2010 HUNTSVILLE STARS

2010 Southern League Managers/Coaches

Monday, March 8....... Alexandre Periard is optioned to Huntsville today. Also the Brewers have reassigned #1 picks Eric Arnett and Kyle Heckathorn to minor league camps. Neither made their way into a Cactus League game........ In a game televised on the MLB Network, the Brewers beat the Mariners, 6-2........ Prince Fielder hit a 2-run opposite-field double and Corey Hart homered in his second straight game. Manny Parra pitched three scoreless innings and got the win. Juan Sandoval pitched a third of an inning. Eleizer Alfonzo struck out in one at-bat for the Mariners.

March is here at last. One of my favorite months for one reason, and it's not just the NCAA Tournament. March means baseball is not just around the corner -- it's here. And it's happening in Florida and Arizona.

And relevant to this web site, it means another season of Stars baseball is around the corner. Exhibition games actually start Friday, March 19, and I'll be expecting some news from Maryvale from two sources -- www.brewerfan.net and Chad Anderson, the Stars' new radio voice, starting March 10. Chad has his own web site and blog page at www.chadandersonweb.com. In a conversation I had with Chad a week ago at Appleby's, he said he'll be in Maryvale and will furnish reports back to GM Buck Rogers, who will relay them back via his newsletter, and very likely on his web page....... Chad also has his own twitter account.

A fan asked Buck who will be on the team this year. Of course, it's still too early to know. Kevin Melillo was added last year just a day before the Stars arrived in Huntsville, so anything can happen. But it's fun to conject, and here is my two cents, and be aware, this is just my educated opinion.

I expect Jonathan Lucroy to start the season with Nashville. Lucroy (9, 66, .267), who last year tied Mickey Lopez's record for the club's longest hitting streak at 22 games, has moved ahead of Angel Salome on the Brewers' depth chart. Cameron Garfield, Milwaukee's #2 pick last year, is still at least two or more years away, so I think we may see Salome, who hit .286, but needs more defensive work and was injured for part of the season, behind the plate. If Salome joins Lucroy at Nashville, our #1 catcher will be George Kottaras, who played for Mobile in 2005-06. Who backs who up is anybody's guess, but having Salome and Kottaras is not far-fetched......... At 1st base, let's say Chris Errecart, who spent most of the year at Brevard County, after hitting just .149 in 18 games for the Stars at the start of the season. Some may remember his one big contribution to the first half title -- a game-winning 2-out, 2-run single that beat the Mississippi Braves, 4-3, in the 9th inning on April 16th. Steffan Wilson, who hit a game-winning 3-run home run in his Stars debut to beat the Smokies in the opening game of the Northern Division playoffs, is also a strong possibility and both may end up on the final roster. Wilson can also play 3rd base........ Brett Lawrie made a quick jump from the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to Huntsville in mid-August, and hit .269 in 13 games to mark his pro debut. Will he start the season in Huntsville or get further pro seasoning in Brevard? I think it depends on what kind of spring he and Eric Farris have. Farris stole 70 bases for Brevard County last year (3rd in the minors), while getting caught just 6 times! Both Lawrie and Farris have a chance to make the team, but I think that Farris will wind up being our 2nd baseman and leadoff hitter. He's also an excellent bunter who led the minors with 26 sacrifices last year. That could make him a threat to break Angel Escobar's 21-year old record........ There's little doubt Yohannis Perez will be back at shortstop. There is little depth in the Brewer organization beyond Alcides Escobar, who takes over at short in Milwaukee. Perez comes next, then Brent Brewer who hit just .222 in his 2nd season at Brevard. Josh Prince, who led the Pioneer League in stolen bases last year, is two or three years behind. Here is a position where we could see a free agent signing....... Taylor Green (5, 43, .258), the Brewers' #20 minor league prospect, will be back at 3rd base for the Stars.

The Stars will, I'm sure, carry four outfielders. I see returnees Drew Anderson, the Stars' 8th leading hitter of all-time with a .303 average, and pretty much a fringe player in the organization now, Lorenzo Cain, who must come back from a bad left knee injury last year, but still the Brewers' #8 prospect, and newcomers Caleb Gindl and Logan Schafer....... Well, Schafer's not really a newcomer. He played in seven games for the Stars last year, but fans got to see him just once at home -- a June 11 game vs. Jacksonville where he walked, was hit by a pitch, lined out and grounded out before he was sent back to the Manatees. But Gindl, the Brewers' #17 prospect, who hit .277 in a full year at Brevard will be ready for Huntsville, and he'll be expected to provide the power that was missing on last year's team. Gindl hit 17 HRs and will give us 20-30 doubles. (He hit 38 for West Virginia in 2008).  He's a good baserunner and will give the Stars adequate defense in left field........ At some point during the season, I think we'll see Kentrail Davis, a 1st round supplemental draft pick by the Brewers last year, and #6 prospect. Davis, however, has no pro experience.

