The stache

The worst month in team history for wins was 4 back in 1970, their first month in existence (if you don't count the one year as the Seattle Pilots, which I have not checked). It's May 28th, and we're knocking on infamy's door. Atta boy, Aram! Two runs are home!!

Ok, hits by Segura and Braun, can somebody please drive them in??

Yup, sad, isn't it? Wacha will kick our ____ all over the place just like Shelby Miller has. Wacha. Miller. Martinez. Rosenthal. /shudder.

I don't know if this has been posted or not, but an interesting read on Cody Scarpetta. He was top 10 in ranking in our system in 2011. http://www.rrstar.com/carousel/x1506801648/Cody-Scarpetta-continues-long-road-back-with-Brewers

It sure seems that an awful lot of our minor league pitchers are having problems with walks. Coaching problem??

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/prospects/watch/y2013/ MLB.com's top 100 prospects. No, we don't. The Cubs currently have three. The Reds currently have three. The Cardinals currently have four (two weeks ago they had 6. Shelby Miller and Trevor Rosenthal no longer qualify as prospects, too many innings pitched). The Pirates have five, and another Josh Bell, about to join the top 100. They had yet another, but Starling Marte now has too many at bats. The Brewers zippo. By the way, the Twins, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America, say the Twins have the best 1-2 punch in the minor leagues in Sano and Buxton.

What about the picks besides Sano and Buxton? You cherry picked two names off that list. There's 5 others. In the 2008 draft, they had the 14th pick, and took Aaron Hicks, who is better than any prospect we have in the minors. They won their division in 2008, and got the 22nd pick in the 2009 draft. They took Kyle Gibson, who is better than any pitcher we have in the minors. In 2010, they got great value by taking Rosario in the 4th round. The 2010 draft was one of the richest in history, talent wise. We picked Dylan Covey, a guy we couldn't even sign. He's now pitching for the University of San Diego. It's too convenient to say "well, they sucked, and got higher picks. Therefore that is why they have better overall talent". It's not true. The Twins since 2005 have been a better baseball team than we have, and yet they're still dusting us when it comes to young talent. The Twins spent big money on Sano, who will be hitting 30 home runs a season for them very soon. We choose to spend big money on guys like Kyle Lohse, and Rickie Weeks. The difference in how these two organizations are handled are like night and day. The Twins, with a small payroll, have remained very competitive, and have restocked their minor league talent along the way. They might have a few down years now, but they will be competitive and competing for a playoff spot within the next two years. Can the Brewers say the same?

