Colletti, Dodgers seeing results

It's always nice when a plan comes together.

When Ned Coletti came in as Dodgers' general manager just after the 2005 season came to a close, he inherited one of the deepest farm systems in baseball (he made it deeper with the Andre Ethier trade). In 2006, it really began to pay dividends at the big-league level.

Los Angeles returned to the postseason for only the second time in 11 years, and it was an infusion of youth from down on the farm that truly helped the Dodgers get there. The aforementioned Ethier came up and hit over .300 in close to 400 at-bats. Fellow outfielder Matt Kemp also had an immediate impact. Russ Martin settled in as the everyday catcher and has star potential.

On the mound, Chad Billingsley became a rotation mainstay, while Jonathan Broxton and Hong-Chih Kuo filled important bullpen roles. Coletti was even able to use the depth to trade a pair of prospects to bring in Julio Lugo for the stretch run.

Los Angeles' system is by no means done with supplying talent to the big club. The organization finished the year over .500 and there's still some pretty special talent at all levels, waiting to develop and make a Dodgers' postseason appearance an annual occurrence.

Five Faves

At the start of the season, MLB.com identified five prospects to keep an eye on. Here's how they fared in 2006:

Andre Ethier, OF
Joining the Dodgers last offseason in the Milton Bradley trade, it didn't take long for him to make his presence known in Los Angeles. After hitting .349 in his first month with Triple-A Las Vegas, the outfielder got the call and never went back. Though he tailed off in September, he still put up tremendous overall numbers for a rookie, hitting .308 with 11 homers and 55 RBIs in 396 at-bats, enough to garner some Rookie of the Year votes.
Video: Ethier collects five hits

Andy LaRoche, 3B
LaRoche's 2006 season was filled with ups and downs. On the upside, he had another tremendous season with the bat, hitting a combined .315 across Double- and Triple-A with 19 homers, 81 RBIs and a .410 on-base percentage. But he also suffered a torn labrum that eventually required surgery. How that might effect the start of his 2007 season remains to be seen, but when he's healthy again, he should be poised to make a contribution in Los Angeles soon.
Audio: LaRoche blasts a three-run bomb

Chad Billingsley, RHP
Another member of the "Baby Dodgers," Billingsley's Triple-A career lasted less than three months. He made his big-league debut on June 15 and finished with a 3.80 ERA and seven wins over 90 innings. He turned just 21 in late July, so there's plenty of time for him to improve on his command (90 walks in 160 2/3 combined innings). Assuming he stays healthy, he should be a mainstay in the Dodgers' rotation for a long time.
Video: Billingsley strikes out nine

2006 Organizational Record
LEVEL AAA AA A (Adv) A SS R	LEAGUE PCL SL FSL SAL PIO GCL	TEAM Las Vegas Jacksonville Vero Beach Columbus Ogden Dodgers TOTAL:	W 67 86 51 72 37 32 345	L 77 54 80 68 39 22 340	PCT .465 .614 .389 .514 .487 .593 .504

Matt Kemp, OF
After a ridiculous Fall League season in 2005, Kemp went from Double-A Jacksonville to Triple-A Las Vegas all the way up to the big leagues. His overall Minor League numbers are those of a guy who doesn't need to be there anymore: .346 average in 381 at-bats, .414 OBP, .543 SLG, 25 steals. Even though he struggled in the latter stages of his callup, he still hit seven homers and drove in 23 runs in 52 games. Most of that came in June, when he slugged all seven of his homers and drove in 16 in 82 at-bats.
Video: Kemp clears the fences

Scott Elbert, LHP
With the ascension of Francisco Liriano to the big leagues, Elbert assumes the title of top lefty pitching prospect. Pitching for most of the year at age 20, Elbert split time between Class A Advanced Vero Beach and Double-A Jacksonville. He struggled a little with his command -- 85 walks in 146 combined innings -- but he also struck out 173 and held opponents to a .190 batting average (97 hits). Lefties with plus, plus stuff don't grow on trees, and the Dodgers are taking good care of him, sending him home instead of to the Arizona Fall League as initially planned.
Audio: Elbert records inning-ending strikeout

Cinderella Story

Delwyn Young, OF
Still living in the shadow of the some of the Dodgers' bigger name prospects, Young had a pretty good 2006 season with Triple-A Las Vegas and earned his first big-league callup. The 2002 fourth-round pick spent his first season playing the outfield and hit .273 with 42 doubles, 18 homers and 98 RBIs. The 5-foot-8 switch-hitter is on the Dodgers' 40-man roster, though it's unclear how he'll fit into LA's crowded outfield picture.
Audio: Young delivers in extra innings

Breakout Year

These players were pegged as breakout candidates before the season began. Did they live up to expectations?

