2015-16 Minor League Miscellaneous Offseason Updates

[Mass Haas]

2015 Instructional League Roster

 

(You should be able to increase your internet browser's zoom capacity to increase the reading size by clicking on the text there.)

 

Still 16 until next month, Venezuelan catcher Jose Cibrian makes an unofficial Brewers "debut" on this list.

[And That]

Few quick thoughts...

 

Nelson Hernandez and Nattino Diplan from the DSL pitching staff, instead of Carlos Luna and/or Rodrigo Benoit. Interesting.

 

Beau Wallace is not a catcher again. Also must have played under an assumed name for the DSL club.

 

They're apparently sticking with Malik Collymore as an outfielder. Sort of disappointing.

 

Jon Olczak is not 19.

[Jenkins5]

I wouldn't be surprised if Jose Cibrian starts out in Arizona. He is their top signing and I would t be shocked if they are very high on him. Overall he may have only been #29 but Venevuela is a much less scouted & their top prospects don't garner same type of hype. Brewers tend to find some gems from there! No one was raging Arcia as anything, he signed, broke out at16/17 in DSL as a real prospect.

[CheezWizHed]

They're apparently sticking with Malik Collymore as an outfielder. Sort of disappointing.

 

As opposed to what position? Didn't he already fail at 2B and moved to OF?

[And That]

He was moved to the outfield this season, but I have no idea if he failed at second. He definitely has the tools to play second (or third), so I find it puzzling that he was just plunked down in LF. He's too athletic to be moved that far down the defensive spectrum.

[CheezWizHed]

Oh, I thought I had read he was drafted at 2B, but moved to OF in his first season. But I'm relying on my memory, so its only 50/50, but only a 10% chance of that.

[Jenkins5]

Drafted as SS, moved to 2nd, then OF. Wish he would move back to 2b due to the amount of OFs they have in that group. Much easier to seperate at 2b

[Mass Haas]

Wasn't aware of a specific injury (or illness) after his final August 22nd appearance, but Timber Rattler RHP and instructional league participant Jon Perrin (pretty 1.07 rookie season WHIP) tweeted --

 

Back on the mound for the first time in over a month. Feels good to be healthy again!

[Mass Haas]

Originally posted July 23rd --

 

The Brewers' Player Development Staff indicated (tweet) that they had signed non-drafted OF Jay Feliciano and assigned him to the Dominican Summer League team. We should see a debut for him shortly.

 

Feliciano is from Arecibo, Puerto Rico, so the placement makes sense in that regard.

 

Feliciano will turn 20 years old September 28th. He's a right-handed bat and listed at 6'2", 210. This past spring marked his sophomore season at Southeastern Community College in West Burlington, Iowa.

 

As of June, Cumberland University in Tennessee hailed him as a prized recruit for 2016.

 

by Tommy Bryan, Wilson Post

 

JuCo first team All-America OF --

 

 

John Lovretta photo, The Hawk Eye

 

It's safe to say the rebuilding effort has started in earnest at Cumberland University.

 

Coming off a 20-31 season in 2015, CU's Hall of Fame Coach Woody Hunt is hitting the recruiting trail with a vengeance.

 

His first big signee for the 2016 season is Jay Feliciano, a power hitting outfielder from Southeastern Community College in West Burlington, Iowa.

 

A first team All-Amerian for the BlackHawks, Feliciano was also the Iowa Community College Athletic Association Player of the Year and helped lead SECC to a record of 42-18 and a berth in the NJCAA Region XI Tournament.

 

As a sophomore at SECC, he sported a .381 batting average, with 18 doubles, 79 runs batted in and 23 homers.

 

His 23 homers and 79 RBI were good for second and first in the nation respectively.

 

As a college freshman, the native of Arecibo, Puerto Rico set a school record with 31 doubles.

 

"We signed Jay back in November," Coach Hunt said, "I was holding my breath through the (MLB) draft. He told us he would come if he didn't get drafted, and he's a man of his word.

 

"Jay will be a tremendous addition to our roster. We've got a few more we hope to nail down soon."

