State of the Dodgers Minor League System - Relief Pitchers

The "State of the Dodgers Minor League System" finally moves to pitching, and we will look at the bullpen arms first. As always, I am providing the preseason rank that I gave to each player within the position (Pre Pos.), their pre-season overall rank (Pre Overall), and their current ranking within the position. An N/A next to their preseason rank means that a player is new to the Dodgers or new to the position since my preseason ranking, and I will only include guys who are under 28 years of age. Players who have been released or are no longer in the organization are also included at the bottom of the chart. Finally, it is sometimes difficult to predict whether pitchers in the minor leagues will end up as starters or relievers, so I did my best to predict where each player would end up. As you can see I have included the majority of the Dodger minor league pitchers as relievers, which makes sense given that every team needs more relievers than starters.

The first thing to remember this list is that I am ranking players one who I believe will have the best big league career. This same statement goes for all of my rankings, and really should be the basis for all prospect rankings everywhere. I'm not ranking players on who is currently the best player, who is closest to (or even in) the big leagues, or who has the highest ceiling, but instead who will be the best long term player. That being said, I still have Scott Elbert atop my relief pitching rankings ahead of the current hot bullpen arm of Javy Guerra. Elbert has been used sparingly this year and has an ERA of 4.11 so far with the Dodgers, but when you look at his other stats you can see why scouts have always raved about his stuff. His WHIP is just 1.04, his batting average against is .179, and he's stuck out over a batter per inning. I think he'll eventually be used as more that a LOOGY and could be a big part of the 2012 bullpen. I have Guerra ranked #2 and he really has impressed so far. If you would have told me in Spring Training that he'd be leading the Dodgers in saves at the end of July I never would have believed you. But here he is, seemingly getting better with every appearance. Guerra's always had good stuff, but was always a bit wild and injury prone and I don't think he has what it takes to be a full time big league closer over a full season. I see him as a solid arm for us in the future, but I'm guessing that 2011 will be his career high in saves.

I'll probably get some people questioning why I have Ethan Martin at #3, but to be honest I actually considered ranking him even higher. Martin has clearly failed as a starter, but if he can get things together then he has the potential to be a dominate force out of the bullpen. He'd show flashes of brilliance for an inning or two during his starts, but then a loss of control and a big inning would always ruin his night. Now that he can focus on getting just 3 to 6 outs, I really think that will help him in the long run. He's still been a bit wild since his promotion to the AA bullpen, but batters are hitting just .196 against him and he's struck out over a batter per inning. Not to mention that Martin is just barely 22 years old, so he's got plenty of time to become an electrifying reliever. Josh Lindblom is yet another player on this list who has already seen the big leagues, and he was also impressive in his 10.2 innings with the Dodgers this season. Now back in AA he's been even better, and has a .136 batting average against in his last 10 appearances. He will be back in the big leagues by September, if not sooner, and could be used in the back end of our bullpen for years to come.

The next four players on the list are all currently in AA, and all of them are having good years and showing plenty of upside. Shawn Tolleson has dominated at every level he's played at and is proving that he is the real deal. Depending on what trades get made at the deadline and how the rest of the season goes, he could realistically see the big leagues before the end of the year. Steven Ames just recently returned from the DL, but is having a monster year himself and could be on track to see Los Angeles by 2012. He has outstanding control and also puts up great strikeout numbers. Javy Solano struggled a bit in the California League earlier this year, but since getting promoted back up to Chattanooga he has really turned it on and has 10 shutout innings. I agree with scouts in that he does have a questionable frame, but as long as he is getting the job done then more power to him. Cole St. Clair is currently on the DL, but has a microscopic ERA of 0.79 through 34 innings and batters are hitting just .161 against him. This 6'5" lefty doesn't throw all that hard, but is hitting his spots which is getting the job done. St. Clair's another guy who might not be all the far from LA.

Scott McGough is new arm in the system as he was the Dodgers 5th round pick in this past draft, and he seems like he could move through the organization quickly. He has two quality pitches, and has thrown 4 scoreless innings since his promotion to LoA. Jon Link has taken a step back in 2011 as he was removed from the 40 man roster and hasn't been all that impressive, but been better over the past few months and could get added back to the 40 man at some point. Josh Wall struggled initially after moving to the bullpen, but has really settled in to his new role and could be a bit of a sleeper. He is a big guy with a good fastball, so I wouldn't be surprised if he one day made it up to the show.

Logan Bawcom has increased his fastball velocity this year and despite recent struggles with the Quakes he has moved up the prospect charts this year. Carlos Frias hasn't pitched a whole lot in 2011, but I like his potential and he's still just 21. Travis Schlichting had been terrible up through June, but he turned a corner in July and has a 2.19 ERA in 10 appearances this month. Luis Vasquez and Justin Miller are complete opposites in most respects, but one similarity is that they have both missed a lot of time this season and have lost some value. The next 3 names of Francisco Villa, Steven Matre, and 2011 15th round pick Craig Stem all intrigue me to some degree, but I still don't know a whole lot about any of them. Geison Aguasviva has been on the DL all season but I don't know why.

From here the list just goes on and on, and while I could mention every player I'll instead simply let you peruse the list. You'll get more detail on all of these guys during my off-season ranking, and for the ones that were in the system last year you can find my scouting reports on them somewhere on this site. If you have any specific questions about anyone in particular, let me know and I'll respond in the comments...atlhough my responses might be a bit delayed because I have a busy day ahead of me.