As a point of comparison, and discussion, I'm going to start profiling the minor league systems of the teams the Brewers are playing. This will give us all a good cross reference for what other teams are doing to improve themselves, even if their parent club is struggling. Let's look at the team that we lost to tonight, the Minnesota Twins. Like the Brewers, they are far under .500, and ice cold, having lost 11 of their last 12 before beating us 6-3 today. The Milwaukee Brewers in 2013 have a payroll of $91,003,366. We are 19-30. The Minnesota Twins in 2013 have a payroll of $75,562,500. We are 20-28. Dark days are ahead in Minnesota, right? Actually, no. While Twins fans struggle through a rough season (much like us Brewer fans are doing), they have something they can look forward to. Their young talent on the way is sensational. Again, referring back to the April 2-16th edition of Baseball America, the Twins have the 10th ranked organizational talent in baseball. This is purely minor league talent, not including any players at the Major League level. The Twins have 6 of the top 100 prospects in baseball (#s in parenthesis are their preseason rankings, first from MLB.com, then from Baseball America): 1. Miguel Sano, third base (12,9): the best pure power bat in the minor leagues. These rankings were before any games were played in 2013. Currently Sano is hitting .341 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI in 173 at bats at A+ Fort Myers. He has a .433 OBP, a .665 SLG and a 1.098 OPS. Currently, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com has the 6'3" 195 lb Sano ranked as the #11 prospect in baseball. 2. Byron Buxton, outfield (19,10): Buxton was the consensus top ranked player going into the 2012 amateur draft, but he fell to Minnesota at the #2 spot when the Houston Astros selected Carlos Correa, as he was deemed more likely to sign, and more affordable. Buxton is a 5 tool player. Currently at Class A Cedar Rapids, Buxton is hitting .324 with 7 HR and 38 RBI in 182 at bats. The 6'2" 190 lb Buxton has 35 walks vs 39 strike outs, giving him a .432 OBP. His .555 SLG gives him a .987 OPS. He also has 23 stolen bases. He is already a plus fielder with a plus arm, and has elite speed. 3. Oswaldo Arcia, right field (93,41): Arcia, the older brother of Brewers prospect Orlando Arcia, is another power bat. At 22, he is already playing in the Majors. In a brief stint at AAA Rochester, Arcia was hitting .325 with 3 HR and 8 RBI in 12 games when the Twins called him up. Since jumping to the Majors, Arcia is batting .255 with 4 HR and 14 RBI in 98 at bats. The 6'0" 220 lb Arcia is another 5 tool player, with projected plus power, hitting, arm and fielding, with average speed. Arcia jumped through two levels in 2012, and the Twins are ready to reap the benefits. MLB.com has bumped him up from #93 to 86 since the season started. 4. Alex Meyer, right handed pitcher (40,59): The 6'9" 220 lb Meyer has incredible upside. His fastball is plus, near elite, and has plenty of sink. His slider is deemed above average, with plus upside, and his change up is average. At AA New Britian this season, Meyer is 2-3 with a 3.95 ERA. He has 63 strikeouts in 54 2/3 IP vs 25 walks. 5. Kyle Gibson, right handed pitcher (49,68): The 6'6" 210 lb Gibson is another talented young pitcher in the Twins system. He has three plus pitches: fastball, slider and change up. At AAA Rochester, the 25 year old has a 4-5 record with a 2.82 ERA, 53 K in 60 2/3 IP. He has walked 17 batters. Gibson has fully recovered from Tommy John surgery in 2011, and looks to be ready for the Majors soon. 6. Aaron Hicks, center fielder (98,72): Hicks, a 6'2" 190 lb center fielder, is another top outfield prospect in the Twins system, and is now up with the Twins at age 23. In 129 games at AA New Britian last year, the switch hitting Hicks batted .286, scored 100 runs, had 21 doubles, 11 triples, 13 home runs, and 32 stolen bases. He also showed good discipline at the plate, walking 79 times versus 116 strike outs. He had a .384 OBP, and an .844 OPS. He is a plus defender with a plus arm, and has drawn several comparisons to Tori Hunter. 7. Eddie Rosario, second base (99, #): Rosario, at 6'0" 170 pounds, is destined for second base, though he has also played the outfield. He has an above average arm, and above average defensive abilities, and plus hitting upside. The 21 year old hicks is at high A ball Fort Myers, where he is hitting .309 with 3 HR and 26 RBI in 41 games. How does the overall talent level of Minnesota's system compare to Milwaukee's? I think it far exceeds it. Sano, Buxton, Meyers and Gibson are all elite prospects (top 50 in baseball), and Arcia's stock is rising fast (already #41 ranked by Baseball America). Every one of those prospects would be #1 in Milwaukee's system. Hicks and Rosario would be near the very top, also. Have the Twins had higher draft picks than the Brewers? Well, no. They were terrible in 2011, but Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau missed a combined 173 games. In 2012 they were just terrible. But if you look at Minnesota's record since 2005, when we drafted Ryan Braun, they have on averaged performed better than the Brewers. They've just picked better players, and have done a far better job of developing those players. Here are the Twins' records since 2005: 2005 83-79, 3rd AL Central 2006 96-66, 1st AL Central 2007 79-83, 3rd AL Central 2008 88-75, 2nd AL Central 2009 87-76, 1st AL Central 2010 94-68, 1st AL Central 2011 63-99, 5th AL Central 2012 66-96, 5th AL Central So, again, I ask you guys. The Twins, though they are not a good team right now, have a minor league system that's just filled with talent. The same cannot be said of our system. Why? Again, you have to point the finger at Doug Melvin.

"Hey, Corey, have you ever played second base before?"

Good to see Khris Davis and Hunter Morris hitting some bombs!

