Kansas City (finally) dealt their former Cy Young winning pitcher Zack Greinke to the Milwaukee Brewers. In the deal the Royals get SS Alcides Escobar, OF Lorenzo Cain and pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress. In return the Brewers also get waste-of-space SS Yunieski Betancourt.
The Brewers have positioned themselves quite nicely to make a run for the National League Central in 2011. They acquired P Shaun Marcum at the winter meetings to go along with Yovani Gallardo at the top of the rotation.
Greinke wasn’t quite as sharp in 2010 as he was in 2009, when he won the Cy Young award. His command seemed to disappear for long periods of time, and he seemed frustrated playing in Kansas City, though he wouldn’t ever say as much.
He still has top of the rotation stuff, led by a plus-fastball with excellent late movement. He also has one of the best sliders in baseball and the ability to get a ton of swings and misses with it. If he can maintain consistent command in 2011, the Brewers will have a great one, two and three at the top of their rotation.
The main player going back to Milwaukee is Alcides Escobar, a great fielding, speedy, but light-hitting shortstop. He needs to improve his approach at the plate, learning to take pitches and draw walks to get on-base consistently. He has some pop in his bat, but he needs to stay away from trying to hit the ball far.
OF Lorenzo Cain is a good hitter—he shows patience at the plate and will get on base at a high clip. He won’t add a lot of power to the lineup but he does have the ability to add muscle and drive the ball. He has a ton of athleticism and is very quick. His defense is Major League ready right now, and he possesses a good throwing arm from center field.
Pitchers Jake Odorizzi and Jeremy Jeffress round out the package for Greinke. Odorizzi is a young guy who has average velocity on his fastball, which sits around 88-91 with good sink on it. His delivery is easy, and he hides the ball well, allowing his pitches to get on the hitters quicker. He also throws a curveball, slider and changeup. All three can be at least good pitches for him, but he still needs to work on commanding them. His ceiling is a No. 2 starter, but he has a ways to go to get there.
Jeffress has a lot of talent but has made some questionable decisions. He has failed drug tests and was suspended for 50 games in 2007. He failed another test in June 2009 and was suspended for 100 games. He has a power arm, with a fastball that touches 100 mph. He has a curveball and changeup as well but lacks consistent command on those secondary pitches. He is more likely to be a reliever in the big leagues.
The Brewers get a big win in this deal. They didn’t give up any future superstar players to get a guy who is an ace when he is on his game. Getting out of Kansas City will likely do wonders for Greinke, who has made his frustration known. They need to fill out their bullpen, but they have the makings of a great rotation heading into 2011 and are now right up there with the Cardinals and Reds for the top spot in the National League Central.
The Royals basically dumped Greinke for quantity, not quality. They could have gotten at least a future superstar for a guy who just won the Cy Young award two years ago. They still have a lot of talent on the way, and this deal didn’t do anything to hurt that. But they could have done better for Greinke. They got four solid prospects, but no future All-Stars in the deal.
Scouting reports on prospects come from Baseball America's 2010 Prospect Handbook.
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