Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #64 Michael Fiers
Welcome back to “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers”, though with two articles earlier this week already I hope you haven’t been away long. There’s another article scheduled yet this week after today’s so please continue to read along. I sincerely appreciate it.
More so than just reading along, you have the ability to interact and tell me what you think of each player, the series itself, or anything else related to the Milwaukee Brewers. Utilize the Twitter or Social Media list in the right-hand column to figure out how to reach me, or simply email me on Gmail @ brewernation.
Anyway, let’s get to the reason that you’re here.
April 6th less February 2nd equals sixty-four.
If the end of 2011 is any indication, the man who will sport number 64 on his back when he heads to the field for his first official workout of Spring Training will be Michael Fiers.
Michael Fiers throws in the Venezuela Winter League.
Michael Bruce Fiers (26 – born June 15, 1985) is a right-handed pitcher listed at 6’3” and 200 lbs and was originally drafted by Milwaukee in the 22nd round of the 2009 First-Year Player Draft. He will join his fellow pitchers (and the catchers) in Maryvale on February 18th for the start of big league Spring Training.
It will be another chance to impress the Major League coaching staff and the organization’s front office that have already showed enough faith in Fiers to call him up last September and pitch him in a pair of games.
Fiers pitched two scoreless innings in those games, allowing two hits, striking out two batters, and walking three others.
You can definitely say that Fiers was justly rewarded with the September call-up after a season in the minors which saw him amass the following statistical line between Double-A Huntsville and Triple-A Nashville:
34 G (18 starts), 13-3 record, 126.0 IP, 1.86 ERA, 83 H, 39 R, 26 ER, 11 HR, 36 BB, 132 K
Fiers also held opponents to the .182 batting average in 2011.
For the record, it was at the higher level that Fiers pitched better. In Triple-A Fiers put together an 8-0 record in 12 games (10 starts) including a complete game, shut out. His Nashville ERA was 1.11 and he held opponents to a .174 average. So again, to say he earned his call up would be very accurate.
A cup of coffee is nice and undoubtedly feels amazing for professional ballplayer, but it isn’t a final goal. It goes without saying but I’ll type it anyway:
Michael Fiers wants to stick.
To that end he pitched some winter ball this off-season in the Venezuela Winter League for the Caracas Lions. Or, en español… Leones del Caracas en la Liga Venezuela Béisbol Profesionál.
There he started five of the six games in which he appeared, worked to a 3-2 record, struck out 18, walked 10, and surrendered seven earned runs on 20 hits over 28.1 innings pitched, good for a 2.22 ERA, while holding opposing hitters to a .196 batting average.
I think all can agree that based on those numbers, Fiers most definitely appears ready to contribute at the Major League level.
Aiding him in that effort is his four-pitch repertoire that includes a fastball, slider, curve, and change up. The fastball sits between 88-92 (his two strikeouts in the big leagues last year were recorded on 89 MPH fastballs, for what it’s worth) and has movement. His slider is thrown in the low 80s and is average at best. The curve is a slow pitch that clocks in the mid-70s. His best secondary pitch is his changeup. It’s around in the mid-to-upper 70s and has a good tail.
If I had to project where Fiers begins 2012, it will be in Nashville’s rotation. Fiers, along with Wily Peralta (series profile coming on Monday, February 6), looks to be one of the first options at Ron Roenicke’s disposal should he need a forecasted fill-in for the big league rotation.
In the meantime Nashville fans hope to enjoy continued success from the right-hander. Rest assured that Brewers Assistant General Manager Gord Ash and those involved in the development of the organization’s prospects will be keeping a keen eye focused on Fiers.
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers Takes Unplanned, One-Day Hiatus
I was all set to post a profile of Brewers minor league pitching prospect Dan Merklinger today. Last spring Dan wore #65 so today would have been his day.
I normally wouldn’t mention the lack of an article, but had promised five straight days of profiles this week.
