A's sign speed demon Gary Brown
by RyanFromBonas on Jul 24, 2007 9:43 PM PDT
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PrintToday we signed 12th round draft pick Gary Brown out of Diamond Bar (CA) HS, the first prep player we selected.
This is huge. I assumed Brown, who took BP today in Anaheim, was on his was to Fullerton. Seen as possibly the fastest player in the draft, Brown is a Figgins type in that his future might be as a utility man. One site projected him as a 2B, and I think he played some SS in high school. This could be especially true with guys like Corey Brown, Sulentic, Mitchell, Herrera and obviously Buck ahead of him in the OF.
Hopefully we don't take a path similar to that of the Angels, who are still bouncing Figgins around the diamond. At 6-0, 165, I'd like to see what Brown could if we left him alone at 2B, as we have no real potential impact 2B in the system. There he would project as a plus bat and arm with a little pop and potentially a ton of range, and he has the next half decade to iron out footwork and instincts.
Could the money we saved trading Kendall have been key in signing Brown? I'm excited not to have another Justin Smoak on our hands, especially since we spent a 12th round pick on Brown. Your thoughts:
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I'm pleased
Hopefully this is a sign that the A's finally understand that spending money in the draft is the most efficient way of acquiring talent.
Speaking of money
Was there any chance at all the A's could've drafted and signed Rick Porcello? Since Boras is his client, he dropped all the way to Detroit who drafted him one pick after our pick of Simmons, but still, the guy was probably the #2 best pitcher in the draft after Price, arguably even #1. He's extremely talented and IMO, it would have been worth the big bucks to sign him.
by lenscrafters on Jul 24, 2007 10:37 PM PDT up reply actions
Could have?
Of course. Should have? Depends on how much the A's liked Porcello. Porcello will cost $6-8 million to sign, which is more money than I would expect the A's would ever be willing to pay. Of course, prior to this year I never thought the A's would pay $8.5 million for a 38 year old DH. The A's can afford to do a lot of things that they don't do.
by BlameChannel53 on Jul 24, 2007 10:45 PM PDT up reply actions
better than $7 on Loaiza, right?
But that much? really?
When are they going to add slot money, anyways?
Yeah
Rumor was that Porcello wanted Josh Beckett money, which was around 7 million I think.
But still, this guy is a major talent. He has a plus changeup, a plus plus fastball, and a good curveball and slider along with great command. In comparison, Simmons has a good fastball and great command but his breaking pitches are below average to average at best.
Sometimes you just have to fork out the cash for the best players. And the A's live and die on talent in the farm.
by lenscrafters on Jul 24, 2007 10:54 PM PDT up reply actions
If Detroit signs him
They go right to the top of Selig's shit list; Detroit will have exceeded slot value four years in a row. Of course, out of those four drafts they've added Verlander (key part of their WS appearance last year), Maybin (one of the best outfield prospects in baseball who has Hall of Fame potential), Miller (one of the best pitching prospects in baseball), and Porcello (if he is signed, he will instantly be considered a Top 20 prospect). In the whole scheme of things, I doubt Detroit really cares what Selig thinks, and they may win a couple of World Series titles for their impertinence.
by BlameChannel53 on Jul 24, 2007 10:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Absolutely not.
The problem with Boras clients is that it's never ending. Say you fork over the cash to draft him. That's a lot of money to invest in a player that may be a complete bust. Next, assume he makes it to the majors. The A's traditionally sign good players to low cost contracts through their arbitration years. With Boras, that ain't gonna happen. If he's even moderately good, he's going to force you to overpay for him. If he's great, you're forking over a ton of cash for a 3rd/4th year player who'll still have some ups & downs and not be worth whatever money you're forced to shell out. There's something to be said about spending money. There's something entirely different to be said about spending that money poorly.
That's very true.
As a matter of fact, I've gone over some more scouting reports/tidbits of info on Porcello since my original post. Seems like the kid pretty much intends to go to college unless he gets an insane deal around 9-10 million or something. I agree now, it's not worth it.
by lenscrafters on Jul 24, 2007 11:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Its about time MLB puts a salary cap on signing
bonuses. Give the veterens more or some other concession but giving these huge bonouses for such a hit or miss is just horrible. Baring that just have the owners collude on the subject. I don't think pre-major leagers would get very far in court.
by Anarch on Jul 26, 2007 6:52 PM PDT up reply actions
link?
do you have a link? the a's brought guys to take BP as a way to get two guys to sign, brown included. i think you might be mistaken.
april fools joke that is not funny...
by Charlie Brown on Jul 25, 2007 6:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Some of the draftees thus far to preform...
Corey Brown (Vancouver) - .243/.370/.573/.943
Daniel Hamblin (Vancouver) - .281/.350/.545/.896
Josh Horton (Vancouver) - .282/.440/.410/.850
James Simmons (Midland) - 1.13 ERA, 0.63 WHIP, 8 IP
wow for Simmons...
that's pretty amazing to start out in AA and pitch that well. Hopefully he'll keep it up!
by The Pilots Dared Me To Die on Jul 25, 2007 12:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Saw some film of him
I'd say Gary Brown will be the starting CF on Opening day of the New Fremont Stadium - 2013.
