Following Inman and Garrison -- Latest: Garrison a big league New York Yankee!

[tigerbrew]

Baseball America has listed the Top 10 Padre Prospects:

 

 

1.	Chase Headley, 3b
2.	Matt Antonelli, 2b
3.	Matt Latos, rhp
4.	Wade LeBlanc, lhp
5.	Drew Miller, rhp
6.	Steve Garrison, lhp
7.	Will Inman, rhp
8.	Cedric Hunter, of
9.	Nick Schmidt, lhp
10.	Kyle Blanks, 1b

When bullpen stalwart Scott Linebrink started to slip, Towers shrewdly traded him to the Brewers for lefty Steve Garrison and righty Will Inman, both of whom cracked this Top 10 list, and lefty Joe Thatcher, who had a 1.29 ERA in 22 big league games.

 

Sigh...

Ouch, this really hurts to read.

[hauser42]

Baseball America has listed the Top 10 Padre Prospects:

 

 

1.	Chase Headley, 3b
2.	Matt Antonelli, 2b
3.	Matt Latos, rhp
4.	Wade LeBlanc, lhp
5.	Drew Miller, rhp
6.	Steve Garrison, lhp
7.	Will Inman, rhp
8.	Cedric Hunter, of
9.	Nick Schmidt, lhp
10.	Kyle Blanks, 1b

When bullpen stalwart Scott Linebrink started to slip, Towers shrewdly traded him to the Brewers for lefty Steve Garrison and righty Will Inman, both of whom cracked this Top 10 list, and lefty Joe Thatcher, who had a 1.29 ERA in 22 big league games.

 

Sigh...

Ouch, this really hurts to read.

 

This should not hurt to read. Brewers tried to make a run at the playoffs. Teams have to give up prospects to get something in return. Brewer culture has been so far away from this that I feel people have over reacted. Even if one of these guys turns into a CY Young winner team needed to do something.

[Ralph Wiggum]

This should not hurt to read. Brewers tried to make a run at the playoffs. Teams have to give up prospects to get something in return. Brewer culture has been so far away from this that I feel people have over reacted. Even if one of these guys turns into a CY Young winner team needed to do something.

Agree 100% with you. Sure, Thatcher, Garrison and Inman were nice prospects, but that's all they were...prospects. Thatcher had been extremely inconsistent, and was old enough to not really be considered a prospect anymore, anyway. Personally, I think Mitch Stetter probably has a higher ceiling than Thatcher, and how many LOOGY-type pitchers can appear on one team?

 

Garrison and Inman weren't going to see Miller Park until 2009 at the absolute earliest. I didn't have a problem at all with the trade. Like hauser said, the Brewers took a chance, and saw Linebrink as the late-inning reliever that would put them over the top. How was Doug Melvin to know that his offense and the rest of the relief corps would go completely in the tank?

 

Sometimes late-season trades work, sometimes they don't. While the Brewers didn't make the playoffs, Linebrink pitched pretty well. It definitely wasn't his fault that the Brewers didn't make the postseason.

[jackalope02ca]

Every day that goes by makes this look like a good solid trade from the Brewers standpoint. We didn't give up any blue chippers to make a run for it. What we gave up was 3 solid prospects which many on this board myself included had ranked higher than they really are in reality. In reality the Padres will be lucky if one of them has an impact at the major league level. I don't mean play a few games but play a full year and stick around. Being ranked in the top 10 on any team is no slouch. But you do have to give to get.

[Mass Haas]

Thatcher had been extremely inconsistent.

Yeah, those 192.2 minor league innings allowing only 151 hits, with a Sheets-like 250-to-47 K-to-BB ratio were just maddeningly inconsistent. Say what?

[Nader Raider Tim]

Yes it is sad to lose Garrison, Inman, and Thatcher. I was shocked how amazing Garrison was down the stretch after the trade.

 

The trade was a risk, but a calculated risk. The Brewers were in contention. They had a need they filled the need with the best available player. Let's not forget that Linebrink also has brought in 2 additional high draft picks. Let's at least wait until we see who Jack Z, the Executive of the Year, is able to draft. It is reasonable to assume that one of those 2 picks becomes a prospect of equal or greater status than that of Inman or Garrison.

