51s’ Stults preserves place among valued Dodgers prospects

In an organization crowded with pitching prospects, 51s left-hander Eric Stults might need to be sensational to stand out.

Six weeks into the Triple-A season, the 28-year-old Stults has been steady. That's enough to keep him in the picture, and he's not feeling the pressure to show more.

"You can't try to do too much to try to do something special," he said.

Stults was on the verge of an extraordinary start Tuesday night at Cashman Field. He allowed one run on three hits and no walks while striking out eight through six innings.

But Stults ran out of luck in the seventh, when the first two batters reached base. He was lifted from the game, both runners scored and Nashville went on to a 5-1 victory over Las Vegas before a crowd of 3,224.

"I've put together seven good starts. I kind of feel like I'm getting in a groove," Stults said.

"My goal is to be consistent every outing. Last year I would have one good one and a couple bad ones. I'm just trying to make quality starts."

Stults (2-4) has a 4.30 ERA after eight starts, and has worked at least five innings in seven consecutive outings.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are stocked with quality starters at every level. The competition to be the next pitcher called up is currently led by 20-year-old left-hander Clayton Kershaw.

The seventh overall pick of the 2006 draft, Kershaw is close to jumping from Double-A Jacksonville to Los Angeles.

The Dodgers also are grooming Jacksonville right-hander James McDonald, and the 51s' rotation includes right-handed prospects Jon Meloan and Justin Orenduff.

"All the talk has been about Kershaw, of course," Las Vegas manager Lorenzo Bundy said. "But the way Stults has pitched here, the last five or six times out, I feel real confident that he could go up there and do the job.

"He's been more than good; he's been really good. I don't think he's a forgotten man. He's still on the radar. The way he pitched tonight is going to help."

Bundy said Stults is pitching better now than he was last year when the Dodgers called him up three times and he pitched in 12 games for them.

"The organization is going to do what they want to do, and they're going to call up whoever," said Stults, in his fourth season in Las Vegas. "If I'm not that guy, and they decide someone else is a better fit for that, then I have to be OK with that."

• NOTES -- The 51s are off today and play 16 of their next 20 games on the road. ... Las Vegas' only remaining home series this month is against Fresno from May 23 to 26.