Gatewood / Harrison

[igor67]

I don't know that it is enough to not demote him. The base hits have been coming for Gatewood the last couple of weeks and even a walk or two, but is it enough to say he's going to have a good enough season where you'd feel comfortable sending him to Brevard next year? I'd love to see it of course a raw 19 year old settling in to have a successful season in A ball is a big win I just don't want to over react to a couple of weeks if it might hurt him in the long run.

[homer]

Send him down. If he mashes you can always bring him back up.

[FVBrewerFan]

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.

 

Gatewood is a SS, did you mean Harrison?

[brewmann04]

Gatewood might have heard about the demotion and has light it up.

[WV Brew]

Well Allemand has said he is being sent to Helena. Presumably Gatewood is still the priority at short. We'll see if they really see Allemand as a shortstop or where they do plan to play him.

[Outlander]

Just keep Gatewood where he is at, hitting over 400 over his last 8 games. He has played his way into staying, don't hold them back if they earn it.

[brewmann04]

I tend to agree outlander

[Mass Haas]

NICE!

 

Wisconsin's Monte Harrison doubles home two runs as the Timber Rattlers beat Dayton, 8-1, on Thursday

 

[nate82]

I don't know that it is enough to not demote him. The base hits have been coming for Gatewood the last couple of weeks and even a walk or two, but is it enough to say he's going to have a good enough season where you'd feel comfortable sending him to Brevard next year? I'd love to see it of course a raw 19 year old settling in to have a successful season in A ball is a big win I just don't want to over react to a couple of weeks if it might hurt him in the long run.

 

Regardless if he stays or goes down Gatewood and Harrison also are going to repeat at Wisconsin next year.

[FVBrewerFan]

NICE!

 

Wisconsin's Monte Harrison doubles home two runs as the Timber Rattlers beat Dayton, 8-1, on Thursday

 

It is nice to see signs at least, but he also struck out 3 times. He is definitely over-matched in A ball at this point. Gatewood on the other hand, as has been said, is really hitting the ball. The Brewers have always like to keep groups of players together, so maybe that's why Gatewood will still go down to Helena with Harrison.

[Never Outhustled]

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.

 

Gatewood is a SS, did you mean Harrison?

 

No. They just look much different at the plate. When I saw Taylor it was when he was still hitting before he tailed off, and I commented that I thought he was just mature for his age and not a great prospect. That's turned out to be pretty much true. I see the exact opposite from Gatewood, he's someone to truly get excited about.

[Mass Haas]

Via the Brewers --

 

OF Monte Harrison & SS Jake Gatewood have been transferred to Helena. OF Mitch Meyer activated from the DL w/WIS; OF Jose Pena transferred to Wisconsin (from Brevard County)

 

Shows the plan was fully in place, despite Gatewood's recent hot stretch...

[MrTPlush]

I don't think a hot stretch meant a whole lot. Players always go on hot streaks and Gatewood looked pretty bad before. Let him take his hot streak to Helena.

 

Did Medeiros stay or go to Helena too?

[FVBrewerFan]

Medeiros is staying

[SRB]

I'm glad Gatewood had a bit of a hot streak, because now both Gatewood and Harrison (last year) have had glimpses of success that should help their confidence. Sending them down is clearly the right move developmentally. No need to rush anybody - ideally we will have Gatewood, Harrison, Lara, and now Clark all hitting the majors at the same time. Arcia will be the veteran by that point

[BrewersAA]

Man, wish they would have reconsidered gatewood, he was on a tear! But, maybe they think it would do harm to harrisons confidence if they only sent him down.

[clancyphile]

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.

 

Here's what I said:

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.

 

I said that if Lara's bat reached its potential, his bat could be a very huge assets. I also pointed out that if he were to be a very huge offensive presence (and used him as a 40-40 player as an example), then so-so defense, or even bad defense is something I can live with.

 

Here's a yes or no question: If a shortstop posts a .950 OPS, is 50 errors a season something you could live with? My answer is yes. What is yours?

[TURBO]

Via the Brewers --

 

OF Monte Harrison & SS Jake Gatewood have been transferred to Helena. OF Mitch Meyer activated from the DL w/WIS; OF Jose Pena transferred to Wisconsin (from Brevard County)

 

This is a good thing, both have looked pretty horrible in their time in Appleton... I hope they can get things turned around and back on track...

[TURBO]

50 errors? FIFTY? I'd say no... If you have to play a guy at SS that commits 50 errors per season, then he is just plain not a SS, and needs to be moved to a more suitable position...

 

My gosh, using that logic, if you have a guy playing out of position at SS for 50 errors, and you do the same thing at 3B, another 50 errors, anything they could have possibly added offensively would be negated.

[yfinn6]

50 errors? FIFTY? I'd say no... If you have to play a guy at SS that commits 50 errors per season, then he is just plain not a SS, and needs to be moved to a more suitable position...

 

My gosh, using that logic, if you have a guy playing out of position at SS for 50 errors, and you do the same thing at 3B, another 50 errors, anything they could have possibly added offensively would be negated.

 

It's the same poster who thinks moving Braun to 3B is still an option..

[ewitkows]

That's a shame , I was hoping to see both of them next Friday at Miller park

[clancyphile]

50 errors? FIFTY? I'd say no... If you have to play a guy at SS that commits 50 errors per season, then he is just plain not a SS, and needs to be moved to a more suitable position...

 

My gosh, using that logic, if you have a guy playing out of position at SS for 50 errors, and you do the same thing at 3B, another 50 errors, anything they could have possibly added offensively would be negated.

 

I would argue that we're not looking at the total number of errors. It is more accurate to loot at the net errors. Let's take, for instance Jean Segura's 2013 season, when he was an All-Star.

 

His OPS was .752, and he made 15 errors. I think that an OPS roughly 200 points higher (the notional .950 OPS I postulated earlier) would be worth the extra 35 errors a season (or, about one every five games).

 

And yes, yfinn6, I thought the Brewers should have kept Braun at third base. When someone has lead the league in slugging, and posts an OPS that tops 1.000, maybe they deserve some slack over any defensive shortcomings they might have.

[splitterpfj]

This is the right move for both Gatewood and Harrison - remember how young they are, and remember how raw they are.

 

When you talk about taking teenagers with upside, and you pick towards the middle of the round - you'd better have patience. Players like these are what the minor leagues were invented for - they need time and repetition, and a lot of it.

 

Gatewood has big power potential, and a swing that every scout in the world said was too long. Harrison is an electric athlete, who was a three sport star in high school, which means he never focused solely on baseball - he has to develop his, "baseball skills."

 

The Brewers knew they were pushing these two when they put them in Appleton this year, they rolled the dice, believing these two would overcome the mental/emotional beating that would come with failing while they learn. A step back to Helena was no doubt in the cards this whole time.

 

That's not a bad thing, and it's not a big deal.

 

Helena for the rest of this year, and Appleton again next year, if they look like this again then...that is when I'd get concerned.

[kalle8]

I think the Brewers before the season begun said to the guys something like "no matter what your stats look like, in june you will go to Helena". So they were mentally prepared to the "programmed demotion".

Of course in case they were doing well in Appleton they would have been told "you're to good to go to Helen" boosting their confidence.

[Jenkins5]

It's not automatic demotion, same as it was with Scooter, Tyrone Taylor, McFarland, Coulter, Denson, etc. either they hit ground running such as Tyrone and Scooter, do just enough to prove not to be too overmatched (then repeat) or the Coulter where they are just too over matched as Harrison and Gatewood were