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

[juancastillo3]

I don't know if I just missed it in the off season transactions, but in Chris Mehring's latest interview with Corey Kemp he mentions that he has retired. Kinda suprising to me. I know there were some questions about what position he would ultimately play, but he had a nice season last year at Wisconsin,

 

http://wisconsin.timberra..._t572&fext=.jsp&sid=t572

[TheCrew07]

Wow, I'm very surprised about Kemp, many of us wondered where he fit in but he certainly showed enough to keep progressing.

 

Good luck to him in his pursuits and best wishes to his family.

[CheezWizHed]

That is pretty surprising. There had to be some non-baseball related motivation, as he had a pretty good bat. In a 1B starved organization (save for the MLB level), I would have thought his bat would have fit there really well.

 

I watched Watten pitch at a Rattler game last year. He really reminded me of Bush for a couple reasons: high '80s speed with lots of movement and would pitch very well for 4-5 innings, then get hit hard in his last inning before being pulled.

 

So while I was disappointed to not see Scarpetta or Peralta, seeing Watten pitch made me keep an eye on his progress every once in a while. The comment about better D helping him as he moves up makes sense, as the Rattler's D was pretty bad last year. Couple of guys at new positions (Dykstra/Lawrie - both made errors the game I watched) and they had a few injuries that swapped some people around also...

[DHonks]

With Watten, if his sinker is that good, some go through a noticeable jump in the big leagues. Brandon Webb had iffy ERAs but has been one of the top 5 in the game since his callup

[Paris16]

I can definitely tell you that he was upset that he wasn't given more catching time than some of the younger guys that struggled all year defensively. He was promised more catching opportunities and was not very happy  that some of the younger catchers that did not catch or throw very well were getting so much time behind the plate. He was promised some catching time after the season in instructional league and never received any. You must remember that this kid was relegated to catching in the bullpen early in the season and only started playing when the other catchers struggled with the bat.

[Tedaldtada]

If that's true, that stinks. I am guessing the team already 'knew' he would never be a catcher, so they didn't want to waste his/their time/effort. They should have just told him that instead of leading him on though.

[TheCrew07]

I posted my thoughts about the catching situation in WI a couple of times over the course of the season. I have no idea why McCraw was a good idea... if he was depth sure... but he ended up the everyday C. He seems like a good guy, seemed to get along with his teammates alright from what I saw at games, but he didn't really bring anything to the table offensively or defensively. His CS% got better over the course of the season, but way too many balls got through all of the catchers I saw play in WI.

 

It seemed to me that the line between a PB and a WP is pretty liberal at best.

[Paris16]

I agree with you 100 percent. I caught for 15 years, was a high school all american,  and played division one baseball. A catcher has equipment on for a reason. Everytime a ball hits the ground they  rule it as a passed ball, and that is a joke. Balls in the dirt should consistently be blocked. Any catcher who has balls coming off his mitt at this level has no business catching. I am not going to put down the Mcraw kid because I am sure he is a great kid. The facts are the kid was released by the mets the year before after hitting .143 for them in A ball.  So  how do the Brewers start him the whole year in Wisconsin in front of all the other catchers that they themselves drafted. It looks like a favor to someone. On top of all that they signed him for 3 years. If the pitcher crosses you up on a pitch that might be understood. The Brewers have way too many young catchers who they have given a lot of money to who either struggle catching balls or can't throw at all, while other more experienced catchers are not getting any playing time. It doesn't make any sense. Some of those young  catchers should be moved to other positions if they can hit, because they are never going to be quality catchers. It is a shame that in pro ball just because you were given more money than another player you get chance after chance, but you rarely get a chance if they don't have money invested in you. It is hard to prove yourself when you play once every 10 games regardless of what the guy in front of you does. There were catchers last year who received 250, 300 at bats and hit .199 to .210 while other quality catchers got little or no playing time all year. That can get really frustrating with the length of the season. I am not stating an opinion, I am stating facts. Kemp got fed up with it, and it won't be long till other catchers get fed up with it too.

[And That]

Kemp got fed up with it, and it won't be long till other catchers get fed up with it too.

