Milwaukee Brewers: BA’s Top 10 Prospects

Tom Haudricourt works with Baseball America on their annual Top 10 Prospect rankings.

He was courteous enough to post an advanced copy of the composite rankings on his blog:

1. SS Alcides Escobar
2. 2B Brett Lawrie
3. 3B Mat Gamel (doesn’t qualify as rookie for MLB in 2010)
4. RHP Eric Arnett
5. C Jonathan Lucroy
6. OF Kentrail Davis
7. LHP Zach Braddock
8. OF Lorenzo Cain
9. RHP Jake Odorizzi
10. RHP Kyle Heckathorn

Take note that Milwaukee’s Top 10 includes three prospects that were drafted in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft in June.

Eric Arnett struggled a bit in his professional debut, but scouting reports suggest his stuff came as advertised once reaching Helena.  The young man may have been experiencing some arm fatigue after throwing 108 innings with Indiana University in the spring.  Expect the Brewers to stretch him out as a starter in Appleton next season.

Kentrail Davis is a bit of a surprise, as early draft reports suggested the Brewers reached a bit on Davis in the first supplemental round.  He did not enjoy as much success for the Tennessee Volunteers in 2009 as expected, so many teams were down on the young man.  Defensively, scouts believe he is limited to a corner outfield spot.  That puts pressure on his power potential as he advances up the system.

During the instructional leagues, however, it has been written that both Kentrail Davis and D’Vontrey Richardson put on a hitting clinic.  That is likely the helium Davis needed to rank as the seventh-best prospect in the Brewers system without even playing an inning of professional ball.

Kyle Heckathorn is a big right-hander that can touch the mid-to-high 90s.  The question is whether he will profile as a closer or a starter as he climbs the organizational ladder.  He started 13 games for Kennesaw State in 2009, so he does have plenty of experience as a starting pitcher.  His control is also above-average for a hard thrower, as his walk rate in college was only 2.8 BB/9 in the spring.

The success of Kyle Heckathorn in the starting rotation will ultimately come down to his ability to develop a changeup.  His fastball is in the upper-90s and he reportedly throws a high-80s to low-90s slider, but the young man will need to develop a true offspeed pitch.  If he can harness a changeup (which the Brewers’ organization pushes on minor league pitchers), he has a great chance to stick as a starter.  If he is limited to a two-pitch pitcher, Milwaukee could develop him as a closer and fast-track him through the system.

I have been unveiling my Top 5 Prospects per position about once or twice a week.  Once that series has been exhausted, I will tweak my Breen Top 40 for the offseason.  It is interesting that Kentrail’s instructional league success propelled him so far up the BA lists, as I had recently been considering him around #10.  Over the next month, however, things will become much more clear.