By Jim Callis
July 6, 2003

Once considered the Reds' top prospect ahead of sluggers Adam Dunn and Austin Kearns, Gookie Dawkins has been reduced to an insurance policy. Cincinnati allowed Los Angeles to claim him on waivers in March, and the Dodgers sent him to the Royals on Sunday for veteran minor leaguers Scott Mullen and Victor Rodriguez.

A second-round pick out of a South Carolina high school in 1997, Dawkins was a minor league all-star twice in his first three years. He seemed the obvious choice to be Barry Larkin's heir apparent as Reds shortstop in 1999, when he hit .354 in a 32-game trial in Double-A, made his major league debut and played for Team USA at the Pan American Games. But he hasn't hit since. A backup on the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, the 24-year-old Dawkins batted just .215-4-32 in 67 games between Double-A Jacksonville and Triple-A Las Vegas in the Dodgers system. He doesn't get on base much (.279 OBP in 2003) or have much power (.325 slugging) either. Dawkins runs well but hasn't attempted many steals the last two years, so all he's left with is his defensive skills, which are strong. Dawkins' arm, range and hands are all plus tools. Kansas City picked Dawkins up to serve as a backup plan at shortstop as well as second and third base, and assigned him to Triple-A Omaha. He has gone 16-for-96 (.167) in 52 big league games.

Mullen, a 28-year-old lefty, saw time in the majors during 2000-02 with the Royals, going 4-5, 3.58 in 72 games as a situational reliever. He had spent all of 2003 at Omaha, where he was used as a swingman. Mullen was 5-3, 3.88 in 20 games (nine starts), with a 50-22 strikeout-walk ratio and a .282 opponent average in 70 innings. He's not overpowering and relies on mixing his fastball, slider and changeup. He was drafted in seventh round in 1996 out of Dallas Baptist.

Rodriguez has spent most of the last seven years in Double-A, including 2003, when he hit .326-1-26 in 47 games at Wichita. A 1994 Marlins second-round pick from a Puerto Rican high school, the 26-year-old Rodriguez joins his sixth organization in the last four years. Florida traded him to the Indians for minor league righty Steve Falteisek in March 2000, and he then signed with the Yankees, Pirates and Dodgers as a minor league free agent. Rodriguez, primarily a shortstop at Wichita after playing second base in 2001-02, doesn't have a standout tool. He's a contact hitter who doesn't walk much or offer much power. He's a steady yet unspectacular fielder.