LF: Buck
CF: Brown
RF: Swisher
1B: Barton
No Herrera? No Robnett? No Sulentic?
Those three right there should be ready and mashing by then. Embarassment of riches.. eventually.
Robnett is terrible
Just an out-and-out blown pick there. He's incapable of identifying a strike.
Add to which, he's a grade A idiot (stating openly that he wants to be Rule 5ed if Oakland doesn't deign to consider his .240 AA average worthy of a 40-man roster slot).
Disagree completely.
I was right behind home plate when Robnett belted Benitez off the top of the center field wall in a pre-season exhibition last year, and I saw every game he played in short-season in 2004.
The guy is a monster in the making.
I'll admit, the noises he's making about wanting a change of scenery are annoying, but the A's are taking things very slow with him, and I can understand it'd be annoying to see Buck pass you by on his way to the bigs, and a guy like Nick Blasi pass you from High-A to AAA in a single bound.
But, bottom line, how many times did you see Reggie Jackson strike out? Would you consider him a blown pick?
And he May Have the best Arm in the System:
by saint @ Athletics Nation on Jul 25, 2007 7:36 AM PDT up reply actions
Robnett
should be converted to a pitcher.
If he didn't already have a big contract, I'd say send Crosby down and convert him, too.
by The Pilots Dared Me To Die on Jul 25, 2007 12:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Similar opinion
I went to Fresno State, my last year there, Robnett was an absolute BEAST for the team.
Almost half of his hits went for extra bases, he could steal bases, great glove, and had a canon of an arm in the OF. Really I thought he was the total package and when he was drafted by the A's, I was ecstatic.
He may not turn out to be this player for the A's anytime soon, but the guy had so much potential coming out of the draft.
Hard to call him a blown pick, but unfortunately maybe a bust.
by pickinmachine on Jul 25, 2007 4:45 PM PDT up reply actions
I can't speak to his potential
as I'm a. not a scout, and b. not someone who's ever seen him play personally. I can speak to his results, which are, for a college-age first-round pick with over 3 years experience in the minors, pathetic. The A's should deal him as part of a trade-deadline package to a team that doesn't understand how bad a 26:114 BB:K ratio is. If the Dodgers would take him as a throw-in with Kennedy for Hu, I'd pull the trigger on him in a second.
I am probably in the minority here, but there are
some hitters who do better the closer they get to the minors, and the closer the pitchers get to the plate. Robnett is a power hitter with a good arm, and a free swinger, ala Vlad. Now he will more than likely never come close to that, but he could become a Cust/Dunn lite hitter, with better defense.
by theblackpearl on Jul 26, 2007 8:54 AM PDT up reply actions
But he hasn't gotten better
His numbers have dropped off predictably with each level he's climbed. The best you can hope for with him is Dave Kingman Jr.-- someone with very little offensive value outside of his power. Cust/Dunn are guys who both strike out and walk a lot; Robnett doesn't walk.
this is news to me
do you have a link? I'm going to agree with this poster and say that you might be confused since Brown and Longmire took BP to try and convince them to sign by the deadline of August 15th.
"this poster"
should have been linked to ZfP75's comment: http://www.athleticsnation.com/comme...
by Ryan Armbrust on Jul 24, 2007 11:04 PM PDT up reply actions
Susan Slusser agrees, too :-)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...
Two recent Oakland draftees, 12th-round pick Gary Brown and 37th-rounder Nick Longmire, joined the team on the field before Tuesday night's game. Neither has signed yet; Brown, an outfielder from Diamond Bar High School, has a scholarship offer at Cal State Fullerton, and Longmire, an outfielder from Grossmont High School, has an offer at Pacific.
My source...
If you notice, I posted the original entry as soon as I heard it, around the sixth inning of last night's game. Had the game not concluded so late (after 1 a.m. ET), I'd have found additional sources. I looked briefly, but didn't see anything written anywhere about the picks even taking BP. However, there's no way in hell I'd have posted this if that's not what I heard during the game. Somebody else please tell me they heard this?
by RyanFromBonas on Jul 25, 2007 9:03 AM PDT up reply actions
according to mlb,com's latest...
MLB.COM
He and another local high school draftee by the A's took batting practice with the A's but have not signed yet, im hoping he does though.
by AthleticsFanatic4ever on Jul 25, 2007 2:27 AM PDT reply actions
Varification
Can anyone with contacts in the organization varify this.
If this is true this is a huge pickup. It's like getting an extra first round pick under your pillow, after knocking out a tooth, instead of that tarnished quarter you were expecting. The A's could have their biggest base stealing threat since Bobby Crosby when he has his monthly hit.
But if you are joshing us I will be very angry.
Like wow, you would think
in this era of steroids, HGH, and other drug issues in the mlb, we would think twice about signing a known speed demon.
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