Where will Lawrie debut?

[colbyjack]

I received a PM from a poster with interest in the minor leagues asking about how the pitching will shake out in the lower levels of the minor leagues when the 2009 season is upon us, given the number of arms added in the draft and how everyone will fit, and similar to past years I responded in that I feel the pitching staffs always take care of themselves. A few players will get bumped up to a level we didn't expect, some will be injured, some will get released, and with the piggy-back system, the organization will always try to fit as many players in as possible. When/if Toby releases his usual 2009 roster projections, it will help give a better idea of where the players will all fit.

 

But this prompted me to come up with some quick roster projections of my own (Nashville's lineup could be loaded, BC's lineup should be fun to watch while the pitching staffs at Huntsville on down should have plenty of interesting players to follow) it made me wonder where Brett Lawrie will open the 2009 season.

 

He definitely adds intrigue in that the Brewers haven't had a situation like this. Usually, they're pretty quick signing their early draft picks. Obviously Lawrie signed late due to the Olympics, but where does he start? His bat may be more polished than most, meaning a debut at low-A isn't out of the question, but if the Brewers intend on developing him as a catcher, I don't see how he can start the '09 season anywhere but EST with a likely Helena destination. However, assuming the Brewers do hook up with Appleton, you would think there will be some temptations to put him there to add to the excitement of that new partnership.

 

To me it's one of the most interesting topics of conversations between now and next April. I'm not convinced the Brewers will keep him behind the plate, as they may be tempted to move him elsewhere (3b?) to allow his bat to carry him as quickly as it can, which would make a placement at low-A easier to believe. If Taylor Green is indeed the PTBNL in the Sabathia deal, that may prompt the Brewers to make this switch sooner rather than later since the organization after Gamel, who is no sure thing at the hot corner, is lacking in 3b prospects. Angel Salome's and Jonathan's Lucroy's development behind the plate may also help prompt this move, although like pitchers, you can never have too many good cathcing prospects.

 

I know that's a lot to throw out there, but I'm interested in hearing what everyone else thinks about the situation.

[TheCrew07]

I would guess Low A regardless. I'm not sure what he has to gain playing short season ball, and I'm sure he'll be working on hard on his catching during instructionals.

 

I hope if he plays 3B they find a place for Trejo... I know he didn't get to play this year because he blew out his knee, but my selfish enthusiasm for the young man drives my opinion in this case.

[Never Outhustled]

I would be shocked if Lawrie opened next season in EST. The Brewers have had tons of poor defenders in the past, and its never held anyone else back. His bat isn't just ready for A ball, its ready to dominate A ball. He has already destroyed EST teams, and has added more experience since then. I think it really tells us something about his bat that he made the Canadian Olympic team ahead of Taylor Green.

I have been begging for the Brewers to keep Lawrie away from catcher since the moment they drafted him as a catcher. Its unnecessary with Lucroy, Solome, and Fryer in the organization, and will hold back his development at another position. I would like him to become an asset at another position, not just tollerable there. 3B seems like a logical destination, but I'd like to explore 2B if possible.

My Lawrie question I'd be interested in what others thought is about his offensive upside. He is far more advanced than any 18 year prospect we've had, but does that change his ceiling, or will he just reach his ceiling at a younger age?

[bretsky07]

Until Salome, Lucroy, or Fryer have actually SOLVDD our catching WOAHs, and become our starting catcher, I think we need to see how Lawrie handles catching.

 

Unless they decide to move him somewhere else on the diamond, or if he is much better than advertised defensively as a catcher, I think he'll start the year in EST. If he does well there, he could be pushed directly to Appleton in May or June, like Jeffress last year, but I think it more likely he'll at least spend part of the year in Helena.

 

Hopefully Zarraga will be the starter in low-A to start next year, but if Lawrie is instead, I won't exactly be complaining, I'll just be making the trip to Appleton more often.

[paul253]

I think we need to see how Lawrie handles catching.

 

I don't think we do. Salome dominated AA pitchers and Lucroy the same for A+. I doubt Lawrie would be much of an upgrade defensively over Lucroy. I realize you never really put someone at a position because of need, but next season we will have 2 catchers in the upper levels and another one at A+ while we have no second base prospects at all, and a weak second basemen in the major leagues. We also wont have any real third base prospect if Green is gone because I havent seen one scout who thinks Gamel can stick there. I wouldnt have a problem with putting Lawrie at third and moving Green to second if he sticks around, but whatever the second-third combo is, I'd like to see it based as much on which is better defensively as it is which is better offensively, because our team has shown in the past few seasons what bad defense can do in a game.

