colbyjack

I wanted to point out to everyone here that Brewerfan.net will be providing the All-American Baseball Game, which is to be televised live on Wednesday, June 7th at 8:00 CST (FSN, the listings from what I can tell aren't available that far out locally), with all of the scouting reports on the players attending the event. The game itself takes place one day after the first day of the draft, the evening of the second day of the draft. The team is made up of high school seniors that are eligible for this year's draft, so there's a good chance there may be a few Brewers' picks playing in this game, and of course you get to hear reports from yours truly http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . Here's the link to their baseball page: All-American Baseball Game Their roster page hasn't been updated yet, but you can see the players attending by viewing the photos from the selection tour link: Selection Tour Keep in mind that this game is completely different and independent of the Aflac All-American Classic. Last year Jemile Weeks was one of the stars of this game, and Ryan Babineau participated as well.

Well, the Royals have been covering Miller quite extensively all spring, but I agree, it does seem as though they're starting to lean back that way. I'm good for my dollar. However, I still don't like what the Royals are doing. Not screwing up your first round picks is one thing, going cheap with other early round picks is another.

No, it's not a war, as PG & BA remain partners in the selection partners for the Aflac game (although it should be noted that PG does all the selecting, as BA doesn't have any talent evaluators on it's staff). Because of the lack of talent evaluators, even if there were bad blood, it's comparing apples to oranges. Baseball America writes about baseball. Perfect Game employs scouts and coaches to cover high school baseball better than any other company out there.

Baseball America is partnering with Baseball Factory, who is partnered with Team One Baseball: www.baseballamerica.com/m...61147.html I'm pretty sure BA was paired with T1 before, whose prospect coverage and showcases have drastically gone downhill over the last few years. I'm not sure if this officially severs their tie with Perfect Game or not, hopefully not for BA, as it would damage their reputation when it comes to their Prospect Plus publication.

The Hughes "demotion" seemed to work perfectly, as he had by far his best start of the year today vs. Riverside. Jared Hughes 9 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 13 K, 0 BB vs. UC Riverside Keep your fingers crossed that he gets bumped back up to the Friday starter for the tilt vs. Roemer & Fullerton this coming Friday Andrew Miller 8 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 11 K, 4 BB vs. Boston College Miller became UNC's all-time K leader Daniel Bard 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 2 BB vs. Boston College David Huff 6.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R (4 ER), 6 K, 1 BB vs. Stanford Greg Reynolds 6 IP, 10 H, 7 R (6 ER), 3 K, 1 BB vs. UCLA Max Scherzer 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 8 K, 4 BB vs. Texas Ian Kennedy 6.1 IP, 7 H, 7 R (4 ER), 8 K, 2 BB vs. Wichita State Joba Chamberlain 5.1 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 2 BB vs. Oklahoma Tim Lincecum 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 11 K, 5 BB vs. Pacific Josh Butler, Brad Lincoln and Brandon Morrow were all off as their regular seasons ended last week and are waiting for their respective conference playoff series' to begin.

Nick Markakis is in the Orioles' system. I agree with what you're saying DHonks, and it is something that I have suggested before. But I could see why a big-league organization would want a player, particularly one that they have a lot of money invested in, focus on one aspect of the game. You often hear with college players heading to the draft that they are expected to get better either as a pitcher or as a hitter (wherever they're preferred) once they're allowed to focus on that craft. I believe the Indians started Chuck Lofgren's career as a two-way player a few years ago. I can see it in the lower levels, but once they reach high-A I think I would want that player in question to be doing one or the other, but not both. And you have the injury concern. A player like Drabek playing the infield on days in which he's not pitching has a higher risk of getting hurt, at least I have heard that quite a bit from coaches and scouts (Zach Greinke wasn't allowed to play 3B anymore his senior year in high school when he blossomed as a pitcher).

