SB Nation - Joe Bateman

A Brief Primer on the Rays Off-Season to Date and a Look Forward to the Winter Meetings

R.J. Anderson — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 18:54:22 -0000

The Winter Meetings start tomorrow. Any murmur or misunderstood comment will be amplified and some press members will be used as pawns. Disinformation is going to spread like wildfire. This makes the event more alluring as a spectator sport, but keep in mind 90% of what is talked about will never come to fruition. Now, completely ignoring that, this is the day one open thread. Ideally most of the rumors and discussion will stick to this thread until a recap thread is posted (expect that in the evening) barring something actually occurring or a rumor passing the smell test with flying colors.

This thread is going up about 20 hours early because tomorrow we'll have a very special interview with James Click -- the Rays chief of quantitative analysis and former Baseball Prospectus deity - which should provide entertainment for those willing to accept anything less than rumors in the early AM.

Moving on, let's review the Rays off-season to date in a brief and concise manner which means links.

Transactions

Rays re-sign Gabe Kapler

Akinori Iwamura for Jesse Chavez

Player to be named later for Kelly Shoppach

R.J. Swindle signs minor league deal

Joe Bateman signs minor league deal

Gregg Zaun signs with Milwaukee

Ramon Ramirez is claimed on waivers...

And then released

Milton Bradley

The Burrell-Bradley swap

The clubhouse cancer theory

Rumors and general interest posts

Rays interested in Ivan Rodriguez?

Pirates make Reid Brignac main target?

Why Billy Wagner made no sense for the Rays

Three rules about acquiring relievers

The Rays and the win curve

Kiko Calero

Brendan Donnelly

Kelvim Escobar

Joaquin Benoit

Carl Crawford extension talk

Interviews with Rays personnel

Andrew Friedman

Matt Arnold

Chaim Bloom

Remember that you can also follow the latest Rays rumors, news, and tidbits on Twitter by adding @draysbay, @trancel, @ehahmann, or @freezorilla.

One more note: please, please, post the source of the rumor. And generally speaking, the MLBTR comments section or a random message board post won't pass the smell test.

Lazy Saturday Ex-Brewers Update

TheJay — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:15:07 -0000

On this "unseasonably cool" (a.k.a. comfortable) Saturday in Wisconsin, why not take a look at the way 2009 is going for some Brewers who got away. I could post about guys like Anthony Gwynn, Gabe Kapler, Gabe Gross, and Russell Branyan in the majors, but I want to focus on some of the lesser lights:

Chris Barnwell

Barnwell, called up to Milwaukee for one month in 2006, spent 2008 in Albuquerque for the Marlins and also plays for Team Canada. This year, he started in Houston before being traded to Pittsburgh for sunflower seeds. He's struggled at AAA Indianapolis, hitting just .149/.220/.201 in 172 plate appearances while playing everywhere but behind the plate and on the mound.
Joe Bateman

Ex-Brewers don't retire, they just wind up in Tampa. Bateman is another name to add to the list as he's been plying his trade for AAA Durham. A 29-year-old righty who finally made it to AAA last year while pitching well at every level of the minors, Bateman was picked in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft and went 3-1 with a 2.09 ERA between Huntsville and Nashville last year. This year he has struggled with control, walking 5.6 batters per nine innings, twice his career rate. He's still striking out one guy each inning but all the extra baserunners have his ERA sitting at 4.08 in 35 innings. He has appeared in 26 games and is 4-1 with a save.
Michael Brantley

The player to be named later in the Sabathia trade, center fielder Brantley was an on-base machine in the minors for the Brewers. He hit .319/.395/.398 last year for AA Huntsville at the tender age of 21. This year he's manned the outfield for AAA Columbus. He's hitting .268/.349/.353 with 33 stolen bases (4 CS!). Even if the slash stats aren't eye-popping, a 22-year-old with speed who walks more than he strikes out in AAA is a pretty good PTBNL.
Callix Crabbe

The former third-best second base prospect in the Brewers system (behind Rickie Weeks and Hernan Iribarren) made the majors last year as a Rule 5 pick in San Diego. The diminuitive switch-hitter, listed at 5'7", went 6 for 34 in one month for the Padres while making 3 errors in five games at the keystone. He was offered back to the Brewers and the team accepted, assigning him to Nashville. Jack Zduriencik in Seattle edged out Tampa for Crabbe's services in 2009. Crabbe hasn't done well at AAA Tacoma, though, hitting just .212/.311/.332.

Follow the jump for more!

Joe Dillon

Joltin' Joe spent a season and a month in the Brewers' versatile 25th man role. He did better than you can expect the last guy on the bench to do, putting up a .278/.363/.397 line in 172 Brewers plate appearances. Now 33, he was claimed by the Athletics last winter and traded to Tampa after missing the first month of the season with a back injury. He played in twelve games for Durham before getting called up to the Rays. He's hit .320 in 12 games over six weeks, playing the last bat on the bench and emergency catcher role so popular among AL squads.
Steve Hammond

The Brewers' 6th round pick in the 2005 draft, 27-year-old LHP Hammond worked his way up to AAA Nashville. He struggled mightily in four starts for the Sounds, but went 7-4 with a 3.45 ERA in fifteen starts at Huntsville. He was part of the Ray Durham trade and has not found much success at AAA in the San Francisco organization either. In 19 appearances this year, he is 6-8 with a 5.44 ERA and 1.49 WHIP.
Will Inman

The biggest piece traded away in 2007's Scott Linebrink deadline deal, Inman started out a 3rd round pick in the 2005 draft. Like Brantley, he has made it to AAA at the age of 22. Unlike Brantley, it took some good numbers at AA this year to get him there. In 44 1/3 innings at AA, Inman struck out 36 and walked 8, good for a 3.05 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. Things haven't gone as smoothly at AAA Portland. In 11 starts, Inman has lasted only 60 innings, walking 22 against 36 strikeouts. He has been hittable as well, surrendering 76 base knocks. All of that adds up to a 6.15 ERA and WHIP the wrong side of 1.60.
Zach Jackson

Acquired from Toronto with Dave Bush and Gabe Gross for Lyle Overbay and Ty Taubenheim, Jackson was part of the 2006 Parade of Pitchers. He was pretty well battered in seven starts and didn't appear again in the majors until 2008. He appeared in two forgettable games for the Brewers last year before being traded to Cleveland as part of the CC Sabathia package. He struggled in nine starts for the Indians last year and hasn't done any better this year. His ERA and WHIP in three major leage games sits on the wrong side of 9 and 2, respectively, and he owns a 5.71 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in 69 1/3 innings at AAA.
Brad Nelson

