Here is the next part of my Dodger prospect countdown. This isn't the most exciting group, although there are a few names that minor league junkies should recognize. As a reminder, my ranking includes players in Dodgers minor league system who meets the following qualifications: (1) played in the Dodgers minor league system during 2010, or were injured during the entire 2010 season; (2) is still within the Dodgers organization as of season end; (3) will be under 28 years old as of Opening Day 2011; and (4) the player is still considered a prospect by Baseball America Standards, which means that pitchers must have less than 50 innings pitched in the majors, and hitters must have less than 130 at bats in the majors, regardless of service time. Also, remember that the players age I’ve listed is their age as of the start of the 2011 season.
190. Ronny Lugo, RF (46 games in DSL in 2010) Signed by Dodgers in 2009 6’2”, 170 lbs, 21 years old, bats right handed .231 average, .654 OPS, 2 HR’s, 18 RBI’s, 6 SB’s Pre 2010 Rank: 157; Pre 2009 Rank: N/A Ronny Lugo was signed out of Venezuela prior to the 2009 season, but ever since his debut he has posted pretty dismal stats. In fact, the only damage that Lugo did in 2010 came against left handed pitchers, as righties limited him to a .203 average. The one good thing about Ronny is that he is versatile as an outfielder, but that will only get you so far. Overall because his offensive numbers this year did not show any improvement from 2009, and because he is almost 21 years old, I’m guessing that Lugo’s baseball career is probably done. 189. Johan Garcia, 3B (78 games in HiA, 16 games in LoA in 2010) Signed by Dodgers 4/19/05 6’0”, 170 lbs, 24.5 years old, bats right handed .243 average, .610 OPS, 3 HR’s 33 RBI’s, 9 SB’s Pre 2010 Rank: 186; Pre 2009 Rank: 155 Johan Garcia has been in the Dodgers organization for quite some time now, but he has never really done much of anything. His career batting average is below .240, he only six total homers his six seasons, and he doesn’t really have a whole lot of speed. In fact, he has had such a dismal career that his 2010 season was actually one of his best years yet. His .243 average was the 2nd highest of his career, and his 33 RBI’s almost doubled his previous season high. I guess the one thing that Garcia has going for him is that he is a versatile infielder, as he can play 3B, 2B, and SS. At 24 years old, Johan doesn’t seem to have much of a future in baseball, but the Dodgers might just keep him around as a utility player for another season.
See #'s 188 - 181 after the jump
188. Victor Araujo, RHP (14.2 IP in DSL in 2010)
Signed by Dodgers in 2010
5’11”, 171 lbs, 21.25 years old
2-0, 2.45 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 2.25 FIP, 11.66 K/9
Pre 2010 Rank: N/A; Pre 2009 Rank: N/A
Victor Araujo had outstanding stats in 2010, but he still has many flaws as a potential prospect. First, 2010 was his first taste of professional baseball even though he was already 20 years old during the season. Second, Araujo is very small for a pitcher as he stands at just 5’11”. Third, Victor only threw 14.2 innings in 2010 so while his stats were good, the sample size is much too small to pass any judgment on him as a player. Overall, the negatives outweigh the positives for Araujo, so unless he has another great season in 2011 while throwing a lot more innings, this will probably be the last time you read about him.
187. Steve Cilladi, C (11 games in Arizona League in 2010)
Drafted by Dodgers 2009, 33rd round
5’9”, 182 lbs, 24 years old, bats right handed
.292 average, .796 OPS, 1 HR’s, 3 RBI’s, 0 SB’s
Pre 2010 Rank: 193; Pre 2009 Rank: N/A
Despite being 23 years old, Cilladi only participated in 11 games in the Arizona Rookie League in 2010. In fact, even though he was drafted in 2009, Cilladi has only played in 26 professional games. To provide a little background on Cilladi, his dad was a former athletic trainer for the Rockies and Cubs, so I’m sure he knows something about conditioning. He played college ball in the NAIA with the Kansas Wesleyan Coyotes, and during his four seasons there Steve hit .267 with 76 hits, so he wasn’t exactly a masher in college. In addition, he wasn’t even the full time starting catcher during his Senior year. Since he’s a catcher, Cilladi proves some value to the Dodgers since he can help out in spring training, but besides that I’m not sure how much use the Dodgers have for a 24 year old without much experience.
186. Jorky Infante, 3B (57 games in DSL in 2010)
Signed by Dodgers in 2009
6’0”, 155 lbs, 20 years old, switch hitter
.270 average, .697 OPS, 2 HR’s, 14 RBI’s, 13 SB’s
Pre 2010 Rank: 167; Pre 2009 Rank: N/A
Born in the Dominican Republic, Jorky Infante has a great name. He made his professional debut in 2009, but had terrible stats in limited appearances as an 18 year old. In 2010, Infante was the DSL Dodgers everyday 3rd baseman, and made 13 errors at the hot corner in 49 games. At the plate, however, Infante proved to be a pretty good all around player, hitting .270 with a couple of homers and stealing 13 bases. A switch hitter, Infante also showed good plate disciple as he walked 28 times against just 27 strikeouts. Jorky will be 20 years old when the 2011 season starts, and since his stats don’t warrant a move to a US based league, the Dodgers will have to decide if he is worth keeping around in the DSL for another year.