Hunter Morris is just destroying the baseball right now. In the nine games since coming off the 7 day DL for a concussion, Hunter has been hitting some absolute bombs. Check these numbers out: Hunter is 12 for 32 (.375 AVG) with 2 doubles, six home runs and 11 RBI. He's got a .444 OBP, a 1.000 SLG and a 1.444 OPS. He hit two home runs the day he came off the DL on May 18th, another on May 20th, and has gone yard three of the last four games. That's 10 home runs for the season, second best in AAA. I watched the game last night, and that left handed power stroke is looking awfully good right now. Since the start of the 2012 season, Hunter's played 177 games. He's got 677 at bats, 48 doubles, 7 triples, 38 home runs and 137 RBI, putting up a .292/.346/.552 slash line. He'll be 25 in October. I hope the Brewers will be bringing him up soon. I think he's almost ready, and we could use another power bat in our lineup.

LouisEly, now's the time for a "The 'stache never gets a date with Kate Upton" comment.

And I'm fine with that. There shouldn't be a rush. Taylor should be allowed to develop at his own pace. Let him get his strength and stamina where it needs to be, and when he's ready, then we'll call him up. To compare, I am very concerned for Jose Fernandez's future. I think the Marlins are going to ruin him because they brought him up way, way too early. I'm sorry, sacrificing his health in order to sell the tickets that the owner's fire sale lost is disgusting to me.

What are we aspiring to here?? How many World Series titles did Harry Dalton bring to Milwaukee with that "hitters first" attitude? I'm not trying to be argumentative, but if our measuring stick is a GM that barely made it above .500 during his tenure, we are in trouble. I'm sorry, but I just don't want to settle for the mediocre baseball team that Melvin is able to provide us with. The Brewers have been in the Majors for 43 years now, and have made it to a single World Series, which we lost. Colorado, Arizona, Miami and Tampa Bay have all made it to the World Series. Arizona won the World Series in their fourth year of existence. Miami won it in their fifth and eleventh seasons. How is it they can all get there, yet we'll be at 31 years since we last made it this fall?

Thank you, Invader3k! And, I agree 100%. Baseball is a business, make no mistake about it, and unless Mark Attanasio wants to see attendance continue to dwindle, he'll make the tough call. Doug Melvin has had nearly 3 decades to show what he could do, and he's been completely incapable of winning it all. He's not going to change-he will not improve upon his weaknesses. Ryan Braun is signed basically for life. He turns 30 in November. There's still plenty of "prime" left in his prime years, but I don't want any hemming and hawing "oh, what should we do, oh what should we do?" Come on, Mark. Put on your big boy pants, and make the tough call. Get a GM in here that knows what they are doing, and let them have complete autonomy as far as selecting their manager and coaching staff. Then, send out some people to talk to the scouts for the Rays, the Dodgers, etc. Ask them who they would recommend as talent evaluators, and hire them! We can waste the best years of #8's career treading water, hoping to get back into the playoffs again at some point, or we can grab the bull by the balls, and fix this franchise.

Hell, Mariano Rivera made a nice living throwing only a fastball! Taylor's been somewhat successful since coming back, throwing in the high 80's, low 90's. I'm still wondering if he's not trying to work through some issues. The curve is supposed to be his second pitch (and according to Jonathan Mayo, has plus pitch upside), and I'm just not seeing it as much as I might expect with lower fastball velocity.

Thanks I'm still trying to get my system down. I have to remember to chart each at bat. I always end up going back to the box score for something.

Saturday May 25th, 2013 Huntsville Stars (21-26) @ Tennessee Smokies (24-22)(AA Chicago Cubs) Taylor Jungmann's 9th start of the season The line: Taylor pitched 6 complete innings tonight, earning his 4th win of the season (4-5). He allowed three hits, one a two run home run to second baseman Arismendy Alcantara (7). Jungmann struck out a season high six batters, and walked three. Since returning from the 7 day DL on May 4th, Jungmann has gone 3-1, allowing 6 earned runs in 25 innings pitched for a 2.15 ERA. During that span he has allowed 18 hits and 9 walks for a 1.08 WHIP. Impression: While his box score looks impressive, Taylor Jungmann is still having some command issues. He is not allowing a lot of hits, but he is susceptible to walks, allowing 3.24 walks/9 IP since coming off the DL. One of the batters he walked tonight, the starting pitcher Alberto Cabrera, scored on Alcantara's line drive home run to right field in the 5th inning. Most disheartening is that he walked Cabrera on five pitches. Jungmann's velocity seemed low again tonight (the announcers were not mentioning his fastball speed often, but I heard 87 and 88 mph), and he was visited by the pitching coach in the fifth inning when he seemed somewhat gassed. He did come back out to pitch the sixth, however at one point he appeared to be throwing sidearm. The conditions for the game were ideal. At one point the home announcer commented that he felt like the game was being played in San Diego. So, I'm not sure what was going on towards the end of his start. He had a few pitches bounce before the plate in the sixth, but seemed ok coming off the mound. Taylor's pitches tonight were a mix of fastballs and some curve balls. The camera work caused me to miss several pitching sequences, so I can't get a precise pitch selection count. At least two of his strikeouts were on curves, including a gorgeous 12 to 6 breaking ball that he made Elliot Soto look absolutely foolish on. Pitch count: Taylor threw 90 pitches in total, 56 for strikes. 15 pitch -per-inning average 1st inning-14 pitches (7 balls, 7 strikes) 2nd inning-17 pitches (7 balls, 10 strikes) 3rd inning-16 pitches (2 balls, 14 strikes) 4th inning-16 pitches (7 balls, 9 strikes) 5th inning-13 pitches (7 balls, 6 strikes) 6th inning-14 pitches (4 balls, 10 strikes) Up next: Assuming there are no changes to the pitching rotation, Taylor's next start should be on Thursday June 30th at the Jackson Generals. Game time is 8:05 ET.

