Milwaukee building an infield to envy

The prospect of having an infield stay together for years is something most Major League clubs would love to have. That notion should make Milwaukee the envy of almost every club in the big leagues because once Ryan Braun hits town, the infield quartet at Miller Park should be together for years to come.

The Brewers' system has produced J.J. Hardy, Rickie Weeks and Prince Fielder in recent seasons, and Braun has been steamrolling his way toward Milwaukee since he was drafted. Though he'll probably begin the season at Triple-A Nashville, don't expect him to remain there the entire season. And once he arrives, the Brewers could be drawing comparisons to the Dodgers of the late '70s -- a team that featured Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Davey Lopes and Steve Garvey.

There's plenty more to be excited about with the Brew Crew, though. The system is chock full of shortstops who can step in for the oft-injured Hardy. The pitching, led by Yovani Gallardo, is also top notch. The young right-handed star and Will Inman are two of the most coveted hurlers in the Minor Leagues.

Climbing the Ladder

Triple-A Nashville

Yovani Gallardo, RHP
The Mexico native turned 21 last month and is poised to make his big-league breakthrough. The Brewers don't necessarily think Gallardo will be ready to pitch in the Major Leagues at the beginning of the season, so he'll be setting down folks in Music City, at least early on. He throws strikes and isn't intimidated by his surroundings. Gallardo held opponents to a .192 (104-for-542) batting average last year while splitting time between the Florida State and Southern Leagues. He also hit .381 (8-for-21) with four RBIs at Huntsville. He's 19-9 with a 2.38 ERA in 60 Minor League games (52 starts) with 329 strikeouts in 303 innings.

"He should be in the big leagues by the end of the year," Milwaukee director of player development Reid Nichols said. "He's got command with average to above-average stuff. And he's mature well beyond his years. He's already got a family and he's very responsible with his wife and child."

Ryan Braun, 3B
Braun has drawn comparisons to David Wright and Ryan Zimmerman, not only for his ability but for his approach and demeanor. The Brewers don't want to rush him, but it shouldn't be long before he joins the aforementioned third basemen to form a third base trio similar to the shortstop grouping of Jeter-Rodriguez-Garciaparra in the mid-90s. His offensive ability has been well-documented, but Braun also made 31 errors in 283 combined chances last year. He added three more miscues in 38 AFL chances.

"Ryan's only had one full season and he played better in Huntsville than he did in Brevard," Nichols said. "And he did better than that in the Arizona Fall League. He's getting better as the leagues get tougher. The potential with him is really unlimited. He definitely has confidence. His defense has also gotten better. He's made it a priority, and that's something he needed to do."

2006 Organizational Record
LEVEL AAA AA A (Adv) A R R	LEAGUE PCL SL FSL SAL PIO AZL	TEAM Nashville Huntsville Brevard County West Virginia Helena Brewers TOTAL:	W 76 67 64 74 34 21 336	L 68 71 65 62 42 35 343	PCT .528 .486 .496 .544 .447 .375 .495

Others to watch: RHP Carlos Villanueva was 2-2 with a 3.69 ERA in 10 games (six starts) in spot duty with Milwaukee. But Jeff Suppan's arrival means Villanueva likely will be spending at least part of the season in Nashville, where he was 7-1 with a 2.71 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) last year. ... RHP Tim Dillard is 22-17 with a 2.79 ERA in 57 games (53 starts) over his last two seasons. ... LHP Zach Jackson came over in the Lyle Overbay trade and made his Major League debut last year, appearing in eight games for the Brewers and going 2-2 with a 5.40 ERA. He spent much of the season at Nashville and likely will be headed back there if he can't crack the Milwaukee rotation.

Double-A Huntsville

Joe Thatcher, LHP
The former Indiana State star has made a slow, steady climb since signing with the Brewers prior to the 2005 season. He pitched at three levels last year, reaching Double-A for four games. He was 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA for the Stars and combined to go 5-4 with a 1.37 ERA over 65 2/3 innings. Thatcher fanned 80, walked only 17 and held opponents to a .179 (42-for-234) batting average.

