System Ranking by position

[CheezWizHed]

Since we are waiting on the traditional BF25 ranking, I thought I take a shot at ranking the system based on position to highlight our depth and holes in our system.

 

System Overview: What a change our system has endured in the last 1.5 years. It certainly has much more potential than we have for a long time. However, not all things are rosy and there are certain areas that need improvement.

 

Starting pitching is very deep, but peaks out at #2-#3 starters. Hader might breakthrough that, but most scouts doubt it. We are seeing a decent pipeline of RPs, which is a big help. If we aren't spending millions on the BP, we can use it on more important positions.

 

In the infield, the SS/2B spots are deep with impact players (probably second only to CF), but we are very short at 3B and 1B. 3B has shored up this year with the draft and moving Gatewood over, but they are all far away from the MLB level. Cooper is making some noise the last couple years, but his limited power probably keeps him at a fringe MLB starter. The rest of 1B in the system is quite a void. Catching went from a black hole two years ago to contain some interesting players now. No can't-miss MLB players, but several have a good chance with Nottingham leading the way. At worst, moving to 1B if he can't handle the defensive duties.

 

The OF is stacked pretty deep with CF leading the way as the deepest part of the system. 5 legit CF possibilities right there. Corner OF isn't as deep in the traditional power bat types. But certainly some guys making noise there too.

 

[pre]RHSP: Lots of RH starter depth, but not much TOR potential

1 Jorge Lopez AAA I believe that his AAA numbers are the Colorado air sapping his curveball.

2 Cody Ponce A+ Nice bounce-back from arm soreness

3 Marcos Diplan A+ Toss up with Peralta here.

4 Freddy Peralta A+ First Lind trade return starting to climb, but I think Herrera will come soon behind.

5 B. Woodruff AA Love his size/stuff combo. Pitching is starting to come together now

6 Adrian Houser AA Second half of last year is looking like an outlier.

But if he can harness his control, his size/stuff combo is very nice.

7 Miguel Diaz A ERA is ok, but peripheral numbers are nice in first shot at A-ball.

Nice step-up from R- last year, too.

8 Devin Williams A The periennial tease. Similar results as Diaz. Still only 21 in his 42nd year at A ball

(so it seems).

9 Corbin Burnes A Why is he ahead of Braden Webb? I just like his draft profile better. No real reason

10 Braden Webb TBD I can't get that horrible picture from the draft forum out of my head…

11 Jordan Yamamoto A Surprise and solid performance by the second Hawaiian we drafted in 2014

 

LHSP: Pretty empty the last few years, Josh's emergence and drafting Medeiros/Kirby improve the outlook

1 Josh Hader AAA Uhmm… Wow. Possibly the only TOR potential pitcher.

Quite a turn-around in the last year for this young man.

2 Kodi Medeiros A+ Still good stuff, but a ways to go on location.

3 Wei-Chung Wang AA Mediocre stuff with good results

4 Nathan Kirby IR He needs to come back fully healthy and ready to move.

Will be 23 next year and in A ball most likely.

5 Brent Suter AAA Probably out of the BP in the MLB, but he deserves a shot at this point.

 

RH BP: Mostly ignored guys on the prospect lists, but very important guys to keep Milwaukee from spending

crazy money on the BP.

1 D. Magnifico AAA Name is better than his stuff at this point, but pretty good stuff too. Not a big

K guy, but consistently low WHIP and BAA. I'm ignoring most numbers at AAA this year.

2 Nate Griep(er) A A great nickname (now called Twitter handles), but a great pitcher too

3 Jacob Barnes MLB I think he is still a rookie status

4 Jon Olczak A+ Big,Big K rate (Career 12.2K/9IP and 2.7BB/9IP) and still going nicely while skipping to A+

from Helena last year.

5 Conor Harber A Another big K rate guy (12k/9IP) with decent control (3BB/9IP).

Pretty much all I pay attention to for the BP guys

6 Tristan Archer AA Former starter whose Ks and BB benefitted greatly from going to the BP.

 

LH BP: Nothing much to see here. Please disperse.

1 Mitch Lambson AAA MiLB Rule 5 draft pick that seems to be doing well this year, though limited innings.

2 Drake Owenby A 8.7k/9IP and 2.8BB/9IP. You draft 20 low profile college pitchers and eventually you

find BP targets.

3 Zach Hirsch A+ An older lefty (26) with good control (1.8BB/9IP) and low WHIP (1.10).

4 Clint Terry A+ Another older guy (24) at A+ that has consistently moved up with decent results.

 

1B/DH: Really no serious MLB talent here. Guys that might contribute, but on the whole, a whole bag of not much.

