2013 Fantasy Baseball Prospects Recap: Los Angeles Dodgers

With new owners at the top of the organization, the Los Angeles Dodgers have opened up their pocketbooks and have acquired plenty of established, Major League Baseball talent. Unfortunately, it has come at the cost of trading young prospects and now the Dodgers see their farm system cracking. Nevertheless, it doesn’t mean the system is completely lost as there are a few bright spots to highlight. After all, despite having all those veterans, it was a young prospect, Yasiel Puig, that helped resurrect a seemingly lost season for the Dodgers.

Before we move on, let’s take a quick look at our previous Prospects Recaps:

• Three-fifths of the American League West has been reviewed.
• The Dodgers rival, the San Francisco Giants have also been given an overview.

Zach Lee–SP–2014

2013 Outlook: Has potential to develop four, plus pitches; Low 90s fastball; Good control; limited upside; mid-rotation starter

It’s very interesting to see Zach Lee go from being a top of the rotation kind of starter entering the 2012 MLB season, to being a mid-rotation starter entering this season. He did struggle in Double-A last year and is putting up good, but unspectacular numbers this year. Of course, when I say “unspectacular” I mean he’s not dominating as many scouts have hoped for. But still, Lee is posting solid figures and his control is as good as advertised. And I’m not sure why reports are dismissing his talent. After all, Lee is only 21-years-old so there’s plenty of time to find his way back to elite status. Either way, on any other team, Lee would’ve been called up all ready and he should be in serious contention to crack the rotation in 2014.

Corey Seager–SS/3B–2015

2013 Outlook: Still a teen at 18; Kyle Seager‘s younger brother; combo of power and average; good defensive skills, especially at third base

The younger Seager was recently promoted to High-A ball, but he was already having a smashing season in Lo-A (see table). The power was there, the contact and on-base skills were apparent, and he even showed off an advanced approach at the plate. And he’s not even 20-years-old yet. So Seager is off to a good start, but still has a ways to go. Still, Seager might prove to be one of those cornerstone players in long-term fantasy leagues.

Ross Stripling–SP–2015

2013 Outlook: Advanced feel for pitching; good fastball; Curve could develop into his signature pitch

Just like Zach Lee, there’s nothing flashy about Stripling’s game, he just simply gets the job done by limiting his walks and scattering harmless hits. Stripling is a true ground ball pitcher, owning a GroundBall% of 55%. Nothing too fancy to see here, just a steady pitcher. For the backend of fantasy baseball rotations, you could do a lot worse than Stripling in the future.

Joc Pederson–OF–2015

2013 Outlook: Only 20, and though he has gap power, he might still develop true power; decent approach; adequate speed.

Here’s a guy to get excited about, Pederson was named the Southern League’s Most Exciting Player and Best Defensive Outfielder this season. But the most impressive aspect of Pederson’s game in Double-A ball is not the 20/30 season he’s having, rather it’s the ridiculous approach at the plate he has been displaying all season long. Yes, the strikeout rate is a tad high, but how often do we hear about players barely legally old enough to drink alcohol (he’s 21-years-old now) post a BB/K of 0.61? That matches guys like Prince Fielder and Anthony Rizzo. Remember, however, he’s not expected to arrive with the Dodgers until 2015. The Dodgers are full of veterans in the outfield so the 2015 ETA might be a bit optimistic, but output, production, and discipline are all there and there’s always room for guys like Pederson at the Major League level.

FALLING FROM GRACE

•  Onelki Garcia–RP–2014: Garcia went from being an intriguing starting pitching prospect entering the 2013 season to being relegated to bullpen duty. He has a low-90s fastball that can go up to 95 mph. Decent secondary pitches. Just needed to work on control issues, but it seems as if the Dodgers saw him more of a specialist out of the bullpen than a starter. The ups-and-downs of a top 10 prospect.

SHOULDN’T THIS KID BE IN HIGH SCHOOL?

• Julio Urias–SP–2016: Urias, only 17-years-old, is projected to have the best fastball among the Dodgers’ top 10 prospects. Currently, it only sits in the low-90s, but there’s plenty of development and untapped potential to go. He has been dominant in A-ball, posting a K/9 of 11.1 while only allowing 16 walks in 17 starts. He seems to be on the scrawny side, but keep Urias in your memory bank for later.

WHAT’S THE HOLD UP?

• Matt Magill–SP–2013: Like Zach Lee, if he were on any other ball club, Magill probably would’ve had a permanent spot on a major league starting rotation. While the current Dodgers’ pitching staff being filled with veterans is definitely a road block, Magill has not helped his cause with his awful control in Triple-A. Otherwise, an 11.1 K/9 would be creating plenty of buzz in fantasy baseball. Magill has struggled with control throughout his minor league career, but he’s only 23-years-old so there’s still time for him to get those issues fixed.

FRESH OFF THE DRAFT

• Chris Anderson–SP–2016: The Dodgers, based on the previous pitching prospects we’ve mentioned so far, have a certain paradigm that they use when filling out their farm system. Anderson seems to fall right in there with Magill, Lee, and Stripling. Picked in the first round with the 18th pick overall of the 2013 draft, Anderson has a mid-90s fastball and is projected to at least be a mid-rotation guy, if not better (sounds like Zach Lee’s profile over the last couple of years). Control has been an issue this year, but is posting a K/9 of 9.9 (sounds like Magill). The running theme with a lot of these Dodgers’ pitchers remains the same with Anderson–continually monitor his situation.

Since Puig has been called up to help the Dodgers’ make their current playoff push this season, not much buzz has been created out of their farm system. A guy like Pederson might be able to make a similar impact for 2014, and Seager by 2015, but the rest of their top 10 prospects are mostly steady, but unspectacular starting pitchers. Pitchers that may not anchor your rotation in the future, but can prove to be useful when filling out your pitching staff.

Scouting Reports courtesy of mlb.com, baseballprospectus.com, and baseballamerica.com

Stats courtesy of Baseball Prospectus and are good through August 24, 2013.

Felipe Melecio

Felipe Melecio was the managing editor for the blog Pathological Hate. He believes that math is your friend and numbers can be fun, especially when it comes to baseball. Keep tabs on all his knee-jerk reactions on Twitter: Follow @pathological_h8 !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');

See Full Bio