Forgotten Prospects

[FVBrewerFan]

I just wanted to point out three guys that never seem to get any love, yet have been putting up some very good numbers:

 

Yadiel Rivera Mostly because the system is loaded at middle IF, Rivera is a guy that nobody ever seems to be excited about. Yet he has been pretty consistent, putting up .700 OPS- not bad at all for a middle IF these days. I get the sense he will be included as a throw-in for a future trade, and I think he's a better player than that.

 

Nick Ramirez Placed no better than #35 on the bf.net list, yet he has been very consistent, hitting around .750. A little old for AA maybe, but he has some power- and he will take his walks. A lefty bat that can hit .750 with power and willing to walk? To me, that's someone who may have a real shot. But, like Rivera, I fear he could be a throw-in guy in a trade.

 

Ariel Pena Ok, not quite fair. Not much to talk about until this year. But he had an outstanding spring training, and is pitching well in a very tough place to pitch so far in Colorado. I could see him as a Marco Rivera type- long relief and the ability to start if needed. (Hopefully similarity doesn't include 4 or 5 HRs every inning.)

 

Would be curious to see what you guys think about these three guys. Anyone else under the radar?

[MrTPlush]

Yadiel Rivera- His stat line is pathetic and always has been...and while I hear he has some nice defense averaging 24 errors a year while only playing approx. 110 games seems a bit extreme. In his favor he is still young and maybe he can become a utility type player. Honestly if you can't even get your OBP over .300 in the minor leagues you are nothing to me.

 

Nick Ramirez- His stat line also leaves a lot to be desired as he hasn't really hit since rookie league. He strikes out way too much(A LOT). Like you said he does have some power, but not much outside of that.

 

Ariel Pena- Probably the only one I like on your list. If he can ever figure out how to control the ball he can be a really nice bullpen piece.

 

If I had to pick a few:

 

Tyler Cravy- Kid absolutely dominated AA last year and is fairly close to being MLB ready. I think he is pretty underrated by most. He is pretty old(25), but he has slowly improved ever since being drafted.

 

Victor Roache- I think a lot of places still have him as a Top 15 prospect for us, but fans have soured on him a lot. That raw power is enormous and he takes walks at a very high clip. Screams late bloomer to me.

[agent39]

Taylor Green Jaye Chapman

[Mr Southpaw]

Cravy can pitch, just not throw. Look for big things from him.

 

I hope T. Green gets called up to AAA to replace Rodgers. He has always hit well. I hop he is now totally healthy and get back to what he previously was.

[igor67]

I was pretty down on Roache coming into the year, and there is still plenty of room for caution, but with his super late birthday he is only 23, and even with AA being pretty well stocked in the OF I would imagine he could get a midseason promotion of he continues to hit for a solid average to go with the power. That said his K numbers are still really high, so it would be nice to see those drop a little bit as a sign he has made some good adjustments and is ready to move forward.

[DHonks]

Roache is my new Brandon Katin. I loved the guy's power. He also drew walks, and I dreamed of him one day being a Rob Deer type. I'm hoping Roache learns to walk more and plays well

[Jenkins5]

No one ever mentions Michael Reed. He has been over shadowed by Tyrone Taylor, Orlando Arcia, and Victor Roache his A ball but if he could just increase his power he is a guy cable of playing 3 spots well in the OF, Speed to burn on the bases, walks a ton, and hits for good average.

[JohnBriggs12]

Cravy can pitch, just not throw. Look for big things from him.

 

I hope T. Green gets called up to AAA to replace Rodgers. He has always hit well. I hop he is now totally healthy and get back to what he previously was.

 

Rodgers plays QB for Packers. Rogers is on the Brewers. Jason Rogers is a better and more consistent hitter than Taylor Green who had one terrific year in 2011 but hasn't done much of anything lately.

[JohnBriggs12]

Roache is repeating a level but is off to a good start, something that he's lacked in past seasons. With lack of power in the system he could catapult back up the prospect list if he gets promoted later on and continues to hit.

[reillymcshane]

No one ever mentions Michael Reed. He has been over shadowed by Tyrone Taylor, Orlando Arcia, and Victor Roache his A ball but if he could just increase his power he is a guy cable of playing 3 spots well in the OF, Speed to burn on the bases, walks a ton, and hits for good average.

I always liked Reed. I love guys who get on base. I was disappointed when we lost Michael Brantley. All that said, from what I've read about Reed is that he profiles as a corner guy if he starts. He's just not that good of a CF. You can get away with him being out there on occasion, but you don't want him playing CF everyday. Another thing I read that was interesting was from a report from Baseball Prospectus mentioning Reed's hitting. The writer said the following:

 

"He has some bat speed and he went up to the plate with a plan. I don’t have a whole lot of confidence in the bat off what I saw, though. The bat path was a bit loopy and the bat head lagged. Reed doesn’t get any torque from his lower half either. It’s very much an upper body swing. As a guy who can run and play all three outfield spots he profiles nicely on a big-league bench."

 

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=25933

 

Having never seen Reed other than in video, the description jives with the results. Reed gets on base, but strikes out quite a lot, and doesn't hit for much power. He may need to make some adjustments to his hitting style if he wants to be a big league regular.

