All Signs Point to Clayton Kershaw - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

The feeling you get out of Los Angeles, at least on the Dodger side of the monorail tracks, is that Clayton Kershaw, a.k.a. Public Enemy Number One, needs to be called up now. That guy who yells a lot on ESPN everyday at 5:30 inked a column about it a while back and now Esteban Loaiza is disabled list bound, which will create an opening in the Dodger rotation on May 17. Yhency Brazoban is scheduled to take his spot for the immediate moment, but it sounds like Dodger fans could get their wish sooner than later.

Kershaw, 20, could replace Brazoban or another reliever on the active roster the next time the Dodgers need a fifth starter -- probably on May 17. The spot belonged to Loaiza, whose move to the disabled list is retroactive to Sunday, making him eligible to be activated May 18. Hong-Chih Kuo has also pitched in that role, but Manager Joe Torre said he wants Kuo to remain in the bullpen.

A place for Kershaw on the 40-man roster can be opened by moving Jason Schmidt from the 15-day to 60-day disabled list. Asked Wednesday about the possibility of Kershaw's being called up, Torre replied, 'You'll have to wait and see.'

Oh, Joe ... you're so cryptic. And full of candy. But mostly cryptic. Color me, for one, friggin delighted at the prospect of seeing Kershaw buckle knees with this curveball. Bear in mind though, that even Torre has been more or less pointing out the similarities between young Clayton and some Sandy Koufax guy. Who may have been good or something.

So the expectations are going to be out of control. Doesn't mean he can't be great, or won't be great, but fans of the Blue probably need to realize he's not coming up for the duration right now. Just a taste.

Fantasy Spin: If Kershaw is available, I'd grab him immediately. He was dominant in spring training and should be beasty his first time around. Worst case scenario is that you deal him when the hype starts getting out of control, and it will, around May 12th or so. That's for single leaguers though. Long term peeps want to hold on loosely and don't let go put a death grip on him.