1 Garrett Cooper AAA Really came on the last couple years, but very limited power

2 Dustin Demuth A+ Again, doing better, but already pretty old for his level and no power

3 Mitch Ghelfi A Came out of "nowhere" as a lower draft pick. Sounds like his catching duties will be

pretty limited in the future.

4 David Denson A Pretty much has become a DH. That hits only 750 OPS…

5 Tyrone Perry R- Finally playing again this year, but a high risk of eating himself out of house and home.

 

Middle INF: The position(s) that have some of our highest talent levels even with Jake Gatewood moving to 3B.

1 Orlando Arcia AAA Pretty unexpected to see Orlando step back in a more offensive environment. So a

bit of shine coming off the penny. I'll wait to see how he responds in the second half

before I worry too much.

2 Isan Diaz A I have to admit that these two are REALLY close in my eyes. Certainly the difference in

levels and defense still gives Orlando the advantage over the lefty Isan. But after scuffling

early, Isan is making last year's numbers look legit.

3 Gilbert Lara R+ The bat and swing are still there but the numbers are not following.

4 Franly Mallen R+ Franly is another bonus baby from DSL and is acting like what we expected from Lara.

5 J. Betancourt AA He or Wendell Rijo. Seems like similar players, but one needs to step up with

the bat and neither one is nor has.

 

3B: Probably the system's weakest point last year, they certainly bumped up a bit in talent. But still short on depth.

1 Lucas Erceg R+ Erceg is doing exactly what he should: Dominating Rookie+ as a college player.

Early eyeball test (other's reports, not mine) sound very promising on offense and defense.

2 Jake Gatewood A He is learning a new position (3B) and struggling at O and D, but still has very high

potential. At least he is walking a bit now.

3 Chad McClanahan R- Big, tall 6'5" player that we "stole" with an overslot bonus signing.

Possible 3B or 1B going forward.

 

Corner OF: Traditional power LF/RFs are pretty sparse in the system, but its possible all three MLB positions

might be filled in future by CFers (Phillips, Clark, Ray)

1 Demi Orimoloye R+ After blowing Rookie- out of the water, he is struggling a bit at Rookie+, but we

knew he was raw also. And he is walking this year (a little bit more anyway: 1BB/14.8PA)

2 Victor Roache AA Repeating AA, but having some success (about the same as Phillips and the same as

he had last year). He has been remarkably consistent with a low AVE, decent OBP, and

decent SLG for a career OPS of .742 (.762, .697, .773, and .749 by season)

3 Clint Coulter A+ Clint has hit a wall at A+. I personally think they should give him a shot at AA to

jump start him. If he can't, he will drop off the list quickly as he is repeating A+

4 Malik Collymore A+ Similar numbers at A+ as Clint, but his first shot at A+ and skipped A ball to get there.

5 Kyle Wren AAA Very low profile trade, but he has played well every year for us. Nothing special, but

should make a decent 4th/5th OFer.

6 Michael Reed AAA Really missing an opportunity this year with all the shuffling at the MLB club, but

Michael is scuffling at AAA.

7 Troy Stokes A Michael Reed at A ball. Short guy (5'8") that is limited to LF/RF.

 

Center Field: Probably the deepest position in the minors. Taylor used to be one of our best MiLB players and

now he is 5th at his position…

1 Maverick Phillips AA Neck and neck with Clark and Ray, but is a higher level and more likely to stay in CF.

2 Corey Ray A+ Clark or Ray. Ray or Clark. Very similar players, but Ray probably has more power and is

more advanced.

3 Trent Clark A Wouldn't surprise me to see a Phillips, Ray, Clark OF in 3 years at the MLB club.

4 Monte Harrison A (IR) Highest potential of any CF. Also lowest floor. Needs to stay healthy to really

find out what is going on here.

5 Tyrone Taylor AA Clinging to prospect status. He is still pretty young, so has a chance to pull out of

the funk. And recently started hitting better.

Catcher: Certainly an improved situation from a couple years ago. A few guys that are legit MLB players, but

nothing I would consider "can't miss" players either.

1 J. Nottingham AA The heir to the Lucroy throne, but work to do on offense and defense.

2 Mario Feliciano R- A Demi-O like start in ARZ (941 OPS with zero walks)

3 Manny Pina AAA Surprise depth for a throw in. I wonder if he could even be a decent stop-gap starter

for the next two years.

