In Mexico: Jason Bourgeois went 4-for-14 over the weekend (all singles) and stole two bases. He's hitting .342/.402/.392 for Mochis.

In Venezuela:

• Alcides Escobar went 0-for-2 with a walk Saturday, his first appearance in a week.
• Brendan Katin went 2-for-9 over the weekend with a walk and a double, drove in three runs and struck out five times.
• Luis Pena had a rough outing Sunday, giving up three runs on a hit and a walk without recording an out.
• The newest Brewer, R.J. Swindle, has already made 17 appearances in Venezuela and is posting a 3.32 ERA. Over the weekend, he threw a scoreless inning on Friday and retired the only batter he faced Sunday.

In the Dominican Republic:

• Joe Bateman gave up a run on a hit in one inning Saturday. He has a 3.66 ERA in 19.2 innings (17 appearances) for Este.
• Juan Sandoval gave up a hit to the only batter he faced Friday, then pitched a scoreless inning Sunday.

In Puerto Rico:

• Charlie Fermaint went 2-for-8 over the weekend with two walks and was caught stealing. Overall, he's hitting .333/.412/.400 in his first 30 ABs for Ponce.
• Mike Rivera went 4-for-7 over the weekend with a walk and a run scored.
• Steve Bray pitched two thirds of a scoreless inning Sunday, to bring his ERA down to 1.98 in 13.2 innings.
• Richie Gardner pitched 1.2 scoreless innings Sunday with a walk and a strikeout. His PWL ERA is 7.98, but it's 2.08 as a reliever.
• Efrain Nieves made his debut for Arecibo Sunday, allowing two hits in a scoreless inning of work, striking out one.

Finally, in the comments on Friday's Update TheJay noticed the following:

• Brad Nelson, who hasn't appeared in the Dominican since November 14, is back in the US getting married.
• Chris Narveson left his Mexican team, citing fatigue, and has been replaced on their roster.
• Casey McGehee returned to the US to deal with a family issue.

Since I've been gone for a week, all stats are from 11/21 to today, unless noted otherwise.

In Mexico: New Brewer Jason Bourgeois is hitting 10-for-29 over the last week for Mochis, with ten singles. All told, Bourgeois is hitting .354/.425/.415 in Mexico, with just two extra base hits in 65 ABs.

In Venezuela:

• Alcides Escobar went 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts last Friday, and hasn't had a plate appearance since.
• Tony Gwynn went 2-for-8 with an RBI last Friday and Saturday.
• Hernan Iribarren has only had two plate appearances in the last week, and went 0-for-1 with a walk and was caught stealing.
• Brendan Katin went 2-for-6 with a walk and scored a run.
• Luis Pena threw two thirds of a scoreless inning Tuesday, his first outing since November 11 and only his fourth in two months of VWL play.

In the Dominican Republic:

• Joe Bateman gave up a run on a hit in an inning of work Saturday, then pitched 1.2 scoreless innings with four strikeouts on Monday.
• Juan Sandoval had a rough outing last Friday, giving up four runs on three hits and a walk in one third of an inning, but rebounded to throw a scoreless inning Saturday and another 1.2 scoreless on Wednesday for his first DWL win.

In Puerto Rico:

• Carlos Corporan went 0-for-7 for Caguas and is 0-for his last 15 overall. He's hitting just .100/.100/.300 in his first 20 PWL ABs.
• Charlie Fermaint went 6-for-18 for Ponce with two doubles, and if you don't count a game where he entered as a pinch runner, he has a seven game hitting streak.
• Martin Maldonado went 0-for-1 in his only plate appearance last Friday.
• Mike Rivera went 4-for-15 with a walk, a double and an RBI for Santurce.
• Steve Bray has given up two runs on four hits and a walk over four outings spanning 3.2 innings of work. All told, he has a 2.08 ERA in 13 innings of work in Puerto Rico.
• Richie Gardner gave up a run on a hit and a walk in 2.2 innings of work over three appearances.

