colbyjack

I don't think anyone dislikes the idea of getting a prospect like Iannetta, or any catching prospect for that matter, but as I always like to remind people, you just don't see many prospect for prospect deals, especially none that are as detailed as your proposal is. It is just incredibly hard to place a value on them, and the teams that hold them typically place more value on their own guys since they have more stock invested in those players. And as noted, catching prospects are about as hard to acquire as top-flight pitching prospects. I'm not trying to diss your idea, because I'd love to see it happen, I just question the likelihood.

It sounds as though people don't expect Ray King to bounce back from his poor season. As noted, he's not old, not for a relief pitcher, much less a lefty relief pitcher. As for his size, he's been this big for a while, so I can't believe he's just getting too big for his age to suffer a sudden drop in production. That said, I don't know if I would pay him $2M to play here, unless the team feels they need to overpay him a little to get him to come back to Milwaukee. They paid Dan Kolb $2M last year hoping he would bounce back. Of course, that didn't work out the greatest, but at least King has a better history of productive seasons before this year.

It's only a matter of time before Juan Pierre's name comes up, who was tossed around quite a bit around these parts a year ago. He's a FA now, although I have no clue if the Cubs intend to re-sign him. Now, I'm not especially huge on Pierre, but he might fit the type of player Doug Melvin is reportedly going to look for this offseason (higher batting average, fewer strikeouts, more speed). To his credit, he does hit very well, and hardly strikes out at all while being one of the better basestealers in baseball during his career. However he makes a ton of outs because he just doesn't draw many walks. If he could ever learn to get on base more he could be one of the best leadoff hitters of all time. Since he doesn't, his value is constantly in debate. And that's another huge question. Last year he made $5.75M, which is only going to go up next year after posting a career high in doubles (32) while tieing his career best in triples (13) and home runs (too few to mention) while posting his second base SB total (5http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/glasses.gif . Now 29 years old, he's a .303/.350/.377 hitter during his career and averages more than 50 SBs a season. That's a hard contract to swallow given his productivity, and it will be interesting to see what he signs for this offseason.

I always liked that he got both lefties and righties out, although for some reason people repeatedly referred to him as a lefty specialist. No offense, but that's because he is. In the three years prior to this past season (which was an awful year, and looking at his peripheral numbers it's amazing his ERA was 4.43), left-handers hit .222/.294/.331 vs. King in 275 collective ABs while right-handed hitters hit .310/.389/.446 in 271 ABs. With those kind of numbers vs. right-handed hitters, it's amazing he ever faced that many. I like the idea of adding King, but it would strictly be as a left-specialist. I'd like to have him back in Milwaukee but at 30 pounds ago and a million less like he was back in the day. I remember King being as hefty as he is now even back in the day. I agree with the million less part.

Can someone fill me in as to why The D-Rays would trade Crawford? I know they have Baldelli and young, but who is forcing them to get rid of one? and why get rid of a cheap young outfielder when they have use of the DH? thansk for the response to my FIRST POST. I have been reading here for years, and I finally decided to say something Welcome aboard. That's a good point, and after the initial, exciting thought of the possibility of acquiring Crawford passed, I started to wonder the same thing. The D-Rays have an interesting way to dangle their players. How long was Aubrey Huff on the market, and then Julio Lugo? I remember the D-Rays not moving them initially because they were asking for quite a bit. And I expect the same thing to happen with Crawford. They don't have to move him, as he's not immediately blocking anyone, and his salary ($4M next year) isn't putting their otherwise modest payroll over the top. Their initial demands for Crawford were a pre-arby staff ace and two top prospects. That's the type of package you would realistically ask for in return for Arod, not Carl Crawford, and while I don't think that is necessarily what they expect to receive in return, I think it is a sign that Crawford more than likely is staying put for the time being. And after stopping by a few D-Rays sites, their fans seem to think the same exact thing.

Every time I see Bakker's name I remember when we were following his name on draft day, as he was a popular candidate for the team's 2nd (or beyond) round pick. I seem to remember him falling to the 17th round or something like that after his velocity had gone from the low-90s to the low-80s. I'm not sure what happened to him, but his career seemed to have peaked during his sophomore year in college. Nothing wrong with that of course, but still, much bigger and better things were expected from him, even on draft day '03.

