2015-16 Minor League Miscellaneous Offseason Updates

[Mass Haas]

Miller Park Prospects -- 2015 Brewers Organizational Leaders

[Mass Haas]

As Chris Mehring points out, great job by Jay Grusznski of the Rattlers' staff here --

 

Where did they play? Rattler Alumni in Foreign & Independent Leagues – 2015

 

I monitor the independent transaction wires often (it was a lot more fun when the Brewers actually scouted the indy's), and Jay's work illustrates why we don't provide as-they-happen updates on Brewers' alumni -- there is always movement in this regard.

 

I can tell you many of the names listed in that blog post subsequently lost their jobs over the summer, the latest release being Cameron Garfield.

[Mass Haas]

Rattler Radio Podcast -- Enjoy over a lunch hour or your work-time commute; nice job, Chris and Kyle...

[Jenkins5]

So I am greatly excited about this photo (linked below)! We may need Josh (Agent39) to confirm, but apparently, Brandon Diaz is back working at one of his original positions he played coming out of high school....2B! With a logjam at lower levels in OF and not a whole lot at 2B, Brandon Diaz can raise his stock a lot more by making the switch.

 

http://fourseamimages.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/10-13-2015-Instrux-Milwaukee-vs-Los-Angeles-NL/G00005EcHYFye3Fo/I0000TM5qB7s1mw4/C0000ursdyef6uOQ

 

Also in this Instructional League are some first looks at new stateside players such as

 

Jose Sibrian

http://fourseamimages.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/10-13-2015-Instrux-Milwaukee-vs-Los-Angeles-NL/G00005EcHYFye3Fo/I00008ARe3TsmDHk/C0000ursdyef6uOQ

 

Nattino Diplan

http://fourseamimages.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/10-13-2015-Instrux-Milwaukee-vs-Los-Angeles-NL/G00005EcHYFye3Fo/I0000RSlrxs585DQ/C0000ursdyef6uOQ

 

Ignacio Otano

http://fourseamimages.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/10-13-2015-Instrux-Milwaukee-vs-Los-Angeles-NL/G00005EcHYFye3Fo/I00001kIDuHqiIX4/C0000ursdyef6uOQ

 

 

As well as no shortage of Demi Orimoloye

http://fourseamimages.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/10-13-2015-Instrux-Milwaukee-vs-Los-Angeles-NL/G00005EcHYFye3Fo/I0000EtjKxCRO7v4/C0000ursdyef6uOQ

 

Or Clint Coulter

http://fourseamimages.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/10-13-2015-Instrux-Milwaukee-vs-Los-Angeles-NL/G00005EcHYFye3Fo/I0000VibH7EA_ELw/C0000ursdyef6uOQ

[Mass Haas]

Thanks for the find and post, YG1.

 

Mike Janes actually took 254 photos from that one game. If you don't mind working around the many Dodger photos as well, there are several more Brewer photos from that day available.

 

You can refine the search functionality within each link to see photos of a specific player, such as Gilbert Lara, who you will see four times in the Padres game and nine times in the Indians game.

 

Thank you, Mike Janes, for your efforts! As Mike mentions on his site, please refer to him and "Four Seam Images" when noting these photos.

 

254 photos from the Brewers - Dodgers game of October 13th.

 

***

 

152 photos from the Brewers - Padres game of October 6th.

 

***

 

370 photos from the Brewers - Indians game of October 8th

[Mass Haas]

Fresh clock

Chris McCosky, The Detroit News

 

Sept. 10 was a tough day for Tigers roving hitting coach Bruce Fields.

 

His son Daniel Fields, just three months after he made his brief major league debut, was released by the Tigers and claimed off waivers by the Brewers.

 

"It's there," Bruce said of his son's talent. "That's why he was drafted, because he had that speed-power combination. I just didn't come to fruition in the timeframe we were looking for. It happens. He kind of ran out of time."

 

But, as Bruce said, every team has their own clock. The Brewers were more than willing to give Daniel Fields an extension.

 

"They like him," Bruce said. "All it takes is one team to like you."

 

The Brewers brought Daniel Fields to its Instructional League and sent him home early — he proved he didn't need to be there.

 

"He came out and hit every day, 300 swings a day," Bruce said. "They just went through his swing, worked on it, worked on, worked on it and they liked what they saw. Liked it so much they said, 'You can go home.'"

[Mass Haas]

Kyle Lobner's Frosty Microbrews: Welcome to Instructional League

By Kyle Lobner / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

[Mass Haas]

Thanks for the find and post, YG1.

 

Mike Janes actually took 254 photos from that one game. If you don't mind working around the many Dodger photos as well, there are several more Brewer photos from that day available.

 

You can refine the search functionality within each link to see photos of a specific player, such as Gilbert Lara, who you will see four times in the Padres game and nine times in the Indians game.

 

Thank you, Mike Janes, for your efforts! As Mike mentions on his site, please refer to him and "Four Seam Images" when noting these photos.

 

254 photos from the Brewers - Dodgers game of October 13th.

