BA's Hot Prospect Sheet Thread

[Trowekamp]

Salome better get some love soon, he's as hot as anyone thus far.

Yes.. you would think a catcher hitting .380 in a good AA pitcher's league would get some pub...

 

I guess it is true what they say "Don't do drugs!"

[jjfanec]

BA had a chat today with a couple scouts and were asked

Looney4baseball from Boca, FL asks: What prospects not in the top 100 coming into this year have made the most progress and will be in the top 20-50 next year in your estimation?

The guys answer was Trevor Cahill and our very own Mat Gamel. Not too much of a shock but still some real nice pub for Mat link

[Bambis Bombers]

BA posted a special prospect hot sheet for the months of April and May.

 

Checking in at #2 - Mat Gamel:

Team: Double-A Huntsville (Southern)

Age: 22

Why He's Here: .382/.444/.670 (89-for-233), 54 R, 18 2B, 5 3B, 13 HR, 49 RBIs, 26 BB, 39 SO, 4-for-7 SB

The Scoop: It's hard to match Bruce's total package-the outstanding performance, the tools, the potential superstar future, the defensive prowess while doing it all as the youngest regular in Triple-A. But in terms of pure hitting, Gamel's numbers stack up with anyone's. He's getting hits, he's getting extra-base hits and he's drawing walks. Gamel has reached base safely in 54 of the 55 games he has played, recording at least one hit in 47 games, at least one extra-base hit in 28 games and stringing together a multi-hit game 29 times. With Bill Hall struggling to hit as Milwaukee's third baseman at the big league level, Gamel might not be as blocked as he once appeared to be. Of course, that assumes Gamel, who came into the season a well-below-average defender, will be able to stick at third base. Errors don't tell the whole story, and while his 12 errors in 56 games aren't inspiring, it's a far cleaner total than the 53 errors he made in 113 games a year ago.

 

And at #11 - Matt LaPorta:

Team: Double-A Huntsville (Southern)

Age: 23

Why He's Here: .286/.395/.586 in 210 at-bats, 41 R, 60 H, 14 2B, 2 3B, 15 HR, 49 RBIs, 31 BB, 43 SO, 1/2 SB

The Scoop: LaPorta is making Brewers scouting director Jack Zduriencik and his staff look like geniuses for taking the Florida first baseman with the seventh overall pick last year. LaPorta and Gamel form the most dangerous hitting duo in the Southern League and perhaps in all of the minors. LaPorta is still getting used to playing in the outfield, but there's been no learning curve at the plate for the slugger with a slugging average .300 points higher than his batting average. The thought of adding LaPorta's and Gamel's bats one day to a lineup that already includes Prince Fielder and Ryan Braun is downright scary.

 

LINK

[battlekow]

From the most recent Hot Sheet chat, in response to a question about Gamel/Hall:

Ben Badler: I was surprised and impressed that the Brewers realigned their defense to a more optimal manner this year, but certainly Hall has been disappointing. I'd still stick it out with Hall for now and let Gamel work on his defense because it sounds like he's still either below or well-below average defensively at third base. The defense isn't going to prevent him from being a regular because that bat would still provide significant utility as a corner outfielder. He'd still be a valuable player at third base too, it's just a cost-benefit analysis you have to do to calculate the tradeoffs between putting him at third base or sending him to the outfield, and part of that is dependent on the team's roster construction, which means the Brewers will probably try to give Gamel every chance possibly to stick at third.

[TheCrew07]

I didn't see this posted yet.

Last week's Hot Sheet was a review of the first third of the season. Familiar Faces at 2 and 11.

[battlekow]

Check two posts above you.

[TheCrew07]

Geez I'm dumb, sorry Bambis. I went right to the last post.

