The future of Jeremy Jeffress

[twobrewers]

This is basically a thread to nowhere, I don't mean any disrepect twobrewers, it's just I view this as a lose/lose situation and conversation.

I actually started this thread to ensure that he could avoid a lifetime ban by being added by the 40 man roster. (Sounds like that is the case)

 

With that in mind, my main concern was Jeffress' trade value. I doubt he will make it as a Brewers. However, we always hear how the Brewers can't make a trade for a top-flight starter because we don't have the pitching prospects to part with.

 

I think Jeffress might be a very important cog in our off-season plans. In the Hardy Trade thread I suggested parting with Hardy, Gamel, Salome and Jeffress for Felix Hernadez. After that suggestion, I realized I had no idea what trade value Jeffress might have.

[JonnyLungs]

I'm sure he's spent his signing bonus on supporting drug using friends and members of his entourage.

Just like Darryl Kile did because he was a weed smoker?

[TooLiveBrew]

Jeffress smoking weed concerns me 0%. His lack of dedication to his potential career worries me 100%.

 

I hope the Brewers fast-track him, to get him on the 40-man as quickly as possible.

[ILuvDaBush]

If Cody Scarpetta was added to the 40-man roster last year, then isn't it a foregone conclusion that Jeffress should be added to the 40-man? I know they're completely different matters but if the Brewers valued Scarpetta's arm enough to protect him, then they're undoubtedly going to protect their highest ceiling arm.

 

As for his future, I will be very slow to dismiss his career. If he's added to the 40-man, it will expedite his ascension. And let's not forget that this is a young gent who would just now be graduating college. However, instead of growing up in the open forum of ideals that is the college campus of today, he grew up on the road that had made a speed bump of Josh Hamilton among others. Except as far as any test had revealed, he is simply an immature stoner. A little civil disobedience in lieu of the transgressions that have derailed the careers of Angel Villalona or Elijah Dukes. Brett Favre repeatedly abused prescription pain killers (which are far worse than pot) and alcohol (again, quite worse than the ganja).

 

I expect Jeffress to become a more responsible marijuana smoker in the future (as Randy Moss, would say, "Only in the offseason...as you're running over a meter maid"). And I understand that even this year, he failed the AA test and had to again go dominate A+, but his arm is still as golden as it was when he was drafted. And considering the absolute dearth of top pitching prospects in our organization, I can only hope they continue to think of the young gent as one of their future cornerstones instead of a lowly beggar at the corner store.

[TooLiveBrew]

The problem with regarding him as a cornerstone is that if he fails one more test, he's banned for life -- and he's demonstrated no reason for the organization to expect he won't test positive again. As much as I hate this notion, & especially with a pitcher of Jeffress's upside I'd never mention this, but at this point I'd rather see the Brewers use him as a reliever. Get him on the 40-man & to MLB as fast as possible. A (potentially) dominant reliever, while clearly not as valuable as a starter, has a lot of value & can be very hard to find without paying a premium ($$ or prospects).

[Tedaldtada]

I say put him on the 40 man. It might send the wrong message, but who cares? I'm not sure what some people think will happen (a weed and lack of respect for the rules pandemic rushing through our system?!?! kidding). We are here to win baseball games, and this guy could be a pretty important part of that.

 

Maybe they could shift him into Villi's role in a year or so. Then he would be more of 7th inning guy that could spot start if we needed (which we def. did this year). Evaluate him as a SP at that time, and decide if he is worthy of shifting into a permanent starting role.

[TheCrew07]

Scarpetta wasn't added to the 40 man to protect him from himself, he was added because a quirk in the rules and nothing more. The 2 situations are so totally dissimilar I don't even know why you chose to connect them together.

[ILuvDaBush]

Well no matter the circumstances, you protect your high ceiling arms. I would have to believe Jack Z would be more apt to snag Jeffress than Scarpetta. He'll be added.

[colbyjack]

ILuvDaBush, you're missing the point. Scarpetta was added to the 40-man roster because he had to be. His initial contract was voided because of his injury (a torn finger tendon sheath IIRC). Jeffress has a year to go before he HAS to be added IIRC, but the suggestion that he is added to the 40-man roster to avoid MiLB testing is a good one.

 

It really has nothing to do with "protecting" your high ceiling arms.

