Your 2009 Timber Rattlers -- Latest: OF Erik Miller interview & RHP Trey Watten update

[Mass Haas]

Adam McCalvy fills us in on the organization's placement of veteran Jim Henderson in the closer's role at low-A Wisconsin. For more on the "Border Battle", here's his blog post:

 

"There was only one more we made there with winning in mind," Gord Ash said. "And that was signing a veteran back-of-the-bullpen guy."

 

That would be Jim Henderson, a 26-year-old who has played as high as Triple-A and was looking for work after the Cubs released him late in Spring Training. He is more than three years older than any other player on the team, and Brewers officials figured it was important to have someone with experience in the closer's role.

[Mass Haas]

Appleton Post-Crescent Blog Q&A with Farm Director Reid Nichols

Click on the link for the full interview, Timber Rattler specifics below --

Q: It's still very early, and this has been your first look at the Rattlers this season, but what are your overall impressions of the club?

 

A: I think in spring training, when we broke camp, we knew they would be an inexperienced, young club. But they're battling. They're playing really good defense. They have good pitching. If they can continue to hang in there, their hitting will come around. We'll scrap. We'll score some runs. I think we're probably a little better than what we've played. But we've done well, pitching and defense.

 

You go from beautiful Phoenix, 80-degree weather, and come to this. So it's pretty hard for guys to make adjustments right away. This is a good league, and you've got young players, so the pitching is usually ahead of the hitting.

 

Q: And your general impressions on the new affiliation between the Brewers and Rattlers?

 

A: I think this is ideal. We were very glad this worked out for us to come here. This is something I think was made for Milwaukee baseball - you've got the Brewers and Appleton, side-by-side. You've got a great baseball community here to support the team. It's a perfect match.

 

Q: Milwaukee's previous low-A affiliate, the West Virginia Power, competes in the South Atlantic League. How does that league compare to what you've seen over the years in the Midwest League?

 

A: It's comparable. The pitching is probably a little bit better (in the Midwest League) because of the weather here. I did a study when we went from Beloit to the South Atlantic League (in 2005), and the temperature wasn't that big a deal. It was a little bit different, but not that much different. So it's not that big of an adjustment. The Midwest League is a good league. Some teams that they'll play here, it's almost like their high-A ball team. Kane County, who's with Oakland, they've got older players and several other teams have a lot older players than we have.

 

But we're developing players, and you're going to see young players coming through our system here. That's just part of how we're doing it. We don't have a Dominican academy - we don't have a fulltime winter presence in the Dominican - which is…we're going to get backed up a little bit and start pushing some of our young Latin players to this level just because of the age restrictions we have at the lower levels.

 

But we are developing players. You're going to see some players who aren't going to be at the big leagues for a while here. But they will be in the big leagues.

 

Q: This is probably a loaded question then, but how many legitimate big league prospects do you currently see on this Rattlers roster?

 

A: (Smiling) That is a loaded question, because anybody who has a uniform on realistically has a chance. Typically any team, you'll get a handful of players. But sometimes none, sometimes five or six. It's up to the guys down there on the field. We hope all of them make it. Realistically, three or four, maybe five make it. It could be any of them.

 

Q: How often do you plan on seeing this team in this season?

 

A: I'll make several trips. My schedule works out where I don't hit (Grand Chute), but I will hit this team again before the (June) draft. But I should be through here five times this summer.

 

Q: What's on the checklist, or what do you hope to accomplish, through these visits? Just continuing to learn more about these guys as players and people?

 

A: I have a really good feel for most of them, just because I was there every day at spring training. We have two winter programs, and part of my job is to keep the facility we have in Maryvale (in Phoenix) open for the winter. And many of the players here were in that program, so I'm pretty familiar with them.

 

My job, and part of the reason I'm here, is just to make sure everything is going smoothly, that we're running things the way we should from level to level. And when a player does have to move, nothing surprises him at the next level because we're all doing it the same way. Getting a good feel from the staff. I spend a lot of time with the staff.

 

Q: The way you see things, is the club we see with the Rattlers right now generally going to be the same club we'll see in September?

 

A: Yeah. Our goal is to really not move players if we don't have to. Let them learn, develop, have a full season under the belt. That's what we'd like to do. It's not our goal to keep players coming through.