I remembered that it was Merklinger who had been designated for assignment when Marco Estrada was tapped to fill in for an injured Zack Greinke to begin last season. This came only about four months after Merkinger’s being added to the 40-man roster in the first place, but I still was going to profile Merklinger this off season anyway.
In performing my due diligence, however, I realized that Merklinger wasn’t invited to big league spring training this year as I guess I assumed he had been.
Therefore, I really didn’t feel it would be a good use of resources to draft an entire profile of him this year.
The series will officially resume tomorrow with a profile of #64: Michael Fiers. This week’s installments conclude Friday then with a look at Frankie De La Cruz.
Thanks for following along so far this winter. See you in this space again tomorrow.
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #66 Brock Kjeldgaard
Welcome back to “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers”, my season preview series which profiles players as their assigned jersey number for 2012 Spring Training match up to the number of days that remain until Opening Day.
Today, Tuesday, January 31st is exactly 66 days away from Opening Day of the 2012 Major League Baseball season which, for the Milwaukee Brewers, is Friday, April 6th.
Who, you ask, was assigned jersey number 66? None other than 6’5″, 235 lb first base and outfield prospect Brock Kjeldgaard.
Brock Kjeldgaard poses with the gold medal he received for the 2011 Pan American Games as a member of Team Canada.
Kjeldgaard (pronounced “KILL-guard”) was born January 26, 1986, and bats and throws right-handed. He was a 34th-round pick in the 2005 First-Year Player Draft. Kjeldgaard signed as a draft-and-follow a year later and spent his first two years in pro ball as a pitcher. These were not very effective years as he compiled a 1-3 record with a 5.53 ERA in 33 appearances. Due to the lack of results on the bump, the Brewers changed Kjeldgaard’s focus and he became just a hitter in 2008.
His focus helped him harness his one tool: power. He’s hit 75 homers in 1,702 minor league ABs. So despite the lack of an apparent second tool, that kind of power can result in big league service time. The thing working against Kjeldgaard is the fact that he is already 26 years old. Granted he’s basically two seasons behind in the refining of his hitting, but the game is littered with athletic prospects that weren’t ready at the time they got their shot, if they got one at all.
Kjeldgaard was ready this season to display his powerful swing and did so to the tune of 18 home runs in just 231 ABs in High-A ball with the Brevard County Manatees. However after a promotion to Double-A Huntsville, he saw his power drop quite a bit. He only hit six long balls in 203 at-bats. Naturally part of that drop is due to better pitching, but it is a player’s ability to adjust to his environment and succeed as a result that dictates his advancement.
Assuming the big Canadian-born ballplayer begins the 2012 season with the Stars where he ended it, we should all keep an eye on how his off-season work has aided him in his adjusting. But it’s truly not all about the bat for Kjeldgaard as far as making an impact at the big league level. As the Milwaukee Brewers are a National League club, it takes more than just a powerful bat to stick. No doubt working in his favor, however, are experiences gained by Brewers General Manager Doug Melvin during Melvin’s tenure. Melvin failed to recognize a late-bloomer in Nelson Cruz, of course in Melvin’s defense so did every other GM in the game at least once, but by protecting Kjeldgaard from the Rule V Draft this past December it showed the Melvin is willing to give an “older” prospect a little more time to realize whatever potential he has.
Off-season leagues and competitions can bolster a player’s development as well, and as evidenced by the picture in this article, Brock Kjeldgaard played on for Team Canada on more than one occasion. He played right field and even some center field for the national team in October, hitting safely 13 times in 52 ABs (.250) with a pair of dingers to help Team Canada win the Pan American Games, and also tie for third in the World Cup.
Let’s sum it up in these words taken from Baseball America’s website: “Kjeldgaard is big and freakishly strong.” When he makes contact, he can hit for quite a bit of power but his swing can get too long at times. If you couple that with a tendency to get overly aggressive, it makes it unlikely that he’ll ever hit for average and should also lead to high strikeout totals. He’s below-average on the basepaths. He has decent arm strength but is a mediocre defender at best on the outfield corners. And despite the fact that he logged time in center field for Team Canada, the mistake should never be made that he can play there at the Major League level. Fortunately for Kjeldgaard, he has been able to see time at 1B. It’s simply a better fit.