After seven years in the minors and running the gamut from top prospect status to bust and back, Nelson made the Opening Day roster this year. He could never get going, however, and was dropped in mid-May after going 0 for 21 with two walks. Rather than being sent outright to Nashville, he chose free agency and was snapped up by Jack Zduriencik in Seattle. Things have improved for him in Tacoma, but not greatly as he's hitting only .255/.318/.416 with 6 home runs in 151 plate appearances.
Mel Stocker

Called up to the Brewers in late 2007 mostly due to Anthony Gwynn's hamstrings' impeccable sense of timing. The speed demon batted only three times in Milwaukee but swiped four bases as a pinch-runner. Never a great hitter, he has spent 2009 playing for the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, Seattle's AA affiliate. He's put up an unimpressive .235/.336/.348 line in 65 games but has stolen 23 bags in 25 tries.
Lou Palmisano

I wrecked the alphabetical order with this one, but that's okay. "Cap'n Lou" Palmisano was drafted by the Brewers in the third round of the 2003 draft. He had a pretty good campaign for Huntsville in 2007, rapping out a .256/.368/.419 line. Unfortunately, torn cartilege in his left knee required surgery in the spring of 2008, putting his whole season in jeopardy. He did come back as a designated hitter in the low minors late in the year, hitting .297 against the lower-level competition, still impressive coming back from a knee injury. Having been designated for assignment in September, he was eligible for the Rule 5 draft and was snapped up by Houston via Baltimore. He lasted in Houston's major league camp until March 23. He didn't play in the minors before being released in May. Out of affiliated baseball, he signed on with the Sioux City Explorers of the American Association. He hit .257 with six RBI in 25 games before requesting a trade and being shipped to the Pensacola Pelicans. In Pensacola he has gone 7 for 37 with eight walks, giving him a strange overall line of .234/.422/.279 in 111 at bats. Going from major league spring training to the independant leagues in two months is a pretty steep fall and I wish him the best of luck.

Minor League Highlights 6/21 - 6/23 (INPO)

FreeZorilla — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:56:57 -0000

More photos » by Steve Nesius - AP

6 months ago: Kansas City Royals catcher Miguel Olivo, left, and Tampa Bay Rays' Matt Joyce watch his two-run homer off Kansas City reliever Roman Colon during the eighth inning inning of a baseball game Tuesday, June 2, 2009, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Joyce had four RBIs in Tampa Bay's 6-2 win. (AP Photo/Steve Nesius)

Browse more photos »

1. The Durham Bulls bats came alive the past 3 days. SS Reid Brignac went 4-10 with a 2B and a BB. Reid's splits sit at .291/.356/.436 vs. .250/.299/.412 a year ago. A big improvement this season has been BB:K as he has gone from .27 to .78. His K% has been reduced from 26.4% to 13.4% while his walks have jumped to a more respectable 9.5%.

2. 27 year old OF Rashad Eldridge continues to play well for Durham since being promoted from AA. In the past 3 games he has gone 3-8 with 2 BB. The minor league vet is having arguably his best season hitting .301/.370/.361. Eldridge had a shot at AAA back in 2006 with the Mets and the Rangers but only OPSed .612 and .583. Prior to this season he put up back to back years in AA of .780+ with the Twins and the Rays.

3. OF Matt Joyce has been mired in a slump since being recalled to Durham going 7 for his last 49 with 9 walks. His OPS in that span has been .541. For the season vs LHP he is putting up .229/.260/.333. He's going to need to improve on those numbers to become the everyday right fielder for the Rays. In the past 3 games he has gone 1-13 with 2 BB, but his lone hit was a big home run yesterday. His seasonal slash at AAA is .268/.367/.453.

4. 25 yr old C John Jaso has woken up in June after a dreadful May where he OPSed .431. He has gone 3 for his last 11 with 2 BB and a HR. His season slash sits at .238/.349/.390. Jaso's plate discipline is excellent, especially when compared to Navi. He is walking at a rate of 13.7% while only striking out 12.8% for a BB/K of 1.24. For those keeping score at home Navi has walked 1.9% and struck out 14.9% for a ratio of .13.

5. OF Justin Ruggiano continues to play well going 3-8 with a 2B and a HR making this list for the 2nd consecutive time. THe 27 year old is now slashing .247/.341/.416.

6. 1B Rhyne Hughes continues his torrid hitting since being promoted from Montgomery. In the past 3 Hughes has gone 5-13 with a BB, a 2B, and 2 HRs. In 58 AAA ABs, Hughes has now posted .323/.354/.613.

7. Scott Kazmir had what appears to have been a one night only in Durham going 6 innings while striking out 5 and walking none. He surrendered 5 hits and 0 runs with his velocity consistently in the 90s. Kazmir was sadit o have thrown about 70% strikes.

8. Wade Davis made another excellent start going 6 innings, striking out 6 and walking 2. He allowed 6 hits and 2 runs, 1 earned. In 31 June innings his K/9 is 11.32 vs a BB/9 of 2.32. His seasonal FIP is 3.68 with a June FIP of 2.99.

9. Four Durham pitchers performed well this week out of the bullpen: Jason Cromer, Dale Thayer, Joe Bateman, and Julio DePaula. Each allowed no earned runs in a minimum of 2 innings pitched. The table below will update you on their seasons to date:

	K/9	BB/9	ERA	FIP
Jason Cromer	4.78	3.38	0.84	4.07
Dale Thayer	5.87	2.93	1.47	3.3
Joe Bateman	9.25	5.92	4.81	3.73
Julio DePaula	6.75	4.14	4.14	4.63

10. It was a quiet few days with the lumber for the AA biscuits, but there were a few pitching gems. Jeremy Hellickson made his return in a big way picking up right where he left off. Hellickson went 4 strong striking out 6 and walking none while surrendering 4 hits and 0 runs. Hellickson has been lights out all season with a K/9 of 10.9 and a BB/9 of 2.08. His FIP is at 2.25 with an ERA of 1.85. The right hander turned 22 in April.

11. 25 year old left hander Brandon Mann made his best start of the season for Montgomery going 6 shutout innings while striking out 6 and walking none. For the season his FIP sits at 3.85 with a K/9 of 5.07 and a BB/9 of 3.73.

12. 24 year old right hander Ryan Reid struck out the side in his one inning of work. Control has plagued him since joining AA last season. This season his K/9 and BB/9 both sit at 6.33. His K/9 has slipped this year from 10.3 to 6.33, so hopefully this inning was a sign of things to come for Reid.

13. Jesse Darcy made his best start of the season for the Charlotte Stone Crabs pitching a 7 inning complete game shutout. Darcy struck out 2, walked one, and allowed 5 hits. Darcy picked up his second win of the season in 13 starts. His FIP sits at 5.25 with a K/9 of just 3.68.

