Adam Heether

[jvrocksaz]

Just because.... As of 6/6/09 he is hitting .348, on base of .449, is slugging .573, for a 1.022 OPS (in AAA).... Nice!!!!

[Never Outhustled]

His MLEs entering tonight are 301/377/474/851. His career mirrors lateblooming middle infielders like Mike Aviles and Jeff Keppinger. He's part of the Brewers future.

[Hate those Rodents]

Not sure where he fits, but I do think he somehow is on the team next year. I am guessing not this year though. My guess would be that Hall is somehow dumped in the off-season as is one of Hardy/Escobar for pitching. That opens the door for Weeks to come back and one of Hardy/Escobar. One more guy would have to go then, and I wonder if it wouldn't be McGehee as somewhat of an "asset" after he collects 300-400 AB's this year and shows competence at the plate as well as versatility. But after writing all this, it appears to me a lot will need to happen before we see Heether in a Brewer uni.

[TheCrew07]

He'll be a utility player for the Brewers next season, maybe this season if something happens to McGehee

[fleehaw]

He's 27 and in his 2nd go 'round in AAA. Shouldn't he be putting up good numbers? How high can the Brewers really think of him considering they sent him down to AA (for 9 games) despite his numbers playing part time in AAA?

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm rooting for the guy. That being said, his ceiling seems to be a utility type player at best and thinking/hoping/wishing he'll be anything more (especially the Brewers starting SS in '10 or '11) seems a bit foolhardy, IMHO.

[Hate those Rodents]

Hard to say. I think some posters here get too into age as being a limited factor. It is a factor, don't get me wrong. But 27 is not that old imho. He's a year older than McGehee I believe. Nelson was given a chance at 26 I believe. I don't know. But his stats tell me he deserves a shot and I am not convinced he won't exceed the modest expectations many have for him. It'll be something we should all be watching (his stats this year) anyway.

[piccione88]

There really is not much of a difference between AA, and AAA. So I do not think that the brewers sending him down for a few games to fill in says much about how the brewers think of him. I do not think he will be more than a utility player, but if he can put up a major league average line with his versatility in the field he will be very valuable. The brewers would probably have to pay a couple million to a free agent to get that same type of player.

[jjfanec]

I think Heether is a guy who could get a look as the utility guy next year. Get him to play some corner outfield he could be our Mark DeRosa. A guy who is sort of a late-bloomer and has great value because he can play almost anywhere. DeRosa developed good power later in his career, in the minors he never hit more than 8. Both are more of doubles type hitters but I would love to give Heether a try but I just do not think this year is the year. Since Weeks went down McGehee has put up pretty good numbers.

[piccione88]

They had him play 12 games in left field last year. I would imagine that if he looked decent they will give him some work out there again this year.

[BrewPackBuck]

I was going to say get him to play some OF and we have ourselves a good Utility player on the cheap if he hits anywhere near the MLE's posted.

[dadofandrew]

I agree with fleehaw, he's as good as he's going to be, and he probably isn't much of an option at SS, based on his body type and the fact he's been playing 3B for most of the last decade. Low ceiling, McGehee type. That said, Casey has looked very good, and we can only hope he can be a cheap utility guy for a while.

[twobrewers]

He'll be a utility player for the Brewers next season

After the Duffy, Nelson, McGehee fiasco to start the season - I am afraid to put rookies into a role with limited playing time. I think that role is best served for the Counsells/Kaplers of the world.

 

Seeing as Heether played 3B until recently, I would imagine he was only given some time at SS to help increase his value and chances of making it to the big leagues. I'd like to keep him in the minor league until injury forces our hand - and then give him a shot at some real playing time.

[LouisEly]

So people are geeked about Heether and posting his MLEs based on less than 100 ABs repeated in AAA at age 27 and calling him a "late bloomer" despite not being on the 40-man roster, but whenever people write something positive about Gillespie/Gwynn/Katin...

 

I'm glad he's gotten off to a hot start, and maybe he can be a poor-man's Cirillo. Maybe another team will value him and he can be packaged in a trade. Maybe they move Hall in the offseason, maybe Cameron doesn't come back and they move Hall back to CF for a year until Cain/Schafer is ready which opens up a spot for Heether. But the biggest thing is that he needs to get on the 40 man roster first, much less the ML roster.

