The 2007 Hawaiian League -- Latest: Top 15 Prospects

[colbyjack]

Final: North Shore 14, West Oahu 7

 

Jonathan Lucroy got the start behind the plate in this game for the Honu going 0-4 with a strikeout, but unlike his Arizona Fall League Brewers catching prospect counterpart Lou Palmisano, Lucroy's arm was not tested in this contest. Mat Gamel with another big day at the plate, going 3-4 with a double and a walk, scoring three runs and driving in one. Gamel is now hitting .340/.438/.639. Stephen Chapman goes 2-5 with a walk, two runs and his fourth stolen base. No errors for any three of the talented Brewers farmhands filling in the three, four and six spots of the lineup respectively.

 

Kevin Roberts pitches a scoreless fourth with a strikeout and a walk.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l405&t=g_box&gid=2007_11_10_nshwin_wocwin_1

[colbyjack]

Final: Waikiki 5, North Shore 7

 

All Mat Gamel did today was go 3 for 4 again, with his ninth double, two more RBI and he even stole home (with left-handed hitting Chapman batting, on what I'm assuming was a double steal based on the game log). He did commit his ninth error.

 

Stephen Chapman goes 1-3 with a BB.

 

http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l405&t=g_box&gid=2007_11_11_waiwin_nshwin_1

[Mass Haas]

Another nice read in Jonathan Lucroy's latest journal -- take him up on his offer and drop him a line:

 

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071106&content_id=320400&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp

 

Nice to see our West Virginia friend who supplies us with fantastic photos from Charleston had a question answered...

[Mass Haas]

Jonathan Lucroy, Mat Gamel, and Stephen Chapman formed the heart of the order Monday night, with Chapman having the most success, although he committed his 4th error at first base. Omar Aguilar stranded an inherited runner and had another scoreless outing, his 4th consecutive:

 

http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l405&t=g_box&gid=2007_11_13_nshwin_waiwin_1

[Mass Haas]

North Shore wins, 8-0

 

MLB.TV Archive

 

Mat Gamel gave the Honu the lead with a sacrifice fly in the third innng. He later singled. Go to the 50-minute mark of the archive for the sac fly (long AB vs. a lefty).

Steve Chapman doubled home a run in the third on a bloop, then delivered a two-run triple to cap a five-run ninth. Double follows Gamel's at-bat at the 57-minute mark.

Kevin Roberts has now gone nine consecutive outings without allowing an earned run, gets the win with his work here -- two scoreless innings, 45 pitches. Roberts' work begins at the one hour, 54 minute mark.

Watch Chapman's triple at the two hour, 57 minute mark.

 

Box Score

[Mass Haas]

Mat Gamel singles in five AB's, Stephen Chapman 1-for-3 (double, walk, also commits his 5th error at first base).

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l405&t=g_box&gid=2007_11_15_nshwin_waiwin_1

 

Three games remain before Monday night's championship game.

[Mass Haas]

Quiet 0-for-4 nights with two K's apiece for Jonathan Lucroy and Stephen Chapman Friday night:

 

http://www.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l405&t=g_box&gid=2007_11_16_wocwin_nshwin_1

 

Jonathan has slowed down after a torrid Hawaiian start -- now at a .728 OPS in 74 AB's.

[Mass Haas]

Mat Gamel (1-for-5 as the DH) drives in two with an RBI single as North Shore romp, 10-2.

 

Both Kevin Roberts and Omar Aguilar pitched well in relief -- Roberts did allow two inherited runners to score, but an error was involved.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=l405&t=g_box&gid=2007_11_17_wocwin_nshwin_1

 

One more game Sunday night before Monday's championship game.

[Mass Haas]

http://www.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071119&content_id=2303425&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

 

Gamel powers Honu past CaneFires

By Danny Wild / Special to MLB.com

Mat Gamel won the Hawaii Winter Baseball home run crown and drove in two runs Sunday as the North Shore Honu tuned up for the Championship Game with a 7-3 victory over the West Oahu CaneFires.

