When Yovani Gallardo takes the mound today for his second major league start, it will represent a rarity for the Brewers.
Much has been made about the franchise’s talented farm system over the past few years, and even more has been made about the contributions of homegrown talent to the team’s success so far this season.
And while a quick glance at the roster backs up that claim (five of eight starting position players were drafted by the team, six of nine if you count Gallardo), another stunning reality is that aside from Gallardo and Ben Sheets, the Brewers have had almost no luck in developing big league pitchers.
Since 1993, only seven pitchers drafted by the Brewers have made it to the majors. Of that group, Sheets is the only one to have enjoyed any sort of real success; although Gallardo appears to have promise.
Here’s a list of some of the better-known pitchers selected by the Brewers since their last winning season. It was in 1992 that Cal Eldred went 11-2 with a 1.91 ERA; the last completely dominant Brewers’ pitcher to come up through the system. He, too, eventually developed arm trouble (especially after working more than 250 innings in 1993) and was never able to recapture the magic of his rookie campaign.
1993: Jeff D’Amico (1st round) – D’Amico was picked 23rd overall and made his debut in 1996. He missed all of the 1999 season with arm trouble but rebounded with a 12-4 campaign in 2000 and was the Opening Day starter when the Brewers opened Miller Park in 2001. He had a 29-24 record with the Brewers when he was traded to the Mets before the 2002 season. Kelly Wunsch (1) – Selected 13th, out of Texas A & M University, Wunsch never pitched an inning for the Brewers and was allowed to become a six-year minor league free agent in 1999. He found his way to the majors with the Chicago White Sox, and eventually made his debut in 2000.
1994: Steve Woodard (5) – A serviceable pitcher for more than three season, Woodard is best remembered for going toe-to-toe with Roger Clemens in his major league debut. In the first game of a double header, Woodard struck out 12 Blue Jays and allowed just one hit in eight innings of work. He later was dealt to the Indians in the deal which brought Richie Sexson to Milwaukee.
1997: Kyle Peterson (1) – Selected 13th out of Stanford, there were a lot of high hopes for Peterson, who was rushed to the majors when the Brewers needed pitching help. He went 4-7 as a rookie in 1999, but blew out his arm late in the season. He made just three more appearances (in 2001) and never pitched again. He’s currently a commentator with ESPN.
1998: J.M. Gold (1) – A high school pick that never panned out, Gold went 13-17 in six injury-plagued minor-league seasons and never made it beyond Class A. Nick Neugebauer – Considered by many to be a first-round prospect, Neugebauer was picked up in the second round (56th overall). He made a pair of starts in 2001 with Milwaukee before straining his rotator cuff. The same injury sidelined him again in 2002, and he never got beyond Class AA again.
1999: Ben Sheets (1) – The most highly-touted pick to precede the Hardy-Fielder-Weeks era, Sheets won an Olympic gold medal, got a standing ovation during the last game at County Stadium and has been an impressive and is a two-time all-star. The right-hander has battled through some freak injuries, but is considered the staff ace and one of the best pitchers in baseball. Ben Hendrickson (2) – A disappointment on many levels; Hendrickson’s curveball dominated Class AAA hitters, but he never had the stuff to make it in the bigs. The right-hander went 1-10 with a 7.41 ERA in two seasons with the Brewers. He’s currently pitching for Omaha, the top affiliate of Kansas City.
2001: Mike Jones (1) – Has yet to advance past Class AA and is 19-16 in five minor league seasons. He will miss the rest of the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Jones developed elbow problems in 2003 and advanced slowly through the system. Once the top prospect in the Brewers’ system, Jones career hit a roadblock when he had a SLAP lesion operated on and missed all of 2005. Dana Eveland (16) – The left-hander was serviceable in a relief role for the Brewers in 2005, making 27 appearances with a 1-1 record and 5.97 ERA. He struggled last season, making nine appearances and five starts while Sheets and Tomo Ohka were injured. Eveland was 0-3 with an 8.13 ERA and was sent to Arizona in the Johnny Estrada trade last winter. Manny Parra (26) – After a couple of injury-plagued minor league seasons, Parra is back on the team’s radar. Parra was 11-2 at Class A Beloit in 2003 and looked to be the team’s next big prospect. Parra, who was promoted to Class AAA Nashville last week, has posted a 28-15 record in five minor-league seasons and went 7-3 with a 2.68 ERA at Huntsville before getting promoted.