185. Ariel Botello, RHP (32 IP in DSL in 2010)
Signed by Dodgers in 2010
6’2”, 217 lbs, 21.25 years old
2-1, 3.66 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 4.39 FIP, 6.75 K/9
Pre 2010 Rank: N/A; Pre 2009 Rank: N/A
The 2010 Dominican Dodgers pitching staff was full pitchers who were too old for the DSL, and Ariel Botello is another perfect example. 2010 was Botello’s first season even though he played the entire season as a 20 year old, and the Dominican native put up decent stats. He didn’t strike out a ton of batters, but his ERA was respectable and batters hit just .237 against him. He has a decent pitcher’s frame at 6’2”, but I really don’t see anything too special about Ariel. At the end of the day, he is really just a body used to fill the Dominican Dodgers roster.
184. Miguel Sanfler, LHP (70 IP in HiA in 2010)
Signed by Dodgers 10/2/02
5’11”, 165 lbs, 26.5 years old
0-3, 5.40 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 4.27 FIP, 6.17 K/9
Pre 2010 Rank: 162; Pre 2009 Rank: 102
The highlight of Sanfler’s career was probably in 2005, when he was rated by Baseball America as the 19th best prospect in the Gulf Coast League. In their write up, BA said that Miguel boasted a 95 mph fastball and a devastating curveball. Five years later, Sanfler’s stuff seems to have faded. He has spent the last 4 years in A-ball (two in LoA and 2 in HiA), and has not performed well in any of those seasons. In fact, his 2010 stats were almost identical to his 2009 stats when he had a 5.48 ERA, a 1.64 WHIP, and a 6.13 K/9. Similar to years past, Sanfler’s poor control and lack of a strikeout pitch were his biggest problems in 2010 as his strikeout to walk ratio was just 1.41 for the year. The one positive for Sanfler is that he has been a workhorse through his career, and continued that trend in 2010 with 70 innings out of the bullpen. Currently a minor league free agent, my guess would be that the 26 year old will not be back with the Dodgers in 2011.
183. Josh Walter, RHP (95.2 IP in HiA in 2010)
Signed by Dodgers 6/27/08
6’4”, 250 lbs, 26 years old
1-10, 6.59 ERA, 1.83 WHIP, 5.45 FIP, 8.00 K/9
Pre 2010 Rank: 99; Pre 2009 Rank: 189
After a good season in 2009, there was some buzz about Josh Walter as a potential prospect. I didn’t buy into the hype, however, and now I think you can forget about him forever. The 25 year old had an ERA of 6.59 and - get this - he posted a win/loss record of 1 - 10 for the 66ers in 2010. He also allowed 13 homers in 95.2 innings, and ranked 2nd in the California league with his 64 walks. Signed as a non drafted free agent during the 2008 season out of Texas State, 2010 might just have been the last season as a Dodger for the big guy.
182. Andres Perez, OF (41 games in HiA in 2010)
Signed by Dodgers 8/9/09 out of independent ball
6’0”, 200 lbs, 26.75 years old, bats right handed
.285 average, .768 OPS, 2 HR’s, 20 RBI’s, 2 SB’s
Pre 2010 Rank: 150; Pre 2009 Rank: N/A
As I mentioned last year, Andres Perez played his college ball at Stony Brook University, and during 2006, his Senior season, he hit .327 and led the team with 7 HR’s. Undrafted out of college, Perez signed with the Yankees as a non drafted free agent in September of 2006. In 2007, his first professional season, he played at 4 different levels ranging from the Gulf Coast League to HiA. After an uninspiring season, however, he was cut from the Yankees, so he signed with Tampa Bay before the 2008 season. After a mediocre season in the Florida State League, he was again let go again. Unable to find a team to sign with at the beginning of 2009, Perez kept his baseball hopes alive by playing ball with the Newark Bears. After tearing up the independent league, he signed with the Dodgers midseason in 2009 and played in the California League where he put up very strong numbers in 26 games. He returned to the 66ers in 2010, but was hurt for most of the season and was very unimpressive for a 26 year old. A minor league free agent, I am pretty sure that Perez will not be in the Dodgers organization in 2011.
181. Luis Rosano, RHP (29.2 IP in DSL in 2010)
Signed by Dodgers in 2009
6’2”, 190 lbs, 19.75 years old
1-4, 6.37 ERA, 1.99 WHIP, 6.40 FIP, 4.55 K/9
Pre 2010 Rank: 145; Pre 2009 Rank: N/A
While Rosano wasn’t great in 2009, he was slightly intriguing because at the time he was just 18 year old and had a solid pitchers frame. I think all expectations of him ever becoming a prospect are gone, however, as Rosano had a terrible season in 2010. The young man from Venezuela had an ERA of 6.37, and walked as many batters as he struck out (15). He also allowed 5 homers in his short season, and opposing battings hit .352 against him. Luis will be 20 years old by the time the 2011 DSL season starts, so if the Dodgers do decide to bring him back he’ll be one of the older players in the league.