After some pretty in-depth examination of the entire Milwaukee Brewers organization (including comparisons to our divisional opponents), I think the franchise as a whole is in serious trouble, and in need of an immediate, major overhaul. If several drastic changes are not made soon, the Brewers could very easily revert to where they were from 1993 to 2006, when they did not have a single winning season. The problem starts at the very top with Doug Melvin. After a stint as assistant scouting director with the New York Yankees, Melvin's first managerial position would come with the Baltimore Orioles. Melvin served as special assistant to GM Roland Hemond in 1987, then as Baltimore's assistant general manager and director of player development from 1988 to 1993. During this time, the Orioles compiled a 525-607 record, and never made the playoffs. When looking back at this period, a pattern that would become all too familiar is first apparent. Baltimore as a team stressed offense over pitching. http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/4769/melvinagm.png Melvin's record as assistant general manager, and director of player development with the Baltimore Orioles. In 1989, Melvin's second season as assistant general manager and director of player development, the Orioles were 5th in the Majors in runs scored, and 20th in runs allowed (out of 26 teams). In three of the last five years Melvin was with the Orioles, the team's offense finished in the top ten in runs scored. The best the Oriole pitching staff performed was in 1992, when they finished 16th in the Major Leagues in ERA (out of 26 teams). Now, I have separated these figures from Melvin's time as GM because while highly influential, Melvin did not have the final say on roster decisions. He was, after all, only the assistant GM. In 1994, Doug Melvin began an eight year stint as general manager of the Texas Rangers. During this time, the Rangers made the playoffs three times, yet never fielded a true contender for the World Series title, again, because their pitching did not measure up. The Rangers under Melvin stressed hitting over pitching. Living in the Dallas area since 1989, I have witnessed Melvin's philosophy up close. Six times in eight seasons the Rangers finished in the top ten in runs scored, and they finished in the top 15 (or, top half) every single season. Comparatively, the Rangers pitching staff never once finished in the top 15 in the Majors. In 1998 and 1989, the Rangers made the playoffs despite finishing 26th and 24th in runs allowed. In his final two seasons as the GM in Texas, the Ranger pitching staff finished dead last in the Majors in ERA. After serving as a consultant to the Boston Red Sox in 2002, Doug Melvin was hired on as general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers. Barring a major comeback this season, the Brewers will have made the postseason twice in eleven seasons. Again, the Brewers franchise has been constructed with an "offense first" mentality. Between 2007 and 2012, the Brewers as a franchise finished in the top half of all Major League teams in runs scored (except for 2008, when they finished 17th of 30 teams). When compared to other National League teams (who as a rule score less frequently than American League teams as they do not utilize a designated hitter), the Brewers finished in the top third in runs scored each season (except for 2008). The Brewers' pitching staff, however, has been a different story. The Brewers have had very poor pitching overall during Melvin's tenure, despite making trades for several top-flight starters. The 2008 staff was a notable exception, as Milwaukee finished 4th in the Majors in ERA. However, that number is somewhat misleading. The team's ERA was lowered because of the trade for C.C. Sabathia (the 2007 AL Cy Young Award winner), who for his half a season in Milwaukee put up absolutely dominant numbers. Sabathia's ERA while with the Brewers was 1.65, lowering the team's ERA to 3.85 ERA overall. Without Sabathia, the team's ERA would have been 4.07, which would have placed them 13th in the Majors. Still good, but nowhere near the top. The next season, the Brewers without Sabathia (or Ben Sheets) fell to 26th in the Majors in ERA. Since 2008, when the Brewers made the playoffs