The Micro Brew Position-By-Position Review: Centerfield and Shortstop

January 31, 2011
Remember when we had a great defensive shortstop who could also hit 25 homers? Those were the days.

More photos » Pat Sullivan - AP

Remember when we had a great defensive shortstop who could also hit 25 homers? Those were the days.

Browse more photos »

 It's time for part II in position-by-position review of the Brewers minor league system. Today we'll be looking at the most depressingly shallow position in the system, and follow that up by looking at a position that is not exactly deep, but has plenty to be excited about.

The shallow position that I am talking about is of course shortstop. If you thought Yuniesky Betancourt was bad, I suggest you skip this section, because you just might cry. The four prospects mentioned don't offer much more than decent defense (which I guess would be an upgrade from Yuni, but I digress...). Centerfield, on the other hand, offers much more, including the last two, count ‘em TWO, minor league players of the year. So without further ado, we'll start with the shortstops

You know things are bad when Carlos George is being mentioned as a top SS prospect. Taken in the 46th round of the 2008 draft, George has a career slash line of .281/.311/.389 over three levels. Around here, he's known more for his incredible defensive ineptitude, committing a whopping 105 errors in three seasons. He reminds me a lot of Alcides Escobar; lanky, no power, no plate discipline singles hitter. But at least Escobar could actually play defense.

2010 line: .302/.327/.375. 301 AB, 1 HR, 35 RBI, 10 SB (9 CS) 

Josh Prince was taken in the 3rd round of the 2009 draft and gave a lot of us high hopes when he OPS'd .774 and stole 26 bases (including 6 in his second pro game) in his first 36 games in Helena. But then he moved up to Wisconsin for the second half of his shortened season, and OPS'd .594. He's still got plenty of speed, stealing 44 bases last season, but little plate discipline and no power.

2010 line: .233/.287/.282. 408 AB, 1 HR, 19 RBI, 44 SB

18-year-old Yadiel Rivera is listen first on the SS depth chart in the BA 2011 Prospect Handbook and rated as the 21st best prospect in the Brewers system. That seems a little high for someone who was completely overmatched in his first season of pro-ball. Still, the Puerto Rican native is very young, and has plenty of time to improve. Rivera has been described as a "true shortstop" with good instincts and great range. He didn't show much last season but the Brewers FO think he has a high ceiling because of his natural athleticism and good hand-eye coordination will eventually lead to better results offensively.

2010 line: .209/.243/.257. 206 AB, 0 HR, 23 RBI, 6 SB

Zelous Wheeler represents not only one of the coolest names in the Brewers system, but probably the best hope at SS, for the near future at least. Wheeler was drafted in the 19th round of the 2007 draft as a third baseman, and has also played some 2B, but played the majority of his games at SS for the first time last year. He's held his own with the bat over his pro career, hitting a respectable .271/.369/.399. He's got a Juan Uribe-type build, and has never been known for his defense, but if he can manage to keep hitting, he will probably get a shot.

2010 line: .275/.382/.396. 480 AB, 11 HR, 65 RBI, 8 SB.

I would mention Luis Cruz here, but he's not technically a prospect anymore.

Moving on to centerfield we find...

Erik Komatsu has been one of my personal favorite prospects since he OPS's .932 in his Helena debut in 2008. Unfortunately, he lost the majority of his 2009 to various injuries. But he bounced back with a vengeance last year to win the 2010 Brewers Minor League Player of the Year award. He's played all three OF positions, but is mainly a centerfielder. He doesn't have a ton of power (although probably more than he showed in Space Coast Stadium last season; see roguejim's fanshot on the sidebar), but if he can stick at CF, that will probably be passable. Most scouts see him as a 4th outfielder, which probably has something to do with his size (5'10", 190 lbs), but I've got high hopes for Komo.

2010 line: .323/.413/.442. 486 AB, 5 HR, 63 RBI, 28 SB

Everyone seems to love D'Vontrey Richardson, with all of his potential and athleticism. The Crew took the two sport athlete in the 5th round of the 2009 draft and filled us all with high hope while stressing that he was "raw." They weren't kidding. For most of the 2010 season, Richardson was a big disappointment. He also committed a Soriano-esque 17 errors in CF. But towards the end of the season, he finally began to figure out how to hit, bringing back all those high post-draft hopes. Overall, his first season wasn't that bad, considering he skipped rookie ball. To quote the BA 2011 Prospect Handbook "Basically, what the Brewers have is a raw player with tremendous tools who is still learning how to play baseball."

2010 line: .243/.331/.368. 522 AB, 7 HR, 51 RBI, 17 SB (15 CS)

Logan Schafer followed up his Minor League Player of the Year season by spending all but 7 games of the 2010 season of the DL. He followed that up with a short stint in the AFL, where he hit .323, but didn't collect a single extra-base hit in 8 games. A 2007 3rd round pick, Schafer is a similar player to Komatsu, except a little older and with a tad less power. He's got good range in center with an average but accurate arm. He's got some gap power, but focuses more on making contact and hitting singles. It will be interesting to see what happens in Hutsville next season, as both he and Komatsu are probably set to play CF.

(Is there really a point of adding a "2010 line" line when he only played 7 games?)

Stop by next week for part III in the series!


Who was black baseball’s best pitcher?

January 31, 2011

 Who was black baseball's best pitcher before Major League Baseball's integration? A panel of experts has weighed in, and we'll reveal their top-five selections this week.

Monday’s Frosty Mug

January 31, 2011
The Brewers either need to wrap up a long term deal with Rickie Weeks soon, or not at all.

Al Behrman - ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Brewers either need to wrap up a long term deal with Rickie Weeks soon, or not at all.

View full size photo »

Some things to read while making the connection.

Many of you were likely a part of history yesterday, as the Brewers set a new franchise record by turning out 11,299 fans for Brewers On Deck. Here are some notes from the event:

As I mentioned above, the Brewers set a new record by drawing over 11,000 fans to On Deck this weekend. This number shifted my perspective a bit, though: The Pirates held their annual winter event this weekend, and drew 16,839 fans.

Meanwhile, Rob Neyer was at the Royals' fan event this weekend and snapped this picture of a Yuniesky Betancourt game-used bat.

Before stopping by On Deck, Doug Melvin spent a couple of hours Saturday morning at Milwaukee's SABR meeting. Brew Town Boozer has some notes from his remarks.

Rickie Weeks was also in town for this weekend's festivities, and while he was there he told the team he wants to be done with extension discussions before spring training (FanShot). Gord Ash told Adam McCalvy that multi-year talks with Weeks are continuing. If the two sides can't reach a deal, Weeks' arbitration hearing is scheduled for February 17. He may or may not get a new contract before reporting to Maryvale, but either way Weeks will be Vaughn's Valley's #4 Brewer Critical to 2011 Success.

