colbyjack

PG Crosschecker has updated their top 100 draft-eligible prospects today, with Lee Haydel checking in at #88 with this comment: The Brewers will make every effort to sign this draft-and-follow, who has added more power over the last year to go with his top-of-the-scale speed.

Thanks Minigoon. We'll see how that plays out, as it may mean that Macy is looking for a big bonus to keep him from improving his draft stock at a higher level of competition (although Penn State isn't exactly a perennial powerhouse). BA has some notes on Chad Robinson and Lee Haydel in their most recent draft dish. It's for subscribers only, so I'll paraphrase. Robinson hasn't been sharp as some of his teammates, pitching in a wood bat league (I wasn't aware of that). His velocity has returned to his pre-injury form, topping out at 94-95 and sitting in the low-90s. Haydel runs the 60-yard dash in 6.35 seconds (which we knew, but it's a nice reminder as to just how fast this young man is). Scouts weren't sold on him last spring because of his slash-and-dash approach, but he has worked hard to gain strength and is starting to drive the ball more. While raw at the plate, he has improved his recognition of breaking pitches.

For those questioning Wieters actual skills and ability, here are some comments on him from BA's most updated Draft Tracker: www.baseballamerica.com/t...nk=tracker Again, he's going to be good, real good, it's just a matter of how much you're willing to pay him.

We get a nice look at Mike Moustakas courtesy of BA's homepage today and the most recent Draft Tracker: http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/mmoustakas06428309mb.jpg A name that has been vaulting up draft charts this spring is Pennsylvania catcher Devin Mesoraco from Punxsutawney. I was waiting to bring his name up because he was my sleeper to watch at the catcher position for my upcoming draft preview story, but he clearly isn't a sleeper anymore with his name being tossed around now as a legitimate first-round possibility. Mesoraco is extremely athletic, with exciting tools and an impact bat. He's Craig Biggio-like in that he may be able to play a more dynamic position such as second base. Another comparison tossed around has been Eli Marrero given his overall versatility given his natural athleticism. I have heard that his commitment to Virginia is pretty strong, and solid hitting catchers the past few years (Charlie Cutler, Ed Easley) have seemed to slip past the pro ranks. However, Cutler and Easley were never considered for the first round, as that kind of money is incredibly hard to pass up for anyone.

I've ran a study or two myself breaking down the success rate of high school vs. college hitters and pitchers (and players in general). College players in every category have a great chance of making it to and having some kind of big-league career, while high school players have a higher rate of flaming out at the lower levels. But the success rate between college and high school players becoming established big-leaguers over a long period of time is closer than many people think. The gap between college and high school hitters is actually bigger than what people would think (HS outfielders in particular flame out at a very high rate, since they are often drafted for their tools, just like prep pitchers getting drafted for their golden arms -- yet inability to pitch).

I agree with fewgoodcards assessment of both Wieters and of the draft class as a whole. I'm not sure where anyone gets that this year's draft crop is one of the weakest in recent history. And Arod and/or Griffey aren't the greatest examples because those are two of the greatest players ever available in the history of the draft. What if Wieters turns out to be as productive as Jason Varitek? At #2 or #7, that's tough to pass on. you are nuts if you don't take him at 7 even if he may cost a little extra. A team may be nuts to pass on a talent like Wieters, but it won't cost "a little extra" to sign him http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

You're not crazy at all, as both Moskos and Detwiler have been tossed around these parts. I agree that if Scherzer re-enters the draft it increases the likelihood of one of those two guys falling to the Brewers pick.

The seventh slot is expected to be in the $2.25 million range, down from the $2.3 M the Dodgers gave Clayton Kershaw a year ago (the commissioner's office continues to cut back the signing bonus recommendations). Wieters could be looking for money similar to players like Alex Gordon (who signed for a $4M bonus in '05), or Stephen Drew ($4M bonus, contract guaranteed at $5.5M with additional $2M in incentives), so the money is substantial. If you want to cite that the team will have "extra" money for not having a second round pick (which would be the 72nd overall selection, which would be in the half-million dollar range), keep in mind that the team has three of the five best DFE candidates in the nation, and reportedly are serious about signing all three, which could collectively add up to $2M or more.

