Optimism as the draft arrives

The perception is that the Dodgers’ draft last year was a disaster. The first pick, Vanderbilt pitcher Walker Buehler, underwent elbow ligament-replacement surgery before throwing a professional pitch. The second pick, Louisville pitcher Kyle Funkhouser, rebuffed the Dodgers and returned to college for his senior season.

As the Dodgers prepare for this year’s draft, they are far from discouraged. They have four of the first 65 picks as the draft opens Thursday, and Buehler’s rehabilitation is going so well that the Dodgers expect him to be ready for fall instructional league.

“He’s almost like a pick this year,” scouting director Billy Gasparino said.

“Walker has a real chance to be a significant contributor in our starting rotation within the next few years,” President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman said.

The San Diego Padres are in the early stages of what could be a painfully long rebuilding process, competing in the National League West against the team with the league’s biggest payroll. The Padres have five of the first 77 picks this year.

By counting Buehler, the large-market Dodgers would have a similar haul. Two of their picks are compensation picks — for not signing Funkhouser and not retaining Zack Greinke.

The Dodgers say the draft remains critical to their effort to maintain a top-ranked farm system and replenish talent from within rather than buy expensive and relatively old free agents. They have spent so heavily on Latin American amateurs recently that they will be restricted from doing so for the next two years.

“The draft is an extremely important part of our ongoing efforts to aggressively add talented players to our system,” Friedman said. “The domestic draft and international market are critical factors in us being able to maintain long-term success.”

Love and basketball

If the NBA Finals extend to the maximum seven games, Game 7 would be played in Oakland on the evening of June 19. That would give Dodgers outfielder Trayce Thompson the chance to see his brother Klay play in the deciding game of the NBA season for the Golden State Warriors.

However, Trayce said he would not go to the game.

The Dodgers play that day, a Sunday, at 1 p.m., so he could hop a private plane to Oakland and catch at least part of Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

“I’m very paranoid about my routine, my schedule, and my preparation to play games,” Thompson said. “I’ll be watching on TV, but this is my job.

“I have a paranoid personality when it comes to preparation. If something went wrong, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.”

If Game 7 takes place, it would come in the middle of a span in which the Dodgers play 30 games in 31 days.

Short hops

Brandon McCarthy is expected to start a minor league rehabilitation assignment Saturday at Class A Rancho Cucamonga, Manager Dave Roberts said. If all goes well — and that is no formality for a pitcher coming off Tommy John surgery — McCarthy could rejoin the Dodgers rotation in mid-July. That would be 141⁄2 months after the procedure; the general rehabilitation range is 12 to 18 months. … The Dodgers released infielder-outfielder Alex Guerrero, a formality after no team claimed him — and the remaining $8 million of his contract — on waivers. The Dodgers have to pay Guerrero that $8 million. It is widely expected that outfielder Carl Crawford will clear waivers in the coming days, after which the Dodgers will cut him a $35million farewell check.