for the first time since 1982, the Milwaukee has finished 26th in the Majors in team ERA in 2009, 26th in 2010, 9th in 2011, 22nd in 2012, and are currently 25th in 2013. http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/295/melvingm.png Doug Melvin's record as general manager with the Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers. In twenty-six years as either an assistant general manager, or general manager, Doug Melvin's teams have made the playoffs five times, winning one series, when the Brewers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2011. Melvin's squads are 1-5 overall in playoff series, and 7-18 in postseason games. Melvin's lack of success can be directly tied to a failure to draft and develop quality pitching. Here is a record of the pitchers that have been drafted in the first five rounds under Doug Melvin (plus any others with substantial MLB service time), either as an assistant gm, or general manager (note: DNP=did not, or has not yet played a game in the Majors): Baltimore Orioles 1988: Gregg Olson (40-39, 3.46 ERA, 217 sv), Arthur Rhodes (87-70, 4.08 ERA, 30 sv), Stacy Jones (6 games, 3.46 ERA) 1989: Ben McDonald (79-70, 3.91 ERA), Tommy Taylor (DNP), Eric Alexander (DNP), Matt Anderson (DNP) 1990: *Mike Mussina (270-153, 3.68 ERA), Eric Schullstrom (46 games, 6.00 ERA), Jeff Williams (DNP), Bobby Chouinard (11-8, 4.57 ERA, 111 games) 1991: Vaughn Eshelman (15-9, 6.07 ERA, 83 games), Jimmy Haynes (63-89, 5.37 ERA, 227 games. 7th round), Rick Krivda (11-16, 5.57 ERA, 72 games. 23rd round) 1992: Brian Sackinsky (3.86 ERA, 3 games), Scott Klingenbeck (5-8, 6.91 ERA, 39 games), Garrett Stephenson (39-39, 4.55 ERA, 123 games, 18th round), Joey Dawley (0-0, 10.91 ERA, 8 games, 28th round) 1993: Jay Powell (36-23, 4.17 ERA, 22 saves, 512 games), Rocky Coppinger (17-11, 5.47 ERA, 82 games, 19th round) * Mussina was originally drafted by the Orioles in the 11th round of the 1987 amateur draft, but did not sign. Texas Rangers 1994: Dan Hower (DNP), Jim Brower (33-32, 4.67 ERA, 354 games. 6th round), Scott Stewart (11-6, 3.99 ERA, 214 games, 20th round) 1995: Jonathan Johnson (2-4, 6.63 ERA, 42 games), Ryan Dempster (126-129, 4.34 ERA, 557 games), Ryan Glynn (9-20, 6.24, 52 games), Danny Kolb (11-23, 4.36 ERA, 290 games, 6th round), Brandon Knight (1-0, 8.62 ERA, 15 games, 14th round) 1996: R.A. Dickey (65-61, 4.01, 248 games), Sam Marsonek (1 game), Corey Lee (0-1, 27.00 ERA), Doug Davis (92-108, 4.44 ERA, 306 games, 10th round), Mark Hendrickson (58-74, 5.03 ERA, 328 games, 19th round), Joe Beimel (24-32, 4.21 ERA, 567 games, 26th round) 1997: Chris Tynan (DNP), Dave Elder (1-3, 4.62 ERA, 19 games) 1998: Barry Zito (163-135, 3.93 ERA, 409 games, did not sign), Ryan Dittfurth (DNP) 1999: Colby Lewis (44-44, 4.76 ERA, 152 games), David Mead (DNP), Nick Regelio (1-6, 5.35 ERA, 24 games), Andy Cavazos (0-0, 10.35 ERA, 17 games), Victor Hillaert (DNP), Aaron Harang (106-109, 4.26 ERA, 305 games, 6th round), Dennis Sarfate (5-4, 4.53 ERA, 92 games, 15th round), Noah Lowry (40-31, 4.03 ERA, 106 games, 19th round) 2000: Chad Hawkins (DNP), Randy Truselo (DNP), Chris Russ (DNP), Greg Runser (DNP), Virgil Vasquez (2-6, 6.60 ERA, 19 games, 7th round), Nick Masset (16-14, 3.78 ERA, 308 games, 8th round), A.J. Murray (2-2, 4.29 ERA, 16 games) 2001: Josh Baker (DNP), C.J. Wilson (60-48, 3.63 ERA, 369 games) Milwaukee Brewers 2003: Mitch Stetter (8-2, 4.08 ERA, 132 games, 16th round), Ty Taubenheim (1-4, 5.09 ERA, 14 games, 16th round) 2004: Mark Rogers (3-1, 3.49 ERA, 11 games), Yovani Gallardo (72-47, 3.69 ERA, 161 games), Joshua Wahpeper (DNP), Josh Baker (DNP), Kanekoa Teixeira (1-1, 4.66 ERA, 49 games, 31st round) 2005: Wil Inman (DNP), Kevin Roberts (DNP), Steve Garrison (1 game, 10th round), Andrew Bailey (9-11, 2.44 ERA, 190 games, 16th round), Zach Braddock (1-3, 4.41 ERA, 71 games, 18th round), Jake Arrieta (20-24, 5.40 ERA, 68 games, 26th round) 2006: Jeremy Jeffress (2-1, 4.99 ERA, 38 games), Evan Andunsen (DNP), Mike McClendon (5-0, 3.88 ERA, 35 games, 10th round) 2007: Brewers did not draft a pitcher in the first five rounds, nor has any pitcher drafted in this year reached the Major Leagues 2008: Jake Odorizzi (0-1, 5.11 ERA, 3 games), Evan Frederickson (DNP), Seth Lintz (DNP), Cody Adams (DNP), Josh