Dodger fans certainly don’t need me to remind them that the Dodgers have now been in last place in the NL West for nearly two months; nor do they need me to remind them that they are nine games under .500; and they certainly do not need me to remind them that the Dodgers trail the division leading Diamondbacks by 8.5 games (which could very well be 10.5 games by Wednesday night) – so there’s no sense in me even saying any of this.

Plagued by injuries to their starting rotation (and everywhere else for that matter), the Dodgers have been forced to use Stephen Fife as a spot starter and he has clearly proven that he deserves a permanent spot in the Dodger rotation. They have also used Matt Magill as a spot starter and he has clearly proven that he does not – not yet, at least. And though Chris Capuano figures to come off the DL within the next few days, it’s a pretty safe bet that he will be back on it within a couple of weeks because… well, that’s what Chris Capuano does.

So what’s the answer?

It certainly isn’t Ted Lilly (who has quite possibly already pitched his last game as a Dodger), and it definitely isn’t Josh Beckett (ditto). The answer is, of course, Zach Lee.

With the Dodgers at risk of falling 10 games behind the division-leading Diamondbacks, they have absolutely nothing to lose by bringing Zach Lee up right now. (Photo credit – Michael Murphy)

Lee was the Dodgers first round pick in the 2010 MLB Amateur Draft and will be 22 years old in August. He has pitched at every level of the Dodgers minor league system except in the thin air of Triple-A Albuquerque, where the Dodgers (wisely) do not send their best pitching prospects. As such, the next logical step for the hard-throwing McKinney, Texas native is the Big leagues.

While many will argue that Lee is not MLB ready, it’s hard to ignore his 5-3 record, his 2.62 ERA, his .238 BAA and his 1.163 WHIP in his 12 starts with the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts thus far this season. But what absolutely jumps out at you are his 57 strike outs and only 18 walks in his 65.1 innings of work. This is an insane K/9 of 7.9 and BB/9 of only 2.5 – not to mention that he has allowed only 3 home runs.

Perhaps the Dodgers should ask the guy who tutored Zach Lee during spring training if the young right-hander is MLB ready or not. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

The argument that bringing Lee up now will prematurely start his arbitration clock is, quite frankly, “fertilizer” (as the great Vin Scully would say). For those who see this as a valid reason not to bring Lee up right now ask yourself this – Do you want to win or not? If he struggles, well then you just go through the arbitration process and hope for the best. But if he succeeds (as I suspect he will) then the Dodgers would most likely offer him an early contract extension anyway.

Simply put, there is no valid reason for the flailing (and failing) Dodgers not to bring Zach Lee up right now. Granted, the Dodgers would have to find a spot for him on the 40-man roster, but I can think of at least one failing third baseman/shortstop that the Dodgers could (and should) get rid of to create a spot on both the 40-man and 25-man rosters. And of course there are Ted Lilly’s and Josh Beckett’s spots, as well.

With nothing to lose and everything to gain, it’s time for Ned Colletti to pull the trigger with Zach Lee.