colbyjack

Is their any chance that any of those 3 closers will be available in the second round? No chance. As for Tony Butler, how much attention do you think he deserves? He has received plenty of attention around these parts, and is a legitimate prospect to be taken in the top 3-7 rounds. That means he's a really well-known commodity. If you think he should be considered in the first round, well than that's a stretch. He's good, but he's not good, at least not at this point in time, and northern kids always have the elements working against them.

Honestly, if it's only going to be in the high 40's, possibly rainy, and super-windy, I really hope the game gets cancelled. That's not my idea of fun. You're not being a wuss, it is incredibly nasty outside. If tonight's game is still on I will be incredibly surprised.

Re: Jared Hughes: While his stats don't lend one to believe that he has been absolutely unhittable, his numbers are still pretty good. Plus, as I've noted almost every week, along with some notes from CalNiner, he never gets hit very hard because his stuff moves so much. Put a good defense behind him and wood bats in the hands of batters and I think he's going to fare pretty well. As for a mock draft, it's really hard to project this year, and in my educated opinion the Royals aren't going to take the best player out there (Andrew Miller). As I pointed out on another thread already, MLB.com has released their draft coverage, with Jonathan Mayo taking a stab at the top 10 picks: mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ne...;fext=.jsp Jim Callis has offered his top 20 and I have my top 30 for everyone to view at any time. How about some names? Here are some players I have heard recently in conneciton with the Brewers: Hank Conger-C Conger may be the first prep hitter taken, and may not even be available when the Brewers make their pick. He has been hitting some prodigious blasts this spring, and similar to Weeks, Fielder and Braun, there is some question concerning his defensive ability. Clearly he would be taken for his bat, an approach I applaud Jack Zduriencik and his staff for taking (always draft the bat first). Check out some video of Conger taking BP at the Aflac All-American Classic (among a few other of the top prep prospects) at BaseballWebTV.com (and refer back to some of my reports from the Aflac game for my thoughts on Conger among others): www.baseballwebtv.com/Upl...layer.html Jeremy Jeffress-RHP This is the warning not to throw your computer screen out the window. Jeffress is a prep righty, hailed more for how hard he throws than how well he pitches. We've seen this before as Brewers fans with JM Gold, Nick Neugebauer, Mike Jones and Mark Rogers. With the Brewers' interest in Jeffress, it's clear that they are going to take the potential each and every time they can. For those that can't watch another hard-throwing prep pitcher selected, take solace in the fact that Jeffress is rising so fast that he is a likely candidate to be taken in the top 10 overall, with the Dodgers being a popular destination. Their profiles aren't up yet, but the Brewers have been reported to be scouting the three top college closers hard: Miami's Chris Perez, UC Irvine's Blair Erickson and Arizona's Mark Melancon. I've talked about this before, but with increased expectations the Brewers might feel inclined to take a player that is a lot closer to contributing at the big-league level. Their struggles in the bullpen might re-inforce this approach. There are also reports that the Brewers are keeping tabs on quite a few different college starters. Jared Hughes, Josh Butler, Joba Chamberlain, Kyle McCulloch and Brett Sinkbeil's names have all been associated with the Brewers. Jonathan Mayo took his stab at the top 10, here's my top 15 plus one: 1. Royals: Tim Lincecum I've already reported that this pick seems likely. 2. Rockies: Evan Longoria Everyone automatically thinks the Rockies will pick up Miller should the Royals not take him. They won't, and yes, they would take another hitter. 3. Devil Rays: Brandon Morrow Same as the Rockies, everyone thinks the everyone below the Royals is holding their breath hoping for Miller to fall. The D-Rays pass on the big bonus and go for the power arm. 4. Pirates: Andrew Miller Miller doesn't fall that far, but he falls three picks further than he should. The Pirates will make up with this pick for not selecting BJ Upton first overall in '02. 5. Mariners: Brad Lincoln The Ms are keyed in on college pitching, and they'll take the best one that falls to them. 6. Tigers: Clayton Kershaw I've seen numerous places report that the Tigers are all over Kershaw, so this will be a popular selection in mock drafts leading up to draft day. 7. Dodgers: Jeremy Jeffress Same as the Tigers taking Kershaw, the Dodgers are likely going to be linked with Jeffress for a few weeks. Logan White is known as a SD not afraid to take a prep arm. 8. Reds: Daniel Bard The Reds would be smart to get their hands on the best pitcher they can. They aren't that smart, so they won't... 9. Orioles: Kyle Drabek Three prep pitchers in the top 10 may be somewhat of a surprise, but what may be more surprising is the fact that the Orioles may take Drabek as a SS similar to when they took Markakis as an OF. 10. Giants: Matt Antonelli The Giants and Antonelli's name have been connected quite a bit this spring. Under Sabean they seem to have a backwards approach so to speak by taking prep arms and college hitters. 11. D-Backs: Greg Reynolds I can almost guarantee you that the D-Backs will take a college pitcher with this pick, as they need some arms to catch up with their seemingly endless supply of impact bats. 12. Rangers: Drew Stubbs The exciting yet strikeout prone CF falls no further, staying in-state with the Rangers who have been looking for a centerfielder for a very long time. 13. Cubs: Luke Hochevar The Cubs don't pick again until the fourth round due to their offseason free agent signings, so they may be more likely to take a chance on arguably the best pitcher available this year. 14. Blue Jays: Blair Erickson Not a surprising pick for the college conscious Blue Jays, nabbing the first college closer of the draft. 15. Nationals: Jared Hughes The Nats are intent on loading up on a couple of college arms in the first round, possibly taking a closer here or with their next pick. And the one more... 16. Brewers: Hank Conger See above.