I told you last year that I thought Adams was the best prep bat available. He's making me feel pretty good about that assessment. Trust me, I was listening, as my PG boss told me the exact same thing too. If I were a scouting director (or even a scout for that matter) I would focus on a player's ability to hit and pitch in the true sense of their meaning as opposed to finding out who throws the hardest and runs the fastest. Adams can hit, and how he ended up at Virginia is beyond me, unless he was asking for $3 million out of HS, which I hear is not the case. SoCal, you got to check out the LBSU/Fullerton game, and not even for my own selfish intentions http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

BA with some draft-related goodies today. They have yet another story about how the draft is weak in positional players (and overall), a chat with their HS analyst Alan Matthews and a mock draft courtesy of Jim Callis (the mock draft, the third link, is for subscribers only): www.baseballamerica.com/t...61299.html www.baseballamerica.com/t...61301.html www.baseballamerica.com/o...61296.html If you couldn't sense my annoyance with yet another BA penned story concerning the overall weakness of this year's draft class, allow me to expand http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . While people always harp on the top players entering the spring that have failed, BA and other places don't seem to focus at all on some players that embraced their early season rankings and stepped up to become legitimate top 3-10 picks. Evan Longoria, Brad Lincoln, Greg Reynolds and Brandon Morrow all walked away from the Cape last year significantly improving their draft status, and now all four of those players could be taken within the top 5-7 picks. That to me is a storyline, more so than focusing on the players that have had disappointing springs. Callis has the Brewers taking Washington prep OF Travis Snider with their first round pick. I certianly wouldn't mind the selection, as Snider is one of the best pure hitters and power hitters available in this year's draft. He's a true RF with a big left-handed stick, and would give the system a true corner OF prospect that they haven't had procured from top to bottom probably since Jenkins (Hart started at 1B, moved to 3B, etc., Cruz was acquired for Ginter and went to AA, etc.). I still say it's Conger.

Brewerfan.net has learned that the Brewers have signed DFE candidate Zach Braddock. Good news, as Braddock was my fave candidate heading into the spring.

One thing that would be worth working on -- for me, at least -- would be batting with that giant arc.. and maybe the spin. Everything I remember practicing was like, normal compared to that guy last night. I'm with you, and I know I had this problem before when I played years ago. In practice once I found my groove I was driving the ball much better than my two weak pop-outs last night. Any tips for the more seasoned softball vets would be appreciated. Allow me to add onto the praise for Valpo's D'. I also agree that I had a lot of fun, and look forward to Thursday nights. Unfortunately, I don't think I can join you guys for practice this Sunday.

Look at Reynolds production from his first two years in school compared to this year. Big difference, and something to take as an encouraging progression. I do agree with Gagne's point that Logan White always tries to get the best of something, as Jack Zduriencik has worked the same way. Reynolds does not fit that profile, as he's not the best college pitcher, he doesn't have the best fastball, breaking pitch (he may have the best changeup), etc. He is one of the best overall pitchers, and there won't be much of a learning curve with him.

I conducted an interview with Washington's Tim Lincecum, now up at PG Crosschecker: www.pgcrosschecker.com/dr...ok_pe.aspx

I think Petiton could easily go in the top 2-3 rounds. He's a solid 3rd to 5th rounder, and if he slides past that I would bet he's UNC bound. A good comp for Kiker? That's tough. Kazmir isn't fair because he was a superb overall athlete and worked in the mid-90s with ease (and had an absolutely killer breaking ball). Kazmir should have been taken in the top 3 in '02, and would be a top 3 pick in just about any draft (signability issues thrown aside). Thinking of shorter lefties with good stuff, how about Mike Hampton? Again and as always, don't get too caught up with comparisons. Kiker to Travis Wood might actually be a pretty good comp. Wood had a very good fastball-changeup combo coming out of HS, and had somewhat of a smaller, stockier stature (not the most projectable builds).

