colbyjack

I really think the only reason everyone seems so surprised by the money that was handed out because it all came down to one day. In the past these signings would have still happened, they would have just been spread out more. It shouldn't be a surprise that every single first-round pick signed, including the sandwich picks, as that is usually the case every year. Teams want to sign their picks and the players taken that early want to sign, knowing getting that kind of money is a once in a lifetime opportunity (usually). The highest unsigned player is Josh Fields of Georgia, the 5th overall selection in the 2nd round. He will return to Georgia for his senior year and see if he can get back on track. As of right now, the '08 draft class isn't anywhere near last year's class when it comes to the depth in short relievers, and with a good spring Fields could put himself back in the middle of the first round. Hunter Morris is the only other unsigned 2nd rounder. There were 4 unsigned 3rd rounders, so there will only be 6 compensatory picks due to the new draft pick compensation rules. And I'm waiting to hear if the Brewers managed to sign anyone else. I'll be sure to share that info when and if I get it.

I wanted to follow up my own post to point out just how good the OF depth remains in the system based on the representatives on the Power 50. I know a few years ago the OF depth was pretty dreadful, with the organization making it a point to address that situation. I think its safe to say that the team can start to address other areas (pitching) in the coming years when it comes to scouting and player development. Left Field Mat Gamel Cole Gillespie Matt LaPorta Yes, I put Gamel in left field, because I do think at some point he is going to have to move off of third base, even if his defense does dramatically improve (hello, Ryan Braun). LaPorta may be Fielder's successor at first base some day as much as the Brewers made it be known that they intended to groom LaPorta as a LF for now. Gillespie did play CF a little last year in Helena, and is the best bet of the three to move to a different spot in the OF (keep in mind that Gillespie also played the infield in college, and while it isn't likely that he moves back to the IF, the possibility does remain). Center Field Darren Ford Brent Brewer Michael Brantley Charlie Fermaint Lee Haydel Steve Moss Again, yes I did include a player that currently plays a different position (Brewer), but I always felt that Brewer would eventually have to move to the OF. Definitely not something to worry about now, or for another year or two, and hopefully he proves me wrong and stays at SS where his value is definitely greater. Fermaint is slowly slipping away if Moss isn't already there, while Haydel is years away. This group I feel the least confident about, as Brantley to me probably isn't more than a 4th OF (nothing wrong with that), although Ford has offered a few surprises along the way despite slumping recently in BC. Right Field Brendan Katin Lorenzo Cain Steve Chapman Caleb Gindl Itaniel Arias Guzman Katin has big-time pop, but hasn't been able to sustain a very high average and Ks a ton. Cain could play CF, and Chapman could play any of the three spots. Gindl and Guzman are obviously years away. As always, not all of these guys are going to pan out, quite frankly they could all fizzle before they reach the big-leagues, but if the organization can manage to develop even 2-3 of these players, that is going to add to an already predominantly homegrown team.

I've been a big fan of Cole Gillespie ever since the Brewers drafted him. He was the first (and only) player/prospect who has graced my avatar, even if that was only for a brief time. I know Jim has commented several times over the course of the season in the link report about how Gillespie has had a solid year, even if he wasn't hitting very well over the first several months. He has been hitting extremely well the last two months, and even if his season long numbers aren't anywhere near the numbers he put up last year at Helena (which would be hard to do), he should finish the season in a positive manner. Here's his season long numbers: .258/.376/.408 Here's his numbers from July & August: .333/.443/.487 His slugging numbers over the course of the season are down, although that figure is largely tied into how many base hits he has had overall. His OBP has been solid all year long. Even with some sagging numbers, his SLG is still 28th best among FSL league regulars this year (his OBP is 12th best). As I mentioned in the P50 blurb, he has also done a very good job improving his plate discipline as the season has wore on: Month, BB:K: April, 10:23 May, 18:21 June, 15:19 July, 16:10 August, 7:7 Leading to 66:80 overall, in 380 ABs, which is starting to even out and look more like the 40:34 ratio he posted last summer. So don't jump off the Gillespie bandwagon quite yet, or at least re-familiarize yourself with the good season he is having in a ballpark and overall league that typically surpresses offensive numbers. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Brewers challenge him with a spot in the Arizona Fall League, and he seems to be part of an offensive wave that includes Mat Gamel and Matt LaPorta, among others, that could be knocking at the big-league door in 2009.

