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Three of the organization's top pitching prospects were reassigned to minor league camp on Saturday when the Brewers continued the slow process of solidifying their Opening Day roster. Jeff Bennett, Jose Capellan, and Ben Hendrickson were the latest hurlers voted off the big league island, leaving Milwaukee with 16 pitchers and 35 players in Major League camp.
Mistakenly listed on a previous press release, Bennett was indeed reassigned a few days after originally hearing the news. The soon-to-be-25-year old right-hander compiled a 4.79 ERA in 71 and a third innings last season for the Brewers after being selected in the Rule Five Draft.
"This is the best thing for the organization and for [him]," Manager Ned Yost said about Bennett, who will pitch in high-leverage innings for Triple-A Nashville. "We really would like to upgrade his role with this organization. We think that in order for him to do that, he needs to pitch in some of those situations."1
Bennett was disappointed but confident that he would soon be back in the big leagues.
"No doubt about it, it's hard to take. I've got to suck it up and go down and get better," he explained. "I'm going to go down and learn how to close down there. That's what I want to do. If I go down with a bad attitude, I don't help myself. I'm going to go down, learn to be a closer, and come back up here and close."2
Capellan and Hendrickson, both 24, will form a potent one-two-punch at the top of the Sounds' rotation. Slotted fourth and seventh respectively on Baseball America's list of Milwaukee's top prospects, the duo will both be looking to earn a promotion back to the big leagues after struggling in Spring Training.
Featuring a high-90s fastball but inconsistent secondary pitches, Capellan was given an outside chance to make the Opening Day club after he was acquired this past off-season in the deal that sent Dan Kolb to Atlanta. Instead, he went 0-1 with a 9.69 ERA in five games and will open the season in Nashville.
"We think he's going to be a solid 2 or 3 starter," Yost said. "He just needs more development."2
Hendrickson was dominant last season at Triple-A Indianapolis where he compiled an 11-3 record and 2.02 ERA and was named the league's Most Valuable Pitcher but was knocked around in ten big league appearances, going 1-8 with a 6.22 ERA. He looked to have the number five spot in the Brewers' rotation sewn up entering Spring Training but lost ground quickly while posting a 10.93 ERA in five starts.
"They said they wanted me to go down and work on my mechanics," explained Hendrickson, who is in the process of dropping his arm slot down to three-quarters. "You've got to be disappointed, but I can't let it drag out or I'll have at 10.50 ERA down there (in the minors). I know I can pitch here. It's just a matter of getting my mechanics straightened out and trusting my stuff. The last two bullpens I had were the best I've had in five years. I just have to figure out my release point again."2
"It's hard for me to say I'm disappointed in a kid because for some reason or another he's not ready to pitch in the big leagues," Yost said about the decision to send Hendrickson back to Triple-A. "I'm not going to say that. Sometimes they're ready and sometimes they're not. He's not quite ready yet."1
The Brewers are hoping that all three of their young arms will be ready soon. Until then, they'll have to call the Pacific Coast League home.
Notes and References:
Bill Batterman is a writer for Brewerfan.net. You can get in touch with him by sending email to batman@brewerfan.net.
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