14. 24 year old right hander Tommy Rafferty has pitched 8.1 innings of relief for the Stone Crabs since his mid-season promotion. Rafferty has struck out 9 and walked 4 in his 8.1 innings posting a FIP of 2.51 while allowing 2 earned runs.

15. Cody Cipriano has had a cooler bat going 1-8 over the past 3 games. Why is he on this list? 4 walks over that span elevating his BB% to 11.8%. This is good because in A-and A ball Cody walked 14.1% and 13.9% of the time. Looks like his eye may be catching up to A+ pitching.

16. 22 year old middle infielder Omar Luna had been struggling mightily since joining the Stone Crabs in 2009. In the past 3 he has managed to go 4-6 with a BB. His slash sits at .197/.217/.413. Luna has never walked above 5% in his career.

17. 22 year old left fielder Ryan Royster has struggled in his second year with the Stone Crabs. He did manage to go 4-7 over the past games raising his slash to .220/.273/.295. His OPS has declined from .691 last year to .568 this year at the same level. He seems to be struggling in his splits OPSing .516 vs righties while his OPS vs lefties is .771.

18. 21 year old shortstop Shawn O'Malley has gone 4-8 with a stolen base over the past 3. The speedster is slashing .265/.364/.322 while swiping 25 bags in 32 attempts. He is having arguably his finest season in 4 years with the Rays organization in his first season at the A+ level.

19. The South Atlantic League held their annual all-star game. The Hot Rods were represented by Tim Beckham and Chris Andujar. It was a rough night for Andujar giving up 3 hits, a walk, and 4 runs in his sole inning pitched. Becks star shone bright as he went 3-5 with a 3B and 2 strikeouts. He also committed an error.

Stats courtesy of MILB.com/Fangraphs/minorleaguesplits

Not all sites update daily so minor inconsistencies may appear

Will do a week in review for short season highlights during the weekend.

Friday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Fri, 01 May 2009 13:04:40 -0000

More photos » by Darren Hauck - AP

For $110, you could own the Baseball Reference page of doubles machine Mike Cameron.

Browse more photos »

Some things to read while on the phone with tech support.

The newfound Brewer plate discipline paid off again last night, as the Brewers couldn't hit Max Scherzer, but they could force him to throw 107 pitches in six innings, exposing the weak underbelly that is the D-Backs bullpen. AZ Snakepit has a rant about last night's bullpen usage.

Mike Cameron was one of several heroes for the Brewers last night. After hitting two more doubles (nine in April), Cameron's OPS is up over 1.100. On top of that, his B-Ref page is available, if you have $110 burning a hole in your pocket. Certainly, Cameron's page is becoming a free agent at the best possible time.

You know who might have that $110 laying around? The Brewers. They just signed a new deal with FS Wisconsin. FSWI promises to carry 150 Brewer games for an undisclosed number of seasons in exchange for an undisclosed amount of money.

Even if you don't have $110, you can still chat with Yovani Gallardo at 3 pm today.

Carlos Coporan had a rough trip to Milwaukee yesterday but was excited to be on the end of the bench for last night's game. Corporan isn't expected to play much while he's in town, but Ken Macha's quote in regards to Jason Kendall playing every day showed a potential lack of confidence:

"It’s 15 days. He’s caught a lot of games before, so it’s not going to kill him," Macha said of Kendall, who is hitting just .169 after going 1-for-4 in Thursday’s 4-1 win. "I would prefer to give him a day off, so we’ll see how things go. He hasn’t had very good at-bats, either. … Maybe getting a streak with a bunch of games in a row is going to help his at-bats — I hope."

Earlier this week I mentioned that minor leaguer Pedro Lambertus had been placed on the suspended list but no other details were available. Today, news has come out that Lambertus was suspended after testing positive for Boldenone, an anabolic steroid used in the treatment of horses. (Also noted in FanShot) Doug Melvin expressed disappointment in Lambertus for making the mistake.

Yesterday I mentioned Bob Uecker's jokes about Twitter. Big League Stew picked up the ball and asked their Twitter followers for things Bob Uecker would say, with some pretty good results.

Ob the subject of broadcasters, yesterday was Trenni's birthday. Happy belated birthday to her. Hopefully she had a better day than the chorizo, who has been forced to take some swine flu-related precautions.

The only transaction notes I have today both involve former Brewers: the Rays signed Joe Bateman (Also noted in FanShot) and the White Sox are getting ready to call up Scott Podsednik.

If you're a major league general manager looking to make another transaction, Fire Jim Bowden has a list of nine free agent pitchers to consider, including two former Brewers.

Are the Cubs starting to experience the snowball effect? A day after losing in extra innings to the Marlins, Phil Rogers is piling on to the Cubs' offseason moves.

Here's a rule you may not have known: in the event of a sac fly, the runners can advance as soon as the ball touches a fielder, even if the fielder bobbles the ball before catching it. The rule came into play last night in Kansas City.

Oh, and if you like getting surprises in the mail, this may not be a bad idea.

Drink up.

Tuesday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:12:31 -0000

Some things to read while enjoying the off day.

Over the weekend there were a couple of posts on Manny Parra, with The Junkball Blues arguing Parra should throw his fastball more, and Jordan making the case he should not. On the field yesterday, Manny Parra was lights-out, allowing just one hit in four innings of work while striking out three. Turns out he's throwing his changeup more, something he learned from CC Sabathia.

Perhaps Eduardo Morlan needs to throw a changeup too. Morlan blew the save yesterday, giving up a double, single and home run to the three batters he faced and negating Casey McGehee's go-ahead home run in the top of the 9th.

That three run, walk off home run was hit by Ryan Rohlinger, and demonstrated Tom H.'s incredible ability to put his foot in his mouth. Tom's initial post-game post mentioned a home run by "Ryan Rohlinger, whoever he is." As it turns out, Rohlinger grew up in West Bend, less than 40 miles from Milwaukee. Here's more on Rohlinger from after the game.

Off the field, two pitchers have been sent down to minor league camp: Joe Bateman and Cody Scarpetta. Being the first guy sent down has to be a serious blow to Bateman's hopes of pitching in the majors this season: One could assume he'll likely have half a dozen or more pitchers in line ahead of him should the need arise.

Adam McCalvy has updates on all the Brewer injuries. Braden Looper is scheduled to throw a bullpen session tomorrow, Mike Rivera has been cleared to take batting practice, Angel Salome was the bullpen catcher yesterday, Mat Gamel is almost ready to start taking infield practice and Tony Gwynn is pain free but waiting for direction.

