New Power 50, 4/1 - UP NOW!

[And That]

Edit: The new Power 50 is up! Click here!

 

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The Power 50 returns tomorrow, April 1st, for the 2008 season.

 

Also returning is me. After taking a year off, I will join Brad, Jim and Patrick in making the Power 50. The plan is to update Brewerfan's prospect list on the first of the month throughout the season. The four of us look forward to bringing you our take on the future of the Brewers organization. You can get to the Power 50 simply by clicking the "Power 50" link on the menu at the top of the page.

 

Between now and tomorrow morning feel free and guess what you think our top 5 or top 10 is, and post your own!

 

Just for fun, here are the 13 guys that received votes from at least one of us, but didn't have enough votes to break into the top 50 prospects in the organization:

 

51. Chad Robinson, RHP

52. Zelous Wheeler, 3B

53. Rolando Pascual, RHP

54. Dan Merklinger, LHP

55. E.J. Shanks, RHP

56. Efrain Nieves, LHP

57. Shawn Zarraga, C

58. Rafael Lluberes, LHP

59. Donovan Hand, RHP

60. Patrick Ryan, RHP

61. Jose Garcia, RHP

62. Jose Romero, LHP

63. Joey Paciorek, 3B

 

Should also note that the #22 prospect from the final Power 50 of last season, Callix Crabbe, made the Padres' big league club and will be taken off the list. Congrats, Callix!

[bork]

Time for some pitchers to step up this year. The top of the last Power 50 was largely void of pitchers. Parra could graduate as soon as next month. Jeffress, Braddock, and Rogers may not be pitching right away. That leaves Hinton, Jackson, and Seidel as the only pitchers in the top 25.

[RyDogg66]

this is an April Fools prank, right?

[craigharmann]

LaPorta #1??

[sbrylski]

I've gotta guess:

 

1 - Parra

2 - LaPorta

3 - Escobar

 

Everyone else is getting caught up in Escobar fever, why not the P50 editors?

 

I also think Lucroy could get a boost.

[twobrewers]

57. Shawn Zarraga, C

Can I put a vote in for "Player who makes the biggest jump during the season"...

 

Also, I am curious where Taylor Green is slotted.

[DrWood]

Just for fun, here are the 13 guys that received votes from at least one of us, but didn't have enough votes to break into the top 50 prospects in the organization:

 

51. Chad Robinson, RHP

52. Zelous Wheeler, 3B

53. Rolando Pascual, RHP

54. Dan Merklinger, LHP

 

those are a bit of a surprise being beyond the top 50.

[captkirk16]

This kid has to prove himself everytime out. I loved his moment with the big boys the last spring training game against the Cubs. 1-3, threw out DeRosa from the track. He'll be back in the top ten before long!

[pogokat]

im with you twobrewers...but we've got an uphill battle with the rest of em...

[TooLiveBrew]

Also returning is me.

 

http://www.nctcsf.org/images/Show_Posters/whoop.jpg

 

Teehee, kidding. Glad you can contribute to it again. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Nader Raider Tim]

What the deal with Luis Pena? Why was he unranked at the end of last year, and now #8. I definitely can see why he should be a top 15 prospect, I just don't see why he went from unranked to top 10 during the offseason. Is that the largest jump that a player has ever made?

 

There are very few sure things uber-prospects on the list but it sure does seem to be a deep list, and it is about to get deeper with the abundance of picks coming up in the June Draft.

[dadofandrew]

I wondered the same about Pena. Also, it has been said Laporta will bounce between LF & RF this year, so Brantley will likely play all 3 spots.

[Mass Haas]

What the deal with Luis Pena? Why was he unranked at the end of last year, and now #8. I definitely can see why he should be a top 15 prospect, I just don't see why he went from unranked to top 10 during the offseason. Is that the largest jump that a player has ever made?

Hi Tim, when the last Power 50 of 2007 came out, Luis Pena was heading towards minor league free agency (as was Brad Nelson, for that matter). We knew that the October P50 would be the final one until April, so we made the "technical" decision to not include Pena and Nelson in the P50 at that time. Of course, within a couple of weeks, the Brewers added Pena and Nelson to the 40-man, making Pena's omission in particular a bit of a glaring omission. Pena's previous high on the P50 was # 17 in 2005. We'll be re-examining that part of our October rankings in the future to avoid a similar situation.

[Nader Raider Tim]

Thanks for the clarification. Great work as always guys.

[Boy Jeenius]

I have a question. How does a college junior - playing against high school kids - get rated above a high school kid - playing in the same league - who had more doubles, triples home runs in 27 fewer at bats? Oh by the way, he also also a higher batting average and more than 100 points higher OPS. If the explanation is the fact that Lucroy plays a premium position, I'll buy the logic, and could be possibly be convinced that he deserves a higher rating than Gindl, who also has some decent speed and a cannon for an arm in the outfield. Please help me understand.