Also worth noting: Casey McGehee hasn't played since November 19, Chris Narveson hasn't pitched since November 17, and Brad Nelson hasn't played since November 14, but I haven't seen any reports on why. All were playing well prior to this gap. If you know something I don't, be sure to leave a note in the comments.

So, barring a change of plans, Salomon Torres is gone and the Brewers are not planning to pursue a high-profile free agent reliever like Francisco Rodriguez or Brian Fuentes.

Salomon Torres, who saved 28 games for the Crew last season, retired yesterday. Brian Shouse, Eric Gagne and Guillermo Mota are free agents and might not be back.

Assuming Doug Melvin's comments linked above mean he also won't want to risk big money on Kerry Wood, Japanese import Koji Uehara or Trevor Hoffman, that might mean the Brewers are headed into 2009 with a bullpen that's tweaked around the edges, if it gets modified at all. Let's take a look at what that might mean for the Brewers in 2009:

CANDIDATES FOR CLOSER:

Seth McClung: I'm not sure if all Brewer fans love Seth McClung or if the infatuation is limited to this corner of the internet. But when Grant Balfour was 0-2 with a 20.25 ERA in his first three outings as a Brewer, if Doug Melvin had publicly said, "I'm going to flip him to Tampa for a guy that'll throw 105 slightly above average innings next season," we might have thrown the Mustache a parade. McClung has the stuff to make hitters look overmatched when he's on. If he's not needed in the rotation, he might be the best fit to close.

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

Carlos Villanueva: Got an opportunity to start in 2008, but did not perform well. When reverted to the bullpen he showed improvement the rest of the way. Villy has said in the past that he'd prefer to start, but he's much more valuable to the Crew in the bullpen, and one would suspect that getting high profile innings as the closer of a good team might be exciting for him too.

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

David Riske:  After getting a long-term deal after the 2007 season, Riske had an injury riddled and ineffective 2008 season that I'm sure most of you will remember. A lot can change in a year...a year ago at this time we were talking about David Riske as the setup man for Derrick Turnbow. 2008 aside, though, Riske had been very consistent throughout most of his eight year career before coming to Milwaukee, posting an ERA+ over 115 in six of his last seven seasons, over 190 in three of the same seven. If he comes into spring training healthy, he could be ready to bounce back in a big way.

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

OTHERS THAT WILL LIKELY CONTRIBUTE:

Mitch Stetter: As things stand right now, he's the only lefty I see with a guaranteed spot in the bullpen, and even that guarantee isn't 100%. I don't think one can hope for Stetter to be as effective as Shouse was, but if Shouse returns, having Stetter and Shouse in the bullpen could give Ken Macha lots of opportunity to play matchups late in games. Stetter's walk numbers from 2008 are inflated by three outings in May where he was left out to hang and walked 8 batters in an inning.

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

Tim Dillard: The Brewers didn't use Tim Dillard a lot in 2008 (just 14.1 innings), and they didn't use him often in wins (3-10 record in his appearances), but when they did use him he didn't embarrass himself. Dillard led off his big league career with five scoreless outings where he only allowed one hit and two walks in 5.2 innings, and he only had one outing all season where he gave up more than one earned run. Not once in my life have I said "Oh good, Tim Dillard's coming in." But with that said, he was only slightly below league average (ERA+ of 98) in his games this season, and if the Brewers released him he could be on about 15-20 teams' rosters on Opening Day.

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

Todd Coffey: Seemingly an afterthought when Doug Melvin picked him up, Coffey threw 7.1 scoreless innings over nine appearances as a Brewer in 2008, dropping his 2008 ERA from 6.05 as a Red to 4.39 overall, which is close to his career mark of 4.46. For some reason, I thought he was much older: Coffey turned 28 in September. He's had two above average and two below average seasons in his career, but even the below average seasons were disappointments, not implosions. He can contribute to a staff somewhere, if not in Milwaukee.