I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make it this year. I had a blast last year, but the timing of this year's event isn't as good as it was a year ago given my busy summer schedule with my "real" job. Nate, I know it's a far ways off, but if you do go and I'm not able to I would like to talk to you. I'll drop you a line as we get closer to the event.

MLB.com has released their draft coverage: mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ml.../index.jsp I know a few people asked for a mock draft on a different threat, so I thought I'd point out that Jonathan Mayo takes a shot at the top 10 picks: mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ne...;fext=.jsp

I'll refresh your memory DHonks...Houston's Brad Lincoln and USC's Ian Kennedy are the most Sheets-like. Lincoln more so than Kennedy in his arsenal, Kennedy more than Lincoln in his approach. Lincoln throws in the low-to-mid-90s with a hammer curveball that actually has been compared to Sheets'. Unlike Big Ben, Lincoln is a very talented hitter as well, the leading slugger on the Cougars (he plays DH and bats cleanup even during games he starts). Kennedy pitches fearlessly, and isn't afraid to pitch up in the strike zone, which is usually reserved for power pitchers. Kennedy hasn't enjoyed nearly as much success this year as he has in the past, and his once 89-93 velocity is in the 87-91 range. That is always something to be concerned about, as that slight loss in velocity seems to have made him vulnerable this year. The crafty lefty award goes to UCLA's David Huff this year, whose starts I have been keeping track of in the college baseball thread. He's a bigger guy, has a 88-90 mph fastball with a very good changeup. He gets batters out by changing his speeds, taking something off his pitches for increased movement, and hitting his spots. Brett Anderson is that guy from the HS ranks, but he can dial it up to 94 on occasion. Anderson has gotten quite a bit of love from me around these parts, ever since I saw him throw last summer at the Aflac game. He could move fast given the way he pitches. Alabama's Wade LeBlanc could also fit into this category, who works with a similar velocity as Huff yet uses a big sweeping curve as his out pitch.

www.aflacallamerican.com/...tos/?id=52 San Diego State's Tony Gwynn Stadium will play host to this year's Aflac All-American Classic, after spending two consecutive years at Cal Ripken's complex in Aberdeen, Maryland. The game itself will be played on Saturday, August 12th, and will once again be televised live on FSN. Reggie Jackson is this year's honorary chairman, although a Tony Gwynn sighting wouldn't surprise me. A couple of San Diego prospects for the '07 draft were the first two players announced to the team: Infielder Nick Noonan and outfielder Sequoyah Stonecipher.

The draft & follow preview has already hit the homepage. View the Draft & Follow resource thread for all kinds of good info and links on the Brewers DFE candidates. I don't plan on writing an update story as I've done in the past (I don't think I did one last year either). As for a draft preview story, with all of the profiles I add into the Brewerfan.net draft database, I'm not sure one is necessary. I thought about it last night, but I haven't decided as to whether or not I will pursue that. If I get enough requests, I could be swayed...http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

Don't forget about Ryan Zink. A team may just take a flier on him despite his injury. I doubt it, but it's not impossible. JC guys: Tyler Beranek & Brandon Hall, both of Lake City CC. Other than Erik Cordier, I think the talent in this year's draft is comparable to the 2004 class. Butler may be drafted in the 2nd round, but at one point in time Cordier's name was being tossed around as a possible 1st-rounder. No WI draft-eligible prospect has that potential this year, even if we might see some crazy things happen on draft day. Keep the other thoughts coming based on your interest this year. I enjoy reading them.