 

Q: The Rattlers' Brett Lawrie and Cutter Dykstra are two of the top prospects in the Brewers' system. What are your thoughts on each?

 

A: Lawrie, second base is a new position for him. He played a little bit in high school, but he came in as a catcher with us, so he's learning the position. You see him play, and you know he's going to play in the big leagues at some point. He makes adjustments well and quickly. The staff tells me they tell him something one time, and he makes the adjustment. He's a fierce competitor, and he has baseball instincts. And being as young as he is, that's pretty good for what he does. And the ball jumps off his bat. It's the typical, 'the ball sounds different off his bat,' but it does sound different.

 

Cutter's got a lot of personal issues right now - his father (former big leaguer Lenny Dykstra) is going through some things, and I think that's affected him a little bit. He came highly thought of from the scout who recommended him and signed him, and I think we'll see better things from Cutter as we go, after he gets his feet on the ground and gets situated with his personal life.

 

Q: Have you pulled Cutter to the side and told him to just relax when it comes to those personal matters?

 

A: I would if the opportunity presented itself. But I'm not with him all the time, so it wouldn't mean much from me. (Rattlers manager) Jeff (Isom) has done that, pulled him aside. And when you have a staff member that's here all the time, that's the guys that need to make him understand and make the communication with him. And they've done that.

 

Q: It can be easy to forget at times that many of these players, like Lawrie and Dykstra, are still 19-old kids, right?

 

A: We're raising them. We're their parents away from home, and I realize that. And I try to take the approach with our staff all through our system that you guys are raising someone else's kids, and you have to keep that in mind. Yeah, you want to go out and win the game. We're developing, but we're raising someone else's kids.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

No homecoming for Sherrard grad Adams

By Steve Batterson, Quad City Times

 

Cody Adams won't get the chance to pitch for visiting Wisconsin during its series against the Quad-Cities River Bandits.

 

He can live with his consolation prize, however.

 

The Sherrard grad took the mound for the Timber Rattlers on Friday at Milwaukee's Miller Park, working three innings of relief in Wisconsin's 5-3 win over Peoria.

 

A crowd of 17,880 watched Adams and his teammates make the most of a one-night taste of life in the big leagues.

 

"If I can't pitch here, that's not a bad trade-off," said Adams, a second-round pick of the Brewers in the 2008 draft out of Southern Illinois who is 0-1 with a 3.27 ERA in three Midwest League appearances this season.

 

"I really was looking forward to pitching here, kind of a second home field for me. I've never played on this field and I've had a lot of texts and emails from all sorts of people at home wondering if was going to happen," Adams said.

 

"Growing up in a small town of 700 people, people are so supportive, and it would have been great to pitch here in front of them. We had a postponement that shuffled our rotation. It just didn't work out this time."

 

Instead, the 6-foot-2 right-hander from Viola, Ill., was able to tell family and friends who attended Wisconsin's weekend games with the River Bandits about what it was like to work off of a major-league mound.

 

"The atmosphere was incredible. To be out there, with so many fans rooting for you, it was great," he said.

 

"I was pumped from the minute we got to the park and it's good to get a taste of what we're all working toward. Once I got out there, though, it was just about playing the game. It's still 60 feet, 6 inches (from the mound to the plate) and 90 feet between the bases."

 

Those are the numbers Adams continues to focus on 11 innings into his first full season in the Milwaukee organization.

 

Adams struck out 11 batters and walked five in his role in the Timber Rattlers' tandem system, rotating between starting and relief roles for the first time in his career.

 

"The preparation has been different, switching back and forth," he said. "To me, it's easier to do one thing, which is what I've done up until now. I know they do it to try to save wear on arms, but it has been different."

 

The results have been steady, however.

 

"I feel pretty good about the start I've had," Adams said. "My off-speed pitches are working, my sinker has been good to me and my strikeouts are up and my walks are down so I'm happy with that. It's something to build on."

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Rattlers catcher Corey Kemp catching on fast

Kemp's bat keeps him in the lineup

By Mike Woods

Post-Crescent staff writer

 

GRAND CHUTE - The secret to Corey Kemp's success is tuna and hot sauce.

 

Not that it's a secret anyone would want to have necessarily.

