Power 50 for September is up!

[TheCrew07]

Who's turn is it to comment on the players?

[battlekow]

Actually, Lawrie was hitting against professional pitchers during his time in the Dominican. He doubled off both Kyle Davies and Luke Hochevar, for example.

[Trowekamp]

Actually, Lawrie was hitting against professional pitchers during his time in the Dominican. He doubled off both Kyle Davies and Luke Hochevar, for example.

I cede you the point sir..

 

1. Salome

1a. Lucroy

3. Lawrie

4. Fryer

[Never Outhustled]

You are right he does which is why I added the professional pitchers playing everyday

Lawrie had doubles this spring against MLB pitchers Kyle Davies ad Luke Hochevar. He's faced higher caliber pitchers than Fryer has seen this year. I like Fryer, as he's regarded as a top athlete, but his bat isn't in Lawrie's league. This is the 1st time in Fryer's career he has hit. Don't call Lawrie a HS hitter, as he hasn't faced typical HS caliber pitchers since he was 14.

[Trowekamp]

You are right he does which is why I added the professional pitchers playing everyday

Lawrie had doubles this spring against MLB pitchers Kyle Davies ad Luke Hochevar. He's faced higher caliber pitchers than Fryer has seen this year. I like Fryer, as he's regarded as a top athlete, but his bat isn't in Lawrie's league. This is the 1st time in Fryer's career he has hit. Don't call Lawrie a HS hitter, as he hasn't faced typical HS caliber pitchers since he was 14.

Ok.. I REALLY cede the point.. is that better?

[JoeHova]

I don't mean to offend anyone, but if Lawrie is so great, how did he last till #16? An 18 year old guy who is a no doubt major league caliber hitter and a likely catcher would seem a sure bet to go top 5 or at least top 10.

 

I mean, I hope that the other 15 teams messed up, but Lawrie must have some weaknesses, right? All I'm saying is that I can see some people preferring to reserve judgment until he plays professionally. Sure, he got some hits against Hochevar (not that that was too hard this season http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif ), but I'm sure plenty of guys who will never see the major leagues get hits against major league pitchers every spring training. I don't see anything wrong with a Missouri attitude about draft picks.

[battlekow]

He doesn't have a position. I don't anyone looks at him as a "likely catcher". He was also a late riser.

[And That]

It's up.

[MTBrew]

Dykstra at 24? Ha! This is a very dumb baseball player and a terrible outfielder. I question if he is coachable.

Komatsu at 23? Another laugh. The comparison to Gindl is a slap to Caleb. Gindl is a very hard worker! Komatsu has some skills, he needs good coaching and a kick in the ass.

These ratings are a reflection on how weak the position players at Helena and Arizona are.

[wvpowerblkwel]

I think this edition is pretty spot on from the guys I have watched. Like some other posters, it's harder to find Lawrie that high without having seen anything, but I'm guessing Rogers/Jeffress started that way too, so time will tell. My personal favorite to watch next year is Caleb Gindl. Dude knows how to play the game...offense, defense, gun for an arm, plays hard all the time. After watching him this year I think a lot of his large strikeout totals came on AB's where he started out 3-0, had to take strike 1, fouled off strike two, and then had to guard against crappy umpiring in the SAL for strike three. I think the strikeouts will take care of themselves, and the average will continue to rise. Braddock is another favorite of mine for top ten. Had kinda rough year health wise, getting a late start, but even on bad nights still seemed to strike out a few. The only thing in my mind keeping these guys out of the top 10, is the guys ahead of them! Thanks for your hard work in posting this edition!

[jjfanec]

Dykstra at 24? Ha! This is a very dumb baseball player and a terrible outfielder. I question if he is coachable.

Komatsu at 23? Another laugh. The comparison to Gindl is a slap to Caleb. Gindl is a very hard worker! Komatsu has some skills, he needs good coaching and a kick in the ass.

These ratings are a reflection on how weak the position players at Helena and Arizona are.

This seems pretty extreme. Komatsu put up some great numbers. An OBP of .403 and a Slug of .956 all that while striking out at just 1 time every 8 PA's. I don't know what else you would want to see out of him.

Dykstra struggled late in the season, but still held his own. I don't know how you can call a high school kid a dumb baseball player after 35 games, but you watched his games so I am wondering what you saw.

[colbyjack]

I respect MTBrew's opinion on the rankings, since he obviously had a chance to see guys like Dykstra and Komatsu play this year, and had some troubling things to say about pretty much the entire Helena team, which I hope is more of a reflection of a young and inexperienced coaching staff than a collection of players that need a giant kick in the rear-end.

 

Dykstra has a ton of tools and is one heck of an athlete, and it is also important to note that he is somewhat new to playing the OF on a regular basis, and I think someone (battlekow?) has noted that he may move back to the IF to be tried at 2b in instructional camp. Although it was difficult to watch him finish the season so poorly, although with so few ABs, a bad mini-slump can cause any player's numbers to tumble in a hurry.

