Link Report for Thurs. 5/16 - Sounds, Stars, and 'Tees Win; Rogers and Mittelstaedt 9th Inning Heroics

[saget]

Looks like Arcia is starting to pick it up lately: 9 hits and 6 walks in the last five games. Is the low SLG concerning anyone yet or not really seeing as he is still young for A-ball?

[TooLiveBrew]

Looks like Arcia is starting to pick it up lately: 9 hits and 6 walks in the last five games. Is the low SLG concerning anyone yet or not really seeing as he is still young for A-ball?

I would tend to agree with your sentiment at the end here. It's still early in the season, and his frame is definitely still that of an 18-yo. I honestly don't think I'd be too worried if his SLG stays fairly low all season... as long as he continues to show a good BB/K rate & is putting good swings on the ball, I'll be happy. His approach is what really stood out statistically in the 2011 DSL, and so far that looks to be translating to low-A.

[Mass Haas]

St. Lucie Top of the 6th

 

Dustin Lawley grounds out, third baseman T. J. Mittelstaedt to first baseman Nick Ramirez.

Aderlin Rodriguez singles on a line drive to pitcher Brooks Hall.

Travis Taijeron singles on a line drive to left fielder Ben McMahan. Aderlin Rodriguez to 2nd.

Cam Maron walks. Aderlin Rodriguez to 3rd. Travis Taijeron to 2nd.

Rylan Sandoval singles on a line drive to center fielder Chadwin Stang. Aderlin Rodriguez scores. Travis Taijeron scores. Cam Maron to 2nd.

Pitching Change: Stephen Peterson replaces Brooks Hall.

Charley Thurber pops out to shortstop Yadiel Rivera on the infield fly rule.

Gilbert Gomez pops out to first baseman Nick Ramirez in foul territory.

 

(Strands two)

 

I know Peterson's 25, was an undrafted signee, but that'll happen when you have Tommy John and lose a year on a Division I transfer.

 

But he's always been effective, he's probably being under-utilized; he's a potential LOOGY (or more), and could be snuck into the sleeper thread, as admittedly he's way under the radar with most.

 

Doesn't hurt he's a Massachusetts guy

[LouisEly]

Michael Reed is quietly having a pretty good season for a 20-year-old in low-A. Have to like the .391 OBP and 8 SBs.

[TheCrew07]

Looks like Arcia is starting to pick it up lately: 9 hits and 6 walks in the last five games. Is the low SLG concerning anyone yet or not really seeing as he is still young for A-ball?

 

Orlando is a tooth pick, his build is reminiscent of Escobar. He's been making much better contact lately and of the hits I've seen over the course of the season, most were line drives so he squares up the ball well.

 

Will he develop power? I doubt it, because the Brewers don't seem to push the weight room, but he could. He could easily tack on 20-30 lbs of muscle without impacting his defensive game which would likely transform him offensively. However, he could eventually end up in that 8-12 HR range if his body fill outs naturally. His brother Oswaldo topped out at 17 HRs in the minors, I'd be thrilled if Orlando hit that many given the rest of his game as he runs well, has a strong arm, and has the potential to be plus a defender at defense first position.

 

He does have a very nice eye and now that he appears to be relaxing more he doesn't chase out of the zone much. He'll easily carry an OBP .050 higher than his average so if can reach a SLG in the mid .400s in that .440-.460 range he'd be pretty valuable offensively as well. I think we'll have a much better idea how to project him by the end of the season. He did hit 6 HR in just 64 games in the DSL so there's at least a little juice in that bat that hasn't shown itself so far this year.

 

My only 2 questions about Arcia at this point are will he hit enough and how much power will he develop? I'm actually fairly certain he'll hit for a high average when he settles in, but he looked so out of sync for about a month that I'm not willing to make any definitive statements about him yet.

[TheCrew07]

But, what is the deal with Johnny Hellweg?

 

Well you're generally going to get differing opinions on a player as the Brewer's view of their own players rarely agrees with the rest of the scouting world. For example the Brewers still think Jungmann has #2 upside but independent talent evaluators don't see that at all, the Brewers thought Braun could stick at 3rd and so on.

 

From a tools standpoint Hellweg has a huge arm and decent secondary offerings which on paper one would typically profile as a top of the rotation starter.