Meanwhile, Omar Aguilar is happy to be out of the trainer's room. The Journal Sentinel has a profile of Aguilar and details on his long battle with elbow issues and recovery from Tommy John surgery. Aguilar is still a long shot to make the team, but will likely be in Milwaukee eventually.

It looked like Mark DiFelice and Vinny Rottino might return to Brewer camp today, but it'll be at least a few more days instead, as the Italian team eliminated Brett Lawrie and Team Canada yesterday in WBC play. Italy plays Venezuela again today, with the winner advancing to the second round. Dixieflatline has a look at the pitches (or pitch, really) DiFelice threw in Italy's first game, when he shut out Venezuela for four innings.

We likely won't see Carlos Villanueva in Cactus League action for a few days, but for a different reason. Villanueva is throwing bullpen sessions so he can throw more pitches in a controlled environment. He'll likely go two innings in his next game appearance.

Crawfish Boxes has moved on to second base in their position-by-position ranking of the NL Central. They rate Rickie Weeks second among NL second baseman, which will be encouraging news to some and a sign of a weak position division-wide for others.

The less optimistic among us may think Weeks is more qualified for this job: The Brewers are hiring Ticket Sales Interns for the 2009 season. They're also giving away tickets to one lucky designated driver.

In other camps:

A's: Eric Chavez has been shut down again due to shoulder issues. Bobby Crosby has begun working out at third base.
Mets: Angel Pagan faces surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow.

So what are the odds Rich Harden pitches a complete season in 2009? Whatever they were, they're getting lower: Matthew Berry of ESPN doesn't go into specifics, but seems to imply he knows something we don't about Rich Harden's health, and projects him for less than 22.5 starts this season.

Sure, we'd all love to say it to some of the esteemed journalists covering the Brewers, but outgoing Padres owner John Moores probably didn't make history's greatest PR move when he responded to San Diego Union-Tribune columnist Tim Sullivan's questions about Trevor Hoffman with the following email:

"You are an idiot. Please do not write me again."

Classy.

Speaking of classy things, other managers may have more wins and championships than Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, but do they know a professional Elvis impersonator? Probably not.

Here's the coolest graph I've seen in a while: Beyond the Box Score has a chart of expected run values based on pitch location to right-handed batters. Go take a look.

Major League Baseball is expecting a lot fewer people to come through the turnstiles in 2009, perhaps as much as a 17-20% decrease. I know we don't know when the recession will end, but barring total economic collapse that number seems high, especially with two new ballparks opening in New York.

Oh, and if you have a leather jacket, Giants OF Fred Lewis may need to borrow it.

Drink up.

On Eric Gagne, and why I didn't like his signing

KLSnow — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:31:12 -0000

In yesterday's Mug I mentioned the Gagne signing and the fact that I'm not thrilled about it. That mention sparked dozens of comments on the topic, including one (thanks Jacob) accusing me of "phony-outrage." Before we go any further, let me assure you that I don't engage in phony outrage...my blood pressure is high enough without me having to fake it.

With that said, I wanted to take an opportunity to expand on my argument, with the hopes of explaining my position.

First off, let's eliminate some factors. I've seen stories over the last 48 hours noting all of the following:

Gagne apologized to management and the fans following a poor 2008 showing.
He bought and gave away thousands of tickets for a home game in September of 2008 to keep the Brewers sellout streak alive.
He's a good clubhouse guy, well-liked and respected.

All those things are nice. But that's what they are: nice. They're not really relevant to this conversation, because they don't impact his ability to contribute on the field.

Meanwhile, his contributions on the field lately aren't very good. Since leaving Texas in 2007, Gagne has a 5.82 ERA in his last 65 innings (70 appearances). Replacement level pitching is typically estimated at an ERA around 4.50. Before midseason 2007, Gagne was very effective, but for the last season and a half he's been a full run and a quarter worse than replacement level.

Now, this contract is "zero risk" in a way: Gagne is due to make $1.5 million, but only if he makes the major league roster, and he's due to become a free agent on March 25 if he isn't on the 40-man roster. So, he could pitch terribly in camp and be relieased, with the Brewers not losing much at all for their trouble. But what if he doesn't?

There's an evaluation issue here. The Brewers play 26 spring training games between now and March 25, including a game on the 25th and a game against the Australian WBC team on March 5. Assuming Gagne pitches an inning in every third game over that stretch, Gagne will accumulate approximately eight innings before the Brewers have to make a decision on him. Furthermore, he won't start those games. Since he'll likely pitch somewhere between the fourth and ninth inning of eight spring training games, he will face the starters for a handful of teams and the guys fighting for a roster spot in AAA for others.

In a few weeks we'll likely start talking about the hardest job in spring training: talent evaluation. By the end of March, Brewer management will have to sit down with a list of a dozen or so players who have accumulated slightly more than half a dozen innings pitched or 40 plate appearances and determine which players get about five roster spots. In the bullpen, it's Stetter and Swindle fighting for one spot (as LOOGY), then the loser of that battle competing with Todd Coffey, Jorge Julio, Eduardo Morlan, Tim Dillard, Mark Difelice, and now Eric Gagne for the two remaining spots. Because it's nearly impossible to determine the best pitcher in this group from 8-10 innings of work, a veteran like Gagne (or Coffey, or Julio) likely gets the advantage, based on extended track record.

If Gagne gets the nod here, he could feasibly sit at the end of the bullpen all season and rack up incentives without being very effective. Gagne's deal is for $1.5 million, but he starts earning incentives at 25 appearances and could make as much as $2 million more for appearing in 60 games. Jeff noted the following in the comments yesterday:

in theory, yes, the Brewers could decide after 20 appearances that Gagne is pitching only a hair above replacement and cut him. But if he’s on the opening day roster and he doesn’t have a first half like he did last year (let’s say he has a 4.75 ERA instead of a 6-whatever and has a few impressive outings) I don’t think it’s realistic that he’d get cut to avoid the incentives. That might be smart, but in the world run by Melvin and Macha, I don’t see it happening.

Furthermore, in that scenario Gagne would tie up a roster spot that could be held by any of half a dozen other options that are cheaper and could be more effective. I'm not saying Mark Difelice would be more effective than Eric Gagne, for certain, but I can say with relative certainty that among a group containing Difelice, Coffey, Dillard, Stetter, Swindle, Julio, Morlan, Joe Bateman and Chase Wright, the Brewers certainly have at least one pitcher capable of having a good 2009 season at a fraction of what it would cost to keep Gagne. And, assuming one of said group of pitchers can produce a good season, all of them are under team control for 2010.

