colbyjack

Minnesota's schedule has been released now, with Pepperdine, South Carolina & New Orleans being the 3 teams invited to take part of Minnesota's annual Dairy Queen Classic: DAIRY QUEEN BASEBALL CLASSIC Friday March 4th: PEPPERDINE vs. SOUTH CAROLINA , 12:15 pm MINNESOTA vs. NEW ORLEANS, 6:35 pm Saturday March 5th: PEPPERDINE vs. NEW ORLEANS, noon MINNESOTA vs. SOUTH CAROLINA, 6:30 pm Sunday March 6th: SOUTH CAROLINA vs. NEW ORLEANS 11:00 am MINNESOTA vs. PEPPERDINE, 3:00 pm South Carolina is a big opponent, although they're not stacked with the prospects like they were this past year. Steve Pearce is probably their most notable returnee, and they always have solid recruiting classes, both from HS commits and JC transfers. New Orleans & Pepperdine, while not as prolific, still have solid D1 programs.

According to Baseball America: www.baseballamerica.com/t...wba20.html A few more 3B prospects listed that we haven't even takled about, including their #6 prospect, David Adams, who has drawn a few comparisons to Mets' 3B David Wright. Uh-oh...http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . Brandon Snyder, whom I just mentioned last night in the Clement thread, was listed at #7. Keep in mind, these top prospect lists aren't necessarily top prospects overall for the 2005 draft, just the top prospects for the event.

Thanks again brew2. Have you had a chance to see Brandon Snyder play at all? We hear so much about Upton & Bristow, another fellow Viriginia prep SS in Snyder gets lost in the shuffle. I've heard from more than one place that scouts would like to see what he can do behind the plate (like Michael Barrett & Brandon Inge), and has committed to play for LSU.

brew2, have you had the chance to see Bristow play? I wished I would have had a better glance of him in the AFLAC game. At this time last year some people considered him the #2 prep player available for '05 (behind fellow Virginian Justin Upton). I have to think the reason Clement is rated so highly is because he is a catcher and to at least some degree projects as a catcher by somebody. If scouts didn't think he could catch as a pro wouldn't his stock be a little lower? After all offensive first basemen are not that hard to find. If offensive first basemen weren't hard to find, more teams would have them. I agree that a good hitting first baseman is easier to find than a good hitter at just about any other position, but good hitters no matter where they play are harder to find than some may presume. But Clement's value is definitely affected by what position he plays. I have thought about this myself, where would he be rated if he didn't catch? He may hit enough to make that close to being a non-issue, and similar to Eric Munson, whom I've compared Clement to before, his inability to catch didn't effect his draft stock in 1999. And that brings up an interesting point, if you have the ability to draft a good SS like Tyler Greene that possibly projects to hit in the .770 OPS range, would you take him over a guy like Jeff Clement that could hit in the .850 range as a first baseman?

Thanks Kat, and I agree, the top graphic would look nice on a bumper sticker. There are no plans to have any new ones printed anytime soon, but maybe we can add something to the store.

Since I have the distinct pleasure of designing the site, I thought I'd chime in on rluzinski's request to add the levels back to the team graphics on the left. Personally, I don't think they're necessary anymore. The teams start with the big league Brewers, and are listed in descending order. While I always liked the level designation that I added on the previous site designs, I decided to leave them out for this look. Brian has added those designations at the top of each team page. It also was tough removing the individual team logos, but we decided to get away from prominently displaying such images, even if some of the teams have been kind enough to send me new logo files without my request when they make even the slightest tweaks. Plus, with long team names like the Brevard County Manatees and the Charleston Alley Cats, level designations would only make the team name text smaller. So, it's their fault, although the Indianapolis Indians and High Desert Mavericks weren't any better http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . Hopefully you can tell that I put a lot of thought into that graphic element alone. Nothing's more exciting than loging on & seeing a brand new P50! I think to make this automated, it would really disrupt the look of the site, and a clean, consistent, professional look was really the goal for both Brian and myself. I guess if it's that exciting to see a new Power 50, and I agree, then build up your suspense by clicking on the Power 50 graphic to truly see if it has indeed been updated. Or, since you read these forums, just pop by the minor league forum since Toby makes everyone aware when a P50 update has been posted. Sorry, I know that's not what you wanted to hear Anton.http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/eyes.gif I'm pleased people are happy with the new look (although I'm curious who voted that they liked the look of the old site). Big props again and as always to Brian for making it happen.