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

Mark DiFelice: DiFelice made his big league debut at age 31 in May, and his debut didn't suggest he'd stay long: DiFelice gave up three runs on five hits in an inning in one of the losses during the Brewers' disastrous sweep in Boston that was supposed to cost Ned Yost his job. After that, all DiFelice did was post a 1.50 ERA in 18 innings over his next 14 appearances. Like Dillard, he didn't pitch in a lot of Brewer wins (the team was 4-11 in his appearances), but he pitched effectively when called upon. And while he made his debut at 31 and turned 32 in August, he's still likely got a few seasons in the tank, if not more.

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

OTHERS THAT COULD BE CALLED UPON:

It's worth noting that at this point, without re-signing Shouse, Gagne or Mota, without Torres unretiring and without any free agent additions to the bullpen, the Brewers have 7 relievers and, assuming a five-man rotation, 12 pitchers overall. But if they need more, these guys are waiting for a shot:

Joe Bateman: A 28-year-old righty, Bateman tripped somewhere on the ladder to the big leagues and spent 2 years in AA with the Giants before splitting this season between AA and AAA with the Brewers, despite the fact that he's posted an ERA under 3 each of the last two seasons and posted a 1.60 ERA in 33.2 innings in half a season in Nashville in 2008. He's struck out 200 and only walked 66 over 175.2 innings over the last three seasons. This winter, he's pitching for Este in the Dominican Winter League, and is 3-0 with a 3.21 ERA in 14 innings.

Chris Narveson: Last spring, he didn't miss making the Brewer roster by all that much, and made Doug Melvin comfortable enough to cut the cord on Claudio Vargas. Narveson will come into camp at 27 years old and, despite having a disappointing season in AAA (6-13, 5.43 ERA in 136 innings, primarily as a starter), he could get a shot to reinvent himself as a lefty who throws strikes out of the bullpen. Narveson has walked just 168 hitters over his last 406.2 innings over four seasons in AAA, and struck out 311 in that time. And did I mention he's left handed? Narveson is spending the winter pitching for Hermosillo in Mexico, where he recently picked up his second straight win, and is 2-2 with a 3.67 ERA in 34.1 innings (6 starts).

Luis Pena: In 2007, Pena climbed the ladder quickly, going 5-4 with a 2.63 ERA and 18 saves between Brevard County and Huntsville and earning himself a promotion to Nashville for 2008. He struggled with the Pacific Coast League, though, going 2-3 with a 6.93 ERA in 49.1 innings in 2008. Pena's meteoric rise in 2007 followed two seasons with an ERA over 4 in Brevard County, so it's possible his 2007 season was an aberration and not a trend. But it's also possible he could put it back together in 2008 and emerge as a contributor. He's spending the winter pitching for La Guaira in Venezuela, but has only appeared in three of the team's 23 games.

Sam Narron: Stop me if you've heard this one before: Narron is a 27-year-old lefty who has taken a little longer to develop than expected. He had a meteoric rise through the Rangers' organization, culminating in a 2004 season in which he went 6-0 in AA, 8-2 in AAA and made one start for the Rangers. After the season, the Brewers picked him up off waivers and Tommy John surgery cost him the entire 2005 season. Narron has worked his way back up the ladder and spent much of 2008 in AAA, where he struggled a bit to adjust and posted a 4.80 ERA in 120 innings. Like Joe Bateman, Narron is pitching for Este in the Dominican Winter League (Narron is starting, Bateman is relieving). So far he hasn't had much success in winter ball, going 0-3 with a 7.82 ERA in 12.2 innings, but again: he's still only 27, and he's lefthanded.

With those four, the Brewers will bring 11 potential bullpen arms to spring training, plus any free agents they may sign or re-sign. I don't think this bullpen is going to be as bad as some are saying it will be. What do you think?

In Arizona: Lorenzo Cain went 2-for-4 and scored a run, Alexandre Periard allowed one run on four hits and three walks in four innings and David Welch allowed one run on three hits in three innings, but it was not enough as the Javelinas allowed Mesa to score seven runs in the final three innings and lost 8-4.

The Javelinas will play the AFL's best team, the Peoria Saguaros, today at 1:35.