 

"I'm a big kid and I have to watch my diet," said the Timber Rattlers' 5-11, 220-pound catcher. "It's protein rich and it stays away from all the carbs and hot sauce is a bonus. It doesn't have any calories."

 

Kemp came to Appleton as a member of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers' disabled list. But since he has been activated, he has been throwing his weight around at the plate and his three-run first-inning homer propelled the Rattlers to a 6-3 victory Wednesday over Great Lakes in Midwest League action at Fox Cities Stadium.

 

"He was a guy that didn't start on the roster and he ends up about a week into the season getting on the roster," said Rattlers manager Jeff Isom. "We put him in and he hit the ball a little bit and we were struggling offensively at the time.

 

"When you're getting something out of a guy, we're going to ride him as long as he can go. As long as he continues, we're going to put him in the lineup."

 

In 10 games, Kemp is batting .333 and he entered the game with an on-base percentage of .400. His homer was his fourth extra-base hit and he finished with four RBI Wednesday to push his season total to seven.

 

"He made his way from the eight hole, to the six hole, to the five hole and now we have him at the four hole and he's swinging the bat very well," said Isom. "I know he had a very good college career (at East Carolina) and we're now seeing what the scouts saw in him. He just continues to put good at-bat after good at-bat together right now."

 

Kemp's first-inning blast erased a 2-0 deficit, which was huge for a team coming off a four-game losing streak.

 

"I was just trying to get a quality pitch to hit," said Kemp. "I was just trying to put a good swing on the ball. Jeff Isom and Matt Erickson have really been working on the ball in with me. It paid off there. I've been working diligently in batting practice and early work to try and hit that pitch well and it paid off for me there."

 

Kemp also came up with a huge defensive play in the fifth, as he took a perfect throw from right fielder Erik Miller and blocked the plate to tag out the runner and preserve a 4-3 Rattlers' lead.

 

"I got a great throw from Erik Miller," said Kemp. "He came up and gave me a strike and after that it was just kind of mano-a-mano. I'm a bigger kid, so I win most of those. I played football all through high school and I like a little contact every now and then.''

 

And he knows the key to maintaining his status is to keep making contact with the plate and not the dinner table.

 

"I've got to stay away from the big spreads," he said. "In college, I worked with a nutritionist pretty hard because I can get pretty heavy if I don't watch it. She said, 'What kind of food do you like?' So I just tried food all day one day. I said 'Tuna is not bad, I can do that.' She said great and put me on a diet and ever since then I've loved it."

[battlekow]

Wednesday Dish: Lawrie Takes On The MWL

Posted May. 6, 2009 11:32 am by Jim Shonerd

Brett Lawrie has defied expectations before. The 19-year-old became the highest drafted Canadian position player ever when the Brewers pegged him with the 16th overall pick last June. He's a rare Canadian hitter that bats righthanded and has already moved positions from catcher to second base. He was even a member of Canada's last Olympic and World Baseball Classic teams.

Now he's doing it again in the low Class A Midwest League. It would have been understandable if Lawrie had gotten off to a slow start. He'd never taken an at-bat in a professional game before opening the 2009 season with Wisconsin. The MWL is notoriously hard on young hitters, especially in the first-half of the season before temperatures warm up. None of those factors have slowed Lawrie, who's torn up the league to the tune of a .326/.375/.616 line through 86 at-bats.

"He's a special kid. He's got that hit gene," Wisconsin manager Jeff Isom said. "He's a lot of strides offensively. He's a kid that's going to find a way to put the barrel of the bat on the ball. You kinda just let him go and do his own thing. He's swinging the bat well. He hits the ball hard, finds holes and drives the ball in the gap."

Lawrie is the youngest player on the Timber Rattlers' roster, yet he leads the team in home runs (4) and RBIs (19) and is second in average while hitting third in the lineup every night. His .616 slugging percentage ranks fifth in the entire MWL, as 13 of his 28 hits on the season have gone for extra bases.

Lawrie brings an aggressive nature to the plate, but his pitch recognition is advanced enough that he doesn't chase balls out of the zone. He's only drawn seven unintentional walks on the season but has also limited his strikeouts to 14 in 24 games.