With the new additions to the Brewer rotation and his ensuing move down the ladder, we haven't talked much about Randy Wolf this offseason. Call to the Pen did note, though, that Wolf was one of just 13 pitchers to throw a sub-70 mph curveball last season. (Dave Bush and Doug Davis are two of the others.)

I mentioned above that LaTroy Hawkins chatted with fans yesterday. Here's what he told Tom Haudricourt about his recovery from off-season shoulder surgery:

Hawkins is still throwing off flat ground as part of his rehab program but said he expects to be able to throw off the mound again when spring training begins. And he expects to be full-go for opening day.

"I have no tightness like I'd felt before," he said. "The strength is there and its' getting better every day.

"With no setbacks, I should be good (for opening day). All is going well right now."

Even that somewhat optimistic quote would imply that being ready for Opening Day is a goal, not a given. Given the number of relievers the Brewers will bring to camp, I'll be surprised if Hawkins doesn't open the season on the DL.

As you probably know, I typically follow the Brewers pretty closely. As such, I was surprised to discover that Hardball Talk's Brewer depth chart contains a few players I'd completely forgotten about (like Edwin Maysonet, for example). Jaymes Langrehr of The Brewers Bar considered two more potential spring training stories: Jeremy Reed and Mark DiFelice.

The Brewers made a few minor moves over the weekend, signing Mat Gamel, Eric Farris, Justin James, Martin Maldonado, Daniel Merklinger, Wily Peralta and Cody Scarpetta to 2011 contracts. None of the seven have enough service time to be eligible for arbitration.

In the minors:

Around baseball:

Blue Jays: Avoided arbitration with pitcher Jason Frasor ($3.5 million) and reliever Frank Francisco ($4 million).
Dodgers: Signed reliever Mike MacDougal to a minor league deal.
Marlins: Signed pitcher Shawn Hill to a minor league deal.
Mets: Avoided arbitration with pitcher R.A. Dickey (two years, $7.5 million).
Orioles: Signed pitcher Justin Duchscherer to a one year, $750,000 deal with incentives.
Padres: Claimed pitcher Samuel Deduno off waivers from the Rockies.
Rangers: Avoided arbitration with catcher Mike Napoli ($5.8 million) and signed Dave Bush to a minor league deal.
Rays: Signed first baseman Casey Kotchman to a minor league deal and claimed pitcher Rob Delaney off waivers from the Twins.
Reds: Avoided arbitration with pitcher Edinson Volquez ($1.6 million).
Rockies: Signed pitcher Rafael Betancourt to a one year, $4 million contract extension for 2012 with a mutual option for 2013.

Today in former Brewers:

'Tis the season for spring training stories. We'll lead off this year with "retired veteran looking for one last shot at glory:" Jason Isringhausen is trying out with the Reds.

With help from the B-Ref Play Index and Brewerfan.net, happy birthday over the weekend to:

Now, if you'll excuse me, I can't seem to get a signal. (h/t @CraigCalcaterra)

Drink up.


Pitching has fans pumped at Brewers On Deck

January 30, 2011

 A record crowd packed Milwaukee's downtown convention center Sunday for Brewers On Deck, a daylong event that marked a public debut for some of the Brewers' high-profile newcomers, including manager Ron Roenicke and ace pitcher Zack Greinke.

Roenicke, players participate in chat with fans

January 30, 2011

 Brewers players Casey McGehee and LaTroy Hawkins and manager Ron Roenicke joined fans for an online chat live from "Brewers On Deck" on Sunday.

Weeks sets deadline for extension negotiations

January 30, 2011

 Brewers officials say they aren't worried about second baseman Rickie Weeks' self-imposed start of Spring Training deadline for talks between his agent and the club about a contract extension.

If Teams Were Comprised Only of Players They Drafted

January 29, 2011
Almost a Brewer!

More photos » Pat Sullivan - AP

Almost a Brewer!

Browse more photos »

Just for fun, I took a look at what different MLB rosters could look like if they were filled with only players drafted (but not necessarily signed) by teams in the last 20 years (since 1991).  Players are judged by their skill level today, not at their primes.  Also, I'm not taking current injuries into account.  A lot of the results ended up being quite interesting.

First, the Milwaukee Brewers

C: Jonathon Lucroy (2007, 3)
1B: Prince Fielder (2002, 1st round)
2B: Rickie Weeks (2003, 1)
SS: JJ Hardy (2001, 2)
3B: Bill Hall (1998, 6)
LF: Ryan Braun (2005, 1
CF: Lorenzo Cain (2004, 17)
RF: Hunter Pence (2002, 40)
Bench INF: Mat Gamel (2005, 4)
Bench INF: Matt Laporta (2007, 1)
Bench OF: Corey Hart (2000, 11)
Bench OF: Michael Brantley (2005, 7)
Bench C: Angel Salome (2004, 5)
SP: Jake Arrieta (2005, 26)
SP: Yovani Gallardo (2004, 2)
SP: Ben Sheets (1999, 1)
SP: Mark Rogers (2004, 1)
SP: Manny Parra (2001, 26)
RP: Jeremy Jeffress (2006, 1)
RP: Andrew Bailey (2005, 16)
RP: Zach Braddock (2005, 18)
RP: Mike McClendon (2006, 10)
RP: Kenekoa Texeira (2004, 31)
RP: Mitch Stetter (2003, 16)
RP: Craig Breslow (2002, 26)

Every other team, along with notes and observations, after the jump. 

The rest of the MLB, alphabetically:

Arizona Diamondbacks (since 1996)
C: Chris Snyder (2002, 2)
1B: Lyle Overbay (1999, 18)
2B: Ian Kinsler (2000, 29)
SS: Stephen Drew (2004, 1)
3B: Mark Reynolds (2004, 16)
LF: Carlos Quentin (2003, 1)
CF: Justin Upton (2005, 1)
RF: Chris Coghlan (2003, 18)
Bench INF: Dan Uggla (2001, 11)
Bench INF: Chad Tracy (2001, 7)
Bench OF: Chris Carter (2004, 17)
Bench OF: Jack Cust (1997, 1)
Bench C: JD Closser (1998, 3)
SP: Brad Penny (1996, 5)
SP: Chris Capuano (1999, 8)
SP: Brandon Webb (2000, 8)
SP: Brett Anderson (2006, 2)
SP:  Max Scherzer (2006, 1)
RP: Javier Lopez (1998, 2)
RP: Doug Slaten (2000, 17)
RP: Sergio Santos (2002, 1)
RP: David Hernandez (2004, 34)
RP: Clay Zavada (2006, 30)
RP: Scott Maine (2007, 6)
RP: Barry Enright (2007, 2)

