Ryan Platt is a 6′1″ 195lbs right handed pitcher out of the University of California Riverside.  Platt finished his senior season in ‘09 4-0, with a 4.15 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 65 innings.  In Platt’s first start of the season, he earned the victory by holding the 9th ranked UCLA Bruins to only 3 hits and striking out 8 in 6 shutout innings.

Platt was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 27th round in ‘09.  Dynasty now represents players spread out between 8 MLB organizations.  We continue to grow, but if you ask any of our clients, we remain committed to providing each and every one of them with the attention they need.

Braun is quickly becoming a star and a fan favorite since entering the league in 2007.  He won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2007, and came in third in the voting for the 2008 NL MVP.  Braun has kept his agent Nez Balelo (CAA) busy.  During the 2008 season Balelo negotiated an 8-year contract extension with the Brewers, allowing the potential superstar to earn between $45 and $51 million.  In addition to the recent AirTrain deal, Braun has been involved with several other off-the-field opportunities.  The slugger is currently working to develop his own line of aluminum bats, and is developing his own t-shirt line with Affliction Clothing, a company owned by a pair of his friends.  He also has an endorsement deal with Remington, which allowed him to shoot a viral video with supermodel Marisa Miller.

AirTran has recently been working to increase its presence in the Milwaukee region; General Mitchell International Airport has been made a focus city of the airline.  Part of their marketing push has been via the Milwaukee Brewers.  The company recently brokered a deal with Braun’s team for the naming rights for the right field picnic area.  This seating zone will be called the AirTran Airways Landing Zone for the 2009 season.  The airline also has endorsement deals with Donald Driver, Danica Patrick, and Matt Ryan.

In the MLB, if you are a scout and have a great eye for young talent then you are equivalent to a nugget of gold in the 1840s. The reason for this is that there are many young and excellent players in the majors who are, for the most part, getting paid the league minimum. Prince Fielder, a four-season veteran in the majors just signed a contract worth $18 million with the Milwaukee Brewers; he also avoided salary arbitration. The contract will give him the following:

• 2009 = $6.5 million
• 2010 = $10.5 million
• $1 million signing bonus
• $250,000 in performance bonuses each year with 500+ plate appearances

Another player I would like to bring into the picture is Philadelphia Phillies first-baseman Ryan Howard. Howard is a five-year major league veteran. Last year, Howard made $10 million after winning his arbitration hearing.

In 2006, Fielder and Howard made $329,500, $355,000, respectively. Their key statistics in that year are as follows:

Case in point, it is easy to notice each season that Howard and Fielder’s statistics are very similar. The first year Ryan Howard was eligible for salary arbitration, he was awarded $10 million. By not going to arbitration, clubs are able to sometimes get away with not paying the player a large sum of money. This is evident with Prince Fielder’s current contract. Just as a bit of brain food, Howard asked $18 million for his arbitration award; the result is not yet known.

Hoffman, a long-time San Diego Padre, had his offer from the Padres withdrawn after negotiations soured. Over 16 seasons with the Padres, Hoffman posted 554 saves.

Last season with San Diego, Hoffman was 3-6 with a 3.77 ERA in 48 games.

Since getting traded to the Milwaukee Brewers, CC Sabathia has gone 4-0 with a 1.36 ERA and pitched 3 complete games.  The Brewers have been streaking forward to claim the top spot since acquiring Sabathia.  Seems like a great trade for Milwaukee even if it is only a three-month, million dollar rental.

Peters and CC are entitled to $11 million this year from his contract with the Indians that Milwaukee took over not long ago.  He only signed a contract until the end of the 2008 season and will be on the open market again after the Brewers finish the season.  For the Brew Crew, it could be a short rental to help them get to the playoffs for the first time since 1983.

Sabathia has been playing great since his trade and has shown teams why they need to pick him up next year.  Leading Milwaukee to the post season for the first time in a long time would make Brewers fans happy enough, but a great showing in the post season would make CC and his agent a lot more money in next year’s contract.

Johan Santana could be considered an equally important pitcher to his team.  CC’s agent, Brian Peters should be in the position to ask for at least as much as Santana signed for this past season with the Mets ($137.5 million in six years).  CC did win the CY Young last season and is also a great hitter at the pitcher position.  Before he was traded to Milwaukee, he was leading all NL pitchers in RBIs (7), hits (12), batting average (.300, minimum 25 plate appearances), and slugging percentage (.475).  Whatever team is fortunate enough to pick up CC should be thinking about paying him in the range of $140 million plus for about 4/5 years.

The Indians offered him a 4-year extension worth $72 million that he turned down.  He is obviously going to get more than that now; maybe even double after his play the past two years.  Ryan Braun and others are hot right now, and the Brewers look like serious contenders.  Sabathia and Ben Sheets are a solid pitching duo and the team knows how to hit. If Sabathia wins another CY Young and Milwaukee wins the World Series, imagine the hand that Peters could be playing with in front of MLB owners and GMs.

The only thing his agent could be worried about is that he is throwing a lot of pitches lately (3 complete games), and might get tired towards the end of the season. On the other hand, Sabathia is looking very tough right now and will be earning the big bucks no matter what. As I said in the title, who wouldn’t want to be CC Sabathia’s agent at this great time?