BA's Hot Prospect Sheet Thread

[Mass Haas]

Several weeks since a Brewer mention -- one at # 13 this week

[battlekow]

Two Brewers are "In the Team Photo" for the 8/22 edition of the Hot Sheet:

Low Class A West Virginia RF Caleb Gindl (Brewers), a fifth-round pick out of a Florida high school in 2007, ranks second in the South Atlantic League with 36 doubles. The 19-year-old hit four home runs this week, pushing his August total to five, and helping erase the sting of a homerless July. He batted .429/.467/.964 (12-for-28) with four homers, three doubles, eight RBIs and nine runs scored on the week-though he did strike out nine times and now has 136 in 128 games on the year.

The guy just keeps hitting. Sure, Double-A Huntsville catcher Angel Salome (Brewers) does it a little differently, but .361/.415/.555 in 92 games sounds good no matter how you frame it. Salome, 22, has been equally adept at hitting lefties and righties, posting an OPS over .950 against both.

[DKM4Boston]

In addition, Eric Fryer makes an appearance under the 'Men Among Boys' category.

 

Eric Fryer, c, Brewers. The Brewers drafted Fryer, 22, as a catcher out of Ohio State in the 10th round of last year's draft, but he initially spent most of his time this year patrolling left field after being assigned to low Class A West Virginia in early May. He was moved back behind the plate in mid-July, but his bat has been sizzling all year. His .344/.414/.527 line has him leading the South Atlantic League in average and on-base percentage and puts him third in slugging. He put together a streak of six consecutive two-hit games from August 13-18, and hit .360/.500/.640 (9-for-25) this week.

[battlekow]

Omar Aguilar shows up under the Helium Watch in this week's Hot Sheet:

Between high Class A Brevard County and Huntsville, Aguilar has 61 strikeouts in 59 2/3 innings out the bullpen, where he can unleash a fastball that sits at 96-97 mph and touches 98. The fastball doesn't have too much life, but it gets on hitters quickly. While Aguilar's command still leaves something to be desired, his stuff has improved this season, particularly his 85-86 mph slider, a changeup that he can throw for strikes and a cutter that he can mix in to lefties. He has struck out 20 batters in his last 13 1/3 innings and allowed just two runs and three hits in that stretch. Aguilar is headed for the Arizona Fall League when the season ends.

[battlekow]

Not sure exactly where to put this, but Gamel and Escobar both made BA's Minor League All-Star Team:

3B Mat Gamel • Brewers
Through the first three months of the season, the 23-year-old Gamel looked like a future batting champion in the making. The lefty batter was hitting .383 with 15 homers at Double-A Huntsville as July dawned, but a precipitous fall (.228/.300/.350 in 197 at-bats thereafter) took a bite out of Gamel's season totals. He still ranked fourth in the minors with 281 total bases and seventh in with 172 hits and 99 runs scored. A late charge by Mike Moustakas (Royals), the Midwest League's home run champ at age 19, nearly surpassed Gamel.

SS Alcides Escobar • Brewers
Mostly because of his youth, the Rangers' Elvis Andrus, 19, gets most of the attention as the top shortstop prospect from Venezuela. But it's Escobar, perhaps the best defender in the minors, who is the paradigm. And at age 21, the righthanded hitter may just be getting started. A strong runner, Escobar emphatically added the stolen base to his game this season (with 34), while his 179 hits ranked third in the minors and his 95 runs scored ranked 14th. It wasn't easy relegating Brandon Wood (Angels) and his 31 homers and improved plate discipline to the second team, but he lost points for repeating the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and for getting an assist from some of the best hitter's parks in the minors.

LaPorta did too:

OF Matt LaPorta • Indians
The top prospect received by Cleveland when it traded C.C. Sabathia to the Brewers, LaPorta's plus-plus righthanded power and strong plate discipline served him well in Double-A. The 23-year-old missed a month while he played for Team USA in the Olympics, but that didn't stop him from finishing runner-up among all corner outfielders on our all-star teams in home runs (22) and slugging (.539). A college first baseman picked seventh overall in 2007, LaPorta showed solid instincts in left field, though his range is just playable.

[battlekow]

Brewers- and LaPorta-related commentary from BA's Player of the Year chat:

Brian Daniels from on the road again.. asks:

Wieters had a great year, however, who were 2,3,4? I personally thought Madison Bumgardner had a better year.. Also anyone on the ECU bandwagaon yet?

 

Kary Booher: Good question. We didn't really have an official list, but Bumgarner, Matt Gamel, Matt LaPorta and Jhoulys Chacin got a lot of consideration. But Wieters was a slam dunk for us. Hard to argue with a .600 OBP in his first full season, and it was actually better in the Eastern League. ... As for the ECU bandwagon, you better hop on now, if there is room left. Can you say $85 for upper end zone tickets to the NC State game?

Joe LeCates from Easton, MD asks:

Who would round out your top five for Player of the Year?

 

John Manuel: Joe, other finalists included Madison Bumgarner, Mike Stanton, Tommy Hanson (He's so hot right now), Derek Holland and Jhoulys Chacin. Other hitters such as Mat Gamel, Matt LaPorta and Jason Heyward either faded a bit or didn't have loud-enough numbers.

Alcides from Huntsville asks:

I have the best glove in MiLB, a .328 ba, 34sb, and nearly 100 runs - any love?

 

John Manuel: Alcides Escobar was on our final worksheet for Minor League POY, and he'll rank highly in the Southern League top 20. In fact, we've talked to many scouts who have had Alcides as the top prospect on that club, a club that had Matt Gamel and Matt LaPorta on the roster. But I don't believe we've had a minor league POY without power, and that's Alcides. I'd guess Rocco Baldelli or Derek Bell might have had the fewest HRs of any of our winners. I liked Escobar after the '05 year when I did our Brewers Top 30 and have always liked him for his elite glove and because scouts I had talked to believed in his bat. Now he's fulfilling the projections. It's hard to see him as an impact bat but he'll probably be an average hitter in terms of batting average, fringe-average power, with his glove he'll be a valuable player.

[rousieboy]

Omar Aguilar shows up under the Helium Watch in this week's Hot Sheet:

Aguilar can unleash a fastball that sits at 96-97 mph and touches 98. The fastball doesn't have too much life, but it gets on hitters quickly. While Aguilar's command still leaves something to be desired, his stuff has improved this season, particularly his 85-86 mph slider, a changeup that he can throw for strikes and a cutter that he can mix in to lefties.

Not wanting to mess with success to much here...but doesn't this sound like a guy that could be starting?