On a personal note, I had a chance to meet Brock ever so briefly at the Brewers winter fan fast called “Brewers On Deck”. I shook his hand, welcomed him to the 40-man roster, and accepted an autograph from him. I truly hope that it wasn’t the last time I’ll have the opportunity to interact with the slugger. He just feels like the kind of player that could provide prodigious pop off the bench and contribute positively to a ball club, assuming his plate discipline improves.
After all, in a city where Russell Branyan still elicits an emotional response from fans who dig scoreboard-denting shots, Brock Kjeldgaard could truly attain cult hero status with the fan base. And if power is king, Kjeldgaard certainly seems like a blood relative of the royal Sexson/Branyan family.
In summary, Kjeldgaard may or may not ever make an impact at the Major League level. It is the case with any prospect. It is the curse of anyone with unrealized potential. It’s a crapshoot. Bottom line, though, is the GMs (like chicks) dig the long ball. Like left-handed pitchers, if you can establish that you’re capable of doing your one thing very well, you’ll almost always be able to find a job. For the good of the Brewers, let’s hope that Kjeldgaard does enough to warrant that that job be based in Milwaukee.
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #67 Santo Manzanillo
The series is back after what will be its longest hiatus. That’s what happens when a pair of top prospects drafted seven months ago get invites to Spring Training and are subsequently assigned jersey numbers in the high seventies.
Today, however, we take a look at the first of a handful of players who were added to the 40-man roster this offseason.
On this Monday, 67 days away from Opening Day on April 6th in Milwaukee, Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers profiles right-handed pitching prospect Santo Manzanillo.
There are hard throwers all over the minor leagues. Many prospects can hit 95 MPH on the radar gun but not all of them can push it up to 99 like Santo Manzanillo was able to do quite frequently throughout the 2011 season.
Manzanillo has been known for a his velocity for some time but velocity alone doesn’t mean a whole lot in terms of projectable success. Hard and straight will still get crushed more often than not. His control has improved a bit and he does possess a breaking ball that keeps hitters honest.
This past season definitely saw positive strides forward for the Dominican Republic native. This off-season, however, saw both a bit of faith instilled in the righty along with a bit of bad luck befalling the closing prospect.
First the good. In advance of the Rule V Draft, Manzanillo was placed on the Brewers’ 40-man roster, thereby protecting him from exposure in that draft process. With the strides Manzanillo made in 2011, he clearly put himself in the forefront of the decision makers’ plan.
But then potential disaster struck when Manzanillo injured his right shoulder in an automobile accident. Manzanillo was hit by a truck while driving his Hummer on a highway in the Dominican Republic. He sprained the shoulder and also suffered multiple lacerations and contusions.
There is definitely a chance his injuries could impact his availability for at least a significant portion of the 2012 season. It would truly be a shame if Manzanillo’s career is derailed, although that is unlikely.
What would be nice is to see him have a chance to improve upon a season that saw the right-hander post an impressive 1.75 ERA and 62/26 K/BB ratio over 61 2/3 IP (all in relief) between High-A Brevard County and Double-A Huntsville.
High-ceiling pitching prospects that project directly to the back end of the bullpen sometimes fizzle out as they move up the ladder. After all, many bullpen spots are filled by men who can’t sustain success long enough in a given game to start. Manzanillo, however, has been almost exclusively a relief pitcher throughout his minor league career.
More definitely needs to be seen from Manzanillo to really predict where he’ll end up. Part of the problem lies in some of Manzanillo’s supporting statistics.
While he did, for example, amass a 2.21 ERA in 20.1 IP at Double-A Huntsville, it can’t be ignored that he held opponents to a BABIP of .212 all the while, as you might expect, he saw worsening marks in the K/9, BB/9 and HR/9. His FIP checked in at 4.53 as well.
