colbyjack

That's an exciting move, although really late in the season. It seems all three guys are getting a cup-of-coffee of sorts to end the season. Can Braun's bat alone carry the Manatees to the playoffs? Rottino's versatility will help the Sounds, which makes me wonder if Fielder and/or Hart will be bumped back down when Clark returns. I think I'm most interested to see if Gamel's production at the plate continues at A-ball.

I popped by a Hurricanes fan forum, and reportedly Weeks is on campus. That really doesn't mean much, as he still has to attend class. The Brewers signed Tom Wilhelmsen the day before he was set to attend classes at an AZ JC. Alex Gordon also reportedly has enrolled for classes for his senior year at Nebraska, but not too many people expect him to attend classes.

At this time in 2001 and 2003 I was feeling pretty good about the respective drafts as a whole. While I'm pretty excited about the early guys taken this year, there really aren't too many, if any guys past the top 10 picks outside of Michael Bell that I am excited about. I know Katin has some fans, and Holmberg is having a fine season, but they remind me of the college players we'ved drafted in recent years that have enjoyed success at Helena (Trofholz, Sollmann, Festa, etc.). The Brewers will have another 20+ DFEs heading into next spring, so hopefully they get lucky again. Not to write off the last two DFE classes, but we really haven't a DFE that everyone was excited about since the Eveland/Dillard class.

Derek Miller did toss 88 innings for the Vermont Catamounts this spring, so he could be hitting a wall. He was already over 50 innings between Helena and West Virginia entering today, so the Brewers may want to take this as a hint that he's wearing down. After today, he's pretty close to 150 innings total, which was just about where Josh Baker and Josh Wahpepah finished off last year IIRC after long college seasons of their own. I noted on the draft forum, but part of the reason for Steve Hammond's aggressive promotions may have to do with the fact that he only tossed about 20+ innings as a reliever for Long Beach State this past year. While Miller got roughed up, Justin Barnes and Robert Hinton, both of whom fly under the prospect radar, both had very good outings in relief.

I know a few people including myself have wanted to see Krynzel bumped up to the big league level just to see if the big-league instruction can knock some consistency into his game. We've all heard about how hard of a worker he is and how much talent he has, but he's been extremely frustrating to follow. I don't know what another year at AAA would do for him.

DHonks, I will break down the entire '05 draft, along with the DFE signees from '04, in a September feature once the minor league season is over and done with. I will say that it has been fun to follow Derek Miller at WV.

The negotiations still sound split. When and if Weeks signs, it will probably be at the last minute. And a couple of hundred thousand bucks for an 8th round pick is a big gap. Thanks for clearing up the school-thing SoCal. I remember looking up another Pac-10 school or so within recent years and remembering the same thing. As DHonks noted, that's unheard of here in the Midwest. The catcher you're thinking of is Garrett Bussiere now with Cal (and draft eligible in '06). The Duke catcher was Brian Hernandez.

Strike-throwing machine Tim Dillard goes 7 innings today, giving up 8 hits and no walks on his way to allowing 4 runs, taking the loss. He did strike out 9. With the Brewer game over, there are plenty of games to check out this Sunday afternoon.

This could just as well fit in the minor league forum, but I have been impressed with the success so far for our picks taken in the top 10 rounds. Carlos Hereaud being nowhere to be found and Weeks' not signing yet is a little discouraging, but both of these guys have the potential to be exciting offensive players. And after years of waiting for our 3B of the future, we have two 3B hitting the ball very well in the lower levels of our minor league system. Ryan Braun .341/.383/.585 in 41 ABs with Helena, 5 extra-base hits, 2:6 BB:K .352/.391/.641 in 145 AB with West Virginia, 25 extra base hits, 8:33 BB:K So far so good with Braun, who has continued to be a proven run producer. No problems swinging the wood bat so far, however those strikeout rates need to come down. Will Inman 1.98 ERA, 36.1 IP, 31 H, 44 K, 11 BB between two levels (only 2 IP at Arizona) Inman continues to pile up the Ks while exhibiting very good control. Again, so far, so good. Mat Gamel .339/.382/.519 in 189 AB, 22 extra base hits, 11:46 BB:K The strikeouts stand out a little bit, but I remember Gamel starting the season with a lot of strikeouts, so I'm guessing those have tapered off a little over the last month. He really is hitting the ball well over the last month after starting the season extremely slow, and has continued his reputation as a run-producing machine. Kevin Roberts 3.52 ERA, 38.1 IP, 35 H, 46 K, 14 BB Roberts has been roughed up a little bit since getting promoted to West Virginia, but his cumulative stats remain very good over two levels this season. Steve Hammond 2.50 ERA, 54 IP, 46 H, 54 K, 11 BB Very good control has allowed Hammond to pitch at three levels for the Brewers since being draft & signed. And since he only pitched 24.1 innings in relief for Long Beach State this season, the Brewers have been able to be more aggressive with his work load. Michael Brantley .338/.417/.365 in 148 AB, 3 extra-base hits, 18:13 BB:K, 11 for 15 in stolen base attempts Not much power, yet, for Brantley, but his patience at the plate for such a young man is admirable, and he's not striking out very much either. Steve Garrison 30.1 IP, 32 H, 2.37 ERA, 24 K, 4 BB Another '05 draftee exhibiting very good control. Things seem bright for this young man.

