I'm No Doctor, But...

...shoulder looks good.

My Point is Zach Lee!

Spring Training is almost here. Pitchers and catchers will start throwing and catching this weekend at Camelback Ranch and there will be plenty to feast our eyes on at Dodgers' camp including hyped prospects and new arms recently added to the rotation. One intriguing new arm that I was really looking forward to seeing in action is the one attached to the torso of highly touted prospect Frankie Montas. The big righty from San Cristobal can reportedly reach over 100 mph with his fastball. Unfortunately, the Montasaurus, acquired earlier this offseason in a trade with the White Sox, will neither be springing nor training, as he just had rib surgery and will miss up to 4 months.

Even with the loss of Montas there stands to be some serious competition among pitchers at camp. As has been the case in the past, there again will be a skirmish for at least one of the bottom rotation slots. What makes this year a little different is that, usually, you would expect one of the finalists who narrowly misses out on the chance to be in the rotation to stick around as a long or middle reliever, but that seat appears to be already taken...by Joe Blanton(?).

In a magical world where pitchers are as healthy as they say, Los Angeles' starting five would be:

1. Whats-his-name?
2. Scott Kazmir, LHP
3. Hyun-Jin Ryu, LHP
4. Brett Anderson, LHP
5. Kenta Maeda, RHP

In the world I know, baseball teams always need guys to pitch innings for the other guys who can't. So, for the sake of argument let's ponder some of the Dodgers' other options to start should such an opportunity present itself. First I'll mention some names already on the 40-man roster that I imagine would be given the opportunity.  Alex Wood makes the most sense to me as a sixth starter with his only knock being that he is another left-hander. Mike Bolsinger throws from the right side, has major league experience with decent success, and will probably be used in the same emergency starter capacity that we have seen him in for the past two years because of his options remaining that allow him to be sent to and from AAA all year long. Of the non-roster options, we have some of the best pitching prospects in the game in lefty Julio Urias and the right handed Jose De Leon. Throw in Brandon Beachy as a reclamation project with upside and you see the potential future that intrigues eager Dodger fans.

Still, with all the eye candy, I have not soured on a former first rounder who is my pick to have a sweet year, Zach Lee. According to Los Angeles's organizational pitching coordinator, Rick Knapp, Lee is "a reliable option right now, and I think he will pitch big innings for us". That is a solid endorsement from a man who has coached for the likes of a 20 year-old Rick Porcello when he was a Major League pitching instructor with the Tigers. Knapp also says of Lee that "his command has improved immensely. He uses his cutter on both sides of the plate".

It would be nice if all our well paid starters pitched 160 or more innings this year but, if not, the point is that we seem to be pretty well insured against injury. I'm especially excited to see the younger throwers get a shot to start in 2016 and I agree wholeheartedly with Rick Knapp's assessment of Zach Lee: "I think he's on the cusp of a breakthrough".