It is clear that Escobar, Gamel, Brantley and Jeffress are the cream of the system.

(1) Zach Braddock - has had a tough year with his control and health. He is probably the most talented lefthander in system.

(2)  Mark Rogers - I have not given up on Rogers. I hope in 09 we see a similar arch to his season that we saw with Parra once he was healthy again. It will take him a while to get back his confidence and by August 09 he will be a top pitching prospect again.

 (3) Lorenzo Cain (maybe not off the radar) - Best defensive OF in the system. Has potential to be a Power/speed guy with gold glove potential in CF. I think 2009 will be his breakout year at AAA.

(4) Celeb Gindl - Reputed to have the best plate discipline in the system and the best outfield arm. Doesn't fit the Melvin profile of a corner OF (Doug likes thumpers at the corners).

(5) Evan Fredrieckson - The wild lefty will either start showing some progress as a starter or you need to move him to the pen and see if you can turn him into a premium reliever.

(6) Brent Brewer - I have a hunch that he will be moved off SS during the winter and moved to the OF or 3B. His Slg, OPS and OBP have jumped significantly since July. Making more contact and as importantly more hard contact. He is a guy who if it clicks it will click big. IF he isn't in Huntsville by July 09 I will be surprised.

 (7) Scarpetta/Nieves/Odorizzi/Lintz - I like all of them and I think at least one of them due to the Laws of Probability is going to be in the Brewer rotation by 2012.

ghostdog_on_the_beach:

It is clear that Escobar, Gamel, Brantley and Jeffress are the cream of the system.

(1) Zach Braddock - has had a tough year with his control and health. He is probably the most talented lefthander in system.

(2)  Mark Rogers - I have not given up on Rogers. I hope in 09 we see a similar arch to his season that we saw with Parra once he was healthy again. It will take him a while to get back his confidence and by August 09 he will be a top pitching prospect again.

 (3) Lorenzo Cain (maybe not off the radar) - Best defensive OF in the system. Has potential to be a Power/speed guy with gold glove potential in CF. I think 2009 will be his breakout year at AAA.

(4) Celeb Gindl - Reputed to have the best plate discipline in the system and the best outfield arm. Doesn't fit the Melvin profile of a corner OF (Doug likes thumpers at the corners).

(5) Evan Fredrieckson - The wild lefty will either start showing some progress as a starter or you need to move him to the pen and see if you can turn him into a premium reliever.

(6) Brent Brewer - I have a hunch that he will be moved off SS during the winter and moved to the OF or 3B. His Slg, OPS and OBP have jumped significantly since July. Making more contact and as importantly more hard contact. He is a guy who if it clicks it will click big. IF he isn't in Huntsville by July 09 I will be surprised.

 (7) Scarpetta/Nieves/Odorizzi/Lintz - I like all of them and I think at least one of them due to the Laws of Probability is going to be in the Brewer rotation by 2012.

Zach Braddock - I'm with you on that one.

Mark Rogers - Hope springs eternal...

Lorenzo Cain - He's a very popular pick to have a breakout season in 2009.  I'm not completely sold on his bat quite yet, but his defense is great.

Caleb Gindl - The kid keeps proving me wrong this season.  About the plate discipline though...not so much.  Those 139 strikeouts might have something to say about that.

Evan Frederickson - Hasn't shown the velocity reported before the draft yet.  Milwaukee will be fixing his mechanics.  Not sold here at all.

Brent Brewer - Definitely be watching here.

Scarpetta/Nieves/Odorizzi/Lintz - All have great arms.

Here's who I will be watching:

Jonathan Lucroy (assuming he is not traded to Cleveland) - His defense and game-calling abilities have been improving every month, according to scouts.  His bat has been special ever sense becoming a professional.  Will he be able to adjust against tougher pitching in Class-AA ball?  They say it's the toughest transition for young players...

Michael Brantley (again, assuming he's not traded to CLE) - The kid has absolutely everything going for him except power and defense.  His defense is progressing, but has been stunted with Cain playing CF in Huntsville.  The power is increasing every season.  Will he take it to a respectable level in 2009?

Allixon Cequea - He's a youngster in the AZL, but he has the chance to be something special in a few years.

Robert Wooten - Will Milwaukee fast-track him?  His slider is big-league ready as we speak.

Eric Farris - Milwaukee hasn't had a legitimate 2B prospect in quite a while.  Farris has quickly become one of my favorite players, and I would love to see him put together a solid year in BC.  His defense projects to be a plus tool, but it needs to improve a bit.  So does his power.  He has the speed and the bat control to move up the system though.

Wily Peralta - He has quite the fastball-slider combination.  Can he keep it together against tougher competition?

Blakeney Billings - I'm not sure why, but I like Billings a bit more than Lintz at this point.  I love the BB/K ratio along with the high-ground ball tendencies.  It is a very small sample though.

There are others too, but these are the main ones. 

Jim Breen:

Here's who I will be watching:

Jonathan Lucroy (assuming he is not traded to Cleveland) - His defense and game-calling abilities have been improving every month, according to scouts.  His bat has been special ever sense becoming a professional.  Will he be able to adjust against tougher pitching in Class-AA ball?  They say it's the toughest transition for young players...

Michael Brantley (again, assuming he's not traded to CLE) - The kid has absolutely everything going for him except power and defense.  His defense is progressing, but has been stunted with Cain playing CF in Huntsville.  The power is increasing every season.  Will he take it to a respectable level in 2009?

Allixon Cequea - He's a youngster in the AZL, but he has the chance to be something special in a few years.

Robert Wooten - Will Milwaukee fast-track him?  His slider is big-league ready as we speak.