Braun also has a double tonight. I look forward to DHonks' first-hand reports from tonight's game. EDIT: Braun finishes with 3 hits tonight, the 3-run dinger, 2 doubles, 4 RBI and 2 runs scored.

I bring this up to show how much the sneak preview and early projection is off from the final results. Usually the big names at the top don't change that much, but after the first few picks everything else can change significantly. In 2003 the Orioles took Nick Markakis with the 7th pick. While Markakis has turned into a pretty solid player and an astute pick, he was considered somewhat of a reach on draft day, although the O's had just signed Adam Loewen to a lucrative deal as a DFE, and needed to save a few hundred thousand dollars. Of the other top 10 overall picks, John Danks and Ian Stewart also were not ranked in the top 25-30 of the two early projections. In 2004 there were no real surprises, as the top 10 actual picks were all players ranked in the initial top 30. In 2005 Ryan Braun was the only player to go within the top 10 picks that wasn't in either of the top 30 players of the early projections. This past year, which was considered a down year, and an extremely fluid year, Greg Reynolds wasn't among the top 30 in the sneak preview, but was among the top 30 in BA's early draft preview. Clayton Kershaw, Billy Rowell and Tim Lincecum weren't among the top 30 in either early projection. From a Brewers point of view, it should be noted that this is related to either their pick (Braun) or their first-round slot for next year (7th overall, Markakis in '03, Kershaw in '06). That may not mean a darn thing, but it's still interesting to look at how these rankings have historically held up over 8 months of time.

