Cole Gilespie

[Hate those Rodents]

Just wondering what is going on with him. Is he coming back from an injury or just really, really cold at the plate. I had hoped he could be Corey Hart minus his speed as far as production (.280-.300 BA and 20-30 HR's). Hopefully he gets past his current .140 batting average.

[endaround]

He's coming off injury

[MLS1965]

Cole is warming up at the plate, be it slow... but his defense is making up for it. He's made several nice grabs over the last few nights including one two nights back where he ended up soaking wet after all the rain we've had here in Nashville. I got to tell you, his splash was impressive..!!

[twobrewers]

Gillespie (two "L"s) also has a .354 OBP thanks to 14 walks - with only 18 Ks.

[Tbadder]

14BB to 18K. Man oh man. Bring the guy up and put him in the line up. He fits in with the "NEW BREWERS".

 

But seriously, is his defense known as major league ready or above average.

[TheCrew07]

He's a fine defender, just doesn't have a very good arm anymore post shoulder surgery.

[monty57]

He's a fine defender, just doesn't have a very good arm anymore post shoulder surgery.

Is this going to be permanent or something that will heal over time?

 

I've kind of hoped that Gillespie would be the guy that would allow the Brewers to trade Hart at some point. I hope he bounces back quickly and gives the Brewers some options this off-season

[TheCrew07]

It's permanent... he had the surgery while in college if memory serves me. One of the better educated staffers will correct me if I'm wrong.

[splitterpfj]

This is indeed permanent, Gillespie will be limited to left field, based on his arm.

[endaround]

Which is a shame because his bat projects much better in RF

[TooLiveBrew]

is he a plausible 1B/OF bench guy type? I love his plate discipline & apparent polish.

[endaround]

If he was healthy to begin the year I'd think he would have been in Milwaukee already. If Hart or Braun get injured, I would think Gillespie is the choice given Gamel needing to be at 3B due to Weeks.

[Hate those Rodents]

I would guess he might be just that TLB. Maybe as soon as next year if not the year after. I still think we should collectively hold out hope that he puts up the type of numbers where we can envision him as a Hart-ish type (minus the speed) as an everyday leftfielder. But, maybe it's more likely that he can become what Nelson was not able to become for us in the role you are proposing.

[Never Outhustled]

Is he a plausible 1B/OF bench guy type? I love his plate discipline & apparent polish.

He played 3B in college before the shoulder injury, so he should have no problem with 1B. I agree that the plate discipline really fits in a bench role.

Which is a shame because his bat projects much better in RF

Oddly, the league average OPS was actually higher in RF than LF last year. The league average OPS for LF was just 785. Gillespie will be a pretty good asset.

[clancyphile]

Which is a shame because his bat projects much better in RF

He's good in LF. Just move Braun to right.

[dadofandrew]

He's been old for his level, and is really just a LF because of his weak arm. He has a very low ceiling, and hits RH, which seems to say his future is elsewhere, as a reserve at best.

[LouisEly]

Seems to me to be a Gabe Kapler type, but without the arm to play CF. He's already logged three triples this year and 7 SBs, and last year stole 17 bases to only one caught (with four triples). Could probably start for the bottom third of the league. Fortunately the Brewers no longer fit that description. Would be a great 4th OF/backup 1B at the least, but he'd probably want to leave eventually to get an opportunity to start (and make more money) elsewhere. A .858 OPS in the Southern League though is nothing to sneeze at (IIRC, it was higher than Hart's when he won the Southern League MVP).

 

Hopefully with more experience Braun will be moved to CF or RF - he's athletic enough to play there. I certainly would feel a lot more comfortable with Gillespie taking over in LF in the event (knock on wood) of an injury to Braun than Duffy.

[clancyphile]

Seems to me to be a Gabe Kapler type, but without the arm to play CF. He's already logged three triples this year and 7 SBs, and last year stole 17 bases to only one caught (with four triples). Could probably start for the bottom third of the league. Fortunately the Brewers no longer fit that description. Would be a great 4th OF/backup 1B at the least, but he'd probably want to leave eventually to get an opportunity to start (and make more money) elsewhere. A .858 OPS in the Southern League though is nothing to sneeze at (IIRC, it was higher than Hart's when he won the Southern League MVP).

 

Hopefully with more experience Braun will be moved to CF or RF - he's athletic enough to play there. I certainly would feel a lot more comfortable with Gillespie taking over in LF in the event (knock on wood) of an injury to Braun than Duffy.

Perhaps, but still, I think that it underrates him.

