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The Dodgers' trip to Taiwan provided a fun opportunity for many players and team employees to experience a different culture, and play some baseball in a festive environment, even it was only for two games instead of three. The trip also affected the Dodgers left behind in Arizona, as roughly half the team was half a world away. As a result, the Dodgers gave plenty of playing time to many of their youngsters, giving them the opportunity to suit up (you know, in high-numbered nameless jerseys) in big league games. Here's a summary of recent draftees with their playing time over the last six games:
| Player | Age | Draft | Level | G | PA | Comments |
| Pedro Baez | 22 | 2007* | A+ | 4 | 6 | *signed out of Dominican Republic |
| Steven Caseres | 23 | 2008 | A+ | 3 | 3 | Got a hit, a walk, and scored a run |
|
Brian Cavazos-Galvez |
23 | 2009 | Rookie | 2 | 1 | One PA, one booming HR |
| Dee Gordon | 22 | 2008 | A | 2 | 2 | |
| Andrew Lambo | 21 | 2007 | AA | 4 | 5 | Two walks and a run scored |
| Preston Mattingly | 22 | 2006 | A+ | 2 | 3 | A hit and a run, playing for pops |
| Jaime Pedroza | 23 | 2007 | A | 1 | 1 | |
| Kyle Russell | 24 | 2008 | A | 2 | 5 | Delivered first RBI among minor leaguers |
| Angelo Songco | 21 | 2009 | A | 2 | 3 | A double and a homer in 3 PA |
| Scott Van Slyke | 23 | 2005 | A+** | 3 | 4 | A hit and an RBI |
| Matt Wallach | 24 | 2007 | A | 1 | 1 | son of Tim |
| Pitcher | Age | Draft | Level | G | IP | Comments |
| Ethan Martin | 21 | 2008 | A | 1 | 1.0 | scoreless inning vs Angels today |
| Matt Sartor | 25 | 2007* | AA | 1 | 0.1 | *undrafted FA signed in 2007 |
| Chris Withrow | 21 | 2009 | AA | 1 | 1.0 | 3 strikeouts in his stellar debut |
**Scott Van Slyke did play three games in Triple A at the end of 2009.
That's a total of 34 plate appearances and 2.1 innings in big league camp from recently acquired amateur talent. In addition to this group of youngsters, others from minor league camp who have played in spring games are Jay Gibbons, Anthony Hatch, Christian Lara, Timo Perez, and Brandon Watson.
Now that the Taiwan travelers are back in camp, coupled with tomorrow's off day and the minor league games starting Friday, I suspect there will be a scant few, if any, opportunities for the young guns in big league camp. But it was fun while it lasted.