Rice's OBP does nothing for me. I love OBP, but in this context it just doesn't do much. Yount's career OBP was .342, and while he played a more demanding position making him a no-brainer, OBP would probably be the last thing I would look at to decide whether or not someone should make it in. In his defense, only one player hit his 500th career homer during Jim's career (Reggie Jackson) and there was only one 50 homer season (George Foster '77). His 382 homers are impressive for the era. Thanks for sharing that, both are very fun facts.

That's a good case for Rice, but I wasn't trying to use Coop & Mattingly against Rice's case. I guess I'm a little strict when it comes to who I think should be in the Hall and who shouldn't. Rice is pretty close, but I still say no.

As soon as you open the HOF for Jim Rice, you might as well induct Cecil Cooper, Don Mattingly and Dale Murphy. Take those three players stats in a 6-year time period and it's hard to find how they couldn't be in the Hall. Sorry Jim Rice, you had a great career, but just not quite HOF worthy.

Heck, people discuss and bash Magruder and Santos and whoever else they want in the major league forum all they want to, but I can't make a couple comments on minor leaguers? I'm not doing anything different. I'm not trying to roast you bjames, because I do agree with the basis of what you're saying. However, I do think there is a difference between bashing big leaguers and bashing minor leaguers. Mass Haas puts it a lot better than I do when it comes to this, but I think our minor leaguers, particularly those in the lower levels of the system, should be cut more slack than the big leaguers. I'll leave it at that.

Look, I think everyone would agree that Rogers' success has been disappointing so far, but bjames, you really seemed to have made it your personal quest to point that out over and over again.

Is this Rogers' first start after missing a few with a blister? I'm not trying to make an excuse for him, but since I was gone last weekend I want to make sure I didn't miss a start. I know Rogers wasn't a particularly popular pick on draft day, and it's obvious he still has his fair share of critics. However, while he has struggled I still have to cut him some slack. My patience is growing more and more thin, but you gotta root for the kid. How about some of the early draftees from this year's draft tonight? Mat Gamel, who was an early board favorite that really hasn't gotten much love after starting the season slow, is already 2 for 3 tonight with a double and 3 RBI. Right around when Braun got bumped up Gamel caught fire. He has struck out far too much, but IIRC, his strikeout pace upon entering pro baseball over the first month or so was horrendous. Both Will Inman and Steven Hammond pitched admirably tonight, despite handing out too many free passes.

I was just about to comment on that greg. I thought I was seeing something. Is this an error? I thought he was out until at least instructional league. And Yo is dealing for WV right now.

Look for Baseball America to start releasing their top 10 prospects in the college summer leagues shortly. In the most recent issue of BA, Jim Callis serves up the top 10 prospects from the Cape Cod League: 1. Andrew Miller-LHP-UNC 2. Daniel Bard-RHP-UNC 3. Evan Longoria-IF-Long Beach St. 4. Chris Errecart-1B/OF-Cal 5. Brandon Morrow-RHP-Cal 6. Brad Lincoln-RHP/DH 7. Dallas Buck-RHP-Oregon St. 8. Greg Reynolds-RHP-Stanford 9. Brad Meyers-RHP-Loyola Marymount ('07 eligible) 10. Mark Hamilton-1B/OF-Tulane If BA provides the profiles on their homepage any soon for non-subscribers, I will be sure to provide those as well. Andrew Miller is the front-runner for the #1 overall pick for next June's draft. EDIT: Whaddya know? BA just posted their entire top 30 Cape prospect list this evening. Subscribers get the scouting reports: BA Cape Cod top 30 prospects Andrew Miller http://www.baseballamerica.com/images2005/amillerunc450325ck.jpg

One week and counting for Jemile to sign or attend Miami. I still say he'll sign. If not, the Brewers may turn their attention to Ryan Babineau, as UCLA's classes don't begin until September 29th (the Pac 10 always starts really late).

The first installment of my feature series of my Aflac experience is now up on Perfect Game's homepage: Aflac experience-Day 1 The second installment is now up: Aflac experience-Day 2 The third and final installment is now up: Aflac experience-Day 3 I break down the top tools at the event in my Crack of the Bat column: Crack of the Bat-Aflac Top Tools

One thing that gets lost in the whole Aflac experience is that there were about 40 other players at Towson's John B. Schuerholz Park as part of Perfect Game's showcase. They definitely made the most of the 28 scouting directors in attendance, not to mention the countless number of scouts. I can tell you that the Brewers covered the event very well, as Jack Zduriencik, two crosschceckers and two area scouts were in attendance. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/jasonstoffel1.jpg While there were plenty of players at the Perfect Game Aflac showcase that traveled great distances to turn the heads of scouts, none shone brighter than California's Jason Stoffel (RHP).