Romanski (DNP), Maverick Lasker (DNP), Lucas Luetge (2-3, 4.67 ERA, 74 games, 21st round) 2009: Eric Arnett (DNP), Kyle Heckathorn (DNP), Brooks Hall (DNP), Hiram Burgos (1-2, 6.44 ERA, 6 games, 6th round), Mike Fiers (10-12, 3.89 ERA, 33 games, 22nd round) 2010: Dylan Covey (DNP), Jimmy Nelson (DNP), Tyler Thornburg (0-0, 4.50 ERA, 8 games, Matt Miller (DNP) 2011: Taylor Jungmann (DNP), Jed Bradley (DNP), Jorge Lopez (DNP), Drew Gagnon (DNP), 2012: Zach Quintana (DNP), Tyler Wagner (DNP), Damien Magnifico (DNP) The Milwaukee Brewers under Melvin did not draft a single pitcher in the first five rounds of the 2003 amateur draft. The Milwaukee Brewers did not draft a single pitcher in the first five rounds of the 2007 amateur draft, nor has any pitcher drafted that year reached the Major Leagues. Doug Melvin is a very poor judge of pitching talent, and as long as he remains as general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers, that will continue to haunt our franchise. Since Melvin has been in a position of influence, he has drafted few pitchers that have experienced any success in the Major Leagues. Mike Mussina would be the best pitcher he's drafted, only the Orioles had tried to draft and sign him in 1987 when Melvin was only a special assistant the the GM. The call to draft him again was not his decision. Beyond Mussina, Melvin's most notable drafted pitchers include Ryan Dempster, R.A. Dickey, Barry Zito, Aaron Harang, C.J. Wilson and Yovani Gallardo. The overall talent level in our minor league system is also severely deficient when compared to the other teams in our division. This, too, can be attributed to Melvin's management. The Milwaukee Brewers do not have a single minor league player currently ranked in the top 100 (MLB.com, or Baseball America), and only Wily Peralta was ranked on the list to start the season. We are falling behind the Reds, Pirates, Cubs and Cardinals. The other teams have more young talent, and the talent they have is more highly rated. Baseball America recently named the Cardinal organization as having the best minor league talent in baseball (April 2-16 edition). The Pittsburgh Pirates were ranked 7th. The Chicago Cubs were ranked 12th, the Cincinnati Reds 15th, and the Brewers were ranked 23rd. Top 100 rated minor league talent to start the 2013 season, and their ranking (pitchers in bold) St. Louis Cardinals: Oscar Taveras (3), Shelby Miller (6), Carlos Martinez (38), Trevor Rosenthal (39), Michael Wacha (76), Kolten Wong (84) Cincinnati Reds: Billy Hamilton (20), Robert Stephenson (56), Tony Cingrani (82), Daniel Corcino (94) Chicago Cubs: Javier Baez (16), Albert Almora (33), Jorge Soler (34), Arodys Vizcaino (83) Pittsburgh Pirates: Gerrit Cole (7), Jameson Taillon (19), Gregory Polanco (51), Alen Hanson (61), Luis Heredia (78) Milwaukee Brewers: Wily Peralta (69) Players that have appeared in the top 100 list within the last eighteen months, by current organization (appearance in elite top 50 in bold): St. Louis Cardinals: nine (Oscar Taveras, Shelby Miller, Trevor Rosenthal, Carlos Martinez, Kolten Wong, Michael Wacha, Matt Adams, Tyrell Jenkins, Zack Cox) Cincinnati Reds: seven (Billy Hamilton, Robert Stephenson, Tony Cingrani, Zack Cozart, Devin Mesoraco, Daniel Corcino, Jesse Biddle) Chicago Cubs: seven (Javier Baez, Albert Almora, Jorge Soler, Brett Jackson, Arodyz Vizcaino, Anthony Rizzo, Matt Szczur) Pittsburgh Pirates: seven (Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon, Alen Hanson, Gregory Polanco, Luis Heredia, Josh Bell, Starling Marte) Milwaukee Brewers: five (Jean Segura, Wily Peralta, Taylor Jungmann, Jed Bradley, Tyler Thornburg) While the prospects we have traded away have been a mixed bag thus far, the practice of trading away young talent for a rental of a top tier pitcher for a season or two (or a half season in Sabathia's case) cannot be continued. Because, when those players eventually leave (Sabathia, Greinke, Marcum), we rarely get anything back in return (Jean Segura being the obvious exception thus far). We need to draft, sign, and develop our own talent, and we need to make substantial changes to our scouts, our coaches, and general manager. They are not getting it done. If changes are not made, the rest of the division will leave us behind.

