Brewers' failure in developing talent from Latin America

[reillymcshane]

I don't think it's any secret that Milwaukee has been bad at developing talent from Latin America. Outside of Wily Peralta, who was the last good amateur free agent from Latin America that we developed? I can't think of anyone over the last 20 years (but I'm probably just forgetting).

 

Sure we'll trade for guys from Latin America, but who have we actually signed and developed into a good player?

 

How critical is Latin American (and international) talent? I looked at last year's all star game and here's the breakdown on how these players came into the league:

 

Drafted in the 1st or 2nd round - 28 players

Drafted in the 3rd round or later - 20 players

Signed as amatuer free agents from Latin America - 21 players

International free agent signings (guys like Darvish and Abreu) - 7 players

 

You wonder why Milwaukee has struggled at times and you can see just by looking at this list. Since 2005 (Braun), we haven't drafted any all stars in the first couple of rounds - the most common way to get all-stars. And then the second most common way to develop an all-star is signing amateur talent from Latin American. We simply haven't done that.

 

Has this hurt Milwaukee in other ways? Again, I know we've traded for Latin American born players, and signed them as free agents. But has the lack of presence in these markets made Milwaukee not as attractive a place for Hispanic players? I was curious what other people thought.

 

The good thing is that the team seems to have renewed interest in the Latin American market. They've shelled out some big dollars for such players over the last few years, including Gilbert Lara.

 

As we talk about how we can make this franchise a winner, I think that a concentrated effort in the Latin American market is critical. There's a lot of talent being developed that we have been missing out on for far too long. Better drafting (also critical) is just one part of the puzzle - we have to be a player in this market as well.

[3and2Fastball]

I agree. As I've posted elsewhere, I'd much prefer the Brewers to hold off on ever signing another free agent over 30 years old and only very rarely extend their own players, and instead spend all that money saved on Cuban & Dominican Republic players

[jerichoholicninja]

Yes, this franchise has been poor in developing talent from anywhere, but these Latin American kids are just 16 years old...literally kids. Some of them may have peaked physically (and mentally) at 16. There is just so much that can change in a person, for good and bad, in the time they go from 16-22 that I can't fault an organization for not having success with those type of players.

 

I'd be interested to see a study on which type of players have the higher success rate: those that are drafted after college or high school or IFA that are signed as teenagers.

[pacopete4]

Maybe it has hurt us but it's so hard to say because we are not exactly sure which players we missed out on. I for one feel as though we do need to make it a priority to establish ourselves in this market. There are a lot of really good players that can help Milwaukee win ball games in this market so we do need to use all the resources possible to find these players.

[JohnBriggs12]

Alcides Escobar says hello. Martin Maldonado says hi.

 

Current Latin American players originally signed by Brewers among the top Brewer prospects: Arcia, Lara, Jorge Lopez, Yadiel Rivera, Miguel Diaz.

 

Arcia might be the most exciting prospect to come along in the Brewer system since Braun.

[bork]

Lopez and Rivera were draft picks. Not sure those are the kind of guys we're talking about here.

[reillymcshane]

Lopez and Rivera were draft picks. Not sure those are the kind of guys we're talking about here.

Correct. It was specifically amateur free agents.

[reillymcshane]

Alcides Escobar says hello. Martin Maldonado says hi.

 

Current Latin American players originally signed by Brewers among the top Brewer prospects: Arcia, Lara, Jorge Lopez, Yadiel Rivera, Miguel Diaz.

 

Arcia might be the most exciting prospect to come along in the Brewer system since Braun.

 

Maldonado was not signed by the Brewers as an amateur. He was originally in the Angels organization (a draft pick).

 

Forgot about Escobar. We're up to two guys over the last 20 years. Anyone else?

 

As noted, Lopez was a 2nd round pick, not an amateur free agent. Rivera was a 9th round pick. The rest of the players are part of a much-needed reinvestment in the international market, but they are just prospects at this point. And that's the exact point - we have to continue this investment if we want to succeed.

[bjkrautk]

The Brewers have had a minor league academy in Latin America....is it still open?

(Needless to say, it was never a huge success.)

[splitterpfj]

For years, the Brewers didn't pay much attention down there, but in the last few years, they've put a lot more effort into international players.

 

You'll notice, they gave more than three million dollars to a young man last year....what was, is not what is.