Middle Infield / 3rd Base Prospects (1 Viewer)

[Bobcat10]

Trying to prepare for a 14-team points league draft this weekend and our minor leagues are pretty important. You get to roster a minimum of 7 all year and get to keep 5 starting next year (this year it was only 3).

I'm looking for power potential (doubles/homers) in the infield for about 2-3 of my picks this year. Where can I find where these players project out to (15hr? 20hr? 25+hr?) or where they could peak at? Is this a crap shoot with most of these players I listed? Anyone I can definitely rule out, like Andrus? If you have any insight, have at it. Thanks.

Pedro Alvarez, 3b

Alcides Escobar, ss

Gordon Beckham, ss

Tim Beckham, ss

Elvus Andrus, ss

Jason Donald, 2b/ss

Wilmer Flores, ss

Nick Weglarz, 3b

Todd Frazier, ss

Adrian Cardenas, ss

Carlos Triufenel, ss/2b

Matt Dominguez, 3b

Brett Wallace, 3b

Some of the obvious guys not listed are being kept this year (Moustakas, Gamel, Vitters, etc).

 

[harryhood]

Have a similar setup to you and I am learning on the fly as well but the following seem to be creating quite a buzz for the next couple years

Pedro Alvarez, 3b

Alcides Escobar, ss

Gordon Beckham, ss

Tim Beckham, ss

Elvus Andrus, ss

Brett Wallace, 3b

 

[The Man With No Name]

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prosp...009/267698.html

http://www.fantasybaseballhub.com/minor_le..._prospects.html

 

[MAC_32]

Alcides Escobar, ss

I don't know much about his bat, but his glove is supposedly fantastic, that should at least provide him with an opportunity, especially because the left side of the Brewers' infield is quite bad...and can only get worse with Gamel primed to supplant Hall when he's ready. His minor league numbers are good but not great...2008 546 AB 95 R 8 HR 76 RBI 34 SB (81%) 328/363/424 2.6 K:BB 15% k rate...but I don't know what scouts think about his upside/makeup.

 

[Eephus]

Alcides Escobar, ss

I don't know much about his bat, but his glove is supposedly fantastic, that should at least provide him with an opportunity, especially because the left side of the Brewers' infield is quite bad...and can only get worse with Gamel primed to supplant Hall when he's ready. His minor league numbers are good but not great...2008 546 AB 95 R 8 HR 76 RBI 34 SB (81%) 328/363/424 2.6 K:BB 15% k rate...but I don't know what scouts think about his upside/makeup.

Escobar is blocked by Hardy who's not terrible defensively and is stronger offensively. The Brewers could move Hardy to 2B and Weeks to the OF, but a similar experiment with Bill Hall a few years ago wasn't exactly the second coming of Robin Yount.

 

[MAC_32]

Alcides Escobar, ss

I don't know much about his bat, but his glove is supposedly fantastic, that should at least provide him with an opportunity, especially because the left side of the Brewers' infield is quite bad...and can only get worse with Gamel primed to supplant Hall when he's ready. His minor league numbers are good but not great...2008 546 AB 95 R 8 HR 76 RBI 34 SB (81%) 328/363/424 2.6 K:BB 15% k rate...but I don't know what scouts think about his upside/makeup.

Escobar is blocked by Hardy who's not terrible defensively and is stronger offensively. The Brewers could move Hardy to 2B and Weeks to the OF, but a similar experiment with Bill Hall a few years ago wasn't exactly the second coming of Robin Yount.

I don't watch a lot of the Brewers, but a lot of what I've read has said Hardy would be a much better fit at 2B or 3B, that he's not good at short.

 

[harryhood]

Alcides Escobar, ss

I don't know much about his bat, but his glove is supposedly fantastic, that should at least provide him with an opportunity, especially because the left side of the Brewers' infield is quite bad...and can only get worse with Gamel primed to supplant Hall when he's ready. His minor league numbers are good but not great...2008 546 AB 95 R 8 HR 76 RBI 34 SB (81%) 328/363/424 2.6 K:BB 15% k rate...but I don't know what scouts think about his upside/makeup.

Escobar is blocked by Hardy who's not terrible defensively and is stronger offensively. The Brewers could move Hardy to 2B and Weeks to the OF, but a similar experiment with Bill Hall a few years ago wasn't exactly the second coming of Robin Yount.

I don't watch a lot of the Brewers, but a lot of what I've read has said Hardy would be a much better fit at 2B or 3B, that he's not good at short.

A lot of the projections have a similar layout. Gamel(3B), Escobar(SS), Hardy(2B), Prince(1B) in 2010 and beyond. It would be easy to say trade Hardy but he has produced offensively and always gets overlooked in that order.

 

[Onions]

If you are looking for 2B, 3B and HR, you should be focusing on Alvarez, G. Beckham and B. Wallace.

 

[strykerpks]

Alcides Escobar, ss

I don't know much about his bat, but his glove is supposedly fantastic, that should at least provide him with an opportunity, especially because the left side of the Brewers' infield is quite bad...and can only get worse with Gamel primed to supplant Hall when he's ready. His minor league numbers are good but not great...2008

546 AB

95 R

8 HR

76 RBI

34 SB (81%)

328/363/424

2.6 K:BB

15% k rate

...but I don't know what scouts think about his upside/makeup.

Escobar is blocked by Hardy who's not terrible defensively and is stronger offensively. The Brewers could move Hardy to 2B and Weeks to the OF, but a similar experiment with Bill Hall a few years ago wasn't exactly the second coming of Robin Yount.