Thanks hawing & nBo. I placed my order today thanks to your feedback.

It's on my to-do list http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . But really, what is there to talk about from '00? As you point out MassBrew, there isn't much to look forward to past Krynzel & Hart. I still intend to look at Jack Z's first 3 years with the club, as most of the picks worth noting are well within the organization. 2001 still looks to be the cream of the crop, even with Mike Jones' injury. Actually the past couple of days I have been analyzing all of the picks from the 2002 draft trying to figure out the players that attended college that will be eligible next June. Stephen Kahn was my main focus, but that reminded me just how highly touted players like Kahn, Tom Wilhelmsen, Eric Thomas, Jarrad Page, Khalid Ballouli, Tila Reynolds & even Nic Carter (his draft selection in the 4th round shouldn't have been as big of a surprise as many make it out to be) were.

Hey Joe, I was about to place an order, but I'm skeptical about the quality. Are you impressed, or at least satisfied? I'm not just talking about the print quality of the design, but the shirt itself. I'm sure it's not screenprinted, but how does the color look, and does the shirt itself look like it will shrink and/or fade after a few washes? I don't expect you to be a garment professional, just looking for some solace before I place my order. Thanks in advance.

Welcome aboard Valley Ball. I have a feeling I've conversed with you before on other boards... While Braun has been injured, I know scouts haven't exactly been thrilled with his limited performance with a wood bat. Like you said, he's going to have to stay healthy while having a big year to re-establish himself as one of the top college players available for next year. He actually reminds me a lot of Matt Macri. All of the tools are there, and he shows a good amount of discipline, but his future home as a pro may be at 3B, and he's going to have to hit to prove his worth there. And the Hurricanes actually have two 3B prospects worth talking about between him & Gaby Sanchez.

Thanks MB, I was just about to post that. It's easy to miss BA's "breaking news" headline below their feature story today. Good news for Tigers fans, and good for their GM Dombrowski to allegedly cut ties and let Verlander & his agent come back to him. With Verlander signing, I wouldn't be surprised to see a few more follow suit. Humber & Niemann, selected right after Verlander, could fall into place in the next few weeks. Actually, there's a link up on the Tigers' MLB site: detroit.tigers.mlb.com/NA...&fext=.jsp Looking forward to Bonderman & other Tiger fans thoughts if they bother to stop by...

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention ASU's Travis Buck as another possible 3B prospect. Buck was a SS in HS, and many considered him to be a 3B prospect coming out of HS. He moved to the OF upon reaching ASU's campus, and I've heard from more than one scouting resource that they would like to see him back at the hot corner. Buck is a good hitter with great patience at the plate.

I think Teixeira is a good comparison, and as Kat noted, Gordon is more likely to stay at 3B (although Teixeira likely would have stayed at 3B if it hadn't been for Hank Blalock's presence). I'm not so sure if Marte & Wright are good comparisons because those two guys are more pure athletes than Gordon, who is more of a true slugger. That's not to say that Gordon isn't a good athlete. Plus, both Marte & Wright bat right-handed, which for me is always hard to compare someone that hits from the opposite side (Gordon hits left-handed). How about Eddie Matthews for a comparison? http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

The Brewers have never drafted for need, but you both bring up interesting points. I think catcher is one position that the Brewers, or any team, would make an exception for given how hard it is to find backstops that can hit. And Clement can mash. Great power and a very good eye at the plate. So far in college, he hasn't struck out that much either, and given his power he still has a short & compact stroke that could allow him to be a good to great all around hitter. As for his defense, I've always heard that he's trying hard & putting a lot of hours into improving, but I still haven't heard anyone say that they think he can stick behind the plate as a pro. I have heard that he has bulked up quite a bit by hitting the weights hard, which has limited his flexibility, which may take him out from behind the plate sooner rather than later. I think his arm is sound back there, but his agility is not. As for a position switch, 1B has been mentioned, so I'm guessing people aren't exactly sold on his overall athleticism since third base has not. The first name that comes to mind for me is Eric Munson, another left-handed slugger who was considered a can't-miss run producer whom the Tigers drafted 3rd overall out of the same school, USC. The Tigers immediately move Munson from behind the plate to 1B hoping to put him on the fast track to the big leagues. I guess we'll find out more later about his ability to stay at catcher, but from what I've heard I wouldn't count on it. His bat still might be worth a top 5-10 pick. I know CarolinaTommy has seen Clement play the past couple of summers, so hopefully he'll chime in. As for Kat's point about numerous 3B candidates being available, maybe this is the year in which the Brewers actually find their 3B of the future, simply because there are several good candides to choose from. You could also throw Long Beach SS Troy Tulowitzki into that group who may have to move to 3B given his size. Viriginia 3B Ryan Zimmerman probably doesn't have the power potential to be taken as high as the 5th overall pick, but he's another 3B prospect that is projected to go in the first round at this point in time. On the prep side you have two 2-way stars in Sean O'Sullivan & Justin Bristow that could be considered 3B if they're drafted as positional prospects. Jack Z. has always said that he likes to play the draft for their strengths, and with so many 3B prospects available next June, it may finally be the year... Of course, I've been hoping for that for several years now.

