Gatewood / Harrison

[ewitkows]

Sounds like the plan is to send him to rookie ball once they start in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping the Brewers wait till the last minute to make that decision. After starting out very slow he seems to be coming around at the plate.

April .179/.233/.286

May .204/.264/.265

June .313/.353/.375

 

Yes it's a small sample size but it would be really cool if he could finish the season in low A and next year probably start in low A and finish in high A.

 

It's really too bad Monte looks totally lost at the plate

[TheCrew07]

Both Monte and Jake were pulling off the ball terribly most of the season, but Gatewood has been much better of late. Regardless though I'm pretty sure it's a done deal that both guys go back to Helena.

 

My issue with Monte is he's so visibly upset with himself all the time, he hasn't dealt with failure all that well, hopefully he'll improve in that regard as he matures.

[rarjake]

People being way too hard on Harrison, struggles like this were pretty much expected, his first full year focusing on baseball in A ball. I think going to rookie deal will be good for him. Theres still a shot later in the season he goes back to A ball, and next season who knows where he goes after Arizona Fall League.

[FVBrewerFan]

Struggles were expected, not a 50% k rate. I would have liked to see him at least make contact more often with all his athletic ability. As for Gatewood, yea his eye has improved as the season has gone on. It hasn't fully shown up in production yet, but a good first step. Expecting him to be in A+ by the end of next year is probably asking too much. I would be thrilled if he played a whole season next year in Appleton with decent numbers.

[narwhalattack]

Struggles were expected, not a 50% k rate. I would have liked to see him at least make contact more often with all his athletic ability. As for Gatewood, yea his eye has improved as the season has gone on. It hasn't fully shown up in production yet, but a good first step. Expecting him to be in A+ by the end of next year is probably asking too much. I would be thrilled if he played a whole season next year in Appleton with decent numbers.

 

Well, Monte didn't commit to playing baseball full-time until last year, so of course he was going to be raw. Combine that with the fact that he's facing pitchers who are MUCH more advanced that what he encountered in high school and you have a guy who looks lost at the plate. I'm not too concerned about Monte right now- we just have to be patient.

[SRB]

My issue with Monte is he's so visibly upset with himself all the time, he hasn't dealt with failure all that well, hopefully he'll improve in that regard as he matures.

 

There's struggling, and then there's just getting embarrassed. I imagine the Brewers would not have sent either player to Wisconsin if they knew how bad they would be, because the psychological impact cannot be good for their development.

[MrTPlush]

They both has been very concerning so far. Harrison is brutal this year, but he held his own last year in rookie ball. Gatewood on the other hand has been quite bad at his rookie and A ball stops. Give them some time...things not promising so far though.

[clancyphile]

They both has been very concerning so far. Harrison is brutal this year, but he held his own last year in rookie ball. Gatewood on the other hand has been quite bad at his rookie and A ball stops. Give them some time...things not promising so far though.

 

Harrison, I'm willing to give some time to... but I'll be honest, I'm thinking the Brewers might be better served to sell Gatewood when he is relatively high. He's still young enough for upside, but right now, it may be better to just commit to Lara.

[ewitkows]

Lara is all of 17 and has yet to play any baseball in our system. I think your putting the cart before the horse there.

[FVBrewerFan]

Yea, it's not time to give up anyone, but not time to anoint anyone either. Lara is a kid you don't clear a path for by any means. All of this proves athletic ability doesn't necessarily equal success on the diamond, especially overnight. It's why the draft never gets me excited, it's just impossible to know who will develop, and how long it will take.

[Brewcrew1219]

There is no reason to give up on anyone. This is a 3-4 year process for both Gatewood and Lara. There are no guarantees that either of them make it. But there is no rule that says we need to commit to one or the other. Keep them both, let them both develop. Its insane to suggest that we should give up on Gatewood 1 year after drafting him. He just turned 19 years old!

[igor67]

Both players are raw high schoolers if they are successful in high level rookie ball in their first full season that is a big win.

[MrTPlush]

Lara is all of 17 and has yet to play any baseball in our system. I think your putting the cart before the horse there.

 

Not to mention he doesn't even have a position. Scouts say he is NOT a SS...period. Then a lot of scouts say 3B is wishful thinking too.

[clancyphile]

Lara is all of 17 and has yet to play any baseball in our system. I think your putting the cart before the horse there.

 

Not to mention he doesn't even have a position. Scouts say he is NOT a SS...period. Then a lot of scouts say 3B is wishful thinking too.

