Green and Maysonet called up

[Invader3K]

Maybe I missed it, but can anyone give a decent assessment on Maysonet's defense?

[adambr2]

I would prepare for the worst with Gonzalez

 

The severity of Gonzalez’s injury won’t be known until an MRI is performed Monday in Milwaukee. But the Brewers were preparing for a long-term absence, perhaps as bad as the torn ACL suffered by first baseman Mat Gamel in San Diego on Tuesday.

 

“It's something bad," said Gonzalez, who had a full-length brace on his right leg in the clubhouse after the game.

 

"We'll have to wait until Monday to get an MRI to see what kind of injury it is. When I twisted it, it felt real bad.”

 

 

I always found it surprising that in this day and age of instant answers/results and technology, even multi-billion dollar industries like the NFL and MLB cannot get MRI's done for them on the weekend.

[logan82]

Don't they have to wait a bit for the swelling to go down for the MRI to show anything?

[cnycerveceros]

I'm far from the most optimistic poster here, but to say we are done with 5 months to go and 4 games back seems a bit over the top. I'm not going to say I'm not concerned given injuries and the epidemic of under performance, but injuries happen and you have to assume players will regress to their career averages which for nearly everybody is better than where they are at. Give these guys a shot, but it's too early to cut losses and use this season to develop the future.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Taylor Green is starting at 1B today.

[3and2Fastball]

Jeff Biachi is somewhat an interesting prospect, actually. He's already on the 40 man roster. He's 25 years old and was drafted in the 2nd round by Kansas City. He hit .308 in 2009 in A+ & AA ball as a 22 year old, before needing to sit out all of 2010 for Tommy John surgery. It has only been 19 games but he is batting .351 this season for Huntsville.

 

His career fielding % at SS is only .967 (.946 this season) so I would imagine that is a concern. He also plays 2B and has a .991 career fielding % there.

 

At the very least they should send him to Nashville to play SS there everyday

[Bombers]

I am dumbfounded by the Maysonet callup. He is just a guy. Not a guy you would actually use. Why not give Bianchi a shot? He is the classic, injury to potential starter story, isn't he? The guy was drafted out of H.S. in the 2nd round by the Royals. (2nd pick of the 2nd round) Here is a snapshot of his MiLB stats:

Year Lg Lev G PA AB BA OBP SLG OPS

2005 ARIZ Rk 28 122 98 0.408 0.484 0.745 1.229

2006 ARIZ Rk 12 54 42 0.429 0.537 0.667 1.204

2007 MIDW A 99 403 368 0.247 0.296 0.315 0.611

2008 CARL A+ 104 431 396 0.255 0.290 0.442 0.732

2009 2 Lgs AA-A+ 128 542 490 0.308 0.358 0.435 0.792

2009 CARL A+ 60 245 220 0.300 0.360 0.427 0.787

2009 TL AA 68 297 270 0.315 0.356 0.441 0.797

 

2011 TL AA 119 499 444 0.259 0.320 0.333 0.654

2012 SOUL AA 19 85 77 0.351 0.398 0.403 0.800

 

He must have had some injuries early (based off his AB totals in 05/06). Then finally got to A ball and played poorly during his 20 and 21 year old seasons. In his 22 year old season he has success at A and AA. Then had Tommy John. Sat out a year. Didn't fair well in AA last season, but is raking this year.

 

I guess my point is (and I know next to nothing about this guy) ... he was highly recruited out of HS, had success, got injured, stunk it up and turned 21. Did well at 22 and then needed Tommy John. Returned from injury and didn't do well. Is at a point now where he is in a make or break situation. I guess to me, I say here - give it a go. You have a month. (It is what it is... do well and stay up. ) Izturis? Maysonet? Come on, neither of these guys are the answer for now, tomorrow or the future.

[Mass Haas]

Jeff Bianchi is somewhat an interesting prospect, actually. He's already on the 40 man roster.

 

I'm intrigued as well in a Mike Aviles kind of way.

 

Anyway, I've seen several folks post that he's on the 40-man recently, but the Brewers snuck him through wiavers on March 18th.

[benji]

You could get an MRI on a Sunday but most hospitals/free standing clinics won't staff them for sunday's unless it is an "emergency". Team and team MD's like having their own radiologist and MRI machines do the study. Getting the MRI on a Sunday would not change the outcome of the injury or the timing of recovery. Most of the time the physical exam will indicate what the injury is, the MRI is just needed for confirmation. Although the trainers on this team have seemed to have missed the last two ACL injuries as they let both Gamel and Gallardo play after their injuries occurred. Swelling should limit the ability to read the MRI.

[Funketown]

Good start for Green at the dish. I really hope he gets off to a hot start which leads Roenicke to give him the full-time or near full-time nod.

 

Maysonet could be really, really bad at the plate. His line from last season looks decent, but it's worth remembering that the PCL was incredibly hitter friendly last season.