I haven't been watching as much college baseball in recent weeks for a couple of reasons. The first being that the Brewers have been far too much fun to follow to turn my attention away from the big-league team. The second is that many of the games being televised offer teams that I have already had a pretty good look at. Anyway, I did tape a Friday contest between Houston and Tulane from a couple of weeks ago that offered Houston ace Aaron Brown facing Tulane ace Sean Morgan. Aaron Brown A sinker-slider pitcher, Brown is very tall and rail think. It looks as though you could wrap your hand around his biceps. He needs to rely on control and inducing contact early in counts because he isn't going to blow anyone away, but his fastball had very nice dip to it and his slider showed nice bite. Not wicked bite like Morgan's slider, but good enough to induce plenty of weak ground balls. He's not an early round guy, but he could go in the 5-10 range. Sean Morgan I hadn't seen Morgan pitch since his freshman year. A former draft pick of the Brewers in the 2004 draft out of high school, Morgan was hailed for both his arm and his bat, and originally served as a closer and hitter for the Green Wave. He's starting now, but I think his future is in the bullpen. His delivery has been described as violent, which it most certainly is. He reminded me a lot of Derrick Turnbow. They aren't carbon copies of one another, but Morgan is similar in that his delivery is very max effort, with a lot of arm to it. He commanded his fastball very well, and despite giving up a couple of first-inning runs, the balls hit off of him weren't hit very hard at all, finding a few holes in the infield to go along with a bunt hit. He uncorked a few sliders which dove in the dirt just like Turnbow's. I'd love to see what he could do in the closer's role in which he would be allowed to uncork both his fastball and slider on every pitch, because I could easily see him being very dominant in this role. His fastball is heavy, and he too likely will induce a lot of weak ground balls. He gives up his fair share of dingers, but when you pitch aggressively with your fastball as Morgan does, that's going to happen. There are a few other interesting draft eligible players on the Tulane squad, such as Brad Emaus and Warren McFadden, and while both have some good tools, I would be a little surprised if either was selected before the fifth round. Emaus is a good, not great, all-around player and hitter, while McFadden has the potential to be dynamic, but his swing is way too long, and is going to lead to a ton of Ks if he doesn't find a way to shorten it. I also wanted to provide an update on UW-Stevens Point RHP Jordan Zimmerman. Here's his updated line on the year: 6-0, 2.17 ERA, 9 games (5 starts), 2 saves, 45.2 IP, 34 H, 52 K, 12 BB, .211 BAA Since my last update of Zimmerman (4/23) he has appeared in 3 games, going 2-0 with a save, allowing 4 ER in 15 IP, allowing 12 hits and 3 BB while striking out 20. His arm is going to be pretty fresh entering the summer given the relatively short schedule in D3 ball, not to mention his late start due to his injury (and the elements).

I have been very pleased by Zach Jackson so far. I don't think a lot of people consider him a legitimate option for the Brewers starting rotation, which I'm guessing has more to do with Gallardo, and possibly Villanueva, than anything else. So far, so good. Last year the walks were way up, and this year he has done a great job keeping both the walks and base hits against him down. Actually looking at the number of baserunners he has allowed, it is surprising to see his ERA as high as it is (3.61, which isn't high, but again there haven't been many baserunners against him). And he has kept up his ability to induce groundballs, which is always a good thing. We always knew he wouldn't have the great K rate, as despite having solid stuff he never struck out a ton of guys when he was in the Blue Jays system. Anyway, good stuff, nice to see yet another guy to be excited about, as the Brewers seem to be loaded with similar players (talent + production is always especially exciting).

David Rawnsley's column as provided by DAS1410 is dead-on. He just isn't himself right now, and he's struggling. The power is there, as he was locked in last summer and into the fall, but something happened this spring. Call it draftitis, or something, but the talent is still there, and if a scouting dep't. puts a higher value on what he has done over what he is currently doing, he could still get drafted higher in the first round. However, teams typically don't draft based on what a player has done, but what they are doing, because they are investing quite a lot of money in an already relatively unproven commodity. Lots of reports out there about just how good Scherzer was in his first outing. I think a lot of people have forgotten just how good Scherzer was entering his junior season last spring. A couple of minor injuries caused him to miss a few games, and his secondary stuff wasn't as sharp and he was throwing more in the 90-94 range than he was the 92-97 range. If he re-enters the draft, which I am starting to think he will, I would easily rank him the second-best player available. Keep in mind that the D-Backs have a new scouting director (former Brewers crosschecker Tom Allison replaced Mike Rizzo, who is now with the Nationals) who may not be as willing to give Scherzer the kind of money Rizzo knew it would take to sign the guy. I would be surprised to see the Royals dish out the same kind of money they did to Hochevar a year ago, but the history is now there, and it would be a great fit/boon for the Royals, particularly since Scherzer is from Missouri. Scherzer to Rizzo and the Nationals at #6 signing for money similar to what Andrew Miller got a year ago from the Tigers at #6 also wouldn't be surprising.

