It was a decidedly mediocre week for the Dodgers minor-league system with some standout performances. The Isotopes, Lookouts, and Arizona League Dodgers are on the verge of making the playoffs, while the Quakes are trying to nail down the wild card spot in the California League.

The Raptors scored the most runs this week with 69, and the Lookouts pitching, despite losing many arms via trades by the big club, allowed just 24 runs this week.

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Albuquerque Isotopes (3-4)

Runs Scored: 36
Runs Allowed: 47

Player Of The Week

Scott Van Slyke – OF/1B

Van Slyke earned his second consecutive award (fourth overall) by going 8-for-21 (.381) with a home run, four doubles, three RBI, three runs scored, and six walks. He’s hitting .325/.408/.575 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Pitcher Of The Week

Will Savage – RHP

Savage, who was once 6-0 on the season, had a really good outing this past week: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. He’s not faring well in the league on the season, but he throws an occasional good game.

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Chattanooga Lookouts (3-4)

Runs Scored: 32
Runs Allowed: 24

Player Of The Week

Jake Lemmerman – SS

This one was close between Lemmerman and Bobby Coyle, but I gave the nod to Late Night. He went 10-for-22 (.456) with a home run, three doubles, a triple, seven RBI and three runs scored. It’s just his second honor of the season. His 2012 has been rather disappointing, especially since I was higher on him than a prospect than most.

Pitcher Of The Week

Zach Lee – RHP

Lee is definitely getting the hang of the Southern League now. He had a fantastic outing this past week: 7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. His overall ERA is lower now than it was when he was promoted from Rancho Cucamonga, as he has a 4.18 ERA with the Lookouts. This is his fourth honor of the season (third since being promoted) for the Dodgers best prospect.

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Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (3-4)

Runs Scored: 50
Runs Allowed: 68

Player Of The Week

Austin Gallagher – LF

Gallagher, who started this season as a first baseman, has been playing a lot of left field and he had his best week of the season to date: 13-for-26 (.500) with two home runs, three doubles, 11 RBI, nine runs scored, and six walks. Gallagher missed some time with an injury this season but still owns a career-high slugging percentage (.474). It’d be more impressive if he wasn’t repeating the level.

Pitcher Of The Week

Jordan Roberts – LHP

It’s hard to find a good pitcher when a team gives up 68 runs in seven games, but Roberts did admirable work out of the Quakes bullpen this week: 10 2/3 IP, 13 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 8 K. Roberts is, somehow, 8-0 on the season with a 3.57 ERA. His peripherals, however, aren’t as nice as his undefeated record (for whatever that’s worth) and his decent ERA.

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Great Lakes Loons (4-3)

Runs Scored: 32
Runs Allowed: 31

Player Of The Week

Tyler Ogle – C

After destroying the Arizona League, Ogle was promoted to Great Lakes and then demoted to Ogden before being repromoted to Great Lakes. This week, he went 7-for-15 (.467) with two home runs, three RBI, and four runs scored.

Pitcher Of The Week

James Campbell – RHP

Campbell, the Dodgers 12th-round pick this year, made three appearances this week, including his first start: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K. Those were his totals from the week, not his start, unfortunately. Still, Campbell does have some ability and, like many relievers, should move rather quickly through the system.

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Ogden Raptors (6-1)

Runs Scored: 69
Runs Allowed: 47

Player Of The Week

Jesus Valdez – 1B/RF

This one could have gone to Corey Seager, Malcolm Holland, or Bladimir Franco, but Valdez’s performance was the best. He went 13-for-31 (.419) with two home runs, five doubles, 14 RBI, and nine runs scored. Valdez is enjoying lots of success with Ogden, posting a .325/.399/.516 triple slash with nine home runs and 16 doubles.

Pitcher Of The Week

Ross Stripling – RHP

Stripling, the Dodgers fifth-round pick, profiles as a starting pitcher, but he hasn’t thrown many innings per start because the club wants to limit his innings. But he threw well this week: 6 IP, 5 H, 1R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. He owns a 0.85 ERA and a 35:4 K:BB ratio.

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Arizona League Dodgers (3-2)

Runs Scored: 27
Runs Allowed: 23

Player Of The Week

Cory Embree – OF

Embree, the Dodgers 38th-round pick, has hit well for the Arizona League Dodgers this season as a 20-year-old. In limited action this week, he was the team’s best: 6-for-11 (.545) with a double, two triples, six RBI, and two runs scored. He’s hitting .320/.409/.493 on the season.