[TooLiveBrew]

The west coast PCL parks are why the league is so offense-heavy. Not saying I think Maysonet is a great hitter, but since he doesn't play on a west coast team, his numbers have a little more legitimacy imo.

[Funketown]

The west coast PCL parks are why the league is so offense-heavy. Not saying I think Maysonet is a great hitter, but since he doesn't play on a west coast team, his numbers have a little more legitimacy imo.

 

I thought it was that the "eastern", as in Nashville, etc. PCL parks were still quite hitter friendly, just not to the comical level of the western parks. Could be wrong though, I honestly don't have much of a clue here.

 

Edit: Maybe that's reasonable. The Brewers' division averaged 5.22 runs per game, while the Pacific-North division averaged 6.10 runs per game. For reference, in 2011 the AL (the PCL uses the DH, doesn't it?) averaged 4.48 runs per game last season.

[JohnBriggs12]

Jeff Biachi is somewhat an interesting prospect, actually. He's already on the 40 man roster. He's 25 years old and was drafted in the 2nd round by Kansas City. He hit .308 in 2009 in A+ & AA ball as a 22 year old, before needing to sit out all of 2010 for Tommy John surgery. It has only been 19 games but he is batting .351 this season for Huntsville.

 

His career fielding % at SS is only .967 (.946 this season) so I would imagine that is a concern. He also plays 2B and has a .991 career fielding % there.

 

At the very least they should send him to Nashville to play SS there everyday

 

 

A career FP in the minors of .967 at SS is really good actually. Especially for a guy signed right out of HS. Izturis had a .961 FP in the minors. JJ Hardy had a .963. Alcides Escobar had a .955. Of course FP isn't everything, but if scouts didn't think he had the tools, he'd have been moved off of SS by now.

[monty57]

I'm far from the most optimistic poster here, but to say we are done with 5 months to go and 4 games back seems a bit over the top. I'm not going to say I'm not concerned given injuries and the epidemic of under performance, but injuries happen and you have to assume players will regress to their career averages which for nearly everybody is better than where they are at. Give these guys a shot, but it's too early to cut losses and use this season to develop the future.

 

Green is a guy who many (myself included) thought should have been our starting 3B this year, Peralta is a "Top 100 prospect" with a power arm, and Aoki was the best hitter in Japan for the past decade. Asking for them to get starting positions for the Brewers isn't giving up, but it would allow for them to get some playing time, which will help us in the future, since they are all going to be under Brewers' control beyond this season.

 

All trading for (or FA signing) a 1B or SP does is once again block one of our few promising prospects with an aging, expensive veteran, and could potentially weaken our farm system even more. The marginal difference between a Derrick Lee and Taylor Green is probably not much this season, but Green will be under control for years to come, so having him "break out" would be wonderful, while having Lee "break out" would only mean he'll be able to sign elsewhere next season and we'd have a few million less dollars in the bank. Trading for someone like Carlos Lee would be the same thing, and we'd have a couple less prospects on the farm.

 

I'd like to see us get a SS, as Izturis/Maysonet isn't a good answer, and we don't have an "heir apparent" in the system, but it seems good SS are harder to find these days than good starting pitching, so I don't think it'll be easy to upgrade. Other than that, I'd hold tight to see how Green looks and how Estrada/Peralta do. In another month or so, we'll be far better set to answer the question of whether it's worth it to spend money and prospects to upgrade this year's team, or if it would make more sense to trade Greinke, Marcum and K-Rod rather than losing them to free agency.

[JohnBriggs12]

The problem is that Green's value is as either a 3B or a 2B, and those are the two positions occupied by very high priced veterans, both of whom are entrenched by their hefty contracts for two more seasons. Should both of those guys continue to underperform their contracts, it won't matter how well Green or Ishikawa, or Aoki does getting more playing time, they won't contend. So far it seems they have no inclination to make the obvious move of Ramirez to 1B. It appears as if some promise was made to him that he'd play 3B only.

 

As for SS, teams with quality there are not inclined to trade for any price. Out of contention teams likely are either playing young upcoming guys or guys that wouldn't help the Brewers much anyway.

 

While there is no obvious "heir apparent" at SS, Bianchi did hit .350 for a month at AA, is only 25, and was once a 2nd round pick. A case could be made that he's got potential to be at least an okay placeholder there. Given the much less than exciting alternatives of Izturis and Maysonet, I just don't understand why they don't roll the dice on the younger Bianchi.

[monty57]

The problem is that Green's value is as either a 3B or a 2B, and those are the two positions occupied by very high priced veterans, both of whom are entrenched by their hefty contracts for two more seasons. Should both of those guys continue to underperform their contracts, it won't matter how well Green or Ishikawa, or Aoki does getting more playing time, they won't contend. So far it seems they have no inclination to make the obvious move of Ramirez to 1B. It appears as if some promise was made to him that he'd play 3B only.