"He's selective at the plate," Isom said. "When he gets a pitch he likes, he's going to swing and he's going to swing the bat hard. He's doing a good job of making sure he's swinging at strikes, that's half the battle right there, and has been aggressive when he does find a pitch that he likes."

Lawire spearheaded the Rattlers' offense again last night, helping the team break a three-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over Burlington. Lawire went 3-for-4 and drove in both Rattlers runs. He homered to left field off Bees starter Manauris Baez in the first inning, then added a two-out RBI single in the fifth.

Defensively, Isom has been impressed with Lawrie's work ethic and coachability since moving from behind the plate to second base. He's made five errors (three fielding, two throwing) in 24 games, but Isom is confident Lawrie will continue getting better, and he appears to have come a long way from his amateur days, when he was criticized for not taking his defense seriously.

"Seeing his first few games in spring training, I thought 'Wow, this could be interesting this season,'" Isom said. "But he's such a great athlete. He's taken to it. He's made himself into a pretty good second baseman.

"You see the improvement on a daily basis. What makes him so special is you can tell him what he's doing wrong and then he adapts and changes right away. He applies everything that you say right away. You won't have to tell him a second time, whether it's positioning or the little nuances of the game. He makes adjustments on the fly, picks up things, retains information and throw in he's a great athlete in there. The kid's done a great job and continues to improve daily."

[Mass Haas]

When I was 22 years old (many moons ago), I was the same size as Rattler shortstop Michael Marseco, so I thoroughly enjoyed this video news report from WBAY, as will you. (Text included at link, but click on video camera to the left for the footage.)

[Mass Haas]

Awfully dangerous to draw too many (or any) conclusions based on one game, but if you're going to write scouting reports off of first impressions, Jim Breen over at Bernie's Crew did a nice job.

[Mass Haas]

Brett Lawrie didn't hesitate when asked if he'll stay with the Brewers low Class A team for the entire season.

"I hope not," Lawrie said. "It's my first season so who knows if they'll take their time with me or what. I don't want to be here for the full season. That's why I'm playing every day and working hard."

 

Here's the video news report, along with the matching text.

[uwisfan]

Awfully dangerous to draw too many (or any) conclusions based on one game, but if you're going to write scouting reports off of first impressions, Jim Breen over at Bernie's Crew did a nice job.

I read the piece on Lawrie, and didnt get the same "awkward" fielding sensation that he had. Lawrie is not "lanky" like Pence.. at all. He is going to be a brick house by the time he hits the bigs.. closer to McGwire than Pence physically. I did find his stance unorthodox, but it looks more Billy Hall to me. He puts that front foot forward and leans back before changing as the ball approaches.

 

EDIT: actually the posted video should be enough to show how he "looks" out there

[Mass Haas]

Jim Breen of Bernie's Crew with a nice job (again), this time focusing on the three Wisconsin pitchers he saw during his recent T-Rats' game.

[Mass Haas]

Wisconsin Press Release:

 

MEADOWS RECOGNIZED AS PITCHER OF THE WEEK

 

Appleton, WI: The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers along with the Midwest League announce that Dan Meadows has been named the league's pitcher of the week.

 

The southpaw appeared in three games last week and in ten innings allowed only one run while striking out nine batters. Meadows picked up two wins during the week to improve his record to 4-0 for the season. On the year, he has pitched in eight games and has a 3.26 ERA.

 

Making his first start since August 28, 2008, Meadows threw five shutout innings at Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium against South Bend on May 10, 2009. He struck out five and allowed only three hits to the Silver Hawks.

[battlekow]

Lawrie's move to second working out

Drafted as catcher, Crew prospect finding way at new position

By Adam McCalvy / MLB.com

MILWAUKEE -- Runners at second and third base, nobody out and your team is trying to hold a two-run lead. You're playing second base and a hard chopper is hit your way.

The correct play is to first base, for the sure out. Brett Lawrie, the Brewers' second base prospect, pivoted and fired to third.

"He threw the guy out at third base, and it was like, 'Holy mackerel!'" said Brewers farm director Reid Nichols, who was in the stands in Appleton, Wis., that April day for a game between Lawrie's Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and the Peoria Chiefs.

"It was a bad decision," Nichols said, "but it was a good play."