The Brewers infield prospect capped a stellar stay in Hawaii with another big performance. He led off the bottom of the second inning with his eighth homer and added an RBI single in the third.

Gamel edged teammate Mike Griffin (Reds) for the league lead with 40 hits. He also topped the circuit with 73 total bases and shared the lead with Honolulu's Austin Jackson (Yankees) with 25 runs scored. The 22-year-old third baseman will play for a championship for the third time in just over two months when the Honu take on the Waikiki BeachBoys on Monday at 11 p.m. ET.

Jonathan Lucroy followed Gamel's second-inning blast with a single, fellow Brewers farmhand Stephen Chapman walked and Dan Worth (Tigers) tripled to put North Shore (26-12) in front for good, 3-2. Worth went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and fell a home run short of the cycle.

Alex Presley (Pirates) singled home Worth in the seventh, giving him six hits in his final four games.

Honu starter Blair Johnson (3-1) yielded two runs on five hits over three innings, walking one and striking out two. The Pirates prospect posted a 3.26 ERA in eight HWB appearances. Andy Cruse fanned eight and held the CaneFires to an unearned run over four innings of relief before fellow Phillies farmhand Drew Naylor struck out five and walked one over two hitless frames for his first save.

West Oahu (13-24) took the lead in the top of the second, when Josh Bell ripped a leadoff single, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when fellow Dodgers prospect Jamie Hoffmann singled to right. Hoffmann scored on Johnson's second wild pitch of the inning to make it 2-0.

Bell entered the game in an 0-for-13 drought but went 3-for-5 with a triple and a run scored.

Blue Jays farmhand Anthony Hatch singled home Kenley Jansen (Dodgers) with two outs in the sixth with the CaneFires' other run.

Cardinals Minor Leaguer Michael Cooper (1-3) was charged with four runs on five hits and three walks over four innings. He struck out four as his ERA climbed to 8.49.

 

Box Score

 

http://www.mlb.com/images/2007/11/19/SMEDdznd.jpg

 

 

Mat Gamel hit four of his league-leading eight homers against West Oahu. (Photo by Jay Metzger/HWB)

[twobrewers]

Your my boy Blue!

 

What a great season for Gamel. Any word on how his defense was in Hawaii?

 

Looks like the Championship game is at 10:00 tonight. Is that being broadcast live?

[Mass Haas]

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/multimedia/?league=hwb

 

10:00 PM Central Monday night at the link above; last year several of us watched Joe Thatcher throw the final four innings to clinch the championship; Lorenzo Cain, Darren Ford and Robert Hinton were also members of the '06 Honu.

[Mass Haas]

North Shore Honu win title via rainout; Mat Gamel League MVP and Top Offensive Player

[Tedaldtada]

Man, Gamel has got to be one of the hottest hitting prospects in the minors right now. Does Gamel have any less upside than Billy Butler right now? I do't think so.

[colbyjack]

Bummer that we don't have video of the championship game to watch today, but congrats to Gamel on being named the league's MVP and top offensive player.

 

BA released their top 20 prospect list for the league today, and Chris Kline is currently conducting a chat to talk about those players.

 

Gamel finished #8, Chapman #16 and Lucroy #19. Gamel was praised for his bat (go figure) as one of the best pure hitters in the league. His defense was questioned (again, go figure) and they said most of his errors come on throws as he needs to brush up his throwing mechanics. His footwork and range at third were reportedly fine.

 

Chapman praised for his power potential in particular despite questions about his approach and the fact that he seemed to be fatigued after finishing his first full season (you could argue the year before was his first full season, but that's nitpicky). I don't think BA realized that Chapman's switch to 1B likely isn't permanent (at least not that I can remember hearing).

