Alumni Thread -- Through 4/25, Now Closed

[Mass Haas]

Lots of work still to do, but figured I'd toss out the first draft of the Alumni Link thread.

 

You won't see (yet) -- major leaguers or the inactive list of retired players, though both will be coming in future updates. Also, no independent league stats this year, though we'll post updates on names and places in indy ball when we have them. No non-U.S. leagues, either.

 

Remember, the list only includes those who have ties to the Brewers since 2001 (minor leagues), or any player with Brewer ties if they've appeared in the majors this year, even if their Brewer time goes prior to 2001 (Kelly Stinnett, for example). Pretty sure some names are missing among this minor league crew, but the complete review continues, and we'll get 'em down the road.

 

As you click on the names below to see their current stats, I guess it's more interesting to check on the guys like Matt Yeatman, Travis Hinton, Pedro Liriano, and the like, over the veteran AAA roster fodder guys (although Jim Rushford continues to rake, not with power, though).

 

Thanks for your patience until it's all finalized, and yes, Cristian Guerrero still stinks.

 

MLB:

 

CHILDERS, MATT (ATLANTA, SINCE RETURNED TO MINORS)

 

LIRIANO, PEDRO (PHILADELPHIA, SINCE RETURNED TO MINORS)

 

SMITH, TRAVIS (FLORIDA, SINCE RETURNED TO MINORS)

 

STINNETT, KELLY (ARIZONA)

 

AAA:

 

ALEXANDER, MANNY (TEXAS)

 

BAUSHER, TIM (BOSTON)

 

BUDZINSKI, MARK (PHILADELPHIA)

 

CASANOVA, RAUL (WHITE SOX)

 

CHILDERS, JASON (BRAVES)

 

CHILDERS, MATT (ATLANTA)

 

CONTI, JASON (TEXAS)

 

COOLBAUGH, MIKE (HOUSTON)

 

COSTE, CHRIS (PHILADELPHIA)

 

CUMMINGS, MIDRE (BALTIMORE)

 

CUNNANE, WILL (CUBS)

 

DARULA, BOBBY (BALTIMORE)

 

DEARDORFF, JEFF (TAMPA BAY)

 

FASANO, SAL (BALTIMORE, SINCE PROMOTED TO MAJORS)

 

FIGUEROA, LUIS (BOSTON)

 

FLORES, JOSE (DODGERS)

 

FRANKLIN, WAYNE (YANKEES)

 

GIBSON, DERRICK (ATLANTA)

 

GLYNN, RYAN (TORONTO)

 

HAMMONDS, JEFFREY (WASHINGTON, SINCE PROMOTED TO BIG LEAGUES)

 

HANSEN, JED (METS)

 

HARIKKALA, TIM (OAKLAND, SINCE PROMOTED TO MAJORS)

 

HAYNES, JIMMY (TAMPA BAY, SINCE RELEASED)

 

JOHNSON, MARK (CUBS)

 

KIESCHNICK, BROOKS (HOUSTON)

 

LIEFER, JEFF (CLEVELAND)

 

LIRIANO, PEDRO (PHILADELPHIA)

 

LOPEZ, LUIS (CINCINNATI, SINCE PROMOTED TO MAJORS)

 

LOPEZ, MICKEY (SAN FRANCISCO)

 

LORRAINE, ANDREW (SEATTLE)

 

MACHADO, ALEJANDRO (BOSTON)

 

MATTHEWS, MIKE (METS)

 

MCKAY, CODY (ST. LOUIS)

 

MICHALAK, CHRIS (ARIZONA)

 

NANCE, SHANE (ARIZONA)

 

NUNNALLY, JON (PITTSBURGH)

 

PENA, ELVIS (COLORADO)

 

PHELPS, TRAVIS (CUBS)

 

PICKLER, JEFF (COLORADO)

 

REICHERT, DAN (SEATTLE, SINCE RELEASED)

 

ROA, JOE (PITTSBURGH)

 

