top prospects: brewers
the brewers got a lot of stuff. they're the only organization in the central that has good health moving forward. course the cardinals are the cardinals.

1. Yovani Gallardo, rhp 
2. Ryan Braun, 3b 
3. Will Inman, rhp 
4. Jeremy Jeffress, rhp 
5. Mark Rogers, rhp 
6. Lorenzo Cain, of 
7. Steve Hammond, lhp 
8. Cole Gillespie, of 
9. Alcides Escobar, ss 
10. Mat Gamel, 3b 

i'm not quite as high on these top two as a lot of people are, but i think they're really good. there's a lot of talent all the way through the list, and beyond.

Career Pitching Statistics for Yovani Gallardo:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl    IP   H  HR  BB  SO  WAL  CON  HRP   ERA
2004 Az Brewers   Ariz 18 Mil Rk   19.1  14   0   4  23 .053 .681 .000  0.47
2004 Beloit       Midw 18 Mil A     7.1  12   2   4   8 .105 .765 .077 12.27
2005 W Virginia   SAL  19 Mil A   121.1 100   5  51 110 .099 .763 .014  2.74
2006 Brevard Ct   FSL  20 Mil A+   77.2  54   4  23 103 .074 .641 .022  2.09
2006 Huntsville   Sou  20 Mil AA   77.1  50   2  28  85 .090 .699 .010  1.63

i don't know. this is good stuff here. i mean, pitching in double-a at the age of 20. that's good stuff. with a contact rate below .700. and a decent walk rate. and a retardedly low home run percentage. the kid's got talent. he's gonna make an impact.

Career Batting Statistics for Ryan Braun:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2003 Miami        NCAA 19     NCA 245  33  57  17  19 .119 .767 .191 .364
2004 Miami        NCAA 20     NCA 157  30  34  10  11 .160 .783 .171 .335
2005 Miami        NCAA 21     NCA 229  43  39  18  18 .158 .830 .189 .388
2005 Helena       Pio  21 Mil Rk   43   4   6   2   3 .085 .860 .135 .341
2005 W Virginia   SAL  21 Mil A   153  11  34   8  18 .067 .778 .218 .355
2006 Brevard Ct   FSL  22 Mil A+  230  27  54   7  14 .105 .765 .119 .274
2006 Huntsville   Sou  22 Mil AA  232  24  46  15  20 .094 .802 .188 .303

there's obvious power here. a little more patience would help a lot, but ryan can hit the ball.

Career Pitching Statistics for Will Inman:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl    IP   H  HR  BB  SO  WAL  CON  HRP   ERA
2005 Az Brewers   Ariz 18 Mil Rk    2.0   0   0   1   1 .143 .833 .000  0.00
2005 Helena       Pio  18 Mil Rk   45.0  29   5  11  58 .063 .646 .047  2.00
2006 W Virginia   SAL  19 Mil A   110.2  75   3  24 134 .056 .671 .011  1.71

last year i said he had a tasty line in the pioneer league. then he went and put up a tasty line in the sally league. at the age of 19. .056 is a very good WAL. .671 is a very good CON. .011 is a retarded HRP. scouts are a little worried about him because he's like yusmeiro petit. yes, he is like yusmeiro petit. he's got good control, a lot of strikeouts, and good home run limitation. since when is that a problem?

i'm being a little bit of a devil's advocate here. the idea is he's got all those stats because he's a smart pitcher, and he may not have the stuff to keep it going in the majors. well shit, who does? who has that kind of control with that kind of strikeouts with that kind of home run prevention in the majors?

one guy maybe. johan santana. maybe johan. i want my major-league pitcher to be smart. i want my major league pitcher to know how to approach a major-league hitter. to know when to trick him, to know when to challenge him. to know how to pitch. to do what's best for the team.

Career Pitching Statistics for Jeremy Jeffress:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl    IP   H  HR  BB  SO  WAL  CON  HRP   ERA
2006 Az Brewers   Ariz 18 Mil Rk   33.2  30   0  25  37 .160 .718 .000  5.88

jeffress showed good stuff but bad control in his rookie-league debut.

Career Pitching Statistics for Mark Rogers:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl    IP   H  HR  BB  SO  WAL  CON  HRP   ERA
2004 Az Brewers   Ariz 18 Mil Rk   26.2  30   0  14  35 .113 .682 .000  4.72
2005 W Virginia   SAL  19 Mil A    98.2  87  11  70 109 .155 .715 .040  5.11
2006 Az Brewers   Ariz 20 Mil Rk    4.0   5   0   2   5 .105 .706 .000  2.25
2006 Brevard Ct   FSL  20 Mil A+   71.0  68   6  53  96 .159 .658 .032  5.07

mark rogers is out for the year, probably, so he shouldn't be this high on the list. he has good stuff and bad control.

Career Batting Statistics for Lorenzo Cain:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2005 Az Brewers   Ariz 19 Mil Rk  208  24  32   5  23 .103 .846 .159 .356
2005 Helena       Pio  19 Mil Rk   24   4   6   0   0 .143 .750 .000 .208
2006 W Virginia   SAL  20 Mil A   532  69 104   6  40 .115 .805 .107 .307

lorenzo cain has a lot of promise. those are good hitting numbers, with patience, contact, and power as a 20-year-old in the sally league. could be a strong contributor in the majors.

