Chad Billingsley is back on the 15-day DL for the second time this season, and once again it’s due to right elbow soreness. Bills had an MRI that revealed inflammation and will have further tests once the inflammation has subsided.

Chad left his last start early after feeling something in the elbow on a pitch. He had been on quite the run since returning from his first elbow injury, and will be replaced in the rotation by newly-acquired Josh Beckett.

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Shane Victorino was scratched from Saturday’s game due to tightness in his back. Dylan Hernandez reports there may be some hip tightness as well, though the club only reported the back issue. Shane returned to the starting lineup on Sunday.

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Ted Lilly, rehabbing with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, felt “something … in his back or something”, according to Don Mattingly, and will have his next scheduled start skipped.

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Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers highly-paid Cuban import, was out of the lineup for a few games due to a bruised right heel, according to the Quakes official Twitter page. He returned to bang out four hits on Sunday though, so he should be fine.

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Matt Guerrier continues rehabbing in Rancho.

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Jerry Hairston Jr. is done for the season, as he’s scheduled to undergo surgery on his ailing left hip.

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Blake Hawksworth had arthroscopic shoulder surgery and is done for the year.

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Within the last two weeks, Chris Withrow, Chris Reed, Matt Wallach, and Angelo Ponte have all spent time on the 7-day DL, while Kazuya Takano was placed on the 60-day DL.

Dominican Summer League Dodgers: Pitchers
Dominican Summer League Dodgers: Hitters

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There’s no Arizona League picture of suitable size, so you’re stuck with what’s actually a better alternative.

Anyway, today I continue my off-season recap of the minor league affiliates, moving on to the pitchers of the Arizona League Dodgers.

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I’ll be picking the prospects for the 2012 Prospective Prospect Profiles list from these reviews, so it might be worth reading. Or not.

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Jose Dominguez – RHP – 20

Jose Dominguez Statistics

After three years in the Dominican Summer League, he finally got his shot in America and thrived, posting a 3.50 ERA, 3.57 FIP, and 3.36 SIERA in 10 starts and 43.2 IP. In particular, his hot June earned him the month’s Dodger Pride Award. At Rookie-ball in Ogden, he struggled in 3 starts, but it’s tough to read too much into that.

More importantly, his stuff seems to have improved as well, going from touching 89-90 to sitting a tad above that range. Additionally, his curve is progressing nicely, but he’ll still need a dependable third pitch as a starter and he’s not necessarily young for his level of competition.

Unfortunately, I can’t go without mentioning that he tested positive for Stanozolol and was suspended for 50 games back in 2009.

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Eric Eadington – LHP – 23

Eric Eadington Statistics

Eadington’s 2011 performance was excellent, as he posted a 1.59 ERA, 1.35 FIP, and 2.39 SIERA in 9 games of relief work over 11.1 IP. In 9 games and 10.1 IP in Ogden, he posted an even better 0.00 ERA, 1.55 FIP, and 1.92 SIERA.

The catch, of course, is that he was already 23, which is normally grounds for ignoring a performance like this, as somebody at his age should be dominating this level of competition. However, coming out of college from Harvard explains his age, and the words “lefty” and “reliever” combined with velocity from 90-93 will draw interest.

Eadington is solidly build and throws from a 3/4 arm slot. He has a repeatable delivery and solid mechanics, though I think he could hide the ball better if he completed his follow through. As a potential LOOGY, he stays closed longer than normal, so it’s deceptive from that side of the plate. To go along with his velocity, he has a curve that neutralizes lefties and he generally throws strikes.

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Matthew Laney – LHP – 22

Matthew Laney Statistics

For 24.1 IP in 12 games, Laney put up a 0.74 ERA, 2.46 FIP, and 3.43 SIERA, an impressive performance, but with the caveat that he’s 22 and old for the competition level.

As a lefty reliever though, there’s hope for him to move quickly, especially since his velocity has grown from 83-85 to 88-91 in college at Coastal Carolina. He has a curve and a change, but he’ll only need the former pitch in his projected role. For a big guy, his delivery is surprisingly coordinated and his control should hold up as he moves levels. I still think he’ll need to sit in the low-90s to have a legitimate shot.

He’s a rather large individual and he’ll need to work at maintaining his weight.

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Juan Noriega – RHP – 20

Juan Noriega Statistics

He weighs in at 145 and stands 5’7″, so even though I’ve never seen him pitch, I can’t say I’m all that optimistic about his prospects.

However, I’d be remissed if I didn’t mention his 2011 performance, which consisted of allowing 0 runs in 13 Arizona League innings and 4 innings in Ogden. Additionally, he struck out 27 and walked 2, so he was simply dominant.

What does it mean? Who knows, but it’s worth noting.

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Kazuya Takano – RHP – 18

Kazuya Takano Statistics

His 6.82 ERA was ugly, and his peripheral measurements were better but not by that much, as shown by his 5.06 FIP and 4.01 SIERA. However, he missed a good number of bats (17.5%) and showed control beyond his years (5.2%), but simply gave up far too many bombs to be effective. Throw in the fact that this is a teenager in unfamiliar surrounding with nobody from his background around, and it’s understandable that he might struggle initially.

Like most Japanese pitchers, he has about eleventy billion different pitches, but the significant ones are his 85-88 fastball and slow curve. I’m assuming he’ll be developed as a starter, in which case his third pitch will likely be the changeup with the split grip, unless the Dodgers puzzling aversion to the pitch opts to develop the slider/cutter that the system philosophy seems to prefer.

Unsurprisingly, he has solid mechanics with ideal timing, and his control is likely to be a strong point for him throughout his career. At 6’1″, there’s room for velocity upticks, which will be something to look out for going forward.

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Daniel Tamares – RHP – 21

Daniel Tamares Statistics

After 4 years in the Dominican Summer League, Tamares finally got his crack stateside and made the most of it, posting a 2.11 ERA, 1.65 FIP, and 1.91 SIERA.

Haven’t seen him, heard about him, or read about him, but just based on his peripherals, he seems ready to test the waters at Ogden as a reliever.