ROBBINS, JAKE (CLEVELAND)

 

RUSHFORD, JIM (PHILADELPHIA)

 

SEABOL, SCOTT (ST. LOUIS, SINCE PROMOTED TO MAJORS)

 

SMITH, BOBBY (OAKLAND)

 

SMITH, TRAVIS (FLORIDA)

 

SPARKS, STEVE (OAKLAND)

 

STINNETT, KELLY (ARIZONA, SINCE PROMOTED TO BIG LEAGUES)

 

WATHAN, DUSTY (CLEVELAND)

 

ZOCCOLILLO, PETE (ST. LOUIS)

 

AA:

 

BARKER, KEVIN (TORONTO)

 

BERGERON, PETER (BALTIMORE)

 

BRESLOW, CRAIG (SAN DIEGO)

 

EBERT, DERRIN (KANSAS CITY)

 

GIRON, ROBERTO (HOUSTON)

 

GUERRERO, CRISTIAN (WASHINGTON)

 

HUNDLEY, JEFF (BALTIMORE, SINCE RELEASED)

 

MORRIS, CHRIS (ANGELS)

 

RABURN, JOHNNY (TAMPA BAY)

 

RIJO, FERNANDO (HOUSTON)

 

RIVERA, SAUL (WASHINGTON)

 

STEWART, PAUL (PITTSBURGH)

 

VARNER, NOOCHIE (TENNESSEE)

 

YEATMAN, MATT (MINNESOTA)

 

A+:

 

ALFONZO, ELIEZER (SAN FRANCISCO)

 

BELCHER, JASON (WASHINGTON)

 

HINTON, TRAVIS (WHITE SOX)

 

KOLB, DAN (WASHINGTON)

 

TRYTTEN, RYAN (SAN DIEGO)

[mls4]

Travis Smith is back with Florida, and Keith Ginter has been demoted to AAA by the A's.

[Mass Haas]

Huntsville fans who got to know outfielder Jamie Gann in 2004 will appreciate this update from the independent Atlantic League:

 

www.atlanticleague.com/cg...s.cgi?id=1

[batman]

The Marlins purchased the contract of LHP Valerio De Los Santos just a week after he made his season debut for Single-A Jupiter. The former-Brewer has been out of action since last June after undergoing shoulder surgery.

 

~Bill

[RoseBowlMtg]

Here are the stats of a Brewer cut by Dean Taylor who kept Alex Sanchez instead of. A player Bob Melvin said could hit any reliever in MLB. Just got back from a broken finger but came out hitting once again. I sure wish the Brewers had more hitters like Midre Cummings:

 

Midre Cummings: Individual Stats (Batting)

Team From To G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG

Ottawa Lynx 04/07 06/07 8 36 6 16 2 0 4 8 30 2 8 0 1 .474 .833 .444

[dadofandrew]

Um, yes those 36 AB's prove Midre Cummings...oh, please.

[mls4]

Ryan Glynn is back in the big leagues with Oakland.

[batman]

In honor of "pick on Al night", I gotta pick on Al some more.

 

Um, yes those 36 AB's prove Midre Cummings...oh, please.

 

Cummings is no world-beater, but for someone who respects minor league statistics I'm surprised that you are so willing to write him off. Since his last full year in the big leagues (2000), here's what he's done:

 

 ================================================ Year Team/League AVG OBA SLG OPS ================================================ 2001 Tucson (PCL) .331 .390 .544 934 2002 -- (only 11 games) 2003 Iowa (PCL) .255 .328 .470 798 2004 Durham (IL) .285 .408 .558 966 ================================================

And it's not like he doesn't have talent. Cummings was a first round pick in 1990 and a top prospect in the early 1990s. He is a career .301 hitter in the minor leagues (.301/.365/.482, 847 OPS) and he's even had his moments in the big leagues, although he's never played everyday. For example, in 1998 he hit .283 with a 122 OPS+ in 140 plate appearances for Boston and last season he hit .278 with a 117 OPS+ in 61 plate appearances for Tampa. His career OPS+ is a meager 81, but most of those at-bats came before he was 26.