 

I'm a sucker for guys who can get on base. I think it leads to better things. The good thing is that Reed has a lot going for him. Like the article said, he goes to the plate with a plan. A lot of guys don't do that. His next step may be to refine his hitting style a little.

 

Interestingly, Tyrone Taylor has heard some of these same critiques. I've read some scouts question his batting stance - saying it won't lend itself to developing much power. It will be interesting to see how both these guys play out.

[Outlander]

I agree with you on Rivera. If he isn't traded he will likely be playing the Hector Gomez role in a couple of years. Personally I don't include Reed on the list because he has been a top 5 Brewers prospect in my opinion for over a year. Cravy is another one who might have been overlooked because of the injury last year, if the Brewers sell off some pitching would be interesting to see him in the big leagues.

[Jenkins5]

Brooks Hall, he is healthy and a prospect again in my opinion. They need some room in Colorado for him.

[DHonks]

Has anyone noticed Austin Ross's sick numbers? http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?sid=t5015&player_id=592697#/career/R/pitching/2015/ALL

 

10.2 IP 5H 1ER 2BB 16 K

 

Tonight he struck out the side, may pitch multiple innings. It appears he's done starting, but he could be a classic example of a starter converting to reliever and his stuff gets better. Either that or he's just finally healthy.

[molitor fan]

FREE AUSTIN ROSS

 

Seriously, another 2 inning stint with 5 k's in Biloxi.

 

The guy will be 27 this summer as his injuries have set him back...he comes from a high pressure program in LSU - he can handle the jump to the majors from AA

[molitor fan]

Also want to give Cy Sneed his props...we need some of these 3rd/4th round pitchers to pan out - i think Sneed has that ability

[igor67]

Might be worth doing a pre-draft prospect survey again towards the end of May. It certainly hasn't been all sunshine and roses on the prospect front, but there have been a lot of positives and certainly looks like some movement that would be worth codifying before we try and slot in the new draft picks.

[FVBrewerFan]

Nice to see my guys continue to rake. Rivera 4th in the Southern League in OPS, Ramirez is 6th. These guys have never really been talked about as realistic MLB players, keep it up guys.

[TheCrew07]

Rivera was when he was in WI, he has more natural power than Arcia, his all or nothing approach just didn't produce meaningful results. Mehring in particular would regularly dream on Rivera's upside.

[igor67]

It certainly seemed like Yadiel started to turn a corner last year offensively and put up enough offense to see him as a major leaguer. The start to this year though makes it look like he could be a solid starter not just a bench guy.

[igor67]

Micheal Reed with another huge OBP day today. I'm really intrigued about him as a potential 4th OF. I'm curious how he compares at the plate to say Schafer. On the stat lines both are light in the power department, but Reed is hitting better at a younger age at AA than Schafer overall, and has consistently put up excellent walk numbers.

[Jenkins5]

Micheal Reed with another huge OBP day today. I'm really intrigued about him as a potential 4th OF. I'm curious how he compares at the plate to say Schafer. On the stat lines both are light in the power department, but Reed is hitting better at a younger age at AA than Schafer overall, and has consistently put up excellent walk numbers.

 

He has a great eye at the plate, hits for good average, he threw out two more runners today at home (I think his defense is a little underrated) He is not a great CF but has ability to go out there and play it if needed. His base running and stealing has improved a lot. I still just cant believe he is topped out of power yet at 21. He is a strong kid. Not sure if he just doesn't use his lower body enough or doesn't get much lift in his swing but I think the power potential is the to be a 15 HR guy.

 

I agree he is more likely a 4th OF in the future and while his defense isn't as good, he couple be a 4th OF like Parra who offers higher OBP and average.

[LouisEly]

I was pretty down on Roache coming into the year, and there is still plenty of room for caution, but with his super late birthday he is only 23

Hard to believe Roache is only 23. He's average age for high-A. He skipped rookie ball and went straight to low-A. I guess if there are two guys I want to see do really well this year it is Roache and Tucker Neuhaus. Even though 66% of late 1st round picks flame out, I'd still like to see Roache make it and make that pick worthwhile. And it goes without saying what a legit 3B prospect, especially a LH hitting one, would mean to the org.

 

For those who know Reed better than I, would he be able to CF if he wasn't on the same team as Taylor?

[TheCrew07]

For those who know Reed better than I, would he be able to CF if he wasn't on the same team as Taylor?

 

When Taylor, Haniger, and Reed shared the same OF Haniger played CF before Reed.

[JohnBriggs12]

Micheal Reed with another huge OBP day today. I'm really intrigued about him as a potential 4th OF. I'm curious how he compares at the plate to say Schafer. On the stat lines both are light in the power department, but Reed is hitting better at a younger age at AA than Schafer overall, and has consistently put up excellent walk numbers.

 

Reed does seem to project as a nice 4th OF. Would like to see him promoted to AAA at midseason.

[pogokat]

Victor roache has always reminded me of Nelson Cruz. If you jump into the waaaaaaaay back machine, you'll see a pretty similar early career stat line from Cruz--- lots of k's, some power, no avg--- in a ball. Then he just found his swing when the crew got him. Since then, he seems to keep getting better; even after his ped suspension, he hasn't seemed to run out of new ability.

 

Roache seems a lot like this... If he really is like Nelson, I sure as heck hope we don't pointlessly include him in a trade this summer like we did when we traded Carlos Lee.