Jay Lapp named scout of the year

[battlekow]

Brewers have luxury in Lapp

Bob Elliott/Toronto Sun

The list of players scout Jay Lapp has drafted for the Milwaukee

Brewers over the years outnumbers most scouts.

 

Alexandre Periard, Mark James, Mehdi Djebbar, Chris Dennis, Cam

Robulack, Adam Arnold, Nicholas Bucci, Marcus Knecht, Nick Fogarty,

James Kottaras and Chandler McLaren.

 

Some signed with Milwaukee. Some went back to school only to

re-surface, as Knecht did Tuesday with the Blue Jays, and others were

released. But thanks to Lapp, the Brewers have been the most active

club when it comes to drafting Canadians and with the most in the

minors.

 

So, who did Lapp land in this year’s draft, which wrapped up on

Wednesday?

 

Windsor right-hander Joel Pierce in the ninth round and North

Vancouver outfielder Rowan Wick in the 18th.

 

A bad year? Not really.

 

How many Canadian scouts signed a pitcher currently closing games for

a major-league club. Lapp, 48, drove from London in the midst of a

storm to sign John Axford of Port Dover at an indoor workout inside The

Baseball Zone in Mississauga before the 2008 season. Now, Axford has

completed all four save opportunities for the Brewers.

 

That’s why Lapp, 48, is the winner of the Jim Ridley Award in memory

of the late Jays scout as we hand out our 17th annual scout-of-the-year

honours.

 

Periard has a 2-4 record with a 4.71 ERA at double A- Huntsville

Stars, Dennis of Amherstburg, has six homers and 29 RBIs at class-A

Wisconsin while teammate Nick Bucci of Sarnia is 3-2 with a 1.74 ERA,

earning Midwest League all-star honours.