Blazer, do you reallly think Parker will go somewhere 1-6? I know he's shooting up charts this spring (a la Mark Rogers), but I never thought that the Brewers wouldn't even have a chance to draft this kid even if they wanted to.

It seems as though some prized talent being advised by Scott Boras may just fall to the Brewers first-round pick, and farther, most notably, Matt Wieters. Wieters is having a fine season, although expectations were very, very high for this young man. Despite posting .373/.507/.621 numbers this year, he's probably not in the Golden Spikes conversation, which doesn't put him on the same level as someone like Alex Gordon. Personally, whether or not that is the actual case, I think that's a mistake. Wieters is an incredible player, is going to be an impressive run producer at the big-league level and is going to stick behind the plate. Basically, he's a potential perennial All-Star as a catcher, and despite the Boras connection, he is the type of player that could very well be worth every penny. Just like Jered Weaver and Stephen Drew, who both fell in the 2004 draft. Now the question is, as a Brewers fan, would you scream until you were blue in the face to see the team draft Wieters? Keep in mind the team is not cheap when it comes to the draft, but they do adhere to the pre-determined slot values handed down from the commisioner's office, and have always been able to sign their first-round picks rather quickly (with the exception of Weeks). Or do you draft Wieters to call his bluff, offer him slot value, and hope he'll sign? Keep in mind there is now a mandatory, uniform signing date (August 15th), so negotiations wouldn't carry on needlessly. Plus, if the Brewers were unable to sign Wieters, they would receive a compensatory pick after the seventh slot pick in the 2008 draft. I wouldn't really use that as part of my approach, because the team would be passing on an excellent opportunity to add another impact player to the system not named Matt Wieters, but it is an improved consolation prize from the previous compensation system. For background, Matt Wieters entered this spring as my favorite player in this year's draft, and my #1 prospect while everyone else ranked David Price #1 (I have since changed by 1-2 rankings). I was a huge fan of his coming out of high school, and he has only gotten better at Georgia Tech. He's the type of hitter that could debut next spring at high-A, get bumped up to AA midseason, and find himself playing for your big-league ballclub at some point in 2009. When you couple the Brewers need for catching, even if you are the biggest Angel Salome fan in the world, it makes the decision that much more tempting. I don't see it happening, but if there were a player that I would campaign for the team to select in such a situation, it would be Wieters.

Let me know what you think of the designs below. I wanted the jersey design to look different enough from the softball shirts, since the softball players need some kind of perk for participating. Plus, removing the number from the front means less work for me (and Brian) when the orders start to come in. So, if you want one, make a post (including those that have expressed already) clearly stating your preferred name (I only have so much room, so consolidate if you have a long handle) and numbers. I think I'm going to put a deadline on this just so I'm not dealing with stragglers one-by-one. I'll open it up again at some point, but it is so much easier to handle these designs in bulk. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/softballshirt2.jpg http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/softballshirt-1.jpg

I might order one of those #9 Colbyjack shirts. I will gladly buy anyone I see at the stadium a beer if they're wearing a colbyjack shirt. I'm not sure why you would, but I would find it mildly amusing. I am going to work on a design for the shirt, as I think this should be different than the softball design. If there is a current design people really like, let me know, as I think the "good things come in 25's" shirt might be kind of fun to play off of. If you are interested in a shirt be sure to reply posting the name you want across the back with the corresponding number you would like within this thread, as I don't want to assume that the people who respond with "I do" wants to use their username, similar to the scenario brewers19 mentioned. I suppose I could just use the post total for the number. A rluzinski, #12,582 shirt might be in high demand, just like the Automator shirts as razzor suggested.

I just want to point out that Ford does get quite a bit of love around here. I think a lot of people were surprised that he was held back to repeat the low-A level to open the year. I understand the OF glut ahead of him, and personally felt Cole Gillespie needed to jump over someone (even if his bat has been slow to come around so far this year), but Ford would not have been my choice. He's the first candidate to move up to BC as soon as an opening presents itself. However, since you brought up the strikeouts, regardless of what kind of hitter he is, he really needs to cut down on the Ks. While the other numbers are nice, it is a little disturbing to me that he has not improved in this area, particularly since he is repeating the level.

