2014 Rule 5 Protection & The 40-Man Roster - Jungmann, Rivera, Strong, Goforth Added

[igor67]

Mark Canha looks like possibly an interesting guy to look at as a righty platoon option at first. It's a very different Rule 5 strategy than last year, were Wang was clearly a long term investment. He has played at AAA with a .889 OPS, so he has a reasonable chance of being ready to contribute, but he is very easy to move off of even in Spring Training if you have other better options.

[JohnBriggs12]

Mark Canha looks like possibly an interesting guy to look at as a righty platoon option at first. It's a very different Rule 5 strategy than last year, were Wang was clearly a long term investment. He has played at AAA with a .889 OPS, so he has a reasonable chance of being ready to contribute, but he is very easy to move off of even in Spring Training if you have other better options.

 

Canha's an interesting name to be sure. Brewers already have Rogers and Jimenez on their 40 man and Halton who posted an .896 OPS vs. LHP last season on their AAA roster. Not sure they'd want to devote 3 40 man slots to guys competing for that job. But if they wanted to replace Jimenez who's out of options anyway with Canha, I could see doing that especially if he can play well enough to fill in at 3B and in corner OF.

 

Taylor Featherstone (.938 OPS vs. LHP at AA in 2014) sticks out as a potential platoon candidate at 2B.

[Kelbysdaddy]

I kinda like the idea of featherstone. We definitely need a utility infielder and he profiles fairly well for that role.

[Outlander]

I could see them picking up Featherston since he plays shortstop as well. Kind of odd that he was brutal against lefties in 2011 and 2012 and then was real good against them in 2013 and 2014. FYI it is Featherston and not Featherstone.

[reillymcshane]

Man, what happened to Ricky Romero. I remember he and Gallardo came up at the same time. I thought Romero was going to be better than Yo.

 

42 walks in 38 innings. And at AAA. Wow.

[nate82]

If the Brewers wanted to go the risky route they could take Delino DeShields as he can play the OF and 2B. If he is only playing against lefties when Scooter is sitting then it could be a good gamble.

 

Otherwise Breyvic Valera could be a possible option but he can only really play 2B and the OF like DeShields but if he is only playing against left handed pitchers that wouldn't be a bad idea to have him on the bench. Both DeShields and Valera would be better than Schafer.

 

A safe bet could be Taylor Featherston as he could play 2B, SS, or 3B.

 

And if the Brewers wanted to do what they did last year with Yhonathan Barrios. He could definitely be an asset in the bullpen and I wouldn't be surprised if he has success in the bullpen as he throws rather hard. The only problem here is that last season was his first season as a pitcher.

[pete]

DeShields isn't a plus defender and not much of a hitter, same with Valera. They'd also have to overcome the same thing that Schafer has dealt with, rare and inconsistent playing time. It'd be interesting if there was a "split" stat that showed PH or single at bats in a game, because not many players do well.

 

Getting Pena off the 40 makes me think that something is up though.

[nate82]

DeShields isn't a plus defender and not much of a hitter, same with Valera. They'd also have to overcome the same thing that Schafer has dealt with, rare and inconsistent playing time. It'd be interesting if there was a "split" stat that showed PH or single at bats in a game, because not many players do well.

 

All of the scouting reports I have read on DeShields is that he is a plus defender. The only knock that he gets is that he can take plays off here and there.

 

Valera has also been praised for his defense. While neither could play SS both would be adequate in the OF. I would put Valera and DeShields as a significant upgrade defensively over Gennett at 2B.

[Mass Haas]

Taylor Jungmann nets a couple of mentions in this Baseball America analysis --

 

Performance Context For 40-Man Roster Additions

[pete]

I remember seeing scouting reports that talked about him being toolsy and a potential plus defender. He was a first round pick and he's very fast. Later I saw ones that weren't so positive about his play at 2nd talking about things like footwork. And of course there are lots of scouts who think he isn't reaching his potential because of his attitude. Maybe those are exaggerated or poor interpretation of things like body language, but they aren't uncommon.

