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All Time “Why Aren’t They Calling Him Up?” Guys

jjgott

By jjgott,
in Milwaukee Brewers Talk

LouisEly Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

LouisEly

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See also several generations of college bats in the Pioneer League, including Jake Kraus hitting .399 or something nutty with Helena.

I was thinking about listing Todd Brown - he of the .447 BA in Helena in 1985 - but thought he was too far away from the majors to qualify for "Why aren't they calling him up?"

 

I know Jak (yes, he spelled it without the "e"), he grew up with and is really good friends with my undergrad college roommate. Jak was a dangerous guy to go drinking with, I'll tell you that; I remember pushing my roommate back to Jak's dorm in a shopping cart after a house party. Had a streak of bad luck (was finding his stroke at Beloit when he broke his arm) and bad decisions (got his girlfriend pregnant), and the mental distraction of the latter and being so far away from them got the best of him in Stockton. Career .435 OBP with 90 BB to 59 K. Sometimes it isn't lack of talent that is why guys don't make it.

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folly412 First Round Pick

folly412

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I remember when we had to try to find a way to get Brad Nelson up, even though he was blocked by Fielder and not an ideal fourth outfielder. He finally made the team, then went completely hitless until they just had to DFA him.
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SandyTolan Draft Eligible

SandyTolan

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Brantley was kind of a throw in player in the Sabathia trade it was up between Brantley, Lucroy and Green I believe as the last piece in the trade for Sabathia.

 

 

I think Lucroy was not on the PTBNL list - rather it was C Angel Salome, who at the time as I recall was more highly regarded than Lucroy. Unfortunately Cleveland chose Brantley. I remember Tom Haudricourt projected Brantley's ceiling as "a fourth outfielder." Hey we can't get em all right.

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LouisEly Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

LouisEly

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Steve Stanicek

LaVel Freeman

Billy Jo Robidoux

YES, YES, & YES!!!! Three sure-fire batting champions-to-be, especially Freeman!

When guys are given less than 10 total plate appearances in the majors (7 for Stanicek, 3 for Freeman), it's hard to tell if it was inflation of numbers in the minors or lack of opportunity. The real head-scratcher is that both were first round picks; Stanicek was #11 overall, Freeman #26 overall. But that was back in the day when the thought was that you needed "veterans" in order to win (you know, had to sign Jeffrey Leonard and Greg Brock to get over the hump). Guys who could steal bases such as Mike Felder (even though they had an OBP under .300) were deemed more valuable, and the Brewers had a crowded outfield with Yount, Braggs, Deer, and a young Greg Vaughn.

 

Brad Komminsk was another guy who was the #4 overall pick of the Braves who could never crack the Braves lineup (despite some monster numbers in the minors when he was 19, 20, and 21) when the Brewers traded Dion James for him, but then gave him all of 17 plate appearances to prove himself.

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Jimbo First Round Pick

Jimbo

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Angel Salome for me. He was the big catching piece in that mid 2000s wave of studs we had. In retrospect it's pretty amazing how many of those guys panned out.

 

Ah, the first name that immediately popped into my head, but you beat me to it. Saw him play one time in Nashville, I have a picture but have no way to upload it. And yes, I believe he requested a position switch to the OF despite the catcher position an easier pipeline to MLB.

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MadThinker88 Draft Eligible

MadThinker88

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Brad Komminsk was another guy who was the #4 overall pick of the Braves who could never crack the Braves lineup (despite some monster numbers in the minors when he was 19, 20, and 21) when the Brewers traded Dion James for him, but then gave him all of 17 plate appearances to prove himself.

 

The sad thing is I recall cheering for both Dion James & Brad Komminsk in a CLE uniform... :(

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MadThinker88 Draft Eligible

MadThinker88

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Brantley was kind of a throw in player in the Sabathia trade it was up between Brantley, Lucroy and Green I believe as the last piece in the trade for Sabathia.

 

 

I think Lucroy was not on the PTBNL list - rather it was C Angel Salome, who at the time as I recall was more highly regarded than Lucroy. Unfortunately Cleveland chose Brantley. I remember Tom Haudricourt projected Brantley's ceiling as "a fourth outfielder." Hey we can't get em all right.

 

Only 2 players on the PTBNL list with the CC Sabathia deal.. Brantley & (IIRC) Green.

Selection came down to Brewers making playoffs or not in 2008.

Playoffs - CLE choice (& Brantley). No Playoffs - MKE choice & the other player..

 

During the non-baseball portion of last spring, Buster Olney had a couple of interviews with his BBTN podcast. Those interviews shed some light on the CLE deals of CC Sabathia & Casey Blake (netting of Carlos Santana) during summer of '08 season.

Sabathia was nearly dealt to the Dodgers but LAD balked at adding salary..

 

Chris Antonetti - 5/11/20

Ned Colletti - 4/24/20

Doug Melvin - 4/23/20

 

All 3 shows are interesting listens

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MNBrew First Round Pick

MNBrew

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I still lie awake at night wondering how the Brewers are going to find playing time for their three first basemen: Tim Pyznarski, Joey Meyer, and Billy Jo Robidoux. Especially when they are blocked by Jim Adduci!

I loved Jim Adduci! He had a sweet swing... and the distinction of having a lower OBP in 1988 than BA due to no walks & 1 or 2 sac flies.

 

To your point, he was a bench guy and blocked no one.

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Underachiever Draft Eligible

Underachiever

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I still lie awake at night wondering how the Brewers are going to find playing time for their three first basemen: Tim Pyznarski, Joey Meyer, and Billy Jo Robidoux. Especially when they are blocked by Jim Adduci!

I loved Jim Adduci! He had a sweet swing... and the distinction of having a lower OBP in 1988 than BA due to no walks & 1 or 2 sac flies.

 

To your point, he was a bench guy and blocked no one.

I had no point. My whole post was an attempt at humor. I thought an Adduci truther might say something about that when I posted it.

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Austin Tatious Draft Eligible

Austin Tatious

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No question. I thought Billy Jo Robidoux was going to be the real deal. El Paso in AA would have some eye popping hitting stats. I was really eager for Randy Ready and he actually had a good career.

 

Back then I’d just scour through the minor league stats in the paper. That’s all I could rely on, along with the occasional reference from the brilliant Tony Kubek or even Peter Gammons, who is more annoying to me with his Boston and NE bias. I remember Kubek talking about Juan Nieves after he signed and that’s how I first heard of him.

 

I remember reading the Stockton stats in A ball and I was excited about Bill Wegman.

 

I realize I got off point because a lot of the guys I mentioned made it, but it’s harder to remember the guys who didn’t make it. A lot of the guys you mentioned were dead on. Joey Meyer et al.

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