised a lot of people with his great 2010 season, and even led the minor leagues with a .194 opponents’ batting average. Also had a 3.28 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and had 9.6 strikeouts per 9 innings as a 20 year old. Some scouts describe his stuff as fringy, although throws in the low 90’s and has a slider that was too much for the Midwest League hitters.
Ralston Cash (19.5 years old) RHP – 2nd round pick in the 2010 draft had a solid debut in the Arizona Rookie League. His fastball hits 94 but sits in the lower 90’s with some movement, and he has two other potentially above average pitches (curveball and changeup).
Joc Pederson (18.75 years old) OF – The Dodgers went way over slot to sign their 11th round pick in the 2010 draft because they loved his athleticism. While he has 5 tool potential, none of the 5 tools have a particularly high ceiling. He only had 12 plate appearances for the Arizona Dodgers.
James Baldwin (19.5 years old) OF – The son of the former major league pitcher, Baldwin is an exciting young player due to his speed and athleticism. He initially struggled in his professional debut, but then made adjustments and was very good for the final month of the 2010 season. He is still very raw, but some scouts believe he has the potential to one day become a 5 tool prospect.
Jake Lemmerman (21 years old) SS – After a monster season with the Raptors this past year, Lemmerman was named as the Pioneer League MVP. In 259 at bats, Late Night had a .363 average, a 1.044 OPS, 12 homers, and 47 RBI’s. He also did all this while playing the premium position of shortstop, and coming out of college he was described as a solid defender at the position.
Leon Landry (21 years old) OF – The Dodgers 3rd round pick in the 2010 draft, Landry had a great professional debut with a .349 average and a .909 OPS. He drew comparisons to Andres Torres from the Ogden Raptors radio announcer, who also described him as a gap hitter. However, Baseball America says he could top out with a .280 and 15 homers per year. He covers a lot of ground in the outfield, although he has a below average arm.
Javier Solano (21 years old) RHP – Solano came out of nowhere in 2010 with an outstanding season. He played both in HiA and AA, and was the youngest player on both of those teams, yet had a combined ERA under 3, a WHIP of 1.10, stuck out over 10 batters per 9 innings. Solano has a low 90’s fastball, a cutter, a curve, and a changeup, but the downside is that he is barely 6 feet tall.
Jon Link (27 years old) RHP – Link was called up by the Dodgers 6 different times during the 2010 season, but was used sparingly to the tune of just 8.2 innings. In 60.2 innings in AAA, Link did very well considering his home park, posting a 3.71 ERA and a 3.55 FIP. He seems to be a viable option for the Dodgers 2011 bullpen, and while his ceiling isn’t very high, he could be a solid arm for this organization.
Travis Schlichting (26.25 years old) RHP – The converted infielder had a unique season in 2010 because he performed better in the big leagues than he did in the minors. In 47.1 AAA innings, Schlichting had a 4.75 ERA and a .294 batting average against, but in his 22.2 innings with the Dodgers he had a 3.57 ERA and a .233 batting average against. While Schlichting has never had a high strikeout rate, his composure in the Dodgers bullpen over the past two seasons demonstrates to me that he can be a valuable option out of the Dodgers bullpen for years to come.
Josh Lindblom (23.75 years old) RHP – Lindblom has been moved back and forth between starter and reliever throughout his minor league career, which produced negative results in 2010. Going forward, he will be strictly a reliever, which is definitely the best role for him. While his velocity was lower last season, he generally sits in the low to mid 90’s out of the bullpen, and also has a hard curveball. Finally, while he’s been in big league camp for the last couple of seasons, the one thing to remember about Lindblom is that he is still just 23 years old.