To Dodger fans, the farm system in recent years has been more like a winery than a player development system: Players are picked young, ground up and fermented a bit, then left to sit and age. There is no question that James Loney, like Guzman and several other Dodgers farmhands, has taken a long time to get to the major leagues. The question is: Was the wait worth it ?
It has been particularly painful for baseball-savvy Dodger fans, who have been hearing about Loney since the Dodgers took him as a first-round draft pick in 2002 (19th overall). Loney has been a Spring Training showcase player with the major league team in each of the last four years.
Lessons learned from developing players like Chan Ho Park suggest that little is to be gained by rushing them, particularly ones drafted as young as Loney.
Growing up inside the fish bowl that is minor league baseball means adjusting off the basepaths as well as on, something more mature, college-finished players contend with less than the high schoolers and the internationals.
The Dodgers' development slogan is a variation of the old Paul Masson wine commercials: “No player before his time.”
In 2004, Loney batted .343 in 35 exhibition at-bats, but only advanced from high Class A Vero Beach to Double-A Jacksonville for that season.
It might be presumed that he is much older than his 22 years. He has grown on the farm, gaining 20 pounds, to 220, which should translate into greater power and run production in the future.
The first baseman totaled just 11 home runs and 65 runs batted in last season, his second at Jacksonville because he missed part of 2004 because of a finger injury and an eye infection.
His promotion to the AAA Las Vegas this year may seem long overdue, but Dodgers watchers know that, like good vintners, the club is more concerned with the final product than how long it took to get there. In 323 at-bats, broken up by a couple of call-ups, Loney produced a rock-hard .372 Pacific Coast League-leading average, a .539 slugging percentage, nine homers and 65 RBI, showing readiness to test the major league waters full time.
Loney was LA’s Minor League Player of the Month for July largely for the .371 average that month, which might have seemed impressive if he weren't batting a.372 for the whole season. For a man with a .280 career minor league average entering 2006 after batting .284 for Jacksonville in ’05, it may indicate that Loney is coming into his time as a top-ranked professional baseball player.
The biggest improvement in his game since last year has been making better contact. Loney struck out 87 times in 2005, but just 27 (with 28 walks) before July’s promotion.
That improvement began before this season, when he batted .438 for the Dodgers during Spring Training. That boosted his four-year exhibition average to .326. The strong Spring showing made it possible for Los Angeles to take Loney West to sub for the injured Nomar Garciaparra.
When the Dodgers sent the rookie down to Las Vegas, manager Grady Little said, “He's got a long future in the game, a lot of potential.”
Loney already began living up to that potential during his most recent stint in the majors. During April, he batted just .225 in 40 at-bats. In 30 at-bats after his July return, Loney’s average was .333.
Despite his size, Loney has good speed. He is leaving Las Vegas with nine stolen bases, and four legged-out triples in his first 70 major league at-bats.
That speed could give Loney an additional avenue to playing time. He played some outfield in Triple-A, and has worked out as an outfielder with the Dodgers.
Injuries to Garciaparra led to Loney’s two promotions to the majors this season. The Dodgers have kept him up in August to give Loney more of an audition in a clutch situation, as his bat can help the Dodgers vie for their first NLCS pennant since 1988.
We see Loney finding a home in the major league roster in 2007, or, if there is no fit for him in the major league roster, being a prime trade candidate to someplace that is likely to play him in an everyday role.
- Lary BUMP
