The Attrition War, Dodgers
Special contributor edition. Douglas Fearing writes
I performed the Attrition War analysis for the Dodgers and posted it on Dodger Thoughts. Please feel free to post on your site as well.
(Handy link to Dodger Thoughts)
I will! Because I’m lazy!
I have not edited the original email he sent, so this is still almost entirely his work. If I get a chance, I may go through and compare with notes, etc. Readers who want to help with this freaking enormous research project can either email me to take on a whole team or just look at one in the series, find a player with “unknown” or something, go research them and post the results in the comments.
This is part of a continuing series, follow-ups to the initial post detailing the Mariners history over the same period.
Please note that I am trying to refrain from drawing any conclusions or making any comparisons, guessing at causes or relationships, or doing anything but presenting straight data. When the series is finished, I’ll have a summary post where I talk about those things.
In every organization so far there have been are several cases where those stats seem to ignore something important. I’m going at attempt to address those in the summary post, as well as methodology and thoughts on future research directions.
Readers are, as always, encouraged to to add/correct information here in the comments or by email. Citations are particularly welcome.
Now, to Fearing’s data:
Number of pitchers appearing at least once in a BA Dodgers Top Ten List: 27
Number of pitchers suffering significant shoulder injuries: 3 (Gonzalez, Miller, and Foster)
Number of pitchers suffering significant elbow injuries (TJ): 5 (Osuna, Diggins, Gagne, Kuo, Rojas)
Number of pitchers suffering unknown injuries: 1 (Ashworth)
Here is the raw data for each prospect along with the Number/Year they were BA prospects:
Alfredo Gonzalez – 7/2003
Signed as an amateur free agent in 1997. Currently pitching in Las Vegas. Missed the end of 2003 and most of 2004 with shoulder problems.
Antonio Osuna – 2/1995
Signed as an amateur free agent in 1991. Signed the White Sox as a free agent in 2001. Missed most of 1999 and 2000 after having a bone spur removed from his elbow in April and Tommy John surgery in September of 1999.
Ben Diggins – 1/2001, 4/2002
First round draft pick in 2000. Traded with Shane Nance to Milwaukee for Tyler Houston in 2002. Had Tommy John surgery in 2003.
Chad Billingsley – 6/2004
First round draft pick in 2003. Currently pitching in Jacksonville.
Chad Ricketts – 10/2001
Acquired from the Cubs along with Terry Adams for Ismael Valdez and Eric Young in 1999. Traded with Luke Prokopec to Toronto for Paul Quantrill and Cesar Izturis in 2002.
Chan Ho Park – 3/1995, 2/1996
Signed as an amateur free agent in 1994. Signed by the Rangers as a free agent in 2002. Shut down with back problems in 2003 through the first half of 2004.
David Yocum – 7/1996
First round draft pick in 1995. Never made it to the major leagues. Wasn’t able to find any history on him. Injuries?
Dennys Reyes – 4/1998
Signed as an amateur free agent in 1993. Traded with Paul Konerko to Cincinnati for Jeff Shaw in 1998.
Edwin Jackson – 3/2003, 1/2004
Sixth round draft pick in 2001. Current pitching (poorly) in Las Vegas. Missed a month in 2004 with a strained forearm.
Eric Gagne – 2/2000
Signed as an amateur free agent in 1994. Currently the best closer in the majors. Missed all of 1997 after Tommy John surgery.
Felix Rodriguez – 9/1995, 9/1996
Signed as an amateur free agent in 1989. Selected off waivers by Cincinnati in 1996. Injured himself exiting the shower in 2005.
Greg Hansell – 8/1995
Acquired from the Mets along with Bob Ojeda for Hubie Brooks in 1990. Traded with Ron Coomer and Jose Parra to Minnesota for Kevin Tapani and Mark Guthrie.
Greg Miller – 2/2004
First round draft pick in 2003. Currently rehabbing in extended spring training. Missed all of 2004 after having two shoulder surgeries.
Hong-Chih Kuo – 3/2000, 3/2001, 6/2002
Signed as an amateur free agent in 1999. Currently pitching in Vero Beach. Has missed most of the past 4 years recovering from two Tommy John surgeries.
Jeff Kubenka – 10/1998
Thirty-eight round draft pick in 1996. Selected off waivers by Arizona in 1999.
Joel Hanrahan – 9/2002, 8/2003, 5/2004
Second round draft pick in 2000. Currently pitching in Jacksonville.
Jonathan Figueroa – 2/2003
Signed as an amateur free agent in 2002. Currently pitching in Vero Beach.
Jose Rojas – 8/2002
Signed as an amateur free agent in 2002. Where is he now? Missed most of 2002 and the beginning of 2003 after Tommy John surgery.
Kris Foster – 10/2000
Acquired from the Expos for Rafeal Bournigal in 1995. Traded with Geronimo Gil to Baltimore for
Mike Trombley in 2001. Missed most of the 2000 season due to shoulder surgery.
Kym Ashworth – 8/1994, 10/1995
Signed by the Dodgers in 1993. Selected by Detroit in the AAA/AA rounds of the Rule V draft in 1998. Missed the 1997 season due to injury.
Luke Prokopec – 6/1999, 5/2001
Signed as an amateur free agent in 1994. Traded with Chad Ricketts to Toronto for Paul Quantrill and Cesar Izturis in 2002.
Mike Judd – 3/1998, 3/1999, 6/2000, 6/2001
Acquired from the Yankees for Billy Brewer in 1996. Traded to Tampa Bay as part of a conditional deal in 2001 and then selected off waivers by Texas the following day.
Onan Masaoka – 8/1996, 6/1997, 6/1998, 9/1999
Third round draft pick in 1995. Traded with Gary Majewski and Jeff Barry for James Baldwin in 2001.
Ricardo Rodriguez – 1/2002
Signed as an amateur free agent in 1996. Traded with Francisco Cruceta and Terry Mulholland for
Paul Shuey in 2002.
Rick Gorecki – 4/1994, 7/1995
Nineteenth round draft pick in 1991. Selected by Tampa Bay as the 40th pick in the 1997 expansion draft.
Steve Colyer – 4/1999, 9/2000
Second round draft pick in 1997. Traded with cash to Detroit for Cody Ross in 2004.
Ted Lilly – 7/1997, 5/1998
Twenty-third round draft pick in 1996. Traded with Peter Bergeron, Jon Tucker, and Wilton Guerrero for Carlos Perez, Mark Grudzielanek, and Hiram Bocachica in 1998.
Comments
4 Responses to “The Attrition War, Dodgers”
Yeeesh… don’t drop the soap.
Why is Darren Dreifort not included in this list?
Dreifort wasn’t on a Top Ten Prospects list from 1995-2004.
If Gagne needs a second Tommy John surgery, that will make three top prospects in the Dodgers organization since 1994 who have had two Tommy John surgeries (Darren Dreifort, Eric Gagne, and Hong-Chih Kuo). The Dodgers certainly look to be challenging the Mariners as one of the worst organization dealing with their top prospects. Hopefully, DePodesta was able to bring some lessons learned with him from the Oakland organization.