Los Angeles Dodgers Winter League Report: part 2, Pitchers

June 9, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Matt Magill (36) pitches during the third inning against the Atlanta Braves at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

And now we’re back to updating our Dodgers fans on the winter league goings on of their system’s players. Here’s part two, the pitchers.

Our first pitcher is Freddie Cabrera, a 6’5″ lefty from Puerto Rico who turns 24 on Saturday. Cabrera had a rough year in the California League, giving up 94 hits in 67 1/3 innings and also struggled in the Puerto Rican league with a 5.66 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and just seven strikeouts (and five walks) in 20 2/3 innings.

22-year-old righty James Campbell went down to Australia this winter and has thrown 36 innings for the Adelaide Bite so far with a 4.25 ERA, 20 walks and 23 strikeouts in 36 innings. Campbell spent some time on the disabled list this year and split the season between High-A Rancho Cucamonga, the Arizona League Dodgers and the Class-A Great Lakes Loons without a lot of success.

24-year-old lefty Daniel Coulombe went to Puerto Rico for winter ball action and was very successful there, giving up just two earned runs in nine innings of work but walked nine while striking out ten batters. He pitched in Rancho Cucamonga and had a very respectable 4.05 ERA, 1.41 WHIP with 85 strikeouts and 48 walks in 66 2/3 innings.

Jose Dominguez played in his home country of the Dominican Republic and got into ten games throwing 10 innings ang giving up six runs on eight hits and four walks with eight strikeouts. Dominguez, 23, made his major league debut this season, throwing eight excellent innings in the bigs after splitting the season between Double-A and Triple-A with a 1.78 ERA, 40 strikeouts and 13 walks in 25 1/3 innings.

Carlos Frias, a 24-year-old, 6’4″ Dominican righty pitched at three levels very successfully in 2013, finishing up in Double-A Chattanooga. Over the course of the season, mostly as a starter, Frias had a 3.31 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 41 walks and 105 strikeouts in 130 1/3 innings. Playing in his native Dominican Republic, he threw 16 2/3 innings giving up just ten hits and seven walks with a 1.62 ERA and 11 strikeouts.

Signing as a minor league free agent in the offseason, 23-year-old righty Juan Gonzalez was playing in the winter in his home country of Venezuela. He threw 15 2/3 innings with a 5.17 ERA, 1.47 WHIP with five walks and four strikeouts. Gonazlez played in Double-A Tulsa with the Rockies’ organization to some excellent success in 2013.

Starter Matt Magill made the majors in 2013, making six uninspiring starts for the Dodgers, walking more than one batter per inning pitched despite a high strikeout ratio while also averaging one home run against per start. Magill, 24, had stronger numbers pitching for Triple-A Albuquerque but still had control issues in the minor leagues. Making five starts in the Puerto Rican league, Magill walked 13 in 21 innings while striking out 16 but gave up three home runs and 15 runs for a 6.43 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP.

27-year-old righty Hector Nelo had an excellent season in Double-A Chattanooga for the Dodgers’ organization but was roughed up in limited action early in the Venezuelan Winter League. He only pitched in eight and two-thirds innings and had a 7.27 ERA, 14 hits and seven walks with just two strikeouts.

Taiwanese lefty Fu-Te Ni, who signed a minor league deal in the offseason with the Dodgers, is pitching in the Australian Baseball League this winter. Ni, 31, has had some tremendous success Down Under with a 1.61 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 29 strikeouts and just seven walks in 28 innings for the Adelaide Bite. Ni last pitched with the Detroit Tigers’ Triple-A club in Toledo in 2012 and last pitched in the majors in 2010 for the Tigers.

Mexican righty Juan Noriega, 23, pitched in the Mexican winter league to the tune of a 2.90 ERA with 20 strikeouts and just seven walks in 31 innings. He split 2013 between Monclova in the Mexican League and Rancho Cucamonga in the California League, putting up some very good numbers as a reliever.

Red Patterson, a 26-year-old righty from Texas, spent his winter league stint in the Venezuelan league, putting up a 3.35 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP with 19 walks and 34 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings. Patterson was a swingman in Albuquerque, starting 12 games and relieving in 27 others, throwing 107 innings with a 3.03 ERA, 49 walks and 109 strikeouts.

Born in London, England and a Stanford man, 6’4″ lefty Chris Reed, 23, played for La Guaira in Venezuela, starting four games in November and giving up nine runs in 14 innings, walking six and striking out 13. He spent the season Double-A Chattanooga with some solid numbers overall.

6’5″ Venezuelan righty Romulo Sanchez signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers this offseason despite not putting up particularly impressive numbers in the Venezuelan league (5.61 ERA, 1.95 WHIP, 16 walks, 18 strikeouts) over 25 2/3 innings. He pitched in the Mexican League in 2013 and only threw 7 1/3 innings, getting hit heard.

24-year-old Puerto Rican Andres Santiago was dominant in his home winter league, throwing 20 innings and giving up just three runs on 14 hits and seven walks while striking out 21. He pitched decently for Chattanooga in the Southern League but walked five batters per nine innings in 134 innings.

Blake Smith, a 26-year-old righty from California, has thrown 18 innings in the Australian league for Adelaide with just four runs against on only six hits but he’s walked ten batters and has struck out nine. Smith is a fascinating case as he appears to be transitioning into becoming a pitcher and he did it mid-season, starting the season as an outfielder in Double-A Chattanooga and finishing by pitching 19 2/3 innings with Rancho Cucamonga.

Steve Smith, 27, threw 25 2/3 strong innings in the Puerto Rican league, surrendering seven runs (for a 2.45 ERA) in 25 2/3 innings with 29 hits and five walks against. He also struck out 17 batters. The 6’2″ righty from Michigan split the season between Triple-A and Double-A for the Dodgers.

23-year-old Javier Solano who was, I assume, on loan to Monterrey in the Mexican League this summer, took on a heavy workload in the Mexican winter league as well, throwing 71 innings with a 2.28 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 56 strikeouts and 22 walks. He posted similar numbers in the summer over 70 innings in Monterrey.

Signing on with a minor league free agent deal this offseason, Henry Sosa, 28, made four starts in the Venezuelan league with a 3.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 14 strikeouts and three walks in 20 innings. The Dominican righty spent 2011 with Houston, 2012 with Houston’s Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City and 2013 in Korea.

Another 28 year old, righty Justin Souza, pitched in Puerto Rico this offseason and got lit up a bit, giving up seven earned runs in 11 innings (5.73 ERA) on 15 hits and seven walks with only five strikeouts. Souza pitched in the Tigers’ organization last year and was much better after a demotion to Double-A.