By the way, since BA has released their early, early sneak preview, it reminds me of a thread from this time last year in which I showed this early projection in relationship to BA's early draft preview projection from February versus the actual picks from the years 2003-2005. Here's that breakdown, and I'll add the 2006 breakdown just below that for referece (I know I had some coding issues a year ago, and someone was kind enough to open up the text in notepad to correct it for me, so thanks in advance to whomever does that this year should my columns be messed up again): EDIT: Coding sucks, a little help? 2003 No. Sneak Preview Early Projection Actual 1 Rickie Weeks Rickie Weeks Delmon Young 2 Lastings Milledge Delmon Young Rickie Weeks 3 Delmon Young Adam Loewen Kyle Sleeth 4 Kyle Sleeth Kyle Sleeth Tim Stauffer 5 Michael Aubrey Lastings Milledge Chris Lubanski 6 Ryan Harvey Andrew Miller Ryan Harvey 7 Chris Lubanski Jared Hughes Nick Markakis 8 Jeff Allison Brad Sullivan Paul Maholm 9 Kyle Bakker Bobby Brownlie John Danks 10 Tim Stauffer Tim Stauffer Ian Stewart 11 Brad Sullivan Chris Lubanski Michael Aubrey 12 Matt Murton Ryan Harvey Lastings Milledge 13 Jeff Manship Michael Aubrey Aaron Hill 14 Chad Billingsley David Aardsma Ryan Wagner 15 Jared Hughes Jeff Allison Brian Anderson 16 David Aardsma Chad Billingsley Jeff Allison 17 Andrew Miller Landon Powell David Murphy 18 James Houser Jay Sborz Brad Snyder 19 Robert Lane Matt Murton Conor Jackson 20 Matt Brown Ryan Sweeney Chad Cordero 21 Landon Powell James Houser Matt Moses 22 Ryan Sweeney Paul Maholm David Aardsma 23 Carlos Quentin Kyle Bakker Brandon Wood 24 Tony Richie Craig Whitaker Chad Billingsley 25 Paul Maholm Jonathan Fulton Brad Sullivan 26 Aaron Hill Not available Brian Snyder 27 Craig Whitaker Not available Eric Duncan 28 Jonathan Fulton Not available Daric Barton 29 Conor Jackson Not available Carlos Quentin 30 Wes Littleton Not available Mitch Maier 2004 No. Sneak Preview Early Projection Actual 1 Jeff Niemann Jeff Niemann Matt Bush 2 Jered Weaver Justin Verlander Justin Verlander 3 Wade Townsend Jered Weaver Phillip Humber 4 Stephen Drew Jeff Larish Jeff Niemann 5 Chris Nelson Nick Adenhart Mark Rogers 6 Nick Adenhart Stephen Drew Jeremy Sowers 7 Matt Bush Matt Bush Homer Bailey 8 Jeremy Sowers Wade Townsend Wade Townsend 9 Justin Verlander Jeremy Sowers Chris Nelson 10 Phillip Humber Greg Golson Thomas Diamond 11 Matt Durkin Phillip Humber Neil Walker 12 Justin Orenduff Homer Bailey Jered Weaver 13 Greg Golson Justin Orenduff Bill Bray 14 Thomas Diamond Chris Lambert Billy Butler 15 Andy Gale Michael Taylor Stephen Drew 16 Homer Bailey Huston Street David Purcey 17 Jeff Larish Micah Owings Scott Elbert 18 Jay Rainville Jay Rainville Josh Fields 19 Micah Owings Chuck Lofgren Chris Lambert 20 Michael Taylor Thomas Diamond Trevor Plouffe 21 Erik Davis Mark Rogers Greg Golson 22 Chris Lambert Andy Gale Glen Perkins 23 Eric Beattie Seth Smith Phillip Hughes 24 Chuck Lofgren Chris Nelson Landon Powell 25 Mark Rogers Phil Hughes Kyle Waldrop 26 Tyler Lumsden Eric Beattie Richie Robnett 27 Eric Patterson Eric Patterson Taylor Tankersly 28 Jeff Frazier Danny Putnam Blake DeWitt 29 Huston Street Scott Elbert Matt Campbell 30 Phil Hughes Kenn Kasparek Eric Hurley 2005 No. Sneak Preview Early Projection Actual 1 Justin Upton Justin Upton Justin Upton 2 Cameron Maybin Cameron Maybin Alex Gordon 3 Alex Gordon Alex Gordon Jeff Clement 4 Jeff Clement Mike Pelfrey Ryan Zimmerman 5 Tyler Green Luke Hochevar Ryan Braun 6 Wade Townsend Tyler Greene Ricky Romero 7 Luke Hochevar Jeff Clement Troy Tulowitzki 8 Mike Pelfrey Wade Townsend Wade Townsend 9 Stephen Head Troy Tulowitzki Mike Pelfrey 10 Troy Tulowitzki Ryan Zimmerman Cameron Maybin 11 John Mayberry, Jr. Stephen Head Andrew McCutchen 12 Mark McCormick John Mayberry, Jr. Jay Bruce 13 Craig Hansen Sean O'Sullivan Brandon Snyder 14 Ryan Zimmerman Mark McCormick Trevor Crowe 15 Ryan Mullins Justin Bristow Lance Broadway 16 Sean O'Sullivan Craig Hansen Chris Volstad 17 Ricky Romero Jordan Danks C.J. Henry 18 Travis Buck Zach Putnam Cesar Carrillo 19 Miers Quigley Taylor Teagarden John Mayberry, Jr. 20 Justin Bristow Travis Buck Mark Pawelek 21 Cliff Pennington Brian Bogusevic Cliff Pennington 22 Chris Volstad Chris Volstad Aaron Thompson 23 Stephen Kahn Andrew McCutchen Jacoby Ellsbury 24 Andrew McCutchen Daniel Carte Brian Bogusevic 25 Brad Clark Brett Jacobson Matt Garza 26 Jordan Danks Austin Jackson Craig Hansen 27 Zach Putnam Brandon Snyder Joey Devine 28 Brad Corley Henry Sanchez Colby Rasmus 29 Brian Bogusevic Cliff Pennington Jacob Marceaux 30 Jed Lowrie David Adams Tyler Greene 2006 No. Sneak Preview Early Draft Preview Actual 1. Drew Stubbs Andrew Miller Luke Hochevar 2. Andrew Miller Drew Stubbs Greg Reynolds 3. Max Scherzer Max Scherzer Evan Longoria 4. Jordan Walden Jordan Walden Brad Lincoln 5. Daniel Bard Daniel Bard Brandon Morrow 6. Matt Latos Chris Marrero Andrew Miller 7. Wes Hodges Ian Kennedy Clayton Kershaw 8. Ian Kennedy Brett Anderson Drew Stubbs 9. Cody Johnson Kyle Drabek Billy Rowell 10. Evan Longoria Evan Longoria Tim Lincecum 11. Dallas Buck Matt LaPorta Max Scherzer 12. Kyle Drabek Matt Latos Kasey Kiker 13. Brandon Morrow Wes Hodges Tyler Colvin 14. Brett Anderson Brandon Morrow Travis Snider 15. Matt LaPorta Dallas Buck Chris Marrero 16. Kyle McCulloch Chris Tillman Jeremy Jeffress 17. Chris Tillman Kyle McCulloch Matt Antonelli 18. Blair Erickson Joba Chamberlain Kyle Drabek 19. Bryan Morris Dellin Betances Brett Sinkbeil 20. Brad Lincoln Jeremy Jeffress Chris Parmelee 21. Joba Chamberlain Cody Johnson Ian Kennedy 22. Dellin Betances Brad Lincoln Colton Willems 23. Jeremy Jeffress Mark Melancon Max Sapp 24. Chris Marrero Hank Conger Cody Johnson 25. Mark Melancon Jared Hughes Hank Conger 26. Colin Curtis Greg Reynolds Bryan Morris 27. Shawn Tolleson Chris Parmelee Jason Place 28. Chris Errecart Jason Donald Daniel Bard 29. Kasey Kiker Blair Erickson Kyle McCulloch 30. Jason Donald Kasey Kiker Adam Ottavino

