Baseball America's Prospect Hot Sheet

[Mass Haas]

A Brewer at # 4 and one on the "Not so Hot" list, which I believe was avoided by Brewer prospects throughout 2009.

I know it was pointed out on the forum last week, but this is Caleb Gindl's mention, just for thread prosperity.

[TooLiveBrew]

Not nice to see three Cubs on that list, especially since Castro & Jackson are so close to the bigs

[battlekow]

Brett Lawrie is #12 this week:

Why He's Here: .433/.469/.700

(13-for-30), 4 2B, 2 3B, 2 RBIs, 5 R, 2 BB, 11 SO, 3-for-5 SB

 

 

 

The Scoop: Lawrie held his

own through April, hitting .250/.337/.409, and has come alive in the

first week of May, despite being one of the Southern League's youngest

players. The Brewers' 2008 first-round pick is working on an eight-game

hitting streak, and his week was bookended by a pair of four-hit games,

ending with Thursday's 4-for-4 with two doubles performance against West

Tenn. He's been swinging-and-missing a good bit, as his 11 strikeouts

this week gave him 38 on the year, the fourth most in the SL. But he

should get better as he keeps getting used to the speed of Double-A. The

only other downside was that he also committed three errors this week,

and his eight for the season are the most among SL second baseman.

[TooLiveBrew]

Nice to see. However, I feel like with each tidbit we get on his defense, it becomes more & more apparent that there's an ice cube's chance in hell of him sticking at second base. I'm not one to use errors (esp. MiLB errors) to evaluate defense, but I honestly don't think I've read one positive bit on Lawrie at 2B. I wish the Brewers would just stick him in the OF already.

[battlekow]

Zach Braddock question from this week's Hot Sheet chat:

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M.C. Hammer (Oakland, CA):
Is Zach Braddock for
real? Can he continue this kind of success in AAA? How will it carry
over when he is called up later this year?[/tt]

 

J.J. Cooper: No one has every

questions Braddock's

stuff. It's completely filthy, like Okefenokee Swamp filthy. But the

question is whether he can stay healthy long enough to use it. There's

no reason to think he can't be a solid MLB reliever if he can stay off

the DL.

"Okefenokee Swamp filthy"--I like that. Maybe we can nickname him "Swamp Thing". Jeremy Jeffress also got a mention, showing just what kind of an impression his pure stuff makes:

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Scott (DC): Tanner
Scheppers...he struck out
everything he saw in Frisco. Is he one of the top 5 arms in the minors
based on pure stuff?[/tt]

 

J.J. Cooper: Interesting

question. Scheppers gets to go

out and let it loose for two innings at a time while guys like

Strasburg, Chapman, Martin Perez, Derek Holland and others have to pace

themselves. If you asked those guys or Andrew Cashner or Jeremy Jeffress

(when he comes back to suspension) to throw for an inning or two they

could probably match Scheppers for pure stuff. But yes, Scheppers is on

the short list when it comes to pure nastiness.

[battlekow]

From this week's chat:

 

 

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Jim (Little Rock, AR):
How has the season gone
for the Brewers OF prspect Kentrail Davis and do you see him as a
starter for Milwaukee anytime in the next season or two?[/tt]

 

Jim Shonerd: Davis, the Brewers'

supplemental first

round pick last year out of Tennessee, is hitting .232/.381/.339 at high

Class A Brevard County. Obviously not what you'd like to see, but the

FSL is a tough league to hit in. If he comes around, it's possible he

could reach Milwaukee in 2012 or even late 2011 if he really gets going.

He's got 20-20 potential as a guy a short swing and power.

[TooLiveBrew]

That OBP is kind of an encouraging sign. I hope the Brewers don't demote him (even though I'd love to see him play in Appleton), because I wonder if the hits will start to come with that solid of patience at the plate.

[battlekow]

From this week's chat:

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Brian (Milwaukee): Any
consideration for Brett
Lawrie? Only 20 at AA, seems like he's having much better command of
the strike zone lately, walking more, striking out less, with plenty of
extra base hits. What's his power projection?[/tt]

 

 

Matthew Eddy: Along with the

Astros' Koby Clemens,

Lawrie is one prospect who just missed the cut this week. He went

8-for-25 (.320) with a homer, a double and two triples this week for

Double-A Huntsville. Not bad at all for a 20-year-old with no High-A

experience. Clemens batted 10-for-23 (.435) with three homers for

Double-A Corpus Christi this week.

[Mass Haas]

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/players/mugshot/ph_543434.jpg

I'm on the "Sheet", but at what #?

