Pitchers Impressive in the Low Minors

A patch of barren ground in the Dodgers’ otherwise bountiful farm system has been starting pitching. Chad Billingsley has been as good as advertised, but the only other starter projected to help the major league team in the next two seasons is left-hander Scott Elbert.

Look lower on the ladder, though, and two names stand out.

Clayton Kershaw, the Dodgers’ top selection in the draft two months ago, is pitching better than any other first-round pick. And Bryan Morris, a supplementary first-round choice, is doing well too.

Kershaw, an 18-year-old left-hander, has 54 strikeouts and five walks in 37 innings for the Gulf Coast Dodgers. He has a sparkling earned-run average of 1.95 and has not given up a home run.

“At this stage he’s ahead of Billingsley or Elbert with fastball command,” scouting director Logan White said. “His change-up is really good and his curve is getting better.”

Morris, 19, is pitching at Ogden of the Pioneer League, a notch higher than the Gulf Coast League, because he had one year of junior college. The right-hander has 74 strikeouts and 34 walks in 56 2/3 innings, posting a 4.76 ERA while touching 97 mph with his fastball.

“He has a power arm,” White said.

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With a franchise attendance record now secure, the Dodgers again set their sights on the four-million mark.

“I don’t know if we’ll get there next year,” chief operating officer Marty Greenspun said, “but it’s doable in the very near future.”

The Dodgers announced Thursday that they broke their attendance record of 3,608,881, set in 1982. The National League then defined attendance as tickets used rather than tickets sold.

The Dodgers’ league-leading attendance has increased in each of the three seasons since Frank and Jamie McCourt bought the team in 2004, with a projected 3.7 million this year.

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Don Newcombe, 80, will be honored before tonight’s game to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1956 season when as a Brooklyn Dodger he won the first Cy Young Award and was the National League’s most valuable player.

steve.henson@latimes.com

bill.shaikin@latimes.com