Kuzul

The Los Angeles Dodgers have their sights set on reaching the World Series this year thanks to a roster full of experienced veterans and All-Star-caliber talent at nearly every position. Veteran teams with championship aspirations don’t normally rely heavily on minor league talent—the 2013 St. Louis Cardinals notwithstanding—and Los Angeles is no different in that regard.

However, the Dodgers have a handful of prospects who are likely to have an impact at the major league level at some point during the 2014 season. Here are five Dodgers minor leaguers who will see time in the majors this year.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers made a few low-key acquisitions this past offseason following two years of high-profile roster building. Just two weeks into the new season, some of those players are already playing major roles for the Dodgers.

Dan Haren has been a pleasant surprise at the back of the rotation, and Chris Perez has made a seamless transition to a setup role.

Meanwhile, L.A.’s highest-profile offseason acquisition, Cuban infielder Alex Guerrero, hasn’t had any impact on the major league club. He was sent to Triple-A Albuquerque out of spring training to continue working on his transition from shortstop to second base.

Along with Haren and Perez, however, three other players have established themselves as key members of the Dodgers’ major league club early in the season. Here are early season grades for the six new members of the Dodgers, including Guerrero, through the team’s first 10 games.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers began the defending of their 2013 NL West division title by pummeling the Arizona Diamondbacks in their two-game series in Sydney, Australia, last Saturday. The 3-1 and 7-5 victories were an ideal start to a campaign filled with champagne dreams. However, Dodgers fans should resist the urge to start waiving World Series championship flags with 160 games still left on the schedule.

The Dodgers will look to remain undefeated when they face the San Diego Padres on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball this weekend.

Here are five takeaways from the opening series against Arizona that Dodgers fans would do well to forget by Sunday night.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks have high hopes for the 2014 season, after missing the playoffs in each of the past two years. Following back-to-back .500 seasons the D’Backs underwent an aggressive offseason makeover in an attempt to compete with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants in what’s expected to be a very competitive NL West race.

Arizona hopes that the additions of Mark Trumbo and Addison Reed (via separate offseason trades) and the signing of Bronson Arroyo will fill be enough to fill holes in its lineup, bullpen and starting rotation, respectively.

The Diamondbacks can count on another standout year from last year’s NL, MVP runner up Paul Goldschmidt. If Arizona gets a repeat performance from its star first baseman, strong seasons from the new players and bounce back years from a few key veterans, it may have enough to unseat the Dodgers as division champs.

The following is a comprehensive breakdown of the D’Backs’ 2014 season, which they hope ends with their own party in the pool.

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Breakout Performances from the Dodgers’ First Two Weeks of Spring Training

The Los Angeles Dodgers are among the favorites to win the World Series in 2014 after reaching the National League Championship Series last year. The lofty expectations are fueled by the return of well-established—and well paid—stars such as Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Adrian Gonzalez and Hanley Ramirez.

However, a couple of breakout performances during spring training mean that some unexpected names could help the Dodgers end their 26-year World Series drought.

Players that thrive in February and March don’t always turn out to be meaningful contributors during the regular season. But here are two Dodgers that have raised some eyebrows with their stellar play this spring.

Justin Turner, INF

When Justin Turner signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers in February, it didn’t register as a significant offseason move. However, Turner has swung a hot bat this spring, and his versatility could make him the top utility infielder off the Dodgers bench.

Turner has hit .333 in 24 spring training at-bats while getting starts at second base, third base and shortstop. He’s also appeared in 26 games as a first baseman during his five-year major league career, making Turner a valuable player off of the bench.

A career .260 hitter, Turner hit a career-best .280 in 82 games with the New York Mets last season.

Neither Dee Gordon nor Alex Guerrero, the presumed favorites to win the starting job at second, have been particularly impressive this spring. Chone Figgins and Brendan Harris have also struggled at the plate while competing with Turner to become L.A.’s primary utility infielder.

Mark Ellis, Nick Punto and Skip Schumaker are no longer in Los Angeles, and the other second base options have failed to impress. With a strong spring performance, Turner has earned a spot on the Dodgers’ Opening Day roster.

Seth Rosin, RHP

Seth Rosin faced long odds of making the Dodgers’ 25-man roster when he was traded from the Philadelphia Phillies last December. But Rosin has excelled on the mound this spring, adding further uncertainty to an already crowded bullpen.

