Archive for Yasiel Puig

If there’s any baseball story that’s just never going to end this winter — other than, “Jack Morris should/shouldn’t be in the Hall!” and “Alex Rodriguez fights with MLB!” — it’s almost certainly going to be “the Dodgers have too many outfielders, who will they trade?”

It’s been a slowly building narrative for more than a year now, and now that Yasiel Puig has proven himself to be a quality major league player and top prospect Joc Pederson is just about ready to join him, it’s deafening. That means Matt Kemp is going to the Blue Jays… or the Rangers… or the Mariners… or the Red Sox… unless Andre Ethier goes to the Mets or an unlikely Puig trade blows up the baseball world else first. It’s both a fun and frustrating time of year, where every report that one team may possibly have communicated with another about some player sends fans into a frenzy. Read the rest of this entry »

The Yasiel Puig era begins now for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Mired in a disappointing beginning to the 2013 season, the organization is looking to the 22-year-old outfield prospect with the hope of catching lightning in a bottle. A Cuban defector, Puig has just 63 games of North American professional experience under his belt, but he’s made the most of his time in the minor leagues . Well, at least in terms of his results at the plate. At Double-A this season, the young hitter produced a .313 batting average; 23 of his 46 hits going for extra bases.

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With the Dodgers in last place and Yasiel Puig on fire in Double-A, pressure to call up the Cuban outfielder is building. In his last ten games, the 22-year-old has posted a .395/.465/.658 slash line, including seven extra base hits and six steals. Healthy and productive, Puig is once again knocking on the door to Los Angeles.

Earlier in the week, Dave Cameron discussed Andre Ethier being “eminently available” after comments and a benching by Manager Don Mattingly. Combine losing with mammoth contracts and the potential for roster shakeup seems inevitable. No individual stands to gain more than Yasiel Puig if this occurs. Read the rest of this entry »

In Chattanooga, Top-100 prospects Yasiel Puig and Zach Lee debuted against a Huntsville (Brewers) team with few prospects of note. On paper, both excelled with Puig reaching base in three of four plate appearances and Lee surrendering just one earned run across four innings of work. There’s a reason scouts don’t write reports from box scores though. While each impressed, both prospects still have work to do before the Dodgers come calling.

Videos after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »

The Dodgers will trot out a formidable wave of big league talent to take on the National League West in 2013 but the strength of the major league club comes at the expense of the minor league system. The organization has flipped its home-grown talent to acquire the likes of Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Hanley Ramirez. The new draft and international free agent rules will affect LA’s ability to over-pay for amateur talent but the club showed the ability to work within the new guidelines and had a solid 2012 amateur draft.

#1 Zach Lee (P)

Lee, 21, is an athletic pitcher who’s still learning to channel his raw skills to the mound and he doesn’t dominate as much as expected. The right-handed Texan split 2012 between high-A and double-A pitching a total of 121 innings.

He walked just 32 batters, displaying above-average control for his age, but also struck out just 103 batters because his secondary stuff – curveball, slider, changeup – has yet to fully develop. He offsets his lack of Ks with above-average ground ball numbers. A former star high school quarterback, Lee has moved quickly through the system and may need to spend all of 2013 in double-A before his ticket to L.A. is punched. Read the rest of this entry »

Shane Victorino was recently asked if he would return to the Dodgers in a part-time role next season. One of the many pieces the Dodgers added near the trade deadline, the former all-star centerfielder was adamant that he’ll seek regular playing time in his next deal. Given Victorino’s sentiments and the crowded Dodgers outfield, his return likely isn’t in the cards. However, the Dodgers may need someone like him over the next year or two as an insurance policy on Carl Crawford or a stopgap until Yasiel Puig is ready.

When the Dodgers acquired Crawford, along with Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez …and Nick Punto in last week’s megadeal, they put the finishing touches on a very expensive outfield for the foreseeable future.

The move didn’t come without consequences. In addition to the hefty contracts now on the books, the Dodgers created a positional logjam that may prove difficult to solve without eating salary or making subsequent trades.

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