Parra and Green Honored By Brewers -- Latest: Canada Qualifies for Beijing Olympics

[Mass Haas]

From Tom Haudricourt's blog entry (please excuse the typo "Manny Green" which opens it):

http://blogs.jsonline.com/brewers/archive/2007/09/19/parra-green-honored-in-farm-system.aspx

Congrats to both, we pretty much picked up on Taylor Green's exploits from the get-go, and certainly pounded you over the head with his numbers and accomplishments all season. Pounding that was worth noting, apparently.

Potentially a place in the 2008 rotation for Gallardo, Villanueva, and Parra (at least by mid-season for Manny) -- incredible, after years of waiting, the system produces three potentially fantastic starting rotation options in short order.

Awesome time to be a fan of this organization, just awesome.

[colbyjack]

Awesome time to be a fan of this organization, just awesome.

 

Too true Mass. I know a few people commented towards the end of the season that this year was one of the more difficult ones to follow given the suspensions of guys like Salome and Jeffress, the trading of Inman, Thatcher and Garrison and no top prospects (Cain, Gillespie, Ford, etc.) stepping up to assume the role of a impact prospect since Braun and Gallardo have now made their mark in the big leagues.

 

While a few of those things do draw some concern, I think it was an awesome year to follow the system. Five out of six affiliates made the postseason (does Arizona even count?), with three of those teams making their league's championship series. Parra rebounded impressively after many to most had written him off, the team enjoyed yet another seemingly good draft on paper, signed an impressive amount of talent through the DFE process, has recently added a couple of notable Dominicans in the international free agent market (even if it does seem as though they should just give up) and had a couple of players like Taylor Green and Mat Gamel continue to step up and prove they're legit hitters to look forward to.

 

Oh yeah, and we get to watch meaningful baseball in September.

 

You also make a good point about the pitching staff, as Jack Z. has taken a few beatings about the pitchers, or lack of, that he has drafted and developed over the years. He can't take credit for Villanueva, but Gallardo and Parra could be to the pitching staff what Fielder and Braun is to the everyday lineup (although I'm sure someone will comment about how good the pitching staff would look with Homer Bailey over Mark Rogers...you can't win them all I suppose http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif).

 

Anyway, sorry to go off-track for a moment there...congrats to both Parra and Green. They certainly deserved the recognition they received.

[agent39]

Taylor is very excited and will be in MIL a week from SAT to get his award. Ill be there too. We're very proud of him!

[agent39]

I dont know what your post has to do with me being proud of my client but whatever. Ill be in MIL and am looking fwd to it quite a bit.

[biedergb]

My best guess is that he thought you implied Green will be playing in Milwaukee, not just physically there to receive his award.

[LouisEly]

I'm happy for Green, but it is somewhat concerning that the minor league position player of the year is at low-A with less than 15 HRs and 90 RBI. Don't get me wrong, he had a very good year, but it says a lot about the lack of position talent at AAA and AA. We all know how great of a year Gamel had, but that park and league beats down your stats so they look worse on paper than they really are. Same with Huntsville, although if Katin had a little higher BA and a little less Ks I think he would have beaten Green for that honor easily (same applies to Nix). 24 dingers and 94 RBI in that league is pretty impressive, especially with a less-than-stellar supporting cast. The other guy that I think would have beaten Green was Lefave, but I guess you can't give it to a guy who has been traded.

 

Anyway, congrats to Taylor, and hopefully many more similarly productive seasons to come.

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/sports/story.html?id=b44799fc-cbc5-4565-8a6a-e561229efb06

 

Green shows plenty of Power

Courtenay native named Milwaukee Brewers' top minor league player

Brian Drewry

Victoria Times (Canada.com)

This Saturday, Taylor Green will take his first steps on the lush, green grass of Milwaukee's Miller Park.

He hopes they'll be the first of many.

And the way the Courtenay native played ball this year for the single-A West Virginia Power -- he led the team in hitting with .327 average -- those hopes should turn into reality in just a few years, if not sooner.