RyDogg, I'll change the forum name when the '07 draft coverage is officially released. Gagne, Burgess won't be there for the Crew if he goes 6th http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

That content is subscriber-based only, so no, please don't post it. I think I posted the top 10 from the very same list a year ago if you want to go that far. And as an FYI, I am currently working on Brewerfan.net's top 30 draft eligible prospects for 2007 which should be released in the next week or two and will officially kick off Brewerfan's coverage of the '07 draft. I'm through 17 right now.

All of these projections are pretty encouraging, if the team plans to have a $60M payroll next year. The team definitely should have some money to play with this offseason, whether it's signing a FA or possibly acquiring a contract or two that some other team deems to be too much for them to handle. As for Schmidt, how many power pitchers like him continue to have success into their mid and late-30s? I like Schmidt, and think he would make a lot of sense for the Brewers and as rluzinski noted, he (with good health) would help make the Brewers starting rotation one of the best in the entire NL.

I just want to point out that prior to the 2004 draft I projected the Rangers to take Yo with the 10th overall pick. When he fell to the Brewers pick in the 2nd round I was thrilled, as he reminded me of our 2nd round pick from 2001, J.J. Hardy, who also was considered a steal at the time.

I profiled all of the above players because I think they all have the chance to position themselves to be candidates for the 7th overall pick next June. Burgess is the one player that is definitely a top 10 pick right now, and Heyward could very well be as well at this point in time. The others probably need to prove their worth in the spring to be taken that high, but it's not like they're that far away.

Yes, he's listed as 6'4" some places, 6'5" others. All of the prep names I listed have a link to a Perfect Game profile if you want to learn more about their details, where they're from, etc. You may be particularly interested in Heyward since he's from McDonough, GA, not far from Atlanta.

A few of the Brewers DFE candidates from a year ago have transferred to much more prominent D1 programs. Tim Smith is now at Arizona State, where he likely will continue to rake as he has his two years at Midlands, whle Jordan Lennerton and Chris Hopkins will try to make up for the departure of current Brewer farmhands and former Oregon State Beavers Bill Rowe and Cole Gillespie.

