Questions on a couple of AAA guys

[Madhawk23]

I apologize if these guys are being discussed somewhere in another thread, but I'm curious about the MLB potential for a couple of guys performing pretty well so far at AAA:

 

Garrett Cooper - I know scouts don't necessarily love the tools on this guy, but all he's done at every level is hit. And, he's doing the same so far this year at AAA. Also, perhaps starting to see a bit of an uptick in the HR numbers with 3 already this year? I'm guessing that his ceiling is probably a Lyle Overbay?

 

Paulo Espino - I know he was discussed early on when we picked him up as someone to keep an eye on. Is it possible that he could be this year's Junior Guerra story? I see that he has somewhat of a similar history as Guerra - 30 year old guy that just has never gotten much of an opportunity to show what he can do at the MLB level.

 

Should I temper my enthusiasm about both of these guys and their hot starts at AAA? Espino is especially intriguing due to the fact that he's pitching in what usually are some tough pitching conditions in the PCL and especially in CS.

[Greenleaf1]

Cooper is an interesting guy to me but now that we all of a sudden out of nowhere have a great, cheap 1B signed for the next 4 years, I'm not sure that Cooper is going to get a shot in Milwaukee. I'm assuming at some point here that they will have to DFA Aguilar too and if somehow he clears waivers then that makes things tougher for Cooper too (although that would surprise me if he cleared waivers). That said, I've definitely been keeping an eye on Cooper the last few years because, like you said, he has held his own at every level and he might just be one of those guys who manages to break through despite the non-prospect status. Could take an injury to Thames for him to get a shot though.

 

Espino is interesting to me too, as is Hiram Burgos at AAA. Always liked Burgos especially and wanted to see what he could do with a longer tryout.

 

I'd guess that if we're calling up any starters this year, the order is going to be something like:

 

1. Jorge Lopez

2. Paulo Espino

3. Hiram Burgos

4. Brandon Woodruff

5. Josh Hader

 

Woodruff/Hader seem lower on the list for service time reasons, early season struggles for Hader or just not enough AAA service time for Woodruff. Plus if you don't call up Espino/Burgos now, they'll likely get lost next year in the rebuild. Might as well see what you got and let the young guys get some more time at AAA.

 

Jorge Lopez seems ready to go though, and I wouldn't risk waiting much longer on him.

 

But back the point of your original post, I think it's going to take a unique opportunity for us to see Cooper/Espino this year (probably an injury, or maybe September callups?), but I'd like to see what they could do if given the chance.

[reillymcshane]

I apologize if these guys are being discussed somewhere in another thread, but I'm curious about the MLB potential for a couple of guys performing pretty well so far at AAA:

 

Paulo Espino - I know he was discussed early on when we picked him up as someone to keep an eye on. Is it possible that he could be this year's Junior Guerra story? I see that he has somewhat of a similar history as Guerra - 30 year old guy that just has never gotten much of an opportunity to show what he can do at the MLB level.

 

Should I temper my enthusiasm about both of these guys and their hot starts at AAA? Espino is especially intriguing due to the fact that he's pitching in what usually are some tough pitching conditions in the PCL and especially in CS.

 

Just because they are 30 doesn't mean Espino and Guerra are similar.

 

Guerra started as a catcher - so he's probably 5 or more years behind Espino in terms of development as a pitcher. That's why Guerra's emergence can be seen a real. He's not just a guy who had a nice stretch or whatever. He's actually learned how to be a pitcher.

 

Espino is just a guy. Been around for more than a decade. He's always had good control. It's not shocking that he is doing well against a lot of younger guys. You can find a bunch of guys like this every year throughout the minors - pitchers as well as hitters.

 

And he's got three games in Colorado Springs - so I'm not going to get too excited. Wait until the summer comes around and it gets hot and dry in Colorado.

 

I certainly wouldn't dismiss Espino - but I wouldn't get excited about him either. As I said, he's just a guy. If he plays well, he might find a chance to play in the big leagues. That would be great for him.

[ZBTMP]

 

Espino is interesting to me too, as is Hiram Burgos at AAA. Always liked Burgos especially and wanted to see what he could do with a longer tryout.

 

I'd guess that if we're calling up any starters this year, the order is going to be something like:

 

1. Jorge Lopez

2. Paulo Espino

3. Hiram Burgos

4. Brandon Woodruff

5. Josh Hader

 

 

The Brewers liked Wilkerson enough to pull the trigger on a trade 2 weeks before the deadline to get him. His FIP is currently 1.3. He had a nice spring. I still think he is higher than Espino and Burgos if the need arises. Maybe his demotion to AA was a sign the Brewers have soured, but I suspect it was more protecting his confidence and building some momentum.

[rwa12]

I don't think there are promotions/demotions involving AA and AAA this year. I think they are trying to put people in AAA who won't be as negatively affected by the altitude.

[reillymcshane]

I don't think there are promotions/demotions involving AA and AAA this year. I think they are trying to put people in AAA who won't be as negatively affected by the altitude.

Yes, there's a reason why we keep bringing back Dillard and Burgos and so forth. These guys aren't prospects. They are filler - and they know it. In the case of Dillard and Burgos, I think the Brewers see more long term things for them in the future. Dillard in the media realm, while I wouldn't be surprised if Burgos became a pitching coach at some point.

 

Now, they make a couple hundred grand at Colorado Springs - work with the younger guys, become mentors - and they fill a AAA slot that we don't want to push a young guy into yet (or at all).

[nate82]

I don't think there are promotions/demotions involving AA and AAA this year. I think they are trying to put people in AAA who won't be as negatively affected by the altitude.