 

Think of it this way: He probably has a better set of tools for leadoff than Weeks or Hart. His presence could allow the Brewers to, at the very least, let Cameron walk (offer him arby and get the picks), move Braun to RF, and Hart to CF.

 

So, for 2010, imagine this lineup:

lf: Gillespie

ss: Hardy

rf: Braun

1b: Fielder

2b: Weeks

3b: Gamel

cf: Hart/Hall (one of these two gets traded for a starting pitcher)

c: Salome

pitcher

 

That could be a good lineup.

 

Gillespie's OBP skills and speed are just crying out to take over the leadoff spot - and I think he'd do quite well there.

 

Hart's OPS in Huntsville was .807 at age 21. Gillespie posted an .858 at age 24. The big difference: Gillespie drew almost three times as many walks (75 to 28).

 

I'd rather have him leading off as opposed to Hart - Gillespie's Nashville "slump" includes a .353 OBP.

 

You see a reserve, I see Milwaukee's leadoff hitter from 2010-2015. And if Taylor Green develops, then I think we have a pair of good table setters to hit 1-2 from 2011-2015.

[battlekow]

Gillespie is exactly the 4th outfielder the Brewers need. Now they just need to install Bill Hall into Casey McGehee's role and get rid of McGehee himself.

[Boy Jeenius]

I have never thought this guy had a chance to be an MLB starter. I did not even include him on my list when we recently did the top 25 poll. He looked like a 4A guy to me from day 1.

 

He was college player of the year and yet all of MLB thinks that that there are 91 better prospects to draft ahead of him? That sent off warning whistles to me right away.

 

I truly hope I am wrong.

[filthyfrog]

Which is a shame because his bat projects much better in RF

 

First of all, I think the difference between LF and RF is way overblown. Throws to second are the same and throws to home are the same. The only difference is the throw to third, which doesn't happen all that often. An arm that's good enough for LF is good enough for RF. If it's not good enough for LF, then it's only good enough for 1B.

 

Second, like everyone else, I remember the reports saying that Cole's surgery would limit him to LF when he was drafted. Why is everyone taking that as gospel when so many people vehemently deny other opinions from scouts, such as Mat Gamel will never play 3B, Brett Lawrie will never play 2B, etc.? In all those other cases people claim that it was probably just one scout's opinion and that we shouldn't trust it. Is there something about this situation that makes it so much more credible? Like I said, if his surgery left him with a truly terrible arm, then it wouldn't be good enough for LF. But if it's good enough for LF, then it's probably good enough for RF.

 

Finally, we've seen a lot of puss-armed CFs (Sanchez, Podsednik, Clark, etc.) come through Milwaukee. If Gillespie can run down the ball well enough (and I have no idea if he really can), then there's no reason he can't be a puss-armed backup CF just like he can be a puss-armed backup LF. If he can't run it down well enough, then it's not his arm that's limiting him to LF.

[dadofandrew]

He's not a 4th OF at all, he's a reserve LF who hits RH, just like Braun. He does not have the arm for RF, end of story. He does not have the speed for CF.

 

Putting Cole in LF would severely weaken the defense in CF, and weaken in somewhat in LF and RF. His offense would be a step down from Cameron's. Right now, all those negatives may well be a 5 win difference if Cam went down tomorrow and Cole installed. That isn't even a remote option at this point. Even if Duffy would be a 2-3 win difference on offense alone, that's still better. His MLE for his decent AA year must be around 750-775 or so, nothing to speak of for a LF.

 

Personally, I see Gillespie as trade bait, but his ceiling is far lower than Brantley's or Laporta's. The thought of Cole in the bigs is the same as Hernan being better than Rickie or Nelson being ready to take over for Prince talk we heard in the offseason...some folks have trouble telling apart the true prospects (like Gamel) from the fringe.

 

In theory, he may develop into more, but he's 25 and just a few AB's into AAA.

[Hate those Rodents]

I've always been a huge Weeks fan and supporter and thought the breakout of this year was coming, but Iribarren could very well put up simiilarly productive numbers to what Weeks has put up in previous years if given a chance everyday. Maybe anyway. Your right on Nelson not matching Prince, but I think some of us just hoped he could do a .280, 25, 85 showing in a pinch if we ever were able to fleece someone for Prince and had to do a stopgap for a year.

 

I do not know where I see Gillespie yet. Let's see what he's doing in July before we peg him anywhere for certain. But he's probably a backup OF or trade bait, with the slight chance of improving enough to be a starting corner outfielder.

[battlekow]

Gillespie did play some RF for Huntsville last year.

[twobrewers]

Hart in CF makes me cringe.