Down On The Farm: AAA And AA

Blake DeWitt|2B/3B|AAA|23-It seems like every time I do a minor league update, i'm here explaining DeWitt's mediocre slash line (.246/.343/.403/.746). Maybe there's more to it than I believe, but it still just seems like he's having some bad luck in a half season sample size.

His .272 BABIP would be his lowest ever in a minor league season, and by a large margin at that. In addition, while he's hitting less groundballs (42.5%) and flyballs (32.3%) than his career norms, he's replacing that by having bumped his line drive percentage (25.3%). That's progression, not regression.

His ISO (.156) is the lowest in his minor league career as well, so that's somewhat concerning, but his BB% (11.7) and K% (11.8) are both minor league career bests, with both showing sizable improvement.

Maybe i'm missing something, or maybe the drop in power is more significant than I think, but as you watch him play and as look at the statistics, the only conclusion I can come to is that he's still getting better, regardless of what the raw numbers say.

Chin Lung Hu|SS|AAA|25-I've heard his name mentioned in hypothetical trade talks around the internet, and I don't understand it at all. His line is .261/.308/.321/.629 and there's no sugarcoating it. He's been in a strong regression for two years now, and while his defense is still world class, he hasn't even proven he can handle AAA anymore, much less the bigs.

Travis Schlichting|RHP|AAA|24-He's throwing harder than he was last year, but if his newfound velocity comes with this kind of control, then i'll take a pass. I don't care what his ERA is (0.95), he needs to get his command back.

Josh Lindblom|RHP|AAA|22-Lindblom got promoted to AAA and has since turned in one good outing and one bad outing. I'd still like to see him miss more bats, but the bigger problem right now is his control. Advanced hitters simply aren't as free swinging, and he'll have to adjust again.

Scott Elbert|LHP|AAA|23-Elbert got rewarded for dominating AA batters with a promotion to Albuquerque. He's made three starts in AAA, each of them successively worse than the other. Striking out 13 and only walking two through his first pair of starts, Elbert then walked 6 in his latest game. I can't count how many updates in a row i've said some variation of "he's good, but where's the progress".

Thomas Giles|OF|AA|25-He put up a .344/.389/.594/.983 slash line in high-A and earned a promotion to AA a while ago. Since then he's continued to hit, going .270/.375/.520/.895. Of course, the catch is that he's due to turn 26 this year, so all of his numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt. He should be close to the majors right now, but only got his first taste of advanced pitching as a 25-year-old. Still, his accomplishments are worth mentioning.

Lucas May|C|AA|24-Finally back from a broken wrist, it'll be interesting to track his progress. Before he went down with the injury, it looked like he was on his way back to establish himself, but wrist injuries can linger. His calling card was his power, so it'll be interesting to see if he gets it back.

Josh Bell|3B|AA|22-Out to prove that his peripheral improvements weren't just a fluke, Bell has 8 walks to 5 strikeouts so far this month. He's one to watch very closely.

Besides his peripherals, something else to watch is his swing from the right side of the plate. From the left, he's batting .303/.401/.535/.936. From the right, he's batting .214/.295/.274/.569. He's never looked that bad from the right side before, but this is his first year against advanced pitching.

Andrew Lambo|OF|AA|20-Call it a comeback. I think his hot streak started the moment I dropped him in the prospect rankings. His monthly OPS goes .931, .591, .771, .897. His recent performance is nothing to get too excited about, but it's certainly a positive start to the month for a change.

Victor Garate|LHP|AA|24-He has rolled off 13 1/3 scoreless innings. Just promote him to AAA already. Seriously.

Paul Koss|RHP|AA|24-Do well, go on the disabled list, do well again, go back on the disabled list. Rinse and repeat.

Javy Guerra|RHP|AA|23-I have been begging for the Dodgers to promote him for a couple months now, and they finally did. In 5 2/3 innings in AA, he has walked 8 and struck out 4. This is exactly why he needed to be challenged. Time to learn that you need more than raw stuff to be successful at the big league level. Time to paint corners because big leaguers aren't going to be chasing fastball after fastball at the letters.

Matthew Sartor|RHP|AA|25-This big righty is turning in a solid season at AA, posting a 3.28 ERA, a 3.35 FIP, and 53 strikeouts to 14 walks in 46 2/3 innings. He's a bit old, but he could make an impact at some point.

James Adkins|LHP|AA|23-Maybe the Dodgers will give in to my demands if enough of us fans chant "relief, relief, relief" when Adkins starts.