Minor Transactions, June

[mothershipconnection]

Looks like a good move. He'll either solidify the Indy staff a little, or be a slight upgrade over Rusch. His numbers are bad this year, but still better than Glendon's. I can't recall any injury history though, anybody have this guy's DL record?

[MassBrew]

Joe Roa Press Release:

 

www.indyindians.com/press..._1103.html

[MassBrew]

LHP Brian Mazone was released from the High Desert roster.

 

Mazone allowed 97 hits in 59 innings with a 9.31 ERA, highest in all the minors among qualifiers. He never came close to nearing his 2002 season in independent league ball, with stats detailed here on his player profile page:

 

www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=370

 

Mazone can't say he didn't get a chance. He made 13 starts, and nearly always placed the Mavericks in a deep hole early each game. Considering he was going to be 27 this July, it's a real head-scratcher as to why he retained his starting spot so long, even with seemingly limited options available.

 

No word yet on a corresponding roster move.

[bork]

What is the roster limit for A ball? HD is still at 25. No moves were made when Petty and Marx were signed, so could Mazone's release be related to that?

[MassBrew]

With Mazone's release, the High Desert roster is at 24 healthy, three injured (Gold, Smart, and Nelson).

 

Brad will likely be activated this weekend, and the Mavs will probably go with 12 pitchers instead of 13.

[bork]

The roster on this site says 27 players, but there are 28 listed. That is with Mazone removed. 12 position players and 13 pitchers, 3 on the DL.

[MassBrew]

Thanks for the heads-up. Beloit RHP Tim Bausher was listed as a Maverick. All better now...

[MassBrew]

Indianapolis LHP Nate Teut has been activated from the disabled list (back spasms), filling the active roster spot of promoted Dan Kolb.

 

2002 20th round RHP Tyler Shepple, out of the Univ. of Washington, was released last Sunday the 15th. In 25 relief appearances at Ogden last summer, Shepple allowed 56 hits in 33.2 IP, with a 7.49 ERA. When the rookie league season opened last June, Shepple had been given first shot at the closer's job for the Raptors.

 

We're still efforting to learn the status of one or two other stray Brewer farmhands -- stay tuned...

[MassBrew]

On Sunday the 15th, the Brewers also released 23-year-old RHP Eric A. Thomas, 2002's 28th round draft pick.

 

In Ogden last season, Thomas appeared in 15 games, starting nine, with a 5.36 ERA. he allowed 50 hits in 45.1 IP, walked 21, hit nine batters (ouch), and struck out 38.

 

Thomas was a three-year teammate of Rickie Weeks at Southern University, so hopefully Rickie won't allow this cut to hurt negotiations http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif .

 

At the very least, we can now avoid confusion with Eric M. Thomas, the Brewers' 2002 3rd round pick, currently with the Arizona Brewers, dealing with some injury issues, apparently.

 

Eric A. Thomas turned 23 last August while with Ogden. I understand there's no quibbling once you start talking about 28th round selections, but as a general rule draft-wise, if you're picking a soon-to-be 23-year-old, he had better be able to begin his career at Beloit, otherwise make use of the pick on a younger prospect. Yeah, that's being pretty picky, but...

[950opsLHcatcher]

2002 30th rounder Justin Gabriel, a diminuative lefthander who got off to a slow start in Beloit and had only been pitching decently of late, has been let go by the organization. His final ERA in Beloit was 4.23. The 5'8, 24 year old Las Vegas native pitched at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette before being drafted. He pitched in Ogden last season, with a 3.98 ERA.

 

Taking Gabriel's place is 2001 3rd rounder RHP Jon Steitz, who had been rehabbing in Beloit for most of the season.

[MassBrew]

2001 3rd round RHP Jon Steitz out of Yale has been activated from the Beloit disabled list.

 

The 22-year-old Steitz has been a source of frustration in his two pro seasons. His two-year numbers almost defy belief:

 

2-15 (including 0-11 in Beloit last season)

 

7.38 ERA, 174 hits allowed in 129.1 IP (41 games, 24 starts)

 

102 BB, 104 K, 42 wild pitches, 17 HBP, 13 balks in those 129.1 IP

 

A true riddle given his apparent "stuff" out of college, prompting the high pick. Lots of new readers here, so we'll point you to a staff interview of then-Northeast Area Scout Tommy Tanous. At the tail end, he discusses the scouting process on Steitz in particular in detail (but feel free to review the entire piece http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif ).

 

www.brewerfan.net/fullArt...ticleId=56

 

To make room for Steitz, the Brewers released LHP Justin Gabriel, the little lefty 2002 30th round pick out of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. Gabriel's numbers were decent enough, and he had been somewhat of a workhorse in the Beloit bullpen this season thus far. It may be that Gabriel's biggest drawback was his age -- he was already 23 when drafted last year, and turned 24 this past March.

 

Justin Gabriel's Brewerfan Player Profile Page:

 

www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=339

 

Gabriel's 2003 numbers, detailed at Baseball America:

 

www.baseballamerica.com/c...riel%2C+ju

 

Striking out a batter an inning, and being left-handed, Gabriel has to feel a bit like he was hit by a bus today. He was a college senior pick, so you wonder how his modest 30th round bonus was structured -- perhaps some money promised to pursue advanced degree work. Regardless, another example that these kids are in a tough business....

[MassBrew]

Sorry about the duplicate post, Toby. Thanks for the back-up...

[950opsLHcatcher]

My sources win by a matter of seconds!

[MassBrew]

RHP Calvin Carpenter, the 20-year-old 2001 6th rounder of which big things were hoped for at Beloit this season, has been activated from the Snappers' disabled list and has been re-assigned to the Arizona Rookie League squad, as the Brewers will ease him back into action, it seems.