 

To complicate it he was moved to the OF. At least part of the reason was that he had been requesting for it to happen. i don't know how the Altuve factor influences that. I've seen him described as adequate in the OF and questionable as a CF. And of course, is he going to hit? Remember, Schafer wasn't awful in the minors. Like Logan, Delino would likely go a couple weeks at a time without a start and a couple PHs against late inning relievers. He had a nice slash line 2 seasons ago but was awful this last one.

 

And then someone has to be the BU SS, 3B and whatever at 1st. But the stake through the heart is that what you or I think doesn't count and I think they want Hector Gomez to succeed - he's got the glove, don't know about the bat and maybe I'm wrong but I think Roenicke loves Elian Herrera. He is versatile.

 

I did a quick scan of Valera on MLB and he was described as a steady and unspectacular fielder, versatile and with a pretty remarkable lack of power.

 

I think even if you are correct - that they are plus defenders and decent in the OF and assuming they take well to the sporadic at bats, I think the org wouldn't take them because of the problem of needing 3 bench infielders.

 

I think Gennett is a very good defender and I get the sense that the org thinks so as well although that's with the danger of needing to read between the lines some. Do you disagree?

[LouisEly]

The removal of Pena does seem to indicate that something is up. Nothing has changed with Pena's status in the last week that I'm aware of, unless there was some medical evaluation. Otherwise why wouldn't they have removed him a week ago and put Bradley or Cravy on?

 

You may be on to something with Featherston. Some other interesting names from the article:

 

Edgar de la Rosa, rhp, Tigers: Like velocity? The massive 6-foot-8 de la Rosa can run it up to 100 mph at his best and pairs it with a usable changeup. One Florida State League evaluator said he “goes to the mound with a 7 fastball every start.” He was a starter in high Class A this past season, but would fit in a big league bullpen. (If he can get it up to 100 as a starter, can he add a few ticks as a reliever?)

 

Jarlin Garcia, lhp, Marlins: Big arm who would be making a massive jump from low Class A Greensboro to the big leagues; Garcia has earned above-average grades for his fastball (91-94 mph most nights) and curve. He also finished strong, with a 1.03 ERA in his final 35 innings. (Wouldn't want him as the 2nd lefty in the pen, but if they sign another lefty he could be the 3rd lefty.)

 

Matt Skole, 3b, Nationals: A serious wrist injury ruined his 2013 season and seemed to carry over into 2014, but pre-injury he was a significant power prospect who had enough pop to profile at first base. (We've seen that it takes a while to recover from a wrist injury, but even if the power doesn't fully come back his career OBP is .110 higher than his career BA. And he bats LH. Washington's #4 prospect after the 2012 season. I'm kind of liking this guy.)

[nate82]

I think Gennett is a very good defender and I get the sense that the org thinks so as well although that's with the danger of needing to read between the lines some. Do you disagree?

 

I think Gennett is about as good as Weeks was defensively at 2B with less range and a weaker arm.

[pete]

 

I think Gennett is about as good as Weeks was defensively at 2B with less range and a weaker arm.

 

How would you describe Weeks as a defender?

[nate82]

 

I think Gennett is about as good as Weeks was defensively at 2B with less range and a weaker arm.

 

How would you describe Weeks as a defender?

 

Young Weeks stone hands very good range and a strong arm.

Weeks after all of the injuries strong arm with no range and still has stone hands.

[Mass Haas]

Initial post has been updated to include recent minor league free agent signings LHP's Brent Leach and Nick Additon and RHP Wirfin Obispo.

[DHonks]

nate82...both statistically and with the eye-check Scooter is far and away better than Weeks. Scooter got to so many balls last year that Weeks wouldn't have. I found myself continually thinking "wow, how is it we weren't told to expect this good of defense?!?!?" After years of having a DH play 2b, it was refreshing to see someone with range, footwork, throwing accuracy, and solid throwing mechanics. Plus, for nearly a decade I cringed and held my breath on every bunt, as I knew that it would mean Rickie covering 1st base. I think I still have nightmares of decent throws up the line--catchable throws--flying into the right field corner as Weeks steps away from the base.

[Mass Haas]

(We believe this to be an accurate list. If we learn otherwise, we'll let you know...)