[Mass Haas]

One mention in the sheet this week, but not among the usual rankings --

 

MEN AMONG BOYS

Low Class A West Virginia catcher Jonathan Lucroy (Brewers) is celebrating his 22nd birthday today, the downside of which is that he'll be sentenced to the Men Among Boys section of the Hot Sheet whenever he puts up a good week while staying in low Class A. That's the case this week for Lucroy, who hit .320/.452/.600 (8-for-25) with a double, two home runs, and three RBIs. The 2007 third rounder is hitting .311/.390/.515 in 235 at-bats for the season. He's a very solid prospect, we just are looking forward to seeing what he can do against older competition.

[sbrylski]

He's a very solid prospect, we just are looking forward to seeing what he can do against older competition.

 

So are a lot of people. Move him up!

[BrewCrewForever]

I'm so pumped for the emergence of Gamel. If he continues to hit at a high level getting him and Braun out of that 2005 draft is going to like mighty good for years to come.

[Mass Haas]

A record-breaking number of Brewer farmhands on the Hot Sheet this week, coming in at numbers 3, 4, 11, 12, and 13.

 

Oh wait, check that, it's only 11, 12 and 13 -- you'll see how I could have been confused.

[TheCrew07]

Mass Hass, pouring salt in an open wound since 7/25/2007... http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/tongue.gif I thought they'd be like 11 and 13, not 3 and 4. If I felt better about Dykstra I wouldn't mind so much... but that's a discussion for the other thread.

[bobskube]

A record-breaking number of Brewer farmhands on the Hot Sheet this week, coming in at numbers 3, 4, 11, 12, and 13.

 

Oh wait, check that, it's only 11, 12 and 13 -- you'll see how I could have been confused.

Dude, you really have a man crush on these guys. Let it go. They are Padres now...or San Antonio Stinkers or whatever.

 

[homer]

For what it's worth, I enjoy following these guys. I like the thread.

[sheetskout]

I am really getting kind of pissed of at BA.

 

I know it's a good thing to have Gamel, Jeffress, and Lucroy make it, but seeing Lucroy in there makes me wonder if BA really just doesn't like Angel Salome.

 

What does Salome have to do to make a hotsheet? (I know some of you out there want to respond, "Grow 4 inches".)

 

I am not saying that Salome should have made this hotsheet, but c'mon. He outshined Gamel for a couple of weeks.

[tigerbrew]

A record-breaking number of Brewer farmhands on the Hot Sheet this week, coming in at numbers 3, 4, 11, 12, and 13.

 

Oh wait, check that, it's only 11, 12 and 13 -- you'll see how I could have been confused.

The Linebrink trade continues to look like a terrible mistake. To me, it's the worst trade in DM's Brewers career so far.

[Mass Haas]

It's a special Mid-Season Version of the Hot Sheet, with a season-to-date cumulative list that includes Mat Gamel, Alcides Escobar, and Matt LaPorta. Treat yourself to reading the comments on each via the link.

 

While it lasts, Gamel is gracing BA's Home Page.

 

By the way, Will Inman earned an honorable mention among the starting pitchers.

 

There was also a chat on the list, which included:

 

Q:	Lyle from Needles, CA asks: Does Gamel need to learn a new position before being considered for a callup and if so, where would he be best suited? Or, is he potential trade bait for a possible Sabathia deal?
http://www.baseballamerica.com/chat/assets/space_clear.gif
A:	Ben Badler: I saw him for four games the other day... going from that and from what scouts tell me, it's time for him to learn a new position. If you keep him at third base, then in a perfect world he becomes a below-average defender. He's athletic, which helps, but athleticism does not mean a guy can stick at third base. It's everything from his footwork, his actions and his throwing problems, and I think it's gotten in his head a little bit just from talking to him. I think a move to the outfield would be best because he's an excellent hitter who has more than enough bat to stick at a corner outfielder position. I wouldn't give him up for a Sabathia rental, but it's hard to see where he, LaPorta, Braun and Fielder all fit into the mix with no DH option available for Milwaukee.

