2012 State of the Dodgers Minor League System - Relief Pitching

Now that we've gone through all the offensive positions, we will now look at the Dodgers minor league pitching depth by reviewing the relievers. As I've already mentioned many times before, for the list below I am providing the overall preseason rank that I gave to each player (Pre Overall) and of course their current ranking within the position. You'll notice that some players have an N/A next to their preseason rank. That is because the player is new to the Dodgers or new to the position since my preseason ranking. Like my pre-season rankings, I will only include guys who are under 28 years of age and are considered prospects (less than 50 IP and less than 30 appearances).

I am including all players that are in the Dodgers minor league system except for the recent international signees who have not yet played in a professional game because there simply isn't any information about them out there. I will also be providing how each player was acquired, their age, height, weight, and current level.

I have split the pitchers between starters and relievers based on where I believe the player will eventually end up. Some of the pitchers below may currently be starters, but for those guys I think they'll be better out of the bullpen in the long run. Because the list is so long I have put it after the jump, so click below for the ranking and the brief analysis.

Here is my ranking of Dodger relief prospects from last year. Because this list is such a beast I'll keep my analysis brief because there is already so much to look at and I'd be impossible for me to review even half of these players. I'll start with Shawn Tolleson who still qualifies as a prospect, and at this point he has to head this group because he's already had success in the big leagues and looks like he'll be a major league fixture for a long time. I'm not sure he has the stuff to ever be a closer, especially since he struggles vs. lefties, but he should be a strong late inning reliever for years to come. Newcomer Steven "Paco" Rodriguez immediately becomes the #2 Dodger relief prospect in my opinion, and as many have already discussed on this site he is the type of player could potentially make it up the big leagues this September even though he was drafted just a few months ago. While roster space may push his debut to 2013, the talented lefty should at the very least be a solid LOOGY at the big league level. So far in the minors he's also had good success against right handers, however, so he should eventually be the type of major league bullpen arm that can get multiple outs. As I wrote in my post draft report, Paco has a upper 80's cut fastball but can also dial it up to the low 90's when needed. He also has a slider, and very good control.

Josh Wall checks in at #3 on list despite a 5.01 ERA for the Isotopes. Once Wall gets away from the hitter friendly environment of Albuquerque he is much better with a 3.75 ERA, and he also leads the Pacific Coast League with 23 saves. Josh already made his big league debut a few weeks ago, and at 6'6" with a hard fastball he just looks like a major league player. He's another guy would could be a cheap relief option for the Dodgers for years to come. Steve Ames has done nothing but impress since joining the organization, and this year is no different as he has a 1.69 ERA over 53.1 innings for the Lookouts with an outstanding strikeout to walk ratio. He can't be too far down on the Dodgers bullpen depth chart and should be yet another player who could get a shot at the big league bullpen in 2013 if numbers permit.

Scott Griggs might be a bit of a surprise at #5, but I like his stuff and think he could be another fast mover through the system. He's already in LoA and will likely see AA by the midway point of 2013. Yimi Garcia might be another stretch to have this high on the list, but he's been outstanding over the past two years and has really shot up the prospect charts in my mind. I've always had my eye on him as I ranked him #47 in the Dodgers minor league before the 2010 season, and now that he's at Rancho he should start to get more exposure. Javier Solano has been one of the most consistent relievers over the past few years as he continues to perform very well in AA. His size and work ethic continue to be questioned, however, so I am just not sure how his stuff will translate at the higher level.

Lastly a few more quick statements, Cole St. Clair isn't too far down on the left handed reliever depth charts, but he's another guy who's stuff might not be able to consistently get big league outs. Eric Eadington has moved quickly after signing as a non drafted free agent, and a lot of scouts like his stuff from the left side. Red Patterson has made a smooth transition to the bullpen and looks good in Chattanooga, while Juan Rodriguez continues to struggle with control but still has a live arm.

Overall the Dodgers have quite a few solid relievers in their system who could come up and help out the big league club over the next few years, and that's always important because they come cheap. Hopefully this group will stop the Dodgers from doing another long term deal with an expensive veteran because those deals just never seem to work out. Finally, if anyone has any specific questions about anyone else on the list I didn't discuss above, feel free to ask me in the comments.