Lawrie at #5

Jim at Bernie's Crew has placed Brett Lawrie at #5 on his list of top Brewer prospects.

Brett Lawrie is perhaps the most difficult Brewers prospect to evaluate because, well, we have not seen him play an inning of professional baseball. Scouting reports have been overwhelmingly positive, however, so there is plenty of reason to rank Brett in the Top 5. It is not all hype. The young man has raw plus-plus power. His performance against professional pitchers in the Dominican Republic has become stuff of legend to those who have seen it. The young man went 21-for-30 with fourteen extra base hits. According to Baseball America, those games included a three-home run game against one Dominican Summer League team, and socked five more homers in a double header in the Dominican. That is the type of raw power we are talking about with Lawrie.

One of the most difficult steps for a high school hitter is to make the transition from aluminum bats to wooden bats. How can the Brewers be so sure Brett will acclimate quickly?

It is rather simple, actually. Brett has been using wooden bats exclusively since he was 14-years old. In case you were not impressed by his monster numbers with the Canadian Junior National Team, you should be now. The 19-year old can hit for power to all parts of the field, which is fairly uncommon for a player so young. He can be a little pull-conscious sometimes, however, which can largely be attributed to his partially open stance. Brett already has his hips a bit open. It is quite easy for him to get the barrel around and pull the baseball. I suspect that will correct itself as he matures in the minors, but it is obviously something to keep an eye on next season.

There is video at the link of CBC-Edmonton news report from the World Junior Championships.

Where does Jim think you will be able to keep an eye on Lawrie?

I, as well as every other Brewer fan, am really excited to see Brett make his professional debut in Milwaukee's system this upcoming season. There has been talk about keeping him in extended Spring Training for a bit, but his bat is advanced enough that I expect Brett to begin the 2009 season with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers in Appleton. That team is going to be star-studded. Jake Odorizzi, Erik Komatsu, Cutter Dykstra, Cody Scarpetta, Trey Watten, Brock Kjeldgaard, Wily Peralta, Efrain Nieves, and Brett Lawrie should be exciting to watch day in and day out. To think about the talent Milwaukee has coming to Appleton is incredible. I, for one, will be there to watch plenty of it. You should be as well, if possible.

Yes. Yes, you should.

69 dies insquequo Oris Dies