Atlanta Braves

C: Brian McCann (2002, 2)
1B: Adam Laroche (2000, 29)
2B: Kelly Johnson (2000, 1s)
SS: Yunel Escobar (2005, 2)
3B: Dallas McPherson (1998, 44)
LF: Ryan Langerhans (1998, 3)
CF: Jason Heyward (2007, 1)
RF: Jermaine Dye (1993, 17)
Bench INF: Freddie Freeman (2007, 2)
Bench INF: Garrett Jones (1999, 14)
Bench OF: Jordan Schafer (2005, 3)
Bench OF: Jeff Francouer (2002, 1)
Bench C: Tyler Flowers (2005, 33)
SP: Kevin Millwood (1993, 11)
SP: Jason Marquis (1996, 1s)
SP: Adam Wainwright (2000, 1)
SP: Tommy Hanson (2005, 22)
SP: Kris Medlen (2006, 10)
RP: Mark Hendrickson (1992, 13 and 1994, 32)
RP: Scott Downs (1994, 12)
RP: Matt Belisle (1998, 2)
RP: Zach Miner (2000, 4)
RP: JP Howell (2001, 2)
RP: Craig Kimbrell (2008, 3)
RP: Sean White (2003, 8)

Baltimore Orioles

C: Matt Wieters (2007, 1)
1B: Brandon Snyder (2005, 1)
2B: Brian Roberts (1999, 1s)
SS: Michael Young (1994, 25)
3B:  Mike Fontenot (2001, 1)
LF: Nick Markakis (2003, 1)
CF: Will Venable (2004, 15)
RF: Jayson Werth (1997, 1)
Bench INF: Jerry Hairston (1995, 42 and 1997, 11)
Bench INF: Willie Harris (1999, 24)
Bench OF: Nolan Reimold (2005, 2)
Bench OF: Darnell McDonald (1997, 1)
Bench C: Brandon Snyder (2005, 1)
SP: Cliff Lee (1998, 20)
SP: Erik Bedard (1999, 6)
SP: Jake Arrieta (2007, 5)
SP: Jaime Garcia (2004, 30)
SP: Brian Matusz (2008, 1)
RP: Chris Britton (2001, 8)
RP: Chris Ray (2003, 3)
RP: David Hernandez (2005, 16)
RP: Jason Berken (2006, 6)
RP: Tanner Scheppers (2005, 29)
RP: Casey Janssen (2003, 49)
RP: Adam Loewen (2002, 1)

Boston Red Sox

C: Kelly Shoppach (2001, 2)
1B: Mark Teixeira (1998, 9)
2B: Dustin Pedroia (2004, 2)
SS: Jed Lowrie (2005, 1s)
3B: Kevin Youkilis (2001, 8)
LF: Pat Burrell (1995, 43)
CF: Jacoby Ellsbury (2005, 1)
RF: David Murphy (2003, 1)
Bench INF: Freddy Sanchez (2000, 11)
Bench INF: Pedro Alvarez (2005, 14)
Bench OF: Ryan Kalish (2006, 9)
Bench OF: Matt LaPorta (2006, 19)
Bench C: Jason Castro (2005, 43)
SP: Clay Bucholz (1s)
SP: Carl Pavano (1994, 13)
SP: Justin Duchsherer (1996, 8)
SP: Justin Masterson (2006, 2)
SP: Jon Lester (2002, 2)
RP:  Manny Delcarmen (2000, 2)
RP: Jonathon Papelbon (2003, 4)
RP: Cla Meredith (2004, 6)
RP: Michael Bowden (2005, 1s)
RP: Daniel Bard (2006, 1)
RP: Ron Mahay (1991, 18)
RP: Dustin Richardson (2006, 5)

Chicago Cubs

C: Geovany Soto (2001, 11)
1B: Matt Laporta (2003, 14)
2B: Adam Everett (1995, 4)
SS: Ryan Theriot (2001, 3)
3B: Casey McGehee (2003, 10)
LF: Eric Hinske (1998, 17)
CF: Corey Patterson (1998, 1)
RF: Tyler Colvin (2006, 1)
Bench INF: Darwin Barney (2007, 4)
Bench INF: Eric Patterson (2004, 8)
Bench OF: Micah Hoffpauir (2002, 13)
Bench OF: Sam Fuld (2004, 10)
Bench C: Jose Molina (1993, 14)
SP:  Jon Garland (1997, 1)
SP: Ricky Nolasco (2001, 4)
SP: Randy Wells (2002, 38)
SP: Sean Gallagher (2004, 12)
SP: Tim Lincecum (2003, 48)
RP: Kyle Farnsworth (1994, 47)
RP: Kerry Wood (1995, 1)
RP: Kyle Lohse (1996, 29)
RP: Scott Downs (1997, 3)
RP: Michael Wuertz (1997, 11)
RP: Will Ohman (1998, 8)
RP: Sean Marshall (2003, 6)

Chicago White Sox

C: Lou Palmisano (2001, 21)
1B: Josh Fields (2004, 1)
2B: Placido Polanco (1993, 49)
SS: Mike Morse (2000, 3)
3B: Gordon Beckham (2008, 1)
LF:  Aaron Rowand (1998, 1s)
CF: Mike Cameron (1991, 18)
RF: Chris Young (2001, 16)
Bench INF:  Joe Crede (1996, 5)
Bench INF: Chris Getz (2005, 4)
Bench OF: Scott Hairston )1999, 18)
Bench OF: Ryan Sweeney (2003, 2)
Bench C: Donny Lucy (2004, 2)
SP: Mark Buerhle (1998, 38)
SP: Gio Gonzalez (2004, 1s)
SP: Daniel Hudson (2008, 5)
SP: Clayton Richard (2005, 8)
SP: Tom Gorzelanny (2000, 38)
RP:  JJ Putz (1995, 3)
RP: Jon Rauch (1999, 3)
RP: Kenekoa Teixera (2006, 22)
RP: Adam Russell (2004, 6)
RP: Boone Logan (2002, 20)
RP: Matt Guerrier (1999, 10)
RP: Chris Sale (2010, 1)

Cincinnati Reds

C: Jason Larue (1995, 5)
1B: Joey Votto (2002, 2)
2B: Adam Rosales (2005, 12)
SS: Paul Janish (2004, 5)
3B: Todd Frazier (2007, 1)
LF: Jay Bruce (2005, 1)
CF: Chris Dickerson (2003, 16)
RF: Drew Stubbs (2006, 8)
Bench INF: Adam Dunn (1998, 2)
Bench INF: Yonder Alonso (2008, 1)
Bench OF: Austin Kearns (1998, 1)
Bench OF: Chris Denorfia (2002, 19)
Bench C: Craig Tatum (2004, 3)
SP: Homer Bailey (2004, 1)
SP: Jake Arrieta (2004, 31)
SP: Rich Hill (1999, 36)
SP: Travis Wood (2005, 2)
SP: Mike Leake (2009, 1)
RP: Todd Coffey (1998, 41)
RP: John Axford (2005, 42)
RP: Brett Tomko (1995, 2)
RP: BJ Ryan (1998, 17)
RP: Dustin Mosely (2000, 1s)
RP: Logan Ondrusek (2005, 13)
RP: Jordan Smith (2006, 6)