 

 

[battlekow]

In lieu of a regular Hot Sheet, this week BA presented their prospect all-stars, with Lawrie taking the honors at second base:

Team: Double-A Huntsville

(Southern)

Age: 20

Why He's Here:

.299/.363/.483 (96-for-321), 6 HR, 21 2B, 10 3B, 41 RBIs, 51 R, 30 BB,

70 SO, 22-for-31 SB

 

It's only fitting that one day after Canada Day we recognize one of

the best players in the minor leagues who hails from the Great White

North. Lawrie has his faults—he still strikes out too often and is a

work in progress at second base. But for someone who will play the

entire season at age 20, his offensive consistency and numbers are

impressive. He leads the circuit with 10 triples and 155 total bases,

and is among the league's best in doubles, slugging, OPS and stolen

bases.

And a Lawrie question from the chat:

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LeMarcus (Virginia Beach):
Lawrie's K rate for
the month of June shows great improvement in contact and plate
discipline. However, his defense at 2B is reportedly bad as ever. Do
you think he'll stay there long term or is a move to the OF more likely?[/tt]

 

 

Jim Shonerd: I'm sure the

Brewers would love for him to

work out at second base, but if his bat keeps developing that much

faster than his glove, he wouldn't be held back just for his defense.

They'll have to live with him at second or settle for finding him a

place in the outfield.

[battlekow]

Cody Scarpetta comes in at #4 on this week's Hot Sheet:

Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 12

IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 19 K

The Scoop: After striking

out 116 batters in 105 innings with Wisconsin last season, Scarpetta

earned a cup of coffee with Double-A Huntsville at the end of the

season. He started his second full season with Brevard County and has

taken his lumps. But recently he has been lights out and may in line for

another shot with the Stars. He still has trouble harnessing his power

arsenal, but for a 21-year-old in his second full professional season,

he still has plenty of time to iron out the wrinkles.

[YoungGeezy]

That's awesome, congrats to Cody! Now how does him being on the 40 man affect him and his future? Does it at all?

[Never Outhustled]

Thats a well deserved mention for Scarpetta. What an awesome week.

[DHonks]

Cody had been one of the guys I most looked forward to entering the year. I wonder if he's been working on any biomechanical changes that just took a while to work.

[TheCrew07]

3 out of Cody's last 4 appearances have been dominant which is what I was hoping to see from both Scarpetta and Peralta all season. He still has some work to do, but it's tough not to be excited about the progress he's made the last 3 weeks. Still not a big fan of his FB based on what I saw last year, but I love that K rate.

[wishicouldhit]

TheCrew07[/b]]3 out of Cody's last 4 appearances have been dominant which is what I was hoping to see from both Scarpetta and Peralta all season. He still has some work to do, but it's tough not to be excited about the progress he's made the last 3 weeks. Still not a big fan of his FB based on what I saw last year, but I love that K rate.

 

same thing for josh butler, 3 out of his last 4 appearances much better. Hopefully if both Butler and Scarpetta finish this season strong they could go to AFL

[Mass Haas]

Jake Odorizzi -- Brewers

Team: low Class A Wisconsin (Midwest)

Age: 20

Why He's Here: 1-0, 0.00, 1 GS, 7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 HBP, 2 BB, 9 SO

The Scoop: Brewers' 2009 first-rounder Eric Arnett may be experiencing the worst year of his life, but life has been good for the organization's top '08 picks, Double-A second baseman Brett Lawrie and Odorizzi. An Illinois prep product, Odorizzi has hit his stride in the last month, going 3-0, 0.36 with a 32-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his last four starts. That's two runs over 25 innings for Odorizzi, who uses a low-90s sinker and curveball to good effect (he's allowing only one home run all year). He ranks second in the Midwest League in opponent average (.202) and strikeouts per nine innings (11.1).

 

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And where did that glowing review land Jake on the BA Hot Sheet? Take a peek.

[TooLiveBrew]

Wow! He should've landed ahead of Lamb just based on the fact that his picture isn't heinous-looking

[Mass Haas]

One Brewer farmhand is on the "Sheet" in a good way, and another in a not-so-good way this week.

Hint: both are pitchers.

Here you go.

[Invader3K]

Guess it's not too surprising to see Arnett on the "not hot" list. Nice to see Scarpetta get some praise, though.

[Mass Haas]

Guess it's not too surprising to see Arnett on the "not hot" list. Nice to see Scarpetta get some praise, though.

 

So much for my "hint" for those guessing along http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif.

That's OK.

 

[Invader3K]

Ack, sorry for spoiling it. I can delete my post if you want.

[pogokat]

why would anyone need to guess on that...

[Mass Haas]

Think about it a bit -- not difficult to figure out who made this week's list (hint: position player). OK, too easy...

[wibadgers23]

Two trials in Milwaukee? I can only remember one.