Some things to read while making a request. (h/t Pocket Doppler)
On a slow news day, today's top story is in the minors: Baseball America unveiled their top ten Brewer prospects yesterday, with Mark Rogers #1 (FanShot). Tom Haudricourt has the full scouting reports for the ten players.
Obviously, the list has been impacted a bit by trades that shipped away Brett Lawrie, Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress. It's also impacted by the Brewers' failure to sign first round pick Dylan Covey, but Jim Callis of BA says Covey wouldn't have been the org's #1 prospect.
Adam McCalvy's inbox also has a strong minor league flavor today: He answered questions about Mat Gamel, Cody Scarpetta and Mark Rogers along with reader inquiries on Scott Podsednik and Carlos Villanueva.
Closer to home, voting is now open for the #7 spot in our BCB Community Rankings. Caleb Gindl is coming off three straight days where he either finished in second place or within five votes of first - is today his day?
He probably won't make anyone's top ten this year, but Andre Lamontagne is an interesting prospect to follow. Wisconsin Sports Tap has more about him.
Back in the big leagues, Albert Lyu of FanGraphs has a nice look at Shaun Marcum's arsenal and how he uses it in various situations. Until reading that I hadn't noticed that Marcum, who is right-handed, is much more effective against lefties.
Elsewhere in offseason acquisitions, Satchel Price of Beyond the Box Score says the Rays got more for Matt Garza than the Brewers gave up for Zack Greinke.
You know we're running out of things to talk about when we start going in-depth on individual ABs from six months ago:
- Matt Klaasen of FanGraphs listed Craig Counsell's walkoff bunt (with Carlos Gomez coming all the way around from first) as 2010's fourth best bunt.
- Jack Moore of Disciples of Uecker relived a John Axford-Justin Morneau matchup from June 22.
Around baseball:
Astros: Acquired pitcher Sergio Escalona from the Phillies for a minor leaguer.
Cubs: Claimed catcher Max Ramirez off waivers from the Red Sox.
Mariners: Signed infielder Adam Kennedy to a minor league deal.
Padres: Signed shortstop Jason Bartlett to a two year, $11 million deal with a vesting option for 2013, avoiding arbitration.
Pirates: Signed pitcher Jorge Julio to a minor league deal.
Reds: Signed outfielder Fred Lewis to a one year deal.
Rockies: Signed reliever Sean White to a minor league deal.
Tigers: Signed pitcher Brad Penny to a one year deal worth $3 million plus incentives.
Today in former Brewers: The B-Ref Blog has a list of 42 players that have posted a WPA of .15 or more in 39 or more games as a DH. Paul Molitor, Dave Parker and Matt Stairs all qualified.
Is your aversion toward reading preventing you from learning everything you should know about sabermetrics? If so, DRaysBay's video introduction to FIP may be just the thing for you.
With help from the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:
- 2007 Brewer Greg Aquino, who turns 33.
- Former Brewer exec Jack Zduriencik, who turns 60.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take my place in line.
Drink up.