Cleveland Indians

C: Matt McBride (2006, 2s)
1B: Conor Jackson (2000, 31)
2B: Joe Inglett (2000,  8)
SS: John McDonald (1996, 12)
3B: Russell Branyan (1994, 7) Kevin Kouzmanoff (2003, 6)
LF: Manny Ramirez (1991, 1)
CF: Desmond Jennings (2006, 10)
RF: Luke Scott (2001, 9)
Bench INF: Russell Branyan (1994, 7)
Bench INF: Ryan Garko (2003, 3)
Bench OF: Ryan Church (2000, 14)
Bench OF: Ben Francisco (2002, 5)
Bench C: Wyatt Toregas (2004, 24)
SP: CC Sabathia (1998, 1)
SP: Jeremy Guthrie (2002, 1)
SP: Tim Lincecum (2005, 42)
SP: JD Martin (2001, 1)
SP: Josh Tomlin (2006, 19)
RP: David Riske (1996, 56)
RP: Brian WIlson (2000, 30)
RP: Aaron Laffey (2003, 16)
RP: Jensen Lewis (2005, 3)
RP: Tony Sipp (2004, 45)
RP: David Huff (2006, 1)
RP: Brian Tallet (2000, 2)

Colorado Rockies (since 1992)

C: Chris Iannetta (2004, 4)
1B: Todd Helton (1995, 1)
2B: Ian Stewart (2003, 1)
SS: Troy Tulowitski (2005, 1)
3B: Chone Figgins (1997, 4)
LF: Matt Holliday (1998, 7)
CF: Dexter Fowler (2004, 14)
RF: Brad Hawpe (2000, 11)
Bench INF: Craig Counsell (1992, 11)
Bench INF: Garrett Atkins (2000, 5)
Bench OF: Ryan Spilborghs (2002, 7)
Bench OF: Seth Smith (2004, 2)
Bench C: Michael McKenry (2006, 7)
SP: Jake Westbrook (1996, 1)
SP: Aaron Cook (1997, 2)
SP: Jeff Francis (2002, 1)
SP: Micah Owings (2002, 2)
SP: Jason Jennings (1999, 1)
RP: Jamey Wright (1993, 1)
RP: Mark DeFelice (1998, 15)
RP: Sean Green (2000, 12)
RP: David Hernandez (2003, 29)
RP: Chris Sale (2007, 21)
RP: Matt Reynolds (2007, 20)
RP: Andrew Cashner (2008, 1)

Detroit Tigers

C: Alex Avila (2008, 5)
1B: Jeff Larish (2005, 5)
2B: Ryan Raburn (2001, 5)
SS: Danny Worth (2007, 3)
3B: Brandon Inge (1998, 2)
LF: Curtis Granderson (2002, 3)
CF: Cody Ross (1999, 4)
RF: Andres Torres (1998, 4)
Bench INF: Scott Sizemore (2006, 5)
Bench INF: Will Rhymes (2005, 27)
Bench OF: Brennan Boesch (2006, 3)
Bench OF: Matthew Joyce (2005, 12)
Bench C: Dusty Ryan (2003, 48)
SP: Mark Mulder (1995, 55)
SP: Justin Verlander (2004, 1)
SP: Luke French (2004, 8)
SP: Rick Porcello (2007, 1)
SP: Andrew Oliver (2009, 2)
RP: Mark Hendrickson (1995, 16)
RP: Matt Thornton (1995, 27)
RP: Jeff Weaver (1998, 1)
RP: Jason Frasor (1999, 33)
RP: Joel Zumaya (2002, 11)
RP: Jesse Carlson (2002, 15)
RP: Ryan Perry (2008, 1)

Florida Marlins (since 1992)

C: Gaby Sanchez (2005, 4)
1B: Adrian Gonzalez (2000, 1)
2B: Josh Wilson (1999, 3)
SS: Osvaldo Martinez (2006, 11)
3B: Matt Dominguez (2007, 1)
LF: Chris Coghlan (2006, 1)
CF: Andres Torres (1997, 23)
RF: Mike Stanton (2007, 2)
Bench INF: Adam LaRoche (1998, 18 and 1999, 42)
Bench INF: Logan Morrison (2005, 22)
Bench OF: Josh Willingham (2000, 17)
Bench OF: Randy Winn (1995, 3)
Bench C: Nick Hundley (2002, 5)
SP: Cliff Lee (1997, 8)
SP: Josh Beckett (1999, 1)
SP: Josh Johnson (2002, 4)
SP: Jason Vargas (2004, 2)
SP: Chris Volstad (2005, 1)
RP: Taylor Tankersley (2004, 1)
RP: Jeff Fulchino (2001, 8)
RP: Bob Howry (1993, 45)
RP: Alex Sanabia (2006, 32)
RP: Chris Leroux (2005, 7)
RP: Logan Kensing (2003, 2)
RP: Scott Olsen (2002, 6)

Houston Astros

C: John Buck (1998, 7)
1B: Lance Berkman (1997, 1)
2B: Aaron Miles (1995, 19)
SS: Ben Zobrist (2004, 6)
3B: Chris Johnson (2006, 4)
LF: Jason Lane (1999, 6)
CF: Michael Bourn (2000, 19)
RF: Hunter Pence (2004, 2)
Bench INF: Tommy Manzella (2005, 3)
Bench INF: Greg Dobbs (1999, 10)
Bench OF: Drew Sutton (2004, 15)
Bench OF: Eric Byrnes (1997, 4)
Bench C: Jason Castro (2008, 1)
SP: Roy Oswalt (1996, 23)
SP: Bud Norris (2006, 6)
SP: Mitch Talbot (2002, 2)
SP: Mike Burns (2000, 30)
SP: Tim Redding (1997, 20)
RP: Billy Wagner (1993, 1)
RP: Brad Lidge (1998, 1)
RP: Chad Qualls (2000, 2)
RP: Pat Misch (2003, 7)
RP: Lance Cormier (2001, 10)
RP: Matt Albers (2001, 23)
RP: Chris Sampson (1999, 8)

Kansas City Royals

C: Matt Treanor (1994, 4)
1B: Billy Butler (2004, 1)
2B: Mark Ellis (1999, 9)
SS: Mike Aviles (2003, 7)
3B: Mike Moustakas (2007, 1)
LF: Johnny Damon (1992, 1)
CF: Carlos Beltran (1995, 2)
RF: David DeJesus (2000, 4)
Bench INF: Mike Sweeney (1991, 10)
Bench INF: Kila Ka'aihue (2002, 15)
Bench OF: Jarrod Dyson (2006, 50)
Bench OF: Alex Gordon (2005, 1)
Bench C: Mitch Maier (2003, 1)
SP: Zack Greinke (2002, 1)
SP: Luke Hochevar (2006, 1)
SP: Chad Durbin (1996, 3)
SP: Aaron Crow (2009, 1)
SP: Mike Montgomery (2008, 1)
RP: Matt Guerrier (1999, 10)
RP: Jeremy Affeldt (1997, 3)
RP: Brian Sanches (1999, 2)
RP: JP Howell (2004, 1)
RP: Greg Holland (2007, 10)
RP: Blake Wood (2006, 3)
RP: David Herndon (2004, 28)

