The Dodgers have five rookies that could help them out in 2012. Here is a look at them:

Nate Eovaldi: 22-year old righty starter/reliever Nate Eovaldi comes into this season as the Dodgers’ #3 prospect in 2012. He pitched in 10 games (6 starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 1-2 with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He also pitched in 20 games (19 starts) in AA-ball last year and he was 6-5 with a 2.62 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. He has now pitched in 73 games (55 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 13-17 with 2 saves, a 3.30 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. If anything happens to one of the top five starters on the Dodgers, Eovaldi will likely be the first guy they call.

Josh Lindblom: 24-year old righty reliever Josh Lindblom comes into this season as the Dodgers’ #8 prospect according to Baseball America. He pitched in 27 games (0 starts) for the Dodgers last year and he was 1-0 with a 2.73 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. He also pitched in 34 games (0 starts) in AA-ball last year and he was 1-3 with 17 saves, a 2.13 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Lindblom has now pitched in 117 games (33 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 10-10 with 18 saves, a 4.30 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Lindblom is likely going to help the Dodgers’ pen at some point in 2012.

Tim Federowicz: 24-year old righty swinging catcher Tim Federowicz comes into this season as the Dodgers’ #10 prospect according to Baseball America. He played in 7 games for the Dodgers last year and he was 2 for 13 (.154 avg, .466 OPS) with 1 RBI. He also played in 115 games in AA+AAA-ball last year in which he was 121 of 422 (.287 avg, .808 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 14 homers, 69 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Federowicz has now played in 366 games in his first four years in the minors and he is 381 of 1,369 (.278 avg, .765 OPS) with 176 runs scored, 33 homers, 203 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. Federowicz could be the starting catcher for the Dodgers at some point in 2012, as only Matt Treanor and A.J. Ellis are blocking his path.

Shawn Tolleson: 24-year old righty reliever Shawn Tolleson comes into this season as the Dodgers’ #15 prospect according to Baseball America. Tolleson pitched in 57 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball last year in which he was 7-2 with 25 saves, a 1.17 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He has now pitched in 83 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the minors and he is 8-3 with 42 saves, a 1.01 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. Tolleson has only allowed 69 hits and 23 walks so far in the minors in 97 2/3 innings while whiffing an amazing 144 batters. Tolleson could help the Dodgers at some point in 2012.

Ivan DeJesus: 24-year old righty swinging 2B/SS Ivan DeJesus comes into this season as the Dodgers’ #26 prospect according to Baseball America. He played in 17 games for the Dodgers last year and he was 6 for 32 (.188 avg, .423 OPS) with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI. He also played in 100 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 120 of 387 (.310 avg, .820 OPS) with 61 runs scored, 8 homers, 59 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. DeJesus has now played in 662 games in his first seven years in the minors and he is 743 of 2,497 (.298 avg, .759 OPS) with 398 runs scored, 27 homers, 300 RBIs and 64 stolen bases. DeJesus is going to start this year late due to injury, but he could help the Dodgers at some point in 2012.

22-year old lefty swinging outfielder Angelo Songco came into this season as the Dodgers’ #28 ranked prospect according to Baseball America. Songco has played in 116 games in A-ball so far this year and he is 146 for 497 (.311 avg, .921 OPS) with 91 runs scored, 24 homers, 92 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Songco has now played in 320 games in his first three years in the minors and he is 347 for 1,241 (.280 avg, .828 OPS) with 213 runs scored, 49 homers, 208 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The Dodgers need hitting help so look for Songco to be placed on the fast track.

The Dodgers have released 33-year old righty reliever Justin Miller. Miller only pitched in 3 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Dodgers this year and he was 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA and a 3.60 WHIP. He has pitched in 20 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for three teams so far this year and he is 1-3 with 3 saves, a 5.73 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP. The Dodgers pulled the plug quickly on Miller after only getting a brief look at them. I don’t think they will miss Miller at all.

The Dodgers have released 26-year old lefty reliever/starter Wilkin De La Rosa and 28-year old righty reliever/starter Justin Orenduff. De La Rosa pitched in 22 games (1 start) in AA+AAA-ball for the Dodgers this year and he was 4-2 with 1 save, a 2.89 ERA and a 1.79 WHIP. He has pitched in 121 games (39 starts) in his five years in the minors and he is 21-15 with 1 save, a 3.24 ERA and a 1.88 WHIP. His control ended any chance he was going to get with the Dodgers. Orenduff pitched in 9 games (0 starts) in A-ball this year and he was 0-0 with a 8.74 ERA and a 2.12 WHIP. He has pitched in 131 games (89 starts) in his first seven years in the minors and he is 30-22 with 4 saves, a 4.54 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. The Dodgers won’t miss either of these guys.

The Dodgers have released 29-year old righty reliever Merkin Valdez. Valdez has pitched in 38 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball this year and he is 4-2 with 4 saves, a 3.58 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has pitched in 69 games (1 start) in his four years in the majors and he is 3-1 with a 5.53 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. The Dodgers saw enough of Valdez to determine that he wasn’t going to help them at any point this year.