Several players assigned to Helena

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The 2005 edition of the Helena Brewers is taking shape.

The first players were assigned to the Pioneer League club on Friday including a fourth and sixth round pick in last weeks First-Year Player Draft.

Mathew Gamel of Chipola Junior College, was sent to the Capital City after signing with Helena's parent club, the Milwaukee. Gamel was a first-team National Junior College Athletics Association All American selection.

"This kid's got size, he's got strength and he's a pretty good-looking hitter," Jack Zduriencik, the Brewers scouting director said on MLB.com. "He may play third base, he may play first base, he may play left field. You never know with these kids. We'll get him in the system and let him run."

Two other players worth watching are Steven Hammond, a left-handed pitcher selected in the sixth round as well as two products from Florida's Embery Riddle College.

Patrick Ryan a right-handed pitcher was 13-3 in 2005 and had a 1.50 ERA for the Eagles, who reached the NAIA national championship game.

Kenneth Holmberg was a solid middle infielder for Embry Riddle hitting .342 with eight home runs and

"Milwaukee treats us right," said Steve Wendt, director of broadcasting and public relations for the Helena Brewers. "They know that Helena and the Pioneer League in general is a good league to develop players."

Two players were assigned to Helena after being drafted in 2004. Josh Louis, a right-handed pitcher from Temple College in Texas was a 42nd round pick and outfielder Darren Fork was an 18th round pick in 2004 out of Chipola Junior College.

Several more players will be sent to Helena today and training camp will open on Sunday.

The Brewers first game is June 21 against Missoula in Missoula.

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<b><font size=4>Brewers complete 2005 roster with familiar names</font></b>

The Helena Brewers completed their roster Saturday and there are names on the team that should be familiar to Brewers fans.

Charlie Fermaint, Ryan Marion and Agustin Septimo return to the Capital City after playing for the Brewers last year. Also coming back is Simon Beresford who pitched for the Brewers' in 2003 and played for Class A West Virginia last season. Septimo was also promoted to West Virginia last season.

Along with some old names, some talented new faces dot the roster as well. Outfielder Stephen Chapman was a sixth round pick in the First-Year Player Draft and has played in the Arizona Summer League. Catchers Brian Opdyke and Angel Salome were both fifth-round draft picks in 2003 and 2004 respectively and both played in Arizona. In all, 10 Brewers on the roster have experience playing in Arizona.

The Brewers should also garner more attention than usual from Milwaukee as Ned Yost IV was assigned to Helena in late May. Yost was a free agent pickup from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and is the son of Brewers manger Ned Yost.

Helena General Manager Paul Fetz said he likes the look of the team which will be under the guidance of an experienced coaching staff led by manager Ed Sedar, who mentored the team in 2003. Sedar has also managed the Ogden franchise in the Pioneer League and has been a roving instructor for the Brewers.

"The way I see it is we have an experienced coaching staff and the Brewers in the last three years have had a farm system ranked in the top three," Fetz said. "If you are in the top three you know what you are doing. I have to think we will be competitive."

The new Brewers will start arriving today and training camp will begin on Monday.

The season will start in Missoula on June 21. The home opener will be June 25 against Great Falls.