Los Angeles Angels

C: Buster Posey (2005, 50)
1B: Casey Kotchman (2001, 1)
2B: Howie Kendrick (2002, 10)
SS: Bobby Crosby (1998, 34)
3B: Troy Glaus (1997, 1)
LF: Reggie Willits (2003, 7)
CF: Peter Bourjos (2005, 10)
RF: David Murphy (2000, 50)
Bench INF: Aaron Hill (2000, 7)
Bench INF: Chris Davis (2005, 35)
Bench OF: Chris Pettit (2006, 19)
Bench OF: Sean Rodriguez (2003, 3)
Bench C: Mike Napoli (2000, 17)
SP: John Lackey (1999, 2)
SP: Joe Sauders (2002, 1)
SP: Brandon Morrow (2003, 40)
SP: Jered Weaver (2004, 1)
SP: Brian Matusz (2005, 4)
RP: Scot Shields (1997, 38)
RP: Bobby Jenks (2000, 5)
RP: Michael Kohn (2008, 13)
RP: Jordan Walden (2006, 12)
RP: David Herndon (2006, 5)
RP: Sean O'Sullivan (2005, 3)
RP: Trevor Bell (2005, 1)

Los Angeles Dodgers

C: Russell Martin (2002, 17)
1B: Paul Konerko (1994, 1)
2B: Chase Utley (1997, 2)
SS: Blake DeWitt (2004, 1)
3B: Travis Denker (2003, 21)
LF: Jeff Larish (2004, 13)
CF: Shane Victorino (1999, 6)
RF: Matt Kemp (2003, 6)
Bench INF: James Loney (2002, 1)
Bench INF: Delwyn Young (2002, 4)
Bench OF: Xavier Paul (2003, 4)
Bench OF: Victor Diaz (2000, 37)
Bench C: David Ross (1998, 7)
SP: Randy Wolf (1994, 25)
SP: Chad Billingsley (2003, 1)
SP: Clayton Kershaw (2006, 1)
SP: Edwin Jackson (2001, 6)
SP: David Price (2004, 19)
RP: Pedro Feliciano (1995, 31)
RP: Joel Hanrahan (2000, 2)
RP: Jonathon Broxton (2002, 2)
RP: Luke Hochevar (2005, 1s)
RP: Cory Wade (2004, 10)
RP: Doug Mathis (2005, 13)
RP: Joel Hanrahan (2000, 2)

Minnesota Twins

C: Joe Mauer (2001, 1)Nick
1B: Justin Morneau (1999, 3)
2B: Steven Tolleson (2005, 5)
SS: Nick Punto (1997, 33)
3B: Danny Valencia (2006, 19)
LF:  Denard Span (2002, 1)
CF: Torii Hunter (1993, 1)
RF: Michael Cuddyer (1997, 1)
Bench INF: Yonder Alonso (2005, 16)
Bench INF: Matt Tolbert (2004, 16)
Bench OF: Jason Kubel (2000, 12)
Bench OF: Adam Lind (2004, 3)
Bench C: AJ Pierzynski (1994, 3)
SP: Nick Blackburn (2001, 29)
SP: Jason Vargas (2001, 43)
SP: Scott Baker (2003, 2)
SP: Matt Garza (2005, 1)
SP: Kevin Slowey (2005, 2)
RP: LaTroy Hawkins (1991, 7)
RP:  JC Romero (1997, 21)
RP: JJ Putz (1998, 17)
RP: Aaron Heilman (2000, 1s)
RP: Brian Duensing (2005, 3)
RP: Jeff Manship (2006, 14)
RP: Alex Burnett (2005, 12)

New York Mets

C: Josh Thole (2005, 13)
1B: Ike Davis (2008, 1)
2B: Ty Wigginton (1998, 17)
SS: Daniel Garcia (2005, 1)
3B: David Wright (2001, 1s)
LF: Angel Pagan (1999, 4)
CF: Aaron Rowand (1995, 40)
RF: David DeJesus (1997, 43)
Bench INF: Garrett Atkins (1997, 10)
Bench INF: Mike Carp (2004, 9)
Bench OF: Dan Murphy (2006, 13)
Bench OF: Nick Evans (2004, 5)
Bench C: Drew Butera (2005, 5)
SP: AJ Burnett (1995, 8)
SP: Jeremy Guthrie (1997, 15)
SP: Scott Kazmir (2002, 1)
SP: Jonathon Niese (2005, 7)
SP: Mike Pelfrey (2005, 1)
RP: Aaron Heilman (2001, 1)
RP: Brian Bannister (2003, 7)
RP: Joe Smith (2006, 3)
RP: Bobby Parnell (2005, 9)
RP: Matt Lindstrom (2002, 10)
RP: Philip Humber (2004, 1)
RP: Dillon Gee (2007, 21)

New York Yankees

C: Chad Moeller (1993, 25)
1B: Casey Blake (1995, 45)
2B: Kevin Russo (2006, 20)
SS: Derek Jeter (1992, 1)
3B: Mike Lowell (1995, 20)
LF: Austin Jackson (2005, 8)
CF: Chris Dickerson (2000, 32)
RF: Brett Gardner (2005, 3)
Bench INF: Nick Johnson (1996, 3)
Bench INF: Chris Davis (2004, 50)
Bench OF: Shelley Duncan (2001, 2)
Bench OF: Marcus Thames (1996, 30)
Bench C: Omir Santos (2001, 21)
SP: Jeff Karstens (2003, 19)
SP: Phil Hughes (2004, 1)
SP: Doug Fister (2005, 6)
SP: Ian Kennedy (2006, 1)
SP: Joba Chamberlain (2006, 1s)
RP: Randy Choate (1997, 5)
RP: Aaron Heilman (1997, 55)
RP: Phil Coke (2002, 26)
RP: Tyler Clippard (2003, 9)
RP: Daniel Bard (2003, 20)
RP: Drew Storen (2007, 34)
RP: David Robertson (2006, 17)