Finally, some will argue that there's no harm done in letting Gagne come in as a showcase for both the Brewers and other teams, since it's a long spring training (due to the WBC) anyway. That's true to a point, but the Brewers have no less than 28 pitchers in camp. Chris Capuano and Mark Rogers likely won't pitch this spring and Alex Periard is still on limited duty, but that's still 25 pitchers that need innings, , including several being groomed to start, over 34 spring training games.

Ok, that's already almost 900 words, likely more than anyone wanted to read on a non-roster invitee, so I'll stop there. But I hope I've made my point: bringing Gagne in isn't really a "no-risk" proposition, and it's likely a move the Brewers could have done without.

Twenty-two guys, four spots - Who's on your roster?

KLSnow — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:00:09 -0000

So, with Braden Looper in the fold, we know most, if not all of the following:

Barring a trade, Jason Kendall, Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, J.J. Hardy, Bill Hall, Ryan Braun, Mike Cameron and Corey Hart will all be on the opening day roster, likely in starting roles.
Ditto for Yovani Gallardo, Manny Parra, Dave Bush, Braden Looper and Jeff Suppan.
In the bullpen, Trevor Hoffman, Seth McClung, Carlos Villanueva and David Riske are virtually guaranteed spots. One more will almost certainly belong to a lefty, either Mitch Stetter or R.J. Swindle.
Craig Counsell, Mike Lamb and Mike Rivera are all back and very likely to be on the opening day roster in bench roles.

Given all of those assumptions, 21 of the 25 opening day roster spots are already decided. So what's left?

In the bullpen, two or three spots remain for all of the following players:

Todd Coffey. He still hasn't allowed a run as a Brewer and signed a major league contract to avoid arbitration. He's out of options.
Jorge Julio. Signed to a major league contract, making just under $1 million plus incentives.
Either Mitch Stetter or R.J. Swindle - whichever doesn't win the LOOGY job listed above. Throwing left-handed increases both pitchers' value, but Stetter posted a 3.20 ERA as a Brewer last season and Swindle posted a 1.98 ERA in AAA last season, so both guys already have some value.
Eduardo Morlan. Rule 5 pick has to be offered back to the Rays if he doesn't make the roster.
Mark DiFelice. 1.50 ERA in his last 14 outings as a Brewer (18 innings). Could be sent back to Nashville to work as a starter, but the Nashville rotation may already be full with Narveson, Gulin, Narron, Wright, and eventually Capuano.
Tim Dillard. Likely to be returned to AAA just because he has options remaining.
Joe Bateman, Luis Pena, Ramiro Mendoza, Omar Aguilar, Chris Narveson, Lindsay Gulin, Sam Narron and Chase Wright. Thanks for coming, guys. The eight of you and two or three of the guys above will likely pitch most of the innings for a nice staff in Nashville.

The Brewers could opt to go with a 13 man pitching staff and keep three of those guys, but then they'd have just one bench spot left. Instead, they'll likely keep 12 pitchers and pick two position players from the following list:

Tony Gwynn, Jr. Out of options, Gwynn either has to make the opening day roster or be exposed to waivers. However, he'll have to prove he's better than his .248/.300/.298 career MLB line and .243/.286/.286 major league equivalent from 2008, or he won't have much value. Also, his defense doesn't project well enough to help his chances: CHONE has him 11 runs below average in center.
Chris Duffy. Likely Gwynn's primary competition for the backup center field spot, Duffy's offensive numbers aren't earth-shattering (.269/.328/.361 in his major league career), but he's a plus defender (UZR/150 has him 6.2 runs above average in center).
Jason Bourgeois. Will likely have to win a spot as an outfielder, with Counsell and Lamb both occupying backup infield spots. Bourgeois hit .342/.404/.429 in Mexico this winter, but FanGraphs' 3 projections all have his 2009 OBP under .343.
Hernan Iribarren. Likely hurt by playing the exact same set of defensive positions as Bourgeois. Hernan also had a nice winter, hitting .306/.388/.451 in Venezuela and detonating two indisputables. Projections are similar, if not a little worse, than Bourgeois'. Likely a long shot to make the roster in the first place, he's hurt even more by having an identical player in camp with him.
Trot Nixon. If the Brewers go with 13 pitchers, Nixon and all the others below this point are already eliminated, as the last bench spot would have to go to someone who can play center. As a story, Nixon is very similar to Gabe Kapler at this point last year, but Kapler was three years younger.
Brad Nelson. He'll have to prove he can play a corner outfield spot to have much value, as Mike Lamb and Craig Counsell already have the infield covered. Likely has a higher long-term upside than Nixon if he's not a defensive liability, which he very well may be.
Casey McGehee. The Brewers insist they're eager to see what he can do, but unless he unseats Mike Lamb to platoon with Bill Hall, it's hard to imagine him making the roster. He has caught a little in the minors (including 17 games in 2008), so he could provide some value as a third catcher, but has never played the outfield, so if Lamb and Counsell are in, he's likely out.
Mat Gamel, Alcides Escobar and Angel Salome. Unless the opportunity for one of them to play full time arises, all three are likely ticketed for Nashville, where they can continue to develop their skills.
Scott Thorman, Vinny Rottino and all of the extra catchers invited to camp. Again, thanks for coming, guys. Enjoy the improved post-game food while you can.

So, assuming everyone stays healthy, four of the 22 players listed above can make the opening day roster. Who do you want, and why? Also, if you were building this roster, would you keep 12 pitchers or 13? Discuss.

Monday's Frosty Mug

KLSnow — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:17:22 -0000

So there's a real possibility that Trevor Hoffman eats worms (h/t Rattler Radio). That's something to ponder for those of you who got your picture taken with him over the weekend.

I didn't get to see it, but it sounds like there was a good crowd out for this weekend's Winter Warm-Up Festivities. Back here at home, we had less fun discussing recent reports involving Alcides Escobar. Al took Bleacher Report (and me, I guess) to task for publishing the report, calling it "one-sided." I agree that the report was one-sided, but I'm hoping that, by mentioning it, the story can get out to a wide enough audience that it will have to be addressed and we can hear from all sides. I'm hoping this will be the last conversation we have about it until more facts are known.

Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart would like to settle on contracts without going to arbitration. The team reportedly has not reached out to them with offers at this point, but Mark Attanasio said the team is "open to multi-year proposals from Jeff Berry and Lon Babby, the agents for Hart and Weeks, respectively."

There's Ben Sheets news all over the place today:

The Rangers are still concerned about the elbow injury that ended Sheets' 08 season.
The Yankees reportedly might give up on Andy Pettitte and shift their attention to Sheets.
Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated says Sheets has new medical reports that may calm the concerns over his health.

I've also got a couple of notes on Brewer bullpen arms:

USA Today (via DRaysBay) reports that the Brewers are hoping Eduardo Morlan can fit into the middle of their bullpen.
R.J. Swindle has decided not to pitch for Canada in the WBC.

