First projection of the 2010 minor league rosters

[And That]

Since the winter meetings are over, it seems like a good time to take our annual look at what the minor league rosters might look like for the upcoming season. I include my guess at the Brewers' roster here so that the other rosters fall in to place, but that's not really what the discussion is about.

 

The pitching is hardest to predict, as always. There are already too many arms to fill the available slots... they do this to protect against the inevitable injuries, but a number of pitchers will be released in spring training as well. For the moment I don't have the following pitchers (who ended up on A-ball rosters or above) listed on a roster: David Riske (injury), Mike Burns, Juan Sandoval, Bobby Bramhall (injury), Jim Henderson, Mark Holliman, Brandon Kintzler, Mike Ramlow (injury), Mark Willinsky, Brett Whiteside (injury), Rigo Almonte, Corey Freirichs.

 

There are only three position players who finished at A-ball or above that I didn't find room for: Anderson de la Rosa, Kyle Dhanani, Jose Duran, Steve Braun.

 

What rosters look most exciting to you? Least exciting?

 

Milwaukee
Starting Catcher	G. Zaun		Backup Catcher	G. Kottaras
Starting First Baseman	P. Fielder
Starting Second Baseman	R. Weeks		Backup Middle Infielder	C. Counsell
Starting Third Baseman	C. McGehee
Starting Shortstop	A. Escobar		Backup Utility Fielder	H. Iribarren
Starting Left Fielder	R. Braun		Backup Utility Fielder	A. Heether
Starting Center Fielder	C. Gomez
Starting Right Fielder	C. Hart		Backup Outfielder	J. Gerut
Starting Pitcher #1	Y. Gallardo		Long Relief	J. Suppan
Starting Pitcher #2	R. Wolf		Middle Relief #1	L. Hawkins
Starting Pitcher #3	M. Parra		Middle Relief #2	C. Vargas
Starting Pitcher #4	D. Bush		Middle Relief #3	C. Lofgren
Starting Pitcher #5	C. Narveson		Righthanded Setup	T. Coffey
Closer	T. Hoffman		Lefthanded Setup	M. Stetter
Nashville
Starting Catcher	A. Salome		Backup Catcher	P. Arlis
Starting First Baseman	J. Koshansky
Starting Second Baseman	S. Justis		Backup Middle Infielder	J. Raburn
Starting Third Baseman	M. Gamel
Starting Shortstop	L. Cruz		Backup Utility Fielder	E. Almonte
Starting Left Fielder	T. Oeltjen
Starting Center Fielder	A. Stern		Backup Outfielder	T. Redman
Starting Right Fielder	B. Katin
Starting Pitcher #1	J. Butler		Long Relief	T. Dillard
Starting Pitcher #2	C. Villanueva		Middle Relief #1	Z. Braddock
Starting Pitcher #3	J. Halama		Middle Relief #2	D. Johnson
Starting Pitcher #4	C. Cody		Middle Relief #3	C. Baron
Starting Pitcher #5	M. Jones		Righthanded Setup	C. Smith
Closer	J. Axford		Lefthanded Setup	A. Murray
Huntsville
Starting Catcher	J. Lucroy		Backup Catcher	J. Hopf
Starting First Baseman	S. Wilson
Starting Second Baseman	E. Farris		Backup Middle Infielder	Y. Perez
Starting Third Baseman	T. Green
Starting Shortstop	Z. Wheeler		Backup Utility Fielder	S. Miranda
Starting Left Fielder	L. Cain
Starting Center Fielder	L. Schafer		Backup Outfielder	C. Caufield
Starting Right Fielder	C. Gindl
Starting Pitcher #1	A. Rivas		Long Relief	D. Hand
Starting Pitcher #2	A. Periard		Middle Relief #1	M. McClendon
Starting Pitcher #3	M. Rogers		Middle Relief #2	R. Hinton
Starting Pitcher #4	E. Anundsen		Middle Relief #3	C. Capuano
Starting Pitcher #5	N. Green		Setup #1	O. Aguilar
Closer	R. Wooten		Setup #2	D. Welch
Brevard County
Starting Catcher	C. Kemp		Backup Catcher	M. Maldonado
Starting First Baseman	B. Kjeldgaard		Backup Catcher	S. McCraw
Starting Second Baseman	B. Lawrie
Starting Third Baseman	M. Brownstein		Backup Utility Fielder	J. Sanchez
Starting Shortstop	B. Brewer		Backup Utility Fielder	J. Delaney
Starting Left Fielder	C. Errecart
Starting Center Fielder	L. Haydel		Backup Outfielder	E. Miller
Starting Right Fielder	C. Dennis
Starting Pitcher #1	C. Scarpetta		Long Relief/Piggyback	D. Meadows
Starting Pitcher #2	M. Bowman		Long Relief/Piggyback	R. Seidel
Starting Pitcher #3	L. Luetge		Middle Relief #1	B. Rapoza
Starting Pitcher #4	D. Merklinger		Middle Relief #2	R. Lluberes
Starting Pitcher #5	W. Peralta		Setup #1	M. Fiers
Closer	N. Tyson		Setup #2	B. Ritchie
Wisconsin
Starting Catcher	S. Zarraga		Backup Catcher	D. Alfonso
Starting First Baseman	S. Halton
Starting Second Baseman	C. Dykstra		Backup Middle Infielder	M. Marseco
Starting Third Baseman	B. Sizemore
Starting Shortstop	J. Prince		Backup Utility Fielder	P. Fatse
Starting Left Fielder	E. Komatsu
Starting Center Fielder	Ke. Davis		Backup Outfielder	Kh. Davis
Starting Right Fielder	D. Richardson		Backup Outfielder	C. Ellington
Starting Pitcher #1	E. Arnett		Long Relief/Piggyback	D. Howell
Starting Pitcher #2	K. Heckathorn		Long Relief/Piggyback	E. Nieves
Starting Pitcher #3	J. Odorizzi		Middle Relief #1	T. Watten
Starting Pitcher #4	N. Bucci		Middle Relief #2	E. Frederickson
Starting Pitcher #5	M. Lasker		Setup #1	R. Currie
Closer	J. Pokorny		Setup #2	P. Lambertus

