Roger Arrieta
A lot of Dodgers fans believe Matt Kemp has been playing injured all year. Kemp has been struggling all year as he recovers from off season shoulder surgery. Many have called for Kemp to admit the shoulder is bothering him and to go on the Disabled List. Well Kemp may finally end up on the DL, but not because of the shoulder issue. Kemp left last nights game against the Angels during the seventh inning after a chasing down Mike Trout’s double. The initial report is that he has a strained right hamstring. If you recall he missed time last year with a left hamstring issue. He is scheduled to undergo an MRI today to determine the severity. The thinking seems to be he will go on the DL, if only to rest his body and his mind and get him ready for the remainder of the season. The question now is who is going to replace Kemp in Centerfield?
The obvious fan reaction is that Yasiel Puig needs to be called up now. Another name that is being mentioned is Joc Pederson, now keep in mind both these guys have not seen action higher than Double-A and are currently playing for the Chattanooga Lookouts. Both player are highly touted prospects, but is either one ready for the spotlight of Los Angeles? They have been very productive this year for the Lookouts. As you can see they have pretty similar numbers this year.
What is the difference? Pederson is the primary center fielder, so it would make sense for the Dodgers to call him up to replace Kemp, then I remember we are talking about Ned Colletti and the obvious move is not necessarily what gets done. I think that someone like Tony Gwynn Jr or Elian Herrera gets the call. They both have experience at the big league level and filled in last year when Kemp was out. The Dodgers can also use Skip Schumaker in center field as needed. It is going to be interesting to see what they do, but I am not getting too excited just yet.
