Hey all,
So the trade deadline is officially Friday, what's the deal? Some have said, and Brewers' GM Doug Melvin seems to agree with the idea, that the Brewers have somewhat cast themselves out of the area of outside help by both playing poorly, and by the recent trips to the DL. A pending move to shore up the starting pitching no longer seems imininat, as it did just a few short days ago. Melvin has said the he expects Seattle to hold onto Washburn and for the D'backs to hold onto Garland and Davis. There basically goes all of our SP help down the shoots. Doug admtted to talking to the Padres about Correia, but for whatever good he would do, with his 4.75 era...
I still continue to believe that the Brewers can play well enough to make the playoffs... but now I am truely doubting that they will, even perhaps. The mounting injuries and the increasingly common downfall of the bullpen seem to put us away for the year.
Oh goodness. I am hoping to see some turn around in play, and hopefully a move to help something, somewhere, somehow....
I can't do it, but I hope you can Brew Up...
Friday, July 31, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Old post, sorry, Felipe Lopez
So, I wrote this up right before the All-Star brake, but my computer became stupid and I couldn't put it up. Sorry for the delay. Congrats to Fielder for winning the HR derby, very fun. It got pretty annoying though how much the announcers talked about Pujols... who didn't win the derby... We get it, he's one of the best hitters ever... but Fielder won the derby, talk about him for a while... Anyway, here you go.
On second thought, it won't let me copy/paste things into the browser. Boo.
Just got the news through the wire that the Brew Crew has acquired utility man/2nd baseman Felipe Lopez from the Diamondbacks. Lopez is a switch hitter that does well from both sides of the plate. Only a .265 career hitter, Lopez is currently hitting .301 with 6 hr. His average has been lower and lower each month this season, but we should still expect a good .280ish from him. Not a lot of power, but does have decent speed, stealing 44 bases in one season a couple of years ago. Should be interesting to see where he slots into the lineup, I'm going to guess at lead off with his speed, decent OBP, and the fact that he should be in the line up everyday.
What did we give up for him? Single A pitcher Rogue Mercedes, who if you recall and have been a good reader I discussed in my section about A ball bullpen. In around 29 games this year Mercedes owns an ERA in the low 1's. Also, AAA outfield Cole Gillepsie. I'm a little surprised to see Gillepsie get moved, as at one time he was a decent prospect. However, upon looking at his numbers this year they are very much mediocre. Not a good average, 7hr... maybe one of those AAAA players who a change of scenery may benefit. Also, outfielders are one of the Brewers' organizational depths, with Hart and Braun entrenched in the corners, and guys like Lorenzo Cain and Cutter Dykstra looking pretty sharp in center for AAA and A ball respectively.
Thats it for now. I've found myself in a bit of a funk lately and either very busy or very lazy. I'll try to get going on more things, especially with the trade deadline approaching (July 31).
Brew Up!
On second thought, it won't let me copy/paste things into the browser. Boo.
Just got the news through the wire that the Brew Crew has acquired utility man/2nd baseman Felipe Lopez from the Diamondbacks. Lopez is a switch hitter that does well from both sides of the plate. Only a .265 career hitter, Lopez is currently hitting .301 with 6 hr. His average has been lower and lower each month this season, but we should still expect a good .280ish from him. Not a lot of power, but does have decent speed, stealing 44 bases in one season a couple of years ago. Should be interesting to see where he slots into the lineup, I'm going to guess at lead off with his speed, decent OBP, and the fact that he should be in the line up everyday.
What did we give up for him? Single A pitcher Rogue Mercedes, who if you recall and have been a good reader I discussed in my section about A ball bullpen. In around 29 games this year Mercedes owns an ERA in the low 1's. Also, AAA outfield Cole Gillepsie. I'm a little surprised to see Gillepsie get moved, as at one time he was a decent prospect. However, upon looking at his numbers this year they are very much mediocre. Not a good average, 7hr... maybe one of those AAAA players who a change of scenery may benefit. Also, outfielders are one of the Brewers' organizational depths, with Hart and Braun entrenched in the corners, and guys like Lorenzo Cain and Cutter Dykstra looking pretty sharp in center for AAA and A ball respectively.
Thats it for now. I've found myself in a bit of a funk lately and either very busy or very lazy. I'll try to get going on more things, especially with the trade deadline approaching (July 31).
Brew Up!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
International Signings, Trade Rumors Starting
For those of you who don't know, during a time frame following the June amateur draft international free agents are allowed to be signed. That time has now commenced. Typically these players are Latin American/South American, although the Pirates did just sign a trio of Taiwanese prospects. International players are not eligible for the draft under current rules.
Many of these nations allow players to be signed at the age of 16 (I'm not sure how those rules works, like who makes that decision and what not). Not all players sign that young, and they may continue to hone their skills (and monetary value) with continued work. Some of the bonuses these players receive are very high. The Yankees to date have already signed at least 3 players who are getting 3.2, .75, and .4 million dollar bonuses.
Well, the Brewers aren't the Yankees, if the Sabathia signing didn't already inform you of that. But today the Brew Crew did sign two nice prospects.
The first and foremost is Jose Pena. Pena is an outfield who just turned 16. He's already 6'2" and 190lbs and is still considered to be projectable. He's supposed to be a plus player all around and should develop into a good power hitter. Scouting Director Bruce Seid just flew back from the Dominican after the signing and liked what he saw. GM Doug Melvin has also been out to see Pena play. $400,000 is rumored to be the signing bonus, over 300k short of the franchise record they doled out for a pitcher in '05. Seid commented that Pena will be the highest profile player signed by the Crew internationally.