4 Max McDowell A Strong defense and surprising offense. No power right now, but good contact skills.

5 Dustin Houle A+ Has some promise and barely played at A ball before getting hurt for a full year.

But is struggling at A+

6 Payton Henry R- Reminds me of Nottingham a lot (even drafted in the same round out of HS).

7 Carlos Leal IR Started catching late after trying to pitch. Is an older player to begin with and is out for

the year. But was a pleasant surprise at A-ball last year.[/pre]

[sfl2hnq17]

Don't forget Jake Drossner as a LHSP. Definitely a project, but going into last year's draft his scouting report said three average pitches topping out in the mid-90s which is great for a LHP. I know the command/control has a ways to good but I'm intrigued. Also, take a look at his starter/reliever splits.

[paul253]

Love that centerfield depth.

[BrewersAA]

I think Taylor Williams is the forgotten man a little bit, his stuff was electric before the TJ surgery. also Jon Perrin has really impressed.

[CheezWizHed]

Yeah, I considered both of them, but already had a sizeable RHSP list. Perrin could be there to but age works against him. Williams would be up in the middle of the list if he hadn't gotten hurt. I'll wait see how his recovery goes before putting him back in.

 

Possibly my biggest pass was on Angel Ventura...

[Austin Tatious]

Great job. Thanks for taking the time. I enjoyed the read.

[Outlander]

They have a long way to go in rebuilding outfield depth when Victor Roache is the #2 corner outfielder. Really lacking in corner infield as well.

[CheezWizHed]

If we end up with a Phillips/Ray/Clark OF and they are all hitting 800+ OPS, I won't sweat the lack of traditional LF/RF. That defense should be very good to boot.

 

But after giving up on Vic, I can see where he has some potential yet. Its a slim chance he ends up a starting OFer at the MLB level, but he has been remarkably consistent over the past few years. Corner OF isn't the weakest spot in the system, but its down there...

 

Malik is one to watch in the next couple years. He probably has a better chance being a good starter than Vic or Clint, but a lower floor too, IMO.

[CheezWizHed]

Pretty interesting. I went 58 players deep in that depth chart and admit to leaving out some guys that could be there.

 

No way could you do that 3 years ago...

[And That]

Great post, CWH. Thanks.

 

I haven't given up on Coulter at all. He'll be hitting AA next year as a 23 year old, which is a little older than you'd like for a premium prospect, but he's still a young guy. It's difficult to say how much the FSL is holding him down. We'll find out soon enough.

 

I do disagree with the Stokes being "limited to LF/RF" thing. He's played corners for the most part thus far because he's been on the same team as Harrison and Clark. The Brewers understandably have given priority to developing them in center over Stokes. I haven't seen much of Stokes defensively, but my understanding is that he can handle CF just fine, albeit with a below average arm. He's a better defender in CF than Michael Reed.

[JohnBriggs12]

The corner OF/1B situation is dire though I do think Cooper and Demuth need to be promoted like a month ago. Cooper does have 22 doubles and is slugging a respectable .435 which is easily the best at Biloxi and better than Roache.

 

Dearth of corner OF begs the question what was the rush dealing Khris Davis who's currently tied for 7th in AL in HR and was controllable through 2019? Especially since Nottingham isn't looking like a "can't miss" guy a Derby is just a body at this point. Davis will likely have more value this winter than he had last.

[MilwaukeesBest]

The corner OF/1B situation is dire though I do think Cooper and Demuth need to be promoted like a month ago. Cooper does have 22 doubles and is slugging a respectable .435 which is easily the best at Biloxi and better than Roache.

 

Dearth of corner OF begs the question what was the rush dealing Khris Davis who's currently tied for 7th in AL in HR and was controllable through 2019? Especially since Nottingham isn't looking like a "can't miss" guy a Derby is just a body at this point. Davis will likely have more value this winter than he had last.

 

Can't predict injuries, where would Santana have played? The consensus all along was to get a true CF, so with that you had Braun, Santana, and Davis who were all true corner OF's.

[CheezWizHed]

Great post, CWH. Thanks.

 

I haven't given up on Coulter at all. He'll be hitting AA next year as a 23 year old, which is a little older than you'd like for a premium prospect, but he's still a young guy. It's difficult to say how much the FSL is holding him down. We'll find out soon enough.

 

I do disagree with the Stokes being "limited to LF/RF" thing. He's played corners for the most part thus far because he's been on the same team as Harrison and Clark. The Brewers understandably have given priority to developing them in center over Stokes. I haven't seen much of Stokes defensively, but my understanding is that he can handle CF just fine, albeit with a below average arm. He's a better defender in CF than Michael Reed.

 

I agree on Coulter but worry if he can't escape A+. What would a third year there mean?

 

For Stokes, I only can reference reports and where he plays. He does play some in CF, but not a premium enough to others there. Seems a lot like Reed, but I'm no scout...