I've let the folks at Perfect Game know about the glitches with PG Crosschecker. Hopefully they'll get those cleaned up soon. I wanted to let people know, since this is a Perfect Game related thread that BaseballWebTV has already transformed and has enjoyed a face-lift. Check it out if you haven't already: www.baseballwebtv.com/

bball just mentioned the two that are closest to my house that I'm aware of. River Falls' cages are outdoors if that helps.

I just wanted to point out that I added profiles for the high school and college outfielders. Visit the default Brewerfan.net draft page and using the position drop-down menu select either LF, CF or RF. I think it's clear that this is not a good year for outfielders. Keep in mind that the rankings numbers are not accurate. They are not to be used to determine which player is ranked where. The only rankings that are accurate are the top 30 players. The rest are just ranked by which they are entered into the database.

Nice picture of Brad Nelson (from familiar Brewerfan friend Bill Mitchell) from BA's AAA report (subscribers only): www.baseballamerica.com/o...61242.html http://www.baseballamerica.com/images/bnelson06428309bm.jpg

I'll tell you what I know. There isn't a whole lot of professional talent on the Panthers, and I haven't been out to see them this year. Senior outfielder Mike Goetz is the name to watch on UWM. He currently is leading the entire nation in hitting (.527) and on-base percentage (.608) . He's second in hits (88) and third in OPS (1.327). That performance alone will draw attention. He currently plays center, but could end up at second base, a position he has played before. Grant Berkovitz is a slick-fielding shortstop, although he's not draft-eligible until next year. Rob Brockel is a big power hitting 3B from Marquette HS that went to Purdue originally out of HS. Tim Hoy is a left-handed pitcher with some promise. He's only a freshman. Interesting that of all of their players with at least 100 ABs, they are all hitting above .300. Their pitching is another story. Edit: accidental emoticons

Which dovetails into my next, which is that the 2-year A-ball program should be utilized for very hard throwers with less than good command, like Neugebauer, Jones, etc. However, for more refined pitchers like Gallardo and Inman (neither of whom have big strike zone problems at all), learning to get guys out in the zone is more important because they can't necessarily blow the ball by the hitters. While it's an interesting idea, my desire to keep both Gallardo and Inman where they're at for the year has a lot more to do with their future health than their development. I have no doubt that either one could carve up hitters at the next level (and I'm starting to believe Inman just might carve up batters two levels higher), but I don't want to push either one because of the wear & tear on their arms. With each level up there are increased pitch counts, and Inman is on the team he is because it is assembled to have a few piggy-backs taking place. This places a different burden on the bullpen, and their are also roster ramifications. I'd rather not see any pitcher accumulate more than about 25 innings from the season before. Bumping Inman up a level would increase his work load. If you're tempted to bump him up again, the workload goes up again. Ideally I would like to see a young pitcher throw 100 innings at low-A, 125 at high-A, 150 at AA and 175 at AAA (possibly combined between AAA & the big-leagues, since it's hard to tally 175 innings in the minor leagues given the short season). That way when they make the big-leagues for good they are conditioned to handle a jump to 200 IP should they be ready and successful enough to do so. I remember this was a concern with Mark Prior since he spent virtually no time in the minors. Who knows how many of his current problems go back to how he was handled early in his career.

The draft is one month away today, and I'm here to poll Brewer fans to get their thoughts on the upcoming draft. It seems as though we had a lot more interest in past years, and I'm curious if there are any reasons as to why people aren't as interested in the Brewers draft this year (and who knows, maybe you still are). Is it because they aren't going to pick as high in the first round? Is it because the big-league Brewers are more interesting (in that you followed the draft more by default)? Is it because the draft pool isn't considered as talented this year? Do you wait for MLB's site to get up so you can watch the short video clips of these players? Ideally speaking, if you were to target a specific position, what would it be and why? Should the Brewers change their drafting philosophy based on higher expectations at the big-league level (such as drafting a college closer, or college players in general)? Will you throw your computer through a window if they take a high school pitcher? Speak up Brewer fans. I'd love to hear your thoughts to see how everyone is leaning.

I would resist the temptation to bump Gallardo up, just like I would resist the temptation to move Inman up despite seemingly dominating the Sally League. I really like seeing young pitchers, the ones drafted out of HS, spend a year at each level in the lower levels (the summer after being drafted in rookie ball, a full year at low-A and a full year at high-A). Once that pitcher has gotten through the A-ball levels then I may be tempted to bump him up from AA to AAA or beyond more quickly. These young years are just so crucial for the young pitchers that I'm all for seeing that brought along slowly to keep the wear & tear down. Speeding up the advancement of former top pitching prospects such as Nick Neugebauer and Mike Jones didn't work before, so I'm glad the Brewers are taking a more patient approach with their recent batch of talented young arms. And even if Inman and Gallardo spend a full year at each and every level as they move up, they still debut in the big-leagues when they're about 22-23 years old. That said, watching Yo and Inman pitch through the box scores has been an incredible treat.