 

San Francisco needs an upgrade over Juan Uribe, and who knows if Sandoval at 5'11", 245, can stay at 3B (or C). SF also needs to send Burriss down to get the seasoning he needs, and they are desperate for power, so maybe they take Heether for a late season rental of Randy Johnson (he was born in Walnut Creek, so he may have a no-trade in his contract because he wants to pitch close to home), or Heether/Katin/A-ball pitcher for Jonathan Sanchez.

[TheCrew07]

Gillespie hasn't hit since the move up to AAA, how is that an apt comparison? I'm not all over the Heether bandwagon, but I'm certainly not on any of the 3 you mentioned either. At least I think Gillespie and Katin are very good depth, I just wasn't into slappy Gwynn at all. I wish him all the best in SD though, I have nothing against him, he was just never going to hit for double digit HRs, he's not my kind of player.

 

All 4 players would have started for the 2002 Brewers but thankfully the organization has a much better talent base now.

[igor67]

Heether sports the higher career minor league OPS by 20 points over Casey playing in exactly the same leagues (midwest, FSL, Suuthern, and PCL) Heether's last 3 seasons he has had an OPS over .800 while Casey's career high is .776. Heether has long had a very good defensive reputation. I was skeptical, but having looked at the numbers if Casey is an OK bench player at this point, then there is every reason to believe that Heether would be better. In two of the last 3 years Heether had a better OPS than Brad Nelson (now that I'm bothering to look). As a defensive replacement and possible platoon partner Heether is probably even a better option than Hall at this point.

[Never Outhustled]

I agree with fleehaw, he's as good as he's going to be, and he probably isn't much of an option at SS, based on his body type and the fact he's been playing 3B for most of the last decade.

He continues to improve, so how is he maxxed out? As for his body type, if lean, flexible, and athletic isn't a SS's body type, then what is? Heether tried bulking up once, and it lead to his only poor minor league season. Now he's as lean and agile as they come.

[JJHardy7]

There really is not much of a difference between AA, and AAA.

 

There is a decent size difference IMO. The biggest jump though is usually A/A+ to AA. In AAA, you're often times facing guys that pitched in the big league level at some point/top prospects/former top prospect. It's not the biggest jump, but if a hitter struggles in AAA it's usually not a good sign. Again, it's not the biggest jump, but I feel that pitchers in AAA are a bit more advanced than AA because you'll see those AAAA pitchers. I'm not saying this will be a good indication of MLB performance, but a guy like DiFelice was in AAA for awhile...that's a bigger challenge than facing a lot of guys in AA. I guess I'm just saying that the percentage of players that play in AAA is most likely a decent clip higher than those in AA.

 

They had him play 12 games in left field last year. I would imagine that if he looked decent they will give him some work out there again this year.

 

I wouldn't read a ton into that. Kremblas played a lot of guys in the OF. Part of his philosophy was that the more positions guys can play the more likely a fringe player gets a chance. I think I posted a year or two back that I thought Heether would replace Counsell at some point. I like him for what he is and if he plays better than I think he will that's fine by me. I just hope he gets bumped ahead of the hurricane (not a knock on him) if there's an injury. The reason I say that is because I believe Adam can play a few more positions.

[Never Outhustled]

I think the difference between AA and AAA isn't quality, its style. Like JJHardy said, you have to face tough junlballers like DiFilice in AAA. In AA, you have more power arms. Clayton Kershaw and Chris Volstad were awesome in AA, and then went straight to the majors, and theres many more like that. I think AAA is a little better but not alot, but it provides a unique challenge that AA doesn't have, the crafty veteran pitcher, and the patient veteran hitter.

[jvrocksaz]

So the question I have is this... Does having an Adam Heether around make it easier for the Brewers to deal either Gamel, Escobar, or Hardy if a young, top of the rotation, starter becomes available? I posted a trade in the other forum that suggested a Alcides Escobar/ Taylor Green/ Brendan Katin for Matt Cain... Obviously for those that feel it is more beneficial to trade Hardy you can put him in place of Escobar... Does Heether provide enough protection to make a deal like this or do we see if there is any value to a Heether/Katin type package for a late season rental (Randy Johnson) as previously posted?

[TheCrew07]

I don't want to go through another lengthy WAR comparison between players but I do want to point out that we have 1 year and 3.5 months left of JJ's services which will be around 7 WAR using his 2008/2007 numbers. If the Brewers aren't going to resign him, they better have a solid plan in place to replace that production. I was always on the Escobar + pitcher bandwagon to replace his production, but I think we missed our window on that deal and I get that people don't like Escobar's bat, which is fine. I don't see Heether as a starting SS, though I haven't ever seen him play in person nor have I seen video of him playing, but just based on his lack of experience at the position I don't think it's a viable option. He's played even less 2B in his career, I'd like to see him get more experience at both spots but that's probably not going to happen with Escobar and Iribarren in AAA with him.

