Los Angeles Dodgers 2012 Top 15 Prospects (1/13/12)

There was no doubt at the top of last year’s Dodgers rankings. Zach Lee was the top prospect in the system and that was about the easiest thing I did as part of this team’s process.

While Allen Webster entered the 2012 season needing to make some strides, his ceiling still warranted a high ranking and I felt he deserved the second slot. Given his improvements last year, I’m obviously happy with the results, as are the Red Sox, who traded for him in July.

The rest of the list generally becomes a jumbled, hit-or-miss mess. Chris Reed should have been higher given the reviews I received on him last year. I was still concerned that he was destined for relief, pushing him down a few spots on my list, but 2012 feedback was tremendous; pegging him as a legit starting option.

Alfredo Silverio was pushed up the list because of a lack of depth, and while a car accident slowed his progress, he still has a broad base of skills and enough potential to be a quality big leaguer. He will rate well again this year, even if #3 seems a bit high in retrospect.

Alex Santana offers some interesting tools but last year’s rating was a bit aggressive. I still like him but he’s much further off than initially expected after the 2011 draft.

It’s easy to believe Joc Pederson was heavily underrated in my rankings last year, but his breakout season of 2012 really changed the outlook on him. Viewed as more of a grinder that could end up somewhere between a fourth outfielder and solid regular, Pederson added the power his game was lacking and now looks the part of an everyday guy. I wish I could say I saw it coming, but I didn’t.

I still showed some faith in infielder Jake Lemmerman last year, noting that he had been pushed aggressively, but maintained the tools to be a big league option. He’s not a star in the making, and he has since been traded, but Lemmerman should be a big leaguer, possibly in a utility role. I’m glad I maintained some faith in the glove-first profile.

All-in-all, not a bad job. I feel I should have seen some things coming, particularly with Chris Reed and maybe the rawness of Alex Santana’s game, but in the end, I’m not left believing I missed having another player on the list due to last year’s mistakes.