KG's milwaukee top 11

by jpahk on Feb 5, 2008 2:40 PM EST

Five-Star Prospects

Matt LaPorta, lf
Manny Parra, lhp

Four-Star Prospects
3. Jeremy Jeffress, rhp
Three-Star Prospects

Cole Gillespie, of
Angel Salome, c
Alcides Escobar, ss
Mat Gamel, 3b
Caleb Gindl, of
Luis Pena, rhp
Robert Bryson, rhp
Brent Brewer, ss

Just Missing: Lorenzo Cain, of; Hernan Iribarren, 2b; Mark Rogers, rhp

1. Matt LaPorta, OF
DOB: 1/8/85
Height/Weight: 6-2/212
Bats/Throws: R/R
Drafted: 1st round, 2007, University of Florida
2007 Stats: .259/.289/.519 at Short-season (7 G); .318/.392/.750 at Low-A (23 G)

Year In Review: 2005 NCAA home run leader recovered from miserable junior year to reestablish himself as the best pure college hitter in the draft, going No. 7 overall to the Brewers and not missing a beat in his pro debut.
The Good: LaPorta has true impact potential offensively, with some scouts believing that he had the best power and the best pitch recognition in last June's draft. He has the patience to wait for a pitch to hit, the bat speed to let balls carry deep into the zone, the strength to power them out to all fields, and the hand/eye coordination to hit for average as well. After signing, he was Moved to the outfield for the first time in his career; the Brewers praised both his work ethic in learning the new position, and his ability to leave his defensive issues behind him when he stepped to the plate.
The Bad: Not even a good first baseman in college, LaPorta is still an adventure in left field. He's a below-average runner who needs to vastly improve his reads and routes. The Brewers themselves hold no high hopes for him there, hoping that he can develop into a merely adequate defender, knowing that his bat will more than make up for it. His powerful swing will always come with a high strikeout rate, but he could use a better two-strike approach, and focus merely on hard contact at times. Because he played four years of college, he's 23 years old with just 30 games of pro experience.
Fun Fact: A 14th round pick as a catcher by the Cubs in 2003, LaPorta earned Defensive Most Valuable Player honors at Charlotte High School in Florida, but quickly played his way to first base once he got to college.
Perfect World Projection: LaPorta's entire value comes from his bat, but he has the potential to be a classic No. 3 or No. 4 hitter for a first-division team.
Timetable: LaPorta's bat is nearly ready, and he'll be moved aggressively through the system, making his full-season debut at Double-A.

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=7105

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Comments

Manny Parra...

Five Star prospect?

by Buchholzz on Feb 5, 2008 2:42 PM EST reply actions

borderline

in a recent chat, KG said his goal was to have 5-star be the top 40 or so, and 4-star be the rest of the top 100. i think it worked out being slightly fewer than 40 (perhaps because this is a down year for prospects), but i certainly don't think it's unreasonable to have parra in the discussion for top 40. especially on the alternate tuesdays when his arm is actually attached.

by jpahk on Feb 5, 2008 2:44 PM EST up reply actions

what a weird system

i realize they've been hit by graduations, but when you look at the top farm players + the young veterans they have on the MLB roster, you can't help but notice that they have a ton of guys who fit the general description "he can mash, but he has serious defensive issues." especially at the corners. fielder, braun, hart, plus laporta, gamel, gindl, gillespie... where the heck are all these guys going to play? especially considering fielder and braun are absolute franchise cornerstones.

in almost any other system, you'd have to consider moving weeks to the OF, but the brewers don't have that option at all. this looks like a system that desperately needs a trade. who is their long-term solution at CF, anyway?

by jpahk on Feb 5, 2008 2:43 PM EST reply actions

Gamel

He put up nice numbers last year, even mixing in some SB's. Is it reasonable to hope that he could move up rankings this season?

by SoCal @ Minor League Ball on Feb 5, 2008 2:44 PM EST reply actions

Glove

Gamel's glove makes Braun and LaPorta look like gold glovers. The Brewers have the deepest collection of impact DH bats in MLB.

by duke on Feb 5, 2008 2:50 PM EST up reply actions

re:

They need to petition a move back to the AL. They have to be the worst defensive team in the NL this year.

by UCFKnights on Feb 5, 2008 5:36 PM EST up reply actions

LaPorta

Where does he end up in the short run in Milwaukee? LaPorta has been working in LF, but with Braun moving there and Corey Hart in RF and Cameron in CF there does no appear to be an OF spot available for him. Prince locked in at 1B, so that is not an option either. Any thoughts?

