Paris16

I will not back down from what I said. Lucroy, and Salome are great. Tyler Roberts is very promising. If Garfield is worth 450 thousand, and Zarraga is worth 220 thousand dollars like the bonuses they both got, then the Brewers don't have a clue. Garfield had 12 bases stolen against him in a doubleheader last year with 4 throwing errors. Zarraga had to be taken out the last 3 games in Wisconsin last year cause he couldn't catch a ball. This is pro ball, not high school; all I am stating is the facts. Yes , I will put Alfonso behind the plate right now anytime you want and he will outplay both of them. The kid never got a chance. Yet they are fooling around with guys his age or older and giving them 200 to 300 at bats while they are hitting .199. How did McCraw receive over 200 at bats in Wisconsin after hitting .143, for the Mets and getting released. I'll tell you how. the Brewers have their favorites, and they are going to play no matter what. No one is saying the Alfonso kid should be in front of Salome, or Lucroy, but he definitely is better than most of their other catchers who have been given chance, after chance, and have been career 220 hitters for 6 or seven years now. By the way, I was an all american behind the plate so don't tell me about catchers.

Boy, that is a great group of catchers they have there. Kemp, Alfonso, and Hopf are gone but they have Maldonado hitting .118, McCraw hitting .000, and Delarosa hitting .158. All 3 are career .230 hitters for their career. Then you have Garfield throwing out 16 percent of runners, and Zarraga who can't catch the ball. These guys are geniuses evaluating catching talent. Then you have Kottaris and Zaun hitting in the .150's in the big leagues, with Lucroy hitting .900 still not on the big club. What an absolute joke.

Nichols doesn't have a clue. Who cares about upside. You need to care about performance. They sign all these guys for big money , and never give these other guys a chance. If you don't sign for a big bonus you have very little chance with this organization. They release players everyday because they don't have a lot of money invested in them, even though some of them are clearly better than the guys they give big money to. Case in point, they gave the Zarraga kid 220.000 in the 44th round, when they have at least 7 catchers that run circles around him. I am sorry but the organization is a joke. Anyone who thinks that politics is not involved in minor league baseball doesn't know anything about it. You would think at this level that you would have people involved that can evaluate talent. Pete Rose would never even get drafted in this day and age. Pitchers are evaluated with a radar gun, hitters are evaluated by how much power they possess. How much heart, desire, and intensity a kid has means nothing if he didn't sign for a lot of money. It is a shame. I guarantee you they wouldn't have kept Rapoza if he had an e.r.a. below 1.00 because he's not one of their high draft picks. If a kid like that makes it and some of their high draft picks don't then it makes the organization look bad. I hope this kid gets a chance with another team, cause he deserves it.

Matt, just saw where Alfonso was released. Yet they kept Dean, Stockfisch, Pechek, Delarosa, Hopf, and Arlis who all or about his age or older.. The kid threw out almost 50 percent of runners for his career at Louisville, starting all 4 years, and was regarded as one of the best defensive catchers in the nation his junior and senior year. He was on the Johnny Bench Award list his last two years, and threw out 63 percent his senior year. The Brewers never gave him a chance but have kept some catchers that are very suspicious. Dean was an assistant coach at U.C.L.A. three weeks ago, Stockfisch had 3 at bats for his whole career in Arizona last year, Pechek hit 147 in Arizona last year and De La Rosa struckout 32 times without walking once last year. Not trying to put down these players, but why was Alfonso the one released. Look at Alfonso's stats in pro ball and they are not bad considering he played once out of every 10 games. You can even compare them to McCraw, Zarraga, and Maldonado who had 300 at bats last year and hit .199. It is obvious the Brewers have their favorites. You are right, I am a huge fan of his because I am from Louisville and watched him play many a game. I can promise you the Brewers made a big mistake, and there is no way they have many catchers who catch and throw like he can. I absolutely don't understand why he wasn't given the same number of at bats McCraw, and Maldonado were given. McCraw was picked up by the Brewers from the Mets after hitting just .143 when he was released. Then he goes straight to Wisconsin and is the starting catcher . Why? The funny thing is Alfonso isn"t that bad a hitter, and showed pop at Louisville and in pro ball. I was shocked when I read you're thred and I am sure the kid is devastated because he loves baseball. I will be very surprised if someone doesn't pick him up. You don't have to respond to this, I just feel the kid needs someone to stand up for him. I don't have a clue what the Brewer catching guys are evaluating, but it is not catching skills.