In Hawai'i: Logan Schafer went 0-for-4 but Cody Scarpetta was dominant, striking out eight and allowing only one hit and one walk over five scoreless innings for the win as the CaneFires beat Waikiki, 6-3.

Since Hawaii doesn't do daylight savings time, they're only four hours behind now, so the CaneFires game with Honolulu today starts at 7 Central time.

In Mexico: Casey McGehee only needed one hit to keep his 11 game hitting streak alive, but he got four, including two doubles and his fourth LMP home run. He's hitting .327/.343/.505 in 104 plate appearances.

In Venezuela:

• Alcides Escobar finally snapped out of his slump yesterday, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored for Lara.
• Hernan Iribarren went 1-for-4 with his second VWL home run for Lara.
• Luis Pena pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings with a hit and a walk yesterday for La Guaira, only his second outing since October 15.

In the Dominican Republic: Results from Monday:

• Brad Nelson went 1-for-4 with a solo home run for Cibao, his 8th home run in DWL play. Those eight home runs put him second in the DWL behind 35-year-old shortstop Mendy Lopez, who had seven cups of coffee in the big leagues but spent 2008 in the Mexican League.
• Joe Bateman picked up his third win for Este, giving up just one hit and picking up a strikeout in two scoreless innings. He's got a 3.21 ERA in 14 DWL innings.
• Rafael Lluberes pitched .2 scoreless innings with a strikeout for Cibao in his first appearance since October 29.

In Puerto Rico:

• Carlos Corporan hit a three run home run in his only plate appearance for Caguas.
• Steve Bray pitched a scoreless inning for Carolina. He has yet to allow a run in his first 5.1 PWL innings.

In Arizona: Lou Palmisano went 0-for-2, Lorenzo Cain went 0-for-4, and Alexandre Periard got smoked to the tune of six runs on nine hits in 2.1 innings as the Javelinas lost their eighth straight, 11-4 to Surprise. David Welch and Omar Aguilar each threw a perfect inning of relief with one strikeout.

The Javelinas travel to Surprise at 1:35 today. Expect the unexpected.

In Hawai'i: Caleb Gindl went 1-for-4 and was one of only three CaneFires to get a hit in a nine inning scoreless tie with Honolulu. I didn't realize that was allowed.

The CaneFires are off today to consider how ties affect the integrity of the game. They host North Shore tomorrow.

In Mexico:

• Casey McGehee went 3-for-4 with a home run and drove in three runs for Culiacan. He has a hit in six straight games.
• Chris Woodward went 1-for-4 with a strikeout for Mazatlan. He's had that exact line in three straight games.
• Erasmo Ramirez pitched two scoreless innings yesterday, allowing one hit and striking out two.

In Venezuela: Results from Tuesday and Wednesday:

• Alcides Escobar went 0-for-3 with a walk for Lara Wednesday. He's 1-for his last 17, and hitting .167/.233/.222 in VWL play.
• Tony Gwynn went 1-for-4 with two walks and scored a run Tuesday, then went 0-for-4 with three K's Wednesday.
• Hernan Iribarren went 0-for-4 Wednesday for Lara.
• Brendan Katin continues to destroy Venezuelan pitching. Tuesday he went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run. Wednesday he went 1-for-4 with another home run. He leads the VWL with 10 home runs (second place has 6) and is second in RBI.
• Luis Pena pitched yesterday for the first time since October 15, and showed some signs of rust, giving up a run on two hits in .2 innings.

In the Dominican Republic: Joe Bateman faced one batter and got one out Tuesday. He's pitched five consecutive scoreless outings, spanning five innings.

In Arizona: Taylor Green went 1-for-4 with his first AFL HR, Jeremy Jeffress started and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in 3.1 innings, and Omar Aguilar pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save as the Javelinas defeated Mesa, 9-8.

At 5-4, the Javelinas are back in first in the AFL National Division. They travel to Scottsdale tonight at 8.

In Hawai'i: Caleb Gindl went 1-for-3 and Logan Schafer went 0-for-2 as the CaneFires fell to Honolulu 4-2 in 7 innings.

The Canefires host North Shore tonight at midnight.