Here's a nice pic of Gordon with a mighty swing: www.huskers.com/ViewArtic...CLID=78983 And since there isn't much baseball to follow these days, how about Gordon's stats during Nebraska's fall intrasquad scrimmage: Over 4 games, yes, completely meaningless: 4 AB, 5 R, 3 H, 1 RBI, 6 BB, 0 K, 1 2B, 1 HR I was actually looking more for DFE candidate & fellow Cornhusker Dustin Timm, who is healthy and pitched an inning in one of the games, allowing only 1 hit while striking out all 3 batters he faced. He, Jon Mungle and Derek Miller, the Brewers 3 red-shirt senior DFE candidates are all healthy at this time, with Mungle also participating in his school's (Mississippi State) fall practice and Miller pitching in the New England College Baseball League last summer.

Arizona State's & Tulane's recruiting classes were ranked second & fourth respectively in all of college baseball according to Baseball America. Draftees Drew Bowman & Sean Morgan both played a big part in those rankings: www.baseballamerica.com/t...iting.html

Thanks for dropping by Tommy. Kat, have you heard at all who the Gophers might be inviting to their tournament next spring? The '05 schedule hasn't been posted yet on their website, and I'm guessing that isn't something that is casually discussed around the Twin Cities, but I still have to ask. One of these years I'm going to make it up there. Last year it was Gordon & Drew, 2 years ago Wake Forest & Kyle Sleeth were in town. The Gophers aren't afraid about scheduling tough opponents early in the year, so that bodes well for viewers interested in seeing some potential future big leaguers.

It allows 4 year schools a breather with recruiting. They have to compete against pro baseball already, this allows them to not have to compete as much on a year-to-year basis. For JC's, they are only two-year institutions, they have to recruit heavily all the time anyway, it does not affect them nearly as much. Sorry, but that's just not true. College baseball is just like college football or basketball. None of these sports are granted any kind of "breather" when it comes to recruiting. The minute a team takes a break trying to recruit the best talent they can, that's the minute that team starts to struggle. It's very similar to player development. A bad year can be disastrous. At showcase events there are usually as many, if not more, college recruiters than pro scouts following these players. They have to sell their institution just as hard as pro scouts have to sell their organizations. And in fact, college recruiters may have it a lot tougher than basketball & football programs because they have to juggle between the best players in the nation vs. the best players they feel they can actually get on campus (of course the biggest debate in college basketball is the fact that more & more of the top recruits are heading straight to the NBA out of HS, so they're starting to feel that sting). The top players in the nation more often than not are going to be drafted early & sign with that drafting ballclub. Any college team that has a lot of recruits expected to be drafted early could get burned by those commitments that never come to fruition. The top players that remain (those that aren't drafted in the top 5 rounds or so) for the most part still attend four-year institutions. There are a lot of players that fall in the draft because they make it clear that they want to attend college, and/or they need a hefty bonus to be swayed out of their college commitment (like Sean Morgan, Drew Bowman & Ty Pryor this past year), and some players will flat-out tell teams not to bother drafting them because of this. On top of that, you have players that transfer, get injured, don't pan out, etc.

Wow. The community chest is filled & taken care of? Unbelievable. Thanks to all for your support!

Wow, that's a big jump in just 2 short days. Thanks to those who have contributed!

I didn't mean college vs. HS so much Toby, but a HS pitcher vs. just about anything else, including a HS hitter. This past year I actually suggested something similar, throwing HS 3B Blake DeWitt's name out there for the #5 overall pick, who was considered the best pure hitter available for the draft. With consecutive years with the #5 overall pick I just don't know how wise it is to take a prep arm with the first-round pick 2 years in a row.