Pitching is a hard position to forecast, but I could pick among eight starters who will be in the rotation. The most likely: David Welch, who threw a no-hitter for the Stars in 2008, has to rebound from an 8-8, 4.03 season. There's still a chance he could make it in Nashville, but if he doesn't, he will be poised to join a list of seven Stars pitchers who have won 20 games for the franchise. Donovan Hand finished the year with 8 wins as well, and a fine 3.56 ERA before going on the DL, August 11, but he could also wind up on Nashville's roster at the start of the season. I think one or both will wind up in the rotation to provide some veteran help for Amaury Rivas, a 13-game winner for Brevard County last year, Evan Anundsen, who won 10 games, pitched a no-hitter, and finished 3rd among Florida State League ERA leaders, and Mark Rogers, the Brewers' #1 draft pick in 2004. After coming off multiple shoulder injuries, Rogers in 22 pitch-limited starts, came through with a 1.67 ERA and held FSL hitters to a .201 average. Wily Peralta, the Brewers' #14 prospect, will see some innings in Huntsville next year. Alexandre Periard, too, although they would be doing him a favor by starting him at Brevard. Jeremy Jeffress started the 2009 season as the Stars' #1 man in the rotation, but he has more issues than Santa has toys and is in danger of wasting his talent on one more reefer. And Cody Scarpetta skipped Brevard to make his debut with the Stars on the last day of the regular season, and while he threw 68% of his 69 pitches for strikes against Jacksonville in a no-decision loss, I think he'll start the season at Brevard....... Don't know if Brae Wright will be ready, but he was 6-10 with a 3.74 ERA in 27 starts in 2008.

The bullpen is harder to figure out, but I believe we'll see Zach Braddock (2-1, 2.87) again. Braddock is your typical lefty -- off the wall (he's entertained teammates with his spot-on Harry Caray imitation) and fragile. He's had repeated elbow and shoulder issues, but was a brilliant set-up man for Rob Wooten. 10 of his 11 saves last year came in July and August. John Axford, who pitched in four levels of the Brewer organization last year, including four games for the Stars, is a possibility. Axford is ranked 23rd among the Brewers' prospects according to Baseball America..... Bobby Bramhall is doing well after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November. Bramhall will miss the 2010 season. He finished 2009 with a 6-7 record and 5.29 ERA. Omar Aguilar, who saved 8 games for Brevard last year, will probably be back. If there are two newcomers who seem more likely than others, it will be Brandon Rapoza, who had a 2.13 ERA in 41 appearances for Brevard and Rafael Lluberes, who had a 3.51 ERA in 43 appearances.

Gone are Mark Holliman and Josh Wahpepah, who were released, Freddy Parejo, who signed a free agent deal with the Astros, Kevin Melillo, who signed with the Pirates, and Wes Littleton, who signed with Seattle. Wahpepah will pitch independent ball this year for the Kansas City T-Bones of the Northern League.

The season starts on the road April 8 at Chattanooga and at home April 14 vs. Jacksonville.

The Brewers have 56 players in camp in Maryvale -- the latest being Steffan Wilson......... Other Stars also in camp in Maryvale: Mike Jones, Brett Lawrie, Chris Errecart, Zealous Wheeler, Juan Sandoval, and Taylor Green...... The first Cactus League showdown between the Brewers and the Cincinnati Reds was rained out Sunday. Weather permitting, they'll be back in action, Monday morning before playing Seattle at 1 pm....... Eric Arnett, the Brewers' #1 draft pick last year, is scheduled to take the mound, along with John Axford, Zach Braddock, Tim Dillard, former Met Scott Schoeneweis, and Chris Smith....... Mark Rogers appeared in a Brewers uniform for the first time Friday and pitched two scoreless innings against the A's, throwing 21 pitches......... Asked for his assessment of Braddock, Brewer manager Ken Macha had one word: "overpowering".

The Brewers are 1-3 so far in Arizona...... Their only win came Saturday in a split-squad 12-1 win, Saturday, over the Giants. Chris Errecart homered, as did Alcides Escobar, who delivered a 3-run blast. The other squad lost to Colorado, 8-6. Alexandre Periard was socked for 3 runs on 6 hits in 2 innings.