So continues the education of the 19-year-old Lawrie, who is hoping to be the next Prince Fielder or Rickie Weeks or Ryan Braun, all former first-rounders now drawing big league paychecks in Milwaukee. Lawrie was the 16th pick overall in last year's First-Year Player Draft, the top Canadian pick in history, and he was a catcher then. Over the offseason, he decided to switch to second.

The Brewers approved, though the move has been mostly panned outside the organization. Nichols, not exactly known for throwing around unwarranted praise, has a radically different take.

"I didn't think he could do it," said Nichols, who has overseen Milwaukee's Minor League affiliates since November 2002. "And I certainly didn't think he could do it this quickly.

"But he has good range, good hands. I have been pleasantly surprised."

Considering Nichols' usually low-key assessment of even the hottest of prospects, that qualifies as a ringing endorsement of Lawrie, who began his Brewers career last month about 100 miles up the road from Miller Park at the Brewers' new Class A affiliate.

"I love it back there," Lawrie proclaimed on Draft day, professing his affinity for catching.

So much for his excitement about being a backstop. Over the offseason, after Lawrie had played for Team Canada in the Junior World Championships and the Beijing Olympics, his outlook changed.

"I've always liked second base," Lawrie said. "I like catching, too, but it wasn't a position I could see myself going to the park every day and playing. Catching just wasn't really there for me. It didn't feel proper to me. I think it's one of those things you have to pick up when you're young."

Lawrie insists the decision to move to second base was his own. It had to be approved by club officials and went all the way up the ladder to general manager Doug Melvin.

"When Brett was drafted, he was drafted for his bat," Melvin said. "It wasn't firm where he was going to play, and [second base] might not be his last position, either. He's athletic enough to play a couple of positions."

In the Draft room, scouts debated a number of defensive projections for Lawrie. Catcher obviously came up, but so did first, second and third base and left field.

The scouts mostly talked about his offensive potential, and so far Lawrie has not disappointed. He's hitting .298 with four home runs, 21 RBIs, eight stolen bases and a .350 on-base percentage. He's among the Midwest League's top 10 in homers and RBIs, and he went 3-for-5 in the Rattlers' April 24 "Border Battle" against Peoria in front of 17,880 fans at Miller Park.

"For now, this is the position he's playing," Melvin said. "And he wants to play there. It's important that the player buys into it."

Nichols had initial doubts about the switch and so did Lawrie's manager, Jeff Isom. One unnamed scout who watched Lawrie play a Spring Training game called his play there, "a joke."

"No way, no how he's going to be able to stay there," the scout told the Web site Baseball Prospectus.

Yes, Lawrie read that report.

"They always say, 'You can't do this or that,'" Lawrie said. "But that doesn't bother me. I know what I can do and what I can't do. It just makes me strive harder to get it done."

Lawrie did have some experience at second base for the Canadian junior national team. His switch to second could prove a savvy move.

Brewers catcher Jason Kendall turns 35 next month and is in the final year of his contract, but the team has a pair of exciting catching prospects in Triple-A Nashville's Angel Salome and Double-A Huntsville's Jonathan Lucroy, both 22. Defense-first catcher Carlos Corporan projects as a backup, but he climbed so high on the depth chart in Spring Training that the Brewers currently have him in the big leagues while Mike Rivera rehabs an ankle injury. At second base, meanwhile, Weeks is a free agent after the 2011 season. The team's top infield prospects all play other positions. Mat Gamel and Taylor Green are third basemen, and Alcides Escobar and Brent Brewer are currently shortstops. Isom doesn't just think that Lawrie could pass in the Major Leagues as a second baseman, but that he could be a good one.

"I saw him in Spring Training ... and I didn't know what to expect," Isom said. "There were some rough times, but you saw a lot of athleticism. We would see things in games and have to mention, 'You need to be doing this and that.' "The thing about Brett Lawrie is that you tell him once about game-situation stuff, and you don't have to tell him again. In Spring Training, it was daily that we talked about two or three things. As the season started, we haven't had to tell him a thing. He's a 'baseball guy.'"

[tyguy20204]

There has been several articles now about Lawrie's solid defense. That's awesome.