[Paris16]

Kemp must either play first or D.H., Maldonado may not hit, but he runs circles around Kemp defensively. There is no way Kemp moves well enough to be an everyday catcher, and he struggles throwing out runners. Alfonso is much better than Zarraga defensively, and swings the bat as well. He also hits better than Mccraw, and is as good or better defensively. He should be starting somewhere. Both Maldonado and Alfonso can flat throw.. Maldonado has been given a lot of at bats and has not produced offensively, Alfonso needs to be given a lot of at bats this year to find out what he can do at the plate. I did not see Delarosa anywhere mentioned. He is another very good defensive catcher. The rest of the projections look fairly accurate.

[docduany]

Thanks for the post Toby, always one of the best of the off season.

 

It took a minute to compute that Villanueva wasn't in his customary spot in the Crew's bull pen, nice call. The Salome/ LuCroy decision is a tough call. If Jonathan is this close to the big club, the AA to the bigs is a bigger step. On the other hand, do you crush Salome's confidence with a demotion to Huntsville? I don't have an answer.

 

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Huntsville outfield. That AA rotation isn't too shabby either.

 

At first blush Brevard County looks to be pretty rough. Three guys to hold your attention.

 

There's nothing wrong with Wisconsin's outfield either, a ton of potential. And that T-Rats rotation doesn't have a hole-- makes road tripping to the Fox Valley less of rotation gamble.

[TooLiveBrew]

I have to ask, Toby, is Soup as long reliever based on any specific info? Or is it just how you would slot him?

 

I personally think the Wisconsin roster looks great. Should be a fun season (or at least first half of the season) for Timber Rattlers fans.

[And That]

If it comes down to Narveson and Suppan for the last spot, I hope the Brewers would have the foresight to give it to the guy who still might be pitching for them in 2011.

 

Kemp probably won't see much time at catcher, that's true. A little oversight on my part. He'll still be in the lineup most of the time at 1B/DH, though.

 

The Brewers might find a spot for de la Rosa, but he is coming off a 460 OPS (!) season as a 24 year old in A-ball. I don't know where you go from there exactly. He might be moving into more of a coaching capacity in the near future.

 

Maldonado is a superlative defender, but needs to pick it up big time with the bat. In his favor, his walk rate showed big improvement last year, so if his batting average can catch up, he could be a dark horse to make a move on to and up the Power 50 next year.

[dadofandrew]

Suppan will be given every chance to fail. 2011? They'll do whatever they can to win in '10.

 

Mike Burns will likely be in AAA for depth. Cody or Jones might well start in AA.

[DHonks]

I'd also foresee Jones, Mulder, and Capuano in the AAA rotation

[dadofandrew]

Cappy may well start in relief, though I suppose he can go 2-3 innings while starting just as easily.

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Villanueva back to being a starter? Will the Brewers make up their mind already! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif Hopefully Green gets his act together this year after the wrist injury and pushes for an AAA promotion and while Gamel may start the season in Nashville, I doubt he will be there very long if he doesn't get traded after all.

 

I'm really pulling for Mike Jones this year. Hopefully he can mow down hitters and push for a callup as well.

 

I don't think Pitching depth will be a problem this year as it was last year. With Jones, Butler, Narveson, Halama, Capuano and possibly Mulder in our back pockets, we won't have to worry about calling awful pitchers like Mike Burns up when the injury bug bites. Nice job, Toby.

[twobrewers]

Chris Smith is out of options. Do you think he will clear waivers to AAA?

 

I have a hard time believing Narveson starts over Suppan. Actually, I have a hard time believing Narveson is in MLB while Villanueva is in AAA. But, I suppose that might be the case because of available options.

 

I don't like Cain playing LF. He played poorly all of last year - but they might try him in AAA to keep him playing CF.

 

I didn't realize N. Green was still in the system...

 

I hate Nashville's offense.

[TheCrew07]

There is no way Cody and Jones are regressing to AA in favor Cappy, I highly doubt he's a starter in AAA. I don't get what the fascination is with him other than that he's a real good guy... his arm is nearly shot.

