Down On The Farm: End Of The Season

Since I want to think as little as possible about how the major league club is currently doing, this 'Down On The Farm' is quite long. Enjoy.

Ivan DeJesus|SS|AA|21-I was high on him coming into this year, but he has since surpassed even my expectations. DeJesus has maintained his high OBP (.413), but he's now hitting the ball harder with more consistency (17.9 LD%).

The most impressive part about his development is the recent increase in power. For the month of August, DeJesus has already hit 3 home runs, which eclipses his total for all the other previous months combined. He also carries a .620 SLG and a 1.125 OPS in the month. I don't think i've ever seen him show that kind of pop before, so even though this is more than likely a temporary power surge, it's very promising for his future.

James McDonald|RHP|AAA|23-As we all already know, James has been promoted to AAA, and he was even considered for the rotation spot that Greg Maddux eventually got. Despite getting shelled in the start that Ned Colletti went to watch, McDonald has excellent numbers at AAA thus far. He has struck out 27 batters in 17 1/3 innings, and has only walked 5.

From a scouting perspective, things look extremely positive. The development of his changeup is one of the keys to his future success, and it was recently voted by Baseball America as the best in the Southern League. High praise, indeed.

Chris Withrow|RHP|A+|19-I'm actually now concerned about a few things with him. He's still only pitching 1 inning at a time, he seems to need a lot of days off between appearances, and he hasn't struck out anybody yet in 3 innings. Plus, he's given up 4 walks.

Yeah, I know, sample size. Still though, it's not exactly the return I expected after already missing almost all of the season and claiming to be ready to go upon activation.

Chin Lung Hu|SS|AAA|24-After being activated and getting off to a fast start, I had high hopes for his progression. Unfortunately, he seems to be regressing more than anything else. He isn't showing the pop that he did in the minors last year, and he has 18 strikeouts against just 6 walks. He's not hitting the ball hard either, as his LD% is just 9.

Greg Miller|LHP|AAA|23-I'm pretty disappointed in his performance as of late. In May and June, he actually showed signs of being somewhat usable as a reliever because his BB rates were improving. For those months, he walked 15 batters in 28 innings, which is not remarkable, but is an excellent showing by his standards. However, in July and August, Miller has now walked a ridiculous 28 batters in 15 2/3 innings. Seriously, that is absolutely fucking atrocious.

Lucas May|C|AA|23-I sure am glad that the Dodgers traded away Carlos Santana now! May is hitting .228 with a .692 OPS, and he has 105 strikeouts in less than 400 plate appearances. Joy.

Scott Elbert|LHP|AA|23-He's still only pitching one inning at a time down in AA. I'm not sure if he's still hurt, if the Dodgers want him to be a reliever, or if they're just afraid of stretching him out. At any rate, none of it really bodes well.

The good news? His statistics are showing signs that he's gradually getting better. He had 16 walks against 26 strikeouts in June and July, but he has since struck out 17 batters and only walked 4 in 10 2/3 innings.

Josh Lindblom|RHP|AA|21-The Dodgers' second round pick in 2008, Lindblom has already been promoted to AA after a very impressive showing in A- ball. He was supposed to be polished coming out of college, so skipping a level isn't really that big of a deal, but it's usually not something that the Dodgers do. In 29 innings, he has struck out 33 batters and walked only 4. He also carries an excellent FIP of 2.44.

Andrew Lambo|OF|AA|19-He was also promoted to AA, but his promotion was much more surprising than Lindblom's. As it is, Lambo was already quite young for A- ball, but now he's extremely young in AA. I still don't think it's likely that he starts there next season, but the fact that the Dodgers would even do this shows how highly they think of his talent. If he continues to thrive, his ETA could be bumped up a year.

John Lindsey|1B|AAA|31-Okay, this is a little out there, but why the hell not? Does Lindsey have team destroying AIDS or something? Come on, the dude hit 30 HR last year, and he now has 25 HR this year. He currently sports a .944 OPS, and that's actually down from the 1.010 he posted last year. He doesn't strike out a ton (14.8% K), he walks at a decent rate (10.9% BB), he makes solid contact (17% LD), and has a ton of power (.243 ISO).

Yes, I know he's a 31-year-old career minor leaguer who will probably suck balls in the long run. However, he will also probably suck less balls than Mark Sweeney currently does. Honestly though, the most Sweeney can do is hit a groundball dribbler for a single. At least Lindsey gives the Dodgers hope that he'll hit a double or something. So yeah, I hope he gets called up and is used to pinch hit, he deserves a shot for once in his life.

Blake DeWitt|2B|AAA|23-Instead of pouting, Blake has gone down to AAA, learned a new position, and improved on his AA numbers from last year. His ISO is still about the same (~.180) but his BB% is way up (3.7% to 8.1%), his K% is down (13.9% to 11.3%), and he's hitting the ball ridiculously hard (18% LD to 23% LD). Also, considering his LD%, his .849 OPS is actually lower than expected.

Yes, he's currently benefitting from the hitter's park in Las Vegas, but he still barely has over 100 PA, so i'll postpone judgement on that aspect.

Xavier Paul|OF|AAA|23-Like DeWitt, Paul has also put up better numbers in AAA than he did in AA. However, Paul is not benefitting very much from his home park. His OPS is .830 at home, and .820 on the road, suggesting that his improvement is completely legit. Also in his favor is the fact that his ISO has increased (.138 to .147), and he has cut down on his strikeouts (23.2% to 19%).

Kyle Russell|OF|R|22-The Dodgers' 3rd round draft pick in 2008 is lighting up rookie league, and quite frankly, he should be. While his .985 OPS and .287 ISO are impressive, the 29.8% K rate in Rookie ball is not a very good sign. If he strikes out that much against obviously inferior pitching, I cringe to think what he would do against even AA guys.