The Dodgers have released 35-year old righty reliever Kiko Calero from his minor league contract. Calero pitched in 15 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Dodgers and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a 3.00 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. I was kind of surprised by Calero’s release as he was pitching well in a very tough league (PCL) in the minors. I think the Dodgers should have given him a chance to show what he could do in L.A.

23-year old righty swinging shorstop Ivan DeJesus Jr. came into this season as the Dodgers’ #8 prospect according to Baseball America. He has played in 79 games in AAA-ball this year and he is 94 of 319 (.295 avg, .726 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 3 homers, 33 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. DeJesus will have to play better than that if he wants to get a call to L.A. anytime soon. If he finishes strong he might get a call up in September when rosters expand.

The Dodgers have released 32-year old righty reliever Jesus Colome. Colome pitched in 3 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Dodgers and he was 0-0 with a 33.75 ERA and a 4.50 WHIP. The Dodgers felt that they saw more than enough of Colome to know that he couldn’t help them in 2010.

The Dodgers have signed 27-year old lefty swinging outfielder Trent Oeltjen to a minor league deal. Oeltjen has played in 70 games in AAA-ball this season and he is 80 of 266 (.301 avg, .851 OPS) with 47 runs scored, 8 homers, 38 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. Oeltjen played in 24 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 17 of 70 (.243 avg, .707 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 3 homers, 4 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. The Dodgers have also released 35-year old lefty swinging outfielder Timo Perez. Perez played in 41 games in AAA-ball for the Dodgers this year and he was 34 of 115 (.296 avg, .762 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.

22-year old lefty starting pitcher Aaron Miller was the Dodgers’ #3 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Miller has pitched in 16 games (15 starts) in A+AA-ball this season and he is 2-5 with a 2.73 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has only given up 61 hits in 85 2/3 innings this season while whiffing 85 batters showing what kind of stuff he has. He has walked 40 batters this season so he is far from perfect on the mound. If he can tighten up his control a bit he could be a top of the rotation starter for the Dodgers soon. Miller has pitched in 26 games (25 starts) in his two years in the minors and he is 5-6 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.