Blake DeWitt, 2B
After playing third base in his first full season, DeWitt switched over and played a lot of second base for Vero Beach. In 106 games there, he hit .268 with 18 homers and 61 RBIs. He moved up to Double-A and ended up mostly back at third while hitting .183 over 26 games. He continued to scuffle in the Hawaiian League this fall, batting just .186 over his first 23 games. He's played second, short and third there.
Audio: DeWitt delivers a walk-off single

2006 draft recap

1. Clayton Kershaw, LHP
The seventh overall pick in the 2006 draft didn't disappoint in his debut in the Gulf Coast League. The lefty out of Texas had a 1.95 ERA over 37 innings, yielding just 28 hits and five walks while striking out 54. His ability to locate his plus fastball made him extremely difficult to hit, at least at that level.

2. Bryan Morris, RHP
The Dodgers' second first-round pick, Morris got off to a promising start with Ogden, though the numbers don't necessarily support that, other than his 79 strikeouts over 59 2/3 IP. Even with a 5.13 ERA, he was considered one of the top prospects in the league. But then he had some problems with his elbow that resulted in Tommy John surgery. Just 19, he's got plenty of time to heal and come back.
Audio: Morris fans eight in five innings

3. Preston Mattingly, SS
He was a litle bit of a suprise as the Dodgers' supplemental first-round pick, but Don's son, a good all-around athlete, seemed to handle the transition to pro ball fairly well. The shortstop hit .290 in 47 GCL games and went 12-for-15 in stolen base attempts.

4. Kyle Orr, 1B
The power-hitting Orr signed too late to make his debut in 2006. Dodger fans will have to wait until 2007 to get a glimpse of the 6-foot-5 future first baseman. Orr has played for Team Canada in international competition, most recently going to Cuba for the IBAF World Junior Championship while negotiating with the Dodgers. Using a commitment to Kentucky as leverage, it took a while to get a deal done, but the Dodgers signed him for more than the usual amount for his fourth-round slot.

5. Kyle Smit, RHP
After signing, Smit joined Kershaw on the GCL Dodgers staff. The Nevada high school product tossed 11 innings in his debut, allowing five runs on 15 hits and two walks with nine strikeouts. At 6-foot-3 and just 165 pounds, the teenager is the prototypical projectable high school pitcher.

2005 draft recap

Luke Hochevar was the Dodgers first pick in the 2005 draft, but he did not sign, instead re-entering the draft and being taken by Kansas City with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft.

1. Ivan DeJesus, SS
The Dodgers challenged their second-round pick by moving him to full-season Columbus, where he played the entire year at age 19. He had a decent year with the Catfish, hitting .277 with 16 steals. He also showed pretty good plate discipline, drawing 63 walks in 126 games for a .361 OBP. Defense is his calling card, though he did make 24 errors at short.

2. Josh Wall, RHP
Wall started out extremely well when he headed to short-season Ogden after extended Spring Training, allowing just one run over 11 2/3 IP in his first two starts. He was much more inconsistent the rest of the way, finishing the year with a 3-5 record and 5.86 ERA in 66 IP. The league hit .305 against the right-hander, who struck out 41 and walked 33.
Audio: Wall records his eighth K

3. Sergio Pedroza, OF
The Cal State-Fullerton product feasted off South Atlantic League pitching to start the year, hammering 21 homers, driving in 75 runs and posting a .998 OPS in 89 games. That earned him a promotion to Vero, where he struggled initially, hitting .154 over 13 games. He never got a chance to get going there because he was traded to the Devil Rays (along with Joel Guzman) in the Julio Lugo deal. He enjoyed the California League better, hitting .313 and slugging .545 in 29 games.
Audio: Pedroza pounds a three-run blast