24-year old righty reliever James McDonald was the Dodgers’ #2 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America. He was a starter in the minors but the Dodgers had a spot for him in the bullpen. He has pitched in 43 games (4 starts) for the Dodgers this year and he is 5-5 with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. He has a control problem right now as he has walked 30 batters in 60 innings but that’s something the Dodgers think they can fix. The Dodgers were smart to resist trading him the last couple of months.

George Sherrill, Jon Garland and Vicente Padilla have all pitched very well since coming to the Dodgers. Sherrill has been working as Jonathan Broxton’s set-up man and he has been almost unhittable. He has pitched in 22 games for the Dodgers this season and he is 0-0 with 1 save, a 0.44 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. The Dodgers have been very pleased with Sherrill who they gave up a lot to get. Vincente Padilla is pitching for the Dodgers dirt cheap as the Rangers are on the hook for his whole salary minus a pro-rated portion of the league minimum which is what the Dodgers are paying him. Padilla has started 4 games for the Dodgers and he is 3-0 with a 2.01 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Jon Garland has also been real solid since coming over from the D-Backs as he has started 3 games for the Dodgers and he is 2-0 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. It appears as if the Dodgers were very astute in what pitchers to pick up for the stretch run.

33-year old lefty starting pitcher Randy Wolf is having perhaps the best season of his major league career this year. He has started 28 games for the Dodgers this season and he is 9-6 with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Wolf has only allowed 149 hits n 177 innings this season while whiffing 133 batters which really shows how well he has pitched this year. The Dodgers really need him to pitch well in his last 5-6 starts if they are going to hold off the Rockies and Giants in the N.L. West.

21-year old lefty starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw is still learning how to pitch but the results have still been outstanding. If he ever finds out how to throw more strikes he will be one of the best pitchers in the majors. Kershaw has started 20 games for the Dodgers this season and he is 8-5 with a 2.96 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has been wild walking 63 batters in 112 2/3 innings this season but he also misses a ton of bats. Kershaw has only allowed 79 hits this season while whiffing 110 batters which shows how nasty his stuff is. The Dodgers better resist the temptation to trade Kershaw as they have something special in him.

Fellow 26-year old righty relievers Ramon Troncoso and Ronald Belisario have been outstanding this season setting up closer Jonathan Broxton. A lot was expected of Troncoso who was the Dodgers’ #12 prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. He has pitched in 37 games (0 starts) this season for the Dodgers and he is 2-0 with 4 saves, a 1.92 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Ronald Belisario has come literally out of nowhere this season for the Dodgers. He has pitched in 41 games (0 starts) this season for the Dodgers and he is 1-2 with a 1.89 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. Belisario has whiffed 46 batters in 47 2/3 innings while only allowing 34 hits. The Dodgers need both of these youngsters to pitch well to keep pulling away from the N.L. West.