 

Alphabetical list of the 44 active Brewers' farmhands eligible to be taken in Thursday's Rule 5 draft -- the Brewers can protect (if they choose) up to 38 players at the highest level, meaning they could only be taken in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 draft. If they do protect the maximum, up to six would be eligible to be plucked in the minor league phase of Rule 5, where it is basically a free grab bag, with no restrictions on the choosing team. You may remember that a few years ago the Brewers left 2B Eric Farris protected at the lower level, essentially giving him an opportunity for a fresh start elsewhere.

 

LHP Nick Additon

RHP Jacob Barnes

RHP Manny Barreda

C Parker Berberet

LHP Jed Bradley

RHP Jaye Chapman

RHP Tyler Cravy

OF Kentrail Davis

RHP Tim Dillard

RHP John Ely

OF Josh Fellhauer

RHP Drew Gagnon

C Cameron Garfield

RHP Milton Gomez

IF Taylor Green

OF/1B Sean Halton

RHP Seth Harvey

OF Jeremy Hermida

RHP Kyle Heckathorn

RHP Greg Holle

LHP Brent Leach

3B Brandon Macias

RHP Eric Marzec

RHP Casey Medlen

RHP Andy Moye

C Connor Narron

C Rafael Neda

RHP Wirfin Obispo

IF Pete Orr

C Leudi Otano

RHP Ariel Pena

OF Jose Pena

LHP Stephen Peterson

1B Nick Ramirez

OF D'Vontrey Richardson

RHP Junior Rincon

RHP Austin Ross

2B/SS Nick Shaw

IF Hainley Statia

RHP Chad Thompson

RHP Tommy Toledo

C Adam Weisenburger

RHP Mark Williams

C Shawn Zarraga

 

The following players never filed retirement papers formally and remain Brewers property. Technically, they will appear on the Brewers' Rule 5 eligible list to other clubs, although the Brewers may be releasing some of these players shortly. If so, those releases would appear on Baseball America's weekly summary list.

 

LHP Brandol Perez, RHP's Jameson Dunn, Osmel Perez, Matt Miller, Rolando Pascual, INF's Andres Martinez, Michael Marseco, Brent Brewer, OF Ronny Puello, C Carlos Pena

[Mass Haas]

Notable Players Available In The Rule 5 Draft

 

In the comments section of that previously linked and highly recommended Baseball America article, BA's Matt Eddy noted this --

 

"If you had to pick the one player most likely to be selected, who would it be?"

 

I like the following three Rule 5-eligible players because they can fill a role on a 25-man roster:

 

Brewers LHP Jed Bradley - Ordinary strikeout and walk rates overall, but only one qualified starter had a higher GB/FB ratio (2.72) in 2014. Plus he's tough on LH batters (.196, 0 HR, 158 batters faced as starter). Potential swingman or matchup candidate.

 

***

 

His other two were Astros CF Delino DeShields Jr. and Orioles RHP Mychal Givens.

[JackNicholson1974]

Cubs took Taylor Featherston

Texas took Deshields

Milwaukee Passes

[patrickgpe]

happy they passed, I'd rather see Milwaukee use the roster spot on a ML reliever that falls through the cracks of free agency like duke

[torts]

Sean Halton selected by Baltimore

[torts]

Kentrail Davis claimed by the Angels

[monty57]

Here's the full list from the Brewers' site:

 

http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/103814668/2014-major-leaue-baseball-rule-5-draft-results

 

I always thought Halton could be a decent bench bat, with the ability to step in at 1B or corner OF. He got a bit of a shot in 2013, but obviously wasn't in the Brewers' plans going forward. The other of the K. Davises showed promise early on, but was well down the Brewers' OF depth chart, so it's best for him to see if he can make an MLB roster in a different uniform. I wish them both well.

[pete]

Would the Earth have stopped rotating if Halton was the RH partner to Overbay last season? One reason they wanted Reynolds was because a team needs those veterans in the clubhouse after tough losses or losing streaks. Oops.

 

Their formula for player evaluation seems to heavily weight grit, experience and all those cliches that are used to justify old players. I think he's changed a lot, but I wonder if part of the reason for the Halton move is the presence of Rogers or whether Rogers is doomed to the same fate of never being considered. They never talk about the guy as an option for anything.

[paul253]

or whether Rogers is doomed to the same fate of never being considered.

 

This. Just like Thornburg never had a chance at the rotation last season Rogers will never get a fair shot at first base this season.