Huntsville CF

[battlekow]

It will be interesting to see who goes out there once Brantley is healthy again with Cain on the team now. Based on how the team has handled Brantley defensively before, I have to think Cain will be tabbed as the regular CF. Thoughts?

[TheCrew07]

If Brantley is going to have any potential value, he needs to play CF everyday. Cain can bounce around between all 3 spots, his bat potentially plays on the corners as well. I don't think this changes anything to be quite honest. Based on Money's comments I think the Brewers have him projected to be the CF of the future, next year wouldn't shock me, but I'd say no later than 2010.

[battlekow]

Okay, but then why has Brantley played 21 games at first this year?

[jimmyjeromehardy7]

I haven't followed Brantley closely so can someone help me out with some info on him - is he a defensive liability and where does he project in the lineup? Thanks.

[TheCrew07]

That's like asking why our prospects don't make significant strides defensively while they are in the minors? I would think when LaPorta DH'd that FP played CF to get his bat in the lineup? I didn't really pay attention to who played where quite honestly, I'm mostly going off of what we've speculated, Agent 39 has speculated, and Money discussed.

 

I really wanted to go on an X type rant about the defensive progress of the Brewer prospects but I bit my tongue.

 

"Why isn't Brantley playing CF?" might be the most frequently asked question about him the last 3 years. I always thought it was because he was playing with guys like Ford and that he was versatile enough and polished enough out there that it wasn't a concern, they were just trying to get his bat in the lineup everyday. Since the organization didn't have an over abundance of 1B, it made sense to plug him him there to fill out the lineups. That may not be the case, in which case it really ticks me off that the young man wasn't being developed properly on the defensive side. The 1 good defender the team developed (Hardy) was a natural, I find this trend disturbing and I'm curious why it hasn't been addressed properly. Is it the coaches they hire? Roving instructors? By all accounts the team just a great job getting coaching to the kids (WV's management made it a point to mention it), but there's no translation to the field. At the same time, Brantley always profiled as a lead off hitter, and if he has defensive issues his developement has been seriously hampered by wasting away at 1B all these years. If it was that obvious to us that he profiled as a CF, the scrub fans who follow the minor leagues, I would think it be obvious to Nichols as well.

[battlekow]

Anyway, it sounds more and more like Brantley is the Sabathia PTBNL, so I guess this is a moot issue.