Eric Farris - Milwaukee hasn't had a legitimate 2B prospect in quite a while.  Farris has quickly become one of my favorite players, and I would love to see him put together a solid year in BC.  His defense projects to be a plus tool, but it needs to improve a bit.  So does his power.  He has the speed and the bat control to move up the system though.

Wily Peralta - He has quite the fastball-slider combination.  Can he keep it together against tougher competition?

Blakeney Billings - I'm not sure why, but I like Billings a bit more than Lintz at this point.  I love the BB/K ratio along with the high-ground ball tendencies.  It is a very small sample though.

There are others too, but these are the main ones. 

I agree with you on Farris. He is fairly advanced and should be at Huntsville and possibly Nashville. I really would not be surprised that in two years both Hardy and Weeks are playing different position (3B and CF)... I still think Weeks is going end up in CF and Hardy at 3B.

I like Brantley but he seems like another hit first and ask questions later about his defense type prospect. I there is serious doubt he can play CF in the majors. His ideal position is probably LF (his arm is too marginal for RF)... Do you move Braun again??? Do you move Corey to CF? Then what do you do with Gamel???? Not this offseason I don't expect the Brewers to be very active but after the 2009 season I think there is going to be some major moves made.

If Prince doesn't sign a 3-4 year extension by the end of the 2009 season I think he will be moved. So for a lot of reason I hope 2009 is his best season as a Brewer.

Good lists guys.

You definitely picked the low hanging fruit there, so anyone I could list would probably be on the low end of the "prospect" scale. But a few more I've been paying close attention to.

Bobby Bramhall: Yeah, he's old (23) for high A ball and we'll know a lot more after he gets out of the FSL, but the numbers are solid (almost a K per IP and fewer than 3BB/9IP, 1.13 WHIP) and he's a lefty, so there seems to be some decent reliever potential there. Sounds like his stuff is solid enough to be a legit prospect (Thanks Jim)

Taylor Green: (how did you guys miss this one?) Someone's gotta go to Cleveland, and I would rather it wasn't him, but I would rather keep LuCroy so if it is Green then fine. I really want to see what he can do out of the FSL power wise, because I suspect that he could have a Gamel like breakout, at least in the power dept. Also wondering about his ability to stay at third.

Lee Haydel: Honestly, I'm kinda hoping he breaks out OBP and steal percent wise next year to enhance his trade value to Darren Ford level. But maybe he can be more, who knows? 

RJ Seidel: I still think he could become a pretty good PP, and maybe a move to the FSL will help him learn to attack hitters and improve the K and BB numbers. He still has a chance.

Alexandre Periard:  The guy throws hard is at an advanced level for his age,  so I think the rough start at AA can be somewhat excused. Seems to be a streaky guy.

Those are the big ones I could think of off the top of my head.

Good stuff, Einstein.

Bobby Bramhall -- Throws a high 80s fastball that can touch 90 mph.  He also has a big curveball that serves as his out-pitch, while developing a change-up.  He's got good, but not overpowering stuff.  Still a guy to watch...you're right.

Taylor Green -- I didn't miss him.  I just expect him to be in Cleveland's system next season.

Lee Haydel -- I'm actually working on getting an interview with him.  I love his speed and his pretty good bat control.  As you said, the OBP needs to rise.  The FSL will be a good challenge for him.

RJ Seidel -- A good darkhorse.

Alexandre Periard -- His work in the Arizona Fall League will be watched closely, that's for sure.

If you really want to dig deep, I'm interested to see how Roque Mercedes and Nick Tyson do next season.  They came into 2008 with big expectations and struggled mightily to start the season.  The two have been picking it up as of late though.  Can they continue to dominate next season?

 Does any else think that Erik Komatsu might be able to end 2009 in Huntsville.

He is clearly the most advanced bat in Helena and he played in a very good program @ Cal-Fullerton.

This guy looks like he really hit.

ghostdog_on_the_beach:

 Does any else think that Erik Komatsu might be able to end 2009 in Huntsville.

He is clearly the most advanced bat in Helena and he played in a very good program @ Cal-Fullerton.

This guy looks like he really hit.

Obviously a lot of this will depend on where he opens 2009, Brevard or WV.

Jim Breen:

Good stuff, Einstein.

Bobby Bramhall -- Throws a high 80s fastball that can touch 90 mph.  He also has a big curveball that serves as his out-pitch, while developing a change-up.  He's got good, but not overpowering stuff.  Still a guy to watch...you're right.

Taylor Green -- I didn't miss him.  I just expect him to be in Cleveland's system next season.

Lee Haydel -- I'm actually working on getting an interview with him.  I love his speed and his pretty good bat control.  As you said, the OBP needs to rise.  The FSL will be a good challenge for him.

RJ Seidel -- A good darkhorse.

Alexandre Periard -- His work in the Arizona Fall League will be watched closely, that's for sure.

 

If you really want to dig deep, I'm interested to see how Roque Mercedes and Nick Tyson do next season.  They came into 2008 with big expectations and struggled mightily to start the season.  The two have been picking it up as of late though.  Can they continue to dominate next season?

Seidal and Periard are two really interesting arms.

I think Green is headed to Cleveland also.

Bramhall is some to definitely keel an eye on.

I think if you go through the excercise of thinking about the Brewers system you see why folks are so impressed with the talent evaluation that has been done over the last 4 to five years.

Braun and Yo are just the tip of the iceberg.

I am as confident about the Brewers future as I have ever been. 

I was a kid in 1982 but you could sort of tell that once that run was over we were in trouble. There just was not a lot on the farm, and after Molitor there simply wasn't any young talent being added .... When Sheffield flamed out it was clear we were in trouble.

Great points, guys.

Nothing to add, just a thanks for all the updates and info about the farm guys.  I love watching them and learning about them, just don't have the time to do so as indepthly (?) as you do. 

I'm sure others, too, like to read and use the information, so keep it comin!