 

If his bat is good enough, then they can shoehorn him in somewhere.

[jerichoholicninja]

Lara is all of 17 and has yet to play any baseball in our system. I think your putting the cart before the horse there.

 

Not to mention he doesn't even have a position. Scouts say he is NOT a SS...period. Then a lot of scouts say 3B is wishful thinking too.

 

If his bat is good enough, then they can shoehorn him in somewhere.

 

That's been the Brewers MO for over a decade now. I'd like to see them develop a player that can play even passable infield defense instead of just a hitter that they shove in a corner OF spot.

[FVBrewerFan]

Worked pretty well for Ryan Braun didn't it? Besides, the Brewers have developed SS. Escobar, now Rivera and Arcia. Would be nice to have 5 tool guys at every position, but that's not very realistic.

[clancyphile]

If his bat is good enough, then they can shoehorn him in somewhere.

 

That's been the Brewers MO for over a decade now. I'd like to see them develop a player that can play even passable infield defense instead of just a hitter that they shove in a corner OF spot.

 

If the guy hits enough, why not leave him at a position. Going back to Ryan Braun, when the Brewers have an elite hitter - I'm willing to live with some defensive... shortcomings to get/keep a more powerful bat in the lineup.

 

If Brewerfan.net existed back in 1988, I would have posted constantly, urging the Brewers trade or dump Jim Gantner at second, and go with either a Molitor-Sheffield-Sveum or a Sveum-Sheffield-Molitor combo at third, short, and second. Why? Because I wanted Sveum's bat in there, and I figured Sheffield could hit far better than Gantner ever could.

[Jenkins5]

Kind of a shame now that Gatewood is back, starting to put it together and build his confidence through his performance that he will be sent back down. Harrison desperately needs to. He is so over matched and needs to regain some confidence

[jerichoholicninja]

Worked pretty well for Ryan Braun didn't it? Besides, the Brewers have developed SS. Escobar, now Rivera and Arcia. Would be nice to have 5 tool guys at every position, but that's not very realistic.

 

Works fine when you do it every now and then but when you do it as much as the Brewers do it gives you a glut of OF and no one of quality anywhere else. Hart, Coulter, Braun, LaPorta, Lawrie to an extent were all just shoved somewhere on a corner because they could hit but you can't field a team of all DH's. And I read it all the time about players on the minors forum that so and so player is playing 2B/3B/SS right now but will probably be moved to the OF because they can't handle their current position.

 

Many here are envisioning Lara to put up prime year Ryan Braun numbers but let's be honest, a low .800 OPS, 20ish HR's is probably best case scenario for him. At SS those are great numbers, but he apparently can't handle SS. At 3B those are still pretty good numbers. But now there's talk he can't handle 3B and will be moved to the OF. A corner OF with those numbers is adequate but nothing too exciting. It's Khris Davis, with probably better defense. Let's just let these kids fail at premium positions before we start shoving them in corner outfield spots.

[clancyphile]

Worked pretty well for Ryan Braun didn't it? Besides, the Brewers have developed SS. Escobar, now Rivera and Arcia. Would be nice to have 5 tool guys at every position, but that's not very realistic.

 

Works fine when you do it every now and then but when you do it as much as the Brewers do it gives you a glut of OF and no one of quality anywhere else. Hart, Coulter, Braun, LaPorta, Lawrie to an extent were all just shoved somewhere on a corner because they could hit but you can't field a team of all DH's. And I read it all the time about players on the minors forum that so and so player is playing 2B/3B/SS right now but will probably be moved to the OF because they can't handle their current position.

 

Many here are envisioning Lara to put up prime year Ryan Braun numbers but let's be honest, a low .800 OPS, 20ish HR's is probably best case scenario for him. At SS those are great numbers, but he apparently can't handle SS. At 3B those are still pretty good numbers. But now there's talk he can't handle 3B and will be moved to the OF. A corner OF with those numbers is adequate but nothing too exciting. It's Khris Davis, with probably better defense. Let's just let these kids fail at premium positions before we start shoving them in corner outfield spots.

 

Suppose Lara puts up an .850 or .900 OPS and 25-30 homers? Wouldn't it make sense to try to keep him at third or shortstop and accept some shortfalls defensively to get that bat in the lineup? Maybe the Brewers should have kept Clint Coulter behind the plate (or move him back), especially as he seems to be doing decently in Brevard County.

 

If you get high-ceiling hitters, then get them on the field, even if their defense is so-so. Score enough runs, and it won't matter.

