five players you'll be watching

[miwokE]

In my limited ability to follow the Brewers' minor league players (i.e. Brewerfan, box scores and the occassional game audio) I usually find myself following a pattern of investigation each day. In years past I've had a number of players who have stuck out in my memory, for whatever reason, and I look to see how they've done first before anything else.

 

I imagine that this applies to more folks than just me, so I thought I'd make a little list and see if anyone else would like to share their 'players to watch'.

 

(I'll leave the most visible - Gallardo, Braun and, I guess, Inman - out)

 

1. Angel Salome - catcher first has been the case for many years...Kade Johnson, Jason Belcher, Lou Palmisano...

2. Cole Gillespie - I'm probably letting his NCAA and rookie league performances skew my opinion, but I expect him to move up quickly.

3. Steve Garrison - Lefties Hammond and Parra, too, but Garrison had a very, very respectable year at West Virgina for a 19-year-old and I feel bad I didn't notice.

4. Yohannis Perez - good story, don't know what to expect.

5. Lorenzo Cain - but some days Brent Brewer and some days Fermaint.

[sbrylski]

1. CF Darren Ford - He'll be an exciting player if he develops well. A 6.11 60? That's off the charts!

2. C Angel Salome - His best trait is his cannon arm. Gunning out a would-be basestealer might be the most exciting event in a game for me; That or a triple.

3. SS Alcides Escobar - I'll be watching him because I want to see why he's considered a solid prospect. He hasn't done anything, besides solid defense.

4. P Mike Jones and P Manny Parra - I lumped them together because they are in similar situations. If one of these guys can put their injuries behind them, we may have a new contendor for a pitching spot in '08.

5. SS Yohannis Perez - How good is he?

 

EDIT: Notice I watch guys up the middle.

[wcswimmer712]

1. Angel Salome--looking for adequate progression

 

2. Mike Jones/Parra hopefully they can both recover some of their pre-injury form

 

3. Tim Dillard-- The Brewer minor league pitcher of the year in 2005 (i think), looking for '05 numbers

 

4. Jeremy Jeffress the brewers round 1 pick in 2006. Hopefully he can progress well.

 

5. Yohannis Perez what kind of skills does he posses

[pogokat]

1. Steven Chapman -- my expectations are very high

 

2. Cole Gillespie --- I think he'll be a starter in AA by July

 

3. R.J. Seidel --- I'm intrigued by mysteries

 

4. Steve Garrison --- Could be exciting really fast

 

5. Brad Nelson --- This is his last chance...and i' think he'll prove he's still got a future..

[DHonks]

1. Dillard

2. Hammond

3. Garrison

4. Jones

5. Brantley

[Rightomac13]

1. RJ Seidel- Baseball America had this kid ranked above Tony Butler for in-state prospects going into the draft. If we got anywhere close to Butler results from 2006 out if this kid in 2007 I'll be thrilled.

2. Lou Palmisano- Following this site for 5 years now, I've seen the rise and semi-fall of Captain Lou from fans on the site. I'd love to see him rebound and get back on that top prospect list for Milwaukee and get on the Major League radar.

3. Cole Gillespie- Experienced college hitters are fun to watch in A-ball.

4. Mike Jones- Who's Mike Jones?

5. Jeremy Jeffress- 100 mph can talk.

[brewmann04]

Parra

Jones

gillespie

Hammond

Salome

[BillScottCanRake]

1. Rolando Pascual - Only 18, hopefully he can have some success in rookie ball and move to WV in 2008.

 

2. Charlie Fermaint - I am interested to see how Fermaint handles Huntsville.

 

3. Zach Jackson - Hopefully we'll see hitters missing the ball a bit more often than they did in 2006.

 

4. Mike Jones - My only hope for Mike is he makes it thru the 2007 season healthy. If he does, I think he'll be in Milwaukee no later than next year.

 

5. Roque Mercedes - I can't wait to see how Roque does in his first full season in WV this year.

[rousieboy]

Great thread topic...

 

Hammond

MJones (if he ends up in the pen)

Gillespie (but truthfully all OFs to see who deserves their designation)

Salome (can he hit enough to advance)

and...

Dillard (he is going to get a call up)

[homer]

Cain - my favorite prospect

Gillespie

Iribarren

Salome

Brewer

[Nader Raider Tim]

Hernan Iribarren - I really wanted the Brewers to just release him after the corked bat incident, he showed my why that would have been a mistake

 

Evan Anundeson - Don't know much/anything about him, some of the scouting reports I saw after he was drafted intrigued me

 

Yohannis Perez

Rogue Mercedes

Rolando Pascual

 

Basically I look for the guys that I don't/didn't have high expectations for, or don't know enough about to have expectations yet

[agent39]

Brent Brewer

Lorenzo Cain

Mike Carlin

Stephen Chapman

Darren Ford

 

 

Im sure you're all stunned.

 

Chappy got to work out at big league camp today, no other news to report.

[wvpowerblkwel]

1. Angel Salome: Absolute cannon for an arm. Watch how we bounces back from a really severe injury.

2. Joe Thatcher: Tore up the Hawaii league.

3. Lorenzo Cain: The older he gets the better he'll be.

4. Darren Ford: Fast as the wind...watch out as hit BA improves!

5. Wil Inman: If he can do in high A and AA this year what he did in WV, he's the real deal!

 

Can you tell I live in Charleston WV? These guys are great athletes, and really good people as well!