Granted, 20.1 IP isn’t much of a sample size to work with but the numbers are still potentially indicative. This is exactly why seeing more of out Manzanillo was to no doubt be high on Doug Melvin’s wish list.
As with so many things in the game of baseball, however, you simply can’t predict accidents like the one that injured Manzanillo.
At this point we simply must wait for him to be medically cleared to see where he goes from where he finished 2011.
Brewers On Deck Information
Autograph Schedule
***Please note: Cash is the only acceptable form of payment when paying for autographs.***
Stage 1
11:00 – 11:45 Bob Uecker ($25)/Mark Attanasio
12:30 – 1:15 Jonathan Lucroy ($10)
2:00 – 2:45 Robin Yount ($25)
3:30 – 4:15 Eric Farris (Free)/Brock Kjeldgaard (Free)
Stage 2
11:30 – 12:15 Marco Estrada ($10)/Mike Fiers (Free)
1:00 – 1:45 Yovani Gallardo ($25)
2:30 – 3:15 Shaun Marcum ($10)
3:45 – 4:30 Corey Hart ($25)
Stage 3
10:30 – 11:15 Aramis Ramirez ($25)
12:00 – 12:45 Tim Dillard ($10)/Zelous Wheeler (Free)
1:30 – 2:15 Zack Greinke ($25)
3:00 – 3:45 Caleb Gindl (Free)/Mike McClendon (Free)
Stage 4
11:00 – 11:45 Mat Gamel ($10)/Logan Schafer (Free)
12:30 – 1:15 Randy Wolf ($10)
2:00 – 2:45 Alex Gonzalez ($10)/Martin Maldonado (Free)
3:30 – 4:15 Chris Narveson ($10)
Stage 5
11:30 – 12:15 Rollie Fingers ($25)
1:00 – 1:45 George Kottaras ($10)
2:30 – 3:15 Rickie Weeks ($25)
3:45 – 4:30 Taylor Green (Free)/Brandon Kintzler (Free)
Stage 6
10:30 – 11:15 Manny Parra ($10)
12:00 – 12:45 Nyjer Morgan ($10)
1:30 – 2:15 John Axford ($10)
3:00 – 3:45 Hollywood Guests (Free)
Names in Bold require a winning coupon through random selection process. Additionally the following “Rising Stars” players will sign FREE autographs throughout the day in the Clinic Field area: Jed Bradley, Kentrail Davis, Khris Davis, Scooter Gennett, Taylor Jungmann, Hunter Morris, Michael Reed, Yadiel Rivera, Tyler Thornburg and Mike Walker.
Main Stage Schedule
10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. – Meet the Coaching Staff – Brewers manager Ron Roenicke along with his coaching staff will participate in a Q&A session hosted by Brian Anderson.
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Who Wants to be a Brewer? – Several Brewers players will participate in this trivia-style game show to see who has what it takes to win it all. NewsRadio 620 WTMJ/Brewers play-by-play announcer Joe Block will host the show.
12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. – Meet Mark Attanasio, Doug Melvin, Gord Ash, Craig Counsell and the Newest Brewers – Brewers Chairman and Principal Owner Mark Attanasio, Executive Vice President – General Manager Doug Melvin, Vice President – Assistant General Manager Gord Ash, and Special Assistant to the GM Craig Counsell will join free agent acquisitions – Alex Gonzalez and Aramis Ramirez – in a question and answer session with Brewers fans. The session will be hosted by Brewers Hall of Fame Radio Announcer Bob Uecker.
1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. – Milwacky Squares – A spin-off of “Hollywood Squares,” the newest game show to hit Brewers On Deck, features Brewers Hall of Fame Radio Announcer Bob Uecker as the center square along with Brewers players and several surprise Hollywood guests.