 

A team looking for a fourth or fifth outfielder could do a whole lot worse than Cummings, who is still in only his age-33 season. He's been a Triple-A All-Star and maybe he just took longer than most people to figure things out in professional ball.

 

In any case, I don't think RoseBowlMtg's mention of how well Cummings has hit this year is a reason to be condescending towards him.

 

--

 

And congrats to Ryan Glynn... that's good to hear.

 

~Bill

[RoseBowlMtg]

Good depth batman!

 

When AZ was in the WS, Bob Melvin said Midre Cummings can hit line drives off of any ML reliever. The Brewers bring him in the next year and Cummings hits around .350 in spring training but Taylor keeps the red hot Alex Sanchez. I thought a line drive hitter would be perfect on a team where everyone was swinging for the fences or missing.

 

Maybe a team who gave 32 yr old Brady Clark a chance will look at another young 30's hitter who is gaining loft on his line drives.

 

FYI: Here are some numbers the last two years and this yr:

 

....G..AB..H..2B..3B..HR..RBI..BB..SO..SB..OBP..SLG..OPS

03: 114,385,98,22,2,19,54,40,86,1,.328,.470,.798

04: 119,414,118,26,3,27,89,86,107,13,.408,.558,.966

05: 10, 43, 16, 2, 0, 4, 8, 2, 9, 0, .400, .698, 1.098

 

 

I am wondering what the Orioles will do with him but it interesting having a hitter thought of so highly by a ML manager sits in the minors when so many teams need hitting. It will be an interesting watch.

[thevaccinator27]

It'd be interesting to see what would have happened had we kept Midre over Chuckie Carr II.

 

Would Podsednik ever have gotten his chance? If not, we could kiss goodbye Carlos. Strange phenomological happenings, that's for sure.

[Mass Haas]

Just-released RHP Joel Needham signed with the Fullerton Flyers, independent Golden League

 

Signed: RHP Jeff Farnsworth, by Newark, independent Atlantic League

 

Can-Am League News:

 

Released: New Jersey, Atlantic League, INF Chris Rowan, remember Chris?

 

New Haven: signed OF Derrick Gibson

 

Grays: released INF Elliot Ayala

[burniebrewer]

Didn't Hammonds just announce his retirement?

[JoeHova]

Ben Grieve was up with the Cubs for a week or two, now he's down in Iowa. He went 0-4 on Sunday when I saw him. I still hope he makes it back to the majors with some team.

[mls4]

Jorge Sosa is pitching with Atlanta and made his first start of the season last night. He got the win to improve to 3-0 with a 2.79 ERA.

[Mass Haas]

For our Huntsville readers, Jamie Gann back in Southern League:

 

BRIDGEPORT, CONN. ? The Bridgeport Bluefish announced that Bluefish outfielder Jamie Gann's contract has been purchased by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Gann will join Tampa Bay 's Double A affiliate in Alabama, the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League.

 

Gann was recently named the Atlantic League's Player of the Month for the month of May. In the month of May alone, Gann hit .364 scoring 21 runs, with 40 hits, including 10 doubles and six homeruns. Jamie's on-base percentage in the month of May was an impressive .418 with a slugging percentage of .636 while knocking home 26 RBI's.

 

Gann was in his second season with the Bluefish after his 2004 season with the team was cut short after being signed by the Milwaukee Brewers on June 30 and reporting to Double A Huntsville of the Southern League.

 

Jamie had seventeen multi-hit games for the Bluefish accompanied by a team leading seven multi-RBI games for Bridgeport . Montgomery is currently fourth in the Southern Division of the Southern League and are in their second season at Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium.

[Mass Haas]

Thanks to a faithful reader for informing us that Kansas City quickly scooped up LHP Matt Ford, and has actually assigned him to AAA Omaha.

[dadofandrew]

LHP's with plus arms get every chance.

