Raising the kid

So, on Thursday, the Dodgers announced a plan to renovate and reshape Chavez Ravine.

I’ve got another one.

Bring up Clayton Kershaw.

So, amid great fanfare, Frank McCourt has revealed he will make a huge monetary commitment to keep the Dodgers accessible and relevant.

Here’s another way.

Bring up Clayton Kershaw.

It’s time, OK?

The organization’s most glittering prospect is ready to have his light shine in the only place that matters.

One of baseball’s best young arms is ready to throw those swerving heaters and looping curves to the only batters who count.

You don’t have to use him every five days. You don’t have to use him for more than 70 pitches at a time. You can even stick him in the bullpen for a couple of months.

But you need to bring up Clayton Kershaw, and you need to do it now.

“I have to tell you,” said General Manager Ned Colletti, “that thought has crossed my mind.”

Of course it has.

Has anybody watching the Dodgers not thought about it?

Watching the Dodgers’ five starters combine for a 4.15 earned-run average makes you wonder. Seeing Scott Proctor set up in the bullpen with an 8.65 ERA makes you think. Hearing that Chan Ho Park may return to the rotation makes you almost shudder.

The Dodgers’ main problem is not pitching.

But right now, about the only thing that can pull them through an Andruw-Jones-sized hitting slump is more pitching.

You want to use the lefty in the rotation? Well, opposing left-handed hitters are batting a league-high .318 against Dodgers pitching.

You want to bring him out of the bullpen? Well, the Dodgers’ rotation has struggled with high pitch counts, and is averaging just 5 1/3 innings a start, and a consistent bridge is needed to Jonathan Broxton.

“The whole thing is very tricky,” said Colletti.

Indeed, but he has the right manager for tricky, a guy named Joe Torre, who last year worked magic in his handling of New York Yankees phenom Joba Chamberlain.

Torre respects restrained pitch counts. He respects forced days off.

If anybody can make this work, it’s Torre.

“The thing I’m trying to get past is, what if we get into late September and the kid is out of bullets?” said Colletti. “How are we going to shut him down?”

If the Dodgers aren’t careful, there may not be a late September.

As a sunbeam slicing through an increasingly dark clubhouse, Kershaw could help get them here.

Remember when he showed up in spring training?

The clubhouse buzzed after his first start against the Washington Nationals, when he allowed a homer on his third pitch and found himself in a jam, yet finished the inning with two bases-loaded strikeouts.

Soon the entire Dodgers fan base was buzzing as he blew through spring with an 0.64 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 14 innings.

One curveball was so stunning, it was celebrated on YouTube.

His array of pitches was so stunning, even calm catcher Russell Martin couldn’t stop bragging about him.

It was no surprise when he was sent down to double-A Jacksonville. Goodness, the kid had only pitched 159 professional innings in his life.

But since joining the Suns, he has shown no signs of slowing, with a 1.83 ERA in 19 2/3 innings, with 23 strikeouts and eight walks.

Despite all that, the Suns’ weak hitting has left him 0-3.

So, you see, life with the Dodgers won’t be that unusual.

I phoned Robert Rouse, 78, a longtime Suns fan who sits behind home plate in Jacksonville, and asked his opinion.

He gave what can only be called the minor league seal of approval.

He thinks the Dodgers should leave the kid alone.

“The kid is great, but there’s no need to rush him out of here and burn him out early,” Rouse said. “They should leave him down here all year.”

You aren’t just saying this because you, um, want to watch him all year, are you?

“Well,” said Rouse, laughing. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

That’s when you know a kid should leave, when the minor league fans want him to stay.

Forget the idea that he needs to mature -- heck, the Dodgers opened the season with a starting third baseman who came straight from double A, right?

Forget the idea that he needs more minor league innings -- why waste his good stuff 3,000 miles away?

And, please, please, please, forget the idea that Kershaw needs to remain in the minor leagues for 53 major league work days so his 2008 season won’t count toward his arbitration eligibility.

Hey, this kid is going to make a lot of money in this business, and one lost year isn’t going to change that.

“That’s not a factor here, look what we did with Russell Martin and Andre Ethier,” said Colletti. “If a guy can play, we would rather pay him to play at a place where he can make our product successful.”

The guy can play. He can make this product successful. He can do it right now.

Last I looked, there is an opening for a fifth starter Sunday.

Bring up Clayton Kershaw.

--

Bill Plaschke can be reached at bill.plaschke@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.

--

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Clayton Kershaw file

* Age: 20.

* Height, weight: 6-3, 220.

* Position: Pitcher (left-hander).

* High school: Highland Park (Dallas).

* Draft: Selected by the Dodgers with the seventh overall pick in the 2006 amateur draft. Kershaw was the Gatorade national player of the year. Baseball America rated him the No. 6 player overall and pitcher with the best fastball.

* Minor league statistics:

*--* Year League W-L ERA SO BB 2007 Midwest (A) 7-5 2.77 134 50 2007 Southern (AA) 1-2 3.65 29 17 2008 Southern (AA) 0-3 1.83 23 8 *--*

Sources: MLB, baseball-reference.com