Next Seasons Minor League Teams

[BrewersAA]

With the minor league season virtually finished i like to do this little exercise. I encourage you all to make your predicted teams as well. I have done this before over on the team site board, but it has lost some good contributors this season so i think the thread will get more action over here. Not sure if i will get them all done on this initial post, but i will do AAA and AA for sure. Now these are just the teams i think/hope the brewers will put together.

 

AAA Nashville:

CF: Schafer

2B: Eric Farris

RF: Gindl

3B: Wheeler

1B: Halton

SS: Maysonet

C: Maldonado

LF: Haydel

 

Starters:

Peralta

Fiers

Rivas

Scarpetta (should be awarded an option)

Merklinger

(I believe Rogers has to be on the Brewers next year or they will have to get him through waivers)

 

In my opinion that shapes up as a very nice AAA rotation of guys who could all be called on to help the big league club.

 

BP:

Meadows

Braddock

Stetter

Kintzler

Mcclendon (probably in the bigs)

 

AA Huntsville

2B: Gennett

RF: Khris Davis

1B: Hunter Morris

LF: Kentrail Davis (he doesn't necessarily deserve the spot, but should benefit getting out of Florida)

CF: Brock Kjeldgaard

CF: D'Vontrey Richardson (earned a promotion, log jam here, not really sure if Kjeldgaard is a CF'er or not)

SS: Statia or Prince (Prince still has a little potential, so we will see)

3B: Wilson/ Vucinich

 

Starters:

Lamantange (wish he would have pitched this season, he has a good fastball)

Heckathorn

Bucci

Anundsen

Burgos

 

BP:

Manzanillo

Too many to go through right now

 

High A BC

 

I only have time for the starters, and the brewers have a major void in hitting prospects here too.

Thornburg (hopefully he wont be here long)

Arnett (I think the brewers give him a shot here, i think the level will help him, his walks were down and Ks up this year so thats solid progress, he still has tons of stuff)

Nelson (Jimmy seems to be putting it together in the second half, still needs more consistency)

Bradley (I think he is a level up on Jungmann because hes headed to the AFL)

Hall (had the kind of year the Brewers expected, seemed to tail off towards the end of the season, no worries though it was his first full season in pro-ball)

[paul253]

Thornburg SHOULD start the year in Huntsville. He has very good all around numbers in BC. Looking at his numbers, I'm surprised his ERA is as high as it is at 3.57. 68 IP. Only 45 hits. Walks are a bit of a concern at 33 but he had 84 K's and only gave up 5 home runs. No reason for him to continue in BC, especially if the Brewers are serious about pushing their starters. Depending on how they perform in the AFL, I wouldn't mind seeing both Jungmann and Bradley start in Wisconsin. Put them on a similar path as Thornburg. If they are dominating at the break, promote them.

 

However, looking at the rosters it pains to see how few impact bats we have left in the system. Next year's draft is going to be as important, if not more so, than last years. We need bats.

[BrewersAA]

The Brewers are in line to get 5 first round pick next season. Its a chance for them to really really reload. I also think that at some point next season, depending on their record, they will also get a pretty good haul for trading Wolf, one of Grienke or Marcum, Narveson, Mcgehee, and Hart. When you look at that big picture its hard to see them not reloading and being ready to compete again in 3 years.

[DHonks]

actually, if the Brewers resign Greinke and Marcum, I see them being competitive all 3 years. Gamel replacing Fielder, Gindl replacing Hart, and Green replacing McGehee will all be fine. The biggest area of concern is still SS. They should be able to get some decent talent in return for Hart, McGehee, and Wolf should they trade any of them. It sure would be nice to replace the two aforementioned righties in the lineup with some lefties

[pogokat]

Don't see Brock as a cf in any way, but other than that, I think there's some pretty decent stuff there...

 

unrelated, but we're headed that way...i seriously doubt the team totally dismantles...i think their goal is perennial contender, and that will mean signing greinke and maybe marcum and trading for or signing a prince replacement...i dont think the team will enter next year after hopefully a nice run in the playoffs with a guy they don't even call up in september as their first baseman

[DHonks]

We have some nice talent in the minors, but besides the AAA kids, the lower guys are generally lacking in OBP.

[paul253]

For someone who knows more about him than I do....is there any chance Jorge Lopez starts in Wisconsin, or is he pretty much slated for Helena? Also, all of these guys who are having good years in the DSL....are they going to end up in Arizona or Helena next season? I'm not sure what the level of competition is in that Dominican League.

[CheezWizHed]

The Brewers are in line to get 5 first round pick next season.

 

I wouldn't hold my breath on that one. I'm assuming you are including Prince, K-Rod, Hawkins and Saito. I would think the chances of offering arby to K-Rod are 50/50, maybe a little higher.

 

Hawkins and Saito are pretty big risks to accept. Yes, they are pitching well this year. But at their current age and salary (?30% raise), I'm not sure the Brewers would risk them accepting arby.

 

Thornburg SHOULD start the year in Huntsville. ... No reason for him to continue in BC, especially if the Brewers are serious about pushing their starters.