[Mass Haas]

The mayor of Huntsville, LHP Derek Lee, back in AAA, with an organization that's constantly shuffling the pitching staff deck -- good for him...

 

Link while active, text follows:

 

www.somersetpatriots.com/news/?id=2392

 

Bridgewater, NJ ? The Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball have announced that left-handed pitcher Derek Lee has been signed by the Texas Rangers organization.

 

Lee finished his time with the Patriots with a 4-2 record, a 2.45 ERA, and 48 strikeouts in ten games played. Lee pitched two complete game shutouts for Somerset during the 2005 season.

 

Lee was 3-1 with a 2.12 ERA in his four starts in June and was among the Atlantic League leaders in several pitching categories.

 

?We knew that Derek was among the top pitchers in the league, as well as a lefty, and after scouts saw him pitch, it was clear that he was going to be signed. We wish him the best of luck and hope to see him make the Major Leagues,? said Patrick McVerry, President/ General Manager of the Somerset Patriots

 

Lee has two seasons of Triple-A experience in the Milwaukee Brewers organization. He has also played in the Toronto Blue Jays minor league system.

 

He has a career record of 56-55, a 3.47 ERA, and 731 strikeouts in 209 games pitched. He spent the 2004 season with the Blue Jays? Double-A affiliate in New Hampshire, where he finished with a 3.38 ERA in 56 innings of work.

 

In 2003, Lee had an 11-3 record with a 3.30 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 87.1 innings pitched for Huntsville, the Double-A affiliate of the Brewers.

 

Lee will report to the Oklahoma RedHawks, the Rangers Triple-A affiliate in the Pacific Coast League.

 

http://ism.infinityprosports.com/Uploads/190/NewsManager/863.jpeg.300.jpeg

[dadofandrew]

He has a shot at the bigs as a lefty reliever. Good luck to him.

[mls4]

Two former Brewers in the Mets' transactions:

 

Mike DeJean has been released.

Gerald Williams has been purchased from AAA.

[mls4]

Tim Harikkala was waived by Oakland and is now a free agent.

Scott Seabol was optioned back to AAA Memphis by St. Louis.

Travis Smith was optioned back to AAA Albuquerque by Florida.

Alex Sanchez was claimed off of waivers by San Francisco.

[mls4]

As mentioned elsewhere on this board, Wayne Franklin has been promoted from AAA by the Yankees.

 

Also, Mike DeJean has been signed by Colorado.

[mls4]

Minor league all-stars:

 

Chris Coste (IL)

Jeff Leifer (IL)

Mike Coolbaugh (PCL)

Craig Breslow (Southern)

Robinson Cancel (Texas)

[Mass Haas]

Minor league all-stars:

 

Chris Coste (IL)

Jeff Leifer (IL)

Mike Coolbaugh (PCL)

Craig Breslow (Southern)

Robinson Cancel (Texas)

 

The list of current minor leaguers that were originally signed by the Brewers, were released, and are now thriving in another organization begins and ends with LH reliever Breslow, still only 23 years old and excelling in his first taste of AA in the Padres' system. In other words, the Brewers rarely let one of their own get away before they make sure they've tapped any potential.

 

Craig Breslow's 2005 stats:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...pid=444520

 

Career numbers prior to 2005:

 

www.thebaseballcube.com/p...slow.shtml

 

Yes, the High Desert ERA was ridiculous, and San Diego coaches have his walk total under control, but LH pitchers who allow fewer hits than innings and have more strike outs than innings shouldn't be released at that stage in their careers. There were half a dozen more "deserving" candidates for release on that Maverick squad last summer.

 

Kudos to Craig on the All-Star gig -- hopefully the Padres are considering him as "their" Mitch Stetter-type prospect.

 

And thankfully, the Brewers haven't allowed others to walk away in such a manner...

[Mass Haas]

The biggest minor league star on Wednesday the 20th -- LHP Derek Lee, the "mayor" of Huntsville:

 

www.minorleaguebaseball.c...;fext=.jsp