2007 Fall Instructional League

[Mass Haas]

While MiLB.com has had a few notes from fall instructional camps in Arizona, nothing out of Maryvale, and things are probably wrapping up soon, if they haven't already. So unless someone's been hanging out by camp, we won't hear a peep or much news beyond this post.

 

However, here was your camp roster. There's a reason it's caled "instructional". Not a single camper was at age 23 or above as of the opening camp date in mid-September. Gord Ash has been quoted recently about Mark Rogers' work in camp, but Rogers was not listed on the camp's official roster.

 

Ages as of camp participation in paretheses:

 

RHP's:

Evan Anundsen (19)

Robert Bryson (19)

Wes Etheridge (22)

Jose Garcia (19)

Luis Guerrero (16)

Donovan Hand (21)

Shane Hill (18)

Jeremy Jeffress (19)

Pedro Lambertus (19)

Santo Manzanillo (18)

Roque Mercedes (20)

Joel Morales (18)

Rolando Pascual (18)

Alex Periard (19)

Amaury Rivas (21)

Chad Robinson (19)

Adrian Rosario (17)

R.J. Seidel (19)

Nick Tyson (19)

 

LHP's:

Bobby Bramhall (21)

Kristian Bueno (18)

Dan Merklinger (21)

Efrain Nieves (17)

Luis Ramirez (19)

 

Catchers:

Andy Bouchie (21)

Jesse D'Amico (19)

Eric Fryer (21)

Jonathan Lucroy (20)

Martin Maldonado (20)

Ulrich Snijders (20)

Brett Whiteside (18)

Shawn Zarraga (18)

 

Infielders:

Brent Brewer (19)

Allixon Cequea (16)

Alcides Escobar (20)

Eric Farris (21)

David Fonseca (20)

Taylor Green (20)

Hernan Iribarren (22)

Joey Paciorek (18)

Edgar Trejo (17)

Miguel Vasquez (20)

Zelous Wheeler (20)

 

Outfielders:

Hitaniel Arias (16)

Chris Dennis (18)

Cole Gillespie (22)

Caleb Gindl (18)

Lee Haydel (19)

Scott Houin (22)

Erik Miller (19)

Jose Rangel (18)

 

Arias is listed at 6'5" and 210 at age 16. Wow.

 

As noted elsewhere, the organization is lean on left-handed bats, which add to the excitement over Taylor Green's season. All the catchers in camp are RH bats, and only Green, Iribarren, and Miguel Vasquez (switch-hitter) are LH bats among the infielders. Dennis, Gindl, and Haydel are LH batting OF's.

 

International notes: Eight pitchers hail from the Dominican Republic, two from Puerto Rico, Periard is from Quebec, and Luis Ramirez is from Venezuela. Venezuela is better represented among position players -- five, including four infielders. Among position players, Green and Dennis are Canadians, Arias is from the D.R., Maldonado is from Puerto Rico, Snijders from Curacao, and Zarraga is a native of Aruba.

 

Lucroy is the shortest catcher in camp (now in Hawaii), and even he's listed at 6'0".

 

Rolando Pascual is now listed at 6'6", 245. The Brewers listed Pascual at 218 in their spring media guide. So now we know American food agrees with him, and how he spent a good part of the summer.

 

Joey Paciorek, 18, is listed at 6'2", 220, and Edgar Trejo, 17, is 6'3", 200. Plenty of power potential there, and you had to love some of Paciorek's peripherals with the baby Brewers this summer.

 

Speaking of power, here's a YouTube clip that includes Shawn Zarraga's winning performance in the 2006 International High School HR Derby Finals. The entire video is a 10:00 presentation, but you get some Motley Crue background music early on, and then beginning at the 6:00 minute mark and again later on, shots of Zarraga's power swing (OK, home run derby swing), and a brief interview with him at the 9:00 minute mark.

 

[And That]

Not knowing to what degree they participated, nice to see Luis Ramirez, Amaury Rivas and Rolando Pascual's names on the roster and presumably healthy. By the same token, not nice to not see Zach Braddock or Mark Rogers listed. Again, FWIW.

