The Bill Shelley Memorial Farm Thread

Just biding time waiting for BA's Top Ten Dodger prospect list. My prediction is this;
1) Dee Gordon
2) Aaron Miller
3) Josh Lindblom
4) Andrew Lambo
5) Ivan DeJesus
6) Kyle Russell
7) Pedro Baez
8) Garrett Gould
9) Javy Guerra
10) Jon Michael Redding

Mike Scioscias tragic illness:

no Ethan martin?

My bad, not enough coffee in me this morning. Put Martin in the four spot and everyone moves down one with Redding getting the door. I also forgot Nathan Eovaldi, slot him in at six.

1 - Gordon
2- Miller
3 - Lindblom
4 - Martin
5 - Lambo
6 - Eovaldi
7- DeJesus
8 - Russell
9 - Baez
10 - Gould

DoppelgangBang:

What's with all this Lindblom as a reliever stuff ... where do you see him? Pen or starting?

The team indicated after the season, that they switched him to relief when he was promoted to AAA last year, just in case they needed an arm. He is supposed to go back into the rotation at the beginning of the year.

loneymiller:

Here are the BA top 10.
1. Dee Gordon, ss
2. Chris Withrow, rhp
3. Aaron Miller, lhp
4. Ethan Martin, rhp
5. Josh Lindblom, rhp
6. Scott Elbert, lhp
7. Andrew Lambo, of
8. Ivan DeJesus Jr., ss
9. Trayvon Robinson, of
10. Allen Webster, rhp

It's weird to think that Elbert still qualifies for lists like these, isn't it?

loneymiller:

Here are the BA top 10.
1. Dee Gordon, ss
2. Chris Withrow, rhp
3. Aaron Miller, lhp
4. Ethan Martin, rhp
5. Josh Lindblom, rhp
6. Scott Elbert, lhp
7. Andrew Lambo, of
8. Ivan DeJesus Jr., ss
9. Trayvon Robinson, of
10. Allen Webster, rhp

To me, BA seemed fairly honest in their appraisal of the Dodger's minor league system. While noting that the upper levels were fairly barren of top notch talent, they also made the observation that with the young core we have at the major league level, that may not be a probelm. The talent we have at the lower levels will have time to develop, though our lack of depth at the AA level may bite us in the ass should we have many injuries.

BA didn't let the Dodger's FO off the hook, though. They called into question their lack of signing int'l free agents, and how we towed the line with Selig's slots, ranking last in MLB in draft signing bonuses, and overpaying in terms of talent traded for Blake, Ramriez, Garland, et al, just to avoid taking on salary.

BLUEFAN:

Yep ... BA.com's assessment was right on track to what has been happening in regards to the minor league player acquisition and development. That is what makes Frankie's continued fibs about the Dodgers being about the minor leagues/player development when someone asks about why trades and/or free agent deals have/have not been done. The problem is, most "paying" fans don't have a clue and just go out to the stadium to be seen and/or have a good time. They don't follow what is actually going on within the organization like many hardcore followers (those of the BBWC, TBinLA, ThinkBlueLA, DodgerThoughts, MSTI, and other blogs). It is those fans that we need to convince to put the financial pressure on the McDivorcee's.

You're exactly right. These asshat owners think they can fool most people and thereby reach their goal of four million. Just crank up the volume on the stadium music, have American Idol wannabees sing the National Anthem (and God Bless America), and people will flock out and be mesmerized and hand over their hard-earned money. Farm system? What? Why worry about that? It's in keeping with the "live-for-the-moment" wave.

These owners will squeeze every penny they can out of the organization and fans, and if they need to sell, the new regime will be left with the consequences. I can't wait for the McCourts to bail out.

hunteralan:

He's a prospect, so I guess this is as good a place as any to put this: Former Dodger prospect Carlos Santana is out for 2-3 months after surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his wrist.

I saw that. It seems that not only will Santana be out for a few months, the break will most like hamper him for most if not all of 2010. It seems that it's a particularly nasty bone to break.

And no, I don't think that this makes the Casey Blake deal any more palatable.

hunteralan:

He's a prospect, so I guess this is as good a place as any to put this: Former Dodger prospect Carlos Santana is out for 2-3 months after surgery to repair a broken hamate bone in his wrist.

Looks like the Indians' decision to move Kelly Shoppach could bite them on the arse. I doubt that Lou Marson will excite the Indian faithful. I wonder if they will be chasing names like Kendall, Navarro or Buck?

Don't know if these have been posted yet, but they are good reads from the folks at Baseball Beginnings.

Kenley Jansen - Scouting Report

http://baseballbeginnings.com/2009/12/27/kenley-jensen-report/#more-3618

Q&A with Andrew Lambo

http://baseballbeginnings.com/2009/12/18/lambo-interview/#more-3545

Here's a shocker - Oakland top prospect Grant Desme, who tore up the minors last year... retired to become a priest.

Mike Scioscias tragic illness:

Here's a shocker - Oakland top prospect Grant Desme, who tore up the minors last year... retired to become a priest.

I just read that. I am impressed, but I would also ask the kid if he is 100% sure. I have to agree, that is not something you hear every day.

Throwdeuce:

You could make a point that he should stick with baseball and donate his earnings to the church, and once he's no longer an effective player, then become a priest.

TD, time to take that sig line away.

Yeah, that argument could be made, but it likely just came down to doing what he felt the Lord calling him to do. It might be interesting to check back in with this kid to see what he's been up to, say 20 years from now, as a result of this decision.

BluePastorKyle:

TD, time to take that sig line away.

Yeah I've tried, but for whatever reason I can't remove it. Trust me, I got something else I'd liked to put there.

Throwdeuce:

You could make a point that he should stick with baseball and donate his earnings to the church, and once he's no longer an effective player, then become a priest.

Who knows how strong the calling was for him? Maybe it was just something he felt he could not put off. I attended college with a couple guys who became priests. One had a serious future in physics - I mean, brain in a jar kind of guy. He also loved to party and was never lonely. But, between our junior and senior years, he felt his life was going down the chute and he found something that gave him peace. Sure, he could've put it off, but as he put it - if he hadn't done it then he never would've been able to say no to the chance at getting rich and staying ripped the rest of his life.

I respect the kid for giving away likely monstrous money to take on a higher, yet less profitable (in the financial sense), calling. All those who are calling the kid a fool need to wear his shoes for a day to understand his choice.

Keith Law, in his rating of all the farm systems, has us at 19, one spot higher than the Giants. Pretty much spot on. We are pretty weak on the upper levels, but the lower levels are loaded with talented players. Even though Law didn't mention any names, I think he already has a jones for Kenley Jansen. I have read more about this kid in the past three months than were ever written about him over the past three years.

I even read a report (might've been Sickels) that felt that Jansen could be a starting pitcher once he develops his stamina. His fastball is already legendary and there has been much talk that his slider and change up are going to be plus-plus pitches. Add to that, he is a horse. He is now being listed at 6'6" and 240lbs. You know Logan White loves his big pitchers. I would not be surprised if it is a race between him, Chris Withrow and Aaron Miller to make the show. The report even speculated that Jansen may bypass high A ball and go right to AA. As I expect Miller to do the same, that rotation could be sick - Withrow, Aaron Miller, Jon-Michael Redding, Jansen and Alberto Bastardo has filth written all over it. Of course, if Jansen cannot hack it as a starter, he would be some kind of closer. This might be the smartest move the Dodgers made, last year, moving him to the mound when they figured out he couldn't hit his weight.