biedergb makes some very good points. Teams that don't pay money for the best players available eventually get burned. I think it is just that much more apparent this year given the universal signing date since we have so many unsigned players floating out there, but this system really hasn't changed in the last 5-7 years. Teams like the Yankees and Red Sox are somewhat sticking it to MLB by not adhering to the recommendations, as they are the teams paying the bulk of the luxury taxes that is built into the current CBA. The Mets don't push it as much since Omar Minaya is closer to the league offices, but they're another team that certainly doesn't shy away from big bonuses, whether it be tied to the draft or with international free agents. The Tigers are somewhat on their own in this regard, and I give them a lot of credit by taking the players and spending the amount of $$$ necessary to sign them. Keep in mind, the slotting system is more of a recommendation than a rule. Most teams comply (the Brewers being one of those teams), but obvously a handful of them do not. And the Royals still got a fine player in Moustakas, if they can sign him of course. If the Royals wouldn't have taken him 2nd, the Cubs were prepared to take him 3rd.

I'm in for one ticket. My wife and child may accompany to the tailgate, but probably not to the game, as it is past our son's bedtime. Jamie, I know I mentioned bringing some grilling items when we met a few weeks ago, but I work that day until 3pm, and probably wouldn't get there until 4pm or so, so let me know if you have the tailgate part of it covered or if you still need me to bring anything in particular. I'll PM you about payment.

The Detroit Tigers deserve a lot of props over the past few years for not allowing signability to get in the way of their player development and scouting. The past three years they have drafted and signed Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller and now Rick Porcello. That's quite the haul given the slots they were picking at, and seem to be poised to be a very good team for a while. They have also reportedly come to above-slot deals with Casey Crosby and Cale Iorg.

I think Texas will get Beaven signed. I think most people have been surprised how long it has taken the Rangers in particular to sign their early picks, but that may have to do with them playing the waiting game with Julio Borbon, a Scott Boras advisee and a player that really could benefit from going back for his senior year since he missed at least a month of his junior year due to a broken ankle and wasn't the same player upon his return. The Yankees and Red Sox reportedly have come to terms with several of their draft picks, but are just waiting to make the announcement. Some news and notes from a couple of prospect publications: http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/draft/2007/notebooks/allansimpson/notebook_81307.aspx http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/?p=196

No news, as the Brewers scouting dep't. keeps this info pretty quiet. I do know they were hoping to sign Scarpetta depending on how he performed over the summer. The slotting system isn't new, that's been going on for a few years. Many agents and players are trying to push teams to get slot value based on last year's numbers, not this year's (which went down 10%). I think many people expected a lot of the early picks to hold out as long as possible, knowing that they had until the August 15th deadline. I don't think anyone is necessarily upset at anyone else, it's just working the system, as time is the best tool when it comes to negotiations in an attempt to make the other side sweat. The sandwich round next year won't be as long as it was this past year, as the classifications for Type A and Type B FAs are going to change heading into this offseason. I believe Type A FAs used to be the top 30% of players at their respective positions, which will be changed to the top 20%. Type B FAs used to be the top 30-50%, which will now be the top 20-40% IIRC. That means the picks will be reduced by roughly 20%, in theory, which means that the 34 picks from last year could be cut back to the 25-28 range. Of course it also depends on the FA pool, which I'm not in tune with. Having the new unsigned draft pick compensation though at Boy Jeenius noted could be interesting. The talent that goes back into next year's draft vs. the picks caused by those unsigned players could be close to a wash. It should be an interesting couple of days.

Some fine Simpsons quotes shared already. One of my all-time favorite quotes is one that MassHaas occasionally shares from Lionel Hutz: Mr. Simpson. This is the most blatent case of false advertising since my suit against the movie The Neverending Story.