[colbyjack]

Rolando Pascual is now listed at 6'6", 245. The Brewers listed Pascual at 218 in their spring media guide. So now we know American food agrees with him, and how he spent a good part of the summer.

 

I've heard for several years that this is a big concern with international signees, in that they usually come from meager backgrounds and haven't enjoyed gorging themselves pretty much their entire lives. The bonus babies quickly get a taste of life in America and for some of them it's hard to slow down and/or stop. Many Latin Americans get the unfair "soft" label (Manny Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera come to mind) quite often because of this.

 

Of course that doesn't mean what is really happening to Pascual, and even if it is his 6'6" frame can handle added weight better than most. Livan Hernandez seems to be doing quite alright for himself http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif.

 

Anyway, Shawn Zarraga's name reminded me just how big of a sleeper prospect he is in the system, and Mass mentioning that he is a native of Aruba reminded me that he is a relative of Sidney Ponson according to his Perfect Game profile:

 

http://www.perfectgame.org/players/playerprofile.aspx?ID=29716

 

He received a 9.5 (out of 10) ranking at the 2006 PG National, and a perfect 10 ranking at the '06 PG Sunshine Northeast Showcase. His scouting reports are available in the above link, as he received praise for his receiving skills, his power potential and his overall athleticism. I'm anxious to learn and hear more about this young man, as he's one of the most interesting prospects in the system IMO.

[brewswinga2]

I don't remember much talk about it, but did Zarraga fall because he was supposed to be a tough sign? Pretty incredible that PG had him as the 45th best position player and we got him in the 44th Round.

[filthyfrog]

Notably absent from the list is Angel Salome. With him being removed from the Hawaii roster and not going to Instructs, I think it's fair to speculate that something's going on. Could be an injury. Could be some sort of team imposed suspension on top of his suspension...

[biedergb]

I was wondering the same thing filthyfrog. I wouldn't be surprised if teams have a policy of internally suspending players when they are suspended by the league -- so he may be around, but not officially allowed to participate. Considering that Rogers was reported by some poster as being in Az, but not officially on the roster, they may have unofficial instrux attendees. But that's just speculation too.

[filthyfrog]

Well, Jeffress was on the roster, so it seems odd that they'd hold Salome out simply because of his suspension. You're right that he could have been there unofficially, though.

[Blazer25]

He received a 9.5 (out of 10) ranking at the 2006 PG National, and a perfect 10 ranking at the '06 PG Sunshine Northeast Showcase. His scouting reports are available in the above link, as he received praise for his receiving skills, his power potential and his overall athleticism. I'm anxious to learn and hear more about this young man, as he's one of the most interesting prospects in the system IMO.

I actually contributed some of the scouting notes that went in Zarraga's report at the NE showcase.

 

I was impressed by how well he moved behind the plate for a bigger kid. He catches and throws very well during games. He is also very good on balls in the dirt. He hunts outs behind the plate and throws behind runners consistently for outs. He's very athletic and probably bigger than the 210 he's listed at by PG. He's put together.

 

At the plate, he's a little bit of a swinger and will chase bb's out of the zone. But he's got legit 30+ raw power and I think they'll close him up which will help his approach at the plate some.

 

I also remember that he was a great kid. Good to talk to, good with his teammates, mature enough to carry on a conversation with the scouts that were around and a leader on the field. I think the Brewers got a good one there.

[And That]

So, Blazer, you're basically saying he's the Brewers best sleeper prospect? How does he compare to Lucroy?

[Mass Haas]

Tom Haudricourt of the J-S with an R.J. Seidel update

[colbyjack]

Thanks for chiming in on Zarraga Blazer.

 

I really think Seidel could be the organization's next big pitching prospect, and I'm excited to see how well he pitches at WV next season.

 

As for Salome, not being on the instructional league roster is very interesting considering that Jeffress is. If one is suspended and the other is not, I don't see the difference in suspensions being the difference as to why one can attend the instrux camp and the other can't. I was also surprised that Salome was initially listed to attend the Hawaiian League, as I thought that announcement came after his suspension. This all leads me to believe that there may be an injury, or something else involved.

[dadofandrew]

It might be because Salome's was not a drug of recreation, as Jeffress' was. Salome's coach said he'd be in Hawaii, so maybe he'll report back.