[dadofandrew]

If a C can swing a bat without looking silly, he's a good prospect. OF's have to hit.

[DrWood]

I have a question. How does a college junior - playing against high school kids - get rated above a high school kid - playing in the same league - who had more doubles, triples home runs in 27 fewer at bats? Oh by the way, he also also a higher batting average and more than 100 points higher OPS. If the explanation is the fact that Lucroy plays a premium position, I'll buy the logic, and could be possibly be convinced that he deserves a higher rating than Gindl, who also has some decent speed and a cannon for an arm in the outfield. Please help me understand.

It's difficult to project a guy like gindl, who is probably smaller than the 5'9" he is credited.

 

Really, it's pretty difficult to project catchers, too, because they often hit great in the low minors and lose it by the time they get to AA. but he is a catcher, that counts for a lot.

[gregmag]

Excellent list. Thanks to the P50 crew! A few comments / nitpicks, all about outfielders:

 

Lorenzo Cain, to me, is the most mysterious prospect at the upper levels. I just don't know what to expect from him. My gut tells me he's a flame-out risk, but then I look at what he did two years ago and realize how many things he does pretty well. This seems like an important year for him, and I suspect getting him out of Brevard fairly soon might be a good idea.

 

25-year old OF Brendan Katin put up an .800 OPS at Huntsville last year. 25 year-old OF/1B/3B(?) Brad Nelson put up a .787 OPS at Nashville. Neither guy is noted for his defense. Nelson has been at AAA forever, but he was coming back from a serious injury, so it wasn't like he could just coast. Katin has never had the big breakout year that suggests he has a peak we haven't seen. Katin is ranked 26th; Nelson is ranked 45th. I don't get how the difference is that great.

 

A bunch of the Brewers' OF prospects are old enough, maybe even a little on the ripe side, for their levels -- LaPorta and Gillespie are 23 at AA; Ford, Chapman, and Fermaint are 22 at A+. Nothing wrong with any of that, but those guys are all at the point where they really need to produce in order to maintain their current rankings. OTOH, Cain is 21 at A+ with the likelihood of moving up, Gindl is 19 in A-ball, and -- my personal favorite -- Brantley is 20 at AA. Those three guys still have plenty of rope; if any of them puts up serious production, given their ages and levels, I would think he would move up very quickly.

 

Greg.

[dadofandrew]

Brantley is in my top 5. He keeps being pushed and he keeps succeeding...and he's still very young.

[TooLiveBrew]

LaPorta and Gillespie are 23 at AA

 

They were both college seniors (iirc) when drafted, to explain the ages. I'd bet on both Matt & Cole hitting Nashville this year.

[Mass Haas]

25-year old OF Brendan Katin put up an .800 OPS at Huntsville last year. 25 year-old OF/1B/3B(?) Brad Nelson put up a .787 OPS at Nashville. Neither guy is noted for his defense. Nelson has been at AAA forever, but he was coming back from a serious injury, so it wasn't like he could just coast. Katin has never had the big breakout year that suggests he has a peak we haven't seen. Katin is ranked 26th; Nelson is ranked 45th. I don't get how the difference is that great.

Greg, thanks for the post, as always. Keep in mind that Katin was rated by Baseball America as having the "best outfield arm" in the Brewers farm system, so we would say he is noted for his defense, even if range is perhaps an issue.

[gregmag]

Mass, I missed that, and it is a point in Katin's favor; thanks. No disrespect intended to him, btw; I mainly wonder whether his more recent arrival and rise, combined with the travails through which Nelson has struggled for what seems like the last decade, may sometimes lead people to place more distance between them than perhaps their abilities warrant.

 

And Al -- top 5 for Brantley? Reading that makes me happy; I've been toning down my statements about him just a bit, because some folks here have made good cases for caution. I'm glad somebody is out there on the other side, saying damn the torpedoes.

 

Greg.

[pogokat]

if brantley hits .300/.400/.400 this year while playing cf, he's in my top five as well...

 

if he hits .270/.370/.330 while playing corner, then he stays about 15th...

 

he's young so we've got a ton of time on him...

 

i fully expect cole gillespie to blow up this season in AA...he and laporta will be in AAA by the end of the year, which would be fine...break into the major at 24...first full season at 25...

[dadofandrew]

Brantley is a couple years ahead of his level...that's Yo type performance. He may be a bit of a one trick pony, but OBP is a mighty nice thing to possess, especially at 20..