[Cracked Bat Collector]

I would think Wisconsin...he sounds pretty advanced for his age with wood bats and he has gotten hits off MLB pitching before in games (Hochevar & Gil Meche).

[JJHardy7]

I think it's interesting to think of what position he'll start at. Can Salome and/or Lucroy stick at catcher defensively? If they can, then I think putting him at 3b makes a lot of sense.

[Never Outhustled]

Lucroy would be an asset defensively in the majors right now. When his bat is ready, he'll be a big league starter. Its too soon to predict how good his bat will be, but he's as much as a sure thing as you get at catcher. You just can't find guys with sub 1.7 second pop times to 2B, and his other catching skills are solid. His presence is what makes playing Lawrie at catcher a waste.

 

Playing Lawrie at catcher increases his chance of injury, decreases his plate appearences, and delays his development as a 3B. If Lawrie starts out at catcher and doesn't stick, he'll likely end up a LF, as his bat will be more than ready before he has a chance to learn 3B, just like Braun.

[JJHardy7]

If Lawrie starts out at catcher and doesn't stick, he'll likely end up a LF, as his bat will be more than ready before he has a chance to learn 3B, just like Braun.

 

Just how ready is Lawrie to play 3b or 2b? Is he more MLB ready at those two or more so at catcher? Could it be the case that his bat might be ready (it appears it is from everything I've read) before any position he plays? This may force the Brewers to call him up before his defense is ready.

[colbyjack]

I would be shocked if Lawrie opened next season in EST. The Brewers have had tons of poor defenders in the past, and its never held anyone else back. His bat isn't just ready for A ball, its ready to dominate A ball. He has already destroyed EST teams, and has added more experience since then.

 

True, but those defenders haven't been catchers, which is the most demanding defensive position on the field. I agree that his bat is ready for an aggressive placement, and the whole point about his bat vs. his glove is why I brought this discussion up.

 

I'm not a big fan of moving players to another position just because we have Player A and Play Y already there at this level and that level, but the catching position really is a different animal.

 

And going off of X's comment about the Brewers not holding players back because of their defense and his additional comment about having a prospect that actually could be an asset at a different position, for once I would like to see them move a player to the position that suits them best. Many of us felt Braun should have been moved to LF before he was, and that decision led to some unecessary shuffling at the big-league level (Bill Hall's OF conversion never needed to happen). It's taken Weeks a few years to become an average 2b defensively, and unfortunately there is nowhere else to put Fielder.

 

Of course, Russell Martin's success moving to behind the plate may be reason enough to stick with Lawrie there, but I'm leaning strongly towards moving Lawrie to third base to let his bat dictate his pace.

[dadofandrew]

Appleton.

 

If he is behind as a C, maybe they'll only have him catch a couple times a week and DH the rest of the time...but I think they'd much rather have him get an extra 200 AB's than work out in the hot sun.

[ILuvDaBush]

LaBat Blue in A-town. The question becomes, when he dominates hitting, do they give him the bump to High-A if his defense isn't ready? I think he makes all Brewerfan.netters salivate at his ceiling. R-Mart with more power? More speed?

[BrewCrewForever]

I hope in Appleton for the T-Rats. That would be sweet, I might go to opening day for the T-Rats then.

[rousieboy]

Appleton.

 

If he is behind as a C, maybe they'll only have him catch a couple times a week and DH the rest of the time...but I think they'd much rather have him get an extra 200 AB's than work out in the hot sun.

Great points...you can always go to AZ and work on the details of the craft in the downtime/offseason...and let's see how he handles A ball before we put him in the Hall of Fame...

[twobrewers]

I think Lawrie's future is really tied to the PTNL.

 

If we trade away a Lucroy, Lawrie will probably play catcher.

 

If we trade away Green, Lawrie might very well end up a 3B.

 

I'd really like to see Lawrie force the Brewers hand a little with his bat. We could use some better results from the 2008 draft class.

[TheCrew07]

We could use some better results from the 2008 draft class.

It's waaay too early to be down on kids that have only played Short Season ball... heck, I'm even interested to see if Dykstra moves to 2B and can stick there...

