Crash2303

outside of a game-changing TOR, i don't think there's any need this offseason to sign big free agents. i like our depth, both starters and pen- let's see what our guys can do. first off- assuming not back: Garza, Swarzak,W.Peralta,Cravy,Blazek. "guaranteed" starters Nelson Anderson Davies three guys compete for remaining two spots. whoever doesn't make it is sent to bullpen- and should be great out of the pen. Woodruff Guerra Hader "guaranteed" bullpen spots Knebel Barnes Suter (swingman) one of the guys listed above depending on whether we carry 12 or 13 pitchers, there are 3-4 spots available. let's say we carry 13- the following guys would be competing for the final four spots. in order of who i think has the best chance: Jeffress T-Will Jungmann Wang Hughes (i would look to trade this offseason) Webb Barrios Nolin Wilkerson Lopez Archer/Ventura/Derby Burnes/F.Peralta/Ortiz (hope they start the year in the minors- no need to rush) Drake (trade or release) Torres (trade or release) N.Ramirez

congrats to T-Will, Phillips, Wang & Guerra. still think Guerra would be dynamic out of the pen. but, either way- glad he gets another chance- hope he capitalizes off of it in whatever role. as others have mentioned Suter, Brinson, Bandy/Susac will be added when they return from injury and Woodruff is also all but assured. The only other guy I hope they bring up is Jungmann. As has been said lots of times here, he has proven to be able to dominate at times- when he is on, he's on. and he has pitched extraordinarily well at AAA. in addition, September will be important to assessing his future with the club this offseason. if we weren't in a pennant chase i'd like to see Webb up. but, he has been atrocious so far. hopefully the next time we see him will be in Spring Training. big yes.

I will say no, he doesn't make it. I'm betting the Cardinals take him before us. If he does make, then yes, we take him. He's having a better season than everyone in our bullpen other than Knebel and perhaps Hader. I think we should know the landing spot for Nicasio sometime today. Waivers run for two days, and Nicasio was placed there on Tuesday I believe. Nicasio to the Phils? makes little sense to me. would have been a great addition to the crew down the stretch. but, better them than the Cards. as to the thread topic...I've got a soft spot for overachieving 30 year olds in AAA so would be fine with DeJesus trading 40 man spots with Rivera and his .169 PCL BA. just to see what we've got in him. with that said, he's cooled off in August after his absolute beast of a season and not sure if he'd even see the field as Arcia & Shaw aren't coming off the field if healthy and in the last three weeks Villar (1.125 OPS), Walker (.834 OPS), & Sogard (1.004 OPS) have been on an absolute tear forcing Counsell to find playing time for Villar in the OF just to keep their bats in the lineup. actually to play the hot hand- something that counsell/stearns has done a good job of all season long- would be to add/bring up Nathan Orf. outside of April, he has been not only consistently good, but consistently getting better leading up to his recent scorching August- evidenced by his monthly OPS (April-August; .555, .760, .875, .992, 1.107). Add to that his positional flexibility and on base skills, i think he could be a solid September asset and furthermore give the crew a chance to see him a the major league level to decide whether to protect him from the Rule V draft, which he is currently eligible for and has a strong chance to be taken. Other than Orf for Rivera. I wouldn't make any other 40 man moves. the only other one i would consider would be moving Brooks off the 40 man (still not real sure why we added him in the first place) and adding Nieuwy. but solely on the condition that he ONLY bats against RH and ONLY at home (within that limited playing criteria- he may be our best player...decided not to put that in blue). commenting on some other proposed moves from other posters: i can see the appeal of adding Berry a la Mel Stocker/Jason Bourgeois, but i think Wren would be a better choice as he adds more offensive ability. however, there is no need as we should have plenty of guys who can come off the bench and run the bases with speed and competency. Do not add Burnes/F.Peralta/Dubon. No need. We'll have plenty of support from other guys in more experienced positions to help the club. Do not bring up Aaron Brooks. he and his 8.38 ERA in 58 MLB innings does not go near Milwaukee. (notice the bold period) i would rather trade out Wily than bring up Brooks- and Wily would be a liability for Sept. 40 Man Reverse Depth Chart (most expendable) 1) Aaron Brooks 2) Matt Garza 3) Yadiel Rivera 4) Carlos Torres 5) Adrian Houser

