colbyjack

Thanks for the link as always MB. Pretty cool snippet from that story: Rottino, who played all nine positions on the final day of the season, will work behind the plate with new minor league catching coordinator Charlie Green. Don't get too excited about Rottino switching to a catcher full-time, as I'm pretty sure the team is intent on keeping him as a super-utility guy, but it's nice to hear that he will be groomed a little bit more as catcher to maximize his value. It's also kind of cool to see Charlie Green back with the organization (although if it's the same Green we had before, I believe his last name is spelled with an "e" at the end). I know a lot of people were wondering why we haven't had a catching coordinator for the past couple of years, so it's nice to see one added back to the system (sidenote: according to Reid Nichols' conversations with Jim Powell a few weeks back, the reason they didn't have any catching coordinators was because they didn't have any catchers that they considered prospects).

I was at today's game and I was really impressed with Ben. He has made a lot of adjustments since he first came up, although it helps when you're better stuff is working for you, which it was today. Most importantly, he seems to have a lot more confidence on the mound, like he knows he deserves to be a big leaguer. He looked completely different out there today than he did 6-7 starts ago.

I wasn't blaming ya MB http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . Some Q&A from today's BA chat: Q: Patrick from Milwaukee, WI asks: Thanks as always for taking our questions. Were there any Brewer prospects that just missed the cut? It seems like it's been a long time since the Brewers weren't well represented in the Pioneer League top 20 prospect list. Where do players like Charlie Fermaint, Robbie Wooley, Steve Sollmann, Grant Richardson & Josh Brady fall? I realize the final 3 are older college guys, which definitely hurt their standing when stacked up against younger, more athletic players. A: Alan Matthews: Fermaint really struggled this season after landing in the top 10 of our league prospect rankings in 2003 in the Rookie-level Arizona League. He's young, however, and turns 19 next month so we're not giving up on him. Like a lot of young players, he needs to improve his plate discipline and cut down on his strikeouts. I like Wooley a lot and he just missed the list. He touches 91 mph and really blossomed this summer with his understanding of how to pitch. His slider and changeup need a little work. Righthander Josh Baker was drafted out of Rice and certainly didn't get quite as much attention as he might have elsewhere because he was behind the Owls' big three. He has a nice arm & needs to add consistency, as he misses his spots too often. He was held to 60 or 65 pitches in each of his outings to perserve his arm. He has a good slider and challenges hitters. Q: Jon from Peoria asks: Any chance Steve Sollmann can be a top of the order guy in the majors? A: Alan Matthews: Sollman was the Brewers 10th-round pick in the 2004 draft out of Notre Dame. He is long on skills and grit but short on tools. I don't project him as an everyday big leaguer but he drew comparisons to Marcus Giles for his line-drive stroke and has great leadership qualities as well. He could overachieve his way to a reserve role as a utility player in the majors. Q: Ben from Milwaukee asks: How close were Josh Baker and Robert Wooley to making the list? Will any of Baker, Wooley, and Wahpepah start in high A next year? A: Alan Matthews: Baker was not as close as Wooley but both were in the next 10. I would assume they would both have a chance, especially Baker, to compete for a spot in High Desert's rotation next season but it's more likely they'll open the campaign in Beloit. Plenty of questions from a few Madison folks that seemed to be interested in every other prospect NOT in the Brewers system.

Do negotiations with a Boras client ever look good until that player is actually signed? If the D'Backs are having this much trouble with the No. 15 pick, just wait until they pick first overall in 2005. I don't buy that. You have to keep the negotiations in context. As noted time & time again, they're dealing with Scott Boras here. According to the reports, the D-Backs have offered Drew a more than fair deal, and like all Boras clients, Drew is making the D-Backs sweat it out in hopes of making more money. Bobby Brownlie did the same thing a couple of years ago before eventually signing before spring training. Drew will threaten to go back to school in the spring, then turn pro, and I bet he will eventually sign, probably for about what he's being offered now, because if he thinks for one second that he will make more than what the D-Backs have offered him he's crazy. And if he doesn't sign, the D-Backs can take that money & roll it into the first overall pick for 2005. I have read that the D-Backs prefer college players, but I doubt they would let that preference cloud their judgement with Justin Upton available, unless of course money does play into their decision as it did this past year with the Padres and in '02 with the Pirates.

Since BA loves tools, I thought Charlie Fermaint had a decent chance to make the top 20 list. I am surprised that only one H-Brewer made it, although after looking at that list, it's stocked with talented ballplayers. My 2 favorite '04 draftees (other than Sowers of course) went 1-2, Nelson & DeWitt. And speaking of Nelson, the Padres have got to be looking at his performance and wondering why they ended up with Matt Bush. I still believe they gave away the first overall pick. At least Nelson's talents were worthy of that kind of selection. Liotta had an awesome season, both at Gulf Coast CC and in the Pioneer League. I'm very happy to see him do well, especially since I had the opportunity to tip off Jim Callis of his success earlier this year. Not that it caused him to be drafted in the 2nd round by the White Sox http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif . I like that they had their top 10 lists from 5 years ago, as Cristian Guerrero was the #5 prospect while Matt Ford was #10 with the Blue Jays in 1999. And I'll let this profile stand since it's the only one out of 20, otherwise I really discourage people from sharing the subscriber content.

That catch by Krynzel was amazing. I swear he was in right-center field as the camera panned off of the field level as the ball ascended. I thought the only player that would be anywhere close to that ball would be Jenkins. Great night overall, fun to watch, and I hope that performance gets him in a few more games to end the season. Great win too. At this point any win is a great win. Kind of a tangent, but there was a post just a few days ago asking if there were any positives to this season. I don't think the individual club records were brought up, but I guess I didn't realize how many there were out there (I knew about them, but I didn't really think about them all at once, if that makes sense): Overbay's doubles, Sheets' strikeouts, Pods' stolen bases & Kolb's saves. Of course, individual performances don't translate into more wins, but improved talent may some day. Hopefully we have some keepers (or future trade bait http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/frown.gif ).

That's a good idea SenatorShriv, and something I've been thinking about. I might tie something like that into a story to kick off my 2005 draft coverage early next year. As for looking back at past draft's, while it's not quite the same thing I did a little story focusing on Sal Bando's drafts vs. Dean Taylor's a couple of years back: www.brewerfan.net/ViewArt...icleId=117

I agree igor, Eveland is a more realistic expectation, and that was my point. I really don't think the team has to worry about spending $1.5-$3 million on 1-2 breakthrough DFE candidates.

I say that, because if the bonus approaches Weeks-size AND the Crew signs multiple DFE--with at least 1 or 2 in the bonus range that Parra got--then we're going to need a huge draft budget. If the Brewers end up with the #4 overall pick, the bonus isn't going to approach Weeks territory, unless Justin Upton falls, which is highly unlikely, although anything can & will happen. The Brewers spent $2.2 million on the #5 overall pick this year, and given how signing bonuses are going down (and how the Brewers usually cooperate with the pre-determined slot values) I would expect about the same next year. Are you saying you expect at least one, possibly two, of our DFE candidates to enjoy a Parra-like transformation to warrant first-round money? As much as I'd love to see that, Parra was more of an aberration than a realistic expectation. I know the Brewers are really excited about their DFE class, but they could probably sign 5-7, if not more, of those candidates for the $1.5 million Parra received.

Just a head's up, the 2004 draft recap story is up on the homepage. Included are the '05 DFE candidates, the ones that got away, and a brief overview of the '05 draft (just yesterday the Brewers would have drafted 6th, today they're in the 4 spot).

With the Brewers loss last night, the Blue Jays winning & the Expos idle, the Brewers have now jumped into the 4th draft slot. We all knew the Brewers could draft that high, but I didn't think they would reach that mark so quickly. Given how poorly the Brewers are playing right now, it's almost a shame they really can't get any higher.

Thanks DHonks & Bill.

Before the game Daron & Bill mentioned that Lyle Overbay wasn't in the lineup, and may only get one start in this series. Why? Is it because he has been cold lately? Is he injured and I missed something? Is it the errors? Of course, that means Wes Helms will get more playing time. At least the Brewers have scored a few runs in this one...

I finally had the chance to finish watching the AFLAC game in bits & pieces over the past week. Here are some of my thoughts, starting with the pitchers: Miers Quigley: His delivery actually reminded me of Mark Rogers from the same game last year, except from the right side, and Quigley didn't fall off to the base as hard as Rogers did. Big, strong lefty, and while he will have to correct falling off to the 3rd base side, I felt his arm action was rather smooth. Very strong body, and a well-proportioned lower half. I wasn't a big fan of his windup, as he lifts his leg and stops it on it's way down before continuing with his pitching motion. A big, strong lefty with his stuff will get a lot of looks. Bradley Clark: Straight, over the top delivery, and their seemed to be some pressure on his shoulder with that delivery, somewhat max effort. Lowering his arm slot a little may help with that. However, he has an awesome curveball, a true curveball that registered in the low-80s, something you just don't see outside of Ben Sheets. He could be the top prep arm. Chris Volstad: Like Bill, I really liked Volstad. He has the perfect, projectable pitcher's frame with broad shoulders, lean arms & legs and strong through the hips & backside. Again, as Bill said, he had a great sinker. Very good balanced delivery, and he repeats it well. Good composure on the mound as well. Jeff Lyman: A shorter, stockier righty that is very thick through the shoulders & chest. He reminded me of Jay Rainville from a year ago. He turns his back to the hitter as part of his delivery, and his arm action is similar to Roger Clemens' (and Rainville's), kind of short-arming the ball to the plate, which creates a fair amount of deception. Great changeup, good slow curve and good movement on his fastball. He hit his spots well too. Jeremy Hellickson: Give it up for the Northern kid (Iowa). Hellickson is another shorter yet lean pitcher with very good, clean arm action, balanced, and showed an advanced knowledge of pitching, changing speeds and hitting his spots. Right now he has a big sweeping slurve, that likely will need to be tightened up at the pro level, but he threw the pitch well for strikes. Eric Massingham: Another strong, sturdy pitcher. Very high leg kick, over the top delivery. Looking at his size & demeanor on the mound & he's the type of pitcher you label a bulldog. Hard boring sinker and a nice consistent delivery. Built & pitches kind of like Sheets, but for a more modest comparison I'll toss out Chad Billingsley, a highly touted prospect in the Dodgers system. Matt Lea: Greast pitchers frame, and has some deception to his delivery. Slows his arm down considerably when throwing his curve, but the pitch shows nice break. Ryan Tucker: The announcers gave him a lot of praise for getting out of a first-inning jam, but he's the one that put himself in that situation. Weird, slinging side-arm delivery. Deceptive, but I can see that motion putting a lot of unnecessary stress on his elbow. Josh Zeid: Nice repertoire of pitches. Good size with strong lower half. Falls off to the 1B side pretty hard, and throws over the top. His arm is rather stiff, as it looks as though he doesn't even bend his arm as part of his delivery. He'll have to clean that up methinks. Beau Jones: Like Bill said, another big lefty. He has a classic, old-fashion roundhouse delivery that creates a fair amount of deception. Steve Johnson: High energy delivery with a high leg-kick and somewhat of a max-effort delivery. He does have pretty good deception, hiding the ball well out of his delivery, and he has a good curveball. The 2-way guys: Zach Putnam: Looked like an infielder throwing mopup duty. He just doesn't look like a pitcher, but he did a good job. Iain Sebastian: Kind of a stiff delivery, not really fluid, and didn't look like a pitcher to me. He threw strikes, and kind of reminded me of Micah Owings. I think his future in at the plate. As Bill noted, he looked almost exactly like Lyle Overbay stance-wise. Big build, but not much athleticism, and might be limited to 1B as a pro. Not a bad thing, as he has plus power potential. Buster Posey: Great sinker. Slight build, like Putnam, he looks like an infielder. Very good changeup, smooth, athletic 3/4 delivery and he's fearless. Ryan DeLaughter: Pitched himself into quite a jam in the 9th, but he got out of it eventually. Kept going back to his curveball, with almost zero confidence in his fastball. Probably for good reason, as it was all over the place for the most part. Can't blame him for his nerves, but I liked him better at the plate and in the OF. Good athletic with solid swing mechanics. Reminded me of Tigers OF prospect Brent Clevlen, and the long neck & sloped shoulders even reminded me of Marlins OF prospect Jeremy Hermida. Sean O'Sullivan: Big, strong kid. Probably not much room for more growth, but he doesn't need it. He was listed at something like 6'2", 190 pounds, but there is no way he's under 220. Went right after hitters with a very good, boring fastball and I was very impressed with his curveball, which complemented his fastball perfectly. Fearless on the mound, and somewhat intimidating. Also a very good power hitting 3B or OF prospect, and might start drawing comparisons to another Cal native & 2-way talent, Mark Trumbo. O'Sullivan will rank very high on my top HS list (and he played for the Brewers at the Area Code Games). The positional prospects: Justin Upton: His athleticism is unreal, just like his big brother. Great speed. Made a few errors, but walked twice. I think most expected him to be the star of the game, atlhough he didn't have a big hit or a big defensive play. He still should be the #1 overall pick next June. Andrew McCutchen: Great speed, nice inside out swing, and hits well the opposite way. I thought he would be more of a toolsy guy, but I was impressed with his swing & approach at the plate. Had 4 hits, 2 IF, one to RF and one up the middle. Justin Bristow: Didn't do too much, but I was impressed with his size, athleticism & arm. A cannon from 3B. Austin Jackson: One of the talented 5-tool prospects available for next June. Very confident, and plays the game like he deserves to be there. Good to great speed, nice size, but needs some work at the plate. John Drennen: I loved this guy. Great approach at the plate, played hard, hit the other way with solid contact, and the perfect build for a pure hitter with sloped shoulders, strong wrists and forearms. No tool stands out, but he's solid across the board. Brett Wallace: Very soft body, with a wide lower half. But he plays hard, and is faster than you think. Very good eye at the plate with exciting power potential from the left side. He has the perfect sloped hitters shoulders. Be prepared for scouts & scouting publications constantly ragging on him for his size & weight, but I like the way he plays & hits. Ike Davis: I really didn't see too much of Davis. His HR actually looked like a popup to RF, and the ball kept carrying. He is praised for his power potential, but I didn't see it that much, at least not compared to guys like Sebastian, O'Sullivan, Dominguez & Wallace. Jonathan Egan: As Bill noted, he's great defensively behind the plate. Didn't see too much of him as a hitter. Ben Booker: Very, very fast. Played SS, but he shouldn't have. He has a very weak arm. Wasn't a big fan of him at the plate either. Has quick hands, but not the greatest bat speed, and he swung with his entire upper body, similar to Ralph Santana if you ever got to see him hit at Beloit. A 2B or CF down the road. Chris Dominguez: A very big, physically mature young man. Didn't see too much of him, but his presence reminded me of Frank Thomas. Cameron Maybin: Built like Daryl Strawberry & Eric Davis. Long & strong limbs, with plenty of room to get bigger. A free-swinger right now, but you can see the power potential & the overall toolset. Very fast, with a very good arm. Jordan Danks: Didn't see much of Danks either, but he has very long & rangy limbs that reminded me of Chuck Lofgren from a year ago. Overall, I thought the talent was a little down from a year ago, when the game was highlighted by 2 very talented 2-way shortstops in Chris Nelson & Matt Bush. Nick Adenhart, Jay Rainville, Homer Bailey, Andy Gale and Mark Rogers among others might all have an edge on almost all of the pitchers from this year, although I do think we're going to hear more about Clark, Volstad, O'Sullivan & Lyman. There was definitely more power potential with this group, but the infielders outside of Upton weren't that impressive. While I like Egan, I don't think he's as good as Neil Walker from a year ago. I think the prep catching class for next June is going to be especially thin.

Plus, you can always talk about fantasy sports in the off-topic forum. I have seen bursts of fantasy sports talk there, but not enough to warrant it's own forum. The off-topic forum was obviously skewed political, so I think an off-topic political forum was more than justified (and appreciated for someone that doesn't care about the political talk, bring on lemurs, comic books and walruses vs. polar bears!).

Well, the Mets & D-Rays have slumped ahead of us, with the Rockies just behind now. Draft position now is at #8.

Well, given the $27.5 million dollar payroll this year, they really have nowhere to go but up. As noted in the article, raises to Sheets & Kolb will automatically bump up the payroll. Stories like this are only going to falsely give hope to $40-50 million dollar payrolls with more false hope of big-name free agents. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but unless a new owner comes in & bumps up payroll on his own, I wouldn't expect much more than $30-$35 million. Enough of that. Great game today, and great to see the team give Sheets some run support.

With a high draft pick coming, too, I would imagine that the Crew will either need to drastically increase bonus money for draftpicks or keep down the big league payroll (those hoping for a $40 million budget will be disappointed). If a few DFE candidates become of the caliber of Parra or Eveland (possible based on the sheer number elligible), then we could be looking at doubling our draft signing budget. I don't think the Brewers will increase their big-league payroll budget that much next year anyway, unless their is new ownership who wants to create an immediate impression, but either way I don't think that will effect the draft budget. The only year that was really altered by a big signing was in 2002 when we signed Parra to first-round money. Since then the Brewers have done a great job budgeting for the draft & potential DFE signees. Last year the Brewers signed Weeks, their top 12 picks overall, Eveland, Barnes, Dillard, Beresford & Mannon. With signings above slot value like Periard, LeClercq and 6 DFEs, they have turned a similar trick this year. No reason to think that will change anything for next year. That bonus has to be near a record for a 16th rounder. Great signing.

Definitely a top 5 pick, and that's exactly what the Brewers are looking for when signing such players, including DFE candidates and even evidenced by the big bonus they gave Periard. Again, quality over quantity. You just can't complain about the Brewers being cheap when it comes to player development.

I noticed that last we posted last year's draft recap on September 22, so I will get that out before the end of the season. Tieing in some comment over a couple of different threads, the Brewers will have an amazing 23 DFE candidates. Only 8 players have gotten away, and here they are: 12. Andrew Albers-Kentucky 21. Drew Bowman-ASU 25. Sean Morgan-Tulane 27. Ty Pryor-South Florida 28. Ronnie Prettyman-Cal St. Fullerton 34. Kris Dabrowiecki-Northeastern U. 40. Chris Rickey-U. of Reno 48. Brandon Glover-Texas A&M I will include the full list of DFEs along with the JCs they are attending. It will certainly be a fun spring following all of these players, although tracking down 23 candidates will be an interesting task http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

I will have my draft recap article that covers all of the players, signed & unsigned, after the Brewers season is over. I wait until then to include next year's raw draft order.

Impressive signing, and it likely didn't come cheap. I've seen his name on the PG showcase list(s) before, and his inclusion reminds me of Jhonathan Figueroa from a few years ago. I believe Figueroa signed with the Dodgers in the $800,000 range, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear that the Brewers needed to hand out 6-figures to get Mercedes inked as well. Doug Melvin claimed that the DR camps were closed so the Brewers could spend more money on quality over quantity, so hopefully this is a prime example of that. ***Mercedes doesn't turn 18 until late October. From the World Wood Bat Association: This Dominican Right-hander is extremely interesting with 90-94 mph velocity and one of the tightest and sharpest breaking balls we've seen in the past year. He has an outstanding pitchers frame with a combination of leverage (6'3) and musculature (190 #). He should end up in Pro Baseball very soon.

I have to tip my hat to MassBrew as well. There are several of us that have helped out at times, and I know for a fact that it takes a lot of time to accumulate the information. I can't imagine doing them each & every day, and I admire your dedication. Even on days when I don't have time to catch up elsewhere, I always make it a point to read through the link reports. And it's not just the link reports either; keeping in touch with all of the teams from top to bottom, the transactions, the Brewers alumni list, the individual team reports, digging up stories on players from their hometown newspapers, etc. Thanks again and as always, although I'm sure you'll find stuff to dig up in the offseason http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif .

I didn't get the chance to watch or listen to today's game, but catching up I'm impressed by Sheets' line today. Despite his shaky outings the past month or so, he still has been one of the best pitchers in the NL all season long, and has proved that he is, or least can be, a true staff ace.

Toby updated the list less than a week ago, but just to make the official end of the month list: 1. D-Backs: .311 2. Royals: .351 3. Mariners: .389 4. Blue Jays: .409 5. Rockies: .420 6. Expos: .424 7. Brewers: .431 8. Orioles: .454 9. D-Rays: .450 10. Mets: .458 11. Tigers: .462 12. Pirates: .466 13. Reds: .473 14. White Sox: .492 15. Phillies: .492 16. Indians: .504 17. Astros: .523 18. Marlins: .523 19. Padres: .542 20. Cubs: .545 21. Giants: .545 22. Twins: .557 23. Rangers: .562 24. Angels: .573 25. Dodgers: .588 26. Braves: .588 27. Red Sox: .592 28. A's: .595 29. Yankees: .618 30. Cardinals: .664 Much different from a couple of months ago, now half the teams are below .500 & half the teams are above .500.