2:15 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – Rising Stars Q&A –Brewers prospects Jed Bradley, Kentrail Davis, Khris Davis, Scooter Gennett, Taylor Jungmann, Hunter Morris, Michael Reed, Yadiel Rivera, Tyler Thornburg and Mike Walker will take questions from fans regarding the future of the organization on the field.
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. – Brewers Face Off –It’s the Brewers “family” of current Brewers against the Brewers “family” of future stars in what will certainly turn out to be a “feud.” Brewers television voice Brian Anderson will host this classic game show.
4:15 p.m. – 4:45 p.m. – Media Roundtable – Join host Craig Coshun in a discussion about the Brewers with members of the local media including Tom Haudricourt of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Adam McCalvy of Brewers.com and Andrew Wagner of FoxSportsWisconsin.com.
Ryan Braun to Miss Brewers’ “On Deck” Event – Statement From Mark Attanasio
The following statement was issued today by Chairman and Principal Owner Mark Attanasio on behalf of the Milwaukee Brewers:
“In working through the logistics of this weekend’s Brewers On Deck event in Milwaukee with Ryan Braun—and knowing how much he enjoys interacting candidly with Brewers fans —we came to the conclusion that this is too sensitive of a time in the confidential process for him to attend this year.
“I speak for everyone at the Brewers, including Ryan,in thanking our fans for their understanding and patience.”
Milwaukee Brewers Hang National League Central Division Championship Banner
The permanent 2011 NL Central Championship Banner was hung at Miller Park on Monday, January 23rd.
Full Ryan Braun Transcript From BBWAA Dinner
“Thank, you Mark (Feinsand, the NY BBWAA chapter chairman). Before I get started, (Hall of Fame writer) Bob Elliott said he forgot to thank his son, Bob Jr., during his speech and wanted to make sure I did it for him. So, Bob Jr., Bob Elliott truly appreciates you being a great son and supporting him (laughter from audience).
“I’ve really been looking foward to this night for a long time. I first want say thank you to the Baseball Writers Association of America for this incredibly prestigious award. I want to congratulate all of the other award winners and recipients who are here tonight. It’s truly a privilege to be part of this night and be here with all of you guys.
“I want to take a moment to congratulate Matt Kemp, Justin Upton, Prince Fielder, Troy Tulowitzki, Albert Pujols among many others who were also deserving of this award as well. It’s truly an honor for me to be surrounded by so many people in this room who share my deep love and respect for the game of baseball, including those who cover it, all the fans that are here today and all of us who play the game of baseball.
“I’d like to say thank you to the entire Milwaukee Brewers organization for believing in me, for drafting me, for helping to develop me as a baseball player and a person. I specifically want to say thank you to Mark Attanasio and his wife Debbie and their entire ownership group. I want to thank Doug Melvin, Gord Ash and our manager, Ron Roenicke, for all being here tonight and for your incredible support. Thank you, guys.
“I want to thank my teammates and the rest of our coaching staff for putting me in an environment and a position to succeed. For me, tonight is about them and what they have accomplished as much as it is about me. I know that if I didn’t play on an incredible team and I wasn’t a part of a special organization, I wouldn’t be standing here tonight.
“I want to thank my family for their love and support and encouragement. I want to thank them for instilling in me a lot of the values and morals that I live my life by today. I want to thank my dad Joe, my mom Diane, my brother Steve, my grandfather Bob and his wife Liz for all being here tonight and supporting me. I also want to thank my beautiful girlfriend Larisa for being here as well, for being my best friend. I wanted to make sure I didn’t forget you because that would be trouble.
“I want to thank my agency, CAA Sports, Marissa Edler, Terry Prince and my agent, Nez Balelo, for your endless support, for being one of my best friends and for being part of every step of this journey with me. Thank you.
“I also wanted to take a moment to thank the players association for supporting me throughout my career and especially for supporting me through everything I went through over the last couple of months. Thank you, guys.
