Rafael Furcal feels better, and it shows

Manager Joe Torre said he noticed a change in Rafael Furcal over the last several days.

“There’s a lot of life in his body right now,” Torre said.

Furcal was hitting .309 when he was placed on the disabled list May 4 because of a strained left hamstring.

He hit .216 and scored only two runs in his first 10 games after his activation May 25. But in the last five games heading into the Dodgers’ series finale against the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, Furcal hit .429 (nine for 21) with a home run.

“My leg feels better, stronger,” he said. “I was still bothered by it when I first came back. Plus, I hadn’t played almost an entire month. My timing wasn’t there. But it’s gradually come back.”

Furcal stole a base Monday, his first since April 24.

“Honestly, because my leg bothered me a little, I was kind of scared to run on it,” he said. “But now I feel like I did at the beginning of the season.”

Lee enrolls at LSU

First-round draft pick Zach Lee has enrolled in summer classes at Louisiana State, according to the school’s athletic department. LSU football Coach Les Miles said in a statement that he spoke to Lee and his parents and that Lee intends to play football and baseball at the university.

LSU baseball Coach Paul Mainieri told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he was surprised that Lee was taken by the Dodgers with the 28th overall pick because of his contract demands. Lee is said to be asking for a bonus of around $5 million to skip college.

“To my knowledge, [the Dodgers] had not had any conversations with him about whether he was signable,” Mainieri said. “He probably had the reputation of being the toughest to sign in the country. His asking price was through the roof. He doesn’t believe they are going to give him that. … Why would the Dodgers take him?”

Dodgers officials insist they will pursue Lee in earnest, but some have already started pointing out the benefits of failing to sign him: namely, that they will receive a compensatory first-round pick in the 2011 draft, which they consider to be deeper than this year’s. The deadline to sign draft picks is Aug. 16.

Dodgers draft another Ethier

On the final day of the draft, the Dodgers used their 32nd-round pick to select someone Andre Ethier described as his opposite: his 18-year-old brother, Devon, a 6-foot, 160-pound pitcher/outfielder from GateWay Community College in Phoenix.

“He’s right-handed,” Andre Ethier said. “He’s 5-11. Skinny. Pretty much every opposite.

“Quiet. Doesn’t say a word. Listens. Doesn’t talk back. Everything you could be opposite, he’s opposite of me. I think the staff was glad to get an Ethier who won’t give them any problems.”

The Dodgers also selected the son of triple-A Albuquerque Manager Tim Wallach, right-hander Chad Wallach, in the 43rd round. Chad’s brothers Matthew and Brett are already in the Dodgers’ organization.

Short hops

Carlos Monasterios will take the mound Sunday in what could be his last start until his place in the rotation is given back to Vicente Padilla. … The Dodgers are holding their annual ThinkCure fundraiser to benefit cancer research. Fans can visit dodgers.com/thinkcureweekend to make a donation or bid in an online auction.

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