Prospect Review – Brett Lawrie – 2B – MIL

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The Basics
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
How Acquired: Drafted in the 1st round (#16 overall) of the 2008 Amateur Draft by the Brewers
Age: 20

Statistics

2009 – Wisconsin (Midwest League – Brewers Single-A) – 105 games

• .274/.348/.454
• 13 HR, 65 RBI, 19 stolen bases
• 41 walks, 70 strikeouts
• .308 BABIP

2009 – Huntsville (Southern League – Brewers AA) – 13 games

• .269/.283/.308
• 0 walks, 14 strikeouts
• .368 BABIP

Rankings
Baseball America – #2 (MIL – 2010)
Baseball Prospectus – #2 (MIL – 2009) – 4 star
John Sickels – #1 (MIL – 2010) – B+

Analysis

Lawrie was drafted out of high school as a catcher, but requested a move to 2B after signing with the Brewers. He didn’t make his professional debut until the 2009 season, but definitely posted a solid season (.274/.348/.454, 13 HR, 19 SB) in the Midwest League. He earned a brief callup to AA, where his success didn’t really translate yet.

His transition to 2B appears to have been a little bit difficult, making 16 errors in just under 500 chances in 2009. However, that should improve with time as he gets more practice at the position.

As a hitter, Lawrie starts out with an open stance, and closes to a standard stance while swinging. He appears to be able to draw a walk, but his walk-to-strikeout ratio isn’t quite where I’d necessarily want it to be yet. He has shown solid power considering his age (18 doubles, 13 homers), and appears to have good speed, and good baserunning skills as well (19 sb, 5 triples). He doesn’t look like he’s going to be a .300 hitter, but I could see him being a .275 hitter potentially, which coupled with his power and speed should be just fine.

Outlook

Lawrie will only be 20 years old when he starts the 2010 season, and still remains fairly raw. However, his ceiling really appears like it could be very, very high. I imagine he will spend the majority of the 2010 season at AA, refining his fielding and plate discipline.

Prediction for 2010

.270/.340/.440, 17 HR, 75 RBI, 15 stolen bases

Expected ETA

2012

Monday’s Prospect for Review: Chris Withrow of the Los Angeles Dodgers