Matt Breen

Whole lotta talk by Greinke about Free Agency: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/141972243.html No agent until after the season. Sounds like he really likes Milwaukee, but he also sounds intrigued by free agency.

Welcome to the Brewer all disappointment team. The team consists of players who spent most, if not all of their career in the minors. Each was, at one time, considered a top prospect. I've tried to stick to guys who actually earned the 'top prospect' tag - and not just a high draft pick. But I do have some of the latter, just to fill out the team. I've limited it to the last 20-25 years. I'm sure I've missed quite a few guys, so add them if you want. Here you go - with commentary: C - Angel Salome - Some gaudy averages (.415 at Helena, .360 at Huntsville) couldn't overcome personal issues. 3 ABs for Milwaukee in 2008 was the high point. Just released by Seattle. Still only 25, so you never know. C - Lou Palmisano - .391 rookie ball BA was the high point. The Captain topped out at AA. 1B - Billy Joe Robidoux - 468 ABs, 5 HR and a .209 BA in the majors. Sad results from a guy with a .300+ average in the minors. Billy Joe feasted in batter friendly parks (El Paso, Denver). Was never a power guy, but we always thought he'd hit. 1B - Joey Meyer - Dude hit 29 HR in less than 300 ABs at Denver in 1987. Power galore, but it didn't make him a major league hitter. In 474 ABs in the bigs he ended up with a .716 OPS. He never really got the chance after that. 1B - Brad Nelson - Just never quite got there. Perhaps he never got the chance. At 29, he's probably done. Maybe a cup of coffee or two is in the cards, but so far, he's topped out at 28 big league at bats (with only 2 hits). 2B - Hernan Iribarren - the Hurricane had an eye popping .439 BA in rookie ball. But that was the highlight. He hit for a decent average, but with no pop, he was nothing more than a middling prospect. His inability to play shortstop probably kept him from being a serviceable big league utility guy. He's 27, so he might manage to get back to the show. He did get 27 scattered big league at bats with Milwaukee. SS - Danny Klassen - hit .331 at AA in 1997 before being lost to Arizona in the expansion draft. He only hit .226 over 261 major league at bats, never being more than a utility guy. 3B - Antone Williamson - the 4th pick overall in the 1994 draft (thanks, Sal!). Williamson was out of baseball by age 26. He did manage 54 ABs in the big league, but he never hit for power or average. Plus he was stiff in the field. He always showed good plate discipline, but that was about it. CF - Dave Krynzel - 48 major league at bats. Never quite figured out how to hit. OF - Ken Felder - I hesitate to include him, because he was never really very good. But the former #1 was consistently bad throughout his minor league career. It ended at at age 25, topping out at AAA. The power never really developed as Felder never had very good plate discipline. A .243 BA and a .732 OPS is not what you expect from a #1 pick. OF - Chad Green - another former #1. Green had one skill - speed. Too bad he couldn't hit for average or power or take a walk. Like Felder, he never really was considered that good at any point of his minor league career. P - Mark Rogers - still has time. Injuries have been brutal. Has shown flashes of greatness. Let's hope. P - Jose Capellan - so much for the 100 mph fastball. Never really developed into anything more than an erratic bullpen guy. P - Mike Jones - showed flashes of brilliance, but injuries ended it all. Everyone wanted so bad for Jones to make it. A shame he never got to the bigs - even for a day. P - Manny Parra - Still has time, but has never really put it all together. Injuries have been a big factor. P - Ben Hendrickson - Big Ben's curveball just wasn't consistent enough to make it in the bigs. His lifetime record is 1-10 with a 7.41 ERA. And we all miss his dad flaming anyone who questioned Ben's ability. P - Will Inman - still time for Will, but scouts called this one. He just never quite had the velocity that was needed at the higher levels. Injuries have hurt him too. Still only 25, so you never know. P - Nick Neugebauer - Classic 'what if' case. Neugie got hurt and his career was done at 24. Showed amazing strikeout ability in the minors. Started 14 games for Milwaukee in 2001-02. Could have been special. P - Kyle Peterson - another pitcher with a career that ended on the DL. Peterson was in the Brewer rotation at age 23, then out of baseball at 25. Please add others. I thought it was fun looking back at some of these guys.

I was surprised he actually got some ABs. I'd forgotten all about that.

Seattle has released one of our former hot prospects, Angel Salome. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/03/minor-moves-ruiz-meloan.html Forgive me for making this its own post - I couldn't find the old alumni thread or whatever that was.