The 26-year-old right-hander has an impressive 1.64 ERA and 12:2 KK:BB ratio in 11 innings this spring.

The Dodgers added depth to their bullpen last offseason by re-signing Bryan Wilson and adding free agents Chris Perez and Paul Maholm.

Both Wilson and Perez have historically been late-game, one-inning pitchers, making their presence less threatening to Rosin’s chances of sticking with Los Angeles. Maholm has a strong major league track record as a starter and long reliever. However, the veteran lefty has struggled mightily this spring, giving up 10 hits and six earned runs in just 7.2 innings.

Dodgers prospects Paco Rodriguez and Chris Withrow, both of whom contributed to the club’s 2013 campaign, are also threats to Rosin’s chances of making the team.

The bigger issue for Rosin is his status as a Rule 5 draftee. If he doesn’t remain on the Dodgers’ 25-man roster all season, Los Angeles must place Rosin on waivers before offering him back to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Rosin may have sealed his own fate with a tough outing on Thursday. He surrendered five hits and two earned runs in a three-inning appearance versus the Cincinnati Reds.

Despite the recent performance, Rosin has been one of the few standouts for the Dodgers this spring. If he is squeezed out of the picture in Los Angeles, there is little question that Rosin can help a major league club in 2014.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The Los Angeles Dodgers entered spring training on the short list of World Series favorites following a 92-win campaign and a trip to the National League Championship Series in 2013. Last year’s success has led to heightened expectations for the 2014 MLB season. However, there’s already cause for concern coming out of the Dodgers camp in Glendale, Ariz.

Here are five storylines from the first two weeks of spring training that Dodgers fans should pay close attention to.

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Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp is poised for a major comeback next season following two injury-marred campaigns. Less than two years ago Kemp had emerged as one of MLB’s top five players. Now some may argue that he’s merely the fifth best player playing for the Dodgers.

As a recent NL MVP candidate and a key player on a World Series contender, Kemp’s comeback attempt will be one of the biggest storylines of the coming season. Here are five predictions for what we can expect from the former All-Star in 2014.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers ended April with a very appropriate 13-13 record. The .500 record was fitting because the first month of the MLB season provided as much hope as it did frustration for Dodgers fans.

While some of Los Angeles’ most important players got off to fantastic starts, others stumbled out of the gate. Injuries have also decimated the roster, just as it did during the second half of the 2012 season.

The Dodgers enter tonight’s three-game series in San Francisco a game under .500 at 13-14. However, they trail the Giants by just 2.5 games in the NL West standings.

Los Angeles is only 3.5 games behind the division-leading Colorado Rockies, who are off to a surprising 17-11 start.

The Dodgers still have 135 games remaining, so it is way too early to overreact to the good or the bad results thus far. Here are the 10 biggest winners and losers in Los Angeles after the first month of the season.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers have a solid 6-4 record this season, largely due to hot starts from a few key players. With four of the five NL West teams posting winning records through the first 10 games of the 2013 season, those Dodgers must continue to produce if Los Angeles is going to emerge as division champs.

Matt Kemp is still struggling at the plate early on, and Zack Greinke’s broken collarbone is another crushing, early season injury for Los Angeles. There was plenty of uncertainty surrounding the Dodgers entering this season, but there have been some very encouraging signs from the team throughout the first two weeks of the year.

Many of the following Dodgers are playing at levels that are unsustainable over the course of a 162-game season. However, if Los Angeles is going to return to the postseason for the first time since 2009, these seven players need to keep playing at a very high level.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers have one of Major League Baseball’s best five-tool players in center fielder Matt Kemp.

But what if we could make him even better? How good would Kemp be if we could borrow the best skills from his Dodgers teammates to create the perfect baseball player?

Given Kemp’s prodigious talents, it would not take much to make him the best player in the game.

He was well on his way to earning that title last April before hamstring and shoulder injuries derailed his exceptional season.

As he recovers from offseason surgery, Kemp plans to be in full health by Opening Day. That would put him in position to take another shot at becoming MLB’s best all-around player.

In a recent SI.com poll, 305 fellow major leaguers recognized Kemp as having one of the game’s most dangerous outfield arms. In addition to that lethal right-arm strength, even fewer hitters can match his power at the plate.   

It would seem that there is little left for Kemp to improve on, but here are three attributes that would better prepare him for MLB domination in 2013.

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