Pitcher Of The Week

Zachary Bird – RHP

Bird, widely considered a sleeper from the Dodgers 2012 draft class, had a nice outing this week: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. He averages more than a strikeout per inning and is someone to keep tabs on going forward.

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Dominican Summer League Dodgers (1-4)

Runs Scored: 13
Runs Allowed: 25

Player Of The Week

Josmar Cordero – C/1B

The team only played five games and scored 13 runs this week, so this award had to go to someone. Cordero was the best of the bunch: he went 5-for-13 (.385) with two doubles and two RBI. He finished his third stint in the league with six home runs, 19 doubles, 47 RBI, and 50 runs scored.

This shouldn’t come as any surprise to followers of the Dominican Summer League Dodgers or readers of this feature. On the year, Cordero’s line is a scintillating .362/.419/.533/.952, easily making him the best hitter on the squad. Therefore, if one were into sports betting, then Cordero has been the one to wager on in 2012 when it comes to Player Of The Week nods due to his consistent production week-to-week and the lack of other relevant bats on the team.

Pitcher Of The Week

Luis Silverio – LHP

Silverio had the best outing of any DSL Dodger this week, as the team ended its season: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 4 K. He had a nice showing in the league. I wanted to give this to Bryan Munoz (the 16-year-old the Dodgers signed), but he only threw one inning this week.

Dodgers sign 11 of their 2012 draft picks, including Jesmuel Valentin
2012 MLB Draft: Dodgers Have Signed 18 Picks + Bonus Information
Dodgers sign 8 more 2012 draftees, now up to 26 + bonus pool update
Corey Seager taking his physical in Los Angeles, according to Salisbury Post
2012 first rounder Corey Seager signs with the Dodgers for $2.35 million

The last of the holdouts from the Dodgers bonus pool picks, Florida lefty Paco Rodriguez, has signed with the team for slot money at $610,800. In total, the Dodgers spent $5,301,300 of an allotted $5,202,800, going $98,500 over budget, but not enough to lose draft picks.

Other players who signed include 12th rounder James Campbell, 22nd rounder Alan Garcia, and 32nd rounder Alfredo Unzue.

With these signings, the team has now inked 31 out of their 41 draftees, with only the 16th, 17th, 20th, 26th, 27th, 30th, 31st, 33rd, 36th, and 39th round picks still unsigned.

The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Jeremy Rathjen in the 11th round of the 2012 MLB Draft. A Senior playing the outfield from Rice University.

Ranked #229 by Baseball America.

Rathjen might have gone in the first five rounds last year had he not torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in mid-March. After redshirting and turning down the Yankees as a 41st-round pick, he has returned to show an all-around tools package similar to what he had before the injury. The 6-foot-6, 195-pound Rathjen does a nice job of making contact for someone with such long arms and a lengthy swing. That’s a tribute to his bat speed and hand-eye coordination, which give him average power. Rathjen’s speed hasn’t come quite all the way back, as its more solid than plus. He has moved from center to right field this season, more to accommodate teammate Michael Fuda’s well above-average speed and subpar arm. Rathjen has a chance to play center field in pro ball, and his average arm will work in right field. Scouts praise his makeup and believe he’ll be signable around the fifth round because he graduated in May.

A report from last year via Baseball Prospect Report.

I’ve had several looks at Rice outfielder Jeremy Rathjen playing for the Foresters, dating back to last season.

Now, Rathjen has an arm in right field, but I also missed it because the infield I saw in Thousand Oaks was about half-speed. I graded the arm a 45. I had guys tell me he threw better. I said that I can only grade what a guy gives me. I saw him at the All-Star game airmail a throw from right field into the third base stands. OK, now I get it. 60 conservatively. I just wish I had seen it when he thought nobody was watching.

In fairness, I can say he took something off the throw I saw for better accuracy. When you throw for scouts, they just want pure strength and don’t really care about the accuracy as much as they should. In the future, he’ll have to merge the arm strength with the accuracy, which he should be athletic enough to capture with some reps.

