The Farm Report: June 29

Let's start off with the biggest news in the Brewers system, and that is the 100 game suspension of Jeremy Jeffress.

First, this was not a steroid suspension. Jeffress was suspended for using a "drug of abuse", likely marijuana since that is what his first suspension was for.

Second, this very unfortunate. Jeffress has been tantalizing in the minor leagues, showing big strikeout ability and a 100-MPH arm. But his development has been stunted by bad decisions which, after this suspension is up, will have cost him 150 games. That's more than a full season in the minors. His future is still up to him however, one more positive and he will be banned from baseball for life.

So let's take a look at his final stat line for the 2009 minor league season. In 14 games between Huntsville(AA) and Brevard County(High A), Jeremy pitched 60.1 innings, struck out 70 and walked 55. His overall ERA was 4.62, 7.57 for the Huntsville and 2.18 for the Manatees.

On to the players that will keep playing, including the Report's first look at rookie ball.

Nashville Sounds (AAA)

Alcides Escobar (SS)(Left): Escobar's average for the year sits at .302, bolstered by a .319 average in June. His 55 runs scored are good for third in the Pacific Coast League and his 27 steals are second in the league.

Angel Salome (C): To quote NBA Jam... He's on fire. In his last ten games, Salome has hit .400. His 10 doubles in June more than double the number he had through April and May. His season average is now up to a respectable .285.

Brendan Katin (RF): Katin leads Nashville in both home runs (16) and RBI's (64). The RBI's are good enough for second in the PCL. The walk numbers are still impressively low. Katin's only had the base-on-balls 11 in 265 at-bats.

Cole Gillespie (LF): June has been a good month for Gillespie. In his last ten games he's hit .333, for the month he's got four doubles, four triples and three home runs. His plate presence has been consistent all year, with a .335 OBP in spite of a .232 batting average.

Manny Parra (SP)(Right): As if you don't already know, but just in case. Parra has made three starts for the Sounds and they've run the gamut. One good, one average, one awful. What does that tell us? Nothing, which means we won't be seeing him in Milwaukee anytime soon.

Tim Dillard (SP): His 7-3 record is a bit misleading. Dillard went 4-0 in April with a 1.17 ERA. Since then it's been rough. His ERA in May was over five, and his ERA in June is over five. A season ERA of 4.11 would be fine in the big leagues, but he's not in the big leagues.

Chris Cody (SP): Finally had a bad start for the sounds. Cody's last time out he gave up four runs in five innings. He only walked one against three strikeouts though. Overall the body of work has been good for Triple-A. A 2.73 ERA and 11 Strikeouts against 5 walks.

Best of the Rest: John Axford (RP) might be one to watch, the organization has rewarded his performance this year. He started the season with Brevard County, spent some time with Huntsville and is now in the Sounds' bullpen. In his first appearance he pitched two scoreless innings and got the win.

Huntsville Stars (AA)

Taylor Green (3B): He really settled into Double-A in June. Green has hit .329 with four home runs and 16 RBI's. His OBP for the month was a very impressive .407, only two doubles though. If he can hit consistently for power he will see his stock rise quickly.

Jonathan Lucroy (C): June has been Lucroy's best month by far. He's hit .273 with three home runs and 21 driven in. Here's a nice number to see out of Lucroy, on the year with runners in scoring position he's hitting .329.

Josh Butler (SP): Bumped down to Double-A when Parra needed a rotation spot in Nashville, Butler continues to impress. In his three Huntsville starts he's struck out 14 and walked five with a 2.50 ERA.

Zach Braddock (P): Braddock has made two appearances since being bumped up to Huntsville. He's pitched 3.2 scoreless innings and struck out five. Oh, and he hit a grand slam in his first professional at-bat.

Best of the Rest: Donovan Hand (P) has been pitching well as a starter, with a 4-0 record and 2.86 ERA. Robert Wooten (RP) has made two scoreless appearances since his promotion.

Brevard County Manatees (High A)

Eric Farris (2B): The Good? His 34 stolen bases lead the Florida State League. The Bad? He's hitting just .228 in June, including just .190 in his last ten. The league is more friendly to pitchers than hitters but you'd still like to see a higher average (.254) from a guy with his lack of average.

Caleb Gindl (OF)(Left): Fair to call it a solid month of June. He has hit just .253 this month but with four home runs and on OBP of .349. It's just good to see him rebound after a May where he hit .190 with only one long ball.

Logan Schafer (OF): After a brief stint with Huntsville, Schafer is back the the Manatees. In his last ten games, he's hitting .256, but he's walked seven times while striking out only four.

Evan Anundsen (SP): In all four of his June starts Anundsen has gone at least seven innings. In that same span he's 2-1 and his ERA is only 1.84. Good stuff.

Omar Aguilar (RP): He made a splash in spring training, but struggled big time in Double-A, with a 7.71 ERA and a WHIP over two. So far, so good in Brevard, three appearances, no runs and a WHIP of .67.

Best of the Rest: Roque Mercedes(P) continues to dominate. He's struck out 38 in 33.2 innings and has a WHIP of .95.

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Low-A)

Brock Kjeldgaard (1B): Not a lot of contact in his last ten games, he hit just .200. He did walk ten times in that stretch but also struck out 13 times. For the month of June he's hitting only .192.

Brett Lawrie (2B)(Right): Law is back, and after a brief foray at the Midwest League All-Star game he is once again swing a hot back. In fact his last four hits have been doubles. With runners in scoring position this season, he's hitting .343. Defense still needs some work, he has 12 errors in 61 games. On a side note, if you want to get a look at Law play and don't want to drive all the way to Appleton (which I'll be doing in two weeks), you can see him in the MLB futures game. He's been selected to play for the "World" team.

Wily Peralta (P): Continues to strike guys out, Peralta has 77 K's in 60.1 innings. That number is good enough for third in the Midwest League and the two guys ahead of him have both pitched nearly 20 innings more.

Cody Scarpetta (P): Despite an 0-3 record in June, Cody has a 1.83 ERA and has struck out 22 batters while walking just six. In his first start after the All-Star break he pitched five scoreless innings.

Best of the Rest: Trey Watten (SP) has had a fantastic month of June. In five starts he has an ERA of 1.63. Steven Braun (2B), Ryan's brother was hitting .265 while filling in for Brett Lawrie, however he fractured his ankle in a game last week and is likely done for the year.

Helena Brewers (Short Season)

Scott Krieger (OF)(Left): This year's 19th round pick has hit four home runs in his first five games in the Pioneer League. He's batting .333 and has 11 runs batted in.

Cutter Dykstra (2B): He's got his first home run for Helena, but that's all. Cutter is batting .091, but don't read too much into that, he's only had 11 at-bats.

Joshua Prince (SS): The third rounder has gotten off to a nice start. He has 10 stolen bases in six games and is hitting .320.

Cameron Garfield (C): And then there's Garfield. The second round draft pick has been white hot to start his professional career. He went 5 for 5 in his first game and is 10 for 21 to start.

AZL Brewers (Rookie)

Maxwell Walla (OF): The Other second round draft pick, Walla hasn't been as scorching as Garfield but he's held his own. He's hitting .308 and has already slugged his first professional home run.

For the Record: It's too early to really get a read on the short season pitchers. I will tell you, 2009 1st round pick Eric Arnett (P) has made his debut and it was terrible. R.J. Seidel (P), is rehabbing back from injury with Arizona and Jake Odorizzi (P), one of last years compensation round picks, is pitching for Helena.