While Don Mattingly believes Matt Kemp‘s shoulder may be a mental hurdle he’ll have to get past, he and the Dodgers staff are not concerned about it affecting Kemp physically, as the injury hasn’t cropped back up after off-season surgery and there have been no lingering side effects.

“He may be thinking about [the shoulder], but it doesn’t seem like it any more,” manager Don Mattingly said before Tuesday’s game against the Giants. “I think when we assessed Spring Training, we felt like that was one of the hurdles that we crossed that was successful.”

The injury will likely temper Kemp’s power early in the season, but hopefully his shoulder responds better than Adrian Gonzalez‘s did after a similar injury during his time in Boston.

It’s a situation worth monitoring, but it certainly doesn’t seem worthy of panic.

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Chad Billingsley had a successful rehab start in Rancho and is in line to start in the bigs on Wednesday.

Chad Billingsley allowed four runs in four innings in his minor league rehab assignment with Class-A Rancho Cucamonga on Thursday night, but more importantly the Dodgers right-hander is healthy and his curve ball was unhindered by the contusion on his right index finger. Billingsley’s next start will likely by Wednesday in San Diego against the Padres.

“My curve was a lot sharper. In the last outing I was throwing 50-foot curve balls. Tonight they were more on top of the plate, I got a double play ball out of one. It was definitely worth it coming back here,” Billingsley said. “I’m ready for the next outing.”

Bills’ finger was fine and he was able to throw his curve.

“It went well. I accomplished everything I needed to to get ready for my next start,” Billingsley said on Friday at Dodger Stadium. “I’ve got no issues with the finger. I’m anxious to get back out there, compete and win some ballgames.”

It’s something to watch for during his start this week, for sure.

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Ted Lilly went six innings in a minor-league rehab start.

Lilly is expected to make at least one more rehab start before he’s ready to start in the Major Leagues, and then the Dodgers must find room for him. Manager Don Mattingly earlier said Lilly is not a likely candidate for the bullpen, where the Dodgers already have stashed starting pitchers Chris Capuano and Aaron Harang.

Not shockingly, Lilly allowed a few dingers.

The odds are still good that Lilly will be dealt or released when he’s healthy enough to return, as the Dodgers already have three superior lefties in the pen and could get Scott Elbert back at some point around the middle of this season.

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The Dodgers placed minor leaguers Juan Abreu, Juan Noriega, Matt Palmer, Mario Santiago, Steve Cilladi, Jan Vazquez, Pedro Guerrero, Casio Grider, Ozzie Martinez, Brian Cavazos-Galvez, Jeremy Moore, Pat Stover, and Joey Winker on the 7-day DL.

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Greg Zakwin is the founder of the site Plaschke Thy Sweater Is Argyle. Follow him on Twitter @ArgyledPlaschke.

With the Dodgers signing all of the players they drafted in the first 10 rounds, the minor league rosters have received ample reinforcements. The latest to sign: Paco Rodriguez. He was assigned to the Great Lakes Loons.

As for on-field performance, the Arizona League Dodgers are on fire. The team is 13-2 on the season and ahead of the second-place AZL Indians by 6 1/2 games. Aside from the Albuquerque Isotopes, the rest of the teams had mediocre weeks.

The ‘Topes led the system in scoring this week with 56 runs. The Dominican Summer League Dodgers gave up the fewest runs (12) in the fewest games played (five).

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Notes: Angelo Songco was promoted to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. He’s one step closer to being where he needs to be after having offseason surgery. This year’s 13th-round pick Darnell Sweeney joined Rodriguez and Duke Von Schamann as the only 2012 draftees to play at a level higher than rookie ball so far. Matt Kemp finished his rehab stint with the Quakes and Isotopes.

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Albuquerque Isotopes (5-2)

Runs Scored: 56
Runs Allowed: 40

Player Of The Week

Josh Fields – 3B

Fields had a great week, even by Pacific Coast League standards. He went 17-for-31 (.548) with three doubles, 10 RBI, and seven runs scored. He had at least two hits in every game this week. He isn’t hitting for much power, despite a .515 slugging percentage, but at least he’s putting the bat on the ball. He’s fifth in the PCL in hits (112).

Pitcher Of The Week

John Ely – RHP

Yeah, you’re not surprised. This is the sixth time Ely has won this award and he did so by having another fantastic week: 13 IP, 11 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 14 K. There’s not really much more to say about Ely’s performance this season, so I won’t.