[TheCrew07]

He's not eligible for reinstatement until May nor is he eligible for the rule 5 draft, so why exactly should we burn an option year on 2010? What does Jack Z or any other organization have to do with this?

 

As I said I strongly believe the Brewers need this young man to be a successful pitcher, but if he doesn't care enough about his career to play by the rules he's never going to amount to anything anyway. It's not like if they add him to the 40 man he'll magically be able to control his pitches and get more advanced hitters out, he has to be willing to work hard at refining his mechanics... if he's unable to locate his pitches none of the rest of it matters, see Luis Pena.

 

I suggest looking at the rule 5 thread, Minigoon has a post about the eligible players we'll need to protect in 2010 as well... 40 man roster spots are becoming very important for this organization, we're rapidly approaching the point where they can't afford to waste a single roster spot, we're going to be letting good talent go regardless. Adding Jeffress a year early when they don't even know how he'll perform on the mound means we're releasing a different player who's deserving of a roster spot for a hope and prayer. If Jeffress is successful in 2010 there aren't many players I'd protect in the entire organization before him for 2011, but for the 2010 season I don't see how Jeremy holding down a roster spot is in the best interests of the organization.

[twobrewers]

but for the 2010 season I don't see how Jeremy holding down a roster spot is in the best interests of the organization.

I agree 100%.

 

For the 2010 season, Jeremy holding a spot on the 40 man roster will likely require a player with some potential MLB value to be dropped. But adding Jeffress to the 40 man roster in 2010 could benefit the Brewers greatly in 2011 and 2012. (As opposed to exposing him to a lifetime suspension)

 

In addition, it brings me back to the idea of trading Jeffress. Teams that hope to contend really can't burn 40 man roster spots or "hide" players. However, a team like Seattle, that won't compete in 2010, could certainly afford to use a 40-man spot on a player with Jeffress' raw talent.

[ILuvDaBush]

My exact point was that we added Scarpetta because through an irregularity in the MLB rules (the voiding of a contract making a player Rule 5 eligible and Jack Z chopping at the bit to snag a nugget from his old pals), he needed to be protected. We should add Jeffress because through an irregularity in the MLB rules (a minor league player being subject to drug testing and a player on the 40-man roster NOT), he needs to be protected. Pot will not ruin his life. It's a minor intoxicant which is less habit-forming than most legal OTC drugs (anything that affects the body). He's a young gent who is not out assaulting people or relieving others of their goods. Outside of a few questionable decisions about intoxicants (and let's be honest, how many of us would have tested positive for an intoxicant at his age?).

 

The fact remains, the Brewers have to protect their investment. Much like the Scarpetta case, if it takes adding a player to the 40-man (and between Scarpetta and Jeffress, which player has the bigger investment from the Brewers?), then it should be done. And the fact that it expedites his ascension only adds to the benefits.

[Mass Haas]

Let's be honest, how many of us would have tested positive for an intoxicant at his age?

 

Totally an apples and oranges comment to make, a comment with no value in this context. The better question is to ask how many fellow minor league baseball players would test positive for intoxicants, whether rewarded with a million dollar bonus or a hundred dollar bonus, and the answer is much, much less than 1%.

[trwi7]

let's be honest, how many of us would have tested positive for an intoxicant at his age?).

In addition to what Mass said, a better way to pose this question is how many of us would've tested positive knowing this test was coming? I'm guessing less than 1%. Now, if we were just 20 something college kids without jobs and no reason to worry about being tested, then it would probably be much higher. Knowing that your job is going to test you? Much, much lower.

[Diskono]

Yeah, but I don't think those guys are/were one positive test away from being suspsended for life?

 

I just don't know if the Brewers feel like wasting a 40 man spot on a guy who is so far away from the MLB club at this point. Maybe part of the thinking is that it would send a really bad message to their other players, putting a guy who was suspended basically the entire season in a protected spot.

Chris Andersen was suspended for life (but reinstated after two years), though its unknown what he tested positive for...I've heard a lot speculation that it was for multiple marijuana positives. (edit: nm, looks like it wasn't that)

 

Not sure if this has been answered, but if he's added to the 40-man, could he play again right away? Or at least at MLB-level? I doubt this will happen or even be in our best interest, but sticking him on the 25-man roster for a couple months if he does well in ST might be something to consider, if nothing else just to get the work in.

