Your 2010 Huntsville Stars

[Never Outhustled]

I hope all the scouts just saw the awesome diving stop and throw Lawrie made in the 3rd inning. Amazing play that got huge reviews from the booth, comparing him to Biggio.

[battlekow]

That was a great play from Lawrie. I thought the throw was fine (in terms of strength, if not accuracy), but BA's John Manuel apparently decided to use it to further his opinion that Lawrie's arm strength has decreased: "Lawrie's arm not able to complete gr8 play"

 

I know it was originally raised in the context of where Lawrie would play if he was moved to the outfield, but I have no idea why we're still talking about a second baseman's arm strength, especially after a play like that affirming that he can indeed play second.

[jwill535]

I really like his stance and swing. Nice and compact and wont get cheated on most swings and appears to still be able to make good contact which will keep the Ks down. I hate comparing players to major league players, but he reminds me of Pedoria.

[Never Outhustled]

That was a great play from Lawrie. I thought the throw was fine (in terms of strength, if not accuracy), but BA's John Manuel apparently decided to use it to further his opinion that Lawrie's arm strength has decreased: "Lawrie's arm not able to complete gr8 play"

 

I know it was originally raised in the context of where Lawrie would play if he was moved to the outfield, but I have no idea why we're still talking about a second baseman's arm strength, especially after a play like that affirming that he can indeed play second.

I got to ask, what was Manuel watching? The play wasn't an out because Yonder Alonso dropped the ball. Did he miss that? Not too many MLB 2Bs make the play Lawrie made.

 

[battlekow]

I got to ask, what was Manuel watching? The play wasn't an out because Yonder Alonso dropped the ball. Did he miss that? Not too many MLB 2Bs make the play Lawrie made.

Manuel added: "In that instance, I thought he would have made the

play with a better throw, and he just made an awful throw"

 

Mixed reviews of Lawrie's BP session. Manuel gave it a thumbs-down: "He actually popped up quite a few, I thought he

was trying too hard, wasn't terribly impressed w/his BP", but Frankie Piliere liked what he saw: "Yonder Alonso

hitting titanic shots in BP. Lawrie looks superb also...[Lawrie] showed massive pwr to middle of the field"

[battlekow]

Taste of Futures Game motivated Lawrie

Ian Browne/MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- When highly touted Brewers prospect Brett Lawrie arrived at the Futures Game in St. Louis a year ago, his heart was pounding with excitement and his mind was racing with thoughts. But with a chance to make a return engagement to the spectacle for the game's top prospects on Sunday in Anaheim, Lawrie was decidedly calmer but no less driven.

 

After Lawrie emerged from an early season slump in his first season at Double-A Huntsville (Southern League), a second trip to the Futures Game was, in a sense, a reward for responding to some adversity.

 

"I knew that if I played well, I'd get the opportunity to come again," said Lawrie. "Obviously that wasn't really in my thoughts in the beginning. I just wanted to play good baseball -- just good Double-A baseball. Not having High A experience under my belt, obviously that's the biggest jump in baseball, from A ball to Double-A. I knew I was coming. I just had to stick with it, and I did. I knew I'd get here if I just played well."

 

He was in the leadoff spot for the World Team in Sunday's contest at Angel Stadium and went 0-for-3. Lawrie is just 20 years old -- the second youngest player in the Southern League.

 

"Age has never been a factor for me," Lawrie said. "I've always played with older guys. That's kind of always what I've done ever since growing up on the national team and in Canada, always playing with the best competition. That's where I excel, with the older guys. I didn't really play with a lot of guys my age. It's not really a big factor."

 

The list of recent Brewers position players to play in the Futures Game is an impressive one, considering every single one of them since 2002 has made it to the Major Leagues -- either for Milwaukee or someone else. Bill Hall, Corey Hart, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Nelson Cruz, Ryan Braun and Matt LaPorta are among the players in that group.

 

In other words, this could bode very well for Lawrie's prospects.

 

"It's crossed my mind a couple of times -- just obviously going to the big leagues in general. The question in my mind is, 'When am I going there?'" said Lawrie. "I don't really think about it that much because there's really not that much that I can control. All I can control is just playing every day, playing hard, being seen by the right people and playing the game the right way. Hopefully I get a chance sooner than later."