I wasn't a huge fan of Reynolds up until a couple of weeks ago when I saw him pitch again. His numbers and performances in general typically haven't lived up to his size and stuff. However, when I saw him a few weeks ago, he was spotting his fastball a lot better, and flashed a very good curveball and a very good changeup (possibly his best pitch). He began by leaving his fastball up in the zone too much, but then did a much better job working down in the zone and induced a bunch of ground balls. While Reynolds doesn't seem like the high-potential target the Dodgers usually go after, he's 6'7", can touch 95 with his heater, works comfortably in the low-90s, and has gotten significantly better this year. I think he's gone before the Brewers make their pick. Also, a lot has to be said about this year's draft. Throw out top prospect lists from BA, MLB and from yours truly, because we're probably going to see some wacky names being taken in wacky places. Don't get hung up on Reynolds going #7 overall just because so and so doesn't have him ranked that high. And if the Tigers get hot on someone other than Kershaw, he's all yours http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

Jonathan Mayo has updated his mock draft, and expanded it to the top 20 teams. He has the Brewers taking Georgia RHP Brooks Brown: mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ne...;fext=.jsp

Kiker's delivery isn't violent, but he's still not a good comparison to Gio Gonazlez, who was (and is) built differently. Dodger fans should be happy to hear themselves affiliated with Kiker. I currently have him among my top 30 prospects, so no matter where you take him (and I'm sure it wouldn't be the seventh overall pick) you're getting a good prospect. He's got a very good fastball, curveball and changeup, and he's one pitcher several of the top hitters in the nation (Chris Parmelee, Cody Johnson) have said is the toughest pitcher they have ever faced. He's hard-nosed and has some swagger on the mound to boot.