I don't watch a lot of the Brewers, but a lot of what I've read has said Hardy would be a much better fit at 2B or 3B, that he's not good at short.

A lot of the projections have a similar layout. Gamel(3B), Escobar(SS), Hardy(2B), Prince(1B) in 2010 and beyond. It would be easy to say trade Hardy but he has produced offensively and always gets overlooked in that order.

A LOT of debate here in Milwaukee about what to do in the infield in the next few years. I'm not sure where the "Hardy isn't good at SS" talk is coming from. While perhaps lacking a bit of speed/quickness, he positions himself well, gets to about everything near him and has a pretty good arm. He's not the highlight reel SS, but won't hurt you at all.Either way, the debate about Escobar seems to be his bat. All accounts are that he's beyond MLB ready in the field, but doesn't have much plate discipline. Apparently that has been improving however, along with some minimal power. There's been some talk of moving Hardy to 3rd for Escobar to play SS but JJ has publicly said he's not a fan of that idea and hinted that he would probably ask for a trade if he had to.

Gamel is another prospect of the Braun ilk. He has raked so far in the minors but his glove is awful, possibly worse than Brauns was. There's been talk of trading Fielder and turning Gamel into the 1B of the future. Fielder will demand way too much money for the Crew to afford him beyond his arbitration years. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the AL in 2010 or '11.

The Weeks at 2B experiment probably ends this year. He has steadily improved and is at the age when other 2B have broken out (26/27). They have a plethora of catching prospects and their most recent one, Bret Lawrie has stated he wants to give 2B a try so he could be in the mix in a few years.

The Brewers have pretty much been mum on the issue and probably won't make any sort of decision until forced in at least 2010 when Escobar will be too good to keep in the minors. That's probably when you'll see any IF moves for the Crew.

Here's a read on Escobar from JSOnline a few weeks ago

 

[MAC_32]

A LOT of debate here in Milwaukee about what to do in the infield in the next few years. I'm not sure where the "Hardy isn't good at SS" talk is coming from. While perhaps lacking a bit of speed/quickness, he positions himself well, gets to about everything near him and has a pretty good arm. He's not the highlight reel SS, but won't hurt you at all.

Either way, the debate about Escobar seems to be his bat. All accounts are that he's beyond MLB ready in the field, but doesn't have much plate discipline. Apparently that has been improving however, along with some minimal power. There's been some talk of moving Hardy to 3rd for Escobar to play SS but JJ has publicly said he's not a fan of that idea and hinted that he would probably ask for a trade if he had to.

Gamel is another prospect of the Braun ilk. He has raked so far in the minors but his glove is awful, possibly worse than Brauns was. There's been talk of trading Fielder and turning Gamel into the 1B of the future. Fielder will demand way too much money for the Crew to afford him beyond his arbitration years. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in the AL in 2010 or '11.

The Weeks at 2B experiment probably ends this year. He has steadily improved and is at the age when other 2B have broken out (26/27). They have a plethora of catching prospects and their most recent one, Bret Lawrie has stated he wants to give 2B a try so he could be in the mix in a few years.

The Brewers have pretty much been mum on the issue and probably won't make any sort of decision until forced in at least 2010 when Escobar will be too good to keep in the minors. That's probably when you'll see any IF moves for the Crew.

Here's a read on Escobar from JSOnline a few weeks ago

What I've read indicates his range is the main issue, especially to his right. Just some scouting notes I doc'd last year, not sure where I read them. Probably BtB, Harball Times, or Baseball Musings, those are the places that most commonly have such commentary of the places I frequent.

 

[Ghost of Bill Walsh]

Yeah,Escobar may have a rough time simply because of JJ Hardy's bat. Also keep an eye on Gordon Beckham.

 

[cosjobs]

From what I hear, there are better defensive SS candidates in the organization and moving him could field an overall improved infield, but Hardy is vehemently opposed to moving.

 

[Eephus]

Yeah,Escobar may have a rough time simply because of JJ Hardy's bat. Also keep an eye on Gordon Beckham.

Beckham should provide more pop and has an easier path to the majors than Escobar. Beckham is blocked by Chris Getz at 2B and the White Sox CF mess at SS (assuming Ramirez would move to CF opening a spot). Escobar doesn't offer much in the way of power now. He could fill out his frame but his upside is probably limited there. A more pressing concern is his plate discipline. His AA walk rate is pretty low suggesting he's a hacker. Major league pitchers should be able to handle free swingers without power. If his contract rate goes down and SOs increase, he could end up as a bottom of the order hitter with little fantasy value. He's similar to Howie Kendrick in this regard.

 

[boubucarow]

My takes based mostly on Baseball America

Pedro Alvarez, 3b - 25-35 hr

Alcides Escobar, ss - 10-15 hr

Gordon Beckham, ss - 20+ hr, possible 2B or 3B

Tim Beckham, ss - 15-20 hr

Elvus Andrus, ss - 5 hr

Jason Donald, 2b/ss - 15-25 hr, likely 2B or 3B

Wilmer Flores, ss - 20+ hr, likely 3B

Nick Weglarz, 3b - 25+ hr, but no chance at 3B, likely LF

Todd Frazier, ss - 20 hr, likely 3B

Adrian Cardenas, ss - 15-20 hr, possibly 3B

Carlos Triufenel, ss/2b - 10-15 hr, likely 3B

Matt Dominguez, 3b - 15-25 hr

Brett Wallace, 3b - 15-20 hr