If you’re a fair-weather Los Angeles Dodgers fan right now, you’re probably not paying much attention to what happens on the baseball diamond. Why should you? The Dodgers are done for and are just riding things out until the season comes to a merciful end.
But what if you’re a die-hard fan who bleeds Dodger Blue? How are you spending the final weeks in a season gone horribly wrong?
If you’re like me, you still check out the box scores to see which Dodgers did well at the plate and on the mound. I still want to know if Andre Ethier was able to get off the missing persons list and start hitting home runs again. I also want to know whether Matt Kemp was able to join the 30-30 Club.
However, I also found another fun hobby while trying not to pay too much attention to things like my Dodgers getting swept at home against the Philadelphia Phillies this week. If I admit to what I’ve been doing, you are going to think one of two things: (1) “Gee, this guy is a big loser who needs to get a life” or (2) “Hey, I think I might try that!”
I’ve been checking out the stats of the Dodgers’ minor-league affiliates. I know the Dodgers aren’t going to win with what they have on the field this year; but I also want to see what kind of hope we have for the future.
A recent scan of the triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes gave me a few “things that make you go Hmmmm.” How many of you have heard of Justin Sellers? Liars! He’s not exactly a household name for the Dodgers like youngsters Dee Gordon, Jerry Sands and Rubby De La Rosa.
Here’s what I discovered about Sellers that gives me reason to get excited for the future:
- Guess where we have a huge need on our team right now? Second base. Sure, we’ve got Juan Fat-ribe. We’ve also got nice little Jamey Carroll and scrappy Aaron Miles to fill in. We don’t have a legitimate second baseman, though, that gets me excited about seeing him in the lineup for years to come. That might change after checking out Sellers at Albuquerque.
- At triple-A this season, Sellers has hit 14 homers and driven in 49 runs. He has also posted a .304 average and a .400 on-base percentage. Yes, I know that the air is a little thin in Albuquerque, but 14 homers from a second baseman in 270 at-bats ain’t too shabby. Let’s just hope that Ned Colletti doesn’t notice the 25-year-old Sellers because he’ll probably trade him away quicker than you can say “Trayvon Robinson.”
Another bright spot on the Albuquerque roster to my eyes was right fielder Jamie Hoffmann. Hoffmann’s had a few tastes of the good life with the Dodgers, but hasn’t managed to stick in Los Angeles … yet.
However, the 26-year-old Hoffmann seems to be making his best statement yet to convince Colletti to give him a chance. Hoffmann is hitting .301 with 18 homers and 64 RBIs this season. Add the fact that Hoffmann is second on the Isotopes to Sands in total bases (188) and hasn’t committed an error in the field, and I’m ready to give him a serious look in spring training.
You, too, can learn these tidbits by checking out the Dodgers’ minor-league rosters. Wait a second, though … if you do that, then why will you need to read my TTFB articles?
Never mind. Go on back to what you were doing. Leave the “American Pickers” scavenging of minor-league Dodgers’ websites to me.