[Mass Haas]

Just an aside from Rotoworld -- as good a thread as any to include it:

 

Marlins sent first baseman Jason Stokes outright to Triple-A Albuquerque.

Stokes may still have 30-homer power, but because of his chronic wrist problems, no one has seen it lately. He was 1-for-11 with seven strikeouts this spring.

 

Lots of folks will remember, and to think back to the end of the 2002 season and their monster Midwest League seasons, it's shocking that both Brad Nelson and Stokes are now afterthoughts, off 40-man rosters.

 

Wrist and hamate problems are career killers, or at least severe derailers.

[colbyjack]

For the most part, the new guys always interest me the most because obviously those are the guys we know the least about.

 

Robert Hinton

I'm curious to see how the Brewers continue to use Hinton this season, if the starting experiment continues or if he remains in the bullpen. If he remains in the bullpen, with his stuff, he could soar up to the big-leagues with another big year.

 

Mat Gamel

I am always impressed with players that improve from one year to the next as they move up, and Gamel's BB:K ratio worried me after his pro debut. It's going to be hard to gauge his performance playing for BC, but if the peripheral numbers are there it will be hard not to be legitimately excited about his future.

 

Cole Gillespie

The entire BC OF is going to be a blast to watch. How quickly can Gillespie's bat carry him?

 

Lorenzo Cain

I think Cain could be the team's #1 prospect at this time next year, as he has just done so much so fast and his tools are legit.

 

Brent Brewer

We've heard some pretty glowing things out of instructional camp last spring on Brewer, and it sounds as though there is a good chance he opens at WV. No player in the Brewers system matches Brewer's athletic ability.

[brettac1]

Gillespie - pretty much my favorite guy from the moment he was drafted, I have very high hopes for him.

 

Inman - It's going to be unfair for hitters in the FSL.

 

Jones - I have hopes that he may make it to Milwaukee this year, and that he will up his K rate to pre-injury levels.

 

Katin - Is he actually good or just beat up on younger pitching?

 

Gamel - I expect him to up his walks a little more and become a legit top-tier hitting prospect, despite playing at Brevard.

[tigerbrew]

1. Will Inman

 

2. Cole Gillespie

 

3. Lorenzo Cain

 

4. Hernan Iribarren

 

5. Angel Salome

[BrianShouseForPrez]

1. Mitch Stetter

2. Chris Barnwell

3. Alec Zumwalt

4. Mike Meyers

5. Brad Nelson

[docduany]

1) Manny Para- If Ned's excited, I'm excited.ok,I've been excited since the beginging. It's about time Ned followed suit.

 

2) Angel Salome- Hoping the legs alright. Hoping the defense continues to improve.

 

3) Tony Gwyn- I'm not a huge fan, but I'm very curious. If he goes down and hits .320 in Nashville this year, is he the leadof hitter of the future despite the lack of power?

 

4) Mike Jones- I guess I can't leave the past behind.

 

5) Zach Jackson- Lucky number thirteen can never steer you wrong.

[TheEndless7]

1. Manny Parra - Hard to ignore a hopefully healthy left-handed pitching prospect

 

2. Zack Jackson - Same....

 

3. Hernan Iribaren - Figured I wouldn't have to look into him too much for the next few years, but after his spring...I'll be watching more closely.

 

4. Micheal Brantley - I like the walk numbers.

 

5. Joe Thatcher - I like pitchers.

[Crewin06]

1.) Tony Gwynn Jr.- An intriguing prospect to me. Can he repeat and improve on his performance of last year. And if he does, does he ever get a shot in milwaukee with the Outfielders they already have there.

 

2.) Cole Gillespie- Fast Climbers are fun to track. I could see Gillespie Jumping multiple levels this season. It will be fun to watch his progression as he moves through the Minor League Ranks.

 

3.) R.J. Seidel- Always will cheer for the homestate guys.

 

Edit I didn't see the part in the original saying to leave Braun, Gallardo and Inman off.

 

Those are the three guys that really interest me other than the top 3.

 

The lower level guys are just to far away from breaking into the big leagues to invest much time tracking no matter their production unless their a super top prospect. One minute they seem like the next Prince Fielder or Ben Sheets, the next minute they are Brad Nelson, Dave Krynzel or Mark Rogers.

[brewerfan82]

Here are the five guys I've been watching so far (including uber-prospects since they're my top-5 prospects overall as well):

 

LG W L ERA IP H ER HR BB SO WHIP

Y. Gallardo AAA 2 1 2.65 17.0 13 5 0 4 26 1.00

M. Parra AA 2 0 1.96 18.1 16 4 0 4 21 1.09

W. Inman A 1 1 0.54 16.2 11 1 0 4 22 0.90

 

 

LG AB R HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS

R. Braun AAA 65 16 7 14 9 7 3 2 .323 .405 .769 1.175

C. Gillespie A 59 11 2 12 7 14 1 0 .237 .324 .407 .730

 

So far, so good! Just need Cole to get hot!