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July 30, 2007

Future Shock

Monday Ten Pack

by Kevin Goldstein

Altoona Curve (Pirates) at Akron Aeros (Indians), Saturday July 28

Five years ago, if somebody told you that Dewon Brazelton would be pitching against Bobby Brownlie in July of 2007, you’d anticipate a must-see game that might even prevent you from going out on a Saturday night. Instead, it was enough to bring out about 6,000 fans in Akron, Ohio, and was accompanied by no national fanfare. Brazelton was the third overall pick in the 2001 draft as a player the Devil Rays had hoped would develop into the franchise’s first ace, but command issues and the inability to develop his breaking ball has turned him into a minor league floater. He's now trying to put it together in the Pittsburgh system after the Royals released him earlier this year. Brownlie went into the 2002 year as the top college pitcher in the country, but he struggled with some tendonitis and slipped to the end of the first round, where the Cubs gave him $2.5 million, the sixth-highest bonus of the year. Unfortunately, and almost mysteriously, Brownlie never came close to showing the kind of stuff from his days at Rutgers, and by the time he was released at the end of 2006, he was a middle reliever whose heat sat in the mid-80s. He begin 2007 in indy ball, but pitched well enough there to get a look by the Indians. Brazelton gave up just two runs over six innings on Saturday, and Brownlie did the same in seven, and they combined to strikeout four in their combined 13 frames. It’s quite possible, probably even likely, that Brazelton won’t reach the majors again, and Brownlie may not ever, but for one night, it was fun to see the two names in the same box score and think about what might have been.

Michael Burgess, OF, Rookie-Level GCL Nationals

Six months ago Burgess looked like a sure-fire top 10 pick in the draft, but while nobody debated his plus-plus raw power, his pure hitting skills came into question during his senior year of high school, as his swing has a hitch, and he had problems hitting anything but a fastball. Despite dropping to the 49^th overall selection, Burgess is showing no such problems early in his pro career, going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles on Saturday, then adding two more hits and another two-bagger on Sunday. He's now sitting at an impressive .348/.446/.609 in his first 20 games. He’s still definitely a high-risk/high-upside type of player, with equal chances of busting out and becoming one of the steals of the draft.

Steve Evarts, LHP, Rookie-Level Danville (Braves)