I agree with you 100 percent. I caught for 15 years, was a high school all american, and played division one baseball. A catcher has equipment on for a reason. Everytime a ball hits the ground they rule it as a passed ball, and that is a joke. Balls in the dirt should consistently be blocked. Any catcher who has balls coming off his mitt at this level has no business catching. I am not going to put down the Mcraw kid because I am sure he is a great kid. The facts are the kid was released by the mets the year before after hitting .143 for them in A ball. So how do the Brewers start him the whole year in Wisconsin in front of all the other catchers that they themselves drafted. It looks like a favor to someone. On top of all that they signed him for 3 years. If the pitcher crosses you up on a pitch that might be understood. The Brewers have way too many young catchers who they have given a lot of money to who either struggle catching balls or can't throw at all, while other more experienced catchers are not getting any playing time. It doesn't make any sense. Some of those young catchers should be moved to other positions if they can hit, because they are never going to be quality catchers. It is a shame that in pro ball just because you were given more money than another player you get chance after chance, but you rarely get a chance if they don't have money invested in you. It is hard to prove yourself when you play once every 10 games regardless of what the guy in front of you does. There were catchers last year who received 250, 300 at bats and hit .199 to .210 while other quality catchers got little or no playing time all year. That can get really frustrating with the length of the season. I am not stating an opinion, I am stating facts. Kemp got fed up with it, and it won't be long till other catchers get fed up with it too.

I can definitely tell you that he was upset that he wasn't given more catching time than some of the younger guys that struggled all year defensively. He was promised more catching opportunities and was not very happy that some of the younger catchers that did not catch or throw very well were getting so much time behind the plate. He was promised some catching time after the season in instructional league and never received any. You must remember that this kid was relegated to catching in the bullpen early in the season and only started playing when the other catchers struggled with the bat.

Folks, there is no way Zarraga should catch in front of Alfonso. If you've seen the two play you know Alfonso is as good a hitter, and head and shoulders better defensively. Zarraga is a much better first baseman than he is a catcher. He struggles often just holding on to pitches. Obviously he is younger, but there is no comparison in their athletic skills.

Kemp must either play first or D.H., Maldonado may not hit, but he runs circles around Kemp defensively. There is no way Kemp moves well enough to be an everyday catcher, and he struggles throwing out runners. Alfonso is much better than Zarraga defensively, and swings the bat as well. He also hits better than Mccraw, and is as good or better defensively. He should be starting somewhere. Both Maldonado and Alfonso can flat throw.. Maldonado has been given a lot of at bats and has not produced offensively, Alfonso needs to be given a lot of at bats this year to find out what he can do at the plate. I did not see Delarosa anywhere mentioned. He is another very good defensive catcher. The rest of the projections look fairly accurate.

I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. All I am saying is that this kid deserves at least the same opportunities these other catchers have had. It would be different if these other catchers were producing offensively. Maldonado alone had 288 at bats last year and hit .201. Give Alfonso his 220 at bats, like they have had, and if he doesn't hit for a very respectable average with some pop then give him his release. He is very good defensively, and calls a great game. Up to this point, for a player who had a great career as a division 1 four year starter he has been given no chance. He swings the bat well, he just needs to be more patient, and walk more. Again, thanks for your response, your help, and your suggestion.