I have received a couple of emails in response to my '06 draft recap/'07 draft preview story asking what players are most likely to be drafted by Jack Z. and company with the 7th overall pick next June. In that story I singled out Michael Burgess as a player that fits the mold of the type of player that Jack Z. typically targets. Here are the relating comments from that story: Predicting who the Brewers will take is no easy task, especially this far in advance. One thing is for sure, until Jack Zduriencik selects a college pitcher in the first two rounds, something he has yet to do as scouting director of the Milwaukee Brewers (since 2000), I'll look elsewhere. If the team is looking to address an organizational need like when they took Ryan Braun in 2005, a catcher might be the way to go, especially since next year's draft looks particularly strong at the position. While Zduriencik hasn't taken a college pitcher in the first two rounds of the draft, he hasn't selected a high school pitcher in the first round two years in a row. That leads me to a bat, and given the love for tools I am going to single out Tampa's Michael Burgess, who not only has the power potential as a left-handed hitter to rival Prince Fielder's, but also has incredible arm strength that would make him a natural fit in right field. It should also be noted that during the years the Brewers have picked in the top 10 (7th in 2002, 2nd in 2003, 5th in 2004 and 5th in 2005) only once did the Brewers take a player that was considered by scouting publications such as Baseball America to be ranked accordingly: Rickie Weeks in 2003. Fielder in '02, Rogers in '04 and Braun in '05 were all taken the highest of where they were to be selected, as the Brewers did not take players that were generally perceived as "falling" or worthy of the selection (such as Scott Kazmir in '02, Homer Bailey in '04 and Cameron Maybin in '05). I don't want to say that the Brewers have necessarily reached for Fielder, Rogers & Braun, since they all would have been taken around those slot values, but the Brewers certainly seem to identify and assess talent differently than other teams (money can play a big factor in this). With that said, I decided to target a few players from both the high school and college ranks that could very well go in the first round based on their scouting reports at this point in time, but aren't necessarily considered top 10 picks at this point in time. I'm only going to focus on hitters, because the Brewers haven't really shown any inclination to take a college arm in the first two rounds and I guess I don't see them taking a prep arm two years in a row, much less a third in the past four years. From the prep side, Michael Burgess is a legitimate top 5-10 pick. His power is amazing, and his arm strength might be just as exciting as his power potential, although he hasn't shown much interest in pitching. That power comes mainly from quick hands and very good bat speed, bat speed that likely would be categorized in the same range as someone like Rickie Weeks (whose bat speed is compared to Gary Sheffield's). Burgess receives high grades for his overall baseball aptitude, and is a fine overall athlete despite not having the most ideal frame (he is listed at 5'11" and around 200 pounds). He profiles best in right field. Jason Heyward is another exciting power prospect, who is athletic enough to handle a corner outfield spot, but could be a perennial Gold-Glover at first. He has long, strong limbs that creates natural extension, yet he has more of a gap-to-gap, line drive approach. Heyward would be similar to a left-handed hitting version of Derrek Lee. Josh Vitters is arguably the top pure hitter from the prep ranks available for the '07 draft. Strong and quick hands and wrists allow him to turn on the best of fastballs, and his mechanics and approach are sound enough to allow him to wait for his pitch while crushing mistakes. He profiles best at either third base or left field at the next level. Kentrail Davis defies what a natural baseball athlete should look like at 5'9", 200 pounds, but he shows an exciting blend of power & speed very similar to Kirby Puckett. The more scouts have seen Davis the more they like him, as you have to see him in person to realize just how dynamic of a player he is. As for the college eligible prospects that fit the mold, we're able to look at their stats a little more closely. I'm going to throw out three college hitters that could very well be in the mix come next June. Keep in mind that the Brewers might find the urge to target a catcher early in next year's draft, and I have already profiled the most likely catchers earlier in this thread. Todd Frazier-3B/OF-Rutgers 6'4", 215, bats/throws R/R Freshman Year-Rutgers .295/.392/.505, 220 AB, 9 HR, 19 SB Summer of 2005-Cape Cod League .270/.343/.480, 148 AB, 6 2B, 5 3B, 5 HR, 16:46 BB:K, 9 for 10 stolen base attempts, 9 Es Sophomore Year-Rutgers .366/.471/.599, 227 AB, 14 2B, 3 3B, 11 HR, 42:42 BB:K, 21 for 28 SBs, 16 Es Summer of 2006-Team USA .224/.280/.382, 76 AB, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 6:21 BB:K, 4 for 5 SBs Cumulative .306/.398/.517, 671 AB, 21 2B*, 9 3B*, 28 HR, 99 BB, 53 stolen bases *Some stats not complete due to lack of complete stats during his freshman year Todd Frazier is