On the heels of the Red Sox top 10 list, we come back again with another team on our tour from club to club searching out the top 10 prospects for each team. If you’ve been following along with the articles, you’ve seen us work with other sites who have a more focused view on their specific team. There will be some more of those to come in the upcoming week. However, like yesterday we are going to stay in-house again and let Baseball Instinct’s Mike Koepp tell us all about the Milwaukee Brewers top 10. With a couple of HUGE questions within the organization to be answered shortly, let’s take a look with Mike at what’s going on with the Brew Crew.
The success of the 2011 season for Milwaukee brought out Brewers fans at a time when they’re used to Tundra Tailgating at Lambeau Field. Braun and Fielder put on a nice playoff show for The Brew Crew faithful. Die Hard fans were thrilled by a NL Central Division Championship, then were stunned as their team defeated a tough worst-to-first Diamondbacks team to win the ALDS. Following up on that, they fought hard in their first LCS since 1982 losing to the Wild Card division rivals in St. Louis.
They were powered by NL MVP Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder’s bats, but they realized, last winter, that for them to see the post season they need arms. With a deep talent pool in the minors they shipped off a couple of major league ready prospects; Jake Odorizzi, Jeremy Jeffress plus Brett Lawrie for Zack Greinke and Shaun Marcum. The hired guns probably gave some motivation and or inspiration to Yovani Gallardo and Randy Wolf who helped clinch the pennant with 96 wins.
We may not see the fireworks of Braun and Fielder in 2012 with Prince’s free agency and possible big payday with another team. Plus, the possible loss of Braun with the report to his testing positive to a performance enhancing drug. But fear not Cheeseheads, at this time, the Packers are undefeated and the farm system, while a bit thinner following trades, still has a few young future Wallbangers.
1. Tyler Thornburg, RHP 09/29/1988 H: 5’11″ W: 185 - Tyler Thornburg was a beast in Low Single-A (7-0, 1.57 ERA, 76 K’s in 12 starts) then faced a little bit better hitting in High Single-A (3-6, 3.57 ERA, 84 K’s in 12 Starts). The 22-year-old was Milwaukee’s representative to the 2011 Futures Game. The Futures game features the top 50 minor league prospects each year in July as part of the MLB All Star Game festivities. While he may get a look at joining the bullpen in spring training he sees himself more as a consistent, reliable starting pitcher. His velocity is typically in the mid 90′s but he can on occasion hit 98-99. Tyler has a deceptive over-the-top delivery and has good control of his pitches.
Our Instinct: Thornburg the lone standout of Milwaukee’s system as far as being able to help the big club. It would probably benefit him and The Brewers to have him a start in 2012 in Triple-A and see how he progresses.
2. Taylor Jungmann, RHP 12/18/1989 H: 6’6″ W: 195 - Taylor Jungmann was the 12th overall pick by Milwaukee in the first year players draft. The Texas Longhorn made a $2.525 Million bonus for signing with The Brewers before the signing deadline. He won Big 12 Pitcher of the Year college baseball’s version of The Heisman, the Dick Howser Trophy. The 21 year old was on the top of many teams list of pitchers in the draft with a 13-3 record, 1.60 ERA and 126 K’s in 141 innings pitched. Taylor will not make his professional debut until 2012.
Our Instinct: While there’s talk around about Taylor Jungmann starting the season in Double-A it’s more likely that he’ll begin in Single-A. He is talented and will probably dominate but with the depth at Miller Park they won’t need to rush him.
3. Wily Peralta, RHP 5/8/1989 H: 6’2″ W: 235 - Wily Peralta was a 16-year-old in 2005 when he signed with Milwaukee from his home in The Dominican Republic. His career was put on hold when he was injured and had successful Tommy John surgery in 2006. Peralta was promoted this season to Triple-A after a dominating (9-7, 3.46, 117 K’s, 119 Innings, 21 Starts) Double-A Huntsville start.