This date was changed from August 1st to August 15th. so that explains Gatewood, but they must have changed more rules than that, otherwise how is it that both Ray & Erceg can be on the roster if they only allow one player below AA? see rules: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/about/?league=119&id=player_elig

two guys who have moved "up" to under the radar prospects: 1) Eric Hanhold - 6th round draft pick and a big 6'5" 220lb, he started the year horrendously. in his first 5 appearances, he gave up the following earned runs 2, 2, 2, 3, 5, 8 respectively. but since May 18 after his 8 run appearance, he's held hitters to a 1.37 ERA w/ a 9 K/9 and only about 1 walk & hit/inning. With a move to the bullpen this year, it looks like he's found his stride putting his talented, big arm to use. at 23, could be a fast mover next year. 2) Cooper Hummel - in 210 PA this year has an .804OPS (.386/.419) switch hitting at Carolina. He's also only 22, the same age as Erceg & Ray- and outhitting both of them, granted in less than half the ABs, as he's sharing duties with McDowell. haven't read a scouting report stating he has a big upside, but can't argue with the production this year when he's played. the Brewers must see him as an advanced receiver as he completely skipped A ball this year. and Daniel Brown has been lights out of the bullpen this year since the end of May.

that's true as he's hit over .300 since mid-June after a dismal start to the season. hopefully he'll be around next year to take it to the next level.

Thanks mass. I'm just apparently 8 months behind! Great thread and interesting as we ve added even more players since people noticed this excess of guys.

Not sure if there has ever been much talk to this, but is it time that the Brewers start a Class A Short-Season team either in the NY Penn or Northwest League? for those unfamiliar, its sort of a R++ between advanced rookie ball and full season A ball. Afterall, 22 other teams have one. I was doing an early projection of the minor league rosters next season and was struck that in the last two year seasons we've added well over 30 non-drafted players in our two rookie leagues from non-drafted FAs, DSL signings, & trades. considering the bumps coming from the DSL next year, I think it is realistic to project both the rookie level rosters to be beyond the 35 active players (max) next season BEFORE the amateur draft. obviously players will be released as they are each year to make room for the new draft picks, but we would need to release the equivalent of a full rookie team to do that! Perhaps its time the Brewers join the ranks and add another short-season team to their affiliates (or even a split squad- can they do that?). In addition to providing room for all the extra players, it may also be beneficial to guys who might not be totally ready for A ball, but are beyond R+, (although debatable) think this year's Orimoloye, Hairston, Lara, Lutz or two seasons ago- Gatewood & Harrison. I know a certain stadium in Madison that i think would be cool to host them- though i do love that Northwoods league.

Not too concerned about "hiding from scouts" to prevent Rule V drafting as teams are pretty familiar with everyone already and it's more important for the guys to get AFL time for our own team to decide whether or not to protect them. Here are the six guys i'd send: the only person who i think should definitely go is Tyrone Taylor- has hit really well since returning from injury and could use the extra time against good competition. a solid AFL would propel him back on some people's top 25 i would expect. Johnny Davis- he's older, but as we all know, came to baseball late, was old when drafted, and also missed a year to injury so its not unfair to hypothesize his skills are more underdeveloped than other players his age. with as much speed as anyone in baseball- and had been crushing it from mid-June to mid-Aug- could be worth giving him extra time in AFL to develop. he should be fairly safe from the rule V draft. Taylor Williams- would love for him to compete for a bullpen spot in spring training. after spending the whole season in AA, some time in the AFL might be just the launch pad he needs to do that, pardon the literal offensive expression. Jon Perrin- same reasons as Luis Ely pointed out. BELOW AA GUY I think Gatewood & Harrison should bank on success they've had this year and use that momentum to come strong next year. If Phil Bickford qualifies & is healthy enough could be good to give him some innings to get his form back before next year. But, why risk it? I'd give this slot to Corey Ray who it looks still has a lot of developing to do and want to see how he handles more advanced pitching. CONTENDERS FOR THE LAST AFL SPOT Jacob Nottingham- the Sheriff might need some down time as he's looked lost most of the season, but also needs to keep developing- could be a solid send. Clint Coulter- show your stuff, man. could use a break-out performance as next year is a make or break year for him (similar to Roache this season) Tristan Archer- seems like a guy the Brewers like sending (see Spurlin/Scott) Adrian Houser - showed a lot of promise at the end of 2015- could use some innings above rookie ball to get his form back before next year- but not sure if he qualifies with the 45 days etc. TEMPTING...BUT NO Nick Ramirez- just needs innings and experience at this point. but considering he had zero the year before, probably smart to not overdo it this season and just work on re-signing him so he can come fresh next year at Colorado. Jorge Lopez- don't know if he just needs a break from pitching or extra time to get sorted out. if it's the latter- he gets bumped up to the top of my please put him in AFL list. though after a heavy workload of pitching all last offseason (of which he did great), i think it's wise letting him take a breather and come back strong and ready to compete for a MLB bullpen spot in spring training. Tyler Webb - has not pitched well since being traded to us. but, also hasn't pitched much. could be beneficial to see what we've got in him and if he was worth giving up our probable minor league player of the year. Wei Chung Wang - i believe he still qualifies. and his innings are down having gone fulltime to relief. but, not sure he really needs the AFL. he needs some MLB! Mauricio Dubon - take the offseason to hit the weights. would love for the power potential to come. Bubba Derby - starter? reliever? sort it out next season and let him savor a great year. Luis Ortiz- nope. did his thing. let him rest, has looked tired at times this season (use the offseason on conditioning). not worth the injury risk. Blake Allemand- why use the spot on someone who won't ever play in the Bigs for us? i hope i have to bite these words. Troy Stokes - was moved up to AA July 27, with what may have been future intention of playing him in the AFL. but, i think there are more deserving and necessary guys to play there. apologies to the cult of stokes. Keston Hiura- that would be awesome. but, as KeithStone stated, probably a little early this year. i think he'll be a strong AFL candidate next year.