 

***

 

152 photos from the Brewers - Padres game of October 6th.

 

***

 

370 photos from the Brewers - Indians game of October 8th

 

UPDATED: Here's every single photo from Brewers 2015 Instructional Camp, sorted by individual player!

 

The elusive Nattino "I'm not Marcos" Diplan photos

 

LHP Jake Drossner

 

RHP Kaleb Earls

 

RHP Conor Harber

 

RHP Karsen Lindell

 

RHP Jon Olczak

 

LHP Drake Owenby

 

LHP Quintin Torres-Costa

 

RHP Angel Ventura

 

C Mitch Ghelfi

 

C Dustin Houle

 

C Max McDowell

 

C Milan Post

 

C Jose Sibrian

 

INF Jose Cuas

 

1B David Denson

 

INF Jake Gatewood

 

INF George Iskenderian

 

SS Gilbert Lara

 

IF/OF Sthervin Matos

 

SS Ignacio Otano

 

1B Tyrone Perry

 

C/3B Beau Wallace

 

OF Carlos Belonis

 

OF Trent Clark

 

OF Malik Collymore

 

OF Omar Cotto

 

OF Clint Coulter

 

OF/2B Brandon Diaz

 

OF Yeraldy Martinez

 

OF Demi Orimoloye

 

OF Troy Stokes

[Jenkins5]

Man I really like Tyrone as a prospect but I hope the Brewers are able to get him down to a healthy weight. Looking at those pictures, he is much bigger than Prince was at a similar age. Perrys career may rely on him being able to drop weight. He looks more like Mike Daniels than a ball player right now. He went from listed at 260 to 300 over the summer.

[WV Brew]

Via The Brewer Nation twitter feed:

 

[Mass Haas]

Miller Park Prospects-- Minor League Mailbag: 11/9/15

[DHonks]

YoungGeezy, he'll always be compared to Prince in terms of size...hopefully also production. I remember early in his MLB career, it was determined that Prince was the heaviest player under 6' in MLB history. And he kept trying to eat CC Sabathia

[CheezWizHed]

CC Sabathia and his mini-me. Good times!

[Jenkins5]

YoungGeezy, he'll always be compared to Prince in terms of size...hopefully also production. I remember early in his MLB career, it was determined that Prince was the heaviest player under 6' in MLB history. And he kept trying to eat CC Sabathia

 

Prince was big but at Tyrone's age he wasn't that big. He actually was pretty well built and solid. Then as he got older he began to put on the bad weight.

 

http://www.milb.com/images/2009/03/18/UEav28Z7.jpg

http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000LyfZVh7t1jo/s/600/600/Fielder-Prince-83003-13-Janes.jpg

http://cdn.c.photoshelter.com/img-get/I0000gLHI_yxedBo/s/500/Fielder-Prince-83003-1-Janes.jpg

 

I really like Perry but he appears his playing career is in danger if he can't get a handle on his weight. 19 years old and hasn't even played High Rookie ball yet and is 300 lbs. If you are not proactive in taking your weight serious, sustainability will be very tough. Fielder has proved to be exception and not the rule. Really hoping they get him on a program in his first off-season and get him back on track. It will only make him that much better of a prospect. Could be in Wisconsin next year to start season.

[Mass Haas]

Hopefully passing along 19th birthday wishes will help $800,000 bonus bay Dominican OF Nicolas Pierre bounce back in 2016.

 

After slugging an impressive .401 as a 17-year-old in the DSL in 2014, we probably didn't touch enough on how rough his 40-game 2015 Maryvale stint was (.200/.227/.234 - .461 OPS).

[Mass Haas]

Former farmhand catcher & current Maryvale Rookie Brewers manager Nestor Corredor is managing a team in Columbia this winter. #ObscureNote

[Mass Haas]

Instagram VIDEO via @DornLovan: RHP's Devin Williams and Jon Perrin literally getting the jump on offseason workouts

[Mass Haas]

Here is a (loosely) translated version of a feature article that ran in Puerto Rico today --

 

More life to the arm of Hiram Burgos

The Puerto Rican pitcher is looking to return to the majors after recovering fully from his injured right shoulder

 

http://rec-end.gfrcdn.net/images/tn/0/104/2000/1100/900/447/2016/01/11/201601207_ph_tusdeportes_baseball_jlcc_01.jpg

 

Hiram Burgos has shown signs of recovery this winter with the Indians of Mayaguez. (Photo by Joseph L. Cruz Candelaria)

 

In 2013, RHP Hiram Burgos jumped to the front pages of the country for his brilliant performance at the World Baseball Classic.

 

From the mound, Burgos was an important piece for Puerto Rico with a 1-0 record and stingy 0.69 ERA in 13 innings.

 

Before the international contest, Burgos was hardly recognized by sports fans of the island.

 

His name continued to play in the major league season, when it debuted that year with the Milwaukee Brewers. Burgos could not ask for more. It was a dream year for him.