The two Brewer position players in Hawai'i aren't exactly ripping the cover off the ball (.217/.294/.326 for Gindl, .154/.292/.231 for Schafer), but it could be worse: The Giants organization has called home #1 pick Buster Posey since they didn't feel he was getting enough playing time. You just can't pout your way through life.

In Venezuela: It appears the previous day's box scores don't get posted early enough to make the Mug. As a result, here's how Brewer prospects fared in Wednesday's action. This is still more up to date than 2001 Google (h/t Aaron Gleeman):

• Jay Gibbons went 0-for-3 with a walk and drove in a run for Magallanes.
• Also for Magallanes, Tony Gwynn went 0-for-4 with a K.
• Across the field, Hernan Iribarren went 0-for-5 with 3 K's for Lara.
• A day after hitting his first VWL home run, Brendan Katin went 0-for-3 for Zulia.
• Luis Pena made his VWL debut and pitched two thirds of a scoreless inning for La Guaira.

In the Dominican Republic: Ozzie Chavez is 1-for-7 with an RBI and a stolen base in his first two games for Este, and Joe Bateman gave up two runs on two hits in an inning of work yesterday for Este as well.

Ok, sorry for the extended delay, I had a bit of a change in my morning routine.

So I've spent the last two weeks watching the Seattle GM search and hoping we'd get to keep Jack Zduriencik in his current draft czar role with the Brewers. No more than 12 hours after I'd noted that the Mariners were down to three finalists, Zduriencik was announced as the fourth finalist. (Noted in FanShots) Chuckie Hacks thinks Seattle should pick someone else.

Speaking of picking someone else, Doug Melvin has decided to expand the search for the next manager of your Milwaukee Brewers. Tom H. has three former big league managers who may or may not have expressed interest in the position.

Once those dilemmas are solved, we can fire up the hot stove. Chuckie Hacks notes that the Brewers were mentioned as a possible candidate to trade for Jake Peavy, but Rowland's Office also seems to think the Braves have the inside track.

Camden Chat has brought up the possibility that the Orioles could trade for Prince Fielder, but opposed it. I'm opposed to it too unless the Orioles are willing to overpay, so I'm glad we're on the same page.

MLB Trade Rumors has the Brewers' offseason outlook, but it's to be taken with a grain of salt for a couple of reasons: 1) They appear to be operating under the assumption that Tony Gwynn could be 2009's fourth outfielder and 2) They appear to believe the Brewers' 2009 payroll could approach $100 million. Both of those things are unlikely, but if the Brewers somehow manage to spend $100 million AND Tony Gwynn is their fourth outfielder, something went terribly wrong.

Could Tony Gwynn be a part of the Endy Chavez family of players? If so, Tangotiger says he may be an underrated talent.

Not all of those players are undervalued. Juan Pierre, for example, is still owed $28.5 million and wants to be traded somewhere where he could play everyday.

Over at The Hardball Times, Chris Neault says Ben Sheets' elbow injury should respond well to plenty of rest. I think he'll get plenty of rest for the rest of 2009 after he pitches in April for his new team.

Oh, and CNN analysts would rather watch baseball than debates. Maybe one of them should have brought this sign.

Drink up.

From the JS: And everywhere else, for that matter.

Win Expectancy Graph
BR Box Score

I didn't get a chance to watch the game last night, but I could tell Rickie Weeks was struggling because my dad called twice to complain about him. After the game, Ned Yost said Weeks was rushing his throws. The Brew Town Beat took it to the next level and said he sucks at life. One thing is for sure: you know your defense is bad when people are seriously considering Ray Durham as a defensive replacement.

As noted in the Fanshots, Derrick Turnbow has a partial tear of his rotator cuff. Surgery may or may not be needed, but he's done for 2008, at any rate. In the grand scheme, this is likely good news for Turnbow, who can rehab, recover and attempt a fresh start in 2009, but it probably is the end of his time in a Brewer uniform.

ESPN has opened up the voting for the greatest Brewer of all time. I'm guessing the winner is more or less a foregone conclusion, but go check out the list of candidates anyway.