In Tom Belomnt’s Prospect Instinct | Wily Paralta article, he said this of the big right hander:
Peralta runs a low to mid 90s fastball as his main offering. While the pitch doesn’t get him many strike outs, when he’s working in the 93-94 range he gets good sink on the pitch which gets him his high ground ball rate. He’s always work around 50% and this season he had an impressive 56%.
He pairs the fastball with 2 off-speed pitches, a slider in the low to mid 80s with good tilt. It’s an average pitch at this time and is his best strikeout pitch
He also has a change-up that sits in the mid 80s. It’s an average pitch and he does throw it with a pretty similar arm speed. It’s enough of a pitch to give him a true 3rd pitch and profile him as a starter.
Our Instinct: With his quick advances following Tommy John surgery a lot of insiders thought Wily Peralta would get a September call-up in 2011 but the Brewers had other ideas. He should get a shot at wowing the Milwaukee coaching staff this spring and continue at Triple-A in 2012.
4. Jed Bradley, LHP 6/12/1990 H: 6’3″ W: 203 - Jed Bradley, a lefty out of Georgia Tech, was the second of Milwaukee’s 2011 first round draft picks. We got a glimpse of him in The Arizona Fall League but he wasn’t that impressive (1-0, 6.48 ERA , 8 SO, 8.1 IP) probably due to a mild groin injury in the Instructional League. He’ll get his real debut in 2012 with Single-A. The Brewers had no southpaws that thrilled in their farm system so Bradley moves to the top in that category. Jed has good control and throws in the low 90′s.
Our Instinct: Jed Bradley has a good grasp of how to pitch for his young age. We expect that he’ll move through the system rather quickly and help the Brewers rotation in the next 2 years.
5. Jorge Lopez, RHP 2/10/1993 H: 6’4″ W: 195 - Jorge Lopez was Milwaukee’s 2011 second round pick signed out of Caguas Military Academy High School in Puerto Rico. The Brewers amateur scouting director Bruce Seid said in a report by Audrey Snyder / MLB.com, ”"The one thing we really made a concerted effort this year was to identify not only the tools of the player, the athleticism, but also the ability to throw strikes, have feel with their stuff, I think in the past, guys get caught up in radar-gun readings.” Lopez throws in the low 90′s and has shown good command so far in the instructional league and Arizona Fall League (2.45 ERA, 10 K’s in 4 Games Started).
Our Instinct: Jorge Lopez will likely start his first full professional season at Single-A in 2012 but his command of pitches will help him a great deal and could help him to progress through the minor league system. But don’t expect him to toe the pitching rubber at Miller Park for another couple of years.
6. Ryan “Scooter” Gennett, 2B 5/01/1990 H: 5’9″ W: 164 - Scooter Gennett was picked in the 16th round in 2009 and was on the fence of committing to playing for Florida State. The Brewers have seen dividends in the signing as Scooter was selected for The Midwest League All-Star in his debut season and Gennett made another All-Star appearance in The Florida State League in 2011. He has very decent power for his size, 9 HR and 39 Doubles with Midwest League, 9 HR, 20 Doubles and 6 Triples in Florida State League. His glove work isn’t gold glove worthy just yet but with his eyes at the plate they can be called a steady fielder.
Our Instinct: Expect to see Scooter Gennett in Double-A this year but if he continues his speedy progression could see a promotion to Triple-A by the end of the season. More than likely he will be molded into a lead-off hitter that has speed but his stolen bases have come more by smart running than pure speed. The Brewers would probably like the fielding skills to improve but he already has an idea at the plate which is many times is harder to teach.
7. Logan Schafer, OF 9/08/1986 H: 6’1″ W: 180 - Logan Schafer was the 2009 Minor League Player of the year. He has the potential to be centerfielder of the future in Milwaukee. Unfortunately, his chance to to fill that role has been delayed. First, when he suffered a groin injury back in spring training of 2010, followed by a broken foot, and a broken right thumb. So sure, Logan has been bitten by the injury bug lately, but when he’s healthy he hit .313 with 5 HR and 16 Stolen bases in 390 at-bats. The injuries aren’t for a lack of hustle. He’s been on other teams draft list for many years, but, every time, he elected to stay in college until the Brewers called his name in 2008.
