Kind of a quiet week on the farm for the Dodgers affiliates. The Loons went 4-1, but the other three affiliates didn’t play .500 ball.

The pitching seemed to lack this week more than the offense, but there have been some impressive early-season performances thus far.

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Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes (2-5)

Player Of The Week

Scott Van Slyke – 1B

.435/.517/.957/1.474, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 3 2B, 7 R, 5 BB, 4 K

Van Slyke is on fire to start the season. Not only is he hitting the cover off the ball, he’s walking, too. He’s slimmed down and it appears to be helping him. He’s a late-bloomer for sure, but this is ridiculous — in a good way.

Pitcher Of The Week

Matt Magill – RHP

5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 7 K

Magill’s first start wasn’t great, but his second start was much better. He has the skill set to pitch in the Pacific Coast League, especially with his ability to get the strikeout. It’ll be interesting to see how Magill fares in the extreme hitter’s league this season.

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Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts (2-4)

Player Of The Week

Yasiel Puig – OF

.304/.333/.609/.942, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, 5 K

Puig wasn’t as good as last week, but he still was able to smack four extra-base hits while trying to help the mediocre-thus-far Lookouts’ offense. Joc Pederson was a close second.

Pitcher Of The Week

Zach Lee – RHP

7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB (Intentional), 7 K

Lee pitched like the Dodgers’ best pitching prospect this week, as he spun a gem against the Tennessee Smokies. He’s off to a fast start this season, and could re-establish his prospect status (even though he didn’t do a whole lot to hurt it in 2012) with a strong performance in Double-A.

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High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (3-4)

Player Of The Week

Scott Wingo – 2B

.400/.571/.467/1.038, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 3 K, 2 HBP

Wingo is an on-base machine, or at least he was this week. He gets pushed to the bottom of the lineup thanks to Darnell Sweeney and Noel Cuevas, but it’s nice to have that on-base ability to turn the lineup over.

Pitcher Of The Week

Pedro Baez – RHP

2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Kind of a rough week for Quakes’ pitching. Ross Stripling pitched relatively well, but still gave up three runs in five innings. Baez is not the Quakes’ closer right now, but he could be by mid-season, due to either promotions or performance.

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Low-A Great Lakes Loons (4-1)

Player Of The Week

Paul Hoenecke – 3B

.476/.500/1.262/1.762, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 3 2B, 7 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Hoenecke has been the Loons’ best hitter by far. He’s providing the middle-of-the-order presence Great Lakes’ terrible offense needs. Corey Seager has struggled (statistically), and the team isn’t getting much offense from anyone else.

Pitcher Of The Week

Ralston Cash – RHP

6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Despite giving up six runs in his first start, none of them were earned. That explains the 0.93 ERA and 4.09 FIP this season, but still, he’s striking batters out (15 in 9 2/3 innings). This is a big year for the former second-rounder.

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Dustin Nosler is the founder of the site Feelin’ Kinda Blue. He also co-hosts the weekly podcast Dugout Blues. Follow him on Twitter @FeelinKindaBlue or like his site on Facebook.

The Dodgers had a bunch of intriguing minor-leaguers posting solid numbers in the season’s first week.

Note: Since the minor-league season started on Thursday, the numbers you see here — especially for the hitters — will not be the norm all year long.

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Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes (4-0)

Player Of The Week

Scott Van Slyke – 1B

4 G, .600/.667/.933/1.600, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 2 2B, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K

Van Slyke, on the strength of a 4-for-5, five RBI game, had the best week of any Dodger minor-leaguer. Primarily a first baseman now, the slimmed-down Van Slyke could still have a career in the big leagues, especially if he’s improved upon his slider bat-speed.

Pitcher Of The Week

Shawn Tolleson – RHP

2 G, 4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K

With starting pitchers on pitch limits and the Isotopes not having a lot of talent in the rotation, it’s possible for relief pitchers to make this list more often than not. Tolleson, who lost out on a bullpen spot in the majors because of options, is back to Albuquerque for a second stint. Hopefully he doesn’t stay there for too long, because there really isn’t much more he can do in the minors.

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Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts (1-3)

Player Of The Week

Yasiel Puig – OF

3 G, .500/.583/.800/1.383, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K

The Spring Training sensation had a solid first week in the Southern League. He hit a home run and drew a couple walks, which is something he didn’t do in March. It appears he’s set to take the league by storm.