“Sometimes in life we all deal with challenges we never expected to endure. We have an opportunity to look as those challenges and view them either as obstacles or opportunities. I’ve chosen to view every challenge I’ve ever faced as an opportunity and this will be no different. I’ve always believed that a person’s character is revealed through the way they deal with those moments of adversity.
“I’ve always loved and had so much respect for the game of baseball. Everything I’ve done in my career has been done with that respect and appreciation in mind, and that is why I’m so grateful and humbled to accept this award tonight. Thank you again to everybody and I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your evening.”
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #77 Jed Bradley
***UPDATE: Jed Bradley was just revealed as the #97 prospect in all of Major League Baseball according to MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo. Follow Jonathan on Twitter at @JonathanMayoB3.***
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Welcome to the second installment of Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers for the 2012 season.
If you need a refresher as to how this thing works, click here. If not, let’s ride!
It is January 20th, which is 77 days before Opening Day.
This year, jersey #77 has been assigned to Jed Bradley.
Jedidiah Custer Bradley is a 6’4″ left-handed pitcher who played collegiately at Georgia Tech.
He was picked 15th overall in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft and was the second first-round selection of the Milwaukee Brewers. Bradley was chosen with the pick the organization received when 2010 first rounder Dylan Covey decided to attend college after being diagnosed with diabetes.
Bradley, like his fellow Brewers first round pick Taylor Jungmann, waited until the deadline day to sign his professional contract with Milwaukee. Unlike Jungmann, Bradley ended up pitching on behalf of the Brewers in 2011.
The Arizona Fall League is a place where prospects are sent to compete for various reasons. Some are on the verge of the big leagues, some simply didn’t get enough innings or at-bats during the course of their regular season, some are high-ceiling prospects who teams want to see compete against other top flight prospects. Bradley was sent to the Brewers affiliate in the Arizona Fall League, the Peoria Javelinas.
Compiling at 1-0 record with a 6.48 ERA over 8.1 innings spanning five appearances (two starts), Bradley demonstrated some talent but also his rawness. Yes, this experience screams small sample size, but Bradley was able to strike out eight batters in those 8.1 innings. He earned himself the accolade of “2011 AFL Rising Star”.
Bradley has stated this off-season that he has been told he’ll be starting the year in Florida pitching for the Brewers High-A affiliate, the Brevard County Manatees. There should be plenty of opportunities during the Manatees’ 140-game regular season for Bradley to refine his craft. Then again, there’s always a chance that Bradley pitches well enough to end the season with the Brewers AA affiliate Huntsville Stars.
Let’s be realistic though. While he has a very projectable body and delivery, the fact remains that Bradley needs some more development and refinement because he has not provided the track record of some of the other pitchers in his draft class. The 2011 college season saw Bradley take some big steps and give a glimpse at the kind of pitcher he could be a few years from now.
Speaking of which…
As, I mentioned at the top, Bradley is a left-handed pitcher who delivers out of a high 3/4 arm slot. He has easy arm action and pitches on a downward plane. As is important with any pitcher looking to avoid injury and maximize results, Bradley is said to have smooth and very repeatable mechanics. He hides the ball a bit providing some deception. While it can be rare to see a left-handed pitcher with good size, a good frame, and a clean and effortless delivery, Jed Bradley possesses these things.
That clean and effortless delivery results in easy low 90s velocity on his fastball though when you take into consideration his size and room for growth, the pitch could sit 92-94 in the future. His fastball is consistently plus and could still improve. Bradley has shown the ability in college to maintain his velocity deep into his starts.
The other pitches in Bradley’s arsenal coming out of college are a slider and change. When the slider is on it provides hard, late sweeping action. It’s a swing and miss pitch that at times looks plus. His change-up also looks plus at times, appearing like his fastball out of his hand but diving and fading late.
Bradley is talked about as having a very high-ceiling almost universally when I’ve seen scouting reports by different people. Potential is just that until it is realized, of course, but that is exactly what the Brewers minor league coaches are tasked with tapping into.