 

However his control stinks and if you can't throw strikes, you aren't a MLB starting pitcher, you probably aren't even a reliever. His career will depend entirely on how much control he gains as he matures. At this point the safest projection would likely be a bullpen role, but there's always a chance he could improve enough to be a starting pitcher.

 

I'm really hoping 2 of Nelson, Thornburg, and Hellweg can be top of the rotation MLB starters otherwise we're no closer to getting over the hump pitching wise than we were a couple of years ago... stuck in neutral if you will.

[brewmann04]

Keep drafting those Pitchers we bound to harness one.

[TheCrew07]

Cubs' LHP propsect Brian Smith.

 

Smith unhittable in Cougars' shutout

[TheCrew07]

Well dang I was hoping Tyler Wagner had a shot...Submit some Brewers questions please!

 

Prospect Hot Sheet (May 17): Archie Bradley Deals At Double-A

7. Kolten Wong, 2b, Cardinals

Team: Triple-A Memphis (Pacific Coast)

Age: 22

Why He’s Here: .423/.483/.692 (11-for-26), 1 HR, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 6 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 1-for-1 SB

 

About the only thing Wong doesn’t do as a top-of-the-order hitter is draw many walks (eight in 36 games with Memphis), but that’s more forgivable since he carries a robust .302 career average in the minors. He makes hard contact and lots of it. He’s registered multiple hits in four of his last five games to up his average to .314 after 156 at-bats on the season.

11. Carlos Contreras, rhp, Reds

Team: high Class A Bakersfield (California)

Age: 22

Why He’s Here: 0-0, 0.00, 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 SO

 

Bakersfield has the second-worst record in the minors (11-29), and among the 10 California League clubs they rank eighth in runs scored and seventh in ERA. Against that backdrop, Contreras has given the Blaze a ray of hope. Moved to the rotation after spending the past two seasons as a strong-armed reliever, he still sits 92-96 mph, has a good breaking ball and a usable changeup. Contreras has a 1-4 record, but he’s kept his team in almost every game he’s pitched, and a 3.40 ERA in Bakersfield is excellent, especially when it comes paired with 52 walks and 13 strikeouts in 42 innings.

12. Christian Villaneuva, 3b, Cubs

Team: Double-A Tennessee (Southern)

Age: 21

Why He’s Here: .435/.500/.739 (10-for-23), 3 R, 4 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBIs, 1 BB, 6 SO, 1-for-2 SB

 

With Adrian Beltre on their big league roster and Mike Olt dominating in the upper levels of the minors last year, it made sense for the Rangers to include Villanueva in last summer’s trade to acquire Ryan Dempster. Villanueva got off to a sluggish start, but this past week has been better. He probably won’t see time in the big leagues this year, but he has a chance to be a contributor in Chicago by 2014.

 

In The Team Photo

Michael Wacha, rhp, Cardinals. St. Louis keeps waiting for 2012 first-rounder Wacha to trip at Triple-A Memphis so they can see how he responds to adversity. But after another strong outing this week (7 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 SO at Tacoma) the 21-year-old just hasn’t given the organization that opportunity. He’s 3-0, 1.40 in his last six starts, having allowed six runs on 21 hits in 38 2/3 innings with a nifty 29-9 K-BB ratio.

Jameson Taillon, rhp, Pirates. The 21-year-old bounced back from his worst start of the season with one of his best. After allowing seven hits and four runs over three innings for Double-A Altoona on May 7, Taillon stifled Richmond for six innings on Sunday, striking out eight and walking three. Being the youngest hurler in the Eastern League (born one month before Reading’s Jesse Biddle) hasn’t fazed Taillon, as he’s whiffed 47 batters in 44 2/3 innings for Altoona while putting up a 2.82 ERA, meaning he should be on the short list for best pitching prospect in the minors at the end of the year.

 

Not So Hot

Daniel Corcino, rhp, Reds. Corcino’s control, or lack thereof, has gone from troubling to rather alarming. His walk rate spiked last year to 4.08 per nine innings, up from 2.20 in 2011, and it’s climbed further this year to 4.63 (18 walks in 35 innings) at Triple-A Louisville. He’s not fooling batters, either, allowing a .327 average to go with a 7.20 ERA. He walked six, threw two wild pitches and hit a batter in 10 innings this week while giving up seven earned runs on 12 hits.

[TheCrew07]

Chat starts at 1PM Central, submit a question or 2!

 

Prospect Hot Sheet Chat With Matt Eddy