Scott Van Slyke?

[Bodhizefa]

Is this guy a career minor leaguer or perhaps something more? His stats are very good, but he's in the hitter friendly PCL and he's also 27 years old. I know literally zero about him other than his Fangraphs page, so any intel would be appreciated.

[cavebird]

He's lying down in center field and can't believe it?

Whoops, wrong Van Slyke.

[The Dane]

I took a chance on him and landed him in some leagues via FAAB, cheaply, so I would guess that I'm higher on him than most.

He's a professional hitter, not a prospect, really, with a little pop. He sucked in a few MLB ABs last year. I think he's worth a low-bid chance because if he hits, he'll play. The Dodgers have serious pressure to win and whoever hits will play, especially as the division gets further and further out of hand.

If he hits, he'll get the chance most people are ascribing to Puig. If he doesn't, he'll resume schooling minor leaguers and then get moved to a second-order team to get another chance.

[overkill94]

He only got called up because AGon is banged up but he might stick around as an extra outfielder, back-up infielder, and power bat off the bench. Seems more like a AAAA guy than a future regular and with the Dodgers' outfield and 1B all signed long-term he doesn't have an opening anytime soon. IF AGon were to be injured he would probably be the choice to fill in at 1B, but there's no way he gets any PT while everyone's healthy.

[DJBeasties]

Is he better than Scot Van Pelt?

[james33]

Seems like he's actually a better free agent flyer for 2013 rather than 2014 and beyond.

2013 -Until Puig is ready, if Van Slyke can produce what his Minor League stats would suggest he can, it seems like any injury to any of the three outfielders or Adrian Gonzalez means good playing time for Van Slyke. Puig is doing fine at AA now, but he isn't setting the league on fire.

2014 and beyond, he has to compete with not only the three existing OF, Gonzalez, and Puig, but also Joc Pederson. Speaking of which, holy crap, Pederson is .351 BA/.421 OBP/.627 SLG with 10 SB in 35 games in AA.

[The Dane]

Seems like he's actually a better free agent flyer for 2013 rather than 2014 and beyond.

Agreed. I think the Dodgers are quickly approaching panic mode. Sure, it's only May, but they are last in the NL West and the defending champs are looking like defending champs and Arizona's retooling doesn't look as stupid as we made it out to be. Even Colorado looks decent more often than the Dodgers do. They have had an unfair assortment of vital injuries, but let's not fool ourselves: if the Dodgers miss the playoffs, many many heads will roll. (Personally, I don't think they have the team chemistry to balance out the pressure, but that is a conversation for a different day.) The grab for Van Slyke looks to me like a desperate hook for a SUPERhot hitter in the minors and see if he can light a fire. If he hits, he'll play. Of that, I have no doubt. If he doesn't hit, or hits for a while and has a prolonged slump, his leash will be short and they'll play the hot hand. Hell, if they send down Luis Cruz and he puts up numbers like Van Slyke did in 34 games in the minors, he'll be back at 3rd. They will play whoever hits and this is Van Slyke's shot. If he flops, he'll be playing somewhere else next season, because he's well blocked.

[The Dane]

If Van Slyke hits, he'll be the 4th outfielder. He's not taking anyone's job, period.

Fair enough. I will surely defer to your greater knowledge of all things Dodger. I'm just seeing something a little different with this move. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, but the Dodgers REALLY put themselves out there for this year, and perhaps next. If they end the season where they are now, this will be one of the most underperforming seasons in recent memory. They do not want to have to explain how they just let that payroll go to uselessness. I really think they will pull out all the stops and if that means sitting Crawford/Ethier/Gonzalez some extra days to cut out a work week for a hot-hitting Van Slyke (or Puig, for that matter) I think they'll do it in a heartbeat if it adds wins.

[overkill94]

There's no way they're sitting any of their super-expensive outfielders, no matter how bad they get. Van Slyke may get starts in RF against lefties and he should be the top pinch-hitter, so he has a little value in deep leagues, but there's no way he's taking anyone's job.

[The Dane]

And I always lmao every time a Giants fan mentions "chemistry". If there's anyone who's intimately familiar with the benefits of chemicals, it's a San Francisco Giant.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I suppose the snide remarks are expected when you win. Actually, I grew up a Dodgers/Angels fan, so I do have some (albeit small in recent days) mixed loyalties. (When I go to Dodger home games, I wear my Jackie Robinson jersey.)

I made a little prediction a little while ago with a buddy. On the day after the Quentin/Greinke duel, and all the footage of pissed off Kemp came out, I told many people that this was the Dodgers' Melky moment. When they lost him last year, for whatever reason, that team came together and the World Series was won at that moment. They just started gelling. I saw Kemp get all jacked up and I thought: this is the moment the Dodgers rally and live up to all the expectations, or the moment they fold and it's all over. I made my Giants fans buddies a little worried, but the Dodgers have not stirred. Sleeping giant (so to speak), maybe.

I know you are confident Van Slyke (or Puig) will not start even if he hits a ton and I trust your opinion. But, I don't think they think twice to bench anyone who is blocking him that is not named Kemp. We will see how it goes.

And all this is predicated on the outside chance that Van Slyke actually performs well, which is a dubious proposition, at best.