 

But then came 2014 and the story was changing. An injury to his right shoulder changed his route. He underwent surgery in July and completed only 18 innings for the Triple-A affiliate of Milwaukee. Its upward step was affected.

 

Burgos met four months rehabilitation and returned to the mound last year.

 

He threw first with Mayagüez in winter ball and then in a rehabbing arrangement with Milwaukee took an easy climb in the minors, appearing in the levels of Class A, Double A and Triple A. The righty completed 149.1 innings, going 8-8.

 

Burgos believes that now is the time to appear again in the headlines. And he looks at 2016 as the time to establish himself in the majors with the Brewers with a healthier shoulder.

 

He signed a minor league contract with an invitation to big league camp.

 

"This year, I'm going to put it on paper. I will return to play in the majors and in the WBC 2017. I would say that I feel twice as good about how I felt in the majors and the Classic in 2013. Right now I am in the best shape of my life ", Burgos said yesterday from winter ball.

 

This winter, Burgos took the decision to work with his physical trainer Joshua Lionel.

 

He said he has changed the routine of exercise and eating habits to see an evolution in his physique. He said that a month ago he weighed 218 pounds and he now weighs 205 pounds.

 

Better condition

 

"I made changes in training and nutrition. They are things that I am adapting to my lifestyle. I'm eating better and resting more. I'm having a better work ethic that is positively affecting my life inside and outside the park. And this season with Mayagüez I have seen improvement," Burgos said.

 

"Before after pitching, I could be suffering shoulder and back (discomfort) for three or four days. Right now, I no longer feel anything the second day. It is a big difference. I feel very healthy,"added Burgos, 28.

 

In the regular winter season, Burgos looked dominant as a starter and reliever.

 

He compiled a 2-0 record with an ERA of 1.76 in 15.1 innings. He also struck out 19. And in the 'round robin' Burgos shone in his first start by completing five hitless innings with six strikeouts in an 11-1 victory over Caguas.

 

At this time, according to the pitcher, he worked on the mechanics with the experienced Mayaguez trainer Rafy Chavez.

 

"I'm learning how to use my body to throw the ball. Rafy is a very experienced coach and has helped me a lot, "Burgos said.

 

Seeing Burgos launch this campaign with the Indians, Chavez has no doubt that he is an MLB pitcher.

 

"I've seen that there is more life in his arm. It has a good physical condition and the ability to throw. Also his repertoire is more complete, because it can cross its launch in both corners of the plate. You can easily put him back in the majors," said Chavez.

 

Burgos compiled a 1-2 record and 6.44 ERA in his debut with the Brewers in 2013. He completed 29.1 innings and struck out 18.

 

He will fight for a place

 

The pitching of the Brewers does not look so dominant. So there are good options for that part of the Burgos pitching at the start of the season. His compatriot Jorge Lopez is also fighting for a spot.

 

Starters Matt Garza, Jimmy Nelson, Wily Peralta and Taylor Jungmann will be back. The veteran Kyle Lohse will not return in 2016.

 

Burgos knows his options well.

 

"The team is in a rebuilding and for that reason, I did not think twice to sign. I only stayed two days as a free agent after the World Series. They offered me a good contract and I know there's a good chance. But we must go to the fields to put up big numbers. I am in very good spirit this year, "concluded Burgos, selected in the sixth round of 2009 amateur draft by the Brewers.

[Mass Haas]

Latest Rattler Radio podcast with Kyle Lobner

[Mass Haas]

If you think the Link Report has been littered with losses the past four seasons, you'd be right (chart).

[Mass Haas]

For those heading to the back fields of Maryvale -- via @BrewersPD:

 

Brewers minor league spring report dates: Winter Session 3 - Feb 13, Early camp - Feb 24, Pitchers/catchers - Mar 5, Position players - Mar 11

[Mass Haas]

Latest Miller Park Prospects mailbag

[Jenkins5]

Couldn't find old Josh Hader thread but milb pipeline listed Josh Hader #6 lefty in minors. Lopez missed top 10 narrowly he is between 11-13 according to Callis & Mayo

[fondybrewfan]

Brewers should really have at least 4 guys in the Top 100 with Arcia, Phillips, Hader, and Lopez. Maybe Coulter, Williams, or Clark could sneak in at the back. Clark will rise in ranking rapidly but he did just only play in Arizona last year. Of course Brewers also have a whole mess of guys with the talent to be Top 100 with good seasons. Medeiros, Lara, Harrison, Gatewood, etc. I am sure I am missing others too

[Jenkins5]

I think we have no less than 5.

 

Arcia Top 10

Phillips Top 30

Lopez & Hader 40-70 range

Clark 75-100 (high pick who really produced....national guys eat that up.)

 

Glad TH did our prospect list & couldn't even fit the 6th best lefty in baseball (milb) in our top 10. Much prefer when professional scouts over beat writers make list.

 

Medeiros, Lara, Harrison, Gatewood, Williams, Demi O, easily could be on next years with good years

 

Coulter is a guy who would be a 90-100 guy if he wasn't in FSL last year. Leaving him there all season really dragged him down