Mound Talk

1. Matt LaPorta, LF, A. LaPorta was the Brewers surprise pick in the first round of the 2007 draft. While playing his college ball at Florida, LaPorta made a name for himself as one of the nation’s leading collegiate sluggers. However, an oblique injury his Junior season caused him to fall in the draft and return to the Gators for one final season. Everyone knew he could hit, the question was: Could he play defense? The Brewers took the collegiate first baseman and moved him to left field where he struggled in his professional debut. In Rookie Ball he looked lost and confused defensively but by the time the Arizona Fall League rolled around, LaPorta looked like he was beginning to “get it” defensively. LaPorta is likely to start 2008 in the Florida State League (A+) with the option for a quick promotion if he succeeds.
2. Manny Parra, LHP, MLB. Parra was drafted as a draft-and-follow guy in 2001 and has struggled to stay on the mound ever since. 2007 was a re-emergence of sorts for the powerful lefty. With a mid-90s fastball, decent curve and good change, Parra has the pitches to succeed. The biggest question mark for Parra is his ability to stay healthy and pitch a full season. So far in his career, that has been the only thing limiting his success.
3. Mat Gamel, 3B, A+. Gamel hit .300/.378/.472 in High-A with 37 doubles, eight triples and nine home runs this season. He has good control of the strike zone and can hit to all fields. He’s quick and somewhat athletic. However, just like another Brewers third baseman, Gamel struggles defensively. His defensive troubles are related to footwork and accuracy in his arm. He was sent to the Hawaii Winter League, while some scouts noted his improvement, he’s far from an adequate third baseman. He’s earned a promotion to Double-A, where he should have no problems hitting. But the Brewers will give him as much time as he needs to develop his defense.
4. Jeremy Jeffress, RHSP, A+. Flamethrowing high school pitchers don’t come around too often so when the Brewers has the chance to pick the 100+ MPH kid with the 16th pick in 2006, they jumped on it. Jeffress drew comparisons to Dwight Gooden for his incredible potential but and thus far has lived up to that, and perhaps more. In his two professional seasons he has taken a below average curveball and changeup and turned them into average pitches with flashes of even more development possible to compliment his fastball. The Gooden comp is taken even further with Jeffress struggling to command his pitches effectively and four failed drug tests since being drafted. He was hit with a 50-game suspension this season that will carry over to 2008. That’s not necessarily bad as it will intrinsically limit his innings. Jeffress profiles best as a closer where he won’t have to worry about lasting as long in games and can effectively dial it up into the triple digits.
5. Alcides Escobar, SS, AA. Escobar split 2007 between High-A and Double-A as a 20 year old. Escobar is 6-foot-1 and listed at 175 pounds but seems to be a little bigger than that. He’s worked on filling his body but still needs to get a little stronger. At this point, the only thing holding him back is his bat, as odd as that sounds for a Brewers prospect. He has very good range, is a great fielder and has a very strong throwing arm. He’s quick and smart on the bases, but could use some improvement in basestealing. Offensively, he’s much more limited. In Double-A he hit .283/.314/.354 after going .325/.345/.377 in Brevard County. Granted he was 20 years old, these numbers signal a couple important trends. He doesn’t walk and likes to hack away. He puts the ball in play very often and relies on his speed. If he can improve his discipline and take a few walks, Escobar will be a very good leadoff hitter. Failing that, he will be a plus-defender at the Major League level. He’s slated for Triple-A in 2008 and when his bat is ready, he’ll force the Brewers to make a difficult deciscion with a very crowded infield.
6. Angel Salome, C, A+. Salome was hit with a suspension this year for failing a drug test. However, in 258 High-A at-bats, Salome hit an impressive .318/.341/.465 as a 21 year old catcher. He has good power, predominantly up the middle. Salome is a good contact hitter striking out just 32 times but he drew a paltry 12 walks. He has a very good arm behind the dish but tends to struggle with some of the other aspects of the position. His arm isn’t very accurate, he doesn’t block the plate well and doesn’t move his body well.
7. Cole Gillespie, OF, A+. Gillespie projects best as a right fielder, but doesn’t quite fit the typical mold. His arm is average but accurate and he isn’t particularly rangy which pretty much limits him to RF. He doesn’t project to have enough power to fit the typical mold of the position, but he can contribute in other ways. He is a very, very patient hitter. He works deep into counts and has good pitch recognition. In 438 at-bats this season in High-A, Gillespie hit .267/.378/.420 with 12 home runs and 25 doubles. Gillespie drew 72 walks against 95 strikeouts. He’ll start in Double-A but should be fast-tracked as Milwaukee doesn’t have a long-term position for him and may want to showcase the former Oregon State Beaver.
8. Caleb Gindl, OF, Rk. Gindl was sent at age 18 to the Brewers advanced Rookie League affiliate in Helena. He led the league with a .372 average and added a .420 OBP and .580 slugging average. Gindl blasted 30 extra base hits in 207 at-bats. His pitch recognition is top-notch and struggles with very little offensively. Gindl likely won’t add a lot of home run power but 15-20 per season seems reasonable with plenty of doubles. Defensively, Gindl has a plus arm and will make a fine left fielder.
9. Taylor Green, 3B, A. Green is perhaps the most likely Brewers farmhand to actually play third base in the big leagues. In 461 plate appearances in Low-A this year, Green hit .327/.404/.516. He isn’t very projectable but his defense is solid and his offense looks good. He does everything good, but not great. For this reason, he is often overlooked. He draws a fair amount of walks (51) and doesn’t strikeout often (65). He’ll start in High-A and is another candidate for a quick promotion.
10. Brent Brewer, SS, A. Brewer is the only guy on this list who would by and large be considered a “work in progress” or a particularly athletic player. He stole 42 bases this year and has very good speed. He hit 43 extra base hits (in 518 at-bats) and projects to have very good power. He needs plenty more time in the minors and should play all of 2008 in High-A working on contact (170 strikeouts) and defense (48 errors). His skill set profiles best as a centerfielder.
Flier. Jonathan Lucruy, C, Rk. I feel like this is cheating a little bit to put him as the system flier becuase he could have very easily have been rated 9th or 10th in this system. Lucroy was taken in the 2007 draft and had quite the debut. In 253 plate appearances, the talented catcher hit .342/.383/.487 with 24 extra base hits. He doesn’t strikeout too often (37 times) and plays a solid defense behind the dish but needs some refinement yet.

The Brewers system is loaded with talented players at the plate as well as troubled players. Salome and Jeffress are incredible talents but looking at major setbacks with suspensions. The infusion of a solid 2007 draft class as well as the graduation of a couple players in 2007 make this system look much different than it did a year ago.