Rule 5: Reliever Morlan in; Palmisano to Astros via Orioles; Minor League phase moves as well

[cheezscott]

So does anyone know the exact date and what the draft order is, is there anyone that grabs anyone's eye? Anyone else like James Skelton, C, DET may be easy

to hide for a year?

[Minigoon]

Date is 12/11/08. The order will be the same as the upcoming draft order for 2009. As far as players available, I've only see a couple of teams lists through other fan sites/blogs and have not really had time to look too deep into them. Anyone have a list available?

[sveumrules]

i like skelton a lot. he's lefty, tiny and has put up good walk rates all throughout his minor league career. plus if kendall starts 145+ games again it kind of cuts down on the importance of the backup catcher.

[Postseason2006]

I don't want to see Kendall playing 145 games again.

[Brian the Automator]

Given that the Brewers have serious bullpen questionmarks this year, I'd give Eduardo Morlan (TB) a shot.

[TheCrew07]

His shoulder injury would give me pause and probably many MLB teams... worst case scenario it costs the team 25k.

[twobrewers]

Anyone else like James Skelton, C, DET may be easy to hide for a year?

If Rottino makes the club as a utility player, Skelton would be very easy to hide.

[sveumrules]

I don't want to see Kendall playing 145 games again.

 

i don't want to see it again either. lets hope macha has a little more sense than yost did in that regard...

[LouisEly]

Good catchers are never left off of the 40-man. Besides, with Salome and Lucroy at AAA and AA respectively (plus Palmisano, Corporan, Fryer, Zarraga, Lawrie) it's not like they need to add catching to the system, and I wouldn't want to sacrifice a roster spot to hold someone. They made the playoffs last year, and if they can get just one of Sheets nor CC back they can still contend this year. Heck, I think if their offense can revert back to 2007 performance they can contend for a wild card spot without Sheets or CC. I don't want to sacrifice depth at a position on the ML roster, and thus sacrifice a couple of games that could cost a playoff spot. You never know - if Zambrano and Harden get hurt (which is very possible), the division will be wide open. The Cardinals went to the playoffs just two years ago with 83 wins, and subsequently won the World Series.

 

If this was 2002 then I'd say, "Heck yeah, take a flyer on a Rule 5 guy." Not now - too good of a team to take that risk. I like Brian's suggestion of Morlan - if they still have a bullpen hole I might find a AA reliever a possibility. But not a position player.

[And That]

If they have a few extra 40-man spots and they really like a guy, they might take him and then work out a deal to keep him when the roster cuts down to 25.

[trwi7]

i don't want to see it again either. lets hope macha has a little more sense than yost did in that regard...

 

I wouldn't count on that. He played 143 and 150 games under Macha in 2005 and 2006.

 

I like Brian's idea. Big time fastball for Morlan and pretty good control. He'd be a good gamble.

[DHonks]

Once again I'll say that Rule V picks can contribute, not just be projects. Al Reyes, Graehme Lloyd, and Jose Mercedes all played big roles for the Brewers, although Mercedes was simply not very good. Matt Ford was looking good until that arm injury sidelined him

[CheezWizHed]

Of course, we are drafting much lower than when we got Al Reyes, Graehme Lloyd, and Jose Mercedes. It will probably be much harder to find a contributor where we draft. But if we get someone, BP is the most likely spot IMO.

[JohnBriggs12]

I wouldn't count on that. He played 143 and 150 games under Macha in 2005 and 2006.

Makes you wonder if Macha got the job in part because he was a Kendall backer as opposed to Brenly (oddly enough a catcher himself) who might not have such a high opinion of him having seen him as a Cub. Frankly, how anyone sees Kendall as a 145-150 game guy at this stage of his career is beyond me.

[mothershipconnection]

Makes you wonder if Macha got the job in part because he was a Kendall backer

 

Though they reportedly have made up since Kendall's comments after Macha was fired, it wouldn't seem that Macha and Kendall have man crushes on each other.