Career Pitching Statistics for Steve Hammond:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl    IP   H  HR  BB  SO  WAL  CON  HRP   ERA
2005 Long Beach   NCAA 23     NCA  24.1  27   2   9  28 .083 .720 .028  4.07
2005 Helena       Pio  23 Mil Rk   17.0  13   1   0  23 .000 .641 .024  1.06
2005 W Virginia   SAL  23 Mil A    14.2  12   0   5  11 .082 .804 .000  2.45
2005 Brevard Ct   FSL  23 Mil A+   35.2  33   2   9  30 .060 .786 .018  2.78
2006 Brevard Ct   FSL  24 Mil A+   85.1  68   7  23  70 .066 .784 .028  2.53
2006 Huntsville   Sou  24 Mil AA   73.2  63   7  25  58 .081 .796 .031  2.93

steve hammond is a lefty with good ERA's.

Career Batting Statistics for Cole Gillespie:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2004 Oregon St    NCAA 20     NCA  62   8  14   1   8 .114 .774 .188 .290
2005 Oregon St    NCAA 21     NCA  97  26  13   0   3 .211 .866 .036 .319
2006 Oregon St    NCAA 22     NCA 242  60  37  13  30 .199 .847 .210 .374
2006 Helena       Pio  22 Mil Rk  189  44  34   8  13 .189 .820 .135 .344

cole gillespie can really hit. really. his walk percentages are special. his power is strong. the only thing he's not great at is contact, and he's good enough. he's got what so many players lack: he understands the game. i want him on my team.

Career Batting Statistics for Alcides Escobar:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2004 Helena       Pio  17 Mil Rk  232  24  44   2   8 .094 .810 .053 .281
2005 W Virginia   SAL  18 Mil A   524  27  90   2  33 .049 .828 .081 .271
2006 Brevard Ct   FSL  19 Mil A+  357  22  56   2  10 .058 .843 .040 .257

alcides escobar plays good defense but i can't predict success. he doesn't have any patience and he doesn't have any power. he's obviously talented; he's playing in high-a at 19. he just doesn't seem to get it. you gotta take some pitches. you gotta try to win.

Career Batting Statistics for Mat Gamel:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2005 Helena       Pio  20 Mil Rk  200  16  49   5  17 .074 .755 .146 .327
2005 W Virginia   SAL  20 Mil A    23   5   9   1   0 .179 .609 .071 .174
2006 W Virginia   SAL  21 Mil A   498  57  81  17  33 .103 .837 .120 .288

mat gamel i don't know how many t's he's got but i know he can hit. t's in the name. forget it. but yeah he's got power and contact just over those thresholds, and WAL is right there too. he's old for his level but he should work out.

kevin goldstein has hernan iribarren and chris evercart instead of escobar and hammond. his sleeper is robert hinton.

Career Batting Statistics for Hernan Iribarren:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2004 Az Brewers   Ariz 20 Mil Rk  189  19  23   4  15 .091 .878 .114 .439
2004 Beloit       Midw 20 Mil A    68   5  16   1  11 .068 .765 .231 .373
2005 W Virginia   SAL  21 Mil A   491  56  99   4  23 .102 .798 .069 .290
2006 Brevard Ct   FSL  22 Mil A+  404  40  57   2  16 .090 .859 .052 .319

hernan iribarren has speed, contact, left-handedness, and he plays second base. all the ingredients are there. he could use a little more patience.

Career Batting Statistics for Chris Errecart:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2004 California   NCAA 19     NCA 119   5  22   3   4 .040 .815 .072 .256
2005 California   NCAA 20     NCA 238  21  38   8  15 .081 .840 .115 .298
2006 California   NCAA 21     NCA 195  28  38   8   7 .126 .805 .096 .268
2006 Helena       Pio  21 Mil Rk  272  41  56  13  16 .131 .794 .134 .316

chris errecart had some good results in the pioneer league, but contact will be a struggle as he tries to move up.

Career Pitching Statistics for Robert Hinton:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl    IP   H  HR  BB  SO  WAL  CON  HRP   ERA
2004 Helena       Pio  20 Mil Rk   50.2  55   5  17  50 .076 .758 .032  5.15
2005 W Virginia   SAL  21 Mil A    74.2  54   7  27  77 .089 .723 .035  2.53
2006 Brevard Ct   FSL  22 Mil A+   89.2  88   6  26  95 .068 .734 .023  3.31

robert hinton has good control, decent strikeouts, and decent home run limitation. i think he's gonna make it.

there's one more guy i wanna talk about.

Career Batting Statistics for Lou Palmisano:
Year Team         Lg. Age Org Lvl AAB   W   K  HR  23  WAL  CON  POW  AVG
2003 Helena       Pio  20 Mil Rk  178  25  29   6  15 .123 .837 .141 .391
2004 Beloit       Midw 21 Mil A   411  52  93   7  25 .112 .774 .101 .293
2005 Brevard Ct   FSL  22 Mil A+  435  39  65   5  23 .082 .851 .076 .255
2006 Huntsville   Sou  23 Mil AA  335  50  65   4  18 .130 .806 .081 .241

lou palmisano is a catcher who plays good defense and has a really good idea of the strike zone. it doesn't look like he'll develop power, but with defense, patience, and contact, he could be useful in the major leagues.

and that's the brewers. there's a lot of hitting talent here, and a lot of pitching talent. the one thing they're missing is the complete position player package, with defense and hitting. but they got that in the bigs, so they're doing ok.
- posted by julien @ 3:33 AM