Would you really take another high school pitcher that high in the draft? It's an interesting idea, but I think I might try to pick someone a little bit safer. Although I do feel Lyman would be considered one of the more "safe" prep pitchers.

bjkrautk, if you get a chance, try to catch a game in which Hochevar pitches next year. More & more college games are being aired on various versions of Fox Sports Net (in the spring I subscribe to the TW Cable sports package, which includes two more FSN channels & CSN, the College Sports Network) and I believe ESPN is debuting a new station called ESPN U (as in University) next March. Anyway, I think I saw 3 games in which Hochevar pitched this past year and I was really impressed each time. I might have even taped one of them. He doesn't have the pure fastball that Sleeth does, but his build definitely resemble's Sleeth's. Plus, he really knows how to pitch, and commands the strike zone really well. If you like for the Sleeth comparison alone I guarantee you'll like him a lot more if you get the chance to see him play. Combining likelihood of being at our pick (if the draft were held today of course, meaning Gordon & Upton would not be available) with my favorite players, right now it would probably be a tie for me between Hochevar and Georgia Tech SS Tyler Greene. Positional players win all tie-breakers for me. But then again, what are the chances of the Brewers drafting a college player?

I'm glad you like the site changes, and am also glad that you noticed the '05 coverage has already been posted. I probably won't change much of it until early next year, but I figured I'd get it up there since we were changing to many different features inside & out. Plus, it's nice to refer to just to get a general idea of the top players, the draft order, etc. as a handy resource.

I'm not so sure that would work out either, because you're still likely going to hurt the bad teams that have high draft picks that aren't afraid spending money on those draft picks (like the Brewers). Not necessarily in the first round, but in almost every round. Look at how much bonuses are in the beginning of the second round vs. those towards the end of the round. It's a difference of several hundred thousand dollars. Now, could you create a ceiling based on slot placement? Sure, but what happens to a team that has extra picks because they lost free agents? Do you assign a slot value to those picks and add that onto their ceiling? And even if you do that, what would make that so different from what is already happening, having the commissioner's office dictate what teams should be paying for each pick otherwise suffering a penalty which could include a fine? Plus, each team approaches the draft completely different. You have the small-market Brewers that have invested quite a bit into the draft the past several years, and then you have the small-market Expos that have looked for bargain picks with their top picks. The Giants & Mariners sign free agents almost so they don't have to worry about budgeting for a first round pick, while the mighty Yankees typically have been more conservative when it comes to the draft. Not only are there team trends, but some teams may change their approach drastically from year to year. The Twins in 2000 reached for Adam Johnson with the 2nd overall pick because they didn't want to pay an insane bonus for any of the players that were available. The next year they gave Joe Mauer $5+ million. The whole structure is so unique I don't think a team-imposed ceilnig would work, basically because I don't think you would really see any change. Teams already aren't going to draft players like Drew & Weaver for so many different reasons, but largely because they do know they have their own budget ceiling that they have to adhere to. And I'm not so sure the structure is that out of whack. Who are the players over the last several years that haven't gone where they were supposed to? Drew & Weaver this year, JD Drew, Drew Henson, Rick Ankiel, Ryan Anderson, Matt Harrington, Scott Kazmir, Joe Borchard, Bobby Brownlie & Jeff Francoeur come to mind. Borchard, Henson & Francoeur are tough to include because they had football careers to contend with, and even then Borchard & Henson haven't panned out and Franceour hasn't even made it yet. JD Drew didn't fall that far the second time he was drafted in '98. Harrington obviously has been a bust, the Space Needle's career was wrecked by a bum shoulder and Rick Ankiel is coming back but certainly was derailed for a long time. Kazmir could be a stud, while the jury is still out on Brownlie, Weaver & Stephen Drew. My point is that some of these players aren't worth the trouble because their talent may not match their expectations. When players are worth the money, they usually don't fall that far. Remember in 2001 when a lot of people pointed to how the draft went basically as it should based on talent with the top 5 players going in the top 5 picks: Joe Mauer, Mark Prior, Dewon Brazelton, Gavin Floyd, Mark Teixeira? When the talent has warranted the signing bonus to match the demand, players usually don't fall that far. Delmon Young, Rickie Weeks & BJ Upton can all make the same claim. It's somewhat similar to the free agent market. Carlos Beltran, a Boras client, is going to make a killing on the free agent market this offseason, as well as he should given the season he had. Kevin Millwood, another Boras client, likely will have a hard time finding what he may be looking for since his season wasn't that great. While Millwood should find a good home, it may take him longer to do so because there are several other players out there on the market that are just as good as he is.