The guy had 200 HR and a .798 OPS in a tough hitters era. Two all-star appearances. Not too bad of a career. The only big question about his career is why did the Pilots let him run 21 times in 1969. He was 31, and never had more than 3 SB in year. Predictably, he was caught more than he was successful. 10 stolen bases to 11 caught stealing.

I think McCutchen is great. He's only 25. It's good for Pittsburgh to lock up a guy who is something special, especially during his prime years. I remember in the 2005 draft I would have been happy with him instead of Braun - my top pick was Ryan Zimmerman. I guess any of them would have been fine to have. I really thought McCutchen was going to have a monster year in 2011 after he started out so good. I think he had around a .900 OPS as the all-star break - then struggled in the second half. Good deal for Pittsburgh. I think they locked up a guy who is going to be great.

John Sickels has posted a Mock Draft that he and Matt Garrioch just did. http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/3/5/2844620/2012-baseball-mock-draft Here's the guys they picked for us: 27) Brewers (Matt): Thee Brewers have an improving system and with two first round picks back to back, they could get some impact. A player that reminds me some of their ace, Zach Greinke, is Clate Schmidt. He has a easy delivery with good command and very good stuff. I think he has been a little over-looked and the Brewers should be happy with him at 27. Clate Schmidt, RHP, Georgia HS 28) Brewers (John): Schmidt hasn't received as much attention as some guys, but I agree, he could easily shoot up draft boards this spring. I keep considering Courtney Hawkins, and it's time to pull the trigger on him with Milwaukee's next choice. He features tremendous power potential and the other tools are good, too, plus he adds a potential impact outfield bat to a system that needs one. Courtney Hawkins, OF, Texas HS.

I would be okay with Grienke, Yo and Narveson - then stacking up one or two of the young guys, or a one-year type free agent (like teams have done with Edwin Jackson). Remember, Wolf has a $2 million buyout, so keeping him, in effect, costs $8 million. While I don't think that's the best option - it is an option if you don't like what else is on the market. I'd like Marcum back, but I don't know if we can afford him if we resign Greinke.

This was pretty perfect, by the way.

I was thinking he'd get $10 million a so for four years. Seems like quite an overpay. $15 million annually just seems like too much. I think the guy is an exceptional player, but I don't know if they'll get their money out of this one. I bet guys like Montero and Napoli are thanking the Cardinals for setting the catcher market that high. Both those guys should rake in huge contracts if they repeat their 2012 performances.

I love these photos. Keep them coming.

Disciples of Uecker have a nice look at D'Vontrey. I never really thought much of him, but he sounds pretty intriguing. Wonder what others who have seen him think of his future. http://disciplesofuecker.com/prospect-profile-of-dvontrey-richardson/

Braun will never be fully 'exonerated' in the eyes of most people until he has some reasonable explanation why the samples came out the way they did. To question the process it was handled is fine and gets him off his suspension, but most of the facts don't necessarily explain the test results. The facts are that the samples didn't appear to be tampered with, and most experts feel the samples would be fine, even after the 2 days in the collector's home. If Ryan's team can come out and say, "We were able to recreate the elevated testosterone levels by doing X, Y and Z. We are not sure if this is how they got this high, but it is our main theory, since we don't know exactly what was done with the samples once they left the ballpark." Will Carroll has alluded to 'repeatable results' - but we really don't know what was done to get the 'repeatable results'. I'm surprised Braun's team hasn't explained this aspect of their defense. If the 'repeatable results' are clear and believable - example, if they said, "When we leave a sample sitting in 70 degree temperature for 24 hours, then move it to a refrigerator for 20 hours, then shake the samples vigorously, then transport them on a plane for two days, it causes a spike in testosterone levels. We did this test five times and got it to come up bad each time." Something like that people could believe. Now if it's something like, "If you put the samples in an oven at 450 degrees for 20 hours" - then you're talking about someone deliberately doing something to the samples to make them come out badly. This isn't flying for most people. I think most people simply don't believe that the 'collector' would have done anything deliberate to mess with the samples. Now could he accidentally have done something? I think that's more understandable. Could he have accidentally left them out of the fridge for 44 hours? I think most people can believe that could happen. And if you can show how an accident like that would help create the high test levels, it's something most people could believe. The collector might just be trying to cover his butt if he made a mistake in the storage. That is something people can believe. But someone sabotaging or tampering with Braun's sample just doesn't sound believable to most people. I have to stress that this really, really sucks for Braun. No matter what he does, he'll be guilty in the eyes of many people. The biggest crime is that this ever came out. Ryan Braun, or any baseball player, should benefit from the strict testing process. He called into question that process - which is his right. He was smart to do so. And again, it's his right. Following every step of the process is essential to making the process a success. Deviating from the process should NEVER be done - or the results tossed. But another part of the process is the confidentiality. That we are even talking about this is sad, because this shouldn't have come to light. Braun or any other ball player should be given the benefit of the doubt in this situation. But people know too much to suspend judgement. Sadly, it should never have come out. I hope Braunie can mount a better defense. Perhaps he's waiting for the arbitrator to release his notes (assuming those are made public). Maybe he's waiting for the arbitrator to explain the situation - and in doing so, it might actually explain some of the issues more clearly.

