Milwaukee Brewers 2011 Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review

Milwaukee Brewers 2011 Top 20 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review

I am reviewing my PRE-SEASON list of Top 20 prospects for 2011 for each organization, continuing today with the Milwaukee Brewers. This list was originally published January 6th 2011. On Friday we'll examine the Minnesota Twins, followed by the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers this weekend.

This is a review of the 2011 Pre-Season Top 20 list. IT IS NOT A NEW LIST.

The 2012 list and new grades won't be ready until the season is over and I start writing the book.

1) Mark Rogers, RHP, Grade B-: Command collapsed, has a 9.71 ERA with a 24/30 K/BB in 30 innings combined at three levels. Stock way down obviously.

2) Cody Scarpetta, RHP, Grade B-: 4.28 ERA, 89/52 K/BB in 101 innings for Double-A Huntsville, 93 hits. I've always liked his potential but command wobbles are still worrisome.

3) Kentrail Davis, OF, Grade B-: Hitting .258/.337/.367 in 376 at-bats for High-A Brevard County, 33 walks, 66 strikeouts, 30 steals. Good speed but power hasn't developed and he's not looking like the batting champion-type projected by some scouts.

4) Amaury Rivas, RHP, Grade B-: 4.85 ERA with 79/58 K/BB in 115 innings for Triple-A Nashville, 115 hits. He eats innings but his ratios keep slipping as he moves up the ladder.

5) Kyle Heckathorn, RHP, Grade B-: 3.95 ERA with 65/21 K/BB in 80 innings, 82 hits for Brevard County, 3.97 ERA with 12/9 K/BB in 23 innings for Huntsville, 20 hits. Not awful but not great either.

6) Wily Peralta, RHP, Grade B-:  3.45 ERA with 104/40 K/BB in 107 innings for Huntsville, 99 hits, 1.63 GO/AO. Solid campaign, stock has risen.

7) Scooter Gennett, 2B, Grade B-:   .292/.328/.386 for Brevard County, 21 walks, 46 strikeouts in 404 at-bats. Hits for average, not a lot of power, error-prone on defense.

8) Jimmy Nelson, RHP, Grade C+:   4.19 ERA with 79/47 K/BB in 101 innings for Low-A Wisconsin, 1.65 GO/AO, 98 hits. Gets grounders, other numbers so-so.

9) Caleb Gindl, OF, Grade C+:   .294/.370/.474 with 13 homers, 39 walks, 69 strikeouts in 323 at-bats for Nashville. Solid bat, ready for a major league trial.

10) Eric Komatsu, OF, Grade C+:   .290/.389/.413 with 52 walks, 44 strikeouts in 317 at-bats for Huntsville, 13 steals in 19 attempts. Good on-base skills, mediocre power.

11) Tyler Thornburg, RHP, Grade C+:  1.57 ERA with 76/25 K/BB in 69 innings, 49 hits, for Wisconsin, 3.13 ERA with 36/17 K/BB in 32 innings for Brevard County, 20 hits. Stock rising quickly, has pushed ahead of other arms in the system. I should have ranked him higher.

12) Hunter Morris, 1B, Grade C: .281/.311/.49 with 14 homers, 14 walks, 61 strikeouts in 359 at-bats for Brevard County. Strong power production in Florida State League, low walk rate is bothersome.

13) D'Vontrey Richardson, OF, Grade C:   .289/.337/.402 with 16 walks, 40 strikeouts, nine steals but 11 caught stealing in 249 at-bats for Brevard County. Possesses great tools but still raw in most respects.

14) Tyler Roberts, C, Grade C:   Hit .211/.274/.349 with 12 walks, 58 strikeouts in 152 at-bats for Wisconsin. Demoted to Helena in Pioneer League, hitting .250/.333/.406 in 64 at-bats, seven walks, 23 strikeouts. Defense raw, has caught 32% but has given up 11 passed balls and nine errors in 64 games.

15) Eric Farris, 2B, Grade C:   .256/.308/.358 with 24 walks, 51 strikeouts, 14 steals in 394 at-bats for Nashville. Just promoted to the majors. Age 25, upside looks limited right now.

16) Khris Davis, OF, Grade C: Hit .309/.415/.533 with 15 homers, 51 walks, 70 strikeouts in 304 at-bats for Brevard County. Promoted to Double-A this week, is 2-for-13 so far. Intriguing bat.

17) Logan Schafer, OF, Grade C:   Hitting .309/.386/.386 this year with 27 walks, 31 strikeouts in 246 at-bats between High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A. Has stolen 12 bases but lacks power.

18) Dan Merklinger, LHP, Grade C:   4.31 ERA with 87/37 K/BB in 109 innings for Huntsville, 111 hits. Decent control but otherwise mediocre.

19) Mike Fiers, RHP, Grade C: Combined 2.55 ERA with 84/25 K/BB in 81 innings between Huntsville and Nashville, 58 hits. Numbers solid, older guy at age 26 and has average velocity but has always pitched well. Just went on DL with finger injury.

20) Robert Hinton, RHP, Grade C: Good numbers at Huntsville, 2.43 ERA with 45/12 K/BB in 37 innings, but gave up seven runs in eight-inning Triple-A trial. Older at age 26, marginal bullpen type at this point.

System was gutted by trades this past winter but there are some bright spots from this list, namely Peralta, Gindl, and especially Thornburg.