 

Yeah, but history tells us they don't push their starters. I would not be surprised to see him start in Brevard again.

[paul253]

I would think the chances of offering arby to K-Rod are 50/50, maybe a little higher.

Hawkins and Saito are pretty big risks to accept. Yes, they are

pitching well this year. But at their current age and salary (?30%

raise), I'm not sure the Brewers would risk them accepting arby.

I thought another poster posted a link that showed Hawkins not even being a type B. As for K-Rod and Saito, I'd take the chance. When healthy, Saito has had a very good career. And he's a reliever, so I don't think age would be as big of a factor for him as it would be for say a shortstop. As for K-Rod. Even if he does accept, we keep that dominant back end of the bullpen. Milwaukee really took off once he was acquired. But he's in that age range where he's due for one last big multiyear contract. I'm not sure Boras wants him wasting one of his prime years on a one year contract. If he gets hurt he'll lose a ton of money. I think its a win-win either way. Even if you have to pay him $13 million, you'll be paying Axford next to nothing so they kind of average each other out. But if he doesn't accept, we could really use the picks.

Yeah, but history tells us they don't push their starters. I would not be surprised to see him start in Brevard again.

The way Milwaukee treats their prospects, I'd be less surprised to see Thornburg starting in Wisconsin than I would be to see him in Huntsville.

 

[CheezWizHed]

When healthy, Saito has had a very good career. And he's a reliever, so I don't think age would be as big of a factor for him as it would be for say a shortstop.

 

He will be 42 next year. The older he gets, the harder it be for him to be "When healthy"? Even with an arby raise, he might not make that much, so it might be worth it. But then again, with a 1st round tender, no one may want to bother with him either. The Brewers generally haven't liked taking those risks.

 

I thought another poster posted a link that showed Hawkins not even being a type B.

 

Don't know. Just trying to figure out the 5th 1st round draft pick (Brewer's normal one, Fielder, Saito, K-Rod, + ???).

 

Even if you have to pay him $13 million, you'll be paying Axford next to nothing so they kind of average each other out.

 

Axford might not appreciate that very much... But I generally agree with you on K-Rod. The question is: Will the Brewers agree? There has been a lot of discussion over the last couple years where we (the fans) thought so-and-so should be offered arby and wasn't. And more often than not, the Brewers were probably right not to offer it (Cameron, Lopez).

 

I can see three 1st round pics (two compensation), but I doubt the Brewers will risk offering arby to everyone that is eligible to bring us compensation picks back.

[And That]

Nice work. I'll have the "official" Brewerfan early, early, early 2012 roster projection in a few weeks.

 

A few thoughts:

• 
   
   
  Maysonet is a free agent. So are Statia, Gonzalez and Machado (and Lopez and Sanchez). It's pretty likely the Brewers will sign a few minor league FA middle infielders to replace these guys. They don't have the organizational depth in the upper minors to cover these spots right now. They also might re-sign some of them (coughStatia).
• I wouldn't be surprised if Halton, Haydel and/or Wheeler start in AA.
• It's almost impossible to guess the AAA pitching staff this far out. They almost always sign a half dozen or more AAAA-type pitchers to compete in camp. I don't know if they'll stick with Merklinger as a starter in AAA, and I don't know if Scarpetta will earn a promotion.

[DHonks]

Fielder and k-rod would each net two, right? That's five

[CheezWizHed]

Ah... I guess I never count the supplemental picks as "1st round" picks. I realize they are counted as 1st rounders, but my brain... you don't want to know. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[filthyfrog]

Doesn't Saito have a clause in his contract saying he can't be offered arbitration? He had it in Atlanta and I thought I remembered hearing about it when he signed with Milwaukee, although I don't feel like actually researching it.

 

I'll be very surprised if we don't offer arbitration to Rodriguez. He's made it clear he wants to be a closer, so the chances of him accepting are pretty low and, as mentioned, it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing if he did accept.

 

So yeah, depending on where Fielder and K-Rod sign, we could have six picks by the middle of the second round.

[BrewersAA]

This is replying to basically all the posts in-between. First, to clear up the 5 picks, you have the Brewers own pick, 2 for fielder, and 2 for Krod so as long as they don't sign with the same team, with Boras as their agent its nearly guaranteed they don't accept arby. Hawkins has an outside shot as a type B, which makes him really hard for another team to sign and is a rule MLB is looking to change, see basically every reliever in Toronto that was a FA last season. Saito has a decent chance of being type B also but per his contract cannot be offered Arby, this is how the Brewers were able to get him last season, i don't think they would have given up the pick on a reliever.

