Milwaukee Brewers Top 20 2012 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review

Milwaukee Brewers Top 20 2012 PRE-SEASON Prospects in Review

Continuing with our reviews of the Top 20 pre-season prospect lists, we return to the National League and the Milwaukee Brewers. Remember, this is a pre-season list. It is not a new list.

This list was originally published January 10^th, 2012.

The next team on the list is the New York Mets, followed by the Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Miami Marlins to finish up.

1) Wily Peralta, RHP, Grade B: 4.94 ERA with 109/56 K/BB in 113 innings for Triple-A Nashville, 123 hits. Has pitched better lately after a tough start, 5-2, 3.06 with 60/21 K/BB in last 53 innings. Still has a shot at being a mid-rotation starter.

2) Tyler Thornburg, RHP, Grade B: 2.86 ERA with 84/26 K/BB in 85 innings combined between Double-A Huntsville and Triple-A Nashville, 65 hits allowed. 5.79 ERA with 12/7 K/BB and seven homers allowed in 14 major league innings. Gopher vulnerability has been an issue in the majors.

3) Taylor Jungmann, HP, Grade B: 3.79 ERA with 74/33 K/BB, 1.99 GO/AO in 123 innings for High-A Brevard County, 131 hits. Throws strikes, gets grounders, has been hittable. Ceiling may not be as high as I anticipated.

4) Jed Bradley, LHP, Grade B: I liked him a lot coming out of college but he's not having a good year, 5-10, 5.53 in 20 starts in High-A, with a 60/43 K/BB in 107 innings and 136 hits allowed. 7.26 ERA with 20/26 K/BB in 53 innings with 79 hits over his last 10 starts, which is really awful.

5) Taylor Green, 3B, Grade B-: .268/.356/.399 with 20 walks, 38 strikeouts in 168 Triple-A at-bats, .198/.287/.358 with nine walks, 21 strikeouts in 81 major league at-bats. At age 25 he can't afford a stagnant year to stay in the roster picture.

6) Jorge Lopez, RHP, Grade B-: I really liked his projectability coming out of high school in Puerto Rico, but he hasn't done a lot this year, 5.22 ERA with 25/13 K/BB in 29 innings between Dominican Summer League and Arizona Rookie League.

7) Scooter Gennett, 2B, Grade B-: Hitting .282/.324/.377 with 24 walks, 62 strikeouts, 10 steals in 422 at-bats for Huntsville. Glove is coming along, makes contact, fairly young at age 22.

8) Cody Scarpetta, RHP, Grade B-: Borderline C+. Out with elbow problems.

9) Mike Fiers, RHP, Grade C+: I was higher on this guy than most people and originally had him as a B-, but I knocked the grade down a notch at the last minute, which was a mistake. 1.88 ERA with 73/16 K/BB in 72 innings in the majors, 62 hits. He's a pitcher.

10) Logan Schafer, OF, Grade C+: .269/.322/.431 with nine homers, 22 walks, 60 strikeouts in 364 at-bats for Nashville, 13 steals. I like his glove, but I doubt he hits enough to get beyond reserve role at this point.

11) Santo Manzanillo, RHP, Grade C+: Injured in off-season car accident, has pitched just 13 innings this year.

12) Caleb Gindl, OF, Grade C+: .250/.308/.393 with 30 walks, 77 strikeouts in 356 at-bats for Nashville. Weaker performance in second season in Triple-A, hit .307/.390/.472 at the same level last year. You see this a lot, a guy not hitting as well in his second go-around AAA if he doesn't get a shot in the majors.

13) David Goforth, RHP, Grade C+: 4.67 ERA with 68/47 K/BB in 118 innings for Low-A Wisconsin, 119 hits, 1.36 GO/AO. Very good fastball, but secondary pitches need work and result in unattractive component ratios.

14) Nick Bucci, RHP, Grade C+: Limited to 11 innings in rookie ball, rehabbing from spring arm troubles.

15) Kentrail Davis, OF, Grade C: .265/.345/.392 with five homers, 16 steals, 42 walks, 96 strikeouts in 347 at-bats for Huntsville. One of those guys who looks like he should be a good hitter...nice swing, some patience, athletic. . .but it just hasn't worked in pro ball.

16) Orlando Arcia, SS, Grade C: Out all year with ankle fracture.

17) Hunter Morris, 1B, Grade C: .307/.361/.561 with 36 doubles, 20 homers, 31 walks, 96 strikeouts in 410 at-bats for Huntsville. I was somewhat negative about him pre-season but he's shown more polish with his approach this year.

18) D'Vontrey Richardson, OF, Grade C: Great tools, but hasn't played this year. Unusual story with this one.

19) Jimmy Nelson, RHP, Grade C: Effective in High-A (2.21 ERA with 77/25 K/BB in 81 innings, 63 hits) but not so much in Double-A (4.66 ERA, 15/20 K/BB in 19 innings). Note horrible K/BB ratio in AA. Gets lots of ground balls but has work to do with his command.

20) Nick Ramirez, 1B, Grade C: .254/.286/.471 with 22 doubles, 13 homers, 13 walks, 107 strikeouts in 280 at-bats for Low-A Wisconsin. Good power, but hyperaggressive approach won't work at higher levels.

Injury attrition and simple disappointing performances (Jed Bradley etc) have taken a hunk out of this system, although the emergence of Mike Fiers has helped take some of the gloom away. Peralta has been better lately in Triple-A and could sneak up on us in 2013. Drew Gagnon has been effective. 25-year-old right-hander Hiram Burgos thrived in High-A and Double-A and is now getting a shot at Nashville to see if he can sustain it.

The addition of Jean Segura, Ariel Pena, and Johnny Hellweg in the Zack Greinke trade injects talent into the Double-A roster and all three could see the majors next year.

Bats were the emphasis in the first few rounds of the '12 draft, with high schoolers Clint Coulter and Tyrone Taylor providing long-term potential, with college outfield bats Victor Roache and Mitch Haniger the possibility of quick advancement. Damien Magnifico in the fifth round wins the name sweepstakes, but needs to show that his 772 MPH fastball will get people out in pro ball more consistently than it did in college (it's actually 96-100 MPH). He could move fast if he progresses with his command and secondary stuff.