 

***

 

Oh well, oops on that "man of his word" line.

 

Feliciano is going to profile as a corner outfielder, a blurb in this Perfect Game article mentions his 94 MPH throw from the outfield.

 

Here are some additional photos.

 

The initial signing took place on July 15th.

 

This extensive workout video is a little over a year and a half old.

 

 

And this is quite the video production, morphs from photos to video as it goes along...

 

 

The reason this gets re-posted today is that today is Feliciano's 20th birthday, and this tweeted quote is interesting:

 

#Brewers Director of Latin America Scouting Manny Batista compared recently-signed SCC outfielder Jay Feliciano to Carlos Lee.

 

Well, that would be nice, wouldn't it?

 

Feliciano's first 20 games actually live up to that reputation (stats).

[Mass Haas]

MiLB.com's Jonathan Mayo at Brewers instructs -- 2015 draftee Orimoloye focused on fundamentals at Brewers' instructs

 

Comments on Jake Gatewood as well...

[Mass Haas]

On Twitter at @CaliKusiolek

 

Chris Kusiolek -- Improving myself in player evaluation every day. Take refuge in the Cal League and Arizona backfields. Loves Venezuelans

 

Recent tweets on:

 

LHP Kodi Medeiros --

 

(9/25) Kodi Mederios with a loose arm; fairly easy with rotation and just lower than 3/4 slot. Consistent hip rotation and soft strike; good torque

 

Mederios shown some run to the fastball in his pen; life is a little pedestrian. SL rotation weak at times. CH with slight fade; firm

 

RHP Nash Walters --

 

(9/25) Nash Walters w/ slight hip rotation; high 3/4 with moderate stab and wrap. Strike very firm, disrupting release; un his head little too much

 

Walters struggling; has some hop though inconsistent. CB with decent spin; whack and inconsistent extension. CH extension bad; cuts off hips

 

(9/29) Nash Walters 88-90 T92 early; 85-88 late. Front-of-center, armside/up. Initiated drive late; overthrew. No synchronicity, finesse; thrower

 

Moderately deep stab for Walters; arm fairly loose, possesses size; projection type. Flat planed; CH 82-84, flashed sink to couple. CB 69-77

 

OF Trent Clark --

 

(9/25) Trent Clark mixing around all drills and pens; personable with all teammates, acting as an extension of the coaching staff. Good makeup

 

Trent Clark with a slight transfer; consistent lower half timing with zone coverage. Above avg bat speed, good extension

 

(9/29) Trent Clark w/ delayed turn following slight transfer; halts kinesthetic flow. Easy, fluid swing w/ above avg bat speed; works well to zone

 

IF Jake Gatewood --

 

(9/25) Jake Gatewood with some awkward actions at 3B; glove moves, can stab at balls; hands little rough. First step decent; range ok

 

Jake Gatewood with well above avg raw; length and extension prior to entering zone. Avg bat speed; Gatewood w/ open front

 

(9/29) Jake Gatewood with decent hands and reactions from set in field; choppy steps and hurried reactions often when ranging. + arm.

 

Gatewood ++ RH raw in cage; avg bat speed; length, elongates prior to zone and can slash in there. Open front, minimal barrel control

 

SS Gilbert Lara --

 

(9/25) Gilbert Lara struggling to slow game down at SS; rushing transfer, stabbing; staying upright, trying to flash. + arm; effort, rarely shows

 

Gilbert Lara around average bat speed from the summer; flashes higher. Slight toe tap transfer; back half off time, balance subpar. + raw

 

(9/29) Gilbert Lara taking fielding at 3B today; more than enough range for the position with fluid strides. Good hands, showed + arm.

