April 1st, 2014 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka UPDATED: April 1, 2014 at 1:30 PM
(Isotopes roster now finalized – link below)
With minor league spring training camp now completed, the Dodgers have announced their 2014 rosters for four of their six minor league affiliate teams.
Low Single-A Great Lakes Loons
Although there are 12 returning players on the Loons 2014 roster, there are nine new players that were selected in the top-10 rounds of the First Year Player Draft: infielder Jesmuel Valentin (1st round – 2012), outfielder Alex Santana (2nd round – 2011), first baseman Justin Chigbogu (4th round – 2012), outfielder Joey Curletta (6th round – 2012), right-handed pitcher Jacob Rhame (6th round – 2013), right-handed pitcher Brandon Martinez (7th round – 2009), infielder Brandon Trinkwon (7th round – 2013), catcher Kyle Farmer (8th round 2013) and Zachary Bird (9th round – 2012).
Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga
Without question, the Quakes are the big winners when it comes to getting the lion’s share of top prospects. As such, Quakes fans can expect to see larger crowds than they may be accustomed to – which is a good thing for everyone involved. In addition to returning right-handed starting pitcher Lindsey Caughel and 2012 first round draft pick shortstop Corey Seager, the Quakes will add 2013 first and second round draft picks Chris Anderson (RHP) and Tom Windle (LHP) to their starting rotation.
But wait… there’s more!
Also joining the Quakes rotation is 17-year-old Mexican phenom Julio Urias (LHP) who many are predicting to be pitching in the major leagues as an 18-year-old – including legendary scout Mike Brito who discovered and signed the young left-hander, just as he did Fernando Valenzuela and Yasiel Puig.
With a one-two punch of Lindsey Caughel and Julio Urias along with the duo of Chris Anderson and Tom Windle, the Quakes have arguably the best starting rotation in the highly competitive California League.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka & Jon SooHoo)
Perhaps the biggest surprise on the Lookouts roster are the names Zach Lee, Joc Pederson, Miguel Rojas and Jarret Martin – all of whom saw considerable playing time with the Dodgers during spring training. In fact, Pederson and Rojas played in every single spring training game for the Dodgers. The surprise is – why aren’t these guys on the Isotopes roster?
What isn’t a surprise is that quite a few members of last season’s Wild Card-winning Quakes team have been promoted to the Lookouts for the 2014 season including: Darnell Sweeney, Pedro Baez, Garrett Gould, Mike Thomas, Duke von Schamann, Carlos Frias, Angelo Songco and Jon Garcia (among others). It’s pretty safe to say that current Quakes Lindsey Caughel, Corey Seager Chris Anderson, Tom Windle and perhaps even Julio Urias may see action with the Lookouts at some point during the 2014 season as well.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Joc Pederson is on the Lookouts roster instead of the Isotopes roster.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
Although the bulk of the Isotopes roster has been filled, there are still a few vacancies that need to be filled prior to Thursday’s season opener. And though there were a few surprises on the roster, the bigger surprise is who is not on the roster – like the aforementioned Pederson, Rojas, Lee and Martin. That being said, it’s no secret that the Dodgers do not particularly like to subject their top pitching prospects to the thin air of Albuquerque where balls carry and confidence shatters.
Dodgers utility outfielder Mike Baxter will most likely be optioned from the Dodgers to the Isotopes to make room for Matt Kemp, who will probably be activated from the disabled list for Friday’s home opener against the Hated Ones.
(UPDATED April 1, 2014 at 1:30 PM) – Pederson, Lee, and Rojas have been added to the Isotopes roster, Martin remains at Chattanooga.
Because the Arizona Rookie League Dodgers and the Pioneer Rookie League Ogden Raptors play shortened seasons (56 games and 76 games respectively) and don’t begin play until after the MLB First Year Player Draft, their respective rosters will not be set until after the draft, which is on June 5-7 this year.
As with every new season there will undoubtedly be some shifting around on the minor league rosters during the first few weeks of the season due to injuries and corresponding moves, so fans are encouraged to check the individual minor league rosters often to keep up with these roster moves.
Posted in 
The Isotope roster hasn’t really been set yet and I expect we will see Pederson, Rojas – for sure – and probably Lee in Albuquerque. Martin no doubt later in the year as he was just converted to relief and Albuquerque is a launching pad.
Cuevas, Dickson and Schebler are also on the Lookouts roster. That promises to be an exciting outfield.
I’m disappointed Matt Shelton and Geoff Brown are still on the RC roster and not with the Lookouts. Hopefully they will advance to AA during the season.
A number of minor leaguers will probably begin the season at extended spring training at Camelback Ranch – including Erisbel Arruebarrena. (He arrived late for spring training due to his visa issues).
Your disappointment that Matt Shelton and Geoff Brown are still at Rancho is a common theme right now. There are many players who had hoped to start at Chattanooga but there are simply too many guys and not enough spots ahead of them. As noted in the article, there will be a lot of shifting around in the next couple of weeks – especially at the advanced levels which, of course, affects the lower levels.
I was hoping Grif Erickson would have gone to ABQ but with FedEx there now he should slide in as the #1 with the Lookouts. Truth be told he probably would have been better off with another organization.
Griff was added to the Isotopes roster this morning.
He signed a one-year (minor league) deal with the Dodgers and absolutely MUST have a big year at ABQ – which is going to be very hard for him to do behind Federowicz and Olivo.
Griff has gone to Albuquerque.
I thought it’s normal for top prospects to remain in AA ball so they can face other top prospects rather than fringe-MLB guys. Plus, also taking into consideration the ABQ ballpark is a hr friendly park I believe.
Any word on where Takumi Numata will end up? Ogden?
Good question on Numata. I’m guessing that they may follow the Julio Urias route with him – that is, they probably don’t want him to sit around until late June to begin pitching, so they may send him to Midland and then back to Ogden when the Raptors’ season begins on June 16 (after the draft). They may also keep him at extended spring training until that time, but it is definitely not the same as pitching in real games.