[Never Outhustled]

As usual, great stuff from Adam McCalvy. I really liked this quote:

 

 

"When Brett was drafted, he was drafted for his bat," Melvin said. "It wasn't firm where he was going to play, and [second base] might not be his last position, either. He's athletic enough to play a couple of positions."

 

Who knows, maybe Weeks would take an extension, and Lawrie will move over to 3B. His arm is much stronger than I expected, if he's not needed at 2B or 3B, then its RF. Its just awesome that we've nabbed a dominant player with the 16th pick. Melvins decision to heavily scout Canada may be the best he's made.

[Mass Haas]

Brett Christopherson discusses the Wisconsin roster shakeup here, including this news on Cutter Dykstra --

Cutter Dykstra has been transferred to the rookie level Helena (Mont.) Brewers in a series of roster moves announced today by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.

 

According to Rattlers manager Jeff Isom, the 19-year-old Dykstra is sliding from the outfield to second base -- thus the reason for the transfer.

 

Dykstra, considered one of the top prospects in the Milwaukee system, will work with Brewers roving infield instructor Garth Iorg through Wisconsin's current five-game series with Clinton, which opens today at Fox Cities Stadium in Grand Chute.

 

Dykstra, selected by the Brewers in the second round of the 2008 June draft, played shortstop in high school and took turns earlier today fielding grounders with Rattlers second baseman Brett Lawrie during infield practice.

 

Following the series, he'll head to the Brewers' spring training facility in Phoenix to continue working on the position switch before moving on to Helena, which begins its season in June.

 

Dykstra hit .212 with one homer and seven RBI in 29 games with the Rattlers and at times appeared uncomfortable at all three outfield positions.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Position switch sends Timber Rattlers' Dykstra packing for Helena

By Brett Christopherson

Post-Crescent staff writer

 

GRAND CHUTE - An unexpected message greeted Wisconsin Timber Rattlers outfielder Cutter Dykstra following Friday's 5-2 loss to Cedar Rapids.

 

He was being sent down to rookie ball.

 

But then came the reason why, and that proved to be a welcome message.

 

He was being moved to second base.

 

"Middle infield has been my position my whole life," he said. "I was getting more and more comfortable in the outfield, but coming back to second base is like coming back to my home."

 

Dykstra was transferred to the Helena (Mont.) Brewers in a series of roster moves announced on Saturday by the Rattlers prior to an 8-3 win over the Clinton LumberKings at Fox Cities Stadium.

 

The 19-year-old, considered one of the top prospects in the Milwaukee Brewers system, will remain with Wisconsin through the entirety of its five-game series with Clinton, which concludes on Tuesday.

 

While in town, he'll work with Brewers roving infield instructor Garth Iorg before heading to Milwaukee's spring training facility in Phoenix and then to Helena in time for the June 23 season opener.

 

"Size-wise, he kind of fits a middle infield type guy," Iorg said of the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Dykstra, selected by the Brewers in the second round of the 2008 June draft. "And that's what he was in high school. We put him in the outfield. There was a lot of back and forth about it, whether we should do that or not. But we decided to give it a go, and now he wants to do this, as well. It's a great fit."

 

Dykstra, a high school shortstop, said he had heard occasional chatter about a potential move back to the infield but remained committed to the outfield.

 

Iorg, meanwhile, insisted the switch had nothing to do with Dykstra's early-season struggles - he hit .212 with one homer and seven RBI in 29 games and often appeared uncomfortable at all three outfield positions.

 

"We just think he has more value to our organization as an infielder," Iorg said. "That's the only reason."

 

Dykstra took turns on Saturday fielding grounders with Rattlers second baseman Brett Lawrie during the team's infield practice.

 

Afterward, he admitted some disappointment in being shipped to Helena but vowed to "bust my tail" in working to refine his infield skills following the layoff.

 

"It's motivation for me to get back up here," said Dykstra, son of former big leaguer Lenny Dykstra. "I'm going to go down there and work hard. That's where they like me now, and I'm going to show them what I can do."

[colbyjack]

If the team truly felt he had more value at 2b, they would have already moved him there. I thinks it's clear the team was concerned about his early struggles, both offensively and defensively. I'm happy to see the move made, and you have to wonder if Dyketa's return to Wisconsin will coincide with Lawrie's bump to BC (and Farris' to Huntsville). Second base is looking pretty good right now, especially if you still think Green could play there.