The Helena announcer noted at the beginning of the game that Gindl was a late scratch due to illness, the same illness that seems to be sweeping through the H-Crew clubhouse, which is why Wilson started the game in LF (he was supposed to start at 1B). Although I do share your sadness.

As always, I love listening to Pioneer League baseball. R.J. Seidel goes 3 strong innings, with Jose Garcia coming on in relief. Seidel gave up one hit, to the first batter he faced, and quickly settled down to cruise through his start. He really made quick work of the Owlz, who boast a few of the league's best hitters. Eric Farris is really hitting the ball much better. I was reminded earlier this week just how good he has been with a wood bat when I noticed he was named to the All-League team at 2B last summer while playing in the Cape Cod League. Helena announcer Steve Wendt just commented how Farris and Wheeler are easily the best defensive 2B and 3B in the Pioneer this league. Farris may have been overdrafted a little, but the Brewers are really loaded at 2B at every single level (Crabbe, Iribarren, Bell, Green, Farris).

I had a chance today to sneak out of work for an hour or two to swing by Miller Park and see the scouting event Brewers area scout Harvey Kuenn had organized, collecting the best '08s and '09s in Wisconsin. Sam Munson to no surprise showed the best bat, with plenty of hard hit balls to all parts of the stadium. I only stuck around for BP and not for the game action, so I wasn't able to see any of the pitchers. There were about 10-12 scouts/college coaches in attendance. The practices for the Aflac All-American Classic are in full swing, with a few reports from the Perfect Game staff via PG Crosschecker on the first few days of practice: http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/showcase/2007/aflac/aflac07_day1.aspx http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/showcase/2007/aflac/aflac07_day2.aspx Don't forget, the game is televised on Fox Sports on Saturday afternoon. While I will be sure to add my impressions from the game in the next week or two, my column on PGCC this week focused on the best players from the Cape this summer: http://www.pgcrosschecker.com/crackthebat/patrick_ebert/07_08_09_cream_ofthe_cape/ Thanks to MassHaas for helping me get a good look at some of the best players on the Cape.

I think it's hard to call Gamel a poor outfielder since we have never seen him play the OF (and I'm guessing most of us have never seen him play 3B). As I stated before, either in this thread or somewhere else, it was speculated that Gamel would eventually move to left field, where it was expected he could more than handle the position. He's a good overall athlete, as again, I don't know why him not being able to play third base (and I'm not saying he can't) immediately means he's a future DH. That's quite a leap. We were talking about the same thing with Braun prior to this year. He's made his share of miscues this year, but I think now that everyone has had a chance to see him play has quieted the whole idea of him moving at all. The same goes for Weeks before that. lexi is right that you can't make assumptions like this based on box scores, although the insane number of errors Gamel has can't simply be chalked up to bad hops and the like. As for Billy Hall in the outfield, it was stated by one of the Brewers coaches (maybe Davey Nelson last year) that it would take Hall a good three years to become accustomed to the position. Remember when the Brewers tried to move Paul Molitor to CF way back when, thinking that his natural athleticism would allow him to easily make the switch? That didn't happen, although the team was committed to keeping him out there before he was lost to injury (allowing Stormin' Gorman to move back to center). The IF and OF are two different monsters, but covering the gaps in CF is a lot more difficult that doing so in LF or RF. All of those years Bill Hall spent learning the nuances of the infield will have to now be somewhat erased. Moving to a corner spot isn't as difficult, although I know it took Corey Hart some time to get used to being out there as opposed to 3B or 1B. Gamel may not be the same kind of athlete Hart is, but few are, and again, I don't see him having any problem making the switch. I've guessed before that the switch would have already happened if it weren't for the OF glut from top to bottom in the Brewers system. There's no need to move him now, although that could change next year at AA.