Most of the seasons for the Brewers DFE candidates have ended. There still aren't stats available for all of the players, but I have located the stats of a few players we haven't had anything on all season. As noted on the minor league forum, one DFE player has been signed, catcher Ulrich Snijders. I should note that there isn't any one player that has stepped up this year. The Brewers are expected to sign a few of these players like they always do, but don't be surprised if they don't go out of their way to sign some of the more intriguing players, even the ones with big numbers. Tim Smith .450/.541/.700 in 180 AB, 22 2B, 4 3B, 5 HR, 32:18 BB:K, 23 for 25 SBs, 2 Es An amazing season statistically for Smith, who did a little bit of everything offensively for Midland. I'm sure the Brewers didn't use a 17th round pick for nothing with Smith, and likely will try to get him inked. Zach Braddock 8 games, 4.05 ERA, 40 IP, 32 H, 44 K, 17 BB The peripherals are all solid, and I have it on good record that Braddock's ERA was skewed by one really bad outing. The Brewers are actively pursuing getting Braddock signed since his season eneded last weekend. Michael Ramlow 9 games, 1.74 ERA, 41.1 IP, 36 H, 62 K, 10 BB Very good peripheral ratios for Ramlow. Here's to the Brewers getting this lanky lefty signed. Taylor Green .333/.426/.558 in 165 AB, 14 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 22:10 BB:K, 3 for 3 SBs Very good offensive numbers for a second baseman, too bad he doesn't play SS. He's a left-handed hitter, which adds to his value, and if signed he would likely join the Steve Sollmann's and Kenny Holmberg's of the system, beginning to fill a very large void between Rickie Weeks and the Brewers starting 2B in 2024. Patrick Murray .330/.381/.466 in 103 AB, 5 2B, 3 HR, 7:15 BB:K It's too bad that Murray got mononucleosis a couple of weeks into the system, as his power didn't seem to re-appear upon his return. He clearly has some offensive potential, but he may be better heading back to Santa Ana for his sophomore year. Stay away from the cooties Patrick http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . Spencer Pennington .318/.392/.394 in 132 AB, 4 2B, 2 HR, 14:28 BB:K, 2 for 2 SBs, 6 Es Listing Pennington is probably more of a formality at this point, as Alabama's season probably won't be over in time for the Brewers to sign him. Jorge Core 69 Ks, 2 saves Not many stats available for Core, but he's leading all Iowa JCs in strikeouts pitching in a relief role. His arm has never been in question, and those numbers are impressive in a tough conference. Brock Kjeldgaard 5 wins, 38 K Similar to Core, not many stats available for Kjeldgaard, but he is among the league leaders in wins and strikeouts. His name appears in more offensive categories, particularly in the power categories. The Brewers drafted him as a RHP, but it wouldn't be completely surprising if his power potential changes their mind in how they would like to procure him. Sebastien Vendette 5-4, 3.54 ERA, 11 games (all starts), 2 CG, 53.1 IP, 37 H, 49 K, 33 BB, 1 HR, .194 BAA Vendette limited hits against, but walked way too many. One start is missing from his stats, his final start of the year in which he lost in the conference playoffs. His team eventually loss in the finals. The stuff is there for Vendette, but the control is not, which is basically where he started the season. Stephen Barnes 3-4, 2.98 ERA, 19 games (7 starts), 1 save, 63 IP, 62 H, 40 K, 27 BB, 2 HR, .256 BAA Barnes started the season in the rotation, was placed in the bullpen, and just seemed to stagnate. No sure what the story is, but I don't sense that the interest is there from the Brewers, or Lake City for that matter. Sidenote: Lake City's Brandon Hall (Brookfield Central) finished the season hitting .265/.382/.397 while Tyler Beranek (Waukesha South) finished hitting .290/.374/.425. Chris Hopkins .307/.400/.387 in 150 AB, 5 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 19:15 BB:K, 22 for 30 SBs A good season for Hopkins, one of the better ones for all of the DFEs, but I'm not sure if it's enough for him to be signed. I do like his trained eye at the plate, but he needs some work on the basepaths, and he likely will never hit for a lot of power. Brad Miller .337 batting average in 172 AB, 52 games, 14 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 27 SB Nice overall offensive numbers for Miller, who also logged 13 innings on the mound. The Brewers obviously liked something in Miller when they drafted him and opted not to sign Deik Scram a year ago. Jordan Lennerton .416/.538/.671 in 173 AB, 14 2B, 10 HR, 45:20 BB:K, 7 for 8 SBs, 3 Es Lennerton's numbers give Smith's and Ramlow's a run for their money for the most impressive statistical season of the Brewers' DFEs. The 45 walks in 173 ABs is particularly impressive. Chris Copot No stats available No stats, no updates, no nothing after spending two years as a Brewers draft & follow candidate. Kyle Eveland .359/.438/.479 in 142 AB, 11 2B, 2 HR, 20:24 BB:K, 1 for 1 SBs Lil' Eveland made a late push to be signed, hitting over .400 in conference play after starting the season slow. George Washington .196 batting average in 56 AB, 30 games, 2 SB The numbers didn't change for Washington, who tossed 9.1 innings as a pitcher. Not a good season for Washington, don't expect him to be signed. Ulrich Snijders No stats available No stats, but it doesn't matter anymore, as Snijders is a Brewer. Freddie Lewis No stats available No stats, and Lewis' coach didn't return my inquiries. These JCs need to realize how much web information helps their players. Garrett Regan No stats available Like Copot, I can't tell you much about Regan other than he is not the same Garrett Regan playing hockey for Notre Dame.

TV schedule for this week/weekend, and a game to look ahead to over Memorial Day weekend: Miami @ Georgia Tech All three games of this series are tentatively scheduled to be on FCSA on Thursday (6 pm), Friday (6 PM) and Saturday (noon). Plenty of talent to watch in this 3-game set. Arizona @ Arizona State A rare Friday night tilt televised between conference and in-state rivals. Friday, 5/19, FCSP, 9 pm. Saturday games LSU @ Florida: FCSA, 3 pm NC ST. @ Florida State: FCSA, 6 pm NEXT WEEK Cal State Fullerton @ Long Beach State This game will be televised on CSTV on Friday, May 26th. Tune in to watch a great pitching match between a potential first-round draft pick for this year (LBSU's Jared Hughes) and a potential first-round pick for next year's draft (Wes Roemer). On top of this game, Memorial Day weekend kicks off many of the conference tournaments, with games from the Big 12, SEC, ACC, WCC and MVC tentatively scheduled to be televised.