2004: Mark Rogers (1) – The right-handed high schooler threw in the 100-mph range in Maine, but has had a hard time working his way up. He was shutdown midway through last season at Class A Brevard County and is 3-14 in three minor league seasons. He is missing all of 2007 after undergoing shoulder surgery in January.
Gallardo was taken in the second round of that draft and was dominating the Pacific Coast League when he was summoned to take the place of an injured Chris Capuano.
Drafting a pitcher is a hit-or-miss proposition for Major League scouting departments. Picking a proven college arm can oftentimes get a player to the big leagues faster, but there is a downside to that.
College coaches want to win right away; the goal is to win a championship. Most collegiate staffs only have a couple of top-flight arms, so coaches will use them as much as possible. Many players will throw a lot of innings, sometimes more than the human body – already taxed by the unnatural motion of pitching a baseball – can handle.
The Cubs thought they had a sure bet in Mark Prior. The University of Southern California right-hander had been unstoppable in college, but he’s been plagued by arm problems ever since his phenomenal rookie season.
The Brewers suffered a similar problem when they selected Peterson. The right-hander was picked 13th overall in the 1997 draft. With the team desperate for quality pitching, Peterson was rushed to the majors and blew out his arm after just 17 appearances over two seasons.
With high schoolers, the downside is a potentially long climb through the minor league system. Prep pitchers often have poor mechanics and need to work on developing their off-speed pitches. They’re also just as vulnerable to injuries; the number of high school players to have had the well-known “Tommy John” surgery is growing every year.
The franchise has done an excellent job of building a contending team through the draft. Behind players like J.J. Hardy, Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, and Ryan Braun, the Brewers are in the driver’s seat for their first divisional championship since 1982. But if the team wants to continue that success for the long-term, it will need to find more players like Sheets and Gallardo and shy away from the Hendrickson’s and Neugebauers.
Much has been made about the franchise’s talented farm system over the past few years, and even more has been made about the contributions of homegrown talent to the team’s success so far this season.
And while a quick glance at the roster backs up that claim (five of eight starting position players were drafted by the team, six of nine if you count Gallardo), another stunning reality is that aside from Gallardo and Ben Sheets, the Brewers have had almost no luck in developing big league pitchers.
Since 1993, only seven pitchers drafted by the Brewers have made it to the majors. Of that group, Sheets is the only one to have enjoyed any sort of real success; although Gallardo appears to have promise.
Here’s a list of some of the better-known pitchers selected by the Brewers since their last winning season. It was in 1992 that Cal Eldred went 11-2 with a 1.91 ERA; the last completely dominant Brewers’ pitcher to come up through the system. He, too, eventually developed arm trouble (especially after working more than 250 innings in 1993) and was never able to recapture the magic of his rookie campaign.
1993: Jeff D’Amico (1st round) – D’Amico was picked 23rd overall and made his debut in 1996. He missed all of the 1999 season with arm trouble but rebounded with a 12-4 campaign in 2000 and was the Opening Day starter when the Brewers opened Miller Park in 2001. He had a 29-24 record with the Brewers when he was traded to the Mets before the 2002 season. Kelly Wunsch (1) – Selected 13th, out of Texas A & M University, Wunsch never pitched an inning for the Brewers and was allowed to become a six-year minor league free agent in 1999. He found his way to the majors with the Chicago White Sox, and eventually made his debut in 2000.
1994: Steve Woodard (5) – A serviceable pitcher for more than three season, Woodard is best remembered for going toe-to-toe with Roger Clemens in his major league debut. In the first game of a double header, Woodard struck out 12 Blue Jays and allowed just one hit in eight innings of work. He later was dealt to the Indians in the deal which brought Richie Sexson to Milwaukee.
1997: Kyle Peterson (1) – Selected 13th out of Stanford, there were a lot of high hopes for Peterson, who was rushed to the majors when the Brewers needed pitching help. He went 4-7 as a rookie in 1999, but blew out his arm late in the season. He made just three more appearances (in 2001) and never pitched again. He’s currently a commentator with ESPN.
