Gamel and Laporta

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Nice... disregarding the previous post, while being condescending at the same time. Well done.

I was discussing the Brewers future OF which was defined as ok before my post. I put 2 sentences in about Lincecum. You also did a nice job of being condescending as well.

[TheCrew07]

You were clearly talking about the trade... Furthermore, why is it that if someone doesn't agree with trading for prospects they get the label..."fans overvaluing their teams prospects"... it's getting old, it was old last year when it was worn out discussing the Linebrink trade. The Brewers cannot continually trade away all the top prospect talent, because sooner rather than later there's a void at the MLB level, and then we're back to people complaining about losing. Since I've been at BF.net I've seen trades suggested for every single prospect that's currently contributing with the big club (Hart, Weeks, Fielder, Braun, Hardy, Yo). For the Brewers to have a long run of success those players wll have to be replaced when they walk. Yes you can always aquire more draft picks, but all that does is move the talent farther away from the Brewers.

 

In my opinion the Brewers will never be in "win now"mode, they must keep an eye on the future at all times as they cannot replace losses through free agency until the economics of baseball change.

 

The Brewers will need 1 of those 2 hitters and 1 of Salome or Lucroy within the next 2 years. I'd rather Hart move to CF and Gamel or Laporta move to Left, Braun to Right. Also, 3B could be upgraded, 2B as it stands could be upgraded, the Brewers are not without their holes. Again the Brewers will need a yearly influx of cheap talent so they can afford to hang onto to the key core of players they already have. Mark A has deep pockets, but I highly doubt he'll let the team operate so it's losing money.

[paul253]

Although AAA may be a dumping ground I'd like to see Laporta there as soon as possible. I think the big difference is that AAA has a lot of pitchers have seen the majors, unlike AA, and that may be a better measuring tool for how well he will hit. The pitchers might not be a whole lot better, but I think major league experience makes them a bit more difficult to hit. Does that make sense?

As far as Gamel goes, all i want to see is his defense improve. If he can stick at 3rd, I think we have found an amazing player. If he switches to the outfield, I think you have to lowe his value quite a bit, especially since we will have to make room for him by getting rid of someone. You cant have Braun, Hart, Laporta and Gamel playing on the same team if they are all outfielders.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

So do we let Gamel figure out 3B and wait to call him up until he's 25? That's a sad thing to think about considering his bat is ready now, but when you have depth, I guess that's what you do.

[Gopher74]

Again the Brewers will need a yearly influx of cheap talent so they can afford to hang onto to the key core of players they already have. Mark A has deep pockets, but I highly doubt he'll let the team operate so it's losing money.

 

Well, you're certainly right, and I agree with you, but the Brewers are a REAL long way away from losing money. Put it this way. They're payroll this year would have to be nearly 130 to lose money based on what they made last year.

 

That's nitpicking though. I fully agree. Anytime you don't want to gut your entire minor league system you MUST be overvaluing your farm system. How about the fact that Gamel and LaPorta are putting up numbers unlike anyone else has put up in AA in this organization? Even Braun? How about the fact that we are going to lose a couple players, and dealing them now is just going to make that fall more dramatic when we do, whereas with them, we could either maintain or improve.

 

I think the big difference is that AAA has a lot of pitchers have seen the majors, unlike AA, and that may be a better measuring tool for how well he will hit. The pitchers might not be a whole lot better, but I think major league experience makes them a bit more difficult to hit. Does that make sense?

 

Sure it does. I may not agree with it, but it makes some sense.

My inclination would be that AA pitchers are more talented on average, but AAA pitchers pitch more like big league pitchers as they're usually pitchers who've pitched in the bigs, or who've spent several years in AAA and just simply aren't quite talented enough to stick.

So it makes sense, I just don't agree with it...but again, I can see that side of it.

I think you have to lowe his value quite a bit, especially since we will have to make room for him by getting rid of someone. You cant have Braun, Hart, Laporta and Gamel playing on the same team if they are all outfielders.

 

Absolutely. I still think though that his value is extremely high either way. Not to mention, if he must switch, you could move him to 1st where he very likely would end up being a VERY good defensive 1st basemen making Prince a bit more expendable. In any event, he's still a player who's value is through the roof. Hopefully though the Brewers can be pleasantly surprised for once and have a player actually develop defensively because as you said, if he can stick at 3rd we're going to be in fantastic shape. Not to get too far ahead of things, but having LaPora, Braun, Hart, Prince, Gamel, Weeks and Hardy or Hall all in one lineup is going to be huge. I don't want to jump the gun, but that lineup could very easily be the best lineup in baseball. Plus another big advantage of that would be you'd have a lineup that'd be locked up for a long time save for Prince and you could allocate more resources to pitching starting with this draft now in which I hope we get Weatherford and Fields, and in the future when we can take any other possible top prospects and maybe deal them. In any event, these two make for a lot of very exciting possibilities.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

That's nitpicking though. I fully agree. Anytime you don't want to gut your entire minor league system you MUST be overvaluing your farm system. How about the fact that Gamel and LaPorta are putting up numbers unlike anyone else has put up in AA in this organization? Even Braun? How about the fact that we are going to lose a couple players, and dealing them now is just going to make that fall more dramatic when we do, whereas with them, we could either maintain or improve.

I agree with that to an extent. You shouldn't want to gut your minor league system unless the correct opportunity presents itself that would put a team over the top. That happens pretty rarely so I guess I disagree with you in most cases. Even the Yankees are starting to disagree with you on that one a little bit after seeing the Red Sox win last year with Ellsbury, Pedroia, Lester, Buchholz, and Papelbon all playing roles.

Hopefully though the Brewers can be pleasantly surprised for once and have a player actually develop defensively

Amen.