Player observations, weekend of 5/12/06: I already added a few thoughts on the Tennessee/South Carolina thread. I'm going to keep my thoughts brief, as most of the guys I saw aren't eligible for this year's draft. Josh Horton The UNC SS continues to hit extremely well while anchoring UNC's D'. If he were eligible this year he probably would be considered for the top 15 picks. Good overall athlete with good tools across the board. Reminds me a lot of Bill Spiers. David Adams Virginia's 2B, should have been drafted a lot earlier than he was last year as a draft-eligible prep given his bat. He's going to be a name to watch over the next couple of years. Sean Doolittle Doolittle and Adams make up arguable the best right-side of the infield in all of college baseball. Doolittle is eligible in '07, but he could be taken as a LHP. I didn't see him pitch (he out-dueled Andrew Miller on Friday night) but I liked what I saw from his bat on Saturday. Very good power potential from a naturally gifted hitter. Dave Huff If you missed it, check the replays from the UCLA/USC game from Saturday night, as Dave Huff pitched a dandy, and is a pure joy to watch. He may just be my favorite for the Brewers' first-round pick, even if I know they'll never take him. I have compared him to Barry Zito before (something John Manuel did recently in a BA draft chat, but I can honestly claim that I beat that comp by a few months), and the comp sticks since seeing him pitch. He doesn't have Zito's classic curve, but he has the same knowledge of pitching and an equally impressive out-pitch in a refined changeup. His curveball still is a pretty good pitch, and he's consistently 88-90 on the gun. I have a hard time imagining Huff not being successful as a pro, and he should be taken in the top 15-30 picks.

Tennessee has two players that are potential top 10 picks for the '07 draft, and both were on display during Saturday's game. Catcher JP Arencibia will help make up for this year's incredibly lacklutster catching crop. He led Team USA last summer, the summer after his freshman season, and is polished defensively as well. He hit 9th HR in that game. Adkins is a big lefty, and while he could shore up his command he changes speeds pretty well and his big, sweeping curve induces a lot of awkward swings. While he struck out 7 in 6.2 innings of work, he also gave up 5 ER. SC has two talented freshmen that could have been near-first-rounders a year ago: 1B Justin Smoak and SS Reese Havens. Watch both of them for the '08 draft, as both are a huge part of the Gamecocks relatively surprising success this spring. Smoak hit a HR (his team leading 13th) and double in the game. SC's starter Mike Cisco struck out 8 in 5 innings, but he also gave up 4 ER. He has good stuff, but gets overlooked somewhat because he's generously listed at 5'10". Sleeper from this game to watch in this year's draft: SC catcher Trent Kline. He's leading the Gamecocks in hitting with a .363 batting average, and is a draft-eligible sophomore after missing his freshman year when he injured his throwing arm. I believe it was a shoulder-related injury, but Kline was an extremely talented backstop coming out of high school. His commitment and shorter stature caused him to go to UNC first, until he transferred to St. Petersburg JC only to transfer again to South Carolina. He's thrown out 10 of 24 opposing baserunners on top of his hitting ability. He doesn't walk much, but he doesn't strike out much either, and he's a switch-hitter.