Oakland Athletics

C: Kurt Suzuki (2004, 2)
1B: Justin Smoak (2005, 16)
2B: Cliff Pennington (2005, 1)
SS: Bobby Crosby (2001, 1)
3B: Eric Chavez (1996, 1)
LF: Andre Ethier (2001, 37 and 2003, 2)
CF: Eric Byrnes (1998, 8)
RF: Ryan Ludwick (1999, 2)
Bench INF: Jason Giambi (1992, 2)
Bench INF: Mark Teahen (2002, 1s)
Bench OF: Nick Swisher (2002, 1)
Bench OF: Travis Buck (2005, 1s)
Bench C: Gerald Laird (1998, 2)
SP: Tim Hudson (1994, 35and 1997, 6)
SP: Barry Zito (1999, 1)
SP: Dallas Braden (2004, 24)
SP: Trevor Cahill (2006, 2)
SP: Joe Blanton (2002, 1)
RP: Kevin Gregg (1996, 15) and
RP: Brad Ziegler (2002, 31)
RP: Jonathon Papelbon (2002, 40)
RP: Huston Street (2004, 1s)
RP: Rich Harden (2000, 17)
RP: Vin Mazzaro (2005, 3)
RP: Andrew Bailey (2006, 6)

Philadelphia Phillies

C: Lou Marson (2004, 4)
1B: Ryan Howard (2001, 5)
2B: Chase Utley (2000, 1)
SS: Jimmy Rollins (1996, 2)
3B: Scott Rolen (1993, 2)
LF: Casey Blake (1992, 11)
CF: Michael Bourn (2003, 4)
RF: JD Drew (1997, 1)
Bench INF: Nick Punto (1998, 21)
Bench INF: Jason Donald (2006, 3)
Bench OF: Domonic Brown (2006, 20)
Bench OF: Marlon Byrd (1999, 10)
Bench C: Jason Jaramillo (2004, 2)
SP: Randy Wolf (1997, 2)
SP: Joe Saunders (1999, 5)
SP: Brett Myers (1999, 1)
SP: Gavin Floyd (2001, 1)
SP: Cole Hamels (2002, 1)
RP: Kameron Loe (1999, 39)
RP: Taylor Bucholz (2000, 6)
RP: Brad Ziegler (2003, 10)
RP: Kyle Kendrick (2003, 7)
RP: JA Happ (2004, 3)
RP: Vance Worley (2008, 3)
RP: Ryan Madson (1998, 9)

Pittsburgh Pirates

C: Ryan Doumit (1999, 2)
1B: Steven Pearce (2005, 8)
2B: Neil Walker (2004, 1)
SS: Stephen Drew (2001, 11)
3B: Pedro Alvarez (2008, 1)
LF: Rajai Davis (2001, 38)
CF: Andrew McCutchen (2005, 1)
RF: Jose Bautista (2000, 20)
Bench INF: Jeff Keppinger (2001, 4)
Bench INF: Willie Harris (1999, 24)
Bench OF:  Nyjer Morgan (2002, 33)
Bench OF: Nate McClouth (2000, 25)
Bench C: Jason Kendall (1992, 1)
SP: Bronson Arroyo (1995, 3)
SP: Chris Capuano (1996, 45)
SP: Chris Young (2000, 3)
SP: Zach Duke (2001, 20)
SP: Jeremy Guthrie (2001, 3)
RP: Mike Gonzalez (1997, 30)
RP: Joe Beimel (1998, 18)
RP: Sean Burnett (2000, 1)
RP: Matt Capps (2002, 7)
RP: Jonathan Albaladejo (2001, 19)
RP: John Grabow (1997, 3)
RP: Danny Moskos (2007, 1)

San Diego Padres

C: Wil Nieves (1995, 47)
1B: Todd Helton (1992, 2)
2B: Josh Barfield (2001, 4)
SS: Jason Bartlett (2001, 13)
3B: Troy Glaus (1994, 2)
LF: Kyle Blanks (2004, 42)
CF: Jason Michaels (1994, 49)
RF: Xavier Nady (2000, 2)
Bench INF: Derrek Lee (1993, 1)
Bench INF: Chase Headley (2005, 2)
Bench OF: Will Venable (2005, 7)
Bench OF: Brendan Katin (2002, 38)
Bench C: George Kottaras (2002, 20)
SP: Jake Peavy (1999, 15)
SP: Tim Stauffer (2003, 1)
SP: Josh Geer (2005, 3)
SP: Mat Latos (2006, 11)
SP: Wade LeBlanc (2006, 2)
RP: Mark Hendrickson (1993, 21)
RP: Shawn Camp (1997, 16)
RP: Justin Germano (2000, 13)
RP: Chad Cordero (2000, 26)
RP: Leo Rosales (2003, 20)
RP: Brandon Kintzler (2004, 40)
RP: Josh Tomlin (2005, 11)

San Francisco Giants

C: Buster Posey (2008, 1)
1B: Travis Ishikawa (2002, 21)
2B: Kevin Frandsen (2004, 12)
SS: Emmanuel Burris (2006, 1s)
3B: Conor Gillaspie (2008, 1s)
LF: Nate Schierholtz (2003, 2)
CF: Fred Lewis (2002, 2)
RF: JD Drew (1994, 20)
Bench INF: Brian Buscher (2003, 3)
Bench INF: Brandon Belt (2009, 5)
Bench OF: Thomas Neal (2005, 36)
Bench OF:John Bowker (2004, 3)
Bench C: Doug Mirabelli (1992, 5)
SP: Boof Bonser (2000, 1)
SP: Matt Cain (2002, 1)
SP: Madison Bumgarner (2007, 1)
SP: Jonathan Sanchez (2004, 27)
SP: Tim Lincecum (2006, 1)
RP: Dan Runzler (2007, 9)
RP: Joe Nathan (1995, 6)
RP: Brad Lidge (1995, 42)
RP: Scott Linebrink (1997, 2)
RP: Sergio Romo (2005, 28)
RP: Brian Wilson (2003, 24)
RP:Clay Hensley (2002, 8)

Seattle Mariners

C: Jason Varitek (1994, 1)
1B: Gaby Sanchez (2002, 15)
2B: Dustin Ackley (2009, 1)
SS: Matt Tuiasosopo (2004, 3)
3B: Alex Rodriguez (1993, 1)
LF: Raul Ibanez (1992, 36)
CF: Adam Jones (2003, 1s)
RF: Michael Saunders (2004, 11)
Bench INF: Nick Franklin (2009, 1)
Bench INF: Matt Mangini (2007, 1s)
Bench OF: Juan Pierre (1995, 30)
Bench OF: Willie Bloomquist (1996, 8)
Bench C: Rob Johnson (2004, 4)
SP: Derek Lowe (1991, 8)
SP: Barry Zito (1996, 59)
SP: Joel Pineiro (1997, 12)
SP: Chris Tillman (2006, 2)
SP: Brandon Morrow (2006, 1)
RP: Ryan Franklin (1992, 23)
RP: Scott Atchison (1998, 49)
RP: Brian Fuentes (1995, 25)
RP: John Axford (2001, 7)
RP: JJ Putz (1999, 6)
RP: Eric O'Flaherty (2003, 6)
RP: Dan Runzler (2006, 17)