 

Now onto the trade scenarios. I am not exactly suggesting that the Brewers throw away 3 seasons, or that they unload just to unload. Just think about the situation. The brewers cant afford BOTH marcum and Grienke. I would prefer the signed Grienke, but its a long shot. I don't think they will bring back wolf unless he gives them a really good hometown discount. and Narveson is in the position where he starts getting paid and hes not a world beater, but has talent and would net a decent return. In that situation i also wouldn't mind the Brewers, if they are out of it, getting rid of morgan assuming they bring him back. Now i think this team can be very competitive replacing Fielder with Gamel and Mcgehee with Green and anybody at short. The around the horn D improvement would help aid the offensive loss of fielder, and there is potential to upgrade the other two positions offensively. Replacing Hart with Gindl for a half season of non-competitive baseball is a very good idea, see what he can do, if he can do anything, so you know if you need to go through FA or not. I also think Gindl will be very comparable to Hart, better D but with a lighter bat and will probably be in the same area in BA. I think putting Logan Schafer in center would be an upgrade for the brewers offensively and Defensively (to morgan, obviously not Gomez on D), I have been VERY high on logan since i saw him play in OKC this year, He was the best player on the field for either team.

In the pitching staff you would have Peralta mostly ready, if we can learn a lesson from Seattle its that when a pitcher is ready you bring him up. I think Fiers has also proven that he deserves a shot. I know i am probably too high on him because he doesn't have great stuff (neither does Marcum), but i get sick of hearing how none of our top hitting prospects will be any good because the PCL is such a hitters league so their numbers are all inflated, If thats the case than Fiers is the next Cy Young right? If its really such a hitters league that we should completely disregard our hitters numbers than our pitchers must be REALLLLLLLLYYYY good. With that rant out of the way, what i am saying is that i think the kid could be a capable number 5, and depending his numbers next season scarpetta might be ready for a call-up. He has to spend time in Milwaukee at some point since next year is his last in the minors. Also maybe Mark Rogers can come back strong from the surgery, hes already proven himself in the minors if not only to disprove himself this year, i don't see why he should have to go back through the levels again (and i think hes out of options anyway), he has major league stuff.

 

To another poster, yes, Scarpetta should start in AAA fully deserving or not, its his last option, if hes even awarded the extra option.

 

As far as SS goes, system wide the Brewers are weak, but some gems can be found sometimes, DM is good at that. I really think the Brewers should try to bring in Emilio Bonifacio, I know this is his first strong year offensively but i like him, what do you think?

 

 

[And That]

To another poster, yes, Scarpetta should start in AAA fully deserving or not, its his last option, if hes even awarded the extra option.

Why? If he doesn't earn it, he doesn't earn it. The team shouldn't take his option status into account when considering what is best for the player. They don't need to be overly aggressive with him, they have more than a whole year to let the situation work itself out.

 

The only way I'd say he definitely, without a doubt gets assigned to AAA is if they move him to the bullpen. Which might be his long term home anyway.

[BrewersAA]

Why? If he doesn't earn it, he doesn't earn it. The team shouldn't take

his option status into account when considering what is best for the

player. They don't need to be overly aggressive with him, they have more

than a whole year to let the situation work itself out.

 

The only

way I'd say he definitely, without a doubt gets assigned to AAA is if

they move him to the bullpen. Which might be his long term home anyway.

I personally think he has earned it, his stuff is good enough. His numbers really arent far off of what Peraltas were at AA. I understand if you personally don't think he has what it takes, you wouldnt be alone with that opinion, but i think that he does deserve a promotion and if he could just find consistency he could really take off. He reminds me a lot of Ben Sheets.

[marty22]

I thought we lost our ability to offer arbitration to K-rod when we bought out his option...

[BrewersAA]

I thought we lost our ability to offer arbitration to K-rod when we bought out his option...

Is that true!! I had no idea, if so that's a bad deal for the Brewers and a big mistake by Melvin! He wasn't going to finish the requisite amount of games regardless, the buyout seemed like it was just them buying insurance for the event Ax got hurt... That's NOT close to worth 2 first round picks.

[DHonks]

no, that's a myth that people seem to keep bringing up. The Brewers have the ability to offer arbitration. And technically we didn't really buy out his option...we re-negotiated his contract. We'll offer arby, and he will not take it. He'll get a 3 year deal to close somewhere.

[BrewersAA]

Okay, good to know. I was really worried there, it just seems like the Brewers could have sat on the option and monitored his games closed rather than lose the ability to offer a Boras client arby.

[paul253]

It is good to know that the Brewers will get at least 4 extra early round picks next season. If only K-Rod and Fielder sign with teams whose picks aren't protected.

[BrewersAA]

good point, what are protected again, top 10? I know if the team signs a higher rated type A that players former team gets the first rounder. either way they will be early picks.

[JohnBriggs12]

I believe the plan going forward, assuming the loss of Fielder, is to try to sign Greinke to a long term deal and have he and Gallardo atop the rotation through at least 2015 and have the rest of the rotation filled out by quality pre-arby arms. Financially, that is certainly doable even with Greinke commanding a substantial amount. The key to remaining contenders will be health of the top two and having at least 2 of their young arms emerge as quality major league starters within 2 years.

 

If they can come up with 2 solid everyday players from their current crop in the minors, that should be sufficient as long as Braun and Weeks are under contract.

[TooLiveBrew]

The top 15 picks are protected iirc