Q:	JAYPERS from IL asks: Should Prince Fielder go bye bye, does LaPorta have a shot at filling his spot, or is management set on keeping him in the outfield?
http://www.baseballamerica.com/chat/assets/space_clear.gif
A:	Ben Badler: LaPorta has been taking some ground balls at first base, but I don't think there's any reason to trade Prince.

Q:	Jackson from Milwaukee asks: No Salome? Oh, the humanity...
http://www.baseballamerica.com/chat/assets/space_clear.gif
A:	Ben Badler: Salome's not even close to Wieters. Salome's having a great year, but there are legitimate positional questions with him. He's about 5-foot-7, 200 pounds of solid muscle (believe me, the swelling in my hand is just starting to go down after shaking his hand last week), so he can kind of get away with his unorthodox habits at the plate because of his strength. But he's also a below-average defensive catcher (below-average pop times, needs more accurate throws, etc.), so teams can run on him all day. And if he doesn't stick at catcher, where do you put a guy who's 5-7, 200 pounds and is a 25 or maybe a 30 runner? I think he has a big league future, but these are just some of the legitimate concerns that scouts have about him that I can see.

[Hammer]

So, if the scouts are saying that a position switch is necessary for both Gamel and Salome where do they go? Gamel should be able to handle the OF but who gets bumped? Would Salome be able to learn either 2b or CF? If so, who gets bumped? Man, the Baby Brewers can sure hit but they cannot field worth a dang...

 

Edit to add: Thanks for posting this Mass!!

[TheCrew07]

A 30 runner is pretty slow... no way he plays CF. That's bogus anyway, he's been one of the hottest players in the minors all year, last time I check the hot sheet didn't have anything to do with defense, that's just personal bias.

[colbyjack]

Ok, short rant...but where would someone like Alcides Escobar be ranked overall if he played for an organization like the Mets, Yankees or Red Sox? I bring up the Mets first, because Escobar's stats are pretty close to where Jorge Reyes' was at a similar level (I'm sure someone will provide a line-by-line statistical breakdown that will prove me wrong, so I apologize if my memory isn't working for me in this instance). Now, I'm not saying Escobar is going to be that good, but he could be, and if he were in a bigger organization the hype machine would be that much greater.

 

Which is probably a good thing.

 

All the more reason to give Mass a tip of the cap for supporting this kid 10x more than anyone else for the last 3-4 years.

 

Second rant, how does Manny Parra get missed as one of BA's top 20 rookies this year:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=1267

 

I mentioned this on the MLB forum as well, where it belongs better than here (I felt it was ok since there are a few other BA rants here), but I remember sharing this same rant when Parra wasn't named to BA's top 25 preseason rookies.

 

Sorry about that, I had to. It's great to see a handful of Stars on the midseason prospect list, with Huntsville getting so much attention in particular especially as the CC Sabathia rumors heat up.

[Minigoon]

Second rant, how does Manny Parra get missed as one of BA's top 20 rookies this year:

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=1267

 

I mentioned this on the MLB forum as well, where it belongs better than here (I felt it was ok since there are a few other BA rants here), but I remember sharing this same rant when Parra wasn't named to BA's top 25 preseason rookies.

I'm pretty sure I heard Jim Powell state during today's broadcast that Parra does not qualify technically as a rookie due to the DL time last season.

[colbyjack]

Really? If that's the case, I respectfully back off, but wouldn't that also effect his status as a prospect, or is that purely based on ABs and innings pitched? And if that is indeed true, if BA was in tune, wouldn't they have at least mentioned that?

[battlekow]

Yeah, the TV guys were talking about that a couple days ago too; Parra's a few days over, service time-wise. It's purely based on days on the 25-man roster, so it doesn't really have anything to do with how good of a prospect he is. It's just a classification for awards purposes.

[colbyjack]

I knew it didn't have anything to do with how good of a prospect someone was, but I guess I missed on the service time thing. I thought it was based strictly on IP (50) or ABs (130).

[battlekow]

I thought that's what you meant by "his status as a prospect", how good he was.