I feel for Kemp - I'm sure he wanted to be given more of an opportunity to catch. If the Brewers told him he'd do some catching in instructionals and they reneged on that commitment, that's a pretty shoddy way of conducting themselves. I hope Kemp reconsiders, and maybe the Brewers would reconsider moving off the catching position. FWIW, I'm very sure the Brewers didn't consider him a catcher over the long-term... I'm not sure if there was miscommunication between the Brewers and Kemp that led Kemp to believe he'd see more time behind the dish, or if they just didn't communicate that to him and he had to figure his position change out on his own. Either way, sounds like the Brewers could have handled the situation better. I get the feeling communication is somewhat of a problem in the Brewers' organization, but that's another topic for another day.

 

All that said, I don't think the statement that I quoted holds much water. The Brewers will do what they think is best for their organization when it comes to which catchers are playing and how often they're playing. I won't fault them for playing McCraw or anyone else, at least at the outset, if they truly thought that playing them was best for the organization. As for the catchers who were riding the bench or in Arizona, players should get angry if they aren't playing - if they aren't getting angry, I don't think they're competitive enough to make it to the big leagues. However, "getting fed up with it" really isn't the answer if you want to have a shot at playing in the big leagues. Quitting drops your percentages of making is from >0% to 0%. The supply of catchers far outweighs the demand teams have for them. Kemp retiring will just open up a spot for someone else. If other catchers quit, the Brewers will have replacements for them too. There's no shortage of guys that want to catch professionally. Sorry if that sounds cold, but that's the reality.

[Mass Haas]

Next up with Voice of the Rattlers Chris Mehring -- OF Erik Miller

 

Miller was having a fine April and May last year before the injury (stat line here). At 6'3", 200, hopefully we'll see more in the way of extra-base hits from the still just 22-year-old CF in 2010.

[battlekow]

Former ACU pitcher learns to mix it up
Marc David/Abilene Reporter News

Trey Watten suffered through somewhat of an identity crisis last
year.

He discovered that unlike his time at Abilene Christian, he no longer
could throw fastballs in the low 90s by hitters.

If it sounds rather late for a 23-year-old to learn how to pitch
again, remember that Watten has been a full-time pitcher only three
years. Within that context, the fact that he was a seventh-round draft
pick of the Milwaukee Brewers after his junior year at ACU is
impressive.

“You deal with smarter hitters with more talent in the minor
leagues,” Watten said. “In college I could throw as hard as I could down
the middle. In the minors, they will wait on your fastball so you have
to develop other pitches.”

Watten, who reports March 10 to the Brewers’ minor league complex in
Glendale, Ariz., throws a two-seam fastball, slider and changeup. He is
working on a cutter and will try to develop a sinkerball this spring.

Watten hopes to begin the season with Milwaukee’s high Class A team
in Brevard County, Fla., but knows there is the possibility he will be
back at Wisconsin in lower Class A to start the season. Last year,
Watten was 5-14 although his earned run average of 4.71 was almost
three-quarters of a run less than during his previous season in rookie
ball.

“I don’t like losing,” said Watten, a 6-foot-3 righthander. “I’m not
exactly used to it. I was 20-2 during two years of college. I don’t look
at the record as much as how much I improved. The team struggled and I
didn’t make the pitches I needed to make. I didn’t get the run support I
got at ACU. It’s one of those things. I think it will make me better.”

Watten, who lives in Coppell, often returns to ACU during the
offseason. Wildcats coach Britt Bonneau is his uncle. He has close
friends in Abilene and is 12 hours away from earning his accounting
degree, which he lists as a priority.

“It was a great school and not just for baseball,” Watten said of
ACU. “I go back almost every weekend during the offseason. It was the
right fit for me. I could have gone Division 1 (as an infielder), but I
decided ACU was where I wanted to be.”

Watten doesn’t regret forgoing his senior season to sign
professionally. He is aware the path is a lot more difficult now than it
was when he made the transition to pitching in college.

“I’m finding my identity,” Watten said. “I struggled with left-handed
hitters last year. That’s why I went to the cutter so they couldn’t sit
on my two-seamer. I don’t throw as hard (high 80s) as I did in college.
But I’m learning to be a better pitcher.