Robin Yount also made The Hardball Times' list of greatest slugging middle infielders of all time.

Today we have good, bad and bizarre power rankings:
THE GOOD: WhatifSports ranks the Brewers #1 by more than 2 full wins.
THE BAD: The Whisnant Rankings dropped the Brewers from 15th to 16th.
THE BIZARRE: Andrea Reiher of Bugs and Cranks ranks the Brewers 6th. At least I think the Alice Cooper quote represented the Brewers.

Batter's Box Interactive takes a look at players on every NL team with a shot at the Hall of Fame, and comes up with 5 Brewers: CC Sabathia, Ben Sheets, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun...and Eric Gagne. Really? Eric Gagne?

Jonathan Mayo recently posted his notes from the AAA All-Star game, and says that Luis Pena created the biggest buzz with his three-digit fastball...and the home run Pawtucket's Chris Carter hit off of it.

On injuries:

Blue Jays IF Aaron Hill continues to miss time as he slowly recovers from a concussion.
Tim Hudson has been placed on the DL with ligament damage in his elbow.
Chipper Jones' hamstring has landed him back on the DL.
Mets P John Maine will have an MRI today after leaving last night's game with shoulder stiffness.
Jorge Posada will have shoulder surgery after all, and the time spent waiting to decide may mean he's not ready for spring training 2009.
Blue Jays RP Brian Tallet has been placed on the DL with a broken toe.
Michael Young fractured his right ring finger and should miss 5-7 days.

We'll never know how Dennis Sarfate could have fit into this year's Brewer bullpen, but he's sliding into the Orioles rotation on Wednesday.

Thanks to Dixieflatline, who mentioned this one in yesterday's comments: Over at the Hardball Times, John Walsh takes a look at the change-up, why it's not traditionally thrown inside, and how Ted Lilly has gotten away with throwing it inside anyway.

I know Greg Maddux has been around a long time and thrown a lot of pitches, but would you have guessed he's moved into tenth place on the all-time strikeout list? I would not have.

If you or someone in your family would like to win the opportunity to meet Derek Jeter and assess in person the possibility that he'll someday be baseball's least deserving Hall of Famer, weplay.com has a deal for you.

In the wake of last week's ugly minor league brawl in Peoria, the Dayton Dragons released the player whose hard slide started the altercation. The player who tried to throw a ball into the opposing team's dugout, missed and hit a fan faces felony charges. I hadn't heard anything about him being released, but he's not on Peoria's roster as of this morning.

Oh, and by the way, there's a Woot-off going on today, so if you were looking for an opportunity to go impulse buy electronics, here you go.

Drink up.

Recently, after being deluged with requests (okay, there were two), I added a prospect ranking to the left-hand sidebar. The off-day today seemed like a good time to expand a bit on my reasons and thinking. Besides, nothing generates good debate like somewhat arbitrary, mostly uninformed hierarchies!

01. Mat Gamel 3B (22) [AA] - .373/.434/.630/1.065, 21 errors
Breakout player of the year has gone from Ryan Braun Lite to Ryan Braun, which unfortunately includes the errors as well. Gamel has better range than Braun did, and with the system choked with outfielders, he'll get the next year and a half to prove he can't play third.

02. Matt LaPorta OF (23) [AA] - .292/.404/.596/1.000
LaPorta looks for all the world like a right-handed Pat Burrell, again including the iffy corner outfield defense. He's not the pure hitter that Gamel is, and he doesn't have the defensive upside, but he has the best plate approach in the system.

03. Alcides Escobar SS (21) [AA] - .326/.359/.435/.794, 21/26 SB
Escobar differs from the other position players near the top of this list in that he is an elite glove man rather than a defensive liability; though he's committed 15 errors already, that total is inflated by his excellent range. His plate discipline hasn't improved (his walk and strikeout rates are almost identical to those from his stint in Huntsville last year), but he's flashing significantly more power than ever before, which is a great sign.