Yes, there's a reason why we keep bringing back Dillard and Burgos and so forth. These guys aren't prospects. They are filler - and they know it. In the case of Dillard and Burgos, I think the Brewers see more long term things for them in the future. Dillard in the media realm, while I wouldn't be surprised if Burgos became a pitching coach at some point.

 

Now, they make a couple hundred grand at Colorado Springs - work with the younger guys, become mentors - and they fill a AAA slot that we don't want to push a young guy into yet (or at all).

 

Lopez is definitely not going to be put in Colorado Springs ever again why set someone up for failure? The only reason to send Lopez to AAA would be to have him work on his fastball location as his curveball is going to be absolutely useless in Colorado Springs. Jungmann is probably in the same boat as Lopez is but if Hader continues to struggle I wouldn't be surprised if Jungmann is moved back to Colorado Springs and Hader is moved back to AA.

[Greenleaf1]

 

Espino is interesting to me too, as is Hiram Burgos at AAA. Always liked Burgos especially and wanted to see what he could do with a longer tryout.

 

I'd guess that if we're calling up any starters this year, the order is going to be something like:

 

1. Jorge Lopez

2. Paulo Espino

3. Hiram Burgos

4. Brandon Woodruff

5. Josh Hader

 

 

The Brewers liked Wilkerson enough to pull the trigger on a trade 2 weeks before the deadline to get him. His FIP is currently 1.3. He had a nice spring. I still think he is higher than Espino and Burgos if the need arises. Maybe his demotion to AA was a sign the Brewers have soured, but I suspect it was more protecting his confidence and building some momentum.

 

Completely forgot about Wilkerson, but I like him and would like to see him get a big league shot somewhere, probably would put him in there with Espino/Burgos.

 

I'd really like to see some churn to the rotation if guys aren't performing, it'd be nice to see what we have with some of these borderline guys in the minors.

[reillymcshane]

I don't think there are promotions/demotions involving AA and AAA this year. I think they are trying to put people in AAA who won't be as negatively affected by the altitude.

Yes, there's a reason why we keep bringing back Dillard and Burgos and so forth. These guys aren't prospects. They are filler - and they know it. In the case of Dillard and Burgos, I think the Brewers see more long term things for them in the future. Dillard in the media realm, while I wouldn't be surprised if Burgos became a pitching coach at some point.

 

Now, they make a couple hundred grand at Colorado Springs - work with the younger guys, become mentors - and they fill a AAA slot that we don't want to push a young guy into yet (or at all).

 

Lopez is definitely not going to be put in Colorado Springs ever again why set someone up for failure? The only reason to send Lopez to AAA would be to have him work on his fastball location as his curveball is going to be absolutely useless in Colorado Springs. Jungmann is probably in the same boat as Lopez is but if Hader continues to struggle I wouldn't be surprised if Jungmann is moved back to Colorado Springs and Hader is moved back to AA.

I'm not sure what this question is about.

 

I totally agreed with you. I don't think anyone wants Lopez - or Jungmann - at Colorado Springs. That's exactly why guys like Burgos and Espino are there.

[Dean Machine]

I don't think there are promotions/demotions involving AA and AAA this year. I think they are trying to put people in AAA who won't be as negatively affected by the altitude.

Yes, there's a reason why we keep bringing back Dillard and Burgos and so forth. These guys aren't prospects. They are filler - and they know it. In the case of Dillard and Burgos, I think the Brewers see more long term things for them in the future. Dillard in the media realm, while I wouldn't be surprised if Burgos became a pitching coach at some point.

 

Now, they make a couple hundred grand at Colorado Springs - work with the younger guys, become mentors - and they fill a AAA slot that we don't want to push a young guy into yet (or at all).

 

Does Dillard really make a couple hundred grand in Colorado? I know that when you have been in the Majors you make more but does that still count when you haven't been there in 4 years and have been released and a free agent?

[reillymcshane]

I don't think there are promotions/demotions involving AA and AAA this year. I think they are trying to put people in AAA who won't be as negatively affected by the altitude.

Yes, there's a reason why we keep bringing back Dillard and Burgos and so forth. These guys aren't prospects. They are filler - and they know it. In the case of Dillard and Burgos, I think the Brewers see more long term things for them in the future. Dillard in the media realm, while I wouldn't be surprised if Burgos became a pitching coach at some point.

 

Now, they make a couple hundred grand at Colorado Springs - work with the younger guys, become mentors - and they fill a AAA slot that we don't want to push a young guy into yet (or at all).

 

Does Dillard really make a couple hundred grand in Colorado? I know that when you have been in the Majors you make more but does that still count when you haven't been there in 4 years and have been released and a free agent?

I honestly don't know. As a former major leaguer, he probably makes at least $100,000. But he can negotiate for more. Teams have been known to do that with veteran players who they want to keep in the system for whatever reason.

 

A veteran player in the minors is entitled to at least 60% of his total pay from the previous year - so a guy in the majors for a full year, would get at least 300K if he was in the minors the next year. But a guy like Dillard - as you note - is so far removed from his ML days, that doesn't really apply anymore. Same with Burgos. So the 200K number is likely high - but you never know.

 

I want to add that I've heard that the club really values Burgos' presence.

[nate82]

 

 

I'm not sure what this question is about.

 

I totally agreed with you. I don't think anyone wants Lopez - or Jungmann - at Colorado Springs. That's exactly why guys like Burgos and Espino are there.

 

Was more of a general statement should have worded that better.

[JohnBriggs12]

Cooper is turning himself into a legit prospect albeit a late blooming one. He's posted a 1.060 OPS on the road so far this year. He played a little OF last year but with this years stacked OF he's been limited to 1B. He appears to be blocked at this point, but if he keeps hitting, he should have some value. If he's not added to the 40 man after this year, he could be a goner in Rule 5.