The second is a hard throwing 17 year old righty named Jean Capellan. Capellan sits around 92mph with his fastball and has a hard breaking ball. Not considered a highly touted prospect, the Brewers think he will have upside. Signing bonus here is expected to be around $50,000.
Both players are expected to start their careers at the Brewers' new training facility in the Dominican.
Trade Rumors:
So, a couple of things have gone down in the trade rumor world involving the Brewers. First off, I hope we're all aware that former Indian Mark DeRosa is now a Cardinal. Which is bad for us because the Cards have had a bit of a whole at 3rd with Glaus being on the DL. It was confirmed by Doug Melvin that the Brewers had talked to Shapiro and the Indians about landing DeRosa, but the Brewers lacked the Major League ready pitching that they wanted in return. Oh well, McGehee is hitting so well right now, I'm not too worried about 3rd.
Secondly is the everlasting search for starting pitching, now especially with Parra down at AAA and Bush on the DL. I really see the Brewers as having to make a move. Hopefully some things get sorted out, but even with Yovani hovering around a 3.0, it's entirely possible for everybody else in our rotation to be up over a 4.50...bad. The name that's getting tossed around is former Brewer Doug Davis, who is currently with the Diamondbacks (Brewers traded him there for Johnny Estrada). Davis is throwing the ball well, he's a control lefty, who kinda reminds you of a Jeff Soupan, cuts the fastball, slow curve, high WHIP. Don't let this worry you too much though, Davis is actually good. Despite his 3-8 record right now Doug's ERA is actually 3.15. The only real issue now is that there are so many teams still in a hypothetical contention that there is way more demand then there is a supply, so prices are inflated. Seems like we're going to have to wait until closer to the July 31 trade deadline to see any move happen.
That's that for now. It sure was a shame to see Gallardo's 12k gem wasted in that loss yesterday... I kinda really want Yo' to be a 20 game winner. It'd be super cool to see a Cy Young in Milwaukee, although that would probably make him unaffordable to us. (The Brewers had talks with his agent about an extension last year but they didn't go anywhere. When Yo' hurt his knee it seemed like that may have worked out well for the Brewers, but now he's pitching so awesome that waiting is definitely going to pay off for Gallardo and his agent.)
So nice little tangent there.
Brew Up! Brew Outta Here! Gone!
Many of these nations allow players to be signed at the age of 16 (I'm not sure how those rules works, like who makes that decision and what not). Not all players sign that young, and they may continue to hone their skills (and monetary value) with continued work. Some of the bonuses these players receive are very high. The Yankees to date have already signed at least 3 players who are getting 3.2, .75, and .4 million dollar bonuses.
Well, the Brewers aren't the Yankees, if the Sabathia signing didn't already inform you of that. But today the Brew Crew did sign two nice prospects.
The first and foremost is Jose Pena. Pena is an outfield who just turned 16. He's already 6'2" and 190lbs and is still considered to be projectable. He's supposed to be a plus player all around and should develop into a good power hitter. Scouting Director Bruce Seid just flew back from the Dominican after the signing and liked what he saw. GM Doug Melvin has also been out to see Pena play. $400,000 is rumored to be the signing bonus, over 300k short of the franchise record they doled out for a pitcher in '05. Seid commented that Pena will be the highest profile player signed by the Crew internationally.
The second is a hard throwing 17 year old righty named Jean Capellan. Capellan sits around 92mph with his fastball and has a hard breaking ball. Not considered a highly touted prospect, the Brewers think he will have upside. Signing bonus here is expected to be around $50,000.
Both players are expected to start their careers at the Brewers' new training facility in the Dominican.
Trade Rumors:
So, a couple of things have gone down in the trade rumor world involving the Brewers. First off, I hope we're all aware that former Indian Mark DeRosa is now a Cardinal. Which is bad for us because the Cards have had a bit of a whole at 3rd with Glaus being on the DL. It was confirmed by Doug Melvin that the Brewers had talked to Shapiro and the Indians about landing DeRosa, but the Brewers lacked the Major League ready pitching that they wanted in return. Oh well, McGehee is hitting so well right now, I'm not too worried about 3rd.
Secondly is the everlasting search for starting pitching, now especially with Parra down at AAA and Bush on the DL. I really see the Brewers as having to make a move. Hopefully some things get sorted out, but even with Yovani hovering around a 3.0, it's entirely possible for everybody else in our rotation to be up over a 4.50...bad. The name that's getting tossed around is former Brewer Doug Davis, who is currently with the Diamondbacks (Brewers traded him there for Johnny Estrada). Davis is throwing the ball well, he's a control lefty, who kinda reminds you of a Jeff Soupan, cuts the fastball, slow curve, high WHIP. Don't let this worry you too much though, Davis is actually good. Despite his 3-8 record right now Doug's ERA is actually 3.15. The only real issue now is that there are so many teams still in a hypothetical contention that there is way more demand then there is a supply, so prices are inflated. Seems like we're going to have to wait until closer to the July 31 trade deadline to see any move happen.
That's that for now. It sure was a shame to see Gallardo's 12k gem wasted in that loss yesterday... I kinda really want Yo' to be a 20 game winner. It'd be super cool to see a Cy Young in Milwaukee, although that would probably make him unaffordable to us. (The Brewers had talks with his agent about an extension last year but they didn't go anywhere. When Yo' hurt his knee it seemed like that may have worked out well for the Brewers, but now he's pitching so awesome that waiting is definitely going to pay off for Gallardo and his agent.)
So nice little tangent there.
Brew Up! Brew Outta Here! Gone!
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