Adding onto the thoughts on Nelson, for me it's not just because he's an impending FA, but he has taken so long to enjoy success as he moves up the ladder. A year ago many of us still considered Nelson a legitimate prospect, meaning in the top 20-25 range, but he didn't succeed at AAA, prompting a bump back down to AA, where he didn't hit that great either. The Brewers moved him back to 1B almost conceding that he didn't have a future with the big-league club given the presence of Fielder. And as nice as his season is, the PCL really favors hitting, while the Southern League and FSL favors pitching, and Katin has been hitting for power in those two leagues the past two years, as his development hasn't slowed one bit. Just take a peak at his XBH the past two years. I see no reason why he won't continue to move up, and may get a cup of coffee if the team needs a RH power bat in a pinch. Plus, he is a pretty good overall athlete, at least surprisingly so for his listed height/weight, with a good arm, so he's not a liability, or at least he has a defensive home. Nelson is probably a better fit with an AL club, even at the AA/AAA level. I don't mean to make it sound like I'm down on Nelson, because I still hold out hope for him that he somehow can re-find the stroke that made him such an exciting prospect a few short years ago (plus, he along with Jason Belcher were the first players I ever interviewed). I don't think many people think Katin will be an everyday RF. Of course I hope he will be, but it's clear some of his other numbers and splits suggest that he has a lot to work on to be pencilled in as a future starter. He has more of a future with the Brewers than Nelson does though, even if Nelson remains in the organization.

Their IF is pretty loaded with young talent too, with Jackson, Hudson, Drew and Tracy/Reynolds around the diamond. They seem to be relatively set for the future at C as well with guys like Montero & Snyder. AZ could be good for a long time as long as they collect a few more quality arms, and even then they have some pretty good talent there as well.

The outfield prospect I would love to pluck away from the D-Backs is Carlos Gonzalez. I thought of him a week ago when Justin Upton was called up. Upton and Young aren't going anywhere, and now Byrnes isn't either. http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Carlos%20Gonzalez&pos=OF&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=471865 He hasn't walked that much in his minor league career, but the guy can flat-out hit, and is one of the more exciting players in the minors. He was the MVP of the Midwest League in 2005, and not only has a good bat, but has a very strong arm and is a prototype RF. Now, I'm not sure if there is a match between the two teams, as I'm sure the D-Backs would be looking for something fairly big in return for Gonzalez, but he should definitely be a player on the radar.

The new Power 50 has been released and is available for your reading pleasure. Debate away...

Final: Huntsville 6, Mississippi 5 Huntsville Box Score: Katin collects two hit, including his 19th home run of the year, always an impressive feat in the Southern League. Plenty of happy lines for the Stars offense on the night, including a big 3-hit, 4 RBI night for the surging Adam Heether, who also draws a walk. Steve Sollmann also with 3 hits, as the Stars pound out 15 hits in total. Derek Miller picks up his 4th consecutive win with another strong performance despite giving up 2 solo shots. Luis Pena picks up his 7th save on the year, his 5th in his last 9 appearances. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_04_hunaax_msbaax_1 Huntsville Game Log: Despite staying hot with 2 hits, Iribarren gets thrown out twice on the basepaths, once trying to steal, the other time trying to stretch a double into a triple. Overall Don Money definitely has carried his aggressive approach on the basepaths to the Stars, which likely cost them a few extra runs in this one. They made up for this in the 7th, taking advantage of an error and a few walks, scoring 4 runs in the frame, 3 of which courtesy of Adam Heether's base-clearing triple. Vince Perkins makes quick work of the Braves in the 7th, always a nice way to respond to a big inning. Things get a little hairy in the 9th, as Luis Pena allows a couple of Bo Hall's inherited runners to score, but the Stars squeeze by. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_04_hunaax_msbaax_1