 

The second baseman, formerly a catcher, was the 16th overall pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. A right-handed hitter out of British Columbia, Lawrie doesn't lack confidence.

 

He doesn't know for sure when he will realize his dream of getting to the Majors, but his strong hope is for September. The Brewers have given him no indication. Lawrie hopes to make the decision for them.

 

"Nope, nobody really says a word, it's kind of just [a case of] you go out there and you play every day. Be seen and not heard and hopefully I get a September callup," Lawrie said. "That was my main goal. If I played hard in Double-A and played well, hopefully I would get that call. I feel like right now, I deserve that. Obviously I've got the rest of the season to keep playing hard and just playing good baseball. If I hold my own the rest of the season and play well and do what I've been doing, hopefully I do get a call."

 

At the All-Star break, Lawrie, a dynamic offensive player, is hitting .295 with 23 doubles, 11 triples, six homers, 44 RBIs and 24 stolen bases.

 

As is often the case with top prospects, Lawrie has heard his name in trade rumors, something that will only intensify in the weeks leading up to the July 31 Trade Deadline.

 

"Once again, [that's] out of my control," Lawrie said. "You hear things floating around. It's out of my control, but I don't want to go anywhere. I want to stay right where I am right now. To have to pack up and on to a whole new team would be something that's not up my alley right now. Maybe further down the road, but for now, I'm good where I am."

 

When Lawrie made the decision to switch from catcher to second, his main motivation was that he thought it would get him to Milwaukee sooner. That transition has gone smoothly to date.

 

"Obviously I've worked on it all year, and I've done a good job at it," Lawrie said. "My footwork from around the bag and just everything in general ... I've worked at it, and it's been fun. I feel like a second baseman -- yeah, you can say that."

 

And as evidenced by his second consecutive Futures Game appearance, you could also say Lawrie's future looks pretty bright.

[battlekow]

Here's a video interview of Lawrie prior to the game, conducted by MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo.

[logan82]

That peak performance projection for Lawrie seems almost insane. I would think he has a lot more upside than that.

Not necessarily responding to your post but I think the league needs to be taken into account. All of our best prospects have torn up the pitching in AA. I don't like to put a lot of weight in the Huntsville numbers.

[YoungGeezy]

Eighter Manual just really expects a lot out of Lawrie or he is just not a fan...I personally though he made a fantastic stop and a throw that every first baseman should be able to make. Diving away from first base over the middle of the infield to quickly throw a one hope right into Alfonso's glove in time to get the runner is really not making a bad throw. How many 2nd baseman actually make that stop and make a perfect throw? Maybe it is just favoritism on my behave but I thought overall it was a pretty darn good play, and one you can't knock a guys arm for.... not a easy throw.

 

As for batting practice I think a good amount of guys probably popped a "quite few up" and he just decided to focus more on the negitive hits while Piliere decided to focus more on the positive hits. Not a knock on Manual it just shows how different scouts analyze.... no two guys who watch all the same hits will come to the same conclusion ha I mean one says not too impressed another says superb.

[YoungGeezy]

That peak performance projection for Lawrie seems almost insane. I would think he has a lot more upside than that.

Not necessarily responding to your post but I think the league needs to be taken into account. All of our best prospects have torn up the pitching in AA. I don't like to put a lot of weight in the Huntsville numbers.

I agree to an extent but the reason why people put so much stock into AA stats is because that is usually where the top pitching prospects are. AA is where you get much more of the young power arms and lively arms. AAA a has many more of the older, 4A soft tossing, work the corners type of pitchers (example the Nashville's rotation...every year) Which I think it is important to get to both levels and see both styles of pitching but this is a reason why it is much more exceptable these days for a player to jump from AA straight to the majors.

[logan82]

I am not completely discounting AA, I just take it with a grain of salt. At his age, the numbers are pretty impressive. It just seems like every halfway decent prospect tears up AA and is doesn't necessarily translate to AAA or MLB.

[TheCrew07]

logan3825]I am not completely discounting AA, I just take it with a grain of salt. At his age, the numbers are pretty impressive. It just seems like every halfway decent prospect tears up AA and is doesn't necessarily translate to AAA or MLB.