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Chattanooga Lookouts (3-4)

Runs Scored: 35
Runs Allowed: 32

Player Of The Week

Nick Buss – CF

The 2008 eighth-rounder out of USC had a great week for the Lookouts: 14-for-30 (.467) with two doubles, a triple, six RBI, and four runs scored. Buss, 25, isn’t much of a prospect, but it’s nice to see him have a solid week. He’s struggling against Southern League pitching (.740 OPS) compared to the California League pitching he faced last season (.880 OPS).

Pitcher Of The Week

Matt Magill – RHP

Magill just edged out Ethan Martin to his second award of the season. He had a great outing this week: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K. Magill struggled mightily in June (7.46 ERA, .377 batting average against), but has started July off on the right track. Hopefully he’s a little more consistent for the rest of the season.

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Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (4-3)

Runs Scored: 44
Runs Allowed: 35

Player Of The Week

Bobby Coyle – OF/DH

Coyle, despite getting limited playing, is making it count. This week was no different: 8-for-19 with two home runs, four doubles, six RBI, and four runs scored. The 2010 10th-round pick has a .413/.455/.641 triple slash in 29 games with the Quakes. Joc Pederson (12-for-32) earns another honorable mention.

Pitcher Of The Week

Andres Santiago – RHP

Santiago, 22, has been inconsistent this season, but he’s also had two of the better performances by a Dodger minor league pitcher this season. He had a couple good outings this week: 14 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 19 K. That 19:2 K:BB ratio looks awfully nice. On the season, Santiago has a 5.01 ERA (bad), but his peripherals are pretty solid otherwise: 3.39 FIP, 1.28 WHIP, 8.5 H/9, 0.8 HR/9, 3.0 BB/9, 10.2 K/9, and a 3.35 K/BB.

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Great Lakes Loons (2-5)

Runs Scored: 23
Runs Allowed: 44

Player Of The Week

Jesse Bosnik – 3B/1B

It was a down week for the Loons on both sides of the ball. Bosnik just edged out Pedro Guerrero for this week’s award. He went 8-for-20 (.400) with a home runs, double, four RBI, and four runs scored. He’s hitting just .256/.294/.390 on the season. Bosnik, 24 in two weeks, isn’t a prospect at this point.

Pitcher Of The Week

Raydel Sanchez – RHP

On the strength of seven no-hit innings on July 2nd, Sanchez wins this week’s award. Last year’s biggest Dodger international signing, Sanchez had the following line: 13 1/3 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 10 K. The 22-year-old is having some success in Midland and is finally in the starting rotation after beginning the season in the bullpen.

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Ogden Raptors (3-4)

Runs Scored: 42
Runs Allowed: 50

Player Of The Week

Justin Boudreaux – IF

Boudreaux is having a much easier time with Ogden than he did with Great Lakes. This week, he went 9-for-21 (.429) with two doubles, two RBI, and four runs scored. The 2011 14th-rounder was somewhat of a sleeper in my eyes coming into the season, but he’s fallen and is a fringe prospect at best right now.

Pitcher Of The Week

Jake Hermsen – LHP

Hermsen earns his second straight award by having a couple solid outings: 11 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K. The lefty is having a relatively easy go of it for the Raptors thus far, posting a 2.50 ERA, .236 BAA, and a great 2.36 groundout rate.

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Arizona League Dodgers (5-1)

Runs Scored: 42
Runs Allowed: 32

Player Of The Week

Tyler Ogle – C

Ogle picks up the award for the second straight week by, once again, mashing: 10-for-23 (.435) with two home runs, 10 RBI, three doubles, and three walks. The soon-to-be 22-year-old has no issues handling Arizona League pitching and should be promoted sooner rather than later.

Pitcher Of The Week

Jonathan Martinez – RHP

Martinez had another stellar week to earn his second award in three weeks: 10 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K. The 18-year-old is having an impressive showing in the AZL and could be a guy to watch in the coming years.

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Dominican Summer League Dodgers (3-2)

Runs Scored: 24
Runs Allowed: 12

Player Of The Week

Melvin Santana – 2B

It was an abbreviated week for the DSL Dodgers, but Santana managed to have the best week of the bunch. He went 6-for-17 (.352) with two triples, two RBI, four runs scored, and four stolen bases. The 20-year-old played in the Dominican Summer League last year and hit .249/.344/.344 with 10 stolen bases. He’s already matched his triple total from last season (four) and has seven doubles (had 11 last year). He’s made some improvements and it will be interesting to see if he can keep it up.

Pitcher Of The Week

Wander Beras – LHP

Beras had one of the best outings — if not the best — of any Dodger minor leaguer this week: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 10 K. He’s been a little inconsistent in the DSL so far, but the 23-year-old is on his fourth stint in the league and isn’t much to get excited about. He did not play in 2011.