the third of three Frazier brothers to play at Rutgers. Jeff Frazier was drafted in the third round by the Tigers a couple of years ago. Todd has the highest upside, with the best baseball frame and the best tools. His power potential was ranked the best on the Team USA squad, pretty high regard given the talent he played with, and Baseball America rated him the 10th best prospect on that team despite hitting only .224. He was named the 19th best prospect on the Cape the summer after his freshman year by leading the league in triples, tieing for 2nd in extra-base hits with 16 with Evan Longoria, and finishing second in slugging percentage (.480). So while he struggled with Team USA, he proved he can hit with a wood bat the previous summer, and he has made strides at the plate showing his adjustments to breaking balls And he walks quite a bit despite the high number of strikeouts, and also has swiped quite a few bags. Given his athleticism, eye at the plate and speed, he reminds me of Matt Antonelli, a first-round pick from last June out of Wake Forest, but Frazier has loads more power potential. His future defensive position may be in question. He currently plays SS, but no one expects him to stay there. He could move to third, but he played right field for Team USA, and that could be his future home as a pro. In right field he could profile in a very similar fashion to Jeff Francoeur, but with a lot more walks. Julio Borbon-OF-Tennessee 6'1", 180, bats/throws L/L Freshman Year-Tennessee .350/.386/.450, 220 AB, 9 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 12:33 BB:K, 12-14 SBs, 5 Es Summer of 2005-Cape Cod League .205/.307/273, 88 AB, 2 2B, 2 3B, 9:16 BB:K, 4-6 SBs Sophomore Year-Tennessee .366/.412/.481, 235 AB, 14 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 19:15 BB:K, 19-25 SBs, 6 Es Summer of 2006-Team USA .345/.437/.526, 116 AB, 1 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 17:10 BB:K, 14-16 SBs Cumulative .335/.394/.451, 659 AB, 26 2B, 13 3B, 8 HR, 57:74 BB:K, 49-61 SB (80% success rate), 11 Es Borbon really made a name for himself this summer playing for Team USA, prompting BA to name him the fourth best prospect on the squad (and the 3rd best of those available for the '07 draft). As you can probably tell by his numbers, Borbon profiles best as a leadoff hitting centerfielder, as he has very, very good speed and a contact bat (check out his low strikeout rate, even when he played on the Cape when he batted only .205). He could stand to walk more, but he started to do so more this past summer, where he also flashed his power potential, drawing the inevitable Johnny Damon comparisons. Jacoby Ellsbury, now one of the top prospects in the Red Sox' system, also received such comparisons, and Borbon and Ellsbury are very similar players. Would the Brewers bother with a leadoff hitting centerfielder with the 7th overall pick? They're probably looking for a greater return, and may having Chad Green and Dave Krynzel in the back of their minds, but given Borbon's bat control I think he would fare better at the pro level than the other two did. Kellen Kulbacki-OF-James Madison 5'11", 200, bats/throws L/L Freshman Year-James Madison .343/.392/.552, 210 AB, 18 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR, 16:30 BB:K, 7-15 SBs, 4 Es Summer of 2005-Clark Griffith League .367/.453/.620, 166 AB, 20 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 15:25 BB:K, 7-10 SBs Sophomore Year-James Madison .464/.568/.943, 194 AB, 17 2B, 2 3B, 24 HR, 30:32 BB:K, 13-18 SBs, 2 Es Summer of 2006-Cape Cod League .240/.314/.420, 150 AB, 6 2B, 7 HR, 14:35 BB:K, 5-7 SBs, 1 E Cumulative .360/.441/.646, 720 AB, 61 2B, 5 3B, 45 HR, 75:122 BB:K, 32-50 SBs, 7 Es Kellen who you might ask? Kellen Kulbacki had a huge breakout season for James Madison last spring, and despite putting up big numbers in the Colonial Athletic Association, scouts that have seen him say that he has the tools to back up his gaudy offensive numbers. He led the entire nation in home runs (24), slugging (.943) and OPS (1.511), and was second in batting (to Mike Goetz, .464), and on-base percentage (again to Goetz, .568). Many wanted to see Kulbacki replicate his success in the Cape Cod League to justify his standing as a potential first-round pick come June 2007. He struggled in the first half of the summer before exploding in the second half, and despite hitting 7 home runs on the Cape, scouts still walked away disappointed. I see second half success adjusting to a wood bat as a positive sign, as his .420 slugging percentage on the Cape is nothing to sneeze at, and he proved he could hit with wood the summer before in the Clark-Griffith League on his way to being named the league's 3rd-best prospect by Baseball America after his freshman year in college. So the guy with the funny name and the less-than-ideal athletic build will have plenty of doubters, and he will be hard-pressed to coming close to matching his '06 numbers, but he definitely put his name on the scouting map. He currently plays centerfield, but could play anywhere in the outfield, and is likely to draw some Brian Giles comparisons along the way. That's a lot to digest, but in my estimation those are the hitters that at this point in time are most likely to be in the Brewers scouting plans next spring.