[gregmag]

The trade was terrible. We gave up serious value -- future MLB value or present trade value, take your pick -- for what many of us correctly predicted would be a negligible return. The fact that you're a contender doesn't mean you should trade just any prospects for just any veteran; it means you've got even more reason than a noncontender to use all of your resources wisely. I'm all for using pitching prospects as trade bait, but (a) I think DM undervalued these particular pitchers, and (b) 20 innings of 2007 model Scott Linebrink ain't squat. For DM, whom I generally respect a whole lot, this was a rare bonehead desperation trade, and its failure was the least surprising thing to happen to the Brewers all year.

 

Greg.

[And That]

The trade was terrible.

And it wasn't just terrible because of what we gave up. I can name numerous people on the site, including myself and Greg, who saw Linebrink's declining numbers and saw that we were getting at best a nominal arm for the pen. I would have gladly traded those guys for 25 innings of Joe Nathan or whatever, but Scott Linebrink? Terrible. Heck, Thatcher himself might have come close to out-producing Linebrink down the stretch. This trade was maddening the day it happened, and it all the more maddening months later. Quite easily the worst trade of Melvin's tenure. He was clearly reaching, and the Brewers will be paying the price. Hopefully those two picks amount to something.

 

[wvpowerblkwel]

I'm not all that familiar with the Brewers past history as I didn't start following them until the put the WV Power here, but it appears to me that this just continual grasp for arms outside the system, none of whom in my mind are that "piece that fills the gap" could potentially mortgage the future, for what in my mind is certainly at best, and attempt to improve today (see Linebrink example above). I watched Thatcher pitch here, and in my mind watching him, he had the most "big league ready" tools, and physical stature of the pitchers I have seen come through here. Couple that with Inman and Garrison, I about died. When I heard they acquired Torres the other day for "two minor leaguers", I had to hold my breath till I could get home and find out who they were! I'm just not what to think about some of this stuff. Roberts could be a solid guy some day, but that one didn't excite me too much, but I worry about them doing something goofy like turning loose of someone like Jeffress or Angel to keep trying to find that square peg for the round hole!

 

Upon further review and the Gagne signing, I think I've gotten over the shock of possibly losing the minor league talent, and think that they now have what they need at the back end of the bulllpen. I guess even my opinion can be changed...of course I think $10 mill for Gagne sure is a bunch of money, but hell, your signing 19 yr olds like Jeffress to 1.5 mill plus signing bonuses, so I guess the $10 mill can still be a deal!

[Mass Haas]

It was such an intriguing trade, we'll try and follow Will Inman and Steve Garrison with AA San Antonio this season. We won't focus so much on Joe Thatcher here, who happened to have an ugly outing Friday night.

 

Inman with five shutout innings for the win Friday night

[Mass Haas]

In his 2008 debut, Steve Garrison cruised until the 5th

[TooLiveBrew]

Hey, I want to share something I encountered over at the MadFriars.com forum. This is a quote from site co-founder John Conniff, paraphrasing Padres director of scouting (iirc that's his title now) Grady Fuson:

 

 

"This spring, according to Fuson, [[inman's]] velocity picked up quite a bit [[from the upper 80s to]] where he was sitting at 92 to 93 pretty consistently [it's in the opening part of the San Antono preview]. Fuson believed the reason was he was simply fatigued because the Brewers had him throwing too much last year."

 

 

The double-brackets are my inclusions for clarity. I have to say that seeing this made me both upset and curious. I'd love to hear some others weigh in on this. I can't post a link to this excerpt, bc it's in the 'subscriber' forum of their site, but I know they won't mind me sharing this.

[Mass Haas]

Will Inman a man on a mission so far (you see, he plays for the San Antonio Missions, ah well, check his line...)

[bretsky07]

Just for my curiousity, where do you guys think Inman, Garrison, and Thatcher would have been on the the current Power 50?

[pogokat]

i'd have garrison in the 4-7 range and inman in the 7-10 range...they would definitely be top ten guys..

