2014 Season Preview: Los Angeles Dodgers Top 51 Prospects
There’s no better way to introduce myself than to talk at length about prospects. I’m obsessed with prospects. It’s not a problem (yet).
I’ve been following the Dodgers’ minor league system for ten years now, back when Edwin Jackson and Greg Miller were supposed to be the second coming of Drysdale and Koufax. And when I say I follow the minor leagues, I don’t mean I look at a box score every once in a while or read Top 10 lists here and there. I subscribe to MiLB.tv. I drive two hours each way to watch the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. I go to Arizona for spring training and end up spending nearly all of my time on the backfields. And I love it.
But for prospects and the people who love them, there is one ubiquitous enemy: attrition. The vast majority of the guys I’m about to talk about will not reach the majors. Forget having any sustainable success, most of these prospects won’t make it out of Double A. This is the life on the farm: fighting against odds that are impossible to overcome.
That’s not a reason to ignore the farm, though. On the contrary; this is what makes following prospects so fascinating. You never know who’s going to make it. Whether it’s a first overall pick, like Ken Griffey Jr., or a guy who was taken in the 62nd round as a favor to the manager, like Mike Piazza. Sure, your odds of reaching the big leagues are greater as a first round pick, but some of the best players in the league were chosen after hundreds of other players who never reached the show.
Is there another Clayton Kershaw or Matt Kemp in this year’s batch of young hopefuls? The odds say no, but you never know. So, without further ado, I present Dodgers Nation’s Top 51 prospects for the 2014 season. (Click on player names for video)
- Joc Pederson
- Corey Seager
- Julio Urias
- Zach Lee
- Chris Anderson
- Ross Stripling
- Alex Guerrero
- Chris Reed
- Onelki Garcia
- Jose Dominguez
- Matt Magill
- Yimi Garcia
- Tom Windle
- Scott Schebler
- Jacob Scavuzzo
- Joey Curletta
- Victor Gonzalez
- Justin Chigbogu
- Alex Santana
- Victor Arano
- Noel Cuevas
- Cody Bellinger
- Zachary Bird
- Pedro Baez
- Jon Garcia
- Seth Rosin
- Duke von Schamann
- Ralston Cash
- Jesmuel Valentin
- Darnell Sweeney
- Andres Santiago
- Kyle Farmer
- O’Koyea Dickson
- Theo Alexander
- Josh Henderson
- Lucas Tirado
- Jeremy Rathjen
- James Baldwin III
- Scott Griggs
- Jonathan Martinez
- Tyler Ogle
- Adam Law
- Jharel Cotton
- Brandon Trinkwon
- Lindsey Caughel
- Carlos Frias
- Blake Smith
- Aaron Miller
- Ariel Sandoval
- Michael Medina
- Jairo Pacheco
And there you have it. Stay tuned for player capsules, coming at you ten (or eleven) at a time, starting with #51-41.
Video Credits:
Jeff Reese, BullpenBanter.com
Steve Fiorindo, BullpenBanter.com
Chris Blessing, BullpenBanter.com
Baseball America
Dustin Nosler, DodgersDigest.com
MLB.com
MiLB.tv
Sigfried Gonzalez, Youtube
Fox Sports
MLBGlobal13, Youtube
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