That sounds like some inferior scouting on the part of the Brewers unless his 4-seamer had some unusual movement to it. Plenty of examples of kids who threw mid-90's 4-seamers in high school or college who never made it as pitchers because the 4-seamer was straight as a string (JJ Hardy being a great example of that: All-State high school pitcher in Arizona who threw mid 90's and straight as an arrow) It would be worth lopping a few mph off the fastball and going with the 2-seamer exclusively if it has some movement to it. I'll take a fastball with movement and slightly lower velocity over a fastball that stays on a line any day of the week. I know that Shelby Miller (Cardinals pitcher) experienced some similar issues in 2012 where his fastball was down a few ticks when he moved to AAA. He made some adjustments, and his fastball picked back up again. I might go back and watch Jungmann's fifth and sixth inning again. It seemed to me as if he had just a little more pop late in the game.

Per the J-S' Todd Rosiak at the time: "Asst Brewers GM Gord Ash says Taylor Jungmann on the DL in Huntsville with a nerve issue affecting fingers on his right hand. Team is being proactive prescribing rest and treatment in the hopes of nipping Jungmann's issue in the bud." Thanks, Mass Haas. That reinforces what the announcer said about Jungmann trying a different grip on his fastball because of the finger numbness. He's scheduled to go tomorrow, so I'll watch the tape, and see how he looks.

