BA top 100 out - Escobar (19), Gamel (34), Lawrie (81) and Jeffress (100)

[jjfanec]

I do not know if this is posted anywhere else. The BA top 100 is out and 4 Brewers made the cut. Escobar was at 19, Gamel at 34, Lawrie at 81 and Jeffress checked in at 100. For those interested Matt LaPorta was 27. I think those numbers seem about right. There is a lot of love out there for Lawrie considering he was the 16th pick and did not play any pro ball last year.

[And That]

Here's the link to the BA article.

[trwi7]

I think Salome should be in there. For example, I'd take Salome over #91 Chris Perez.

[jjfanec]

I think Salome gets knocked down maybe too much for his defense. I wonder if it would effect his status if he was on an AL team where he could dh if catching did work in the long run. I am a little surprised Jeffress is only 100 considering how much a lot of scouting services value pure stuff. He is downright filthy when he is on and is young enough to have time to fully develop.

[brewerguy71]

I am no Salome fan. I would agree with where he was on BP's list, but also have no problem with him not in BA's top 100. He needs about 6 inches of height and 2 seconds of speed to be regarded as a viable prospect in my book.

 

I wouldnt take him over Perez though. Perez has nasty stuff and will most likely be the Cardinal closer by year end with the job his to lose from that point on. The Brewers could use a closer prospect like him in their system (maybe Jeffress...but his breaking stuff cant match Perez's slider).

[ILuvDaBush]

Well how many fastballs in the entire Cards' system can match JJ's? And I would put my greenbacks on Motte being the closer by year's end. He reminds me of Carlos Marmol.

[brosto1]

I kept a close on eye on Cards' games last fall hoping to watch Motte pitch. He has the arm and the crazy reliever thing going for him. I also like Perez, but from what I saw of Motte last September he looked like the better closer option for them. I would prefer either one over Salome.

[TheCrew07]

He needs about 6 inches of height and 2 seconds of speed to be regarded as a viable prospect in my book.

While you're entitled to your opinion there's simply no way he's as slow as you make him out to be given his pre draft 60 time. Some proof of a current 60 time would be appreciated, as given coach32sm's comments I think we're all curious to see where Angel stands speed wise.

 

I said it last year, all year, and I'll keep saying it, there is no way Salome isn't a top 100 prospect. Say what you want about his defense, I won't defend him there, but his bat will play, he's easily one of the top 40 hitters in MiLB. He just doesn't get any love from BA what so ever, and never has... he got what? 1 whole mention in the hot sheet last year? Who was a hotter hitter than him? He batted over .350 in AA for goodness sakes, in a traditional pitcher's league. The hot sheet has nothing to do with defense and never has, they just have a bias towards him.

[brewerguy71]

The "2 second" quote is hyperbole. He isnt fast, its as simple as that, and given his body size that is how much speed he would need.

 

Hitting .350 in AA or AAA for that matter doesnt translate to MLB ready tools. He just doesnt have the tools, size or projectability to be a Major League star. This is why BA doesnt give him love, and why a majority of teams didnt give him any when he was drafted.

 

He just doesnt have anywhere to play. He is too short to play anywhere but catcher (he's even too short to play there) and absent other skills that might let that size play, he doesnt really have a place on a championship level, or .500 level type of team. At best he is a novelty.

[TheCrew07]

I got that you were exaggerating for effect, however you have a history of bashing Salome including saying that his arm was "average at best". You're certainly entitled to your opinion but to continually stretch the facts for effect is a disservice to the young man. As for tools he has a cannon for an arm, can hit for average, and can hit for power. He's a legit 3 tool prospect now and with a little work could be a legit 4 tool prospect if he cleans up his defense. To me the Hit tools are the biggest deal so there's reason to be optimistic about him.

 

The size and projectability comment are one in the same, not 2 separate knocks against him, he's not projectable because he's short... fine everyone gets that. However when a player makes the biggest jump besides the jump to MLB and tears it up, he's certainly deserving of a little love. To dismiss his accomplishments because he's short isn't justice, it's bigotry.

 

Lucroy is the better catching prospect today, but Salome has the higher ceiling as a player.

 

There is a fine line here between realism and trashing players when discussing prospects because their former coaches and family members read the forum which many of us have learned the hard way.

 