Suffice it to say that we should all be keeping an eye on Jed Bradley this year and going forward.
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The next installment of “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers” hasn’t quite been decided yet. I could profile Anderson De La Rosa, a 26-year-old catcher who was extended an invitation to big league camp, but he really has zero chance to make the club and honestly doesn’t profile well to ever make the 25-man roster. I just don’t think it’d be a productive use of our time.
If I skip De La Rosa (which I’m definitely leaning toward doing), and none of the other spring training invitees are assigned jerseys in the 70s, the next player up for sure right now would be recent 40-man roster addition Santo Manzanillo. The right-handed power pitcher was assigned jersey #67 and would therefore be profiled on January 30th.
Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers: #78 Taylor Jungmann
Welcome to the first installment of the 2012 series “Brewers By the (Jersey) Numbers”!
As a brief reminder of how this work, as we approach Opening Day on April 6, 2012 I will be reviewing/previewing players in the the Milwaukee Brewers organization that are either on the 40-man roster or have been given an invitation to Major League camp in Spring Training and have a legitimate chance to make the 25-man roster. It’s a way to focus on the individual members of this team sport.
Today is January 19, 2012 which leaves 78 days until Opening Day. Taylor Jungmann was invited to big league camp this spring and assigned jersey number 78. Therefore…
Today I take a look at Taylor Jungmann, a 6’6″, 220 lbs right-handed pitcher.
This will quite probably be the shortest post in the series. That’s not because of a lack of potential on Jungmann’s part. It’s mostly based on the fact that part of what I do in these posts is review the player’s previous season in professional baseball. Jungmann didn’t have a professional season in 2011.
After being drafted by Milwaukee with the 12th overall pick in the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft, Jungmann waited until the last day he could to sign his professional contract. Part of the reason for that is because he was still pitching in the College World Series for the University of Texas Longhorns and part of the reason is that there is the idea that waiting until the last possible minute to sign somehow leverages your contract value to its highest point.
Jungmann did have a bit of leverage in draft negotiations because he was drafted as a junior in college. He had the right to return to the Longhorns for his senior season and re-enter the draft in 2012. The Brewers got him signed to a contract, of course, which probably included an invitation to to big league camp for his first Spring Training. Putting a player in that position not only gives him a taste of what to expect in the future (if he’s successful in the minor leagues) but also can serve to fuel the player’s hunger to get back into a position to be back on the Major League side of things sooner rather than later.
Again, though, Taylor Jungmann did not throw a pitch for the Brewers’ organization after being drafted. This is probably a good thing because he was thrown often and long while playing for Texas.
Jungmann wore number 26 in college so don’t let the assigned jersey number throw you. 78 isn’t exactly something you normally see worn by a big league starting pitcher. The 70s are usually reserved for minor-leaguers that don’t have much chance at all of breaking camp with on the 25-man roster. (There are exceptions, of course, like once-again-Brewer Seth McClung who chooses to wear 73 on his back regardless of where he’s throwing.)
This is no different for Jungmann. He has a lot of potential that he will spend all of 2012 in the minor leagues refining. There have already been reports that he will bypass the Low-A level of the minor leagues and begin the 2012 season with the High-A Brevard County Manatees. There he will look to improve upon what scouts have labeled three “plus” pitches. A fastball with plus movement which has been thrown between 91-97 mph, even touching 98 mph, though tends to sit in the 93-95 MPH range. A curve, with a hard and tight 11-to-5 break. Along with a changeup. His command is usually considered average and he occasionally gets too much of the middle of the plate. Jungmann has demonstrated outstanding control though, throwing strikes and not hurting himself with walks.
Jungmann is the kind of college arm that could be on the relative fast track to the bigs, but he will have to prove himself along the way to realize that goal.
So keep an eye on Taylor Jungmann this spring. Just remember that while his results on the mound may or may not be very good, the experience is something that should only benefit him in the long run.
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Next in the series: #77 Jed Bradley will be profiled on January 20, 2012.
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