[Never Outhustled]

Myself and TheCrew07 both were hoping Dykstra would open the season at 2B, but that was before Lawrie moved there. I'm still happy with the move. If you look at how few good 2B prospects there are in the minors, its shows what value Dykstra could have at the position. Theres a real shortage of guys with soft infield hands that still have pop in their bats.

[BrewCrewWS2008]

I really don't like the move. He has only been in the outfield for not even a full season and is 19 so you don't to just give up on it. It kind of bumbs me out because now he will not be in the same wave as Lawrie, I was looking forward to watching these 2 go up together. I don't see how he could possibly have more value there. He has Weeks, Iribarren, Green (IMO I think he holds more value at 2b than 3b in the majors, just my opinion though) Farris, Lawrie all ahead of him. I mean how could you be more optimisic of moving up and being the Brewers future 2nd baseman with that infront of you instead of Cameron, Duffy/Gwynn Jr.,Stern, Cain(maybe if not a corner of), and Schaefer? I hope the move works out for them and Cutter though

[Never Outhustled]

It kind of bumbs me out because now he will not be in the same wave as Lawrie, I was looking forward to watching these 2 go up together.

Niether Dykstra, nor any other 19 year old, is going to be riding the same wave as Lawrie. Brett is a special talent that will blow past everyone his age. Value of a player isn't just derived by his need by his present organization, but by all teams.

 

 

He has Weeks, Iribarren, Green (IMO I think he holds more value at 2b than 3b in the majors, just my opinion though) Farris, Lawrie all ahead of him.

If Weeks is still here in 2012, then Lawrie will be playing a different position. I think the Brewers don't think Green has the agility for 2B. If Dykstra can't outhit Eric Farris, then Ive grossly overestimated him as a prospect. Dykstra outhit Farris in Helena despite being 3 years younger. Iribarren put up a 739 OPS in A ball as a 21 year old, I'm sure Dystra could beat that in 2 years.

 

Dykstra should play the position that he has the best chance to be an above average defender, and I think thats 2B.

[TheCrew07]

I have no great love Cutter as I'm sure most are aware, I just didn't see how he fit in the OF at all as a starter. He's not a SS, won't hit enough to play 1B or 3B, so that pretty much makes him a 2B.

 

For some reason I always envisioned him having a career path similar to TGJ, just at a different position. His father made it because of extraordinary hustle and work ethic, most likely use of PEDs as well. I've just never felt good about the pick, but everyone seems to like him and to me 2B is the only place he really fits if he's going to have a future.

[battlekow]

Kevin Goldstein on Cody Scarpetta:

An 11th-round pick in 2007, the Brewers signed Scarpetta knowing that he'd need surgery to repair a tendon in his pitching hand. Since getting healthy, the 20-year-old has showcased a 91-94 mph power sinker and plus hard curveball, and he's overpowering Midwest League hitters, limiting them to a .194 batting average on the season while recording 38 strikeouts in 27.1 innings. At six-foot-three and 240 pounds, he's built to last, and if he can harness his control a bit more, he could move way up the prospect charts.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Brett Christopherson column: Brewers thinking Green as they peer into the future

Appleton Post-Crescent

 

Grand Chute - The devilish plan was fool proof, or so Wisconsin Timber Rattlers skipper Jeff Isom thought.

 

Whenever that dreaded call would arrive, he'd just conveniently ignore the cell phone's incessant buzz and go about his day like any other.

 

Answer it? Are you kidding me? And be told to pack up Taylor Green's belongings and ship them - and the kid - ASAP to Huntsville, Ala.?

 

Uh-uh.

 

Uh-oh.

 

"Well, Gord Ash is here in town now, and if I don't answer that phone call, I'll for sure hear it," Isom said with a chuckle as the Milwaukee Brewers assistant general manager strolled past prior to Wisconsin's 14-7 Midwest League victory over Clinton at Fox Cities Stadium. "Gord might end up taking him with him, but I'm going to do whatever I can to keep him here."

 

The Rattlers welcomed their first rehab assignment of the season when Green was sent this way in time for Saturday's series opener with the LumberKings.