 

Richardson, Henderson, Steitz, Carpenter -- we're starting to see some progress on the "guys coming back from injury" front.

[950opsLHcatcher]

On a related note, Khalid Ballouli is still about 2 weeks away from a rehab assignment.

[Al the Thinking Man]

It's amazing Stietz appears to be stupid, baseball wise at least. 13 balks? I could pitch a few seasons as a RH pitcher, and I wouldn't balk that many times.

[MassBrew]

Beloit OF Steve Moss (# 16, Power 50) has been officially placed on the Snapper DL with a shoulder injury, the extent of which is not known (to us, at least).

 

Convenient for Tony Gwynn, Jr., not convenient for Steve.

[MassBrew]

19-year-old Orlando Viera, the 21st round pick of the Brewers out of Puerto Rico in 2001, has been placed on the Arizona Rookie League disabled list with an undisclosed injury. Viera has hit .256 in 90 AB's with Arizona over the past two summers -- he only had seven AB's in 2002 in what was apparently also an injury-marred season.

[MassBrew]

As David Weiser first mentioned in his Huntsville report, the Brewers have released RHP Jeff Robinson. The seventh-round pick from Sal Bando's final draft in 1999, Robinson, now 26 years old, had been plagued with arm / shoulder issues the last three seasons.

 

Jeff Robinson's Brewerfan.net Player Profile Page:

 

www.brewerfan.net/ViewPla...ayerId=336

[MassBrew]

Recently signed undrafted rookie free agent first baseman Barrett Whitney has been transferred from Arizona to Helena.

[MassBrew]

21-year-old 2003 11th rounder 3B Adam Heether, out of Long Beach State, is on his way to Beloit from the Arizona Rookie League.

 

I would imagine that with John VandenBerg sidelined about ten days with his facial injury (see Link Report for Games of Tuesday, June 24th), Jeff Eure will see additional time behind the plate, prompting the need for another 3rd baseman for the Snappers.

[igor67]

That's a big time opportunity for Heether, at 21 in the Arizona league he was kind of already at one strike, but if he can perform in Beloit he gives improves his chances of sticking around for awhile quite a bit.

[MassBrew]

Three players who had been listed on the rookie Arizona roster have been placed on the suspended list. None of the three showed up for spring training / extended spring. The Brewers are retaining their rights to these players by making these moves.

 

Suspended List:

A player may be placed on the Suspended List for misconduct or rule or contract violations. There is no minimum amount of days the player must be on the Suspended List before the player can be reinstated to the Active List. A player on the Suspended List does not count against a Club's Active List limits, but the player does count against its Reserve List limits.

 

The players are:

 

RHP Dustin Lansford - No idea what's going on in the mind of 1999's fifth round pick, but he missed all of 2002 via this route as well. He did not sign in time to pitch in 1999, so the entirety of the now-23-year-old?s pro career thus far is 37 IP in 2000 and 8.1 IP in 2001.

 

RHP Jesus Chirinos is a 20-year-old from Venezuela. He missed 2002 as well. He pitched well in three stops with the Brewers ? the VSL in 1999, the DSL in 2000, and Arizona in 2001 (a 3.23 ERA in 181 IP overall).

 

C Arturo Bravo was Milwaukee?s 24th round selection in the 2002 draft out of a San Diego high school. Now 19, he hit .189 in 37 AB?s last summer in Arizona as an 18-year-old.

 

Thanks to the Brewers for replying so quickly to our inquiry about these players.

[Al the Thinking Man]

I think you'll find a picture of Dustin Lansford in the dictionary under "pissing your career away".

 

What a frickin' waste.

[MassBrew]

From the High Desert Site:

 

On Thursday night, the Milwaukee Brewers made two moves that affect the Mavericks roster.

 

Jeremy Frost was added to the Mavs roster, joining the club from Helena of the Pioneer League. Frost has appeared in six games for the Helena Brewers this season, batting .238 with no home runs and two RBIs. He has played four games in the outfield and two at third base, making him valuable to the Mavs who have struggled defensively in the last several weeks with several different players playing out of position.

 

To make room for Frost on the roster, the Brewers released infielder Mark Ernster, who hasn't played since June 13th. Ernster, who hit .288 in 46 games with High Desert, has been sidelined with an unidentified problem with his left knee.

 

The Brewers aren't showing much patience as of late with injured players if they're older (Jeff Robinson, now Ernster). There's likely a monetary payout (we hope) to at least cover injury rehab costs -- if not baseball rehab, then simply "health" rehab. The 25-year-old Ernster was the Brewers' sixth-round pick in '99, and did get in 306 AA at-bats in 2000-01. Mark wrote an eloquent diary piece recently that is still featured in a secondary story on the Brewerfan home page. Check it out if you haven't already. We certainly wish him well.

 

As for Frost, we were just commenting here that Jeremy needed to progress quickly, as the Brewers invested a 10th round pick on him in 2002 out of Central Florida, and he's already 23 years old. He should be able to assist all over the field for the Mavericks, but it's certainly not the personnel boost the High Desert fans are looking for.

 

Here's your catching crapshoot from the 2002 draft -- 10th rounder Frost, but not doing much catching, a prize lost when 11th round high schooler Brian Hernandez signed with Duke, 24th rounder Arturo Bravo is AWOL, 34th rounder Tim Dillard became a DFE pitcher, now in Arizona, 37th rounder Stephen Bryant was a DFE pass by Milwaukee, and the one nugget thus far behind the plate turned out to be 25th round pick John VandenBerg, now in Beloit.