Down on the farm with Wilbur Miller Part 3

Part three of our talk with Wilbur Miller is below-enjoy!

11)Some have said Alvarez could be moved to first base,is this likely?

I’m sure Huntington will want him to stay at third until he proves he can’t play there. Scouts apparently were divided on that issue, so it could probably go either way.

12) If Alvarez is cemented at third,is there any hope for Neil Walker and if so,is it back to catching or is 2nd base possible?

I doubt he could handle second. He doesn’t look to me like he’d have the range. They won’t move him back to catching. He’s having enough trouble hitting to have to readjust to a position he wasn’t all that good at.

13)Here,we have seen Indianapolis,Lynchburg and Hickory as of this writing and have seen a few positive surprises,any for you???

At the upper levels the biggest surprise would be Jeff Sues. He’s got very good stuff and, unbelievably, he’s stayed healthy so far. His numbers since he got to AA got messed up by a couple bad outings, but overall he’s been amazing for a guy who pretty much missed his first three pro seasons.

Other surprises have mostly been at Lynchburg. I certainly didn’t expect Jim Negrych to hit .360 after a mediocre year last year, but the problem may have been that he wasn’t healthy. Jamie Romak has been better than I expected, although the contact issues remain. Steve Lerud made a lot of progress. I could actually see him reaching the majors now, although not as more than a backup catcher. Another guy to watch who played little until Lerud’s promotion is Kris Watts. He’s a pretty good hitter and he bats left-handed, which is nice for a catcher. He’s bad defensively, though. Oddly, he looks a lot like Chris Shelton. I guess you could say Miles Durham has been a surprise, but he’s very old for class A.

14)The uproar over Daniel Moskos continues and his numbers are weak.
Do you see any hope or could this be a case of a player that that could be crushed by public perception?

I guess you’d have to know the guy. I doubt young athletes really care much, though, about what people are saying online.

15)Brad Lincoln was impressive in his start in Hagerstown,what are your thoughts on Lincoln?

Unlike Moskos, he looks to me like he has very good stuff and pretty good command. Considering that this is his recovery year, I think he’s done fine. I’m hoping he’ll really break out next year.