As a devout Louisville baseball fan who followed Derrick all four years at Louisville, I would love to here some opinions of the fans who have seen him play. He was sensational defensively at U of L. He started all 4 years and was considered one of the top defensive catchers in the entire nation, throwing out 63% of runners his senior year. Last year he hit .250 while playing at three different levels for three different Brewer minor league teams. He only got 52 at bats for the entire season. The following catchers: Corporan, Maldonado, Delarosa, McCraw and Zarraga had over 1000 at bats between them last season. Their average for the season in order were: .217, .201, .207, .211 and .229. Alfonso needs to improve his approach at the plate, and work on his strikeout to walk ratio. This is hard to do when everywhere he goes he's a backup to a backup. Last year he got 4 at bats at Helena, 27 at Brevard and 21 at Wisconsin. These other catchers are definitely not setting the world on fire with the bat. I'd like to see the Brewer's give Derrick the same 250 at bats some of the catchers have gotten and see what kind of production he gives them. He had 12 homeruns at U of L and three his first year at Helena in limited playing time. He's a great kid and a very hard worker. I would love to see him start for Wisconsin or Brevard this coming season. I can see him hitting much better with consistent playing time and he is above average defensively. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Can't figure out why this kid doesn't get a lot more playing time behind the plate. He has less at bats this year (24) than any other player in the entire Brewer organization. The Manatees have very good defensive catchers in Maldonado and Delarosa; however, between them they have 300 at bats, 9 extra base hits and both are hitting under .196. Alfonso was regarded as one of the top defensive catchers in the nation during his college career. He has some pop at the plate and is throwing out almost 40% of runners during his young minor league career. Maybe I'm missing something, but 24 at bats is not much of a chance!! Would love to hear from Manatee fans who have seen him play.

This is my second and last post on this kid. Does anyone know why Derrick Alfonso is still stuck in spring training? Here is what I don't understand. The Brewers have five catchers in their minor league system at the present time hitting below .180. They have seven catchers struggling mightily trying to throw out runners attempting to steal. Three are throwing out less than fifteen percent and one is throwing out eight percent. Here is a kid who started all four years at the University of Louisville and caught almost 200 games. He threw out 63% of runners trying to steal against him his senior year and was regarded as one of the top catchers in the nation. He blocks balls well and calls a great game. Check Evan Frederickson's stats last year when Alfonso caught him to when other catchers caught him. He hits the ball hard, but needs to work on his patience at the plate. Wisconsin has two catchers on their roster. One is swinging the bat great, but has only thrown out 3 of 33 runners attempting to steal. The other one hit .143 last year in the minors and is hitting .177 this year with 6 errors already behind the plate. With the lack of quality catchers in this organization, why is a catcher with his experience at the Division 1 level going back to rookie ball in Helena? I watched the kid play with my cousin four years at Louisville. He has a tremendous work ethic, intensity, and plays with a lot of heart. He waled in at Louisville his freshman year with no catching experience and beat out 4 upper classmen. He helped put Louisville on the College baseball map. He is a no name who didn't sign for 400,000 like some other catchers. I hope someone important in the Brewer organization realizes that all he needs is a legitimate chance.

Where is Derrick Alfonso? I've been a huge Louisville fan for many years. I've been following all their former players in the minor leagues. What are the Brewers doing with Alfonso? He is not listed on any of their rosters. I've watched the kid play over 100 games in College. He was very athletic and intense. I've never seen a better defensive college catcher. He threw out almost 50% of runners in his first three years as a starter in Louisville , helping land him on the Johnny Bench watch list for 2 years in a row. He then led the nation his senior year throwing out 63% of runners trying to steal against him without making a single error. He did an outstanding job handling a pitching staff and blocking the ball extremely well. He is a big reason Louisville played in the College World Series in 2006. I followed him some at Helena last year. I know he had a wrist injury and a shoulder injury, which affected his swing and limited his playing time. Offensively, he has potential, but he was a very impatient hitter at Louisville. He showed power at Louisville and hit three homeruns at Helena last year. I'm assuming he's either been released or he's hurt (I haven't seen him on the disabled list). Although, I can't imagine the Brewers releasing a catcher with his defensive skills. I visited the Brewers minor league websites and I saw where most of the catchers are really struggling offensively - many of them hitting under .200. I guarantee very few of them can catch with Alfonso. If anyone knows if he's with another team or been released please let me know. If he's not hurt, and still with Milwaukee, I can't imagine why he's not in a least A ball. There aren't many catchers at any level that can catch and throw with this kid. He needs to be given a LEGITIMATE chance to see if he can hit at this level.