Physically, Rathjen is lean and lanky, and his body type is similar to Brewers outfielder Corey Hart. His offensive platform is that of a right-handed hitter who is predominantly a left-center field gap hitter when at his best. He gets some extension and will drive the ball, but he’s not what I would term a lift hitter. In the coming years, as he adds strength and physically matures, more of those gapers could become home runs, or he could be a very reliable doubles hitter with an above-average arm, serviceable range, solid average speed with probably a little more room to squeak a bit more out from time to time. At this stage, he is a very solid player with room for pro projection and will be a definite draft in 2011.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers selected James Campbell in the 12th round of the 2012 MLB Draft. A Junior right-handed pitcher out of the State University Of New York – Stony Brook.

I got no details to give.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Darnell Sweeney in the 13th round of the 2012 MLB Draft. A Junior shortstop out of the University Of Central Florida.

Ranked #337 by Baseball America.

Sweeney had a chance to go in the first three rounds with a good spring. An athletic 6-foot, 170-pounder, he just didn’t hit enough for most scouts to consider him in that range. He’s a plus runner with solid defensive tools, including a plus arm, but lacks consistency with his footwork, leading to careless errors. He should be able to play shortstop at least in a utility profile. He’s a switch-hitter who hasn’t developed enough strength to drive the ball with any regularity.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Matt Reckling in the 14th round of the 2012 MLB Draft. A Senior right-handed pitcher out of Rice University.

From MLB.com:

Reckling returned to Rice for his senior season after being taken in the 22nd round by the Indians in 2011. Still relatively new to pitching, he took another step forward in 2012, in terms of performance. He mostly uses a fastball in the low 90s and a curve that has the chance to be an out pitch. He has a changeup, but it’s not as good. That, along with just OK command has many thinking he’s best suited to a relief role in the future.

Ranked #179 by Baseball America.

Rice produced the first college senior drafted last year in lefthander Tony Cingrani, who went in the third round to the Reds. Reckling should be one of the first seniors to go this year, after turning down the Indians as a 22nd-round pick last summer. Scouts knew he’d be a tough sign because he’s a good student and he comes from a wealthy family–Rice’s stadium is named after his grandparents. Reckling didn’t start pitching until his final year of high school and wasn’t effective in college until the Owls eliminated the recoil in his delivery last year. He has won more games this year (eighth through mid-May) than he totaled in his first three seasons (seven) while averaging 10.5 strikeouts per nine innings. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder sits at 88-92 mph with his fastball as a starter, and he has jumped as high as 97 mph as a reliever. His spike curveball shows flashes of being a plus pitch, and most scouts think he profiles best as a two-pitch reliever. Reckling’s control and command have improved but don’t project to be better than average, and his changeup is a mediocre third offering. Scouts don’t believe his low-elbow delivery is conducive to starting in the long term.

Crawfish Boxes analyzed him as well.

Floor

The good news with Reckling is his floor as a reliever is pretty good. He’s got both a great breaking ball and a good change to support a move to the bullpen if needed. Plus, pitching out of the ‘pen may let his fastball velocity rise a tick. Still, his age means he’s going to have to move quickly if he wants his floor to be higher.
Ceiling

Look for him to be a decent back of the rotation starter in the majors. His strikeout rate is legitimate, but his lack of control could lead to high pitch counts and low inning totals. He might have a good career as a lockdown closer if things break right, too, but I’d think his biggest upside is as a starter.
Projected Draft Round

Neither Keith Law nor Baseball America has Reckling in their respective Top 100 lists. He is listed at No. 179 for BA, which means they expect him to be drafted around Round 6. That’s about where I have Reckling pegged, going somewhere in the Top 10 rounds and maybe sneaking into the Top 5. With a developing change and good velocity, he’s a big school version of a guy like Nick Tropeano.
Will he sign?

The fourth-year senior is guaranteed to sign if he intends to play professionally.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Dalton Von Schamann in the 15th round of the 2012 MLB Draft. A Junior right-handed pitcher out of Texas Tech University.

Ranked #459 by Baseball America.

The son of former NFL kicker Uwe von Schamann, Duke bounced back from Tommy John surgery in 2010 to post a 2.08 ERA this spring, the third-lowest at Texas Tech since the NCAA went to metal bats in 1974. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder lives mainly off his sinker, which has late run, usually sits at 87-90 mph and has reached 93 in the past. A redshirt sophomore, he throws strikes, gets groundouts and competes. His slider and changeup are nothing special, but he uses them effectively to set up his sinker.