by MHD on Feb 5, 2008 2:53 PM EST reply actions

IMO 1 of 2 things happen

1. Prince gets moved when LaPorta is ready (due to projected signability issues)

-or-

2. LaPorta is included in a mid-season deal for a key piece in their run for the playoffs.

Although, there was much talk that teams were really interested in Hart this offseason it is possible Braun gets moved to RF and Hart is moved. Braun has the arm strength and enough speed to be a decent RF, it really depends on him learning to run routes and get jumps.

by scstrato on Feb 5, 2008 3:06 PM EST up reply actions

Re:

You maybe right about Braun but I have to think that a Braun/LaPorta/whoever OF is really scary...both offensively and defensively...

by Dfarth on Feb 5, 2008 3:39 PM EST up reply actions

yeah

if braun can play LF, he can play RF. his arm isn't his problem.

still, in the long view, it does look like they're going to have to start trading some of these guys.

by wily mo on Feb 5, 2008 3:54 PM EST up reply actions

Good ?

My guess is that the Brewers try to keep Laporta in the minors all season this year and let Fielder/Braun have a chance to repeat their success. Assuming that happens (and LaPorta progresses through the minors), I think LaPorta has to be trade bait next offseason.

by Dfarth on Feb 5, 2008 3:32 PM EST up reply actions

My assumption

LF - LaPorta
CF - Hart
RF - Braun

by marcello on Feb 5, 2008 4:27 PM EST up reply actions

i'd say

this looks right

by daveh33 on Feb 5, 2008 4:38 PM EST up reply actions

if Gamel had a glove

he'd be a 5 star maybe?

DH! please get traded

by LipstickOnDipstick on Feb 5, 2008 2:54 PM EST reply actions

maybe he thinks Parra could be the next Johan

Johan wasn't great until 24 years old.

by Bravesin07 on Feb 5, 2008 3:35 PM EST reply actions

well

overlord'll be happy.

by wily mo on Feb 5, 2008 3:55 PM EST reply actions

it's nice to see pena get a little respect

to be honest, it's unexpected. i view pena as being a half step below manny corpas in terms of ceiling, but even so, i think he's going to be an immensely valuable piece in the brewer's future.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEPTH REPORTS (Astros: better than you thought)

variables don't; constants aren't

by overlord on Feb 5, 2008 4:14 PM EST up reply actions

Luis Pena

what's the scouting report on him? He isn't in 2007 BA handbook, and I don't have any of the 2008 prospect books yet

by JPFrost on Feb 5, 2008 5:02 PM EST up reply actions

his FB hits 100 MPH

he gets groundballs about 2:1 vs. flyballs, and his walk rate isn;t horrid.

that's a recipe for success, in my book.

ORGANIZATIONAL DEPTH REPORTS (Astros: better than you thought)

variables don't; constants aren't

by overlord on Feb 5, 2008 5:40 PM EST up reply actions

trade for huston street...

laporta/escobar or brewer/SP prospect

by rayver723 on Feb 5, 2008 4:31 PM EST reply actions

Why on earth

would the A's want a defensively questionable corner OF/1B at this point?

They've already got 3 of them, with two more in the farm system. (Well, OK, Doolittle isn't defensively questionable. But he is a 1B. [Random aside: I know he's left-handed, but could they try him at third?])

The Brewers and A's don't match up well in trade needs.

by PaulThomas @ Minor League Ball on Feb 5, 2008 7:14 PM EST up reply actions

No

as you said, he is left-handed

by nms on Feb 6, 2008 3:54 AM EST up reply actions

There's so much I don't understand about Laporta..

How long will he stay in the outfield?
Will he hit for a high average?
How much power does he have?
Is he going to be a classic "three true outcomes hitter"?

by thefordhamflash on Feb 5, 2008 5:23 PM EST reply actions

No one knows the answers to those Qs definitively

except that he does have lots of power.

by nms on Feb 6, 2008 3:56 AM EST up reply actions

Gamel

I read in an article that Gamel was going to focus on 3B in the offseason and ST with a glove guru to clean up his defense. Hopefully he can bring his D up to a servicable level..

What kind of potential do you see him having at the plate if/when he gets a spot in the lineup?

by SoCal @ Minor League Ball on Feb 5, 2008 5:42 PM EST reply actions

One thing I love to see

The Brewers prospects seem to be very big-risk, big-reward prospects. That's exactly what the Brewers need to do now - they have an incredible young core, and pretty good depth (save for C). If I was Jack Z, I'd be focused on finding potential superstars, even if they came with a higher rate of flameout.

Yankees fans dream about Wang.

by ufoboy90 on Feb 7, 2008 12:20 AM EST reply actions