Editorials

Dodgers News: Zach Lee Was Deemed ‘Untouchable’ At Deadline

[new_royalslider id=”54″] With the quick exit in the postseason and the struggles in the bullpen, some questioned the Los Angeles Dodgers decision to stand pat at the trade deadline.

The Dodgers are in the process of building their farm system and already have some of the best prospects in all of baseball. Julio Urias, Joc Pederson and Corey Seager are three of the top prospects and the Dodgers told teams that those three were not available for trade. Ultimately, the team did not make a big move and they lost in four games in the first round.

According to Dylan Hernandez of the LA Times, there were other prospects that joined the big three in not being available for trade:

Colletti was prevented by ownership from making any midseason adjustments to the bullpen, people familiar with the situation said. Top prospects Corey Seager, Julio Urias and Joc Pederson were labeled as untouchable by President Stan Kasten. So were some mid-tier prospects, including Zach Lee, a former first-round pick whose development has stalled.

Lee was the Dodgers first-round pick in the 2010 MLB Draft, but has yet to develop into the big-league arm that was expected. He has yet to reach the majors in his career and has failed to impress enough to be considered for a rotation spot. In Triple-A this season, Lee was 7-13 with a 5.38 in 28 games (27 starts). Albuquerque isn’t the best spot for a pitcher to put up strong numbers in the minors, but Lee was never thought of as a pitcher to bring up, even when the Dodgers dealt with injuries. His development has been slow and brings up the thought if he will ever pan out like expected.

The Dodgers were done in by their bullpen in the playoffs, and a young arm like Lee could have likely brought in or been packaged to bring in a strong bullpen piece. Instead the front office decided to value their prospects and go with the team they had.

Vincent Samperio

Vince is currently the Associate Editor and Social Media Manager for Dodgers Nation. Hailing from San Pedro, CA and a student at Cal State Long Beach, Vince has previously written for the Daily 49er and LASF Magazine.

2 Comments

  1. Part of the problem with Dodger prospects is Albuquerque. It ruins pitchers and inflates hitters stats.

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