"He pretty much dominates lefties," Nichols said. "He's got a bigger body type. He throws across his body and he's got a sweeping action on his breaking ball. He gave us a lot more than we expected coming in and he's done well wherever he has gone."

Yohannis Perez, SS
The Cuban defector signed a Minor League deal with Milwaukee last November after sitting out two seasons to sort out visa and citizenship dilemmas that stemmed from the flight from his native country. He's listed as a 24-year-old and if he's as good as he showed while playing for his country, the Brewers will have yet another shortstop to add to an already talented stable. Scouts have compared him to Rickie Weeks. He's got a quick bat and a solid glove and could be in Nashville before long.

"He's been here in our winter program," Nichols said. "He's good defensively and offensively, he's gap-to-gap."

Others to watch: LHP Steve Hammond, a 2005 sixth-round pick, split last season between Class-A Brevard and Hunstville, going 11-11 with a 2.72 ERA in 27 starts. ... 2B Hernan Iribarren continues his steady climb, having hit .319 in 108 games last year at Brevard County. ... RHP Robert Hinton was 5-4 with a 3.31 ERA in 36 games (six starts) last year for Brevard. He struck out 95 in 89 2/3 innings.

Class A Advanced Brevard County

Steve Garrison, LHP
The New Jersey native was 7-6 with a 3.45 ERA in 17 games (16 starts) for West Virginia last season. Garrison has shown decent control, walking 22 batters in 88 2/3 innings while uncorking just one wild pitch. He finished strong, pitching to a 0.96 ERA over his last 18 2/3 innings. Opponents hit .280 against him in May and June but only .243 in July and August.

"He's a command guy who's a [Tom] Glavine type," Nichols said. "I don't want to put a Glavine label on him, but he's that type of pitcher. I think he needs to be in Brevard all year. He needs to benefit from that park and the league, learning how to set up and read hitters."

Lorenzo Cain, OF
Cain, a 2004 17th-round pick, blossomed last year at West Virginia. He batted .317 with six homers, 60 RBIs and 34 stolen bases while leading the Sally League with 162 hits. Cain strikes out a tad too much, but plate discipline will come with experience. Though he tied for the league lead among outfielders with 12 errors, his 303 total chances also were tops.

"He's done everything. He can do it all," Nichols said. "The power will come with him, but he's already a good defender and a hard worker. He's got the heart of a warrior. I like him. I think he's an All-Star in that league."

Others to watch: RHP Will Inman, who turned 20 last month, was 10-2 in 23 games (20 starts) while posting one of the lowest ERAs (1.71) in the Minors. He's 16-2 with a 1.77 ERA in 32 Minor League games and successfully dealt with a sore shoulder last summer. ... 1B/OF Chris Errecart hit .316, was second in home runs (13) and hits (86) and topped the Pioneer League with 61 RBIs last year. ... SS Alcides Escobar will be back in the FSL after missing time last season with a broken finger. He appeared in only 87 games but is considered by many to be Milwaukee's top middle infield prospect.

Class A West Virginia

Brae Wright, LHP
Wright appeared in 16 games for Helena of the rookie Pioneer League, going 0-2 with a 5.93 ERA in 27 1/3 innings. He walked 14 and struck out only 12. Right now, he's more of a project type of guy with some potential, but he did go 12-5 over his final two seasons at Oklahoma State. A sixth-round selection, he's got some fire and some size -- he's 6-foot-4 -- and could make for an interesting player to follow this year.

"He's a bigger guy, not stout but taller," Nichols said. "And he's mature and has good stuff. I think he learned a lot over a half-season in Helena and in our winter program. He learned how to focus and get the job done. He's always around the plate and he has good command with his pitches."

Darren Ford, OF
The speedster finished second in the Sally League with 69 stolen bases but also struck out 133 times and drew only 56 walks in 491 at-bats. He narrowly missed earning a place on the All-Star team after hitting .283. While he is high on Milwaukee's radar, he'll be back in West Virginia, at least for the beginning of the season, while he works on his plate discipline.