St. Louis Cardinals

C: Yadier Molina (2000, 4)
1B: Albert Pujols (1999, 13)
2B: Placido Polanco (1994, 19)
SS: Jack Wilson (1998, 9)
3B: Adam Kennedy (1997, 1)
LF: Colby Rasmus (2005, 1)
CF: Coco Crisp (1999, 7)
RF: JD Drew (1998, 1)
Bench INF: Daric Barton (2003, 1)
Bench INF: Brendan Ryan (2003, 7)
Bench OF: Rick Ankiel (1997, 2)
Bench OF: Xavier Nady (1997, 4)
Bench C: Bryan Anderson (2005, 4)
SP: Jaime Garcia (2005, 22)
SP: Chris Narveson (2000, 2)
SP: Dan Haren (2001, 2)
SP: Kevin Correia (2001, 23)
SP: Ian Kennedy (2003, 14)
RP: Randy Flores (1996, 21)
RP: Kyle McClellan (2002, 25)
RP: Jason Motte (2003, 19)
RP: Chris Perez (2006, 1s)
RP: Luke Gregerson (2006, 28)
RP: Mitchell Boggs (2005, 5)
RP: Brad Thompson (2002, 16)

Tampa Bay Rays (since 1996)

C: John Jaso (2003, 12)
1B: Ike Davis (2005, 19)
2B: Ryan Raburn (1999, 18)
SS: Reid Brignac (2004, 2)
3B: Evan Longoria (2006, 1)
LF: Josh Hamilton (1999, 1)
CF: Carl Crawford (1999, 2)
RF: BJ Upton (2002, 1)
Bench INF: Mike Fontenot (1999, 21)
Bench INF: Aubrey Huff (1998, 5)
Bench OF: Jacoby Ellsbury (2002, 23)
Bench OF: Delmon Young (2003, 1)
Bench C: Toby Hall (1997, 9)
SP: James Shields (2000, 16)
SP: David Price (2007, 1)
SP: Jeff Niemann (2004, 1)
SP: Wade Davis (2004, 3)
SP: Jeremy Hellickson (2005, 4)
RP: Dan Wheeler (1996, 34)
RP: Heath Bell (1997, 69)
RP: Mike Minor (2006, 13)
RP: Jake McGee (2004, 5)
RP: Wade LeBlanc (2003, 36)
RP: Andy Sonnanstine (2004, 13)
RP: Tommy Hunter (2005, 18)

Texas Rangers

C: Tyler Teagarden (2005, 3)
1B: Mark Teixeira (2001, 1)
2B: Ian Kinsler (2003, 17)
SS: Marcus Lemon (2006, 4)
3B: Hank Blalock (1999, 3)
LF: Scott Podsednik (1994, 3)
CF: Laynce Nix (2000, 4)
RF: Jermaine Dye (1992, 43)
Bench INF: Justin Smoak (2008, 1)
Bench INF: Edwin Encarnacion (2000, 9)
Bench OF: Brandon Boggs (2004, 4)
Bench OF: Julio Borbon (2007, 1s)
Bench C: Mike Nickeas (2004, 5)
SP: John Danks (2003, 1)
SP: Barry Zito (1998, 3)
SP: Colby Lewis (1999, 1s)
SP: Tommy Hunter (2007, 1s)
SP: CJ WIlson (2001, 5)
RP: Ryan Dempster (1995, 3)
RP: Mark Hendrickson (1996, 19)
RP: Joe Beimel (1996, 26)
RP: Kameron Loe (2002, 20)
RP: Scott Feldman (2003, 30)
RP: Derrek Holland (2006, 25)
RP: Danny Herrera (2006, 45)

Toronto Blue Jays

C: JP Arencibia (2007, 1)
1B: Adam Lind (2004, 3)
2B: Michael Young (1997, 5)
SS: Orlando Hudson (1996, 33 and 1997, 43)
3B: Casey Blake (1996, 7)
LF:  Brad Hawpe (1997, 46)
CF: Vernon Wells (1997, 1)
RF: Alex Rios (1999, 1)
Bench INF: Felipe Lopez (1998, 1)
Bench INF: Aaron Hill (2003, 1)
Bench OF: Reed Johnson (1999, 17)
Bench OF: Travis Snider (2006, 1)
Bench C: Curtis Pigpen (2004, 2)
SP: Chris Carpenter (1993, 1)
SP: Roy Halladay (1995, 1)
SP: Dustin McGowan (2000, 1s)
SP: Ricky Romero (2005, 1)
SP: Shaun Marcum (2003, 3)
RP: Ryan Franklin (1991, 25)
RP: Mark Hendrickson (1997, 20)
RP: Brett Cecil (2007, 1s)
RP: Chad Qualls (1997, 52)
RP: Brandon Lyon (1999, 14)
RP: Brandon League (2001, 2)
RP: Casey Janssen (2004, 4)

Washington Nationals/Montreal Expos

C: Russell Martin (2000, 35)
1B: Mark Grudzielanek (1991, 11)
2B: Brandon Phillips (1999, 2)
SS: Ian Desmond (2004, 3)
3B: Ryan Zimmerman (2005, 1)
LF: Milton Bradley (1996, 2)
CF: Grady Sizemore (2000, 3)
RF: Jason Bay (2000, 22)
Bench INF: Jamey Carroll (1996, 14)
Bench INF: Geoff Blum (1994, 7)
Bench OF: Fred Lewis (2000, 20)
Bench OF: Justin Maxwell (2005, 4)
Bench C: Brian Schneider (1995, 1)
SP: Javier Vasquez (1994, 5)
SP: Cliff Lee (2000, 4)
SP: Jeff Karstens (2000, 45)
SP: John Lannan (2005, 11)
SP: Jordan Zimmerman (2007, 2)
RP: Chad Cordero (2003, 1)
RP: Colin Balester (2004, 4)
RP: Craig Stammen (2005, 12)
RP: Marco Estrada (2005, 6)
RP: Ross Detwiler (2007, 1)
RP: Drew Storen (2009, 1)
RP: Bill Bray (2004, 1)

 