More pics I took at the Aflac Game: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/alcombrack1-saturday.jpg Robbie Alcombrack swings for the fences on his way to winning the HR derby. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/betances1-saturday.jpg Dellin Betances poses with one of his many young NYC fans. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/anderson1-saturday.jpg Smooth lefty Brett Anderson wheels & deals. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/firstpitch-east.jpg Matt Latos delivers the first pitch of the game. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/firstpitch-west.jpg Jordan Walden delivers the first pitch for the West. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/jenkins1-saturday.jpg Ryan Jenkins about to deliver... http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/willems1-saturday.jpg Colton Willems delivering one of his many 90+ mph fastballs.

Bill, my father-in-law taped the game for me. I haven't watched it yet to see how much of it is there, but when I do I'll let you know (and dub a tape for you along with the Cape game). The game itself was on the sloppy side given the amount of errors and walks. The umps seemed to have a rather tight zone, especially given the weather (it was mid to upper 90s the days I was there). I will be sharing more thoughts on the event over the course of the week, here and at Perfect Game, but it was really nice to see these kids take BP, IF/OF along with taking their hacks during the HR derby because it allowed me to take plenty of looks at them. Among those that impressed me include LHP Brett Anderson, RHP Dellin Betances and C Max Sapp. Brewer is a great athlete, but he probably moves to the OF, and while he displayed a good eye at the plate, I'm a little concerned about his ability to make contact. He didn't hit the ball that well in BP. I wouldn't take him in the first round, but I'd take him for his athleticism anytime after that. No one hit the ball consistently hard as Max Sapp. Hank Conger is probably next in this category, even if they weren't launching balls over the fence. Cody Johnson without a doubt has the most raw power, and hit the ball further than anyone else, while Drabek displayed a consistent stroke in which he easily lofted balls over the LCF fence. Shepherd is a physical specimen. Walden & Latos are the top two prep pitchers available for the '06 draft at this point in time, but both need refinement (they all do, but Walden & Latos didn't impress me as much as I was hoping). Nathan Bridges, Chris Marerro and Chris Parmelee are the best three pure hitters. Also, I think the game is going to be re-broadcasted a few times. Check Yahoo TV listings to check this out. And when you do watch the game, look in the upper left-hand corner when the camera is focused on home plate. My brother and I spend quite a bit of time on the broadcast lookin' all scouty http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

Checking in from Towson, just outside of Baltimore, I wanted to remind everyone that the Aflac All-American Classic is today at 1:00 pm CST. Be sure to tune in to watch the best high school seniors that will be eligible for the 2006 draft. I'm adding a few pictures here as a teaser, a lot more to come when I return home. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/kiker1.jpg This is a photo of the East squad's Kasey Kiker during Thursday's scrimmage at John B. Schuerholz park on Towson University's campus. Love that high leg kick (and he's a lefty). http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/poy-award1.jpg From left to right: Cal Ripken Jr., Jimmie Lee Solomon, Jackie Robinson Player of the Year Cody Johnson, Rachel Robinson and Al Johnson (of Aflac) at the awards banquet on Thursday evening. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/drabekswing1.jpg Kyle Drabek watches one of his home runs fly during the first round of the home run derby Friday at John B. Schuerholz Park. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y155/colbyjack/justincody.jpg Last year's Jackie Robinson Player of the Year Award winner Justin Upton with a surprise visit to the VIP suite at Camden Yards, poses next to this year's winner, Cody Johnson.

Interesting thought on Richardson being part of the reason Braun, Escobar and Iribarren all having the error totals that they do despite getting high reviews for their defense from those that have seen them first-hand. However, I think the comparison to Billy Hall probably speaks more truth. We've all seen Hall make the spectacular play, and we've all seen him boot the one he should make 100% of the time. The same goes for Rickie Weeks. Robin Yount commited something like 44 errors his rookie year, whle Derek Jeter had 56 or so errors in the minor leagues. While Jeter isn't as good defensively as his reputation has carried him, but he still is plenty good enough to stay at SS. In other words, I don't want to make too many excuses for our minor leaguers, but at the same time they are playing at low-A ball and have plenty of time to get better. As for Heether & Braun both possibly playing 3B at Huntsville next year, in no way, shape or form do you let the presence of Heether affect where you put Braun next year. Don't get me wrong, I like Heether and think he could contribute at the MLB level down the road even if it is for a cup of coffee. However, the money is invested in Braun, and the more I hear about him the more I get excited about him. And it may actually be a blessing for Heether, who may be better served to expand his versatility. He's athletic enough to learn to play a corner OF spot, along with seeing some time at 1B. The DH will also allow Heether & Braun to co-exist in the same lineup. My night feels incomplete with no Helena box score to look forward to...

A nice picture of Ryan Braun graces the homepage of Baseball America today, along with a nice feature in their Daily Dish: http://www.baseballamerica.com/images2005/rbraun450325.jpg And of course Will Inman's performance wasn't going to go unnoticed: