colbyjack

When hasn't Salome hit? It's great to see him pick up where he left off, and his bat is the big reason why he's been so high on the P50 for the last year +. But I too have concerns about his D'. The tools are there as wvpowerblkwel pointed out, but he needs time in the minors to hone those skills. I don't see him getting called up this year, especially with a couple of able bodied catchers in Munson and Rottino at AAA. My guess is that Salome spends all of '08 in AA and all of '09 in AAA, which should give him a heck of a lot of time with some fairly polished/advanced arms. If his defense wasn't a concern he would probably not only be #1 on the P50 but would also be one of the best catching prospects in all of the minors, and we also wouldn't be talking about how the catching position remains an organizational need. I also agree that it would be nice for him to spend some time with Kendall, and that should happen next year during spring training, assuming the team keeps Kendall around for another year, which at this point in time I don't see why they wouldn't.

RJ Seidel the starter in tonight's reguarly scheduled Power game, while the Stars are roughing up Cubs prospect Jeff Samardizja, or whoever the heck you want to spell that name.

40-55 is probably the earliest Bittle would go, unless a team really likes him. While he has nasty offspeed stuff, his fastball sits in the 88-90 range. I really like Bittle, because you can tell he has a tenacious demeanor on the mound, the lack of a true fastball means he doesn't profile as a prototypical closer. As for Hicks, the Brewers involvement with the Area Code Games is interesting, because they've provided the scouts/coaches for the California team since 2003 IIRC, and with another IIRC, I don't believe they have taken any prominent CA prep players outside of Ryan Babineau, who they of course didn't even sign. So while I'm sure the Brewers known Aaron Hicks inside and out, their involvement with him doesn't mean anything based on their recent history.

I'm out for Saturday's practice, as I'm on baby duty, but I'll try to swing by for at least a little bit. This season is going to be really iffy for me. Thursday night games should be doable for the most part, but if I don't show up to games without warning, I apologize in advance.

Thanks for remembering pogo http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif. Another guy I have been a big fan of for several years now is Brian Fuentes, who I wanted to see the Brewers acquire this past offseason to fill their closer role before Gagne was acquired, and he's still a guy I'd love to see the Brewers target. One thing I have always loved about Vazquez is his consistency, with the exception of the years he spent with the Yankees as someone else already pointed out. Fuentes is another guy who has been amazingly consistent in a short relief role, and he could be available for a variety of reasons: 1. He already lost the closer role to Manny Corpas. 2. He lost in arby this past offseason, which never endears a player to his team, coupled with the first point. 3. He's a FA at the end of the year. 4. The Rockies have Casey Weathers, who they took 8th overall last year, pitching well at AA (and he could move fast). 5. The Rockies suck. While Gagne has been struggling, and while I have enjoyed the flexibility the current bullpen has offered, I think a legit set-up man and fill-in closer like Fuentes, coupled with a starter, could really give the team an overall boost, hoping of course the bats start to figure it out. Chad Cordero is another option with Jon Rauch firmly entrenched with the Nationals (he received a contract extension this offseason while avoiding arby). That might be a little more tricky, as acquiring more of a true closer may present some ego issues, as I'm not suggesting the team rids themselves of Gagne (yet), just looking for ways to complement the team, which I still believe has the talent to play a lot better than how they are.

I've had these thoughts and didn't want to start a new thread. It wasn't really a vent as much as it was me just getting some thoughts off my brain...oh wait, maybe that is a vent, but not a very angry one at least.

With the way they are playing, does the opponent really matter? That's a good point. It really doesn't matter. I do believe in the law of averages, meaning the offense is likely to catch fire at some point to make up for their dismal start. There is far too much talent in the lineup for it to continue to be so stagnant. While I do believe the bats will wake up at some point, I am still worried about the team's pitching, although so far the staff as a unit is holding together relatively well IMO. I would like to see the team be aggressive or at least creative with a move. I would like to see the team try to acquire sooner rather than later since that extra arm could be helping recording Ws at this point in the season, which is magnified obviously by the loss of Gallardo. Another aggressive move would be to call up someone like LaPorta for some of the interleague series. I know this has been suggested before, and while the team does have guys on the bench they could use as a DH, such as Kapler, or even using the DH to give a player the day off in the field, I really like the idea of being more aggressive with such an opportunity. No, I don't like the idea of starting LaPorta's arby clock sooner than it needs to be, but with the team in a win-now mode (at least I think they should be) some moves have to be made now that may not have been made a few years ago. If the team doesn't make a move and they continue to sink you have to wonder about two popular topics: 1. Will Yost get fired? And 2. Does the team move Ben Sheets this year instead of waiting to watch him walk in free agency? I'm not freaking out yet, not by any means. I'd rather see the team start slow and finish strong rather than finish strong and become incredibly mediocre during the middle part of the season like they did last year. I still believe both Villanueva and Parra will turn it around, Suppan will be Suppan, Bush could be ok as a patch, and hopefully nothing else happens to Sheets. I haven't been as hard on Gagne since I feel he's been consistently around the zone and he's been bitten a little by some tight strike zones and a few hard luck plays in the field, not to make excuses, but I do believe he is better than the number of blown saves indicates. Ok, that's my vent...I wish I could say I feel better now.

I think the end of May is the make-or-break point for Yost. I'll say May 27th, since the Brewers will be coming off of a lengthy road trip, in which they start in Boston and finish with the Pirates and Nationals, two teams that on paper they should be able to handle. If they don't, he's gone.

I know the Indians toyed a little bit with having Chuck Lofgren hit and pitch (I think the Pirates did as well with John Van Benschoten), but they have stuck with him as a pitcher. I'm sure there is an instance of someone else doing so, but I can't think of anyone. When they get to the pro level, teams really want their players to focus on their discipline. And whoever takes Long should do the same. While he's a very exciting and almost unreal prospect, he needs to focus on one aspect of his game since he's not as polished as he could be in either area.

Yes he is. Bittle has been nasty this spring (see the college baseball resource thread for my brief writeup on him). His signature pitch is a cutter that rivals Mariano Rivera's. Last I looked he had something like 95 or so Ks in just over 50 innings of work.

I had Long in the 20s in my initial rankings from last October or November, but even then there were quite a few indications that Long may be inclined to head to FSU. PGCC I believe initially had him among their top 10 prep players. I remember talking about him in a previous thread as well, in which I believe DHonks mentioned he had the chance to see Kyle in person and noted not only how big he is, but how trim he is for being as big as he is. The guy reached 96 with his FB, or at least that is where he was at last summer, although his overall pitching finesse was somewhat raw given his 2-sport career. He also is a very exciting power hitting first baseman, so it may be tough for teams to decide how to groom him. I personally love his upside as a pitcher. So while I'm happy to hear his name is on the rise again, it's not really that big of a surprise. How often to 6'8", 285 pound left-handed pitchers come along? He would truly be unique, and like the Long family, has the added benefit of strong character traits as well.

Too long for Doug to consider Vazquez. 3 years is a serious injury, rehab, and then another 1.5 years. Have you looked at Vazquez' career numbers? The guy is amazingly durable. Some may say that means he's all the more likely to suffer an injury, but I would contend that he's one of those rare guys (like Livan Hernandez) that can and will continue to do what he does his entire his career...and he's still in his low-30s, so it's not like he's nearing the end of the road anytime soon. In addition to his innings pitches and overall appearances, all of his peripheral numbers from year-to-year have been amazingly consistent. The only real gripe you can find about Vazquez is that he's HR prone. Normally I would worry about that, but since he's pitched well in the AL the past few years I don't see why his numbers would be any different pitching in the NL. And because of that you could even make an argument that he's more valuable than Ben Sheets.

There are a couple of threads that this could fit, but I would like to throw out Javier Vazquez of the Chicago White Sox as a possibility. White Sox GM has a history of making big deals for prospects, but to and from the South side of Chicago. Most notably the package he gave up for Nick Swisher, but he's dealt Gio Gonzalez in three deals (once to get Thome, once in return for Freddy Garcia, and as part of the Swisher deal). He also dealt Brandon McCarthy for a package highlighted by John Danks. The White Sox are currently slumping pretty bad after a pretty good start. The pitching is not the problem, with Buerhle, Danks, Floyd, Vazquez and Contreras all pitching well. Their system is a lot more rich with arms than it is bats, and if the White Sox continue to slide I would not be surprised at all to see them deal one of their better yet pricier arms to get some young talent in return, with an emphasis on bats (I know for a fact that they want to get a big college bat with their first-round pick). That could make them a perfect fit for the Brewers, with a package highlighted by Mat Gamel, who as noted by others in this conversation may be an extra piece to the Brewers puzzle. I don't see the Brewers dealing LaPorta, and given Vazquez' salary ($11.5 M the next three years), the asking price might not even be as rich as some of the proposals it would take to get someone like Tim Lincecum, who I even question if he's available. Given the White Sox' depth of starting pitching at the upper levels, I think a trade of Gamel and someone like Rob Bryson or R.J. Seidel might be enough to acquire Vazquez if the Brewers are open to swallowing his salary, which they might be considering Sheets will in theory be off the books next year. Again, this is contingent on the White Sox continuing to slide, and even then they're still in 2nd place as of today, although not by much, but such a deal would fit Ken Williams recent trading history. Overall, I agree with the overall premise in that the Brewers are in good position to make some deals between now and the trading deadline. As an aside, I listened to Tom Haudricourt on Homer's show this afternoon, and Tom H noted that Mark Attanasio might be willing to open the purse sooner rather than later rather than concede the season so early in the year. I think everyone believes the bats will come around eventually, but the pitching needs to be addressed.

I wouldn't be opposed to that Gopher, but I'm guessing a few others out there would be. For the most part it goes against the grain to take a college closer early, much less two, but I do like the more immediate impact that scenario would present.

While I hate to see this thread take a completely different direction, I honestly don't know how anyone can go out of their way to contest the Brewers picks in recent years, especially a Fielder and Braun vs. Kazmir and Maybin argument. If you want to argue Jeffress against someone, I would recommend picking someone better than Daniel Bard, and LaPorta vs. Smoker right now seems like a stretch since it really could be LaPorta vs. anyone that wasn't taken in the top 6 last year, making Smoker an interesting selection.

Sorry I didn't pop in since my last post last night. I'm always a little shy to label a guy as can't miss, since prospects more hyped up than Pedro Alvarez have failed. I think a trio of 1B including Justin Smoak, Yonder Alonso and Eric Hosmer have a pretty solid chance of making the big leagues and being successful. Tim Beckham has a great collection of tools, and I don't really see him failing. Brian Matusz has such good stuff I have a hard time imaginging him not having some success in the big leagues. Aaron Crow has the necessary plus fastball velocity and movement to succeed with that pitch alone. Buster Posey should be able to hit, but I still do question if he's going to be enough of an impact player to warrant a possible first overall pick.

The quotes they offer on their quote page are the same that they offer when you ask for a free quote, so you can follow this page to get an idea of what they would cost: http://www.patchesrus.com/patchpricing.htm The Brewerfan.net logo would likely be a 100% embroidery technique given the detail, and we would have to order 100 as a minimum. The key is what size. I personally have always been interested in getting a patch I could sew onto a fitted, wool cap, which would be approx. 3" wide by about 2.5" tall, which rounded up would represent the 3" patch, or $2.08/patch, $208.00 total. If people are more interested in a patch that they can sew on a jersey or shirt I'm guessing they may want something a little bigger. The problem is that other than myself, only two other people have expressed interested, and I'm not particularly fond of dropping $200+ on my credit card to order 100 patches that I may or may not sell. Plus, there's the shipping aspect of it, which I'm also not fond of getting involved with. If someone wants to take responsibility for ordering the patches, I'll gladly supply the artwork, and I would gladly buy 5 or so patches just to have to add to various apparel, but again, I don't want to drop that much money if it seems as though I'm going to have a ton of extra patches laying around minus the compensation of having these produced.

I agree 100%, MLB would be much better off with some kind of slotting system. I think the MLB would love to do that, and while the draft doesn't pertain too much to the player's union since draftees aren't subjected to the MLBPA, MLB would still have to give up something to get the players to agree to a more rigid slotting system like the NBA and NFL have. My point is that both the NBA and NFL has seen plenty of players with incredibly high expectations fizzle and burn just like players that go early in the MLB draft. The bulk of the key talent that comes to MLB from the draft still comes predominantly from the first round. And the worldwide draft was supposed to become a reality per the last collective bargaining agreement, but I think everyone involved realized how difficult that would be to accomplish, and quite honestly I don't see that happening anytime soon. Again, I agree with you that Darvish is going to get silly money, and he's probably going to get that money from one of the usual suspects (Yankees, Red Sox, Mets, Mariners).

Yeah, if you take Gillaspie, you better be pretty sure he sticks at 3B. He doesn't have the power potential to play 1B. No, I don't think the Brewers go with a guy like Alonso, as much as I like Alonso. I've heard from a few people about players that Brewers aren't looking at, which includes both Brett Wallace and Ike Davis, which leads me to believe they're not looking to add more 1B/LF types early, and probably for good reason. There's no chance Posey falls to 16. Allan Simpson confirmed last week what Peter Gammons reported last weekend in that the Rays may be seriously considering Posey with the first overall pick. I haven't heard much about Skipworth's draft fate, but I would be very surprised if he fell to 16.

KC, I know what you're saying, and I'm not saying I disagree with it, but I am saying that I'll believe it when I see it. Just look at the Brewers drafting history, as there is no evidence in the early rounds of the team taking a player that has fallen due to monetary demands, and I don't understand why anyone would expect that to change in a year where they already are going to have to spend a ton of money to get the players signed at the picks they do have. I wonder how much money major league baseball teams waste on players and they really never get much of a return. the NFL and NBA in that respect have it right. Do they really? From a slotting standpoint, yes, the NFL and NBA have better systems in place to make sure the best players are going to the worst teams, but there are still plenty of busts in both of those sports as well. I think the immediate returns in those two sports are often confused with overall success as it pertains to the draft as a source for procuring talent.

If there were to be one selection there at 16 that would mirror our previous offensive selections in terms of possible affiliate ascention and readiness, whom would it be? Conor Gillaspie would fit the mold for this type of player, a polished college bat that has some concerns about his defense at first base but almost no questions about his ability to hit. The power isn't quite there like it was for Braun and even Fielder, but like Braun and Fielder Gillaspie going at #16 would be the highest probably any team would take him. And Gillaspie could move very fast. I agree completely. Colby, if we don't take him at 16, is there any hope that he makes it to the supplemental round? Sure there's a chance. Any player with some arm troubles has a chance to fall, and by the time he makes it back to the mound (supposedly this week) teams are already narrowing their focus down to a handful of players they have seen the entire spring. However, he has a very good arm, and there's a very good chance a team picking later in the first round will take him. I meant to ask you why you thought he had retained so much traction (ranking #20 on your list). My sense is he has lost traction because of the injury and will be available for one of the Brewers' supplemental picks. I've left him that high because I believe in his arm and his fastball, not to mention his athletic frame. I know there have been some reports about his max effort delivery, but I don't think it puts that much strain on his arm, and actually I feel his arm works quite well with the ball exploding out of his hand. He is a very similar pitcher to Max Scherzer during his junior year of college. Scherzer also had concerns about his stuff past his fastball, and also had some nagging injury problems. Chamberlain also should have been taken among the top 10-15 picks in the draft if it weren't for some arm problems. Clearly the D-Backs and Yankees did very well for themselves taking these two pitchers, and I personally feel the Brewers could put themselves in a similar situation by drafting Hunter. I have similar questions about another idled pitcher who is #21 on your list -- Sonny Gray. Has Sonny Gray idled? I brought up some concerns about Gray in my most recent Crack of the Bat column (which hasn't been posted online yet), citing his recent injury (an ankle injury, nothing related to his arm), size and commitment to Vanderbilt. However, this guy throws in the mid-90s with an absolute hammer curveball and he has a good enough changeup to be successful. Even if he didn't have a change, you take his FB-CB combo given how easy his arm works regardless if he's only 5'10" or so. He's similar to Jeffress in size and stuff, and Gray also receives huge marks for his character. If Gray falls in the draft he's probably Vandy bound, but a team could look pretty dang smart taking him where he should go, which is in the 15-25 range.

Fields continue to dominate this season as Georgia's closer: 1-1, 22 games (all in relief), 0.00 ERA, 13 saves, 23.1 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 43 K, 12 BB Another Bulldog (Mississippi State), Aaron Weatherford, has been just as dominant this year: 2-0, 12 games (all in relief), 0.00 ERA, 4 saves, 21 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 43 K, 6 BB While Weatherford hasn't appeared in as many games (he is used in longer stints than Fields is), Weatherford's numbers are eerily similar to those of Fields'. They're similar in both stature and stuff, and Weatherford is making me look good so far this year after picking him as one of my sleepers. He entered the year as a highly rated prospect, but I really think he's making a case to be taken in the sandwich round. I know several people have commented about how they wouldn't want to take a closer with the team's first pick, and the presence of other solid college closers such as Weatherford reinforces that case if you think you can get a similar player later in the draft.

I agree, the Rangers are one team that have really struggled with a logo and overall look pretty much since the beginning of their existence. It's not like it's completely terrible, but it really isn't very creative or inspiring. The Rays were #1 on this list before they made their change. And I would guess that 95% of all minor league teams could use a logo update, but the Snappers are not one of them. EDIT: I agree with the assessment of the Orioles logo. I don't like the current, likelike version of the bird that they use. I always enjoyed the cartoon bird that they used for years before they went with their current look. I think they have a cartoon version of the bird that is on the jersey sleeve, and think they would be better off returning to that look completely. Overall they don't have a bad look, and it's hard to beat the orange and black color combo. I also agree that the lack of the use of purple makes the Rockies more distinctive, although I don't really like the font they use. Plus, I'm a little surprised a team out there hasn't switched to the power blue look similar to UNC and UCLA like the Nuggets and Chargers have recently. The Royals re-introduced their retro alternate power blue jersey, but being called the Royals would kind of prevent them from making the more permanent color switch.

I brought up Hunter's name in the college resource thread, but I'm curious to learn what people would think about him as a candidate for one of the team's early picks, possibly at #16, since he hasn't pitched since February 29th (not March 1st as noted below in BA's comments). He reportedly had some blister problems which led to a forearm strain which led to some elbow tenderness. He was shut down as a precautionary measure and hasn't pitched for two months. BA reports that he's expected to start pitching in games early next week, and has been pitching bullpens in the past week or two: When I saw Hunter pitch in his last start (which was against Tulane) he didn't throw a fastball below 94, and topped out at 97, gaining more velocity as the game progressed. His breaking ball isn't very consistent, but it's impossible not to love his fastball and overall pitching frame. Some think a permanent move to the bullpen may be in order for him, but I just don't see that happening soon since his stuff gets better the deeper he goes in ballgames. However the injury concern is obviously a huge one. Should Hunter return healthy he could be a steal at #16, and his arm is going to be relatively fresh over the course of the summer since he hasn't pitched much at all this spring, and I'm guessing will only have another 20-30 innings between now and the end of the year should all go well, depending of course on how far Pepperdine advances in postseason play. And even if he doesn't succeed as a starter, assuming he stays healthy, he could be a very good late-inning reliever. Would you take him if you were the Brewers, or is the lingering injury too great of a concern?

Lincecum is shorter than most RHP's, and will demand a great deal in return, as would any young SP. The way to get guys like him is to develop them, not overpay. But the problem is that if the team is indeed in a win-now mode, or at least in the next year or two, the Brewers don't have time to develop their own starters such as a Tim Lincecum. In past years I would agree with you 100%, but I'm to the point now where I don't want to see the Brewers sitting by hoping the pieces come together for them if there is an opportunity to improve the pitching staff with some of the perceived extra prospects that the team currently has in their system. I think pogo's proposal of Gamel, Escobar and Pena is a pretty good one, although I think any team moving a top starter is probably going to look to get some kind of starter in return. I'm not convinced that Lincecum could even be had, and I'm not even sure who else is out there, but I do hope Melvin is aggressively working the phones. As for waiting to make a move, I agree to a certain extent. If the starting staff continues to struggle as it has recently, and losing Gallardo is obviously a huge blow, I would rather see a move made earlier rather than later. I still remember the conversations from the 1992 season in which people wondered how much better the Brewers could have been earlier in the season had Cal Eldred been called up earlier than what he was. Unfortunately we don't have a Cal Eldred to call up, which obviously increases the need to look elsewhere.