Brewers rookie class of 2010

[NYChez]

Alcides Escobar

Jonathan Lucroy

Lorenzo Cain

John Axford

Zach Braddock

This isn't the Fielder, Weeks, Braun, Hart, Hardy group that joined the team over the course of 3 seasons in the mid 2000's, but for all coming on board in one season, this is a very good group, perhaps as good of a group to join the Brewers in one season in franchise history.

We should have players to man the 3 toughest defensive positions on the field locked up for at least the next 5 years, and all 3 have some offensive promise. The pitchers, if they stay healthy, should at least fill in very ably the back end of the bullpen (unless Braddock joins the rotation).

The fact that the team has played much better baseball as each of these players replaced a veteran on the roster, validates that they are winning-type players.

The only minor disappointment from this class is that it doesn't include a top of the rotation starting pitcher.

It would be great to back this class up with Lawrie / Rogers / Jeffress in 2011 or 2012.

Then the success of the franchise in this decade will be determined by how many of the current Timberrattler pitching staff pans out for the class of 2013.

[Invader3K]

For all the criticism Melvin gets, there was a lineup (last week I think), where Gallardo was pitching. Casey McGehee was the lone guy who hadn't come up through the Brewers' farm system. Every other player was a Brewers product. I think that's pretty amazing.

[monty57]

I definitely think these guys show that there's a lot of hope for the future. In addition to being good players, the group you mentioned (I'd include Rivas and Gamel as others who will help in 2011), are also cheap. In 2011, we should have pre-arby players at C, SS, 3B, CF, most of our bullpen, probably at least one SP (Narveson, Rivas, Rogers) and some of our bench. As the years progress, we should be able to continually add young guys, most notably to the starting rotation. This extra money should allow us to fill in other spots with FA/salary-dump trade players and allow us to offer "Braun-type" extensions to the core of this group of young players.

 

Trade Prince for a SP and some prospects, sign Dunn to a 3 year deal and Vazquez to a 1-2 year deal. Go into the season with Yo, Vazquez, {Guy traded for Prince}, Wolf, Narveson/Rivas/Parra/Rogers with a lineup of Lucroy, Dunn, Weeks, Escobar, McGehee/Gamel, Braun, Cain, Hart, and I think we'd have a decent team. All this is made possible due to the decision by Taylor (and continued by Melvin) to rebuild our team from the farm up.

 

I believe it's Ennder who says the rebuilding process is a long one, and we've just finished phase 1 with the first group. We've extended Braun, Hart and Yo, and are probably going to trade Prince this offseason to add more young talent. Now it's time for the next group of prospects to shine and keep us relevant for the foreseeable future. We're not in a short term window. The window was opened when the first group arrived and now we just need to act sensibly to keep the window open for a long time.

[MNBrew]

Ditto what Invader3K noted. I've been noticing that it's not just that the lineup usually is almost entirely homegrown, but that there's generally considered to be pretty good promise & upside at about every position. If/when the pitching can come around, that just makes a position of general strength that much stronger.

 

The balance of 4-6 year guys and rookie-3rd year guys should keep costs reasonable enough to bring in (and this is the key) the right types of players to complement the core. Whether it's a Vazquez or a Lee (yeah, I'm dreaming), a Dunn or someone else, there's at least room to pursue such players.

 

This really is just what the Twins have been doing for several years, only they're at the point where they have more expendable AND appealing chips they've developed to move for different assets (a la Matt Capps -- though you've gotta admit getting 15-game winner Pavano for a "nobody" low-level prospect has also panned out better than anyone possibly imagined; anyway...). Hopefully the Brewers can be positioned similarly to the Twins for the next decade or more.

[MNBrew]

I definitely think these guys show that there's a lot of hope for the future. In addition to being good players, the group you mentioned (I'd include Rivas and Gamel as others who will help in 2011), are also cheap. In 2011, we should have pre-arby players at C, SS, 3B, CF, most of our bullpen, probably at least one SP (Narveson, Rivas, Rogers) and some of our bench. As the years progress, we should be able to continually add young guys, most notably to the starting rotation. This extra money should allow us to fill in other spots with FA/salary-dump trade players and allow us to offer "Braun-type" extensions to the core of this group of young players.

 

Trade Prince for a SP and some prospects, sign Dunn to a 3 year deal and Vazquez to a 1-2 year deal. Go into the season with Yo, Vazquez, {Guy traded for Prince}, Wolf, Narveson/Rivas/Parra/Rogers with a lineup of Lucroy, Dunn, Weeks, Escobar, McGehee/Gamel, Braun, Cain, Hart, and I think we'd have a decent team. All this is made possible due to the decision by Taylor (and continued by Melvin) to rebuild our team from the farm up.

 

I believe it's Ennder who says the rebuilding process is a long one, and we've just finished phase 1 with the first group. We've extended Braun, Hart and Yo, and are probably going to trade Prince this offseason to add more young talent. Now it's time for the next group of prospects to shine and keep us relevant for the foreseeable future. We're not in a short term window. The window was opened when the first group arrived and now we just need to act sensibly to keep the window open for a long time.

Not sure where he fits in yet (SP vs. RP), but you've gotta think Jeremy Jeffress as a very good chance of pitching out of our 'pen next year, too. If that's indeed true, you've gotta think someone like Todd Coffey &/or Villanueva becomes a very useful chip to sweeten a Fielder trade or something else.