[colbyjack]

While I understand the point about adding Jeffress to the 40-man roster, putting aside everyone's stance on marijuana use, what kind of message would that send to the rest of the organization? Ask any player, agent, coach, etc. and they'll tell you that making the 40-man roster is an incredibly huge deal to the players, and for good reason. Rewarding Jeffress' idiocy in an attempt to protect their investment with such a placement would not be a very wise move on the part of the Brewers.

 

I'm all for giving people second and third chances, but if Jeffress gets busted again and is indeed banned for life, then so be it. He clearly would have much bigger priorities in his life than the game of baseball if that happens, and lets just hope it doesn't come to that.

[twobrewers]

While I understand the point about adding Jeffress to the 40-man roster, putting aside everyone's stance on marijuana use, what kind of message would that send to the rest of the organization?

Would you think the same things if the Brewers traded for a player with a similiar past that needed to be place on the 40-man roster for protection?

 

I agree it sends a bad message. But I think a new team might be able to justify adding Jeffress to their 40-man roster.

[TooLiveBrew]

On one hand, I agree that adding Jeffress to the 40-man sends the wrong message. On the other hand, I'd hate to see his potential lost when there was something the Brewers could have done about it.

 

First & foremost, though, I really hope people can keep this in perspective... it's marijuana. If he can't stop using it, this is not some life-altering addiction we're talking about. It would just be poor judgment on his part. It's not hard to stop abusing weed, especially (as MH points out) when you know your livelihood & career depend on it.

[logan82]

His marijuana use doesn't worry me at all. I think our 40-man roster spots are going to be pretty filled this year. We had to leave off a couple guys this year that normally would have been on. Nobody was really traded to make more spots so I don't see how, barring a few trades, we will have enough room to keep guys who have to be added let alone adding a guy we don't need to. He looks to be more than 3 years out from the majors at this point with his lost time. At some point he will have to be left off the 40-man roster before he makes the majors, might as well be now when another team can't pick him up instead of developing him only to lose him in a few years to a team that can let him sit at the end of the pen.

[Invader3K]

I think it's not the pot use that bothers people, as much as it shows a lack of maturity and personal responsibility. I don't like the idea of adding him to the 40 man roster, but if they are fairly sure he'll screw up again, I guess they should bite the bullet and do it. May as well salvage something from the guy.

 

I like the idea of trying to fast track him as a reliever. He can always be converted to a starter later on if he's really good.

[Diskono]

The "sending the wrong message" thing does feel like the biggest issue to me. OTOH though, you could look at the message being sent as doing what is in the best interest of winning games at the Major League level. Blocking a top prospect by renting a veteran star for a playoff push might send a bad message to the rest of the farm system too, but I can see it both ways.

 

That isn't to say that adding Jeffress to the 40-man roster is certain to help us win games, of course. It's just another decision to be made, and a tough one IMO. Honestly, I think that the chances of him getting caught again are pretty small, but if we have a spare roster spot that we don't know what to do with (unlikely), I'd probably add him.

[filthyfrog]

I think a lot of people are forgetting that Jeffress is still incredibly raw and unpolished. He really hasn't had much success on the field yet outside of 33 innings in a pitcher's paradise before his latest suspension. And in those 33 "successful" innings, he walked 22 batters. Even if you don't care about the message it sends, adding him to the 40 man roster now just makes it more likely that he flames out as a Brewer and becomes successful for another club several years down the road. He seems a lot more like Jorge de la Rosa and Edwin Jackson than Yovani Gallardo. It's going to take him a while.

[OglivieHomePerm]

Bump.

 

It came up in another topic...does anyone know when Jeffress' suspension is up?

 

According to this article, http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/49267777.html

Brevard County had 75 games left last year at the time of his suspension. If Brevard has played 25 games this year, it would seem that his suspension has been served.

[battlekow]

does anyone know when Jeffress' suspension is up?

 

According to this article, http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/49267777.html

Brevard County had 75 games left last year at the time of his suspension. If Brevard has played 25 games this year, it would seem that his suspension has been served.

I think he's eligible to return on the 16th.

[Bankjob]

It is nice he is back I guess. But it is hard to get excited about a two time loser, to a really transparent drug policy. Odd's are within the next year he will be a three time ultimate loser and we can forget about him.

 

I hope he proves me wrong, but when it comes to drugs, even weed, common sense rarely applies. Very sad actually, but I guess athletes with a world of talent it flushing it away is part of sports.