 

As for SS, teams with quality there are not inclined to trade for any price. Out of contention teams likely are either playing young upcoming guys or guys that wouldn't help the Brewers much anyway.

 

While there is no obvious "heir apparent" at SS, Bianchi did hit .350 for a month at AA, is only 25, and was once a 2nd round pick. A case could be made that he's got potential to be at least an okay placeholder there. Given the much less than exciting alternatives of Izturis and Maysonet, I just don't understand why they don't roll the dice on the younger Bianchi.

 

I agree.

 

Green is stuck behind Weeks and Ramirez, so this is a good chance to let him play everyday to see what he can do. Maybe if he plays well enough the Brewers will realize that they could trade Weeks or Ramirez for another useful part and let Green man 2nd or 3rd in coming years. Whatever the case, he's a better option than Ishikawa or Conrad, and he allows Weeks and Ramirez to get some time off, as he can move to 2nd or 3rd for a game here & there as needed. But you're right, Green is not a superstar player who can carry a team, and if some of the other players don't step it up, the Brewers won't win. Few players are that good.

 

I hope Bianchi (or anyone in the organization) steps up and takes the reins at SS. I think Maysonet was a quick, easy answer until we see how long Gonzalez will be out. If it's less severe than it looks, we'll probably stick with Izturis/Maysonet for a couple of weeks. If it's season-ending, we'll probably do something else. Regarding Bianchi, it probably depends on whether the Brewers think he's MLB ready, but judging by the way they keep trying to block Green, I doubt they'll let Bianchi see the light of day until all other options are gone. I'd like to see someone who may have a future with the Brewers get a shot, but the modern "win now at any cost" Brewers probably won't do it.

[LouisEly]

I'll say it... what if DM had not signed Ramirez, let Green take over at 3B, and "overpaid" for Hairston and another backup IF?

[Funketown]

I'll say it... what if DM had not signed Ramirez, let Green take over at 3B, and "overpaid" for Hairston and another backup IF?

 

I think a lot of people here said they'd prefer that just after Ramirez was signed. I think his bat would be a downgrade, but perhaps not by that much. FWIW, right now Zips projects Ramirez to hit .269/.329/.457 and Green to hit .265/.325/.426, which would indeed be just a moderate downgrade. Ramirez cost $36 million for 3 years, Green would cost $1 million, and I'm ignoring the cost of his ticking arbitration clock because he's going on 26 and he's now accumulating service time anyways. Sign JHJ for 2 years, $6 million. It would have been much cheaper, and I think the team would be in a better position right now if they had done that. The Gamel injury would obviously still hurt, but if Melvin had gone with the Green/JHJ or like player plan he'd easily have money to pick up Derrek Lee.

 

If only we could have known about Gamel's upcoming ACL injury, a guy like Carlos Pena for $9-10 million would look wonderful at 1B right now. Perhaps a psychic or tarot card reader will be on Melvin's payroll next year...

 

Edit: And Briggs, I think you might be right on Bianchi. It looks like before he missed 2010 with TJ surgery, he was a .300/.360/.440 guy between A+ and AA. Perhaps he's just getting back into the kick of things after a weak 2011 in AA for the Royals. Of course, it's hard to tell given his ~.400 BABIP if he's actually driving the ball or he's just finding a few odd holes in the first month. I've never watched the guy, so I really don't know, but I'm sure the Brewers have somebody keeping track of him. If he's a decent defender, I'm not sure he could be that much worse than Maysonet or Izturis, could he?

[Roderick]

Green is stuck behind Weeks and Ramirez....Maybe if he plays well enough the Brewers will realize that they could trade Weeks or Ramirez for another useful part

 

I assume you would have to pay part of ARam's salary to just have a team take him, and if you want a useful part you would probably have to basically pay it all.

[monty57]

Green is stuck behind Weeks and Ramirez....Maybe if he plays well enough the Brewers will realize that they could trade Weeks or Ramirez for another useful part

 

I assume you would have to pay part of ARam's salary to just have a team take him, and if you want a useful part you would probably have to basically pay it all.

 

Yeah, I've figured Ramirez's contract was untradeable since he signed it, but if they were to cut bait this season, the contract isn't quite as bad. It's years 2 & 3 that get expensive. If he heats up over the next couple of months and a playoff-team lost their 3B, they may be interested. I don't see it happening, but if Green were able to "prove himself" in the MLB at least Roenicke might be willing to admit he can play and Melvin could try to trade away one of the more expensive, over-30 players blocking him. Of course, in the pre-game last night it sounded like Ishikawa is going to get the lion's-share of starts at 1B, so the point is probably moot. One of the organization's few promising position prospects will sit behind a guy who's proven he can't play MLB baseball and will end up being a utility guy.

[logan82]

I am not sure Hairston would be starting for us over Izturis. He barely got any starts for us last year at SS.

[CheezWizHed]

I would have hoped that signing Hairston would have precluded us from ever signing Izturis...