Southern League Batting Leaders by Season

 YR Player Age Tm Lg Lvl Aff G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS SB CS| PA Out RC RC/G Pos +---+--------------------+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+--+----+---+---+------+---+ 08 Angel Salome 22 HVL SOU AA MIL 98 367 67 132 30 2 13 83 33 57 .360 .415 .559 .974 3 2| 411 256 83 8.59 07 Josh Kroeger 24 TEN SOU AA CHC 66 225 40 86 14 2 11 50 27 35 .382 .449 .609 1.058 8 3| 256 149 62 11.03 OF 06 Luis Montanez 24 WTN SOU AA CHC 38 141 24 52 11 0 2 25 15 26 .369 .438 .489 .927 5 3| 162 97 31 8.47 OF 05 Matt Murton 23 WTN SOU AA CHC 78 313 46 107 17 4 8 46 29 42 .342 .403 .498 .901 18 5| 350 226 62 7.27 OF 05 Justin Ruggiano 23 JAX SOU AA LAD 53 161 23 55 10 1 6 29 17 56 .342 .422 .528 .950 8 3| 185 111 38 9.07 OF 04 Bobby Darula 29 CNG SOU AA CIN 48 153 38 56 8 0 6 27 16 16 .366 .426 .536 .962 8 2| 169 99 36 9.27 OF 04 Napoleon Calzado 27 GRV SOU AA ATL 119 449 68 161 28 7 8 59 22 59 .359 .389 .506 .895 18 8| 471 296 88 7.58 OF 03 Jeremy Reed 22 BIR SOU AA CHW 66 242 51 99 17 3 7 43 29 19 .409 .472 .591 1.063 18 13| 271 156 65 10.62 OF 03 Matt Diaz 25 ORL SOU AA TBD 60 227 32 87 21 0 5 41 19 24 .383 .431 .542 .973 9 5| 246 145 53 9.32 OF 03 Miguel Cabrera 20 CAR SOU AA FLA 69 266 46 97 29 3 10 59 31 49 .365 .431 .609 1.040 9 4| 297 173 70 10.32 3B 02 Bobby Darula 27 CNG SOU AA CIN 96 323 48 105 17 4 4 36 43 27 .325 .404 .440 .844 10 3| 366 221 58 6.69 OF 01 Wilson Betemit 19 GRV SOU AA ATL 47 183 22 65 14 0 5 19 12 36 .355 .395 .514 .909 6 2| 195 120 37 7.86 SS 01 Adam Dunn 21 CNG SOU AA CIN 39 140 30 48 9 0 12 31 24 31 .343 .439 .664 1.103 6 3| 164 95 41 11.01 OF 01 Jim Rushford 27 HVL SOU AA MIL 57 187 35 64 16 1 7 30 23 22 .342 .414 .551 .965 3 2| 210 125 42 8.57 OF 00 Chris Saunders 29 CNG SOU AA CIN 61 200 30 70 15 1 9 37 28 53 .350 .430 .570 1.000 1 6| 228 136 46 8.62 1B 00 Toby Hall 24 ORL SOU AA TBD 68 271 37 93 14 0 9 50 17 24 .343 .382 .494 .876 3 2| 288 180 51 7.22 C [/pre]

 

Players his age just don't put up those kinds of numbers over a similar number of PAs. You might not like him as a prospect, but his season was certainly noteworthy, especially considering the position he plays.

(edit: added scroll to wide table --1992)

[JJHardy7]

TheCrew07 and I don't always see eye to eye, but he's right on here. What else does the guy have to do? Let's pretend he doesn't have a position (from what I've seen in Huntsville I think he's fine, but I've only seen him there 10 games or so...if he's in Nashville I'll know much more)...what's to say he can't play for an AL team? He cleary has the bat in my mind. He's easily a top 100 prospect just for his bat. If his defense improves at catcher (which it will), the Brewers will have one of the best hitting catchers in the bigs. I don't get the hate on the guy. I really look forward to seeing him in Nashville this year. Maybe if he hits .400 he'll get more love?

[SenatorShriv]

Hopefully Salome materializes into the MLB player that I think he can be, and doesn't follow the career path of the only other Brewer on that list (Rushford).

[Never Outhustled]

I have said in the past that Salome is a DH until he proves he's a catcher, and while he is improving his catching skills, he's still a DH. That's why he doesn't rank higher on prospect lists.

 

However, holding his heighth against him as a hitter just doesn't hold water. The reason short players struggle at the plate is because they usually lack the arm length to cover the outside of the plate. Salome has a very disproportionate build, with the arms and torso of a big man, and stumps for legs. He is very good at covering the plate, and that is further enhanced by his inside out swing, and which he takes almost everything the other way. That's how he's able to produce such a high average, and doesn't show the HR totals you'd expect from a man with such awesome strength.

 

It will be interesting to see if big league pitchers with detailed advanced scouting reports can find holes in Salome's approach, but that's not a certainty.

[Tbadder]

I think the problem with believing in Salome (count me as skeptical) is that too many of the high profile Brewer prospects have no position--Angel, Gamel, Lawrie, and formerly Braun.

 

 

When Braun had his extraordinary rookie season it was a shock to many of us that nearly all his value was lost because his glove wasn't even minor league ready, much less major league ready. Now, luckily we found a good fit for Braun, but it behooves a team to turn out a diversity of players not just 1st basemen, leftfielders, and Dhs.

 

 

In addition Angel's body type makes him an anomaly. Can't help it, it just does. Hopefully he turns out to be the next Toy Cannon or the next Kirby Puckett, but that just seems too much to hope for at the moment.

 

 

For sure the Brewers have to give him a shot. They gotta find out if he's the real deal, but my expectations are tempered.

 

On the other hand I think Escobar is rated too low. And I wonder if that kind of thinking isn't also a product of Brewer organizational weakness. We just don't turn out many elite defenders, so is this exception gilding my point of view? probably. But I still like him better than 19.

[homer]

He is very good at covering the plate, and that is further enhanced by his inside out swing, and which he takes almost everything the other way.

His spray chart says he hits to all fields....last year anyway:

 

http://minorleaguesplits.com/cgi-bin/pl.cgi

(insert Salome's name and select spray chart)

[endaround]

How does Lawrie not have a position? The fact they moved him from catcher to 2b where most thought he'd be anyway?

[Molitor4]

after listening to the BA podcast today they talked actually about Lawrie Solame Gamel and Escobar. regarding salome it sounds like part of the reason PED issue and the other part is the fact that he is a very unconventional prospect according to what I heard from their positional rankings today they don't understand how he does everything your not supposed to and still hits but he has such good hand eye coordination that it doesn't effect him.

[littledoc83]

Jeffress listed as a 2009 ETA.... they guessing at an end of the year call up?