29-year old lefty swinging outfielder Andre Ethier set a new major league record in April for the longest hitting streak ever to start a season. Since then though he has been a little cold with the bat. Ethier has played in 25 games so far in May for the Dodgers and he is 21 for 82 (.256 avg, .705 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 2 homers and 7 RBIs. Ethier’s overall numbers are still looking solid. He has played in 53 games for the Dodgers this year and he is 62 for 190 (.326 avg, .873 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 5 homers and 23 RBIs. The Dodgers probably wouldn’t mind if Ethier decided to drive the ball more at the expense of his batting average, as the team doesn’t have much power at all.

27-year old lefty swinging 1B James Loney has been mired in a year long slump for the Dodgers. Loney has played in 42 games so far this year for the Dodgers and he is 35 for 152 (.230 avg, .535 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer, 12 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Loney’s weak batting average and OPS is really hurting the Dodgers. He is not the usual power hitter that teams usually have at first base as he has career highs of 73 runs scored, 15 homers and 90 RBIs. The Dodgers have put up with Loney’s lack of production because he came into this season with a career batting average of .288 with a .784 OPS. The Dodgers don’t really have any good alternatives at 1B, so they need Loney to step it up soon.

Starting 2B Juan Uribe is off to a very slow start with the bat this year. He has played in 8 games for the Dodgers so far this year and he is 4 for 31 (.129 avg, .343 OPS) with 1 run scored and 1 RBI. The Dodgers need to quit jerking Uribe around and let him stay at 2B instead of using him at 3B too. That way he can get comfortable in the field and maybe that will bring back his bat. The Dodgers are depending on Uribe to give them around 20 homers in 2011, so they need him to pick up the pace with the bat.

25-year old Matt Kemp turned in a monster year for the Dodgers in 2009. He played in 159 games last season for the Dodgers and he was 180 of 606 (.297 avg, .842 OPS) with 97 runs scored, 26 homers and 101 RBIs. He also was 34/42 on stolen bases last season and his only problem at the plate was with the whiffs (139). Kemp doesn’t look like the same player for the Dodgers in 2010. That’s not to say that he is a stiff or anything like that as a lot of players would like his numbers this season so far. Kemp has played in 75 games for the Dodgers so far this season and he is 77 of 299 (.258 avg, .771 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 12 homers and 40 RBIs. He is only 10 of 20 stealing bases so far this season and he has whiffed an amazing 86 times already this year. The Dodgers need Kemp to step up if they are going to keep up with the Padres, Giants and Rockies in the tough N.L. West.

In Russell Martin’s first three years with the Dodgers he played in 427 games in which he was 430 for 1,508 (.285 avg, .806 OPS) with 239 runs scored, 42 homers, 221 RBIs and 49 stolen bases. Could it be possible that the Dodgers rode Martin too hard and he’s starting to wear down? He has played in 134 games for the Dodgers this year and he is 122 for 479 (.255 avg, .683 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 6 homers, 49 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The Dodgers should really consider bringing in a backup catcher who can play more than someone like Brad Ausmus to give Martin a break once in a while.