Milwaukee signs five players from the farm

The Milwaukee Brewers announced today that five players from the farm system have signed newly constructed one-year contracts. These players are pitchers Manny Parra, Luis Pena, and Tim Dillard, along with position players Drew Anderson and Brad Nelson.

Drew Anderson, 26, batted .273 in 108 games last season at Triple-A Nashville. He finished the season with four homers, 28 doubles and three triples. He'll remain there for the beginning of next season. If you want to see Drew at the major league level, I wouldn't hold your breath. He is solid enough in most areas, but not solid enough to make an impact with Milwaukee.

Nelson, a 4th round pick in the 2001 First-Year Player Draft, batted .263 in 116 games with 20 home runs, 23 doubles and 65 RBIs at Triple-A Nashville. The raw power is there, but Brad has consistently had problems batting for average. The Brewers need better OBP, so I would not expect Brad to get called up any time soon either.

Tim Dillard finished 8-4 posting a 4.74 ERA in 34 games, including 16 starts, for Triple-A Nashville. He struck out 62 over 133 innings. Not too much to say about Dillard. He's not bad at all, just not great either.

Parra, 25, pitched at the Double-A, Triple-A and major league levels last season. He was 7-3 with a 2.68 ERA at Double-A Huntsville, and made four starts for Nashville, going 1-3 with a 1.73 ERA, including a perfect game. The left-hander was 0-1 with a 3.76 ERA in nine games, including two starts, for the Brewers. I think we all know that Manny will be a part of the big league squad this year. It is simply a matter of whether he'll be a starter or come out of the bullpen. Either way, I'm excited to see what he can do in a full season.

Luis Pena was a combined 5-4 with a 2.63 ERA for Double-A Huntsville and Class A Brevard County last year. The right-hander was 5-0, posting a 2.08 ERA with the Class A team and 0-4 with a 2.89 ERA at Huntsville. In winter league play, Pena pitched in Venezuela and appeared in 13 games with a 4.50 ERA. Pena has the potential to have an impact at the big league level this year. I know it's hard to see that happening with the immense depth Melvin has brought in, but Luis has a very live-arm with great stuff. He needs to work on his location, but that was what people said about Valverde. Big comparison, I know, but I'm just pointing it out...