Oh joy, Hendo got hurt?

So, why is Henderson, who is 9 for 9 in save opportunities, now a setup man. Did we really need to take a guy that hasn't pitched a game since last year, and make him the closer over a guy that's been lights out at the position? We won tonight, and K Rod got the save, but why are we messing with one of the few things that IS working on this team???

3and2, it's pure speculation at this point. I've not seen anything specific as to why he was on the DL for seven days (I'll look for that tonight). His last outing before his short stint on the DL was really bad, so they may have decided to shut him down for a bit to assess his arm health. He's certainly been better, if not slightly inefficient, since coming back. TheCrew, ya, the games I watched him play at Texas, he'd be in the low 90's on average, but he could reach back for more when he needed it. That's something I wasn't seeing in the game I watched last night. He couldn't reach that extra gear. He was getting a lot of ground ball outs, which is encouraging. Jonathan Mayo speculated that both the fastball and the curve could be plus pitches, with the breaking ball at least an average offering. Last night, I didn't see the secondary pitches all that much. If he's been experiencing any kind of arm issues, it would make sense he'd be throwing the curve less often, as that stresses the arm. Glad you guys liked my little write up, thanks.

I just signed up for milb.tv this evening as an add on to my mlb.tv premium package ($10 for the remainder of the season, can't beat it). So, this will afford me the opportunity to scout several of our top rated prospects. I'm looking forward to contributing to the forum in any way I can, and would be happy to watch any games as requested (as they are available). I obviously have no professional scouting experience, but have been watching the game of baseball for 33 years, and spend much of the year reading scouting reports. My primary sources of information are Baseball America and Baseball Prospect Nation, as well as MLB.com and Milb.com. I'm going to kick things off this morning having just completed watching Taylor Jungmann's second start since coming off the DL (May 4th, 7 day, injury). Jungmann, the first of two first-round picks for the Brewers in 2011, is 3-5 on the season, with a 5.09 ERA. Taylor has made 8 starts thus far for the AA Huntsville Stars in 2013, throwing 40 2/3 innings, striking out 20, and walking 20. His WHIP is 1.352, and he is allowing 7 hits/9 IP. The game I am reviewing took place on May 14th, as the Stars visited the Mississippi Braves. Huntsville does not participate in milb.tv, so I am restricted to games where they are on the road against an opponent that does broadcast their games through milb.tv. The line: Taylor Jungmann won this game to go 3-4 on the season, completing 6 innings without allowing a run. He gave up four hits, walked four batters, and struck out two. This is the second time that Jungmann has faced the Braves, his last start on April 27th. In that game, Jungmann took the loss allowing 8 runs (7 earned) in 2 2/3 IP. Impression: This marks the first time I have seen Taylor pitch since becoming a member of the Brewers organization. Living outside of Dallas, I was afforded the opportunity to see him pitch as a member of the Texas Longhorns several times. The pitcher I saw on the mound tonight did not have the command, or the makeup that I'd seen when Taylor pitched in college. Most noticeably, his fastball velocity is down 5-6 mph from where he was at his peak. Taylor struggled with his command, especially in the first two innings. He threw 16 pitches in the first, 9 of which were balls, and 12 pitches in the second inning, 7 of which were balls. His fastball in the first two frames topped out at 90 mph. For the six innings the 6'6" Jungmann was on the mound, he threw a total of 89 pitches, of which 50 were thrown for strikes. There was no on screen display of pitch velocity, but going by the announcers, it looks like his fastball topped out at 91, maybe 92 mph this evening. Not only was his velocity down, but he was having a hard time placing his fastball, missing his spots frequently (especially early). Twice he walked players he was ahead on 1-2. Multiple times he went to a full 3-2 count. Jungmann was helped out by some excellent defense, turning double plays in the second and third innings (4-6-3), and another on a bouncer to the mound in the 6th (1-6-3). Jungmann showed his athleticism in the fifth inning, knocking down a soft fly ball to the first base side that would have likely resulted in an infield hit. Jungmann was able to recover the ball, and flip to the first baseman for the out. Though Taylor's numbers have improved dramatically since coming off the DL (2-1, 19 IP, 1.89 ERA, 1.105 WHIP), he's still not pitching at the level you'd expect from a first rounder. During the broadcast, the announcer for the Braves mentioned that Jungmann had lost some feeling in two of his fingers before going on the DL, and was experimenting with a new fastball grip. That's a possible explanation for the drop in velocity and strike out rate. In his last start May 19th against the Montgomery Biscuits, he did not strike out a single batter in 7 innings pitched. Time will tell if he's able to regain velocity, or improve his command, but I am somewhat concerned by what I saw in tonight's game. Jungmann clearly lacked a put away pitch. Additionally, both his curveball and changeup were somewhat inconsistent the few times he showed it (though one of his strikeouts was on a nice changeup). It did appear to me that the fifth and sixth innings were his strongest. He seemed to attack the hitters more, and his fastball was placed more consistently along the outside of the strike zone. I feel that he could have pitched the seventh inning if needed. He did not appear winded. Up next: Taylor Jungmann is scheduled to start on the road against the Tennessee Smokies, Saturday the 25th (5:15 PM CT). Tennessee does participate in milb.tv, so this game is available for viewing.