 

Not familiar with the third baseman? Well, he was only Milwaukee's minor league player of the year in 2007, when he hit .327 with 14 homers and 86 RBI at Class A West Virginia.

 

And he waltzed into 2009 rated by Baseball America as the eighth-best prospect in the Brewers system after hitting .289 with 15 jacks and 73 RBI last season at high-Class A Brevard County.

 

So far, so good in his four-game stint with the Rattlers, too. The 22-year-old third baseman, selected by the Brewers in the 25th round of the 2005 June draft, has seven hits in 14 at-bats, five runs scored, one memorable bomb that seemed to graze the sky and five RBI.

 

In baseball terms, that's what you call raking.

 

In Brewers terms, that's what you call a free pass to Double-A Huntsville - soon.

 

Say it ain't so, Joe…err…Gord.

 

"He's always been a pretty good hitter," Ash said. "He's not going to be a headline type guy because he doesn't do anything exceedingly well. He's not going to show prolific power. He's not going to hit .380. But he's going to do everything well. And he's a smart player, an instinctive player."

 

Take Saturday's game, for example, when he turned on a 2-0 inside fastball in the first inning and sent it streaking like a comet for a two-run homer in his first at-bat of the season to propel an 8-3 win. Isom said Green told him beforehand he remembered facing that particular Clinton pitcher last year and recalled being fed a steady diet of - that's right - two-seam, inside fastballs.

 

"To me, that's a guy who hasn't had any at-bats all year, and the first guy he's going to face, he recognizes who he is," Isom said. "He's studying the game. He's preparing himself before he's even up in that box. I pointed that out to the rest of the team. 'You have to have an idea and an approach before you can even get in the box.'

 

"Hopefully, the guys are watching and learning because he's a special player. He's a guy who's going to do well wherever he goes. We were very fortunate to get him here."

 

Green likely would have opened the season at Huntsville had it not been for a streak of bad luck that put the kibosh on '08.

 

First came a cracked radius bone in his left wrist in August, the result of being beaned by a fastball. The injury shelved him for the final three weeks of the regular season and required surgery in January, which is why he remained in Arizona for extended spring training and was then assigned to the Rattlers to, as Ash said, "knock all the rust off and get back into the everyday swing of baseball."

 

Green also suffered a broken nose last fall when he was drilled in the face by a fastball during an Arizona Fall League game. He tried to play through the injury but broke the nose even further four days later when he was pelted in the face by a bad-hop grounder during pregame infield practice.

 

"And that was the end of it," said Green, who was being considered by the Cleveland Indians as the "player to be named later" as part of last year's trade that brought ace hurler CC Sabathia to the Crew. Instead, the Indians nabbed outfield prospect Michael Brantley.

 

"I feel great," he added. "I like it here, but I'm ready to get out of here and get going to Huntsville. I'm just really excited."

 

Milwaukee is, too. Ash said he can easily envision Green donning Brewers blue in the seasons ahead. Where? Third base? Maybe. But there's always a spot for a good, left-handed stick.

 

"I'll do whatever they need to get up there," Green said. "Right now, I see myself as a third baseman. But I'll play where they want me to."

 

It just won't be with the Rattlers much longer. The original plan was to keep him here for seven to 10 days. However, with Brewers second baseman Rickie Weeks now lost for the season with a wrist injury, the resulting roster moves will have a domino effect within the system.

 

The Rattlers are home again today before shoving off on a 12-game road trip, but…

 

"It's going to be a short stay, there's no question about that," Isom said.

 

In other words, don't expect Green to be around when the club returns to Fox Cities Stadium on June 2.

 

But do expect him - someday, anyway - at Miller Park.

[Crew2323]

I hope he's still a Rattler through Memorial Day Weekend, when they play in Beloit. I've got tickets and am really excited to see both Lawrie and Green.

[Mass Haas]

Your Midwest League Pitcher of the Week --

 

Wily Peralta, Wisconsin

0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G, 1 GS, 9 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 17 SO

On May 24, Brewers prospect Wily Peralta fanned 10 in six dominating innings, allowing three hits without walking anybody or giving up a run. He struck out seven batters in just three innings of relief on May 19. His recent strikeout frenzy has propelled him into a tie for most strikeouts among Wisconsin Timber Rattlers pitchers with 40.