I don't blame TB for saying it, but in this market, there is absolutely no way someone will give them an ace plus two for Crawford. Depending on your definition of "ace" I doubt anyone would even do that straight up for Crawford right now, the demand for arms is just too great at the moment. I agree completely with this statement. If the D-Rays honestly believe they are going to get an ace and two premium prospects, Crawford isn't going anywhere. Their initial trade demands for other players that have eventually moved have been pretty high, as I remember them asking for quite a bit for Julio Lugo and Aubrey Huff. I would be very, very surprised if they turned down Cappy straight up for Crawford. Ervin Santana's name has also been tossed out there, but the Angels seem hesitant to deal him (rightfully so).

Alright, I'm taking a shot at this. Trade Geoff Jenkins to the St. Louis Cardinals for a mid-range prospect. The Cardinals have taken on such players in the past while assuming their contracts, and they could use an extra bat on one of their outfield corners. Trade Dennis Sarfate and Zach Jackson to the D-Backs for Johnny Estrada (they traded a couple of powerful bullpen arms to get Estrada, and will likely accept some kind of package of young, quality arms to shed his increasing salary). Trade Bill Hall in a 3-way deal to acquire Carl Crawford. I have suggested trading Hall to Minnesota, sending a pair (or more) of pitchers in Kevin Slowey and Glen Perkins to Tampa Bay, but how about Hall to the White Sox and Brandon McCarthy plus one other (Sean Tracey?) to TB? While Juan Uribe has the Latin connection with Guillen, he is starting to not hit his weight. Re-sign Tony Graffanino to a 2-year, $5 million deal (approximately). Sign Nomar Garciaparra (to play LF) to a 2-year, $16 million deal loaded with incentives and including a decent (meaning with a good enough buyout) option year for a third. Non-tender Kevin Mench. Here's the roster. The salaries are rough estimates on many of these players, but I think they're close enough (and the final payroll will be plus or minus a few hundred thousand): Starting Lineup: CF: Carl Crawford: $4M SS: J.J. Hardy: $355K LF: Nomar Garciaparra: $8M 1B: Prince Fielder: $355K 2B: Rickie Weeks: $500K 3B: Corey Koskie: $2M RF: Corey Hart: $335K C: Johnny Estrada: $3.5M Bench: C: Damian Miller: $2.25M OF: Gabe Gross: $355K OF: Brady Clark: $3.8M IF: Tony Graffanino: $2.5M IF: Jeff Cirillo: $1M Starting Rotation: RHP: Ben Sheets: $10M LHP: Chris Capuano: $4M RHP: Dave Bush: $355K LHP: Doug Davis: $4.5M RHP: Carlos Villanueva: $335K Bullpen: CL: Francisco Cordero: $5.4M RHRP: Derrick Turnbow: $2.3M RHRP: Matt Wise: $1M RHRP: Jose Capellan: $335K RHRP: Grant Balfour: $355K LHRP: Brian Shouse: $1M LHRP: Dana Eveland: $355K Total: $58,885,000.00 Again, the total figure could be affected if I got the numbers above slightly wrong, or a couple of million could swing should the Brewers have to add a million or two to get rid of Jenkins' contract. I was tempted to ditch Cirillo on this list while keeping Mench, since an extra outfielder might be needed to make up for Garciaparra, whom I signed to my imaginary team knowing that he likely will miss 30-40 games. On the flip side, Ryan Braun will likely only be a phone call away should the team need another big bat due to an injury. Yes, it's an expensive bench, and the catching corp is particularly expensive, but it's a position I'm willing to overpay at to have a couple of decent hitting backstops. I'm a little concerned that I don't have Mench here, and you lose a lot of versatility by not having Hall anywhere, who I wasn't thrilled about losing, even in my imaginary scenario. I like that I have speed at the top in Crawford and added speed in the middle of the lineup in Weeks. The lineup is a lot less strikeout prone as well. The pitching obviously has to stay healthy, and the bullpen needs to bounce back, or at least Turnbow does. It's possible that the D-Backs would trade Estrada for Turnbow instead of Sarfate and Jackson, who would add more depth for a smaller price, opening more money up to possibly keep someone like Kevin Mench around as a platoon/bench player. EDIT: And I'm not even at $60M, so I must have done something wrong. Moving Jenkins obviously will be tricky, and Crawford and Hall are nearly a wash salary-wise even if that 3-way deal is unrealstic. Basically, according to my math, even if the team isn't able to move some unhappy salaries, the Brewers should be in a position to sign a free agent or two. Probably not Alfonso Soriano, but a good one or two should be able to be had without too much re-organization.