Agree with what most have said and echo why: Definitely keep Sean Nolin - was top 10 A's prospect before trade & subsequent injury. need to see what we've got there especially since we've invested a lot of time in rehab. Yhonathan Barrios - in only his second season as a full-time pitcher made it to the majors. that's crazy and so is his high 90s fastball, at least before the injury. Nick Ramirez - even though he's already 27- its just his first year pitching professionally- and what did he do? only dominate AA all year long. Tim Dillard - As A Swing And A Drive reminded us in their hilarious tongue & cheek Transaction Rumors/Proposals post, Dillard is a gem and should have a guaranteed contract for life or at least until his arm falls off or better yet, he finds himself in the broadcast booth. Likely (chances are strong they'll be back) RHP Parker Berberet- had mixed results in first professional year pitching. not high end stuff- but def. showed enough to warrant seeing what he can do in year two. RHP Jorge Ortega - Before last year, he absolutely man-handled the lower minors. but, with low-end fastball and coming off an injury, not likely that he'll find success at upper levels. but, worth a flyer on- especially seeing the success of fellow soft-tossers like Suter. OF Michael Reed - I think the Crew would be wise to re-sign him to a minor league deal. there's the potential we lose several AAA OFs and could use a 4th OF who can play all three spots. plus, he's still young enough for his potential to emerge, which is still Mitch Hanigeresq. plus, those arms... RHP Angel Ventura - has been solid at each level, including his stint this year at AAA. expect him to be brought back for pitching depth both for bullpen and spot starts. 1B Chris Colabello - at this point in his career, his potential has peaked, so not the type of guy Stearns would look to re-sign, but with the lack of other in-house options at 1B next year at AAA (Dustin DeMuth?) and being blocked at the major league level (thank Thames/Aguilar), i could see them bringing him back for another go-round. but, if they don't- they'll probably bring in another minor league FA with similar player profile. IF Ivan De Jesus, Jr. - what a year! too bad was never given a shot at 2B with the Brewers when Sogard started to cool off/got injured. but, would be solid to have back in AAA- especially since he can play all over the infield. Flip a Coin RHP Hiram Burgos- one of my alltime fav. brewers for some reason. so sure hope he comes back. there's value in veteran depth at AAA. C Dustin Houle - brewers have supported him through his injuries early in his career. has shown promise, but with a crowded catching unit next year at AA, could be hard to find playing time. IF Nick Noonan- Has played well this year for the crew. they liked him enough they traded for him back- so that should say something. but there's a crowded infield at AAA next year. but, much of that crowd could be lost as FAs or Rule V. if that happens his chances of return move up to LiKELY. RHP Matt Ramsey - pitched well as the closer in Biloxi, but got rocked at Colorado Springs (not uncommon lol). however, with tons of potential arms at AAA depending on the free agency, and at 28 next year- they might make room for someone with more major league potential. though he has a nice K rate. RHP Forrest Snow - seems like a guy they would bring in anyway as a minor league FA w/ spring training invite. so why not re-sign him. but, as mentioned previously, plenty of bullpen depth already at AAA, but since most of them are minor league Free Agents- anything can happen. Not Likely (chances are they're gone) RHP Tyler Cravy- kind of got a raw deal this year, but did most of it to himself. He'll look for an organization that [sarcasm]will treat him like a human, or find a 9 to 5[/sarcasm]. RHP David Goforth - too bad his high 90s fastball has not afforded him more success, but its not like he hasn't had opportunities. time to cut the leash. C Natanael Mejia - Brewers always seem to have a plethora of organizational catchers, especially "older" guys who slot in almost as assistant coaches. and they'll have a lot of those guys next year too. if he's back, he'd be back in that role. RHP Wily Peralta - most likely will split ways after many failed opportunities to regain his form. but, i'd love it if he re-signed and competed in Spring Training. wherever he is, hope he can put it together. LHP Andrew Barbosa - don't see him brought back, but would love to see him and his 6'8" frame back. often tall guys are late to put it all together in terms of repeating mechanics. if he does- would be great. but too inconsistent and we'll have a lot of other players in the mix. C Rene Garcia - too bad as he's done everything you could ask for. however, with so much catching depth at AA/AAA who aren't minor league FAs, don't see him getting an offer unless someone is moved/lost. RHP Travis Hissong - only so many arms- and his isn't one of them. OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis - man, there's something about a home crowd. and nobody knows that better than Nieuwy. home/away OPS splits (2017 - .903/.488; 2016- .953/.460). if we signed him as a double platoon- only hits righthanders and only at home. he'd be a MONSTER! i think i'm convincing myself of something i was just joking about... IF Gabriel Noriega- in the same boat as Noonan, but put up pretty poor numbers this year. not sure why they'd bring him back. UT Fidel Pena - next year, he'll turn 28 during the season and to date has never advanced past A+. was injured all year. chances don't look good. but then again, he can play all over- and there's value in that. RHP Rob Scahill - Brewers favorite DFA candidate and would be on a AAAA all-star team. inconceiably dominate at Colorado Springs as he is mediocre in Milwaukee. he is a dime a dozen this offseason. and we've already got a dozen in system. [re-organized]