 

Lucroy replaced Salome, who opted to play in Venezuela. Same as what we've heard with Lucroy before: Good bat, some power, good catch and throw skills, fringy arm.

[rotoherb]

Bryan Smith of BaseballProspectus.com listed his top ten players from the Hawaii Winter League today, based on conversations with some of the coaches. Mat Gamel ranked third in the league on their list, with the usual "good hit/bad field" comments. This was his specific comment on Gamel's fielding:

 

"Reviews of his play at third base were mixed-some were more optimistic about his long-term prospects at the position than others-but there's no question he has a lot of work to do with his footwork and throwing."

[brewmann04]

I hope we Keep Matt around and would look foward to seeing some Outfield Combo of Laporta,Hart ,Gamel or Braun with 3rd Base manned by either Matt of Ryan.

[Mass Haas]

Jonathan Lucroy is the man -- a huge Q&A journal to end his season:

 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071120&content_id=324314&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp

 

Kudos to the folks who sent in questions -- Jonathan picked some excellent ones to answer. Nice to get the scouting reports on Kevin Roberts and Omar Aguilar.

 

Well-spoken kid who seems to have an excellent chance at a very bright Brewer future. Can't wait to see how he does with the Power to start next year.

[biedergb]

Nice to get the scouting reports on Kevin Roberts and Omar Aguilar.

Cool. That was my question. Actually I asked about 3 figuring he'd just choose one, but he answered all parts. Fans definitely responded this past week to his plea for questions.

 

I really wish him luck. Sounds like he has a good head on his shoulders. Hopefully I can take a trip to Charleston next year to see him among others.

[colbyjack]

If Lucroy doesn't make it to the highest level, it certainly won't be because he doesn't have a good head on his shoulders. As we've mentioned so many times before, he just seems like a delightful young man, and makes it that much easier to root for him.

 

As Mass noted, he answered some great questions. biedergb, there's a slight chance I'll be in Charlottesville next April if you're interested in taking in a UVA game.

[Mass Haas]

A Brewer blogger landed Jonathan Lucroy for some additional questions. Nice job, more than happy to link to you.

[Mass Haas]

Top 15 prospects out of Hawaii Winter Ball

 

4. Mat Gamel, North Shore Honu, 3B (Milwaukee Brewers)

While his defense at the hot corner needs a little polishing, Gamel more than made up for his 10 errors at third base with a scorching-hot bat. The Jacksonville native led HWB with eight home runs and compiled a .333 batting average -- the third highest mark in the league. Gamel also led the league with 25 runs scored and collected 25 RBIs and a .608 slugging percentage. The left-handed hitter should start the season at Double-A Huntsville, and if he continues his hot streak at the plate, the slugger could make his way up to Milwaukee as a backup to Ryan Braun by 2009. The Brewers might consider using him in the outfield to increase the opportunity for at-bats in a stacked Brewers lineup.

15. Jonathan Lucroy, North Shore Honu, C (Milwaukee Brewers)

Lucroy started his 2007 HWB campaign with a scorching-hot bat. The 21-year-old posted a .415 batting average through his first 11 games. While he cooled off a bit and finished the season with a respectable .299 mark, the backstop aided the champion Honu squad with an impressive .375 average with runners in scoring position. He thrived in clutch situations, hitting .444 with runners in scoring position and two out. Lucroy looked comfortable behind the plate, committing just one error in 120 total chances for a solid .992 fielding percentage. In 15 games, the Louisiana native surrendered just two passed balls, a mark which tied him for best in the league. One area Lucroy does need to work on is throwing out runners as the backstop allowed 12 of 16 runners to steal against him.

[TooLiveBrew]

Thanks for all the great work you do here & in other threads, MH. Great to hear just how well the Crew's guys did, in context. Also, the link for the blog Lucroy interview leads to a dead-end.

[Mass Haas]

TLH, that blog link works fine for me. Please try again.

[TooLiveBrew]

hmm - works fine now. Thanks for sharing!