 

Lara visibly fatigued, half assing it majority of the time. Flashes above avg bat speed in cage; lofted under couple balls, flashed ++ raw

 

OF Demi Orimoloye --

 

(9/25) Demi Orimoloye with well above avg raw; length and extension prior to entering zone. Avg bat speed

 

(9/26) Demi Orimoloye shows avg bat speed; slower at times. Good selection. Above avg run w/ large frame; has timing, barrel control. Decent in CF

 

(9/27) Link to Vine of BP

 

(9/29) Continue to love Demi Orimoloye's upside. Some two strike passivity; mature barrel control, selection. Above avg run, arm, glove; easy + raw

 

1B Tyrone Perry --

 

(9/25) Tyrone Perry with exaggerated lift through zone; powerful hips and can get on plane relatively fast. ++ raw; decent barrel control

 

RHP Miguel Diaz --

 

(9/26) Miguel Diaz flashes some pen potential; deep stab and short wrap, action rigid. Front-of-center from set, short hip rotation and firm strike

 

Diaz 93-95 today; just lower than 3/4; crossbody. FB flashes late life and wiggle; downhill in bursts. CH 87-89 w/ solid wiggle, CB 78-80

 

RHP Devin Williams --

 

(9/26) Devin Williams with a deep stab in the action; has a pause, lacks fluidity. Back half inconsistent; drops before initiating at times

 

Williams w/ decent downhill feel from high 3/4 for FB, 88-91. CH flashed + at 82-84, decent feel and rotation to SL slurve. 6-6-5 potential

 

RHP Jon Olczak --

 

(9/27) Couple other pen types - Jon Olczak with a fairly rigid action; recoils and drops at times. 92-93 FB, 82-83 CH w/ slight fade, 74-77 CB

 

LHP Quintin Torres-Costa --

 

(9/27) Quintin Torres-Costa has a slight pause in the action, though fairly loose; lots of rotation. Lefty 88-90, 70-73 CB, 77-78 frisbee SL, 78 CH

 

OF Yeraldy Martinez --

 

(9/29) Yeraldy Martinez w/ below avg bat speed; abrupt, violent firing of hips; inverted front. Selling out for raw, works to zone decently w/ wrap

 

RHP Cody Ponce --

 

(9/29) Cody Ponce is a dude. 97-98 early today; good explosive hop and flashed cut action at times; sat 93-96. Extremely short arm path and wrap

 

Ponce w/ powerful turn; good strike; stress on the arm. Flashed + CH w/ hard sink action 82-85, + potential SL 86-90, short vertical depth

 

Link to Vine -- Cody Ponce vs. Yaisel Puig. 98 with slight cut action

 

RHP Nate Griep --

 

(9/29) Nate Griep 93-94; orients on top of ball from 3/4. Rigid; tight, violent wrap. 73-77 CB, good rotation; flash above avg. 79 CH, split action

 

RHP Mike Petersen --

 

(9/29) Mike Petersen 94-96 for Brewers; big rotation through upper half w/ loose arm, shallow stab; drop and drive type. Firm 88 CH, soft 72-74 CB

[Mass Haas]

No Manatees (Brewers) qualified for Baseball America's Top 20 in the Florida State League.

 

Chat

 

Not Jaypers (Wisconsin): John, is presume the highest ranked Brewer was Coulter. Did anyone else receive mention for the list? Thanks.

 

John Manuel: Actually, I'd say Jorge Ortega. His command was incredible; almost slid him into the back of the list. He's a three-pitch guy, potential four-pitch guy, fastball peaks around 93. That gave me pause because of the spike in velocity in the game these days; can an RHP make the majors without a plus fastball? Hard to say right now.

 

Clint Coulter and Victor Roache also got some attention. Both got off to great starts; Coulter is very raw, at the plate and defensively, but he still just missed. Roache has so much swing & miss, I just couldn't quite include him. But Matt Eddy and I were debating, just how different are Roache and Adam Brett Walker, who gets more attention and has hit more minor league home runs? Ultimately there may not be a huge difference.

[Jenkins5]

Pretty disappointing to hear about how bad Lara's attitude and effort is all the time. Not great traits to have in game of baseball. Hopefully he grows out of that soon but a 17/18 year old with a 3.2 million bank account is hard to gage

[Mass Haas]

The Brewers released a list of players to the beat guys, players who will be playing winter ball this offseason:

 

Barrios, Clark, Rogers, Suter, Burgos, Centeno, Herrera, Maldonado, Pena, Peralta, Perez, Santana, Sardinas

 

All but Burgos are currently on the 40-man roster or are under team control, with the exception of Hiram Burgos, so this is a sign he will b ere-signed to another minor league deal for 2016, as Adam McCalvy surmised on Twitter.