 

Komatsu has incredible bat speed and obviously knows how to hit, but is on the shorter side which limits his upside which is where the Gindl comparison comes in. That has nothing to do with character, although I'm glad to hear both you and wvpowerblkwl praise Gindl for his work ethic and intangibles.

 

As for Lawrie falling, battlekow already noted that he's someone without a position, which never helps, and it also doesn't help that he's from Canada, as scouts had to do their homework to see this guy play regularly. Plus, good, talented players fall further than they should in the draft all the time for reasons a lot more difficult to explain than the usual financial reservations. At this time last year (and even today) people were wondering how Tim Alderson fell to the 22nd overall pick in the '07 draft.

[JoeHova]

I know draft position isn't everything (I mean, look how quickly Yovani developed as a 2nd rounder, or Pujols as a 13th rounder, or tons of other guys), but we haven't seen Lawrie play yet.

 

Lawrie starts out #6 as the 16th pick.

LaPorta started out #5 as the 7th pick.

Jeffress started out #9 as the 16th pick.

Braun started out #16 as the 5th pick.

Rogers started out #10 as the 5th pick.

Weeks started out #4 as the 2nd pick.

Fielder started out #9 as the 7th pick.

 

Those are the 1st rankings of the 1st rounders since the P50 started. I guess looking at that, that Lawrie being #6 is pretty fair, considering the strengths and weaknesses of the system over the years. He is the highest ranked high schooler, but it's a sample of only 4 and the last high school hitter the Brewers took panned out, so I can see why there'd be some optimism.

[homer]

Braun as the #16 was due solely to Toby's man hate for that draft pick http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[Tbadder]

I think given Escobar's consistency, and his superior defense at a premium position, and being two years (?) younger makes him the #1 choice. No shame in 2nd though Mat.

 

Why hasn't Cleveland made up their minds yet? I wonder if that bespeaks of a little more manuevering (sic)--threatening to pick someone, Brewers trying to negotiate someone else or several players instead of one. Pure speculation obviously.

[Playing Catch]

I am surprised that this hasn't already been asked... Do the mods know something about the PTBNL? Your comment about Iribarren would suggest this.

[twobrewers]

I've said many bad things about Escobar in the past 2 years.

 

I never thought his bat would be good enough for MLB. After watching him play in Spring Training - I started to to believe. This is my official apology to Escobar, he really looks like a legit prospect.

[And That]

Game Winner 1995 wrote:

Do the mods know something about the PTBNL? Your comment about Iribarren would suggest this.

No, it was an offhand comment. I started thinking about it after I realized he wasn't called up.

[LouisEly]

I thought it was really spot-on, but like some I want to see people prove something above rookie ball before placing them in the top 25. A top-15 pick I might place as high as #10 (depending on depth of the system), but beyond that anyone after the first round I personally wouldn't put above #25.

 

Here's to hoping that we don't have a top-20 pick for many years to come.

[agent39]

I think given Escobar's consistency, and his superior defense at a premium position, and being two years (?) younger makes him the #1 choice. No shame in 2nd though Mat.

 

Why hasn't Cleveland made up their minds yet? I wonder if that bespeaks of a little more manuevering (sic)--threatening to pick someone, Brewers trying to negotiate someone else or several players instead of one. Pure speculation obviously.

no

[bork]

Game Winner 1995 wrote:

Do the mods know something about the PTBNL? Your comment about Iribarren would suggest this.

No, it was an offhand comment. I started thinking about it after I realized he wasn't called up.

It's amazing how similar Gwynn and Iribarren's offensive numbers were this year. But no call-up for Iribarren. But Gwynn probably got it more on his past history, than on his production this year.

[Kricket755]

The 4 players rumored to be available as the PTBNL candidates for the Indians are all top 10 players in the Brewers system on the new P50 (Lucroy-5, Green-7, Brantley-8, Cain-9). General consensus seems to be, with all due respect, we would love for Cain to be the one to go. My question is there that big of a dropoff in prospect quality between 8 and 9? Or is the type of player Cain is (high ceiling, still somewhat raw) just more expendable than Brantley (high OBP, excellent strike zone judgment), Green (infielder with polished lefty stick), and Lucroy (catcher with solid stick as well as behind the plate) for the Brewers and the type of player that we need to add to the current lineup?

[filthyfrog]

Or is the type of player Cain is (high ceiling, still somewhat raw) just more expendable than Brantley (high OBP, excellent strike zone judgment)?

 

I think if Cain maximizes his potential, he'll be Corey Hart. Hart's great and all, but we already have him. Brantley's OBP fills an organizational need and I think that's why most people would prefer to keep Brantley over Cain if given the choice.