Let the Games Begin!

The minor league games, that is. Punctuality is everything, and the rosters for all the Dodgers' minor league affiliates are up a day before the season starts. I'll go over the rosters, estimating the starting lineups and rotations, as well as mentioning a few guys at each stop that deserve some recognition.

Las Vegas

Rotation:

RHP Chad Billingsley
RHP Aaron Sele
RHP DJ Houlton
RHP Eric Hull
RHP Justin Reid
CL Jon Broxton

Lineup:

SS Oscar Robles
C Russell Martin
RF Delwyn Young
LF Joel Guzman
CF Andre Ethier
3B Willy Aybar
1B Chris Truby
2B Wilson Valdez

Ones to Watch: Billingsley is the Dodgers' ace of the future, and Broxton may be Gagne's eventual successor. Martin looks to displace Dioner Navarro and Joel Guzman should be in the Dodgers' OF by the first game of 2007.


Jacksonville

Rotation:

RHP Justin Orenduff
LHP Greg Miller
RHP Joel Hanrahan
RHP Dan Muegge
RHP Casey Hoorelbeke
CL Jose Diaz

Lineup:

SS Chin Lung Hu
2B Tony Abreu
CF Matt Kemp
3B Andy LaRoche
1B Craig Brazell
RF Justin Ruggiano
LF Anthony Raglani
C AJ Ellis

Ones to Watch: Matt Kemp and Andy LaRoche will provide the power, while Abreu and Hu will provide one of the best double play tandems in the minors. It will be interesting to see how Miller progresses, and whether he's used as a starter or in relief. Justin Orenduff is in Double A after his first full year of pro ball and could be in the major league rotation by the end of the year if everything falls into place.


Vero Beach

Rotation:

LHP Scott Elbert
RHP Blake Johnson
RHP Julio Pimentel
RHP Chris Malone
LHP Jon Figueroa
CL Wesley Wright

Lineup:

CF Jamie Hoffman
RF Xavier Paul
C Chris Westervelt
2B Blake DeWitt
3B Travis Denker
1B Cory Dunlap
LF Ryan Carter
SS David Nicholson

Ones to Watch: Elbert dominated Low A Columbus last year and looks to do the same in Vero. Blake Johnson is very underrated and could be a surprise breakout player this year. After swapping positions, DeWitt and Denker should be watched closely this year.


Columbus

Rotation:

LHP Brent Leach
RHP Mario Alvarez
LHP Miguel Sanfler
RHP James McDonald
LHP David Pfeiffer
CL Cory Wade

Lineup:

CF Adam Godwin
SS Ivan DeJesus
RF Sergio Pedroza
3B Russell Mitchell
1B David Sutherland
C Tony Harper
LF Lucas May
2B Jesus Soto

Ones to Watch: Not many big names here. Ivan DeJesus hit well in the GCL but struggled in Ogden last year. Interesting to see him and Juan Rivera on the same squad. Sergio Pedroza should provide some power, along with Russ Mitchell.


Again, these are not the official lineups/rotations. These are purely my estimations. The season starts tomorrow, so get ready to see the future. And, of course, I'll be updating this blog every day with the boxscores from all the games. Enjoy!

Here are the links to the rosters:

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ros&cid=441
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ros&cid=457
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ros&cid=564
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=t_ros&cid=400&stn=true&sid=t400