I believe the idea of replacing Dessens with Gallardo was tossed around on the MLB forum a little bit, but that is a very good call igor. There's nothing wrong with having two guys in your bullpen that can give you longer innings, and the experience while being eased into a more prominent role can't hurt as long as the organization isn't sacrificing service time.

Jim Powell mentioned during the broadcast today that Laynce Nix was expected to join the Huntsville Stars in a couple of days to begin his rehab assignment. I haven't checked the big-league or in-game thread from today to see if this was already mentioned, but I figured it deserved mention here.

I understand the excitement about Gallardo, and if things were differently he could very well be pitching right now for the big-league Brewers. And fortunately that's the kind of position the team is in, the same with Braun. As monkeyman mentioned, it is only seven starts, one month into the season, and I just don't see a reason to make a move just for the sake of making one. And if the intent is to improve the bullpen, why not move either Vargas or Bush there, or even call up Gallardo to toss out of the 'pen, which has been talked about several times on the MLB forum. I just don't think now is the time to make a move. But yes, another great start by Yo is extremely exciting. I can't wait to see him in Milwaukee, and it's also exciting to know that if anything does go wrong at the big-league level that needed to be corrected, the team has both an extremely talented pitcher and hitter that could actually improve the team instead of just filling a space.

To be honest, I was a little surprised to hear that Ramirez was falling. I know he has been hit around a little bit this spring, and started off slow, but there are other reports that he was up to 97 in one start. He is such a good pitcher, throwing three pitches for strikes, changing speeds, commanding the strike zone, etc., he could succeed immediately upon going pro. He's one of those guys like Jeremy Sowers that could have been in the big leagues before he was drafted out of college, that is if Ramirez were to go the college route. But yes, it does sound as though he could be in that range, which would be an absolute steal for the Dodgers (or anyone).

I have updated the draft rankings (and the corresponding notes) again given the meteoric rises of Mike Moustakas, Jarrod Parker and Kyle Russell. I will probably update the list one more time between now and draft day, which is a month away. Enjoy.

Thanks for clarifying my94rt. There are so many Matts on the team I just figured you were another one http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

The NHL always blows my mind. I haven't followed hockey as much as I used to, but when I see Trevor Linden playing for the Canucks it reminds me just how much good players stick around. I suppose the best players in any sport stick around for a long time, but it just seems to me that the shelf life of a hockey player would be much, much shorter than those of other sports.

We talked a little bit about the lineup at the end of today's practice, and I think most people seemed to agree that we should take a game-by-game approach to the lineup, meaning substitutions would be determined by the games we are playing (if someone has a hot hand at SS for instance, I personally would prefer to see that person remain at the position to give us the chance to win in a close game). I personally feel that we should align the lineup with the players we best feel play at their strongest positions. Since not everyone was at today's practice, I don't know what those positions are, but here's my best guess: P Matt (my94rt or something like that) SS Valpo LCF Ajay LF Houlie 1B Kenny 3B Razzor RF Rightomac RCF Robin19 C Radman 2B Jamie The backups filling out the lineup are as follows: 1B/C/OF Brian the Automator OF/P Jimbo OF Russell OF Zac P/OF/1B colbyjack BrewerfanMatt is new, and I don't recall Al (Ajohnson104) being at the last two practices, so I'm unfamiliar with what positions they play (I think Al played the OF last year, but I'm not positive). I will say that Matt (My94rt) is pretty slick with the glove, so when he's not pitching he should find a home somewhere on the infield. Just my 2¢. Just a side-comment, do we take BP before the games? My vision at night under the lights is a lot different than my vision during the day, and I could really use some reps seeing the ball off the bat hit at night to try and get used to it before I embarass myself during a game. Also, what are the rules for pitching, if there are any? Do you have to start your windup at a certain place (touching the pitching rubber, etc.)? Another side-note...to the Matts at the game tonight, I'm glad you got the Smile On shirts, sorry I couldn't talk more when you (my94rt) stoppped by. We handed out 800 shirts in less than 15 minutes, as we got mobbed. I was tempted to call you back to see if you had some burgers and beers to share, but the dollar hot dogs called us inside.

1. valpocrewsader 2. bball123h 3. Brian the Automator 4. my94rt 5. brewerfanmatt 6. colbyjack ... n.