Dodgers cut top prospects Pederson, Lee

Neither Joc Pederson nor Zach Lee had a great shot at making the Dodgers out of Spring Training, but it took the team until the final round of cuts to assign the prospects to the Minor Leagues.

Pederson and Lee -- the Dodgers' No. 2 and 4 prospects, respectively -- were trimmed as the team announced its 25-man roster for Saturday's season opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Australia. Infielder Miguel Rojas also was cut, while catcher Tim Federowicz was optioned.

Pederson, MLB.com's No. 36 overall prospect, was just 6-for-32 (.188) in 21 Cactus League games, but he also had a .333 on-base percentage and hit two homers and a double.

The 21-year-old outfielder hit .278 for Double-A Chattanooga last year, swatting 22 homers and stealing 31 bases, but the left-handed hitter batted just .200 against southpaws. In Spring Training, he had a .273 average vs. lefties.

With Yasiel Puig, Andre Ethier, Carl Crawford and Matt Kemp among the names above him on the Major League depth chart, those kinds of adjustments to Pederson's game were his primary concerns in big league camp.

Lee, who wasn't asked to compete for a starting job with the likes of Dan Haren and Paul Malholm, also was focused on soaking up experience this spring.

The 22-year-old right-hander went 10-10 with a 3.22 ERA as Pederson's teammate with the Lookouts last season. He appeared in two Cactus League games, giving up four runs -- three earned -- on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 4 2/3 innings. More memorably, he started for the Dodgers on Thursday in their 4-2 win over Team Australia in an exhibition game at Sydney Cricket Ground, striking out six while allowing a run on three hits over four innings.

Lee ranks No. 63 on MLB.com's list of Top 100 Prospects.

Also on Friday, the D-backs declared top prospect Archie Bradley ineligible for the weekend's series against the Dodgers. He took the loss in an exhibition game against Team Australia, giving up three runs over 3 2/3 innings. With the injury to Patrick Corbin, MLB.com's No. 5 overall prospect remains in contention for a spot in the starting rotation.