Pitcher Of The Week

Onelki Garcia – LHP

1 G, 4 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 HR, 2 BB, 4 K

There’s a decidedly Cuban feel to the Lookouts with Garcia making his “official” Double-A debut. It wasn’t as good as his appearance in the playoffs last year, but it’s definitely encouraging.

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High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (3-1)

Player Of The Week

Noel Cuevas – OF

4 G, .333/.412/.400/.812, 1 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2 SB, 2 BB, 3 K

Cuevas ended up with a game-winning hit one night and, aside from the guys who played just one or two games, had the best week overall. He should be a mainstay in the Quakes’ lineup this season.

Pitcher Of The Week

Ross Stripling – RHP

1 G, 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K

Stripling had a nice High-A debut that included four no-hit innings. The second-year pitcher out of Texas A&M could move quickly if he handles the California League well.

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Low-A Great Lakes Loons (1-3)

Player Of The Week

Paul Hoenecke – 3B

4 G, .438/.438/.813/1.251, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 2B, 3 R, 4 K

One of the more “veteran” hitters on the team, Hoenecke held it down for the Loons this week. Four of his seven hits went for extra bases and he’s filling a big need for the team at third base.

Pitcher Of The Week

Lindsey Caughel – RHP

1 G, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 6 K

Caughel, like Hoenecke for the offense, is a veteran pitcher on the staff, meaning he’s a bit old for the league. But his debut was clearly the best of any Loons’ pitcher. He pitched reasonably well last year in Rookie-ball, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can carry it over to full-season ball.

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Dustin Nosler is the founder of the site Feelin’ Kinda Blue. He also co-hosts the weekly podcast Dugout Blues. Follow him on Twitter @FeelinKindaBlue or like his site on Facebook.

Dominican Summer League Dodgers: Pitchers
Dominican Summer League Dodgers: Hitters
Arizona League Dodgers: Pitchers
Arizona League Dodgers: Hitters
Ogden Raptors: Pitchers

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Continuing my off-season recap of the Los Angeles Dodgers minor league affiliates, I will be moving on to the hitters of the Ogden Raptors.

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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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Joc Pederson – OF – 19

Joc Pederson Statistics

2010 11th round draft pick Joc Pederson destroyed the Pioneer League in 2011, it’s as simple as that. He put up a .353/.429/.568/.997 line (.792 OPS=Average) in 310 plate appearances, striking out 17.4% of the time, while walking at a 11.6% clip, both clearly better than the league average.

He has solid plate discipline, makes consistent content, and should be able to play good defense in the corners. Perhaps most impressive is his flash of immediate power out of high school, even if it was the Pioneer League.

He struggled a bit in A-ball to take some shine off his 2011, but he was one of the youngest players in that league, so giving him a pass for now isn’t hard. He’ll end up in A-ball again to begin 2012 and I’m excited to see how he fares.

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James Baldwin – OF – 19

James Baldwin Statistics

A fourth round draft pick in 2010 and son of a former MLB pitcher, James Baldwin flashes tools but still lacks refinement.

His .250/.348/.480/.828 line is solid, especially for a raw player, but striking out 32.6% of the time is just unacceptable. He doesn’t walk a lot to compensate for it either (7.8%), so it’s obvious that plate discipline and consistent contact will be his main issues going forward.

Baldwin’s athleticism, speed, and arm are generally unquestionable. Furthermore, he has power projection, which stacks even more potential onto a player who projects in center field. With that said, it’s hard to get around that strikeout rate, especially in Rookie-ball. My main concerns are that I don’t think he has particularly quick hands and his swing is lengthy enough where it’s not in the hitting zone for long. He has closed his stance off a bit since high school in an effort to shorten his stroke, and I think it has helped simplify his timing, but the swing itself still has the same path to it.

Given the Dodgers history with pushing raw players (Dee Gordon), I expect Baldwin to be in A-ball in 2012.

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O’Koyea Dickson – 1B – 21

O’Koyea Dickson Statistics

Taken in the 12th round of the 2011 draft, O’Koyea Dickson set the Pioneer League on fire in his professional debut. He put up a .333/.402/.603/1.005 line, which is impressive regardless of where it was done.