1998: J.M. Gold (1) – A high school pick that never panned out, Gold went 13-17 in six injury-plagued minor-league seasons and never made it beyond Class A. Nick Neugebauer – Considered by many to be a first-round prospect, Neugebauer was picked up in the second round (56th overall). He made a pair of starts in 2001 with Milwaukee before straining his rotator cuff. The same injury sidelined him again in 2002, and he never got beyond Class AA again.
1999: Ben Sheets (1) – The most highly-touted pick to precede the Hardy-Fielder-Weeks era, Sheets won an Olympic gold medal, got a standing ovation during the last game at County Stadium and has been an impressive and is a two-time all-star. The right-hander has battled through some freak injuries, but is considered the staff ace and one of the best pitchers in baseball. Ben Hendrickson (2) – A disappointment on many levels; Hendrickson’s curveball dominated Class AAA hitters, but he never had the stuff to make it in the bigs. The right-hander went 1-10 with a 7.41 ERA in two seasons with the Brewers. He’s currently pitching for Omaha, the top affiliate of Kansas City.
2001: Mike Jones (1) – Has yet to advance past Class AA and is 19-16 in five minor league seasons. He will miss the rest of the season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Jones developed elbow problems in 2003 and advanced slowly through the system. Once the top prospect in the Brewers’ system, Jones career hit a roadblock when he had a SLAP lesion operated on and missed all of 2005. Dana Eveland (16) – The left-hander was serviceable in a relief role for the Brewers in 2005, making 27 appearances with a 1-1 record and 5.97 ERA. He struggled last season, making nine appearances and five starts while Sheets and Tomo Ohka were injured. Eveland was 0-3 with an 8.13 ERA and was sent to Arizona in the Johnny Estrada trade last winter. Manny Parra (26) – After a couple of injury-plagued minor league seasons, Parra is back on the team’s radar. Parra was 11-2 at Class A Beloit in 2003 and looked to be the team’s next big prospect. Parra, who was promoted to Class AAA Nashville last week, has posted a 28-15 record in five minor-league seasons and went 7-3 with a 2.68 ERA at Huntsville before getting promoted.
2004: Mark Rogers (1) – The right-handed high schooler threw in the 100-mph range in Maine, but has had a hard time working his way up. He was shutdown midway through last season at Class A Brevard County and is 3-14 in three minor league seasons. He is missing all of 2007 after undergoing shoulder surgery in January.
Gallardo was taken in the second round of that draft and was dominating the Pacific Coast League when he was summoned to take the place of an injured Chris Capuano.
Drafting a pitcher is a hit-or-miss proposition for Major League scouting departments. Picking a proven college arm can oftentimes get a player to the big leagues faster, but there is a downside to that.
College coaches want to win right away; the goal is to win a championship. Most collegiate staffs only have a couple of top-flight arms, so coaches will use them as much as possible. Many players will throw a lot of innings, sometimes more than the human body – already taxed by the unnatural motion of pitching a baseball – can handle.
The Cubs thought they had a sure bet in Mark Prior. The University of Southern California right-hander had been unstoppable in college, but he’s been plagued by arm problems ever since his phenomenal rookie season.
The Brewers suffered a similar problem when they selected Peterson. The right-hander was picked 13th overall in the 1997 draft. With the team desperate for quality pitching, Peterson was rushed to the majors and blew out his arm after just 17 appearances over two seasons.
With high schoolers, the downside is a potentially long climb through the minor league system. Prep pitchers often have poor mechanics and need to work on developing their off-speed pitches. They’re also just as vulnerable to injuries; the number of high school players to have had the well-known “Tommy John” surgery is growing every year.
The franchise has done an excellent job of building a contending team through the draft. Behind players like J.J. Hardy, Rickie Weeks, Prince Fielder, and Ryan Braun, the Brewers are in the driver’s seat for their first divisional championship since 1982. But if the team wants to continue that success for the long-term, it will need to find more players like Sheets and Gallardo and shy away from the Hendrickson’s and Neugebauers.