[FVBrewerFan]

What's the alternative? Draft guys with great defense and hope they can eventually hit? Those guys have a much higher flame-out rate than the other way around. "The bat plays" is a saying for a reason. Sometimes those guys develop into decent or even really good glove men, sometimes they don't. But if they're going to rake, at least they serve a purpose. There is no purpose for a SS or 2B that hits .180. You talk about the corners, but you do realize that's 4 out of your 8 position players, so what's wrong with filling those positions with big bats/limited defense?

 

There's a lot of guys from the recent draft all the way up to AAA who can play 2B,SS,CF. I hear what you're saying, but frankly that was more the 80s and 90s Brewers than what we have today.

 

As for Lara, I don't think anyone is envisioning 1.000+ OPS. In fact, I think most of us aren't envisioning anything, other than raw potential. Again, he is 17 years old! To worry about position at this point is crazy. I'm sure he will get a look at SS/3B but if it becomes clear he doesn't project as an MLB SS, why waste time?

[TheCrew07]

My comments regarding Harrison were about the numerous times the cameras have caught him ripping off his own jewelry in frustration, breaking his bat by slamming it on the ground on the way to 1st, repeatedly hitting himself in the head, and so on. He's simply been way too hard on himself, he's making it worse than it has to be.

 

He's swinging through pitches because he's been pulling himself into the 3rd base dugout on the overwhelming majority of his swings, I doubt he can even see the ball all the way through his swing. There's no balance, he's not being quiet and hitting through the ball, in truth he's not doing hardly anything fundamentally correct enough to give himself a consistent chance to even make contact. He was better in April than he was in May, he's just been getting worse, and time off isn't helping. I have a hard time believing these are physical issues, they are mental issues that are manifesting themselves physically.

 

If he puts it together he'll probably in the mid 20s for a SO%, but his current SO% is not indicative of his true talent, even at this stage of his career. He even had horrible stretch in the field where was falling down and misplaying balls, and that's not him either. I honestly believe Monte just needs to let go, relax, and let his talent shine through. He's way past pressing and trying too hard, he's at a level I haven't seen much, and I don't see much changing for him until he gets out of his own head. Coulter's 19 year old season was pretty much the same but with the added injury issues, at least Monte is healthy and hopefully he can come back with a different perspective in 2016 or find it down in Helena and start ascending.

 

I've very happy Gatewood continues to play well as his time winds down in WI, I'd look for him to be much better in Helena than he was in AZ last year. He's hitting .294 over his last 10 and has put together perhaps the best stretch of his young career.

[clancyphile]

What's the alternative? Draft guys with great defense and hope they can eventually hit? Those guys have a much higher flame-out rate than the other way around. "The bat plays" is a saying for a reason. Sometimes those guys develop into decent or even really good glove men, sometimes they don't. But if they're going to rake, at least they serve a purpose. There is no purpose for a SS or 2B that hits .180. You talk about the corners, but you do realize that's 4 out of your 8 position players, so what's wrong with filling those positions with big bats/limited defense?

 

There's a lot of guys from the recent draft all the way up to AAA who can play 2B,SS,CF. I hear what you're saying, but frankly that was more the 80s and 90s Brewers than what we have today.

 

As for Lara, I don't think anyone is envisioning 1.000+ OPS. In fact, I think most of us aren't envisioning anything, other than raw potential. Again, he is 17 years old! To worry about position at this point is crazy. I'm sure he will get a look at SS/3B but if it becomes clear he doesn't project as an MLB SS, why waste time?

 

With enough reps, he can be a so-so defensive shortstop, and his bat gets in the lineup. If Lara's bat matches the potential, that could be a very sweet package. If he is a 40-40 player, I can live with 40-50 errors at shortstop. With Ryan Braun, I've long been on record that his ability to post a .950 or so OPS would have been worth dealing with 40+ errors a year at third base.

[FVBrewerFan]

I'm sorry, but talking about a 17 year old being a 40/40 player is a little over the top. Do you know how many players had EITHER 40 HR or SB last year? Much less both? And we have NO idea if he can be a so-so MLB SS yet. Let's wait for him to play a game or two of professional baseball before we project him as an MLB SS who can hit 40 HRs.

[Never Outhustled]

Gatewood is now hitting 343 over his last 10. Plans can change, he'll stay in Wisconsin.

 

I've seen all the top prospects the last 15 years. Gatewood is special, awestrikingly gifted. I like him so much more than Tyrone Taylor.