  • If you're curious on my approach towards doing this, I used B-Ref to look at yearly drafts sorted by team.  Then I looked the drafts up and down and filled in slots with guys who I thought would definitely stay on the rosters.  Once I did that for every team, I took a second run-through and filled in all the remaining spots.  For some teams, there were only one or two spots left on my second look (Rays, Red Sox, Dodgers) but for others, there was nearly half of the team left (Blue Jays, Royals, Astros).  And for some teams, there was nobody decent enough to put into certain slots and I had to dip into their AA rosters just for a warm body at a position. 
  • If you want, just take one of the bench players or something and name them the DH for any AL team.
  • There are a bunch of notable football players that have been drafted over the years: The Rockies drafted Michael Vick in 2000 in the 30th round, former Packers wide receiver Javon Walker was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 12th round in 1997, and former Wisconsin Badgers Quarterback Brooks Bollinger was drafted by the Dodgers in the 50th round in 2000.
  • Pedro Feliciano pitches in a lot of games.  He's led the NL in games the past three years, averaging 88 2/3 games/year in that time frame.  I don't know how his arm hasn't revolted against him yet.
  • There were a couple teams that stood out to me as being much better than others with these teams.  Not least of these was the Rays who have, of course, been quite adept at drafting impact players.  I had to drop several pitchers and outfielders that would have easily made the rosters of most other teams.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, surprisingly, were the Marlins.  They're a team who has received a lot of praise for being able to fill in spots every year and stay competitive, so it was a surprise to see their all-drafted not be all that great.  The conclusion then must seemingly be that they are much better at trading for prospects than actually drafting them.
  • Mark Hendrickson has been drafted seven times in his career, six in the MLB and once in the NBA.  There were several other players I noticed that were seemingly drafted by about 37 different teams, but Hendrickson is the one that stood out most.
  • It's always fun to note that Nomar Garciaparra was drafted by the Brewers in the fifth round in 1991.
  • I like to play MLB: The Show '08 and take control of a franchise.  I tend to neglect scouting prospects because it's really easy to trade for star players, thus the draft doesn't really matter.  But everytime the offseason comes around a few of my scouts must have gone rogue and actually taken a look at several potential draftees.  It never fails that these scouts seemingly look at every single catcher so, in the draft, there are an unorthodox amount of players at the position available and almost all of them have been scouted.  It gets really annoying because it is incredibly easy to draft your franchise backstop in any given year.  Clearly, that's not true in real life.
  • This ended up taking me way longer than I thought it would.  I was started sometime around two Tuesdays ago with the idea that I would post it last weekend.  That didn't end up working out--I was able to get maybe half of it done by that point.  If I had to take a guess, I would bet that I spent around thirty hours working on this project.
  • I'm sure that there might be players that should have made this list but that I neglected or didn't see.  Feel free to point out any egregious errors on my part and I'll change it.
  • There are so many names on this post that the auto-tagger quit.


Roenicke, players to take part in chat Sunday

January 28, 2011

 Even fans who cannot make it to "Brewers On Deck" on Sunday will have an opportunity to take part. New manager Ron Roenicke and players LaTroy Hawkins and Casey McGehee will answer questions in a live brewers.com webchat at 2 p.m. CT.

Friday’s Frosty Mug

January 28, 2011
Corey Hart isn't quite in

More photos » Al Behrman - AP

Corey Hart isn't quite in "best shape of his life" territory, but he's close.

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while maintaining a singular focus.

Another day, another note on the Brewers' excellent offseason: Scott Miller of CBS Sports crowned the Brewers as one of his "kings of the winter carnival."

Perhaps the Brewers can use that in their 2011 promotional materials: Brewer Executive VP for Business Operations Rick Schlesinger told Tom Haudricourt he thinks 2008's franchise attendance record is in reach this season. The Brewers drew 3,068,458 fans en route to the Wild Card that season, or 37,882 per game.

The Brewers announced yesterday that they've invited veteran infielder Erick Almonte to major league camp (FanShot). Almonte is 32 and last appeared in the majors with the 2003 Yankees, but hit .320/.377/.415 in 110 games for Nashville last season. He's pretty limited defensively at this point (he's almost exclusively a 1B/DH), but he's probably still more valuable than Mark Kotsay.

Almonte is, at best, unlikely to make the team out of camp or have a significant impact on the 2011 Brewers, but Toby Harrmann of Brewerfan.net says he's a good teammate and likely future coach.

I never would have predicted it two years ago, but John Axford has become one of the most interesting Brewers. David Laurilia of Baseball Prospectus has a Q&A with the Brewer closer with topics ranging from his re-emegence in baseball, his taste in film and Twitter.

Elsewhere in interviews:

In the minors:

  • In Keith Law's organizational rankings, he mentioned pitcher Wily Peralta as one of the Brewers' top prospects. He later elaborated on Twitter, saying he feels like "Peralta has the best chance to start and be more than a back-end guy." 
  • If you live in Wisconsin and have Time Warner Cable, you're going to get at least ten chances to watch the Timber Rattlers this season: The team announced yesterday that those games will be covered on Sports 32.
  • They also unveiled the sixth episode of season two of The Offseason, where we learn that Fang is a pretty poor night watchman.

Around baseball:

Cubs: Signed pitcher Braden Looper and infielder Augie Ojeda to minor league deals.
Pirates: Are expected to sign reliever Joe Beimel.
Nationals: Designated outfielder Justin Maxwell for assignment.
Orioles: Signed pitcher Nick Bierbrodt to a minor league deal.
Rockies: Avoided arbitration with third baseman Ian Stewart and signed catcher Chad Moeller to a minor league deal.

Today in former Brewers:

There are also several former Brewers and Milwaukee Braves on Wisconsin Sports Tap's All-Wisconsin Team.

Today in baseball economics: I recently mentioned that the Rays' payroll for this season was projected to be well under $50 million. Since then, they've signed Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon...and their 2011 payroll projection is still only $42.2 million.

Meanwhile, it still sucks to be the Marlins: Their home series against the Mariners in June is being moved to Seattle to make room for a U2 concert.

Actually, it still sucks to be the Pirates too. Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke? has a look at how 105-loss teams typically fare in the following season.

On this day in 1993, the Brewers signed veteran outfielder Tom Brunansky to a two year deal. He was coming off a big season with the Red Sox (.266/.354/.445 in 1992), but would go on to hit just .187/.263/.317 over parts of two seasons in Milwaukee before being traded back to the Red Sox for catcher Dave Valle. The 1994 season was his last in the big leagues, and he now works as a coach for the GCL Twins.

With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get more quarters.

Drink up.


The Thursday Thinker: Streaking Again

January 27, 2011
Prince Fielder once went 197 consecutive games without a triple. That's not a Brewer record. Actually, it's not even close.

More photos » Tony Dejak - AP

Prince Fielder once went 197 consecutive games without a triple. That's not a Brewer record. Actually, it's not even close.

Browse more photos »

If you believe that every coin should have two sides, even when that other side is terrible, then this is the quiz for you.

Last week I asked you to name the Brewer franchise record holders for most consecutive games with a run, hit, home run, extra base hit, RBI, walk, strikeout, stolen base and triple. This week I want the Brewers who hold the records for most consecutive games WITHOUT those stats. There are ten of them, and if you can name more than one or two I'll be pretty impressed.

The rules remain the same: Post your score in the comments but do not comment on any specific answer until after 6 pm Central time, so everyone gets a chance to try it out without having it spoiled for them. And, of course, there's no reason to cheat here, because there aren't any prizes.

I'll go ahead and apologize in advance, because this is the most ridiculously impossible quiz I've written in two years of the Thinker. In the highly unlikely event that you get them all, post your time along with your score.

Have fun, and don't forget to post your score in the comments!