Our Instinct: Logan is the best outfield prospect in Milwaukee’s farm. He’ll likely get a shot in spring training to turn heads but expect to see him start the season at Triple-A. If he stays healthy and continues his progression, he could get a call mid-season or get a chance should the injury bug bite at the pro-level.
8. Orlando Arcia, SS 5/09/1991 H: 6’0″ W: 165 - Orlando Arcia is an example of the Brewers efforts to find better talent out of the Dominican Republic. He had a .944 OPS in the Dominican Summer League with a decent .294 average in 294 plate appearances with 5 HR. Arcia also showed some speed stealing 13 bases out of 17 attempts.
Our Instinct: He’s young and has room to improve (but don’t we all). Expect him to continue working out of The Dominican League, but, should he progress further, you may see him move up in the Brewers system.
9. Cody Scarpetta, RHP 8/25/1988 H: 6’3″ W: 244 - Cody Scarpetta the Brewers 11th Round pick in 2007 has great stuff but loses his command of the strike zone at times. The numbers this year in Double-A weren’t terrible in 23 games started, 3.85 ERA, 98 K’s and 61 walks in 117 innings. His curve ball has been ranked by scouting reports as the best in the organization. His fastball tops out in the mid-90′s and has been developing a change-up.
Our Instinct: Despite Scarpetta’s consistency, he is young enough to commit to developing his pitch location. If he isn’t successful, he could debut as a worthwhile bullpen option.
10. Taylor Green, 3B 11/12/1986 H: 5’11″ W: 200 - Taylor Green was Milwaukee’s Minor League Player of the Year. In Triple-A (Nashville), he hit .336, 22 HR, 88 RBIs in 120 games played. Green was originally drafted as a middle infielder but moved to third as a back up option to Casey McGehee who struggled in 2011.
Our Instinct: The 24-year-old really has nothing more to prove after his success in 2011. Expect to see him try to win a spot on the Brewers roster in spring training but he may start the year at Triple-A if McGehee shows signs of a lively bat this spring.
Baseball Instinct’s top 21 “freeview”
Okay, I’ve been told that we have one more guy to talk about, despite giving you 10 prospects. So we’ll talk about him and tease you with a taste of another series of articles coming later this winter Breaking Down the Top 21 Prospects for each team.
Raul Mondesi Jr. OF 08/23/1992 H: 5′ 10″ W: 182 - No he isn’t our #11 for the Brewers. Yes, if you’re wondering Raul Mondesi is the son of the former major leaguer of the same name that put up big years with The Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. He is athletic and strong playing about as well as his father did without the rocket arm however. He is still a raw young player in The Dominican League but he’ll get seasoning and we’ll keep you posted as he progresses.
Our Instinct: Stay tuned! With the lack of depth down on the farm it’s worth a shot that Raul has a the similar skills of his Dad.
Right now, he doesn’t show the same power and is more of a gap hitter than a “pure hit the ball and drop the bat and watch it fly” type.
Check back soon as we profile more Top 10 Lists for each MLB team and also get our baseball geek on and take a look at some of the later draft picks from the 2011 draft that we think could be big names on the prospect radars in the near future. While you’re here, take a look at a recent article in this series: Boston Red Sox Top 10 List and be a step ahead of the game. Also, check out a friend of ours for all of your fantasy sports needs. Fantasy Rundown is updated religiously and is truly an awesome resource. Thanks for checking Baseball Instinct. We’re working hard to bring you the best of the minor leagues and make the site the best experience it can be. So don’t hesitate to tell us what you would like to read about. Email us now at mailbag@baseballinstinct.com.