Green, who turns 21 in November, was just named the Milwaukee Brewers' positional player of the year for their entire minor league system -- A, AA and AAA. And the Brewers will honor Green -- a 2005 draft choice -- and their top minor league pitcher, AAA hurler Manny Parra, on Saturday prior to their game against the San Diego Padres.

"It's an unbelievable honor and I still can't believe I won it," Green said over the phone from the Comox Valley, where he was taking in a few days of R and R at home before heading to Arizona last night for some work in the fall Instructional League.

"I did have a good year, especially at the plate, and the team did very well going deep into the playoffs, so it was a fun season."

His success with the Power, who play out of Charleston, was noticed by more than just the Brewers. On Friday night, Green received a call from Greg Hamilton, Baseball Canada's director of national teams, inviting him to play for the senior national team at the Baseball World Cup in November in Taiwan. The Baseball World Cup is held every two years and is open to all players except those on Major League Baseball rosters. Cuba has won the last nine tournaments.

"I couldn't believe it actually. He said there's a roster spot waiting for me if I want it."

Green obviously jumped at the chance to play for his country, but he can't pack his bags just yet.

"I still have to clear it with the Brewers because they may have plans for me this winter, but if they say go ahead, I'm there."

Green's solid year at the plate included his .327 average, which was fourth best in the South Atlantic League, 14 home runs and 86 RBIs in 111 games. His hitting and his stellar play at third base also helped him earn South Atlantic League mid-season and postseason all-star honors. And he helped the Power win the first half North Division title. In the postseason, the Power made it to the league championship series before bowing out in three straight games to the Columbus Catfish.

"We got whooped in the final," said Green. "But Columbus was a good team, so all-and-all it was a good season for us."

Green, who grew up playing baseball in the Comox Valley and for the Parksville Royals of the B.C. Premier League, will try to fine tune his hitting and third base skills while in Arizona for the next three weeks. The move from his usual middle infield spot to third took some getting used to, but he quickly got the hang of the hot corner.

"It took some transition time because the ball gets to you a whole lot quicker at third," added Green.

After quickly jumping from the Brewers' rookie league team in Helena, Mont., to West Virginia, Green hopes to start next season at the Brewers' AA team in Huntsville, Ala., and if he has his way he'll also be visiting Nashville, the home the Brewers' AAA team.

"It's quite a big jump from single-A to triple-A, so I just want to have a good winter of training and be in top shape in the spring so I can have a good start.

"Then, we'll just have to see how things go. My ultimate goal is obviously to be playing in the majors in two or three years and I think I made good strides toward that this season."

[bretsky07]

he led the team in hitting with .327 average

 

Green hopes to start next season at the Brewers' AA team in Huntsville, Ala., and if he has his way he'll also be visiting Nashville, the home the Brewers' AAA team.

 

 

Silly Victoria Times, conveniently forgetting that Lefave led the team in batting, and Green has to go through Brevard next year before getting to Huntsville.

 

Still, great job this year for Taylor, just adding to our great 3B depth behind Braun, Heether, and Gamel. (and Dillon and Rottino, if you count them)

[agent39]

FYI Taylor never said he expects to start in AA next year, we were very disappointed to see that printed. On a side note, the ceremony today was fantastic. I took about 50 pictures on the field and will figure out how to post them when I get back home to florida. We're so proud of Taylor, it was a great day!

[agent39]

http://files-upload.com/files/533039/Taylor Green.zip

 

These are the pictures of Taylor at the event!

[Mass Haas]

Link to MiLB.com, text follows:

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20071026&content_id=317984&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp

By Lisa Winston / MLB.com

With the glut of offensive talent in the organization coming into the 2007 season, it's unlikely that anyone in the system would have predicted that third baseman Taylor Green would wind up as the Brewers' Minor League Player of the Year.

But special assistant to the general manager and director of amateur scouting Jack Zduriencik would certainly have had him pegged as something special.