 

thatch i believe is too old

[homer]

And it wasn't just terrible because of what we gave up. I can name numerous people on the site, including myself and Greg, who saw Linebrink's declining numbers and saw that we were getting at best a nominal arm for the pen. I would have gladly traded those guys for 25 innings of Joe Nathan or whatever, but Scott Linebrink?

We should find that trade thread and archive it for a few years.

[Tbadder]

Can we please wait to archive this thread until we see who the Brewers pick up with the draft choices. If one of them turn out to be a Yovanni comparable (isn't that kinda where we drafted him, where the extra picks are) then the trade will well and truly be one-sided.

[TooLiveBrew]

Isn't it "choice", singular, unfortunately? Yes, this would mean we've found another reason to dislike the ChiSux... even for sucking.

[Mass Haas]

Link

 

Garrison holds Naturals hitless

By Eric Justic / Special to MLB.com

The San Diego Padres' trade of Scott Linebrink is looking better every day.

Steve Garrison pitched seven hitless innings Saturday as the San Antonio Missions shut down the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, 3-1, at Arvest Ballpark.

The 21-year-old New Jersey native, who came over from the Brewers with fellow left-hander Will Inman and Joe Thatcher last July, faced just one batter over the minimum. "I want to show the Padres that they did a good thing by trading for me," Garrison said. "It's good that we are all doing well. Joe Thatcher's pitching in the Majors and Inman's Inman. I'm just trying to keep up with the other two guys."

He did just that, throwing 56 of 80 pitches for strikes and overwhelming a lineup that ranked next-to-last in the Texas League with a .229 batting average. The Naturals have just one hit against left-handed pitchers.

"The Naturals are really an aggressive team," Garrison said. "With an aggressive team, if you get ahead, you really get them thinking and can keep them off-balance at bit. I was fortunate enough to hit my spots. I just kept getting ahead and built from there."

Garrison (1-1) was replaced by Edwin Moreno, who struck out Geraldo Valentin but gave up a bloop single to Marc Maddox that fell in front of left fielder Josh Alley. After Brian McFall walked, pinch-hitter Kila Ka'aihue gave the Missions a scare by flying out to the warning track in left field.

"He was mixing speeds well, working both sides of the plate," Maddox said. "He had three pitches working tonight. You just have to tip your hat on a night when the other pitcher beats you like that."

Inman, considered the centerpiece of last summer's trade, is 2-0 and has not allowed a run in 10 innings. But Garrison combined to go 10-7 for Class A Advanced Lake Elsinore and Brevard County last season. He's also helped by being around Inman, his roommate and closest friend on the team.

The closest the Naturals came to a hit off Garrison came in the seventh, when second baseman Ray Chang snagged Irving Falu's grounder up the middle and threw him out.

"Ray Chang made a helluva play," Garrison said. "It was late in the game, It was a hard ground up the middle. I just missed it, but he came out of nowhere and just barehanded it."

Daniel Cortes tossed four shutout innings and the Naturals matched Garrison until the sixth, when Chang doubled with two outs, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on Sean Kazmar's single to center field.

Kazmar singled in another run in the eighth and Kyle Blanks lifted a sacrifice fly in the ninth to make it 3-0.

Falu spoiled San Antonio's shutout bid with an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.

Reliever Paul Mildren (0-2) took the loss after allowing one run on two hits and four walks in two innings. He struck out one.

 

MiLB.com Photo by Shawn E. Davis

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2008/04/12/mOHl76zq.jpg

 

[Mass Haas]

To think Steve Garrison was a last-minute "throw-in" on this deal. Kudos, Kevin Towers on this one.

 

That draft pick form the White Sox had better be Gallardo-like.

[Never Outhustled]

TooLive Brew Wrote:

Isn't it "choice", singular, unfortunately? Yes,

 

Mass Haas Wrote:

That draft pick form the White Sox had better be Gallardo-like.

 

No wonder why you two guys rip this deal, you think we only got 1 comp pick, when actually we received 2, both much higher than where Inman was drafted.