It's just speculation, but I would hope the scouting work Greinke is doing - no matter how simple - will encourage him to want to stay in Milwaukee. Zack seems like the kind of guy that gets bored, and if he can be engaged in other ways, I would hope that would make him more comfortable in the organization. I think hanging with a smart guy like Counsel would be good for him. I really see Zack as a key to continuing success for this club (beyond 2012). I think we will be in the thick of things this year, but Greinke and Gallardo would give us a top of the rotation that can compete with most teams for the next five years. Both are young and in their prime.

I'm okay with Peralta that low because prior to 2011 he never really put things together is such as a way that indicated he was more than just a guy. Sure he showed some flashes of brilliance. Sure he had good tools. But last year was the first time he really put his game together and displayed the ability and success we hoped from him. It was great to see him get better even as he moved up to AAA, but I can see how some will be a bit skeptical. As for Jungmann and Bradley - like you said, can't really argue about guys who haven't played pro ball yet. To me the thing that's exciting is that Peralta, Jungmann and Bradley all can really climb the list with a successful 2012.

John Sickels did his Top 120 Prospects list: http://www.minorleagueball.com/2012/2/24/2821479/minor-league-ball-baseball-top-120-prospects-for-2012 Brewers have four guys in the lower end of the list: Peralta: 100 Thornberg: 104 Bradley: 113 Jungmann: 119

That guy has got to have one of the most unfortunate names ever...

They released a photo of the 'Collector' delivering the sample to FedEx on that Monday. http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n601/reillymcshane/braunsample.jpg

Chris Dickerson Tweet today: "Physicals this morning. Is is bad that i Took my urine test and then asked for the #FedEx tracking number? #exonerated"

Heyman says Braun is the victim. Stories are swaying toward Ryan's side of things. No one is saying Braun is 100% clean - just that there were serious flaws in the process and, therefore, Braun needs to be seen as innocent in this instance. http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/story/17426972/system-works-as-it-should-but-braun-is-still-a-victim

i think it's been reported by 'inside' sources that no one has ever beaten MLB in this situation (until now). Nothing, that i know of, has been officially released by baseball or any player. I think it's just multiple news outlets getting the 'inside' info from baseball.

Braunie did well. Categorically denied taking anything wrong. Would like to have heard a few things (like others have alluded to), such as 'I offered a DNA test to confirm the urine was mine' (I don't know if this is true, but it's been reported), or 'I passed a lie detector test when asked if I had taken anything wrong' or 'we were able to show the arbitrator how the levels could be so high by recreating the situation'. However, I understand he might not be able to say some of these things. He was great in saying things like 'I respect the game and the testing process, and I'm not going to break the confidentiality of the process' and 'I've had to endure people lying and speculating about what I did, so I'm not going to do the same about others.' He came across confident in his innocence, yet he showed some definite humility and strain. I find it interesting that he's 'keeping his options' open legally - meaning he can go after baseball and the people involved in the testing if he wants. I wonder if that's a warning shot at MLB, saying 'if you keep coming after me, I'll do the same right back'. Not perfect, but it was very good.

Rosenthal actually has a fair minded article on the Braun situation. http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/ryan-braun-wins-appeal-on-50-game-suspension-how-did-mlb-case-fall-apart-022312

Yeah, he really does sound confident. He's saying things like "media, stop calling it a technicality when it was science" and so forth. Really smacking back at people. Good.

Interesting question: what if Braun sues MLB? Should he? The guy was a squeaky clean prior to this. He'd just won the MVP award. That's got to be worth a lot in endorsements, personal appearances, etc., on a national level. But no one was going to touch him after what happened (at least not beyond the Wisconsin market). And going forward, who wants to employ him as a spokesperson or whatever? He's not the MVP - he's the MVP who almost got suspended by MLB. You think Wheaties or Friday's or whomever wants that around the neck of the person they pay six or seven figures to endorse their products. I feel bad because it really screws his chances to make himself a national brand. Oh well, he's cleared to play. That's the important thing.