Rookie Development Program participants named; Latest -- Mark Rogers video interview

[Mass Haas]

Latest update from the J-S, promising comments on Logan Schafer

[paul253]

I wonder if Logan Schafer is the reason Melvin wasn't more aggressive in getting a center fielder. There was a post in another thread about center field being "Gomez's to lose". Well in my opinion he already lost it. My only guess is that Melvin hopes Schafer can pull a Cain and be Milwaukee's center fielder by July.

[wishicouldhit]

Does anyone know which players went the previous year?

 

Considering their proximity to the majors, Im kind of suprised Peralta went instead of Rivas

[YoungGeezy]

I wonder if Logan Schafer is the reason Melvin wasn't more aggressive in getting a center fielder. There was a post in another thread about center field being "Gomez's to lose". Well in my opinion he already lost it. My only guess is that Melvin hopes Schafer can pull a Cain and be Milwaukee's center fielder by July.

Schafer is 10 months younger than Gomez and never has seen a major league pitch outside of Spring training, both are plus defenders with unproven bats. I hate double standards that say Gamel, Schafer, Farris and all these other guys Carlos age should be given all these chances but Gomez needs to be given up on. It should be Gomez's to lose, you never straight up give up on a 25 year old, def one with the tangables he has. He learns to walk (which IS actually possible for a player to do) he could be an excellent player. Gomez's ceiling > Schafer's ceiling therefore I hope Gomez plays the way he is capable of and Schafer isn't rushed.

[Mass Haas]

Does anyone know which players went the previous year?

 

Considering their proximity to the majors, I'm kind of suprised Peralta went instead of Rivas

Amaury Rivas, Josh Butler, Zack Braddock, and Jonathan Lucroy attended last winter.

 

MLB.com article (and separate video report) on the orientation program.

 

Video -- Jonathan Lucroy discusses the program

 

 

[patrickgpe]

i am not confortable with boggs as the 5th outfielder. maybe schafer will figure in the deal although i do not like prospects rotting on the bench in the bigs instead of playing in nashville.

[TooLiveBrew]

I think Schafer will spend at least half of the year in Nashville, but he's probably got a decent shot at the CF job in Milwaukee come mid-season. Even though I'm a pretty big believer in Chris Dickerson, & think a Dickerson/Gomez platoon would be effective, there's certainly no guarantee the Brewers will be getting good production from CF this season. Really good to hear how confident Nichols is in Schafer.

[paul253]

It should be Gomez's to lose, you never straight up give up on a 25 year old, def one with the tangables he has.

 

He was given center field last year and he was horrible. Horrible. So horrible he probably should have been demoted. That was his third full year in the majors. His career batting average is .246 and his career OBP is .293. You can talk about ceiling all you want, but if you are going to talk about you also have to talk about the likelihood of him actually reaching it. Manny Parra has a high ceiling too but at some point you need to realize he is still closer to his floor than he is to his ceiling. Why should he continue to be given opportunities based on potential as opposed to actual results? Beside, nobody is saying "give" Schafer anything. All I asked was if he is the reason Melvin hasn't tried to upgrade center field? Trust me, if Schafer's results after three season mirror Gomez's then I'll be calling for an upgrade over him as well.

[trwi7]

Schafer has like 20 at bats in Huntsville. Even if Gomez does suck, and he does, Schafer is very likely to be worse.

[filthyfrog]

I think it's a big mistake to predict (or even hope for) a Cain-like season for Schafer. They're awfully similar in that they both lost an entire season after breaking through in Brevard County, but what Lorenzo did last year was pretty much amazing. There was about a 5% chance that he would not only succeed in AA, but also in AAA, and also in the Major Leagues. Even though he did it, I'd give Schafer about those same 5% odds of reaching Milwaukee as anything more than a September callup. Since Schafer has yet to pass even the AA test, we should all be thrilled if he has success in AAA. That would be a huge step forward. Anyone who expects him to take over the MLB job this year is setting themselves up for failure.

[greeg35]

I agree. I'm excited to see what Schafer can do; but only because he seems to have ability and hasn't had much chance to show it. His numbers haven't indicated he has much power; which generally doesn't "progress" well as one moves up the chain. I also don't necessarily put much stock in what Nichols says.

[logan82]

YoungGeezy wrote:

Schafer is 10 months younger than Gomez and never has seen a major league pitch outside of Spring training, both are plus defenders with unproven bats. I hate double standards that say Gamel, Schafer, Farris and all these other guys Carlos age should be given all these chances but Gomez needs to be given up on. It should be Gomez's to lose, you never straight up give up on a 25 year old, def one with the tangables he has. He learns to walk (which IS actually possible for a player to do) he could be an excellent player. Gomez's ceiling > Schafer's ceiling therefore I hope Gomez plays the way he is capable of and Schafer isn't rushed.

The problem is that Gomez has almost 3 years worth of PA and has shown virtually no improvement. A fact that other teams are well aware of considering they threw 5% fewer pitches in the zone last year and he just kept swinging. He has terrible plate dicipline and no indications that he is improving. Swiinging at bad pitches out of the zone leads to worse contact. He is a good defender but not so good that we wouldn't benefit from a platoon. My hope is that Dickerson impresses RRR and they send Gomez to AAA to work on his hitting. If Gomez was showing some, any improvement I would have some hope. At this point I do not.

 

Hopefully Schafer can have some success at AAA or wherever he ends up this year. We always have to take what the FO says with a grain of salt. Of course thaty are going to spin things in the most positive light they can especially now that they traded away so many young players.

[LouisEly]

They have been high on Schafer pretty much since they drafted him. He was sent to A-ball almost straight from the draft and made it to AA in his first full season in the minors. Two years ago when they played their last two or three spring training games in LA they brought Schafer with him and he was the first OF off the bench in the game against the Dodgers I went to. He is an excellent defensive player and has had a lot of assists. On top of that he bats LH so he will add balance to the lineup. What Nichols says about him has nothing to do with the players they traded away.

[paul253]

Does Schafer project as a lead-off hitter? I'd give anything to get Weeks out of that spot.

[Tedaldtada]

Paul, that is pretty much exactly what Schafer projects as, at least to those that believe in him.

[Mass Haas]

Mark Rogers interviewed from the Rookie Program; discusses his road back and taste of the bigs. Fun to watch his highlights again...

[yoshii8]

Great interview. He seems like a very confident person, I hope he ends up winning the 5th starter job out of spring training. He has very good stuff, and could end up being a huge surprise.