"He was probably one of the fastest players in that league, but we want him to work on his offense and bunting," Nichols said. "He's a good defender now, but for what we need him to do at Brevard, he just didn't play well enough to push Cain, Gillespie or Charlie Fermaint. We have three guys we'd like to start there, so Ford will have to perform. But I think he will. He stole bases last year, but he didn't bunt enough and just didn't use his tools the way he could have."

Others to watch: RHP Shawn Ferguson, a ninth-round pick last season, was 2-5 with a 5.86 ERA in 14 games (12 starts) at Helena and West Virginia. ... RHP Roque Mercedes was 5-5 in 15 games (nine starts) with a 4.92 ERA in Helena. ... OF Mike Brantley hit .300 in 360 Sally League at-bats last year, stole 24 bases and had a .402 on-base percentage. But he had only 12 extra-base hits and needs to do more to crack a strong Brevard outfield.

Under the Radar

Mat Gamel, 3B
Ryan Braun gets all the third base pub when it comes to Milwaukee prospects, but let's not forget Gamel. The Florida native was taken in the fourth round in 2005 and was impressive in his first full season last year in West Virginia. He hit .288 with 17 homers and 88 RBIs in 493 at-bats. He'll take his act to Brevard County this season but needs to work on his defense. His 34 errors were second among Sally League third basemen.

"He's had a history of errors, but we're expecting that to get better," Nichols said. He just needs confidence. He has the tools and he can do the job on any given day. He just needs consistency, but he's a natural hitter."

Mike Ramlow, LHP
The 6-foot-7 southpaw isn't overpowering -- his fastball is high-80s, low-90s -- but he does have good command and usually doesn't stray too far from the plate. He didn't get in a great deal of work - he pitched only 12 innings combined in the Arizona League and Helena. But if the Brewers can get all the big man's moving parts working together, he could be an effective reliever.

"He's got a good breaking ball, throws his fastball for strikes and keeps hitters off-balance," Nichols said. "He's a tall and lanky left-hander. We expect him to have a good year starting in the lower levels."

2006 Draft Recap

OF Cole Gillespie (third round) finished second in the Pioneer League in hitting (.344) and first in on-base percentage (.464). ... High school RHP Jeremy Jeffress, the top pick, signed for a $1.5 million bonus, then went 2-5 with a 5.88 ERA in the AZL. He pitched to a 9.86 ERA over his final 17 1/3 innings, though for the season he held right-handers to a .185 average (15-for-81). ... Ninth-round RHP Shawn Ferguson was one of only two Brewer draft picks (SS Hector Bernal) to reach low-A ball last year. The Texas Christian product went 2-3 with a 6.69 ERA in nine starts once he got to West Virginia. ... OF Mike Goetz, a 25th-rounder from Wisconsin, led the AZL with 31 stolen bases in 50 games. ... Second-round INF Brent Brewer not only has the perfect name for Milwaukee, he made a nice transition to pro ball, hitting .264 with 22 RBIs in 45 AZL games. ... Fifth-round OF Chris Errecart finished the Pioneer League season with 21 hits in his final 56 at-bats (.375) with five homers and 16 RBIs.

Predictions

Organizational Player of the Year - Ryan Braun
So we played it safe on this one. But who better to put your money on than someone being compared to David Wright and Ryan Zimmerman? He's a step behind them right now and few paces ahead of Baltimore's Billy Rowell. Any way you look at it, though, he'll be an anchor in the Brewers infield for quite some time.

Organizational Pitcher of the Year - Will Inman
Yovani Gallardo gets most of the pub, but Inman appears to be just as devastating. He's dominant and deceptive and should have fun making Florida State League hitters look silly this year.

Quotable

"I think we're doing a good job, a real good job," Nichols said. "You always want more players, but we have to give the staff credit. We have all guys who we're fairly confident can play in the big leagues."