29-year old righty swinging 3B Josh Fields is off to a hot start with the bat in AAA-ball for the Dodgers. Fields has played in 33 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 35 for 112 (.313 avg, .898 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 3 homers, 15 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has played in 217 games in his first five years in the majors and he is 167 of 713 (.234 avg, .724 OPS) with 95 runs scored, 34 homers, 107 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Fields has whiffed 235 times already in the majors, so his power generally comes with a cost. If he keeps raking and Juan Uribe continues to struggle, the Dodgers might give Fields another shot at the show at some point in 2012.

The Dodgers have placed 33-year old righty swinging outfielder Juan Rivera on the 15-day disabled list due to a strained left hamstring. Rivera has played in 25 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 20 for 81 (.247 avg, .634 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers and 13 RBIs. The Dodgers have called up 25-year old righty swinging Scott Van Slyke to replace Rivera on the active roster. Van Slyke came into this season as the Dodgers’ #21 prospect according to Baseball America. He went 1 for 1 with an RBI in his major league debut last night. Van Slyke has played in 32 games in AAA-ball so far this year and he is 41 for 122 (.336 avg, 1.034 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 8 homers and 25 RBIs. He has now played in 665 games in his first 8 years in the minors and he is 675 of 2,354 (.287 avg, .824 OPS) with 348 runs scored, 76 homers, 386 RBIs and 43 stolen bases. Van Slyke is likely going to share time (maybe platoon) with 38-year old lefty swinging Bobby Abreu in LF until Rivera is ready to return to action. Abreu has played in 6 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 5 for 14 (.357 avg, .971 OPS) with 3 runs scored. The Dodgers should be o.k. until Rivera returns to action.

UPDATE: (5/12/2012) - Juan Rivera has been diagnosed with a ruptured left hamstring tendon. He is likely going to miss the next two months.

The Dodgers have released 29-year old lefty reliever Brent Leach. Leach pitched in 10 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Dodgers this year and he was 1-2 with 1 save, a 7.02 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP. His lone experience in the majors came back in 2009, when Leach pitched in 38 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers in which he was 2-0 with a 5.75 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. This isn’t much of a loss for the Dodgers moving forward.

30-year old lefty swinging RF Andre Ethier is having a big year for the Dodgers so far. He has played in 30 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 31 for 112 (.277 avg, .876 OPS) with 16 runs scored, 6 homers and 30 RBIs. As good as Matt Kemp is raking (he has been incredible), it’s Andre Ethier that leads the team in RBIs. The Dodgers need Ethier to stay healthy and productive to give Kemp protection in the batting order, forcing opposing pitchers to throw to him instead of just pitching around him.

25-year old righty swinging outfielder Alfredo Silverio came into this season as the Dodgers’ #4 prospect according to Baseball America. But, on January 23rd of this year, Silverio was involved in a serious car accident in which he hurt his back, shoulder, elbow and neck. The worst part of the wreck was the concussion he suffered, which he has not been able to shake quite yet. Silverio was going to have a real shot to make the Dodgers out of spring training this year until his injury. He played in 132 games in AA-ball for the Dodgers last year and he was 163 of 533 (.306 avg, .883 OPS) with 90 runs scored, 42 doubles, 18 triples, 16 homers, 85 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. He has now played in 570 games in his first six years in the minors and he is 649 for 2,220 (.292 avg, .805 OPS) with 343 runs scored, 63 homers, 328 RBIs and 47 stolen bases. The Dodgers hope that Silverio gets healthy and back to action soon.

UPDATE: (5/10/2012) - Alfredo Silverio has underwent Tommy John Surgery and he will miss the entire 2012 season.