"Now if you'd asked who would have the Minor League 'Heart of the Year'?" Zduriencik mused. "Yes. He has that kind of heart."

Turns out Green was both.

The Vancouver-born Green -- the Brewers' 26th-round pick in 2005 who signed as a draft-and-follow pick in 2006 -- was the somewhat surprising winner of the Brewers' annual Robin Yount Performance Award given to their offensive Minor League Player of the Year.

He hit .327 with 14 homers and 86 RBIs for the West Virginia Power of the Class A South Atlantic League, helping lead that team to the Sally League finals. He finished fourth in the league in batting.

After hitting just .231 at Short-Season Helena in 2006 coming out of Cypress College in California, the 20-year-old not only weathered a shift in position from second base to third but also kicked his bat into gear in his full-season debut.

Green spent a few weeks in instructional league camp in Arizona, not seeing any official game action but rather getting ready for his pending trip to Taiwan, where he would be representing Canada in the International Baseball Federation World Cup tournament.

Green's remarkable season not only got him onto the radar of avid Brewers fans, it also caught the attention of the Canadian national team, and Green was thrilled to be added to that roster.

He'd already won over the Brewers' brass.

A shortstop in junior college who started his pro career at second base, his progress at third this season has been impressive and Zduriencik thinks he can be that type of utility guy who can play all three positions down the line.

"He has really good hands and terrific instincts for the game," he said. "He's a phenomenal kid, a hard-working guy."

Zduriencik broke down Green's game in more detail, comparing him physically to former Los Angeles Dodgers great Ron Cey.

"He's not a physically imposing kid, but he's a left-handed hitter with some power who just knows what he's doing," he said. "He can field everything that's hit to him, has good first-step quickness and good body control."

Zduriencik gave a lot of the credit for this impressive late-round sign to scout Bruce Seid.

Seid was, in Zduriencik's words, relentless in the "war room" in wanting the club to draft Green. A sore ankle had limited Green during his 2005 college season, but Seid convinced the club of the prospect's amazing heart.

"He said 'they don't make them like this,'" Zduriencik said. "And he was right."

(MiLB.com Photo by Tom Priddy)

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/images/2007/10/26/fQSJxVkB.jpg

[Mass Haas]

Link while active, text follows:

 

Island ball players eye Olympics

Courtenay's Green, Victoria's Saunders aim to help Canada earn trip to Beijing

Brian Drewry

(Victoria, British Columbia) Times Colonist

 

What do you do for an encore when you're coming off a season in which you were named the top player in the entire Milwaukee Brewers' minor league baseball system?

 

How about representing your country in the Olympic Games.

 

That's what Taylor Green plans to do, and today the Courtenay native takes a big step toward accomplishing that goal. Green, fellow B.C. Premier Baseball League alumnus Mike Saunders of Victoria and the rest of the Canadian men's baseball team begin a one-week training camp in Brisbane, Australia, today.

 

Following five exhibition games this week against the Australian national team, Team Canada will head to Taichung, Taiwan, to take part in the last-chance Olympic Qualifying tournament. The top three teams from the qualifying tournament will earn the final three berths to this summer's Beijing Olympics.

 

"I'm excited, I'm pumped for this," Green said Saturday, over the phone from the Brewers' spring training facility just outside Phoenix.

 

Green, a 2005 draft choice of the Brewers out of the Parksville Royals, was only in Phoenix for a day -- to drop off his car so he would have a set of wheels when he got back -- as he was due to fly out of San Francisco yesterday to meet the rest of Team Canada in Australia.

 

"This will be my second go-around with Team Canada (he wore the Maple Leaf at last fall's World Cup of Baseball) and I had a great time the first time so I'm expecting the same this time around and hopefully we can grab one of those Olympic spots."

 

The Olympic qualifier is just the start of what'll be a busy season for Green, who turned 21 in November. Following the Olympic qualifier, the hard-hitting infielder returns to Arizona March 16 to catch the last two weeks of the Brewers' spring training. From there he heads south and east to suit up for the Brevard County Manatees of the high single-A Florida State League. And coming off a season where he batted .327 with 14 home runs and 86 RBIs to lead the single-A West Virginia Power to the South Atlantic League final, it may not take him long to jump to the Brewers' double-A team in Huntsville, Ala.