Player results, weekend of 5/12/06: Andrew Miller 6.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R (1 ER), 8 K, 2 BB vs. Virginia Not a bad start, but Miller took the loss in game one vs. the Cavaliers Brad Lincoln 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 9 K, 2 BB vs. Rice Lincoln tosses a dandy vs. Eddie Degerman, Lincoln is now 11-1, Degerman 9-1 Greg Reynolds 9 IP, 8 H, 0 R, 9 K, 1 BB vs. Washington Reynolds picked a great time to toss a CG shutout, as me matched up vs. Tim Lincecum, no doubt in front of a throng of scouts Tim Lincecum 7 IP 10 H, 4 R (3 ER), 5 K, 2 BB vs. Stanford Lincecum looks human in this game, and he only walked two! Daniel Bard 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 K, 3 BB Back to another lackluster start for Bard, as Virginia takes two of three from the Tar Heels David Huff 9 IP, 11 H, 3 ER, 4 K, 1 BB vs. USC Most of the damage came early against Huff, who settled down and cruised vs. USC Ian Kennedy 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R (0 ER), 7 K, 4 BB vs. UCLA Kennedy's best start in months...probably too little, too late Joba Chamberlain 7.1 IP, 8 H, 6 R (4 ER), 12 K, 2 BB vs. Baylor Love the Ks, but got knocked around against Big 12 rival Jared Hughes 3.2 IP, 10 H, 6 R (4 ER), 0 K, 1 BB vs. UC Santa Barbara Easily Hughes' worst line of the year Josh Butler 6.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R (2 ER), 6 K, 3 BB vs. Gonzaga Butler as kind of levelled off since his hot start Max Scherzer 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 4 K, 3 BB vs. Texas Tech Second consecutive solid start for Scherzer since return from injury

Some good TV games this weekend (all Saturday games except the last one, FL/AL): Tennessee @ South Carolina: ESPN, 11 am North Carolina @ Virginia: FCSA, noon Arkansas @ Ole Miss: FCSA, 3 pm Mississippi St. @ Kentucky: FCSA, 6 pm USC @ UCLA: FCSP, 6:30 pm David Huff should start for UCLA in this one Florida @ Alabama: FCSA, 1 pm Watch Brewers' DFE candidate Spencer Pennington in this one

Rowell has been rumored as a sleeper that could sneak way up into the first round. Don't be surprised by any pick this year. In my own mock draft on another thread I joked about the Orioles taking Drabek as a shortstop. While that may be far-fetched, I know quite a few draft-niks were stunned when the Pirates took John Van Benschoten in 2002...as a pitcher after hitting 30+ HRs at Kent State. As for Chamberlain, Scherzer and Kennedy, I think Scherzer is the only one that could find himself going in the top 10, but even he has the Boras factor to deal with, and who is going to give into the money you know you're going to be dealing with for a guy who hasn't been healthy nearly the entire spring? Kennedy's struggles could cause him to plummet, long and hard, while Chamberlain is more of a mid-round first-round pick, and even he hasn't had the same kind of excitement surrounding him like he did when the season started. Actually, they will be lucky if they are drafted in the first round, much less the top 10.

Jeffress to the Dodgers is just a natural fit given Logan White's drafting tendencies. I'll post a few full, first-round mocks in the coming weeks, and I'll be sure to offer my pick for the 31st overall selection at that time.

I'm weary of the catcher a bit, but it's more my personal view. As I've said before, I prefer taking fewer catchers in the draft, and instead taking more arms. I'd rather take my chances with signing a $5 million catcher every few years, or trade for AAAA types for the job. Salome seems to be the exception, but he also sounds a bit too good to be true right now. I remember being enamored with a high school catcher who hit something like .750 in high school...a guy named Belcher. Or I remember believing in a former JuCo home run champ...a guy named Kade. Everyone has their biases. You could rule out prep pitchers completely without even mentioning the Brewers recent history in this category. I think that list blows away the catchers list, and in Johnson and Belcher you're talking about a 2nd and 5th round pick respectively, hardly the kind of risk to make you change your approach. Mass Haas has pointed out before that the Brewers haven't had very good luck with their fourth round picks (or maybe it's their third-rounders, or both), but for every Eric Henderson and Jon Steitz there remains promise in Brad Nelson and Charlie Fermaint. In other words, such trends may not have any substance to them, they may just are there to be broken. And signing a $5 million dollar catcher every few years is easier said than done.