June Transactions

[wvpowerblkwel]

All I got to say is I hope the dude can continue to put up numbers and force his way up the ladder! Seeing him here in WV is something that I'm gonna miss, but thrilled to death for him....maybe they can send him back for the playoffs in September....I guess that's just wishful thinking. It's hard watching these guys in Charleston, because you get to know them some and see what great guys they are, but this bunch is all so talented you know the best of the bunch won't be here for long, which I guess is generally bad news for any non-performing guys above them...can't wait to see what all blows up today and after the draft!

[homer]

I bet LaPorta replaces him in WV. Good luck to Darren - this is the first of many moves I expect to see over the next week or two.

[wibadgers23]

Quote:

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I bet LaPorta replaces him in WV. Good luck to Darren - this is the first of many moves I expect to see over the next week or two.

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I bet you're right about LaPorta. Good luck to both Ford and LaPorta. I look forward to seeing how they do.

[Mass Haas]

I'll work on summarizing things this evening, but I hope the Power kids enjoyed their non-alcoholic champagne last night -- the group is getting broken up pretty quickly:

 

West Virginia Outfielder/First Baseman Michael Brantley has been promoted to Double A Huntsville.

 

Former Power RHP's E.J. Shanks and Mike McClendon join the Brevard County staff, along with OF Darren Ford, as noted above.

 

To make room on Brevard's roster, RHP Josh Baker and CF Charlie Fermaint have been sent to West Virginia from High A Brevard County.

 

To make room at Huntsville for Brantley, OF Anthony Wycklendt has been sent to West Virgnia from the Stars' roster. Wycklendt did not appear in a game in his brief stay with Huntsville.

 

RHP Shawn Ferguson, 24, will join West Virginia from Extended Spring Training. Ferguson, the Brewers' 9th round pick in 2006 out of TCU, saw action in Helena and West Virginia last season. No word on whether he was nursing an injury this spring. That seems likely.

[Mass Haas]

Pretty cool to see reinforcements from the Power in place to assist the two other competing-for-postseason squads.

 

Brantley bypasses A+ (will he ever see Brevard), Fermaint to W.V. -- wow...

[TheCrew07]

Brantley is surprising to say the least.

[gregmag]

I just got done singing Brantley's praises in another thread, but Huntsville . . . wow. The guy is 20 years old. I wonder whether they figured that the hitting environment in Brevard would only mess him up; if so, we officially have created the anti-High Desert. More likely it was a position/playing time thing, I guess.

 

Good to see McClendon and Shanks moving up. Promoting older players aggressively always seems like a good thing.

 

Greg.

[CportBadger]

I thought with Ford going to BC that Gillespie would be on his way to Huntsville. Very surprised to see Brantley get the call to Huntsville with Gillespie staying put and Fermaint going down. I guess Cole will be in BC for the rest of the season barring injuries.

[pogokat]

i think thank Cole will probably still go up, but i'm not surprised it hasn't happened yet...the brewers will probably still give BC a chance to win their division before they send anyone up to AA...

 

whether brantley stays in Huntsville or not after the move remains to be seen...

 

this has got to be rough on Fermaint...maybe the Brass just wants him to work with the WV coaching staff..

[Team Canada]

Suddenly Brantley's on the Prince Fielder timeline...

 

Promtions are always exciting. Glad to see some more reinforcements on the way to Brevard, and it sure works out well with WV clinching early and BC still needing some wins!

[Trowekamp]

I think Laporta is going straight to Huntsville and they will have an OF of Laporta, Ford, and Brantley..

 

Who is going to sit in West Virginia with Fermaint moved back there?

 

Either that or Gillepsie goes to Huntsville and Laporta replaces him in Brevard County as he is used to hitting in Florida already.

[jackalope02ca]

I don't expect to see any BC promotions until after the first half title is decided.

 

I would be disappointed if Laporta started below AA as I expect to see him with the Brewers come September. If he's as major league ready as everything I've read it would seem silly to start him lower than AA.

[Mass Haas]

Our Player Index has been adjusted, and Brevard's at 26, which is the only pending issue we need to learn about.

 

MiLB.com has Ned Yost listed on the D.L. (he played on the 4th), so perhaps Ned's sidelined again, which would resolve things. We'll confirm later on.

[homer]

Quote:

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I would be disappointed if Laporta started below AA as I expect to see him with the Brewers come September. If he's as major league ready as everything I've read it would seem silly to start him lower than AA.

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That would shock me. I think he's ticketed for West Virginia to start with. I really doubt the Brewers have plans to use him this year unless he signs a major league deal.

 

Also, Brantley skipping BC is pretty surprising. Is this more a numbers thing than performance? Good for him if it's the latter.

[gregmag]

I believe Doug Melvin stated in his interview yesterday that LaPorta would start at West Virginia. That seems like a pretty typical fast track: A this year, A+/AA next year, AAA to start the following year and first in line for a callup. Of course, performance can slow or speed the train.

 

Greg.

[SoCalBrewfan]

Brantley to H'ville is a surprise, but you have to wonder whether that's a long-term move. That makes me wonder: will Brantley be playing CF or a corner? If it's CF, then moving him to BC would cause a conflict with Ford. Maybe a Moss move is in the works as well. If a corner, Errecart and Gillespie are obvious candidates to swap places with him in the near future.

 

They've pretty much said that LaPorta will be a corner OF in WV, but there's still a bunch of outfielders there with Fermaint moving down, and holdovers Chapman, Caufield, and LeFave (plus 1B Alonso).

