Captain Lou

[ORLANDOBREWER]

Quick check of milb.com stats for all active minor league players... Lou Palmisano has the highest OPS (.950) of all qualifying minor league catchers. Only 6 catchers sporting over .900 OPS in all of minors. Is it safe to say he is back to the same level of a prospect he was while in the Pioneer League?

 

2003 stats at Helena (R+) .391 .448 .592 1.040 League MVP

 

2007 stats at Huntsville (AA) .316 .459 .491 .950

[Brian the Automator]

He's 24, so I guess that makes me a little nervous. If he put up these numbers for an entire year, I would say he's back at that level. It's only 114 at-bats, so personally, I'm going to temper my excitement for at least another month or two... but it's very encouraging, nonetheless.

[pogokat]

he's not back to the same level, but he's definitely back to being on the radar...

 

i have no clue what caused him tostart walking so much, but i would say this half season has guaranteed that Lou will at least be a back up in the majors...

 

catchers are so hard to project...this half season is the only thing that will keep Lou from becoming Angel's backup next year...

[rotoherb]

Outside of the walks he really hasn't hit very well since early May, with a .279/.421/.410 line this month. His monster April is somewhat masking how he's been playing. That's not horrible by any means, but it's probably closer to reality than his overall line.

 

I agree with pogo, though, that he could "walk" his way to the majors if he keeps the obscene OBP going.

[futurebrewerfather]

going slightly off topic, but staying with minor league catchers...

 

How many years/when do you expect to see Angel in the majors? And do we control Estrada until then. Would you expect to see Estrada traded right away or spend a year starting while Angel watches and learns???

 

OK, One more... Who will make the majors first, Angel (leaping Capt. Lou) or Capt. Lou (probally to be a back up)?

[JoeHova]

This is definitely an encouraging season so far from Palmisano. It seems like a fair amount of catchers take awhile to develop (LoDuca, Miller, Estrada, Ruiz, etc.). Maybe Lou will take their path. It would be nice if Lou and Angel are the 2 catchers for the Brewers in 2009 or so.

[monty57]

futurebrewerfather, Estrada will be in his final arby year next year, while Miller will be gone after this season.

 

So, my question would be, who will be Estrada's backup next season: Lou, Angel or Rivera?

 

I would think a good scenario will be for Lou to be up next season as Estrada's backup, with Angel starting AAA. Estrada could be traded, re-signed, or left to walk as a Type A free agent depending on the progression of Lou and Angel.

 

I guess the best case scenario would be for Lou and Angel to play well enough that the Brewers can let Estrada walk as FA after next season, netting them some good draft picks, with the catcher spot locked up between Lou & Angel for the next six years.

 

Off-topic: I checked on Estrada by looking at Brewerfan's salaries page. If you haven't looked at it in a while, you may want to check it out... it's very nice to see all of our young talent tied up for a looong time.

[SoCalBrewfan]

I don't have the firsthand vantage point that some posters might, but I know that BA has ranked Palmisano as the best defensive catcher in the org...and for a catcher that's absolutely essential. (At least a good defensive reputation is essential, whatever the reality might be.) If he can play good defense, remain durable, and hit just a little bit, he could easily have a major league pension in his future.

[deeswan]

Anyone have any stats on Lou throwing runners out? Or how about a first-hand analysis from someone in Huntsville?