Player updates for the weekend of 5/5/06 Happy cinco de Mayo...Andrew Miller, Daniel Bard and Ian Kennedy will all be off this weekend as their teams have no games scheduled. Max Scherzer on the flip side is expected to return to the mound for Missouri tomorrow (Saturday) against Mississippi Valley State. This weekend featured two really good Pac-10 matchups: Brandon Morrow 8.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 11 K, 0 BB vs. Stanford Greg Reynolds 9 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 K, 2 BB vs. Cal Morrow and Reynolds squared off against one another, and both tossed a complete game to start the series off. Morrow got tagged for a game winning hit in the 9th to take the loss, but he managed not to walk a batter. Reynolds kept his walks down per usual, but the Ks are still down too. This game was likely swarmed with scouts & SDs. Tim Lincecum 8 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 16 K, 5 BB vs. Oregon State Dallas Buck 7.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R (5 ER), 7 K, 3 BB vs. Washington I don't know why, but I got a shiver down my spine thinking about this game. Lincecum hands Buck his first loss of the year (9-1), and despite giving up 4 Beaver runs, Lincecum strikes out an amazing 16 batters over 8 innings of work. Brad Lincoln 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 10 K, 2 BB (122 pitches) vs. Central Florida Not as sexy of a matchup, but Lincoln with another fine performance. Jared Hughes 6 IP, 9 H, 7 R (5 ER), 6 K, 1 BB vs. Cal Poly Once again Hughes gives up more runs than you would like to see despite not getting knocked around. Max Scherzer 6 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 7 K, 2 BB (89 pitches) vs. Mississippi Valley State Scherzer returns to duty with a strong outing. Josh Butler 6.2 IP, 11 H, 6 R (4 ER), 8 K, 1 BB vs. Santa Clara Butler hasn't been as sharp lately as he was to open the season, but his peripherals are still strong.

What is the pitch count again for starters like Inman? 60? About 30 when they piggy-back in relief? I don't remember too many 5 inning outings for Rogers, who is having a hard time going 5 innings as a non-piggy-back starter for the Manatees. If Inman keeps it up, it is going to be hard for the Brewers to hold him back, although I won't complain one bit if they do (in fact I will be somewhat impressed by their probable wise restraint). I don't mean to jinx Inman, but he has been just as impressive at WV as he was in rookie ball. If pitch counts weren't a concern, I'd say swap him and Rogers, letting Rogers know what being a pitcher is all about. As a disclaimer, I don't mean to be too hard on Rogers, because you just can't give up on special arms like his, especially this early in his career, but I had a feeling his last start was more of a tease than anything. Remember when people got impatient with Nick Neugebauer through A-ball and even into AA, and than everything seemed to come together for him at AA Huntsville? Nevermind how Neugie's career path took a bad turn, it's proof that Rogers still has plenty of time to figure it out. Oh yeah, start talking about Mat Gamel...

I'm going to link and grab some comments taken from my observations of Jeffress of the Aflac games when my thoughts were fresh on my observations: PG: Aflac Day 1 While Betances has a quiet confidence on the mound, Jeremy Jeffress (South Boston, VA) definitely allows himself to show his emotions on the mound. Armed with a heater that has been clocked in the upper-90s this summer, he started in the 90-91 range before dipping to 85-87. This is a trend that also continued during the Aflac game itself, again, which I will also get to later on. He has a slurvy breaking pitch that could use some more consistency, but it definitely shows promise. PG: Aflac day 3 Jeremy Jeffress, whom the East were saving for the ninth, warmed up quickly and replaced Sullivan with two on and no outs. Pumping his fist into his glove repeatedly and getting big cheers from the crowd, Jeffress hit 94 on his first five fastballs, striking out Kyle Drabek in the process. He also threw an inconsistent but potentially dominant 79 mph slider. Unfortunately for Jeffress and the East, he never threw 94 again, as his velocity quickly declined to 91, 89 and 88 mph before settling at 87. The eighth continued to be a nightmare for the East, as Green reached on an error with a runner scoring, while another runner scored on a wild pitch. Shepherd then followed with a RBI single to right field, and Rapoport reached on yet another error. Bridges singled to left field on a good fastball by Jeffress to load the bases. Jeffress got Alcombrack to pop up to third base, but Chris Marrero dropped the ball in foul territory giving Alcombrack a new life (Marrero committed three errors in the inning). Alcombrack then walked in a run. Jeffress finally got a little bit of luck on his side, as he got a double play when Ryan Adams flew out to centerfield and the East threw to third base after Rapoport apparently had tagged and scored. The ump, likely tired due to the heat and length of the inning, called Rapoport out, even if the replay clearly showed he had tagged. With five runs scoring, the West seemed up for good, eight to four. I've heard pretty much the same about Jeffress, but now PG's Who's Hot list and PG Crosschecker is reporting that Jeffress was hitting the mid to upper 90s deep into a ballgame recently. When I saw him he lost his velocity quickly, although that may have more to do with mechanics than actually hitting a wall. I'm skeptical of Jeffress to say the least, but we Brewers fans have been burned by a few hard throwing prep pitchers in the past (JM Gold, Nick Neugebauer, Mike Jones, and potentially Mark Rogers). It's hard not to like Jeffress when you watch him, as his arm is simply electric, but it would be equally hard for me to take him solely on his future promise.