[JohnBriggs12]

The Brewers released a list of players to the beat guys, players who will be playing winter ball this offseason:

 

Ashley, Barrios, Clark, Rogers, Suter, Burgos, Centeno, Herrera, Maldonado, Pena, Peralta, Perez, Santana, Sardinas

 

All but Burgos are currently on the 40-man roster or are under team control, with the exception of Hiram Burgos, so this is a sign he will b ere-signed to another minor league deal for 2016, as Adam McCalvy surmised on Twitter.

 

I'd be surprised if Ashley, Clark and Centeno hold on to their 40 man spots after the season, but I'm sure in the case of the catchers that they'll want to re-up with them on minor league deals anyway. Not so sure that they have that much interest in retaining Clark.

[CheezWizHed]

I'll be a little surprised if Burgos doesn't get a sniff from someone else. Seems like a guy that a team would take a flyer on and take him in Rule 5. Not many guys out there that could legitimately compete for a SP job out of Rule 5. He isn't flashy and doesn't even reach Fiers' FB levels, but its hard to argue with his results.

[Mass Haas]

I'll be a little surprised if Burgos doesn't get a sniff from someone else. Seems like a guy that a team would take a flyer on and take him in Rule 5.

 

Burgos will not be Milwaukee property unless he re-signs a minor league deal with them. He will be a minor league free agent. Yes, the Brewers may likely re-sign him which would make him Rule 5 eligible, but then why wouldn't a team just make a very solid AAA money offer to him during minor league free agency this fall?

[DHonks]

He may feel it's important to secure a minor league deal with the Brewers, while big league clubs won't be actively shopping for a fringe 5th starter yet.

[Jenkins5]

Adam McCalvy ‏@AdamMcCalvy · 2h2 hours ago

Everyone who comes from #Brewers instrux can't help but rave about Demi Orimoloye. Two most common words: "Raw" and "Wow."

[CheezWizHed]

Burgos will not be Milwaukee property unless he re-signs a minor league deal with them. He will be a minor league free agent. Yes, the Brewers may likely re-sign him which would make him Rule 5 eligible, but then why wouldn't a team just make a very solid AAA money offer to him during minor league free agency this fall?

 

Certainly they could... but your previous quote sounded like he was close to signing with the Brewers again.

[clancyphile]

Pretty disappointing to hear about how bad Lara's attitude and effort is all the time. Not great traits to have in game of baseball. Hopefully he grows out of that soon but a 17/18 year old with a 3.2 million bank account is hard to gage

 

"Visibly fatigued" seems to be an explanation to me.

 

Seems like he needs conditioning work.

[Mass Haas]

We never did learn what specifically sidelined Wisconsin 1B Alan Sharkey as of August 22nd, but he's rehabbing a lower body injury in this photo.

[Mass Haas]

Baseball America From Instructional League -- Gatewood, Hader, Houser, all an excellent and appreciated read

[Mass Haas]

Posted July 21st --

 

Prior info via Baseball America and linked previously in our draft forum --

 

The Brewers have agreed to sign Venezuelan catcher Jose Sibrian, the No. 29 international prospect for July 2. His bonus will be $550,000.

 

Sibrian, a 16-year-old righthanded hitter, is 6 feet, 175 pounds and hasn’t been catching for long but has already earned praise for his defense and plus arm.

 

http://cdn.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Jose-Sibrian-2015-abr-300x225.gif

 

Stumbled upon this Instagram photo (not the one above, click link) via Brewers Venezuelan amateur scout Pete Hidalgo of Sibrian, apparently taken at instructionals (another Brewer in the background)

[Mass Haas]

Baseball America: Reviewing The Draft Classes

 

Lots of Demi, a little Trent, and a high ranking for the Crew