 

Holmberg is definitely another guy I'd move, but I'm irrationally attached to him. I'd think Al Escobar might move at the same time, with Crew shifting to short, but who knows.

[DHonks]

some interesting moves. I think that the bump to Huntsville has a couple of reasons. For starters, they likely want to break up the 6 or 7 CF-types they have in A/A+, so for the time being it provides playing time for more people. His plate discipline likely says he's good at making adjustments. And his personality/character likely make him someone that can handle the jump

[igor67]

Random speculation that Brantley may move back to Brevard and swap with Gillespie once their first half is out of the way. Unless he starts lighting it up which would make it kind of hard to send him down.

[Mass Haas]

Correction -- RHP Josh Baker will not be going to West Virginia, but will remain in Brevard.

 

Other moves will not be announced until later this weekend.

[brettac1]

I was pretty much expecting Fermaint to go back down, his star has taken a hit thus far.

 

Brantley skipping over him is a huge surprise, though I'm skeptical like pogo is, that he's going to stay there. But, it doesn't do players any good to go to Brevard from now on(though Fermaint obviously did well there last year), as far as I'm concerned.

[Mass Haas]

RHP Josh Baker of the Manatees has had some sort of setback as is now on the seven-day DL.

 

The final roster spot that needed to open, again at Brevard County, was freed up by releasing LHP Jeremy Lewis, unfortunately for Jeremy. The 26-year-old was in his third season at high-A Brevard after being signed to an affiliated deal out of independent ball prior to the '05 season. Lewis was initially drafted by the Tigers and pitched in their chain prior to his release by Detroit.

[Mass Haas]

From our Draft Forum, more on the first signee:

 

SIGNED

 

Round 20: Cameron Robulack - 1B

6'3", 220, L/R - Silverthorn Collegiate Institute

 

http://www.perfectgame.org/images/profilepics/06mwt75.jpg

 

NOTES & INFO:

 

Per BA Draft Blog, signed 6/8/2007 for $75,000.

 

http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/draft/

NEWSPAPER AND WEB COVERAGE:

 

Draft Prospect Q&A

 

By Frankie Piliere, Scout.com

 

May 25, 2007

 

As a Canadian player, left-hand hitting Cameron Robulack may not get quite the hype he deserves as a very strong draft prospect. However, the slugging Ontario native is drawing significant interest from teams as a 3rd to 5th round pick. We recently caught up with Robulack for a Q&A session.

 

Scout.com: First of all, how do you feel about how you've shown yourself this spring and basically what are your general thoughts on your performance?

 

Cameron Robulack: I've showed quite well. I had a good spring and our season started late since we are in Canada but since it's started I've done well.

 

Scout.com: Compare yourself to last fall or last summer. How are you a different player and what have you improved in your game?

 

Cameron Robulack: I think the biggest difference in my game is maturity in all aspects, body development, size, hitting, hitting with power and mentally in my approach to the game.

 

Scout.com: Looking ahead, what parts of your game would you like to improve on and how do you plan to do so?

 

Cameron Robulack: To become a major leaguer I need to keep improving all aspects of my game, and this is done through hard work and determination.

 

Scout.com: You're a player that has really flown under the radar so to speak, at least among media outlets. Do you like playing to exceed expectations and what are your thoughts on the expectations of you as a player?

 

Cameron Robulack: It's not a bad thing that every kid is not always seen by everyone, but to those that know me I've fullfilled the expectation of a good power hitter with a good average and alot of RBI. I understand that I have still alot of projectability and look forward to catching up with it.

 

Scout.com: How would you describe yourself as a hitter and what is your approach at the plate?

 

Cameron Robulack: I feel I am a tough out at the plate. I am a good power hitter and a big time run producer. I have equal success against right handed and left handed pitching and am always thinking of hitting the ball hard.

 

Scout.com: If you had to compare yourself to a big leaguer player in terms of style, who would it be and why?

 

Cameron Robulack: Justin Morneau. I feel coming from Canada we play the same type of game and style of play. I am a big impact player who much like Morneau hits with alot of power, hits well for average and is the type of player that everyone doesn't want to face with base runners.

 

Scout.com: What are your expectations of a pro career for you? In other words, how do you feel about possibly turning pro and what do you expect that experience would be like?

 

Cameron Robulack: I want to play pro ball. Baseball is my only focus and I will enjoy the opportunity to work at the sport I love to play everyday.

 

Scout.com: Your known as a very good power hitting prospect. Where do you think that power comes from?

 

Cameron Robulack: Hard work, good coaching as a youth and my determination to be great.

 

Scout.com: What are some of your major goals for the next six months?

 

Cameron Robulack: My goals is to have a great season and to keep taking strides to become a major leaguer.

 

Scout.com: What are your thoughts on going pro versus going to college?

 

Cameron Robulack: I love the game of baseball, want to play pro ball, and I play baseball to become a great major leaguer.

 

Scout.com: If there was something a pro scout may not notice about you just by watching you play, what would it be?

 

Cameron Robulack: My knowledge about the game of baseball.

[Mass Haas]

LHP Zach Braddock has been activated from the West Virginia DL and is starting today -- the Power roster is again full at 25.

[fredsfan]

Glad to see Steve back on the mound. Great kid with lot's of potential.

[fredsfan]

So true... these are some fun guys. Nice job for a boy from Jersey http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif He is amazingly fast with a smile that will look perfect oin a Wheaties box. Congrats Darren love and luck.