2012 State of the Dodgers Minor League System - 3rd Base

We finish up our look at the Dodger minor league infields with 3rd base. In case you missed it, we've already reviewed the positions of catcher, 1st base, 2nd base, and shortstop. As a reminder, 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 130 AB's).

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.

As I mentioned before, I have ranked each player at is the position that I believe is best long term position for the player. It may not be the players current primary position, but it is where I believe each player will ultimately end up should they make the major leagues. Here is the list:

Analysis of this list is after the jump...

The hot corner has been black hole for the Dodgers over the past few years, although Hanley Ramirez will hopefully fill that hole for at least the next two seasons. Given that the top Dodger 3rd base prospects are still several years away, his contract won't be blocking anyone from taking over his spot. Before we get any further into the analysis, here is last year's list. For me, 2012 top pick Corey Seager is the best 3rd base prospect for the Dodgers even though he is currently playing shortstop. It seems that all the scouts believe he'll eventually move to the hot corner given his size, and I think he'll be able to provide solid defense there which is something he hasn't been able to do at shortstop.

Alex Santana is an extremely raw talent, and after struggling in the Pioneer League he was recently demoted back down to Arizona. His biggest issue is his defense as his career fielding percentage is an ugly .808. His bat has also yet to develop, but he does have potential at the plate and he showed some signs of life with the Raptors.

After Santana the talent seems to drop off, especially since Pedro Baez has continued to struggle at the dish. The physical specimen puts on a show in batting practice, but he just isn't able to translate that into game success which is why many people continue to call for him to be moved to the mound (he can throw 94 mph across the diamond). I still think he has some potential which is why I have him at #3, but he's dropping quickly in my mind.

C.J. Retherford was signed as a minor league free agent this off-season and experienced a resurgence in the California League, but he's come back down to earth in AA and is really a long shot to ever make it to the big leagues. Bladimir Franco has finally seemed to figure it out in his 3rd season in the Arizona Rookie League, but he's now 21 and will probably struggle against more advanced pitching. Finally I've always been a fan of Canadian Jeff Hunt, but he continues to struggle at the plate and has a career OPS of just .663.

Overall the minor league talent at 3rd base has definitely improved with the drafting of Seager, and therefore the hot corner probably has the best infield talent in the Dodgers organization. That's not saying a whole lot, however, as the rest of the infield positions are pretty weak.