Final: West Virginia 1, Rome 3 West Virginia Site Game Summary: POWER DROP THIRD STRAIGHT Brent Brewer hit his third homerun of the road trip at State Mutual Stadium on Saturday night, but it wasn't enough for the West Virginia Power to overcome Rome right-hander Jamie Richmond who retired 15 batters in a row and sent the Power to their third straight loss as Rome took the second game of the series 3-1. Brewer hit his homerun in the top of the third inning to give the Power their first lead of the series. The homer was his ninth of the season. With two outs and runners on first and third in the bottom of the fifth, Brad Miller had trouble handling a ground ball off the bat of Yohan Silva which allowed Chase Fontaine to score the tying run. Fontaine struck again in the seventh with a one out triple. Robert Marcial then executed the squeeze as he laid a bunt down the first base line and scored Fontaine to give the Braves the lead. Rome added an insurance run in the eighth inning on a two out RBI single from Tyler Flowers. Jamie Richmond (6-5) allowed a run on six hits over seven and two thirds to get the win, Tyler Wilson (5) held the Power scoreless through an inning and a third to secure the save and Alex Periard (5-5) was tagged with the loss despite an outstanding performance. Periard allowed two runs, one earned on three hits over seven innings.' The Power fell to 67-43 overall and 19-23 in the second half, while the Braves improved to 52-60 overall and 23-19 in the second half with the win. Andrew Lefave and Brent Brewer both had multi-hit games for the Power. Brewer went 2-for-4 with a single and a homerun while Lefave went 2-for-4 as well with a pair of base-hits. The Power will continue the four game series against the Rome Braves at State Mutual Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Power will start right hander Chris Toneguzzi (4-2, 6.23) and the Braves will counter with right hander Chris Vines (1-0, 2.00). The first pitch is scheduled for 2:00 PM. West Virginia Box Score: Brent Brewer with 2 hits tonight, including his 9th dinger of the year, which accounted for the only Power run of the game as the bats continue to be silent. The lack of offense spoils another strong start by Alex Periard, who goes 7 innings to pick up the hard-luck loss. http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2007_08_04_wvaafx_romafx_1 West Virginia Game Log: The Power had a few chances to score more runs in the first three innings, and manage only 2 baserunners from the 4th inning on. http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_04_wvaafx_romafx_1

Final: Vero Beach 4, Brevard County 5 Brevard County Site Game Summary: Link, text follows http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_wra&gid=2007_08_04_vbdafa_breafa_1&did=t503&sid=t503 Gamel lifts Manatees Mat Gamel stroked a go-ahead two-run single in the seventh inning as Brevard County edged visiting Vero Beach, 5-4, on Saturday. Anderson De La Rosa and Darren Ford singled before Lorenzo Cain's run-scoring base hit in the seventh cut the Manatees' deficit to 4-3. Gamel followed with a single to right field off reliever Chris Kelly (3-4). It was the only hit for the 22-year-old third baseman, who has homered twice and driven in five runs in his last three games. Chris Errecart's run-scoring single put the Manatees (23-16) on the board in the first and Cole Gillespie added an RBI groundout in the sixth. Reliever Josh Wahpepah (8-4) won his seventh straight decision after walking four and fanning two in three hitless innings before Kevin Roberts fanned one in a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save. Brevard County starter Rafael Lluberes yielded four runs -- three earned -- on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts in five frames. Kelly (3-4) gave up a run on three hits with a strikeout in 1 2/3 innings. Devil Rays starter Jeff Kamrath surrendered two runs on three hits and four walks while fanning two in 5 2/3 frames. Sergio Pedroza slugged a three-run homer, his team-leading 16th, for the Devil Rays (10-28). Brevard County Boxscore: No extra base hits for the Manatees hitters, but Gamel is on base three times, and Cain chips in a couple of hits and a couple of runs. Josh Wahpepah and Kevin Roberts do an excellent job pitching 4 combined scoreless innings to allows the 'Tees to win this game late. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?t=g_box&gid=2007_08_04_vbdafa_breafa_1&did=t503&sid=t503 Brevard County Game Log: The 7th inning was the big one for Brevard County in this game, with Mat Gamel getting the big hit driving in 2 of the 3 runs that came in this frame. Wahpepah and Roberts make quick work of Vero Beach in the 8th and 9th innings after the Manatees took the lead. http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t503&t=g_log&gid=2007_08_04_vbdafa_breafa_1

I can't really argue with your points Chris, but I brought that up to point out that Melvin still places a big priority on player development. Draft picks may be a heck of a lot more uncertain than relatively established prospects, but again, extra early draft picks add more talent to a system that has suddenly graduated and traded away a significant amount of talent.