04. Jeremy Jeffress RSP (20) [A+] - 41.7 IP, 36 H, 22 R, 22 ER, 5 HR, 15 BB, 56 K, 1.68 GO/AO, .234 BAA
The only pitcher in the system even remotely close to being a future ace at the Major League level, Jeffress throws high-90s heat, touching 100, and his slider and changeup are also potential plus pitches. He’s had a couple disastrous starts, but even in those he dominated for multiple innings before collapsing, something that could be due to lapses in focus. He’s also seen an intriguing rise in his groundball ratio this year.

05. Angel Salome C (22) [AA] - .346/.404/.534/.938, 24% CS (18/74), 8 PB
Salome might be the best prospect in the system due to position scarcity if he could actually catch, but he can’t really, despite possessing a good body for the position, which is another way of saying he’s too short (5’7") to play anywhere else on the field. He does have a missile for an arm, but it’s lacking a guidance system so far. On the offensive side of things, there’s little question that he can hit, and he’s seen a nice recovery in his walk rate from last year, especially as the season has gone on (12/15 BB/K in 82 June AB’s as his average has come down from stratospheric to merely good).

06. Jonathan Lucroy C (22) [A+] - .311/.384/.527/.911 38% CS (22/58), 4 PB
Only five days younger than Salome, Lucroy (pronounced like LaCroix) is hot on Angel’s heels as a prospect. A recent promotion to Brevard County hasn’t slowed him down at all, and a 31/40 BB/K ratio tells the story of his advanced plate approach. He has a rep as an offense-first catcher, but his stats look pretty good and the pitchers don’t seem to be saying anything bad about him. Lucroy’s also has stolen 8 bases while only being caught once.

07. Taylor Green 3B (21) [A+] - .302/.384/.459/.843, 11 E
Last year’s most pleasant surprise has carried his success over to the tough hitting milieu of the Florida State League. Gritty off the charts, nobody particularly likes Green’s tools, but he seems to be getting the job done just fine so far; next year will be a pivotal one for Green’s prospect status, as the jump to AA is the biggest one in the minors. Green’s a natural second baseman but plays an acceptable third base, a position he will likely continue to occupy until Mat Gamel claims it. He’s the system’s best Canadian prospect.

08. Michael Brantley CF (21) [AA] - .320/.403/.409/.812, 23/29 SB
Brantley came into the year as a big-time sleeper after consistently posting .300/.400 AVG/OBP stats throughout his minor league career but utterly lacking power, and he’s awakened with a roar, morphing into what could be a great leadoff hitter with stats similar to Luis Castillo’s, only from the center field position. He’s not a particularly good defensive center fielder yet, but he’s a great athlete and should improve.

09. Zach Braddock LSP (20) [A+] - 43.7 IP, 34 H, 24 R, 21 ER, 2 HR, 27 BB, 51 K, 0.67 GO/AO, .215 BAA
Braddock was the pitching version of Taylor Green last year, blowing both hitters and stats nerds away with his huge strikeout totals before being shut down with shoulder problems. Fully recovered after a delayed start to the year, Braddock has had his ups and downs at Brevard County, but has retained his dominance, as you can see from his strikeout rate and batting average against. Walks, which weren’t a problem for him at all last year, have really plagued him so far. He doesn’t have Jeffress’ pure stuff, relying on a fastball that’s about 90 MPH, but lefties who can strike people out like this get a lot of chances. Again like Green, the jump to AA next year will be quite telling for Braddock.

10. Cole Gillespie LF (24) [AA] - .277/.378/.494/.872, 7/7 SB
LaPorta Lite, Gillespie is even older and his production has resembles his teammate’s in shape but with less amplitude. He’s a polished, professional hitter who will at the very least be a fourth outfielder, but he’s probably limited to left field defensively because shoulder surgery has ruined his throwing arm.

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I like following prospects. It's like having Christmas Eve all the time, every player a wrapped present of infinite promise, each with the potential to be a Red Ryder carbine-action BB gun with a compass in the stock. Sure, sometimes they turn out to be socks, but there's always another present to open. With that in mind, let's see how our Christmas is shaping up:

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