Promotion Discussion/Predictions

[homer]

Any thoughts/guesses as to the moves the Brewers make after the draft?

 

There are several guys that definitely deserve a bump up but the question is: who do they supplant?

 

Talking specifically about Ford....he needs to be at Brevard. Unfortunately, Chuck Fermaint is starting to heat up and probably should stick around Florida for now. Could/should they exist on the same roster?

 

Heck, you could say the same thing about Brantley/Gillespie. I suppose the Brewers could promote Errecart to H'Ville and put Brantley at 1B, but seeing as he's just 20 they may keep him in WV for a while.

 

Thoughts??

[colbyjack]

I agree that Ford needs to be at Brevard, but who gets bumped up (or down) to make a spot for him? Gillespie isn't hitting that well right now, despite having a hot week or so in early May. Errecart has been slumping since his incredibly hot April, and while Cain has been hitting much better, I'm not sure if he is hitting well enough to get moved up to Huntsville.

 

Braun of course got bumped up to AA at midseason a year ago despite not having the best numbers, but the team clearly liked enough of how he was handling himself at the plate, since the FSL is known to supress offensive production.

 

So, there is a bit of a logjam, even if some players are deserving of a promotion. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, but you can't really point to anyone at BC as being worthy of a bump up, meaning Ford and Brantley stay put for now.

 

I do think Manny Parra should be promoted to AAA as soon as the organization sees fit. Mass Haas made a very good point a week or two ago about the team not promoting players until the first half playoff implications have been determined. Since all of the teams are in the mix, with first half titles to win below the AAA level, we probably won't see any moves until that has been determined (although I think we're only a week or two away from that).

 

I could see Inman replacing Parra, with McClendon replacing Inman once Braddock returns to WV. We could also see a few relievers move up as part of a chain reaction (Hinton to AAA, Roberts to AA, etc.).

[miwokE]

I would say, at 26 years old, Marino Salas needs to step up to triple A and show us he can adjust. He's done very well, but much of his success has been against younger competition. You could make the same case for Corey Thurman, and, possibly Steve Hammond.

 

I'd like to see Wahpepah and Stanczyk move up to take some of these spots.

 

How long do Inman and Escobar stay in Florida?

[pogokat]

i think Holmberg and ford need to be in Brevard....Brantley deserves to be there, but he seems to be benefitting quite a deal from being in West Virginia again...

 

another guy from the WV squad that should probably be in BC is Chuck Caulfield---he's 23 and needs to prove himself quickly up the chain...

 

i think cole gillespie is ready to move up...he hasnt kept his batting average high, but everything else is going well...his peripherals have been better than Braun's were last year...Errecart could probably move up as well, though he has cooled massively since a dl stint a month ago...

 

lous palmisano should be in AAA, but i doubt they move him up until the end of the season..

[wvpowerblkwel]

Pogo: I think you are right on the money with Ford and Holmberg. Kenny is a great guy, and had the injury problem not been so persistent, I think he would/should be in BC already. I don't want to see him go the way of Tony Festa and give up after being stuck in WV for 2 years. He deserves the shot. You have to remember that Errecart and Gillespie never sniffed the WV air and at 21 and 22 finishing out the year here wouldn't be horrible for either of them in my opinion. This team is absolutely a beautiful thing to see, and sometimes winning breeds talents that don't come out in other situations. I agree on Caufield also, but how do you do it? With all this young talent, how do you decide who gets the next shot?

[DHonks]

To be honest, we could release a significant chunk of the AAA roster and move up players en masse.

 

 

Dillon, Dickey, Thomas, and perhaps Hackman could go (Hopf going down).

 

In AA, Mateo, Moss, Palmisano, and perhaps Hinton/Thurman go to AAA. Are Stocker and DiFelice needed, or are they simple some minor league fodder?

 

A+ could promote Inman, Stanczyk, Wahpepah, and Cain.

 

Of course, the problem that I am seeing is that the positions of promotions don't match up well.

