Those fan and fantasy owners eagerly awaiting the debut of wunderkind lefty Clayton Kershaw will have to wait, at least for a little while. With Esteban Loaiza on the DL the Dodgers need a fifth starter on Saturday, and lined up Kershaw at Double-A Jacksonville so he would be ready to pitch on normal rest. Instead, the phenom gave up five runs on five hits (and two wild pitches) in just 3.1 innings. Dodger manager Joe Torre doesn’t think the kid is quite ready. "They had him linedup, but he didn't pitch very well," Torre said. "We haven't made the decision, but to me, it's doubtful."

After Saturday, the Dodgers won’t need a fifth starter again until May 27. Because of major league rules, the team wouldn’t be able to call up Kershaw for both starts and send him back down in-between. The club will likely go with either Hong-Chi Kuo or Chan Ho Park to spot start in the meantime. Both have been very good in long relief so far with Kuo being fantasy relevant due to his terrific strikeout rate (11.77 K/9). Who starts will depend on how both are used out of the bullepn leading up to Saturday.

Even after the poor outing, Kershaw’s minor league ERA is still just 2.21 over 36.2 innings pitched. He has 40 strikeouts, and has yet to give up a home run. Everything about him screams future ace. His fastball sits at 93-96, and his curveball was dubbed “Public Enemy No.1” by Vin Scully. L.A. has been trying to limit his workload so that he will be fresh and ready for a stretch run, and possibly the postseason. Kershaw has innings limits of 25 per month, and 170 for the season. Keeping him in the minors for the rest of May will help achieve that goal. This might not please fans and fantasy players, but remember that the kid just turned 20 years old. The Dodgers are smart not to mess with his obviously bright future. I’d expect Kershaw to be up either at the end of May or in early June. I like him even better than Arizona rookie Max Scherzer so he is definitely worth waiver priority or stashing him now if he is available in your player pool.

Kershaw is the best minor league pitching prospect in baseball.