Reliever Meloan has L.A. in sight

It's not surprising that 51s reliever Jonathan Meloan is on the cusp of the major leagues in only his second full season in professional baseball.

The red-haired, freckle-faced right-hander -- a 6-foot-3-inch, 230-pounder drafted in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005 -- has dominated at every level he's pitched at and already is armed with a big league-ready breaking ball.

"As long as he has that, he's going to be able to have some success at the major league level," 51s pitching coach Ken Howell said. "He throws between 90 and 93 (mph) most of the time, but his breaking ball makes his stuff play a lot better, because he has such good command with it and it's such a good pitch."

The 23-year-old Meloan is 0-0 with a 2.13 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings since being called up to the 51s from Double-A Jacksonville on July 19. On Monday, in the worst of his nine appearances for Las Vegas, Meloan gave up a run on no hits and two walks in one inning of a 9-6 loss to Sacramento at Cashman Field.

Meloan was 5-2 with 18 saves and a 2.06 ERA at Jacksonville, striking out 65 in 43 2/3 innings. Howell said he wouldn't be surprised if Meloan was one of the Dodgers' September call-ups.

"I think he's pitched well enough between Double-A and here to get a look, but a lot depends on the direction the team's going in," Howell said. "He competes well, he doesn't walk a lot of guys and he commands the strike zone real well."

Despite being sidelined with football injuries for most of his high school baseball career in Katy, Texas -- the same town that produced Roger Clemens -- Meloan threw three straight no-hitters to start his senior season, his only year on varsity, in 2002. He was only a few months removed from knee surgery for a torn ACL.

Meloan won 17 games in a row at the University of Arizona, starting with a 10-0 record in 2004, and finished his college career 24-4, with 207 strikeouts in 204 2/3 innings.

With 221 strikeouts in less than 150 innings as a pro, Meloan has risen rapidly through the Dodgers' organization.

Fresh out of Arizona, he pitched in rookie ball in 2005, then went a combined 3-1 with 91 strikeouts and 16 walks in 52 innings last year for low Class A Columbus, high Class A Vero Beach and Jacksonville.

"The bottom line is if you throw a good pitch, it's a good pitch at any level," the affable Meloan said. "That's the biggest thing for me, so it's just a matter of me going out there and shutting out the crowd and throwing quality pitches."

Meloan was converted to a closer at Jacksonville, but has been used as a middle reliever by the 51s.

"He might be a sixth or seventh-inning guy at the major league level, until he gets some time and experience in the big leagues," Howell said. "Hopefully he'll have enough ability and talent to move up to a closer's role later."

• NOTE -- Shea Hillenbrand was called up by the Dodgers and third baseman Tony Abreu was activated from the inactive list by the 51s.