With the Hoffman signing, the addition of Jorge Julio, the returns of David Riske, Todd Coffey and Carlos Villanueva, there could be a lot of pitchers in Brewer camp (Morlan, Dillard, DeFelice, Stetter, Swindle and Bateman, most notably) fighting for the last two or three spots in the bullpen.

Two minor league notes today: FakeTeams noted Alcides Escobar's appearance on a top 10 list of NL prospects. Keith Law listed Caleb Gindl and Lorenzo Cain as two Brewers who could be on next year's top prospect lists.

This is relatively old news, but Craig Counsell will be back as a Brewer in 2009 after signing a one-year deal. Before he signed, Beyond the Box Score profiled him as an undervalued free agent.

There's a possibility that five Brewers could hit 30 HR in 2009. Craig Counsell will not be one of them. Ryan Braun likely will: Be sure to stop by the BCB Community Projections for left field and offer your opinion on his 2009 performance.

If you want to compare Jeff Suppan to Braden Looper, here's a little more ammunition: Both rank in the bottom thirty in strikeouts per 100 pitches. (h/t Baseball Musings) Peter Gammons (via MLB Trade Rumors) reports that Looper, Jon Garland and Randy Wolf are all receiving similar offers of about $5 million per season.

On the hot stove:

A's: There's reason to believe the team may be interested in free agent Garret Anderson, who is spending the offseason working out with new A Matt Holliday. They may also be close to signing Russ Springer.
Blue Jays: Fired assistant GM Bart Given over the weekend. The team is filling his responsibilities from within.
Mets: Signed Rob Mackowiak to a minor league deal.
Orioles: Have reportedly offered a three-year deal worth $30 million to Brian Roberts, who is due to become a free agent after the season, but he wants a fourth year.
Phillies: Are reportedly interested in signing Ty Wigginton to serve as a backup at second and third base.
Red Sox: Have reportedly made a formal offer to Jason Varitek.
Tigers: Agreed to a one-year deal with Brandon Lyon.

Also, Sean Casey has decided to retire and take a job with the MLB Network. It's starting to sound like a fair number of free agents would make more money working in TV than playing baseball.

In Friday's Mug, I mentioned that Elijah Dukes was due to be arrested if he didn't pay over $40,000 in owed child support that day. Dukes paid up and avoided jail.

That's all for today. Drink up.

The 2009 Bullpen - Where are we now?

KLSnow — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:00:06 -0000

A little less than a month ago, I wrote this post on the 2009 bullpen. Since then the following things have changed:

1) Jorge Julio and R.J. Swindle are Brewers now.
2) Todd Coffey re-signed for 2009.
3) Lots of 2009 projections came out.
4) Two-Fisted Slopper got me thinking about it again.

So, with that said, we have a new pitcher to add and projections to consider, so we're in a pretty good spot to take another look at the 2009 bullpen.

ASSUMPTIONS:

Before we start, I should note that I'm operating under the assumption that the Brewers will carry 12 pitchers and none of the bullpen arms listed below will be the fifth starter. Even with Sabathia and Sheets gone, I don't think there's anyone on this list the team would be comfortable using as a full-time starter.

Potential closers:

Seth McClung

The past:
2008, as a reliever: 25 G, 41.2 IP, 3.67 ERA, 26 BB, 37 K
Career, as a reliever: 87 G, 109.1 IP, 5.19 ERA, 80 BB, 93 K

The projections:
Marcels: 89 IP, 4.35 ERA, 44 BB, 70 K
Bill James: 85 IP, 4.69 ERA, 49 BB, 73 K
ZiPS: 90 IP, 4.80 ERA, 61 BB, 72 K
Average: 88 IP, 4.61 ERA, 51.3 BB, 71.7 K

All of the projections seem to point towards a return to previous form for McClung, with the average projection coming out much closer to his 5.19 career ERA than his 3.67 ERA as a reliever in 2008. So, is the real Seth McClung the 2008 version, who emerged as one of the Brewers most reliable relievers, or will McClung's high walk totals drive his ERA up over 4.50 in 2009? Only time will tell.

Carlos Villanueva

The past:
2008, as a reliever: 38 G, 59.1 IP, 2.12 ERA, 14 BB, 62 K
Career, as a reliever: 95 G, 155.2 IP, 3.58 ERA, 52 BB, 149 K

The projections:
Marcels: 96 IP, 4.03 ERA, 34 BB, 82 K
Bill James: 92 IP, 3.85 ERA, 32 BB, 79 K
ZiPS: 94 IP, 4.60 ERA, 31 BB, 77 K
Average: 94 IP, 4.16 ERA, 32.3 BB, 79.3 K

Like McClung, Villanueva's rough outings as a starter in 2009 probably had a larger-than-warranted effect on his projections as a reliever in 2009. All three of his projections seem to think he won't be able to keep up the 3:1 K:BB ratio he's put up as a reliever throughout his career.

David Riske

The past:
2008, as a reliever: 45 G, 42.1 IP, 5.31 ERA, 25 BB, 27 K
Career, as a reliever: 438 G, 473.1 IP, 3.57 ERA, 204 BB, 425 K

The projections:
Marcels: 53 IP, 4.25 ERA, 23 BB, 39 K
Bill James: 33 IP, 3.95 ERA, 15 BB, 27 K
ZiPS: 56 IP, 4.34 ERA, 27 BB, 48 K
Average: 47.1 IP, 4.22 ERA, 21.7 BB, 38 K

Well, the good news is that everyone seems to think Riske's 2009 ERA will be closer to his career figure than his disastrous 2008 numbers. The bad news is no one seems sold on him as a workhorse: Bill James only has him appearing in 38 games, which would be his least appearances since 2001.

The second tier:

Jorge Julio

The past:
2008, as a reliever: 27 G, 30 IP, 3.60 ERA, 19 BB, 34 K
Career, as a reliever: 438 G, 449.2 IP, 4.30 ERA, 218 BB, 435 K

The projections:
Marcels: 46 IP, 4.40 ERA, 22 BB, 44 K
Bill James: 34 IP, 4.50 ERA, 17 BB, 33 K
ZiPS: 67 IP, 4.43 ERA, 39 BB, 73 K
Average: 49 IP, 4.44 ERA, 26 BB, 50 K

I guess it's within the realm of possibility that Julio could close in 2009, but I wouldn't call it likely. All of his 2009 projections are worse than both his 2008 numbers and his career numbers, which is puzzling since he'll only be 30 on Opening Day. All told, I think the projections are missing something here and Julio will exceed expectations in 2009.