 

The more positions he plays, the better off he'll be.

[monty57]

It's too bad Heether plays a position where we have so many players. Other than multiple injuries or a DFA of Hall, I don't really see a situation where he'd be up before September.

 

Next year, Counsell will likely be gone, and it would be nice if we could get rid of Hall. That still leaves Gamel and McGehee. If Gamel can't stick at 3B, Heether could potentially become a starter. However, you'd probably need to see either Fielder traded or Hart traded/moved to CF in order to open a new position for Gamel. It's probably more likely that Heether takes over a utility role for the Brewers, so getting time at positions other than 3B would probably benefit him this season.

 

I wouldn't mind seeing Heether and McGehee as our utility IFs next year. However, I think we'd be weak at backup SS, and I don't see Heether getting time at SS with Escobar at AAA. We'll probably see Counsell sign 1-year contracts until he's 50.

[Diskono]

He's 27 and in his 2nd go 'round in AAA. Shouldn't he be putting up good numbers? How high can the Brewers really think of him considering they sent him down to AA (for 9 games) despite his numbers playing part time in AAA?

1) Most players in AAA are something other than first-time-around prospects, but not all of them hit over 1.000 OPS. So not necessarily. 2) IIRC, he asked for the move to AA. He wanted to work on his defense at SS, and wasn't going to get games at AAA with Escobar.

[JJHardy7]

1) Most players in AAA are something other than first-time-around prospects, but not all of them hit over 1.000 OPS. So not necessarily. 2) IIRC, he asked for the move to AA. He wanted to work on his defense at SS, and wasn't going to get games at AAA with Escobar.

 

Wasn't it a playing time thing too? With Gamel, Escobar, and The Hurricane in Nashville the beginning of the year there just wasn't a lot of room for him. I think he asked/was asked to go to Huntsville where he could play. IIRC I think he asked to go to AA. It was either sit on the bench in AAA or play in AA. Again, I think there is a decent gap between AA and AAA, but I do believe you need less time at AAA because the gap isn't huge. I still think AAA is important because you can determine pretty quickly how good a player isn't (ie batters are more patient and pitchers and more consistent). I do think though that playing at AA is obviously much better than sitting on the bench in AAA.

 

I think Heether can play all IF positions. I'd prefer him at 2B or 3B over SS though and I don't know if he's a legit SS in the bigs.

[JohnBriggs12]

Heether is just another reason McGehee should be getting more PT than he's getting. McGehee posting respectable numbers over more than a small sample of major league AB's increases his (McGehee's) trade value far more than Heether having a big season does for him at AAA. But Heether gives them an obvious replacement for McGehee if Casey is dealt or if McGehee took over full time at 2B assuming either a Weeks trade or move to CF for 2010.

[fleehaw]

So the question I have is this... Does having an Adam Heether around make it easier for the Brewers to deal either Gamel, Escobar, or Hardy if a young, top of the rotation, starter becomes available? I posted a trade in the other forum that suggested a Alcides Escobar/ Taylor Green/ Brendan Katin for Matt Cain... Obviously for those that feel it is more beneficial to trade Hardy you can put him in place of Escobar... Does Heether provide enough protection to make a deal like this or do we see if there is any value to a Heether/Katin type package for a late season rental (Randy Johnson) as previously posted?

I say no way. I hope Heether has a long and prosperous big league career, but if I'm GM of the Brewers, I don't count on him contributing anything to the big league club. If he does, it's gravy. I also can't believe he has much, if any, trade value.

 

It was your trade proposal and other postings about Heether that lead me to my first response. IMO, at this time there are only 2 players I'd consider to have play SS for the Brewers, and one, isn't ready yet (Escobar). Unless someone blows Melvin away with an offer, I see Hardy as the Brewers starting SS in '10. Let Escobar repeat AAA and force Melvin to make a move with his play (similar to Gamel although he didn't repeat AAA). So far, Escobar has been alright in AAA, but he's got a few areas he needs to improve on. I see SS as a position of strength for the Brewers, but it doesn't have enough depth to warrant a trade of their big 2 (unless someone wants to overpay).