 

The Brewers received picks #35 and #54 as compensation for losing Linebrink. #54 comes from the White Sox, and as we preached at the time of the deal, the pick we could count on was the supplemental pick in the sandwich round, which turned out to be #35.

 

To show how valueable these picks are to the Brewers, Yo Gollardo was picked at #46, JJ Hardy #56, Tony Gwynn Jr. was #39, and Will Inman #85. We would likely have more success stories picked in this area, but Jack Z only had a 2nd round pick 4 times in his 7 drafts.

 

These picks will give the Brewers the oppurtunity to select players with true upside, instead of pitchers like Inman and Garrison, who still have limited ceilings despite there AA success.

[Mass Haas]

Thanks X, for the correction, as I need to step away from this deal -- I've allowed myself to get too emotionally caught up in it, and will stick to providing just the factual links and stray away from the miscellaneous comments for a couple of months.

[JJHardy7]

No wonder why you two guys rip this deal, you think we only got 1 comp pick, when actually we received 2, both much higher than where Inman was drafted.

 

I just think at this point and time it's pretty clear the Padres got the better end of the deal. We'll have to wait and see on the picks, but if Inman and Garrison are average or above average starters along with a decent relief pitcher in Thatcher it's going to take two great picks by the Brewers to justify the deal.

[TooLiveBrew]

No wonder why you two guys rip this deal, you think we only got 1 comp pick, when actually we received 2, both much higher than where Inman was drafted.

 

Did you mean to include the "Yes" in there as though I were responding condescendingly? I asked an honest question.

 

I think Melvin got owned on this one, and the draft picks really only can even things out, most likely. Yes, they're higher than where Inman was drafted. But the question isn't 'Inman's draft slot' v. 'these draft slots', it's Inman, a very well-progressed SP, along with two very good 'throw-in' arms vs. 'a reliever clearly not at his peak anymore (making him relatively pedestrian) + two draft picks that the Crew might be lucky enough to do as well on as they did with Inman.'

 

Not only is it unlikely that the Brewers will find as good a pitcher as Inman, it's very very unlikely that they'll be able to draft someone that will be as close to contributing in MLB as Will is. Yes, we might end up getting a player with higher ceiling, but if he can't help in Milwaukee until after some of our young starts have moved on, then I don't think it was a well-planned tradeoff.

[Never Outhustled]

We'll have to wait and see on the picks, but if Inman and Garrison are average or above average starters along with a decent relief pitcher in Thatcher it's going to take two great picks by the Brewers to justify the deal.

True, but do you think its safe to assume a couple of AA pitchers will reach there full ceiling? Asking any minor league pitcher to become an above aberage pitcher is an incredibly tall task.

 

Yes, they're higher than where Inman was drafted. But the question isn't 'Inman's draft slot' v. 'these draft slots', it's Inman, a very well-progressed SP, along with two very good 'throw-in' arms vs. 'a reliever clearly not at his peak anymore (making him relatively pedestrian) + two draft picks that the Crew might be lucky enough to do as well on as they did with Inman.'

Thats what we're reducing the work of Jack Z, the true savior of the franchise, to. Luck? As I showed earlier, its almost routine that he selects a quality player with picks this early. Obviously we all love Gollardo, and I know you are extremely high on Hardy. To think 1 of these 2 selections will be a stud, and the other a decent player, is just being realistic based on history. No need for luck here http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

 

Not only is it unlikely that the Brewers will find as good a pitcher as Inman, it's very very unlikely that they'll be able to draft someone that will be as close to contributing in MLB as Will is. Yes, we might end up getting a player with higher ceiling, but if he can't help in Milwaukee until after some of our young starts have moved on, then I don't think it was a well-planned tradeoff.

Linebrink wasn't great, but he clearly gave the Brewers a better chance of making the playoffs. Inman wasn't going to do that. Inman hasn't even proven he get through a full season without his arm going dead. The Brewerrs already have about as many young starting pitchers as it would be safe to rely on in there rotation. So the Brewers gave themselves help when they needed it, and gave themselves the oppurtunity to add a difference maker or 2 through the draft down the road.