[ILuvDaBush]

I would be down with a Chuck Lofgren or a J. Brent Cox. Lofgren put up great numbers at A-Ball, but then succumbed to the perils of his mother's fight with cancer. He went to the AFL this winter, and put up terrible numbers, but the AFL has always been a small sample size for pitchers. Our system truly lacks stud lefties, Braddock and Frederickson aside. J. Brent Cox also seems like a good "Buy Low" candidate. He put up great numbers in '06 coming out of Texas, where he succeeded Huston Street. I thought he would be an ideal pick for the Brews, but things didn't set themselves up correctly. Nevertheless, either of those two, or Eduardo Morlan if he were to be available, would be interesting picks.

[EbbaStClaire]

BA's rule 5 draft article posted a few days ago for subscribers includes quite a few eligible players not mentioned above: Pedro Figueroa, Jose Lugo, Kyle Bloom, Jonny Venters, Chris Blazek, Matt Torra, Tim Lahey, Loek Van Mil, Javy Guerra, Junior Guerra, Luis Perdoma, PReston Larrison, Beau Vaughn and Pedro Strop among others. When the article is available to non-subscribers it is a good read with velocity and kinds of pitches each pitcher throws.

[DannyKmilw]

Jesus Guzman 3b switch hitter, either from the A's or Giants system, is tearing up the pitching in the Venezuela Winter League with a 390/481/684 in 136 AB and in 2008 hit 364/419/560 in 341 AB at AA. He will be 25 in June and most likely gone by the time we pick unless we get some team to pick him for us. Guzman has also played some 2b and corner OF.

[CheezWizHed]

I know I've seen trades go down for Rule 5 before, but what do teams normally ask for? Average A-ball player? "Future Considerations"? $50k?

 

Any idea of Guzman's defense? His numbers are comparible to Gamel (although he is a year older), so he wouldn't be a bad option...

[JohnBriggs12]

Guzman has defensive issues much like Gamel. Don't know why the Brewers who already have Gamel, McGehee, and Heether would have interest in Guzman.

 

You might want to take a pitcher to get a close up look see in spring then try to make a deal so you could send him down.

[ILuvDaBush]

(cough) Lofgren (cough). I'm just coughing...saying that given our lack of power lefties in our system, Lofgren would be a good buy-low bounceback candidate.

[Jim Goulart]

Reminder -- Rule 5 draft at 10:30 Central Thursday morning -- MLB and MiLB.com provide live coverage for subscribers

Among the Brewers mentioned on various blogs as possible picks are RHP's Joe Bateman, Steve Bray, and Juan Sandoval, LHP David Welch, and slugging OF Brendan Katin.

 

The Brewers will also pick up and may lose minor league phase players -- ironically Bateman, Bray and Sandoval were all acquired by the Brewers via the minor league phase, and are now candidates to be selected in the major league phase.

[Jim Goulart]

As per Baseball America, the Brewer eligibles --
Player	Position	Age
Bateman, Joe	RHR	28
Bell, Mike	IF	23
Bray, Stephen	RHR	27
Chapman, Stephen	OF	23
Corporan, Carlos	C	24
Delarosa, Anderson	C	24
Ellison, Derrick	LHS	30
Fermaint, Charlie	OF	23
Garciaparra, Michael	SS	25
Gardner, Richie	RHS	26
Gulin, Lindsay	LHS	32
Heether, Adam	3B	26
Hinton, Robert	RHR	24
Holmberg, Kenny	2B	25
Johnson, David	RHR	26
Jones, Mike	RHS	25
Katin, Brendan	OF	25
Lluberes, Rafael	LHS	24
Maldonado, Martin	C	22
Mercedes, Roque	RHS	22
Miller, Derek	LHS	27
Narron, Sam	LHS	27
Narveson, Chris	LHS	26
Palmisano, Lou	C	26
Parejo, Freddy	CF	24
Rodriguez, Guilder	SS	25
Ryan, Patrick	RHR	25
Sandoval, Juan	RHR	27
Wahpepah, Josh	RHR	24
Welch, David	LHS	25

All teams eligibles

[dpapo]

Here's what Melvin had to say today about the rule 5 draft,

 

*Rule 5 Draft

"We're looking to take somebody, probably a pitcher," said Melvin.

 

 

[DHonks]

I could see a pitcher getting taken from the Brewers. Wahpepah has always done well in A+, yet only had a brief cup of coffee in AA. I could see David Johnson or Robert Hinton taken, as both have had nice runs of dominance at times