Sands to search for his swing in the minors

Jerry Sands may be the future for the Dodgers. But for now, he's the latest young stud to be suffering through a sophomore slump.

Sands has been optioned back to the minors on Tuesday. He's having a horrendous Spring Training at the plate, hitting only .158 with 2 RBIs in 38 at-bats. Throw in 12 strikeouts, and you get the picture that it hasn't been all peaches and cream for him so far.

It's a disappointment for everyone considering that he hit .342 last September after being called back up following a slow start earlier in the year. Just when you thought he had it all figured out, this happens. Don Mattingly envisioned him playing both in the outfield and possibly at first against lefties, giving some power that Andre Ethier and James Loney may have been lacking like last year.

Look, this isn't the worst thing in the world. Sands acknowledged that he needs to settle down and just focus on his mechanics to get going again. Getting away from the majors for a little while may do the trick. He could be a name to remember during the season, as he still has that label of being a potential power threat. Let's hope we see that come to fruition at some point this year.