Dodgers Farm System Ranked in the Bottom Third

We have looked at some of the farm system teams and prospects this winter, and we will continue to profile up and coming Dodgers. It is apparent that the Dodgers have quite a few hard-throwing young hurlers, but they lack in hitting prospects.

Seedlings to Stars, part of the FanSided MLB team, has compiled their 2012 Team Prospect List for the Dodgers. Nathaniel Stoltz ranks the Dodger prospects by position with a “Best of the Rest” section which includes the top 10 players beyond the positional breakdown.

None of the Dodger prospects made the Seedlings to Stars Top 100 List, although Zach Lee, Allen Webster, and Nathan Eovaldi all cracked the MLB.com Top 100 Prospect List at numbers 45, 70, and 79 respectively.

John Sickels has ranked the Dodger farm system in the bottom third amongst the 30 MLB teams at number 22, while the Toronto Blue Jays’ minor league system ranked first and the San Diego Padres were second on his list. The Chicago White Sox were ranked last.

Sickels says this about the Dodger farm system:

"“Some intriguing pitching depth, much of it fairly close to the majors, but not much hitting”"

With that being said, the future new owner needs to make it a priority to rebuild and restock the farm system. There are some potential big league pitchers in the wings, but I agree with Stoltz about the lack of hitting prospects. There’s really not much as far as infield prospects either other than first baseman Scott Van Slyke.

We may get a look at Chris Withrow this season, and  Nathan Eovaldi  definatley should get some time on the big club. If Eovaldi is not in the rotation then perhaps he will be asked to work out of the pen. Alfredo Silverio, Joc Pederson, and Alex Castellanos are the top outfield prospects. During the Winter Development Program at Dodger Stadium last month, Castellanos was asked to play a little second base, but we expect him to stay in the outfield.

Tim Federowicz (FedEx) will most likely start in AAA as our top catching prospect, and we will probably see him later in the season.

With the lack of hitting prospects, the Dodgers cannot afford to lose any run producers from the big squad. That means trading Andre Ethier for prospects is not wise since we would be left with no one else besides Matt Kemp who can hit for power. If we want to win now that is. Jerry Sands unfortunately may not get a shot at a starting role just yet since Ned Colletti signed Juan Rivera and Tony Gwynn Jr. for the outfield this offseason.

It seems like the Dodgers are always looking for another bat. Things won’t be much different this season. Stay with us for continuing prospect and minor league coverage this offseason and throughout the regular season, and be sure to check out Seedlings to Stars for complete MLB prospect/minor league coverage.