Todd Coffey

The past:
2008 as a reliever: 26 G, 26.2 IP, 4.39 ERA, 8 BB, 15 K
Career as a reliever: 222 G, 213.2 IP, 4.46 ERA, 65 BB, 144 K

The projections:
Marcels: 43 IP, 4.71 ERA, 16 BB, 33 K
ZiPS: 76 IP, 4.62 ERA, 29 BB, 55 K
Average: 59.2 IP, 4.65 ERA, 22.5 BB, 44 K

Bill James doesn't have a prediction for Coffey, I'm not sure why. Here's another puzzling prediction, as Coffey is only 28 but his ERA is projected to go up and his K:BB ratio down from both his 2008 season and his career numbers. Even if he only performs at his projected level, though, he'd be a pretty nice bargain at $800k for 2009.

Mitch Stetter

The past:
2008, as a reliever: 30 G, 25.1 IP, 3.20 ERA, 19 BB, 31 K
Career, as a reliever: 36 G, 30.1 IP, 3.26 ERA, 21 BB, 35 K

The projections:
Marcels: 38 IP, 4.03 ERA, 18 BB, 33 K
ZiPS: 40 IP, 3.82 ERA, 20 BB, 38 K
Average: 39 IP, 3.92 ERA, 19 BB, 35.5 K

Again, no Bill James projection for Stetter. 39 innings as a LOOGY probably translates to about 50 appearances, and if Stetter can perform that way in 50 games, I think the Brewers will be pretty happy with his performance. And, as mentioned in seemingly every Brewer on this list, his ceiling is significantly higher than the projections would suggest.

R.J. Swindle

The past:
2008 (and career) as a reliever: 3 G, 4.2 IP, 7.71 ERA, 2 BB, 4 K

The projections:
Marcels: 27 IP, 4.33 ERA, 10 BB, 22 K

Again, no Bill James projection for Swindle, and I couldn't find his ZiPS either (Dan Szymborski hasn't released the Phillies yet), so the Marcels are what we have to work from. The major league stats aren't bright and shiny, but Swindle has posted an ERA under 2 in four minor league stops over the last three seasons, and posted an ERA under 1 in three of those four. All told, he's posted a 1.58 ERA in 194 innings over 104 minor league games. He is left-handed, but could potentially pitch to righties as well: lefties hit .135 off of him in the minors in 2008, but righties only hit .261.

Others that could be called upon:

Tim Dillard

The past:
2008 (and career) as a reliever: 13 G, 14.1 IP, 4.40 ERA, 6 BB, 5 K

The projections:
Marcels: 32 IP, 4.22 ERA, 12 BB, 43 K

I threw out the ZiPS projection because I think there was a mistake: ZiPS had Dillard posting a 5.12 ERA in 123 innings of work. The ERA could happen, but Dillard hasn't started a game since 2007, so I'm not sure where 123 innings came from. The Marcel projection is much closer to being a full-season version of his 2008 performance, but with more strikeouts.

Mark DiFelice

The past:
2008 (and career) as a reliever: 15 G, 19 IP, 2.84 ERA, 4 BB, 20 K

The projections:
Marcels: 35 IP, 4.24 ERA, 12 BB, 28 K
ZiPS: 79 IP, 4.33 ERA, 14 BB, 59 K
Average: 57 IP, 4.30 ERA, 13 BB, 43.5 K

I still think most people would be surprised by the numbers DiFelice put up in his limited opportunity last season. While neither of the projections here would live up to that opening act, either would make him a pretty solid middle reliever, and maybe even give him enough time in the big leagues for me to remember his name is Mark, not Mike.

Joe Bateman

The Projections:
ZiPS: 69 IP, 4.83 ERA, 29 BB, 47 K

Bateman doesn't have any MLB experience, and as such he doesn't have Marcels or a Bill James projection. What he does have, however, is an ERA under 3 over each of the last two seasons, and an ERA under 2 in 33.2 innings in AAA last season. It's also worth noting that Bateman isn't on the 40 man roster, so he's eligible for the Rule 5 Draft.

Long shots:

Chris Narveson

The projections:
Marcels: 32 IP, 4.22 ERA, 12 BB, 26 K
ZiPS: 91 IP, 6.03 ERA, 41 BB, 60 K
Average: 61.2 IP, 5.56 ERA, 26.5 BB, 43 K

Narveson's ZiPS projection is as a starter, so that explains some of the difference, but Narveson hasn't had an ERA that low since he was a Cardinals prospect in 2006, so I'm not sure why the Marcels are so optimistic. Narveson might have had a chance of making the team as a second lefty, but now that Stetter and Swindle are both on the team and Shouse still could return, that seems less likely.

Luis Pena:

The projection:
ZiPS: 59 IP, 5.03 ERA, 40 BB, 38 K

Pena's projections for 2009 are almost certainly lower than they were for 2008, but not as bad as they could be, since he posted a disappointing 6.93 ERA in 49.1 innings in AAA.

Sam Narron:

The projection:
ZiPS: 123 IP, 5.41 ERA, 36 BB, 48 K

Narron's projections are also as a starter. Again, Narron is a lefty and in some organizations that might help him, but the Brewers seem to have plenty of lefties to go around.

So what do you think? Are you ready to go into 2009 with this pen? Who are you concerned about?

The Brewers and the Rule 5 Draft

TheJay — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 06:15:08 -0000

Since major league clubs finalized their reserve lists (also known as 40-man rosters) on November 20, the Internet has been abuzz with speculation about the Rule 5 draft. This year's Rule 5 draft takes place on December 11 at the end of the annual Winter Meetings. So what exactly is the Rule 5 draft and why are people so excited about it? Perhaps more importantly for us, how have the Brewers participated in it over the years?

The Rule 5 draft is intended to move players who may be blocked on talent-rich clubs to clubs who aren't stocked with as many skilled players. It's not a modern invention--the first Rule 5 draft took place all the way back in 1903. Back then, players were subject to the reserve clause, binding them to their teams for as long as the team saw fit. Without a chance to ever freely move from team to team, players could be blocked by established veterans for years. More important in the eyes of many owners, wealthier teams could stockpile good players and keep them in the minors indefinitely, creating a nearly inexhaustible depth chart of talented players and keeping major league talent from less wealthy teams. To combat this stockpiling, the Rule 5 draft was invented. During the draft, teams could select players left unprotected by other teams in the hopes the players would blossom into quality big leaguers. While the draft was (and is) hit or miss, it contained enough diamonds in the rough to keep teams interested.

To prevent teams from completely raiding each other's systems, however, a couple ground rules were laid down: first, there was a fee charged for each pick. Second, each pick had to remain on the drafting team's major league roster for the entire season after the draft. If the drafting team wanted to send the player they selected to the minors for more seasoning, he first had to be offered back to his original team for the waiver price. Sometimes teams would no longer have room for the drafted player to return and they let his new organization keep him, but these two basic rules kept teams from drafting too many players each season.