[scrapiron]

Why jettison Dillon? While he's not a prospect, he's certainly helping Nashville win games. Him and Abad have been pretty good veteran AAA guys to have around so Nashville can continue to be competetive. I would certainly release Thomas and Macias though, if Macias hasn't been already.

 

Parra, Palmisano, Mateo to AAA, Hopf down to AA

 

Errecart, Gillispe, Inman to AA

 

Ford, Lefave, McClendon to A+

 

JMO

[Mass Haas]

I'm not closing this thread or anything, but as a general rule we don't like to see discussions of possible releases take place on the minor league front, whether it's a 30+ year-old AAAA veteran, or a kid who's seemingly overmatched at the lower levels.

 

Sure, we often discuss who is underperforming and such, but when it comes to whether there should be a spot in the organization for a particular player, we're not going to promote discussion in that specific manner.

 

Our rule has basically said that we can take the kid gloves off on a player in that regard once they're on the 40-man.

[jackalope02ca]

I won't even get into names as there are the obvious ones who should get promoted and unfortunately this may lead to some releases. That is the reality of the game.

 

That being said the good thing is the with the calibre of guys to promote none of the teams other than West Virginia should take any kind of a hit. They lose great players to promotion only to get other great players promoted. In years past this has been a problem at times where star player moves up and someone of a much lower calibre moves in to replace them.

[Mass Haas]

new poster capt17 asked:

 

So what will it take to get Steve Sollamn to move up to Triple-A? He's batting .333 with a very positive BB to SO ratio. He has 13 SB is 16 attempts and an OBP of over .460. Only made 3 errors in 54 games at 1B and can play almost any position. What will it take?

[pogokat]

i'm not sure steve will get moved up this year...he deserves it, but the brewers kinda treat AA and AAA like they are equals...so the fact that steve is in AA does not necessarily mean tht he couldn't be called up if graffy or counsell got hurt/traded...

[homer]

www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=616616

 

In the Doug Melvin interview after the pick of LaPorta, he talks about promoting Ford soon as well as where LaPorta might start out. Starts aroungd 4 minutes 30 sec.

[Team Canada]

It's also noted in the Brewers article on LaPorta.

[aintbize]

To DHonks & Mass Haas, I see both of your vantage points.

 

I find it interesting that a great deal of the discussion is what kids can get pulled up from low A and how that trickles up for the organization.

 

I think the BrewCrew are in the advantageous spot of having several draft classes driving promotions from the lower levels. Being a life long fan of another National League team, they were notorious for promoting High A & AA prospects into very pressure packed situations. I think we are in a very good place thanks to Jack & Tony's diligence and understanding of this process.

 

We have a lot of strong prospects throughout the organization...many clubs cannot say that.

 

Tell me if I am wrong...I welcome your comments

 

A

[DHonks]

Mass, sorry about mentioning possible releases. I thought about it, but figured since they are older players likely to catch on elsewhere, there is a bit more freedom. But I most definitely agree with the policy.

 

My point was that i just don't see many moves happening without releases, unless they trade the AAAA-types to organizations in need of them

[bretsky07]

Now that he's off the DL (and absolutely dominating, with 7 punchouts in 3 inning thus far), how long until Zach Braddock gets moved to Brevard? When Brevard clinches and Inman goes to Huntsville? Or will he need to stay a bit longer to make sure he's healthy?

[TheCrew07]

I wouldn't be surprised if he stayed in at WV all year, then again, it wouldn't suprise me if he got promoted either. There's really no reason for the organization to rush him, but if they think A+ will help his game it's all good.

[colbyjack]

Inman spent all of last year at WV, I don't see Braddock being moved up this season, despite his continued dominance.

[pogokat]

braddock is on the exact same schedule as inman....including mid season inning break/dl stint...

 

full year in WV...

[bretsky07]

full year in WV...

 

I think it was McClendon that confused me, I forgot he was older than Braddock/Inman/Gallardo when they all were in WV.

 

Does anybody else get moved up to Brevard after the first half? Holmberg, Caufield?