In regards to power, I think Burgess is similar to Prince Fielder, but other than the fact that they both bat left-handed, that's where the comparison ends. Burgess is a really interesting, toolsy prospect. He also has a cannon for an arm, and has been clocked in the mid-90s as a pitcher. However, he has no interest to pitch at the next level. His swing at the Aflac game was mighty large, as he looked as though he was trying to crush everything that was pitched to him out of the ballpark like he did during the HR derby. He's a good overall athlete, although he's not particularly tall (like Fielder), but there aren't the conditioning issues there were with Fielder. Burgess is kind of a unique player given his tool-set, and he probably profiles best in right field, as most prep outfielders pegged to go early are typically centerfielders. Travis Snider might be the closest I can think of given the power potential and natural hitting ability, although Burgess is a better natural athlete, which in my mind means he probably goes a few spots ahead of where Snider did a year ago, even in a stronger draft class.

The Southern League is up next, a nice picture of Yo currently on BA's homepage. The link just below is for the league overview and the listing of the league's top 20 prospect. Gallardo was second in both the FSL and the Southern League, just behind Homer Bailey in both of them. Braun is the league's sixth-best prospect. www.baseballamerica.com/t...62562.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/ygallardo06428309jh.jpg

It seems Tim Dillard, Charlie Fermaint and Alcides Escobar are the primary names that need to be protected this offseason, and I'm not even sure if the Brewers would protect Escobar given his lack of offense this past year (but teams do take plenty of high potential risks in the Rule 5 draft). Lou Palmisano wasn't protected a year ago, and given the organizational need for catching, he might just be added to the roster in fear of losing him. Ben Stanczyk is a longshot.

I can't tell you that Gagne. You would know better than I would. Prep Boras clients are typically harder to sign, and often take the college route. Mark Pawelek is the only prep Boras client that has signed out of high school in recent years that I know of.

I found this story on Michael Burgess, who I singled out as a seemingly good fit for Jack Z. and co. in my draft recap/draft preview story, at SI.com: sportsillustrated.cnn.com...index.html http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2006/writers/dave_krider/08/01/krider.notebook/t1_burgess.jpg Also, doing more digging on the draft it seems that towering NC State RHP Andrew Brackman and prep SS Justin Jackson are Boras advisees. Wieters has been rumored to be one as well, but I have never seen that confirmed.

Yes, Villanueva will no longer be considered a rookie in '07. The limits are 130 AB for a hitter and 50 IP for a pitcher.