He hit at home (.979), on the road (1.044), against lefties (.999), and righties (1.007). Perhaps most noteworthy is that his strikeout rate was above average (20.5%) despite his power stroke. Dickson’s walk rate could use work though (8.8%), as it’s solid, but it’ll need to inflate as he moves levels.

Dickson has a quiet approach at the plate without much movement or complexities, and his swing is generally short and efficient. When he gets the ball in his zone, he squares up well, but can elongate his swing against tough pitches at the edges of the strike zone. I really like his hands and I think there’s a chance that he could develop into a good prospect. I would be remissed if I didn’t mention his short stature for the position though, which could ultimately handcuff him.

I’d like to see how he performs in A-ball before getting too excited, as he’s limited to first base defensively, and the offensive bar for that position is quite high. Still, you couldn’t ask him to do much more at the level he was put at.

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Scott Schebler – OF – 20

Scott Schebler Statistics

A 26th round pick in 2010, Scott Schebler was supposed to be able to hit, and that he did in his first extended season as a professional.

Schebler hit 13 homers en route to putting up a .285/.324/.529/.853 line for 2011. Of course, the problem is obvious, as he walked 4.1% of the time (13) but struck out in a frightening 30.8% of plate appearances (97).

I’m not all that optimistic going forward, mainly because he’ll need to do a ton better than that to play a corner.

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Noel Cuevas – OF – 19

Noel Cuevas Statistics

Sent to the California League to begin 2011, the 2010 21st round draft pick struggled immensely before being sent down to the Pioneer League.

Noel Cuevas played much better after the demotion, posting a .285/.326/.488/.814 line, both demonstrating that he can hit and why he struggled against better competition. The 20.2 K% is solid, but the 5.2 BB% is the problem area.

He’s not a refined product, so I’m unsure why they pushed him so quickly, as he’s one of the many that needs extra time to develop.

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Scott Wingo – 2B – 22

Scott Wingo Statistics

The 11th round 2011 draft pick out of South Carolina had an impressive professional debut that begs the question of where he’ll end up in 2012.

His line of .275/.464/.459/.922 showed the extent to which he overmatched Pioneer League pitchers, carrying a 19.9 K% and a 18.5 BB%.

For the coming year, whether he starts in the Midwest League or California League should tell us what the Dodgers think of his tools.

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Pratt Maynard – C – 21

Pratt Maynard Statistics

Drafted in the third round of the 2011 draft because he could hit, Pratt Maynard did none of that in 2011. He put up a line of .239/.346/.341/.687 in 104 plate appearances and never looked comfortable.

It wasn’t bad luck either, as his BABIP wasn’t so far removed from the league average that it could explain away his issues, at least not so much as his 67.7% ground ball rate would. On the positive side, he controlled the plate reasonably well, posting a 23.1 K% and a 12.5 BB%, but as far as actually hitting the ball, he didn’t do it.

It’s certainly not enough to condemn him, but it’s not the start you want in a hitter friendly league from your third round, bat first college catcher. As a mediocre defensive receiver, he’ll need to improve in both aspects at this point.

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Justin Boudreaux – SS – 21

Justin Boudreaux Statistics

Posting a .265/.400/.442/.842 line, Justin Boudreaux flashed plate discipline and pop, but didn’t make a significant impression considering he was a three year starter in college (Southeastern Louisiana).

He controls the strike zone well and makes consistent enough contact, but it’s his speed that has allowed him to excel thus far, stealing 16 bases without being caught. Defensively, he’s a tad error prone, but that can be cleaned up with time and he has the tools to stick at shortstop.

Boudreaux will have to be pushed to A-ball in 2012 if he’s going to be a relevant prospect.

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Jan Vazquez – C – 20

Jan Vazquez Statistics

To be totally honest, it’s starting to look like Jan Vazquez is becoming yet another example of why you don’t draft catch-and-throw backstops who have to be taught how to hit.

A sixth round selection in 2009, Vazquez is still in Rookie-ball sharing time with other catchers after three years as a professional. On the positive side, he’s getting better (OPS=.558/.648/.674 CS%=22/23/32). On the negative side, those still aren’t even average numbers and the scouting reports aren’t exactly glowing.

He might struggle to become even organizational depth if he doesn’t take a step forward in 2012.