Those rules are still in place (with enhancements) today. Each Rule 5 draft pick costs $50,000 and must stay on the big league roster for a full season. Ninety days of that season must be spent on the Active List (i.e., not the disabled/military/etc. list). If the player fails to reach that ninety days in his first season with the club, he must stay on the major league roster during the next season until he reaches ninety days. This prevents stashing a guy on the disabled list all year just to keep him in the system. If the drafting team wants to release their pick or send him to the minors, he must clear waivers and then be offered back to his original team for $25,000. If the player's original team chooses not to reclaim him, his new team can treat him as just another player in their system. What has changed over the years are the eligibility requirements for the draft. To be eligible for the Rule 5 draft today, a player:

Must not be on his organization's 40-man roster
If 19 or older on the June 5th before he signed his first contract, must have spent four seasons in the majors or minors.
If 18 or older on the June 5th before he signed his first contract, must have spent five seasons in the majors or minors.

There are also rules governing which teams can select players in the draft: teams select in reverse order of that season's finish and since a Rule 5 draft pick automatically is added to a team's 40-man roster, the team must have an open roster slot in order to pick. For example, the Rockies had 40 players on their 40-man roster at the time of the 1999 Rule 5 draft, so they couldn't make a selection.

In addition to the major league Rule 5 draft described above, there are two minor league phases of the draft. In the AAA phase, players eligible for for the Rule 5 draft but not on a team's 40-man roster or in AAA can be selected for $12,000. In the AA phase, eligible players from below AA can be selected for $4,000. Selected players do not have to be offered back to their original clubs once picked. Usually players picked in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft are roster filler for minor league affiliates, but occasionally future major leaguers are selected. One example is Giants utilityman Eugenio Velez, plucked from the Blue Jays in the AAA phase of the 2005 draft.

So now that we've hashed out all the specifics of who can pick and be picked in the draft, let's look at how the Brewers have used the Rule 5 draft throughout the years. It's easy to find all the selections during the last decade since they're easily accessible online. Unfortunately, complete drafts from before then are not available online, so finding selections becomes a matter of combing through transactions lists and finding guys who eventually made it to the majors. It's safe to assume there were a number of Brewers Rule 5 draft selections from 1970 to the late 1990's that never made it to the majors and thus aren't on those lists. Thus this isn't a complete list of all Brewers Rule 5 picks but it is, I believe, a complete list of Brewers picks (and players bought immediately from other teams) who at some point played in the majors.

Drafted by Brewers				Drafted From Brewers
Name	Position	Year	Picked From	Name	Position	Year	Picked By
Edward Campusano	LHP	2006	CHC	Callix Crabbe	IF	2007	SDP
Marcos Carvajal	RHP	2004	LAD	Ramon Garcia	RHP	1996	HOU
Jeff Bennett	RHP	2003	PIT	Marc Ronan	C	1995	NYY
Enrique Cruz	SS	2002	NYM	Bobby M. Jones	RHP	1994	COL
Matt Ford	RHP	2002	TOR	Tim Fortugno	LHP	1991	CAL
Jorge Sosa	RHP	2001	SEA	Dwayne Hosey	OF	1991	SDP
Ryan Christenson	OF	2001	ARI	Dave Stapleton	LHP	1988	HOU
Matt Williams	RHP	1999	NYY	Gibson Alba	LHP	1987	STL
Al Reyes	RHP	1994	MON	Bob Gibson	RHP	1986	CHW
Jose Mercedes	RHP	1993	BAL	Jeff Parrett	RHP	1985	MON
Graeme Lloyd	LHP	1992	TOR	Willie Lozado	IF	1984	STL
Rob Lukachyk	OF	1991	CHW	Jesus Vega	1B	1977	MIN
Matias Carrillo	LHP	1987	PIT	Ron Tompkins	RHP	1970	CHC
Vicente Palacios	RHP	1986	PIT
Brian Giles	IF	1984	NYM
Jamie Nelson	C	1983	SEA
Mike Warren	RHP	1981	OAK
Tom Candiotti	RHP	1980	KCR
Mark Brouhard	OF	1979	CAL
Ned Yost	C	1977	NYM
Marshall Edwards	OF	1976	OAK
Jeff Yurak	OF	1976	NYM
Aurelio Monteagudo	RHP	1971	KCR

Players in italics were selected during the minor league portion of the draft.

You might be wondering who Edward Campusano and Marcos Carvajal are. They were picked by the Brewers but immediately sold to Detroit and Colorado, respectively. Similarly, Graeme Lloyd was picked by the Phillies and was promptly traded to the Brewers. Obviously, the Brewers have been more active as "buyers" than "sellers" during the Rule 5 draft when it comes to guys who made the majors, especially recently. That's not a big surprise, as bad teams don't usually have much worth taking from their farm system, unless something goes terribly wrong.

The Brewers have also dabbled in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft in the past few years. I could only find full details for those drafts going back to 2002, but here's a quick list of players selected by the Brewers:

Joe Bateman (RHP) in 2007, from San Francisco
Richard Campbell (RHP) in 2007, from Washington
Juan Sandoval (RHP) in 2007, from Seattle
Michael Carlin (1B) in 2006, from Pittsburgh
Steve Bray (RHP) in 2006, from Kansas City
Landon Stockman (RHP) in 2004, from Cleveland
Juan Cerros (RHP) in 2004, from Cincinnati
Ryan Costello (LHP) in 2003, from Toronto
David Manning (RHP) in 2002, from Minnesota

Outside of Bateman, Bray, and maybe Manning, that's a list that makes you say, "who?" See what I meant when I said the minor league portion is used for roster filler? The Brewers didn't lose much in those drafts either: the most notable names are RHP Ben Diggins (2005), LHP John Foster (2003), OF Pete Zoccolillo (2003), and the other RHP Dan Kolb (2004).

So now you know more than you ever thought you would about the Brewers and the Rule 5 draft. Will the Crew pick a player to keep for themselves for the first time in six years? Will anyone from the Brewers system be picked by another team? The answer to both questions is "probably not," but you never know. Anyone the Brewers pick will be able to commiserate with manager Ken Macha, himself a Rule 5 pick in 1978. That player will also join a list that has some surprisingly good names and an awful lot of forgotten ones.

Further Reading on the Rule 5 Draft:
Rule 5 draft information from Baseball America
Hardball Times article about interesting historical Rule 5 picks
Major League Rule 5 draft results back to 1998
A summary of Major League Rule 5
Retrosheet transactions data