That's so far from true it's not even funny.

Player OPS

Weeks .773

Hardy .796

Hart .807

Fielder .839

 

Who destroyed the league in that first group? Hart was a league MVP with barely an .800 OPS.

 

Since that first group.

Braun .956

LaPorta .978

Gamel .933

Salome .973

Lawrie .832

Lucroy .798

Cain .843

 

I jsut can't believe how dismissive you're being. The pitching hasn't changed all that much, our hitters have just been that good. Success hasn't translated yet? Well cripes what's a reasonable amount of time? Most of those young players didn't even get an extended look in MLB yet and the couple that have played well below their talent level. So because a couple of underperformed as they learn at MLB AA performance is meaningless? No one is saying that raking in the SL translates into an All-Star performer at MLB, but how about we give this second group sometime to work into their careers before we start passing judgments?

 

If the expectations for prospects are to hit the ground running like Braun and Fielder did, then in most cases people are going to be disappointed. Even Fielder had that horrible slump at the start of the season as a rookie, I remember the crowd giving him a nice ovation to try and help him get going.

[logan82]

I jsut can't believe how dismissive you're being.

 

I guess I fail to see how looking at AA numbers with a little skepticism is being dismissive.

[Never Outhustled]

I am not completely discounting AA, I just take it with a grain of salt. At his age, the numbers are pretty impressive. It just seems like every halfway decent prospect tears up AA and is doesn't necessarily translate to AAA or MLB.

 

If we are comparing his numbers to other Brewers prospects at the same age, then Lawrie is the next Prince Fielder. The Southern League is total pitchers league. Just look at the jump Lo Cain's numbers are taking since he moved up to AAA.

[Mass Haas]

General Manager Buck Rogers puts on a fine positive spin on how the focus will be on Huntsville and its residents for the All-Star Game, he realizes that there are things to overcome compared to some of the more glossy Southern League locales. Good for Buck. Here's the audio interview.

 

Keep in mind that the Huntsville media staff will need to meet the demands of all Southern League fans this week, and in that regard, Chad and the staff have put together several additional interviews --

 

07/12/10 - All Star Game Interviews - Tom Koehler Interview- Corey Smith Interview- Jim Gallagher Interview- Evan Frey Interview

[TuesdaysWithRillo]

Keith Law's take on Brett Lawrie:

 

 

Brett Lawrie (Brewers) has gotten a lot stronger since I last saw him, adding more juice to a simple, clean swing with good loft in it, producing big raw power in what I thought was the best BP session of any player. He takes a forceful stride, but what stands out is how quickly he accelerates his hands from his loaded position, so that he's achieved full bat speed a fraction of a second after he's started his bat. He surprised everyone with his speed on a groundball, running to first in 4.15 seconds, good for a 55/60 running grade, depending on the team's scale.

[Mass Haas]

Here's your info as the Stars take part in the 2010 Southern League All-Star Game, right in the confines of their own Joe Davis Stadium --

 

Date / Time: Monday, July 12th, Game Time is 6:00 PM Central

 

Coverage: Online audio coverage with Chad, Aaron, Connor and the rest of the Stars' broadcast team

Stars' Participants: Representing the North Squad, RHP's Amaury Rivas and Michael Bowman; 2B Brett Lawrie is hopefully going to participate as well as he returns from Anaheim and the Futures Game

Box Score / Game Log / Gameday: LINK

 

Post-game "Link Report"-style coverage will be within this thread.

 

MiLB.com preview

[Mass Haas]

John Sickels' poll (Brett Lawrie or the Mariners' Dustin Ackley) is especially tight as of this post -- plenty of discussion comments follow, a few of the comments might actually be considered insightful if you can single those out...

[battlekow]

Here's another video interview with Lawrie, this time by MLB FanHouse, followed by a scouting report from Frankie Piliere.

 

[logan82]

Just look at the jump Lo Cain's numbers are taking since he moved up to AAA.

He hit pretty well in AA outside of last year when he was hurt.

[Never Outhustled]

logan3825]I am not completely discounting AA, I just take it with a grain of salt. At his age, the numbers are pretty impressive. It just seems like every halfway decent prospect tears up AA and is doesn't necessarily translate to AAA or MLB.