For those of us that haven't been at the practices before, can someone please add the exact locations & directions? Thanks. I plan on being there on Sunday at noon.

My interview with San Diego's Josh Butler is now up on Perfect Game's site: PG Crack of the Bat: Josh Butler interview I spoke with Tim Lincecum last night, look for that interview at some point in the next week or two.

I haven't profiled a player on the forums lately, because my energy is going towards the profiles found off of the draft page(s) of Brewerfan.net. I wanted to bring up Sinkbeil because he is one player that I have never brought up on the forums here, despite bringing up nearly every other players under the sun. Why? Good question, because I did get to see him pitch in the Cape Cod League All-Star Game last summer. He just hasn't struck me as much as most to all of the other players I have profiled. I had to include him now since Jim Callis listed him among his top 20 draft prospects, he was recently listed as Baseball America's 17th best midseason college draft-eliglble prospect and he was named their 17th best prospect on the Cape last summer. Brett Sinkbeil-RHP-Missouri State Freshman Year, Missouri State, 2004: 7-4, 3.11 ERA, 15 games (14 starts), 3 CG, 84 IP, 66 H, 84 K, 34 BB, .214 BAA, 8 HR Sophomore Year, Missouri State, 2005: 7-9, 4.84 ERA, 17 games (15 starts), 2 CG, 87.1 IP, 95 H, 97 K, 29 BB, .271 BAA, 9 HR Summer of 2005, Cape Cod League: 5-1, 2.38 ERA, 9 games (8 starts), 53 IP, 42 H, 59 K, 7 BB, 3 HR Cumulative Statistics: 19-14, 3.61 ERA, 41 games (37 starts), 5 CG, 224.1 IP, 221 H, 240 K, 70 BB, 20 HR So far in '06: 4-1, 2.26 ERA, 9 games (all starts), 1 CG, 59.2 IP, 40 H, 63 K, 20 BB, .189 BAA, 2 HR Sinkbeil is appropriately named, as his best attribute is a heavy fastball with natural sink that sits 92-93 and can reach 95. His second best pitch is a slider, making him a prototypical sinker-slider pitcher that is at his best when he's working for contact. Like so many sinker-ball pitchers, when Sinkbeil has been hit, he has been hit hard as evidenced by the 20 dingers he's given up prior to his junior year. He has improved in that area this year, and is doing a great job limiting base hits. He has always had good control and the propensity to miss bats. His changeup is a work in progress. On top of his stuff, he also has a very athletic build at 6'4", 185 pounds. He is considered to be a mid-to-late first-round pick, more likely late than mid. As I noted above, I have seen him pitch, very briefly, as part of the '05 Cape Cod League All-Star Game. He works from a low 3/4 delivery that definitely aids the movement on his pitches. His arm speed is rather slow, but he offers a lot of deception, and with the movement on his pitches that deception is a weapon in itself. According to my notes from that game he had a K, a weak flyout and a broken bat dribbler while consistently pitching in the 90-92 range with a good slider. Pretty much on par for his other scouting reports.

Keep in mind that the pitcher the Power roughed up was 2005 first-round LHP Brian Bogusevic from Tulane. That makes the feat all the more impressive IMO. I need to pay more attention to that Power squad, as I didn't realize Mat Gamel had come on as strong as he has lately (aside from his 2 HRs in one inning, the last time I looked he wasn't anywhere near .300).

Hey BrewCrew, I'm going to try and make it up to Fondy this Friday to catch their game (and their opponent, highlighted by Chris Roberts). If you're there keep an eye open for me.