Although the Los Angeles Dodgers ran into countless obstacles this offseason, the team's future still remains bright. Their starting rotation took a hit when Zack Greinke left for the Arizona Diamondbacks, but rumors suggest some prospects could make an impact in 2016.
Mark Saxon of ESPNLosAngeles.com conducted a Q&A with Dodgers team president Stan Kasten last week and spoke to him about the happenings this offseason and the outlook for next season. The starting rotation was obviously a big topic of discussion and Saxon specifically asked him about prospects Julio Urias and Jose De Leon.
Here's what Kasten had to say about the team's potential endeavors in free agency as well as the possibility of some young players contributing next year.
"I always talk about the three ways of acquiring players. You can grow them yourself, you can sign them as free agents or you can make trades. All the avenues remain open. We are looking at things down all three avenues. If we can find more starting pitchers between now and Opening Day, we'll certainly do that, but I think we're going to be good either way."
"The system is just starting to catch up in terms of depth. I can tell you right now we have more depth than the organization has ever had. I think we're ready to see that in the regular season and beyond. I don't think the team we field today is the team we will open the postseason with next October. Things happen. I'm really excited about our growth and the whole rotation of pitchers we have knocking on the door at [Triple-A] Oklahoma City."
The Dodgers have a full rotation right now with Clayton Kershaw, Brett Anderson, Alex Wood, Mike Bolsinger and Hyun-Jin Ryu (assuming he's going to be ready for spring training, which has been speculated ever since he underwent shoulder surgery). However, the injury concerns surrounding Ryu and Brandon McCarthy (expected to be back in the middle of the year as he recovers from Tommy John surgery) may not keep the rotation intact for the entirety of 2016. Additionally, Anderson has never experienced back-to-back seasons in which he made at least 20 starts and it's unknown how Bolsinger will perform with just 31 MLB games under his belt.
This could very well open the door for Urias or De Leon, both of whom are among the team's top prospects. Urias, 19, owns a 2.91 ERA in 61 career minor league games (56 starts), but he'll need some more seasoning at Triple-A where he was knocked around in his only two starts at that level. Still, the left-hander is regarded as one of the best prospects in the MLB and could get comfortable in the early going. Urias dominated Double-A where he maintained a 2.77 ERA in 13 starts.
As for De Leon, the right-hander enjoyed a successful 2015 campaign at High Class A Rancho Cucamonga and Double-A Tulsa. He finished 6-7 with a 2.99 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 163 strikeouts in 23 starts (114 1/3 innings) between the two levels and will more than likely make the jump to Triple-A in early 2016.
And don't forget the Dodgers acquired prospect pitcher Frankie Montas from the Chicago White Sox earlier this offseason. The 22-year-old made his MLB debut in 2015 with Chicago after going 5-5 with a 2.97 ERA in 23 starts at Double-A Birmingham last year. He could be an option in the bullpen or rotation for Los Angeles.
We'll just have to wait and see how the front office opts to handle the development of these youngsters.