[DHonks]

twobrewers, remember Cain is a rather new convert to CF. If the Brewers feel Schaefer has passed him in CF, they'll likely put him in a corner. Or they could rotate all three OF in Huntsville between the three spots. It helps since then any can be called up for any spot, or even for a 4th OF role.

[BoKnowsBall]

The Wisconsin rotation should be a fun one to follow

[TheCrew07]

If Brewer doesn't break out of BC next season he's pretty much done as a prospect. If Brewer is staying in A+ then I could see Farris sliding over to SS and getting some time there if they have any intention of utilizing him in a utility role down the road. He seems better suited that Wheeler, though Wheeler does surprise people with how well he can move around. I'm not sure Cain repeats AA either, he basically has a full season there now and 2 AFL stints in.

 

The other big question mark for me is what happens with the catching. I think the scenario that Toby put down makes the most sense, I'm not into both players splitting time at AAA, they both need to play as much as possible. Angel already hit .360 at AA, there's no reason for him to go back. Lucroy was just OK with the bat most of the year but did heat up towards the end of the season, it would make more sense for him to repeat AA than it would to demote Salome or have them split time. The only other scenario that makes sense to me would be a trade of one of the prospects, which wouldn't surprise me either.

[And That]

I'm not sure Cain repeats AA either, he basically has a full season there now and 2 AFL stints in.

Cain has had the 2 AFL stints, but he's only had 332 PA (82 games) at the AA level, with modest success (.246/.321/.413). My guess is only a great spring training gets him a promotion to AAA. He needs to prove his knee is healthy before being pushed.

[TheCrew07]

You're probably correct given that Melvin acquired Gomez, there's no reason to push Cain towards Mil or into CF with Schafer right there and Gomez in front. I just liked Cain's bat better in CF and that Nashville OF isn't exactly prospect laden.

 

If Cain does end up back in AA I wouldn't mind seeing that OF move around giving Gindl, Schafer, and Cain all time at the various spots helping them all become more well rounded. The AA team should be fun to follow with or without Cain.

[colbyjack]

Toby, awesome job as always.

 

The biggest thing that stands out to me is depth. After all of the years of good drafting, the team has solid talent from top to bottom. Even more so than past years, as I doubt we'll see the team overly active trying to address roster spots with minor league free agents as they have in past years. The impact talent may not be there towards the upper levels of the system, but there are a lot of candidates at a lot of positions that could fill in if needed.

 

I can't argue with the placements of Cain and Lucroy because they make a lot of sense where Toby has placed them. And that also is another tribute to the depth that has been built. I don't think it will end up that way, as I have a hard time imagining the Brewers sending Lucroy back to AA (or Cain for that matter, who as noted needs to play CF even if Gomez' presence allows the Brewers to be more patient with his progression), but since Melvin likes to compare him to Terry Steinbach, he's probably already aware that Steinbach also repeated the AA level (at Huntsville) and responded with a huge year.

 

If the teams shake out pretty much as Toby has aligned, Huntsville is going to be the team to watch, from top to bottom, over the first half of the season. I like Brevard's starters, and Wisconsin's staff, both starters and bullpen, should be strong.

[JohnBriggs12]

I think having Villanueva starting at Nashville gives the Brewers a better option for a call up starter then they had last year. I also think a big year down there starting could re-establish his potential as a starter which he lost early in 08 in a very limited amount of poor starts early that year.

[HiAndTight]

There is no way Cody and Jones are regressing to AA in favor Cappy, I highly doubt he's a starter in AAA. I don't get what the fascination is with him other than that he's a real good guy... his arm is nearly shot.

 

He's a good guy, he was a workhorse for us for a couple years winning 18 games, and was an all-star.

 

And before someone tells me how his wins aren't important, the point here is that when a pitcher wins 18 games, that stands out, and when he has a 2nd TJ, there's always going to be a focus put on him hoping he can return to form.

 

Plus he deserves the chance to try.

[LouisEly]

I look at it the other way - what are the odds that Capuano would accept a AA assignment? If you look at Jones, his numbers at AA weren't really that great to warrant a AAA assignment (4.59 ERA, 1.35 WHIP). I think we want to see more than there really is for Jones because of his draft status and everything he's been through. If I were a betting man I'd put Cappy at AAA.

 

Not poking holes at this at all - just commenting on the above post. Awesome job - thanks for taking the time to do this.

 

Huntsville is going to be a fun team to watch this year.

[TooLiveBrew]

Jones has stuff & velocity that Capuano can't even touch at this point... that's my guess why he'd be the one to go to AAA.

[jjjf44]

Did Richardson or either Davis that we drafted last year play any fall ball or winter ball or instructional league during 2009?

[TheCrew07]

Instructs this fall, all of the draft picks that didn't play participated with the exception of Hall... I think.

[Herm]

Has enough happened this spring to justify a refresh of the projection -- ie Lofgren acquired for good and being stretched out to start and other spring developments, Halama released, etc. I'd love to see an updated projection...

[hsvstarsfan]

Unless something has changed, I believe I read earlier this year on Brewerfan.net that Corey Kemp has quit baseball.