Yeah, I don't agree with the idea that Gamel is a DH waiting to happen. I'm guessing Gamel may already be moved to LF if it weren't for the current glut of OFs throughout the Brewers system. He's a good enough athlete, and I'm not completely writing him off at 3B, but given the presence of Braun there's no reason to keep Gamel at 3B really other than the fact that they have nowhere else to go with him at this point in time, although at some point the organization is going to have to find a place for him elsewhere, regardless of that glut. The Huntsville and BC OFs are already full as it is (not to mention the WV and Helena OFs). And keep in mind that Gamel has been suggested to be a future LF ever since the Brewers drafted him.

The minor league tools didn't go three deep like the AL & NL tools did, otherwise I'm sure Gallardo would have been the 2nd or 3rd best pitching prospect. I just got my print edition of BA today, which contains all of the tools lists, so I'll add the best tools from the Brewers A-ballers here (and sorry about the formating above, I meant to have them broken down by paragraphs as I try to get used to the new forum): A Best Tools (FSL) Mat Gamel: Best strike-zone judgement Will Inman: Best breaking ball Alcides Escobar: Best defensive SS, Best IF arm A Best Tools (SAL) Mike Guerrero: Best managerial prospect In addition to the best tools, BA broke down the 10 best players at each respective position. With all of the recent promotions, only one Brewers farmhand was represented, Mat Gamel, who was ranked as the eighth best third base prospect in all of minor league baseball. Nice feature on Lou Palmisano as well as the focus of the AA breakdown.

BA has come out with their midseason grades for the best tools at the MLB, AAA and AA levels. I'm going to include the MLB ones here just so they're all in one place (and not to start another firestorm on the MLB forum given Yost's presence on this list). NL Best Tools Prince Fielder: Best power Ben Sheets: Best curveball, third best control Derrick Turnbow: Third best fastball Chris Capuano: Best pickoff move Francisco Cordero: Third best reliever Ned Yost: Third best manager AAA Best Tools (PCL) Ryan Braun: Best batting prospect, Most exciting player Yovani Gallardo: Best control AA Best Tools (SL) Manny Parra: Best pitching prospect The A+ and A best tools will be released early next week.

Pogo, nice job all around. I enjoyed you sharing your own opinion of the recent happenings on the farm. Pertaining to the organization having a sudden change in philosophy, I can't say I agree with that. One trade doesn't change everything immediately. The organization will continue to emphasize the importance of adding talent from within (at least they better, because they'll have to), from the bottom up, and Melvin has stated a few times in the past year that he may start to move some prospects for pieces to help propel the team to the promised land. Now, I agree that he seemed to give up a lot to get Linebrink, and that shock from the trade still hasn't wore off, especially since one of the pitchers (Thatcher) might have helpled the team just as much as Linebrink wil, and another (Inman) seemed to be poised to take over a spot in the rotation within the next 1-2 years, which will be right when the team is likely to lose Capuano and/or Sheets. Plus, I have mentioned several times over the years that a successful ballclub not only uses their farm system to develop their own big-leaguers, but to also use those resources to trade for proven commodities when the time is right. You can argue that the time wasn't right or that he gave up too much, but he clearly was making a move in an attempt to improve the team to the point that the playoffs seemed more likely for the big-league club, which of course is the ultimate goal for any GM. In addition, Melvin did state that a big reason he got Linebrink, or at least a reason that made it more appealing, was that he projects to be a Type A FA this offseason, openly stating that the value of early draft picks was big enough to make such a deal happen. The Oakland A's have made similar deals in the past, constantly recycling their prospects, if you will, via compensatory draft picks to bolster the big-league squad, even if those bolstering efforts are clearly temporary.