 

Can you name some? I'm just curious who you might be referring to? We've seen numerous Brewers prospects who put up the worst year of their minor league career at AA.

[battlekow]

Lawrie part of a 'tremendous honor'

Skip Vaughn/Huntsville Times

 

Huntsville Stars second baseman Brett Lawrie fulfilled his goals of playing in both the Futures Game and the Southern League All-Star game - but it wasn't easy.

 

On Sunday, he went 0-for-3 for the World Team in its 9-1 loss to the U.S. Team in the Futures Game at Angels Stadium in Anaheim. Then he flew back to Huntsville in time to join two of his teammates for the North Division in Monday night's Southern League All-Star game at Joe Davis Stadium.

 

Lawrie entered the game to a nice ovation in the seventh inning with the North leading 3-1. With a runner on second, he struck out swinging to end the bottom of the seventh.

His cross-country weekend culminated with the North's 3-2 win.

 

"It's obviously a tremendous honor," Lawrie said of his All-Star experience. "Obviously this isn't my top goal. My real goal is a September call-up (to the majors). That's what I'm working toward all year.

 

"If I continue what I'm doing right now, I should be a September call-up. There's no doubt in my mind. I just knew I'd be an All-Star and I'd be in the Futures Game if I just continued playing hard and do what I do."

 

Huntsville Stars pitcher Michael Bowman entered in the third inning and retired all three batters, including one strikeout.

 

"It was exciting to come out here in front of all these fans in the All-Star game to represent the (Milwaukee) Brewers and the Huntsville Stars," Bowman said.

 

Bowman is in his first year with Double-A Huntsville after spending last year at High-A Brevard.

 

"Definitely, on a personal level, it was my goal to make the All-Star game," he said. "I was a late put-in (on the All-Star roster). First half of the season I would've liked to have started off a little bit better. But I'm going to use this as a springboard for the second half."

 

Stars pitcher Amaury Rivas didn't play. He missed his last start and has been evaluated by a doctor but isn't seriously hurt.

 

Lawrie left Chattanooga on Saturday and made the long-distance flight to Anaheim for his second year as a player in the Futures Game. "Just having an opportunity to go for the second time, it was obviously fun for me," he said.

 

Lawrie's next goal is to experience Milwaukee with the Brewers this fall.

 

"I feel I deserve it coming up here in September," he said. "If I continue just playing hard, I feel I should be up there with those guys."

[Tedaldtada]

Well Brett, I'm not really sure what position you would play. There isn't anything open, yet.

[Mass Haas]

FYI regarding next year's Southern League All-Star Game:

One change coming next year is when the game will be played.

 

“We’re going to have it at the actual halfway point of our season, so we can have a true all-star game,” West Tenn assistant general manager Jason Compton said. “We waited until the MLB All-Star Week this year, and there’s 18 guys not playing that were selected for our game.

 

“So next year, we’ll be able to have more of the best players of the first half of our season come to Pringles Park and play in front of our fans in Jackson.”

 

Huntsville drew a crowd of 7,782 for the event, the largest in the Southern League All-Star game history since at least 1999.

[Mass Haas]

Getting to Know #14 Steffan Wilson

Huntsville Times

• Name: Steffan Wilson
• Nickname: Willy
• Hometown: State College, PA
• Years in Professional Baseball: 4
• Favorite TV Show: Family Guy
• Favorite Ice Cream: Peanut Butter Cup
• Favorite Pizza Toppings: Pineapple
• Favorite Animal: Monkey
• Favorite Superhero: Wolverine
• Favorite City to Travel To: New York, NY
• Favorite MLB Team Growing Up: Cleveland Indians
• Favorite Professional Athlete Growing Up: Manny Ramirez
• Best Dresser on the Team: Lee Haydel
• Funniest Teammate: Zelous Wheeler
• I Drive A: Toyota Camry
• I'm Afraid of: Sharks
• If I Wasn't Playing Baseball, I Would Be: who knows?
• What Advice Would You Offer Kids Who Want to Play Professional Baseball?: Work harder than the rest Come out and see Steffan and the rest of the Huntsville Stars play all season long at The Joe! Call (256) 882- 2562 for tickets!