51s can only wait as trade deadline nears

Nick Christensen

Thursday, July 22, 2004 | 9:09 a.m.

Koyie Hill

25 years old, switch-hitting catcher This season at Las Vegas: .288, 10 HRs, 50 RBIs

Chin-Feng Chen

26 years old, right-handed hitting outfielder This season at Las Vegas: .306, 17 HRs, 56 RBIs

Brian Falkenborg

26 years old, right-handed starting pitcher This season at Las Vegas: 2-4, 5.44, 42 Ks in 41.1 innings

Heath Totten

25 years old, right-handed starting pitcher This season at Las Vegas: 4-10, 5.38, 60 Ks in 105.1 innings

Joel Hanrahan

22 years old, right-handed starting pitcher This season at Las Vegas: 4-4, 4.26, 71 Ks in 86.2 innings

Cashman Field's club seats in section 13 are full, not with fans with beer and peanuts but with a dozen or so major league scouts, toting clipboards and radar guns and surveying prospects from a team that is expected to be in the buyer's market in July's trade season.

With the Dodgers leading the National League West in late July for the first time in recent memory, many expect the team to try to acquire another batter and possibly a starting pitcher to help it on its late-season run.

To do that, the Dodgers would have to trade away minor league talent, particularly younger prospects who could make up for the loss of impact players down the road.

The name most often mentioned as a trade possibility is catcher Koyie Hill, whose pinch-hit pop fly to center in the 51s' 9-8 loss to Tucson was the final out of Wednesday's game. Hill sat through most of the game after catching 11 innings Tuesday night.

Outfielder Chin-Feng Chen, who hit a three-run home run for his 70th as a 51s player, is also considered a candidate for a trade, as are some of the team's younger pitchers including Brian Falkenborg, Heath Totten and possibly Joel Hanrahan.

"We're waiting for the roster to change," manager Terry Kennedy said. "Our club is leading the division. They'll probably make a move, and some of my guys will probably be involved. Nothing I can do about it until it happens."

For his part, Hill said he's trying not to dwell on the possibility of being sent to another club before the trade deadline on July 31.

"I don't care," Hill said. "It's flattering to be mentioned, knowing that other teams are interested. I have no idea where I'm going."

This year, Hill's hitting .288 in 83 games with 10 home runs, 50 RBIs and a team-high 26 doubles. He has thrown out 21 of the 80 baserunners who have attempted steals while he has been behind the plate.

The trade season also puts more pressure on Kennedy to get certain players in the lineup to showcase their skills and abilities. That can be more difficult than it sounds, especially with the 51s' glut of outfielders.

"I know there are guys I have to try to get in. Heck, we have six outfielders who have to play every day," Kennedy said. "I want to keep some guys exposed. I don't get a call from someone telling me to put certain guys in."

For 51s general manager Don Logan, July is a bittersweet time as he watches prospects move on to other organizations and new faces come into the 51s clubhouse, 20 feet down a hallway from his office.

"You feel good for a guy who gets traded for," Logan said. "When the team's trading, you also hope the people you get in return do well."

So far, the only in-season trade made by new Dodgers general manger Paul DePodesta was when the Yankees acquired pitcher Tanyon Sturtze from Las Vegas in exchange for a player to be named, who turned out to be Brian Myrow. Myrow is hitting .302 in 26 games with the 51s; Sturtze is 3-2 with a 5.05 ERA in 12 games for New York.

DePodesta, hired in February after the drawn-out sale of the Dodgers to Frank McCourt, made several preseason deals, including acquiring Dodgers outfielders Jayson Werth, Milton Bradley and Jason Grabowski, and Las Vegas' Cody Ross, Jose Flores, and Antonio Perez. In acquiring those players, the Dodgers gave up pitchers Jason Frasor and Steve Colyer, infielders Franklin Gutierrez and Jason Romano, players to be named later and cash.

With most of the season through, though, the price generally goes up for any marquee player, unless the team is taking a player with a bloated contract.

But Hill, the 51s' most likely candidate for a trade, said he'll continue to ignore the trade talk.

"I don't really care," he said. "I play baseball the best that I can, for whoever wants me to play for them. I have no prejudices. If I'm in the lineup, I play; I don't care who it's for. It's like that in Little League, in Triple-A and (in) the big leagues."