[sausage racer]

Doug Melvin mentioned Lawrie possibly being in Appleton next year in Single A in the press conference today for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

[battlekow]

Brewers' top pick likely to join Timber Rattlers

By Brett Christopherson • Gannett Wisconsin Media • September 23, 2008

GRAND CHUTE - Brett Lawrie - the Milwaukee Brewers' first-round selection in the June amateur draft - likely will play with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers at some point next season, Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin said.

Lawrie, a third baseman and catcher, was taken with the 16th overall pick and hails from Canada. According to Baseball America, the 18-year-old signed a deal that included a $1.7 million bonus. He didn't play in the Brewers system this season but did compete in the Summer Olympics in Beijing in August as part of Team Canada.

 

"I would say there's a high percentage chance of him coming here and going through here," Melvin said during a stop at Fox Cities Stadium on Tuesday as the Brewers and Rattlers announced a four-year, low-Class A player development agreement.

 

"But you just never know. You hate to make those predictions.

 

"(Current Brewers slugger) Ryan Braun came through every level of our system. He played in rookie ball in Helena, he went to (low-A) West Virginia, to (Double-A Huntsville, to (Triple-A) Nashville. So we're pretty keen on letting our players go through each one of our systems. Brett, being a high school player versus a college player, more than likely the high school players would come through here."

They'll remain the Timber Rattlers

Timber Rattlers president Rob Zerjav said the partnership won't lead to an identity overhaul for his club.

 

In other words, the team still will be known as the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and feature the same maroon-and-black color scheme and primary logo as seasons past.

 

The only changes Zerjav said fans will notice is the addition of a Brewers logo patch on the jersey sleeve and perhaps a uniform tie-in during Sunday games, during which players would wear a Brewers-themed jersey and an alternate logo on their caps.

 

"We definitely want people to know we're an affiliate of the Brewers," Zerjav said. "We take a lot of pride in that."

 

The last time the club had a major identity switch was between the 1994 and 1995 seasons, when it altered its uniforms and ditched the Appleton Foxes name as it prepared to move into Fox Cities Stadium.

Who'll be the manager?

The Timber Rattlers won't learn of their new manager and his field staff until later this fall.

 

Melvin said minor-league coaching contracts expire at the end of October, so he predicted an announcement would be made by mid-November.

 

Jeff Isom led the West Virginia Power to the South Atlantic League Championship Series this season in his first year at the helm. The Power was the Brewers' low-Class A affiliate for the past four seasons.

 

"Obviously, people in the organization would be taken into consideration first," Melvin said. "We don't really have a timetable."

[sbrylski]

I'm definitely getting a Lawrie T-Rats jersey at one of my many attendances.

[ILuvDaBush]

I'll be supporting LaBat Blue.

[BrewCrewForever]

Yes! Lawrie to play for the Rattlers. I think I will attend T-Rats opening day this season.

[jason21nl]

even more good news for Appleton. I love it!

[nate82]

I strongly believe that Lawrie should be playing at 3B and not at catcher. It is not that I think he can't make it as a catcher but his bat is extremely more advanced than his defense is and it would slow down his development. I would rather see Lawrie at 2B or 3B than at Catcher because of his bat and the development time it would take for him to fully develop as a catcher compared to 2B or 3B. I would rather have someone who is average at 2B or 3B than have someone behind the plate being average defensively.

[wvpowerblkwel]

I know every time I mention Lucroy in a post, someone gets angry with me, but I'll try again. Why draft Lucroy, and then Lawrie consecutively with Salome there too? My thoughts are that maybe one or both of those guys can see big league time before too much more time. That being said, do you develop Lawrie as a catcher for the future, which could mean Lucroy or Salome being traded, or do you "cross train" him somewhere else. My guess is he doesn't get switched, but he gets cross trained. He's real young, and the Brewers aren't real big on rushing a young catcher to the bigs in my opinion. Salome was what a 2004 draft pick? Lawrie will probably need time to adapt to the wooden bat, and I think realistically you don't switch positions on a guy that young because its gonna be a few years before he sniffs the bigs. I think that with a college kid, you might be looking at a different story. Plus, after watching Fryer here in Charleston last year, if he continues to hit he could be a quick mover. When he was on his big hitting streak, the only other guy I could compare him to in Charleston has been Braun. Sounds like we have a very good problem!

[nate82]

Lawrie will probably need time to adapt to the wooden bat,

Lawrie has been playing with a wooden bat since that is what they use in the Olympics and on the national teams. Lawrie isn't like the normal college players who need to adjust to the wooden bat after using an aluminum bat for so long.