Remember those names who attended the Dodger Winter Development Program in Los Angeles last week? Well, if you have forgotten you will be hearing these names a lot more often come the next month.
Joc Pederson, Zach Lee, Ross Stripling, Chris Reed and Miguel Rojas were among the top prospects that have been invited by the Dodgers to join the team at Camelback Ranch come Spring Training time. Other names include: Sam Demel, Carlos Frias, Daniel Moskos, Red Patterson, J.C Boscan, Griff Erickson, Chris O'Brien, Brendan Harris, and Clint Robinson.
Also included to the list of budding talent as non-roster invites, are the newly-signed veterans Miguel Olivo and Chone Figgins.
While the Dodgers are obviously stacked with pitchers -- seven were invited -- the prospect closest to making an impact is a position player. Joc Pederson would likely be on his way to the bigs if the Dodgers were not already so crowded in the outfield.
Others will argue that Zach Lee is the closest of the bunch to making the MLB roster. They think that a late-season call-up should be expected to get prepared for a starting role in the 2015 season.
One thing to keep in mind is that no matter how great of a spring training these young players have, they will likely start off the season in the minors.
Just look at last spring with Yasiel Puig. He tore up the competition with a .500 batting average and still did not make the opening day roster.
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Of the 15 non-roster invitees, Chone Figgins is likely to have the best chance to make the MLB roster. He must prove that he can still compete at replacement level in the MLB, but at least he has been there before.
The beginning of Spring Training is only two weeks away, with pitchers and catchers reporting on Feb. 8.
