A Study of Systems: Brewers Built by Draft; Cardinals Aspire
ST. LOUIS — Freshly promoted from Class AAA to serve mostly as the Milwaukee Brewers’ designated hitter during interleague play, bona fide power prospect Mat Gamel got a bounty of firsts in one swing during the third inning of Monday’s game at Busch Stadium.
The rookie third baseman, making his first major-league start, mashed a three-run home run off St. Louis Cardinals starter Kyle Lohse to give the Brewers a 4-0 lead. The home run was the first home run of his career. It produced his first RBI of his career. And it gave him his first run scored of his career. He’s considered the finest prospect in Milwaukee’s system — replacing Matt LaPorta, who was sent to Cleveland in the CC Sabathia deal — and he joins the parade of prospects the Brewers have cobbled together into a contender. Ryan Braun. Prince Fielder. Etc. Etc.
You know, like the Cardinals would like to do.
Tonight’s two lineups offer a study in player development as one team is leading the division because of players it has drafted and developed and the other team, the Cardinals, is leaning on player it has drafted and developed to shepherd them through injuries. The Cardinals lineup for Monday’s game was rich with homegrown players. All eight of the position players started by manager Tony La Russa had spent at least most of a season in the Cardinals’ minor-league system, and seven of them — all but third baseman Brian Barden – were drafted and developed by the Cardinals.
The Brewers started five players who were drafted and developed by the organization. They would have had six had Rickie Weeks been healthy instead of headed for wrist surgery.
A look at the lineups through the prism of the draft. The game featured five players taken in the talent-rich 2005 Draft, and it shows where the Brewers were picking as well as how they were picking.
MILWAUKEE
- Craig Counsell, 2B … Free Agent
- J.J. Hardy, SS … Drafted 2nd round, 56th overall, 2001
- Ryan Braun, LF … Drafted 1st round, 5th overall, 2005
- Prince Fielder, 1B … Drafted 1st round, 7th overall, 2002
- Mike Cameron, CF … Free Agent
- Cory Hart, RF … Drafted 11th round, 321st overall, 2000
- Mat Gamel, 3B … Drafted 4th round, 115th overall, 2005
- Jason Kendall, C … Free Agent
- Braden Looper, P … Free Agent
***
ST. LOUIS
- Skip Schumaker, 2B … Drafted 5th round, 164st overall, 2001
- Nick Stavinoha, RF … Drafted 7th round, 230th overall, 2005
- Albert Pujols, 1B … Drafted 13th round, 402nd overall, 1999
- Chris Duncan, LF … Drafted 1st round supp, 46th overall, 1999
- Yadier Molina, C … Drafted 4th round, 113th overall, 2000
- Colby Rasmus, CF … Drafted 1st round, 28th overall, 2005
- Brian Barden, 3B … Claimed of Waivers
- Kyle Lohse, P … Free Agent
- Tyler Greene, SS … Drafted 1st round, 30th overall, 2005
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(4 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
Wow. Tyler Greene was a first round pick. That was a waste. Not too impressed by the Cards minor league talent. Heavily touted but not much on results.
If the Cardinals have the 8th best farm system in the land (IMO, that’s a crock) I wonder where the Brewers are ranked? I don’t necessarily like their attitude, but their front office obviously knows something about drafting talent. Just the fact that Pujols was a 13th round pick and 402nd overall in 1999 shows just how much of a crap shoot the draft really is. I like Derrick’s analysis here. While the Brewers farm products are producing the kind of results that build contenders, the Cardinals farm products are trying to plug holes until the big boys get back. Big difference in the results, so far.
Where are the Cardinals 1st and 2nd round drafts?
Drafting a highly touted prospect and developing them are two different things. The Cards have done well with the list presented by Derrick. There are 3 starters from the list (Albert, Yadi, and Skip), Rasmus as a potential star, and Tyler Greene on the cusp of being the everyday SS next year. Moving Skip to 2B was a great player development move playing to the strength of the organization (OF) and keeping his .300 average in the line-up. I forgot to mention that drafting the greatest player of the 21st century in Pujols trumps the Brewers draft any year.
Jaime Garcia (lefty) was drafted in the 22nd round of 2005. He is projected to be in the starting rotation next year coming off Tommy John surgery. Also, Brett Wallace is fast tracking thru the system and is currently at AAA. Again, the Cards have done well with the draft and player development the last few years.
@ Fred 62% of first round picks in the past decade never materialize into a big leaguer, and picks 21-30 have the lowest rate of success. He’s in the big leagues, and he’s playing semi-regularly. He may not be much on offense, but his defense is superior to any of the other Cardinals SS’s.
He’s not a horrible 1st round pick.
The Cardinals have 11 rookies on the team this year. Thats their drafting. I guess it isnt working.
And by not working I mean since most of these rookies came up the team has taken a nose dive. Just because Big Mo wants to take pride his young guys doesnt mean they are going to play good enough to win.
I will admit that the Brewers have drafted & developed more impact players THUS FAR, but I’ll reserve judgement ’til I see how Rasmus, Wallace, T. Greene & Garcia pan out. We also have to wait & see how Chris Perez & Jason Motte fair, too. There are other guys down on the farm who could come up & make an impact in the next handful of years as well, like John Jay, Daryl Jones & Jess Todd.
Guess what i’m tryin’ to say here is, guys don’t always just come up & make an immediate impact. Sometimes, these guys have to find their way. The NFL seems to be the one league that produces the most “instant” star players. So, why don’t we wait ’til our top-tier prospects are in the every day lineup everyday, or are closing everyday. Then we can make a better assessment.
Cuz personally, IMO, Rasmus & Wallace will become impact players for us. T. Greene will become a good, not great shortstop. Garcia will become a starter in our rotation, a 3rd or 4th type guy. And one of the two between Perez or Motte will become our closer for the next several yrs. My money’s on Perez.
The Brewers Farm System is the result of losing for 26 years. The Cardinals have been at the top or near the top of the division since 1996 (a few years in the ninties being the exception) and they still have a decent farm system. Just because the Brewers are playing well now and the Cardinals aren’t, doesn’t mean we all need to start pointing fingers and saying, “Look we should do it that way!” After all the Brewers haven’t exactly set the world on fire since they left Seattle.