 

"High A ball is where they want me now and I'm fine with that," said Green, who played third base for West Virginia but could play third, short or second for Team Canada. "I'm focused on climbing the ladder one year at a time and developing my game as I go along. The rest will take of itself."

 

As for the Olympic qualifier, Green likes Canada's chances. They'll be up against Mexico, Korea, Australia, Spain, South Africa, Germany and the host team. Canada opens against Mexico on March 7.

 

"It's not going to be easy because there's no weak team in this thing, but we can compete with all these teams so it's a matter of putting it all together -- hitting, pitching and defence -- on game day."

 

If Canada does qualify for Beijing, it would mean asking the Brewers for yet another few weeks off. But Green doesn't foresee any problems there.

 

"The Brewers have been great about releasing me for national team duties and when you're talking the Olympic Games, I'm sure they won't have a problem with that," he added.

 

And if he does wear the Maple Leaf in Beijing, Green says, yes, he may be a little nervous. After all, the Olympic Games is a long way from fielding ground balls in Courtenay and Parksville.

 

"It would be a dream come true to play in the Olympics. I mean, when you're playing ball in high school you may dream of playing in Olympics, but you never really think it's going to come true."

 

And he'll have his buddy from Victoria to enjoy the ride with. Saunders, a 2005 draft choice of the Seattle Mariners, made the jump to the double-A West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx midway through last season. The talented outfielder will likely start in double-A this year, but Green says it won't be long before the former Victoria Mariner is playing triple-A or higher.

 

"Mike's a great outfielder and he had good year last year, so hopefully he can keep it up. It'll be great to see him again in Australia."

 

And, if all goes as planned, the two will hook up again in Beijing this August.

[Mass Haas]

Not only Taylor Green is currently in Taiwan playing for Canada and representing the Brewers -- RHP Alexandre Periard pitched well in relief last night in a victory against South Africa; Canada is 2-0 in the tournament thus far.

[Mass Haas]

Team Canada lost to Australia Sunday, but defeated Chinese Taipei in a wild one today.

 

The Canadians are now 3-1 in the six-team tourney, so are looking good for the Olympics barring a collapse. No mention of Taylor Green yet, and without box scores, no word on how many AB's he's had, if any.

[Mass Haas]

Canada Makes Easy Work of Spain

TAICHUNG, Taiwan - After an emotional game against Chinese Taipei, Canada came out swinging and shut down Spain defensively in coasting to a 11-0 win in seven innings at the Final Olympic Qualifer.

Aaron Wideman (Mississauga, ON) was at his best, going four innings and giving up only three hits in his start for Canada.

"It felt good today. It was a feeling of comfort today," says Wideman. "It relieves so much stress for a pitcher to go out there and be comfortable and with this group of guys the comfort level is through the roof."

Alexandre Periard (St. Eustache, QC) was just as effective in relief, allowing only one hit with two strikeouts in the remaining three innings of the game.

"I was just trying to get the first pitch strike today, get my pitches down in the zone and pound the ball inside. It felt pretty good," says Periard.

Full story at link, no Taylor Green mention...

[Mass Haas]

Canada Is Going to Beijing

Congrats to Taylor Green, Alex Periard and the rest of the Canadian players. Beijing this summer -- that's going to be huge for those guys, Opening Cermonies, etc. Former Brewer farmhand LHP Mike Kusiewicz (High Desert, 2004) played a big role today as the link indicates.

[Mass Haas]

Taylor Green was 2-for-7 (single, double) overall in the qualifying series. As one of the very youngest players on the squad, it's not surprising his playing time was limited somewhat (he started the final game as Canada had already qualified for the Olympics). As noted, above, Alex Periard pitched well in two relief appearances. Congrats to both.

 

All box scores and stats can be found here.