Orimoloye looks incredible. his highlights make you go 'wow- that is a future major leaguer!'. however, there isn't much inbetween those and looking baffled, which the latter is unfortunately most of the time. both he and Lara are young for A ball and it shows. but, Orimoloye- would definitely be a breakout candidate for me going into next year, fwiw he's #33 on my list. Lara has been disappointing all season and looked bewildered at the plate for the entirety. it surprised me they didn't send him down to R+ right away when Helena's season started, was glad that they finally did, and will wonder if he hadn't gotten hurt if he'd be mashing right now and restoring his confidence and some of his prospect status. as it is now, it shows he really needs the extra time in Helena, but would be tough to imagine the brewers sending him there next year for year four. the only thing he can do is heal up, work on his swing, and come out mashing next year. time and talent is on his side. fwiw, he's dropped 19 spots to #43 on my list.

clancyphile said: 3. OF Trent Clark – He has extra-base power, and arguably the best OBP skills in the system small sample at a low level, but in 114 PA Ernesto Martinez has on OB% over 200 points higher than his meager BA- that is insane!

TOP 25 [difference from my pre-season ranking in brackets] 1 Lewis Brinson [same] 2 Josh Hader [same] 3 Luis Ortiz [up 4] - is pitching nearly as well as Woodruff did in last year's breakout performance, but at 2 years younger than he was. 4 Brandon Woodruff [up 2] 5 Brett Phillips [up 14] 6 Corbin Burnes [up 15] 7 Freddy Peralta [up 13] 8 Keston Hiura [new n/a] - crushin it 9 Monte Harrison [up 5] 10 Mauricio Dubon [down 1] - only 22 and on a hot streak at AAA, but like others in Colorado- home/road splits give me pause. 11 Phil Bickford [down 3] 12 Jacob Gatewood [up 4] 13 Taylor Williams [same] - missing two years of tread, so the way i see it, his arm is only 23 years old. 14 Trent Clark [up 4] 15 Marcos Diplan [down 5] - still high on diplan, like Clark, he is only 20 in A+ and able to K advanced hitters 16 Corey Ray [down 13] - hoping he breaks out again in August. 17 Kodi Medeiros [up 10] - as others have mentioned, is starting to put it together- nobody can hit him when he's on. 18 Tristen Lutz [new n/a] 19 Jordan Yamamoto [new, up 14] - he's the same age as Peralta, Supak, Kodi and outpitched all the starters at A+ not named Burnes. 20 Jacob Nottingham [down 8] - well, he could hit high A pretty good...still young, still young. 21 Trey Supak [up 3] - struggling to adjust to A+ after dominating Wisconsin, but has great stuff 22 Mario Feliciano [same] 23 Isan Diaz [down 18] - everyone's entitled to an off year. but, was his low BA last year a warning sign? 24 Lucas Erceg [down 20] - was enamored with him this spring. most disappointing this year. believe he'll turn it around. 25 Cody Ponce [down 10] - just hangin on APOLOGIES TO: 26 Larry Ernesto - [new] hard to put anyone in the top 25 if they're only 16 and never even played in the DSL. but def like the videos/scouting reports i've seen. 27 Carlos Rodriguez - [new] see above 28 Nathan Kirby - [down 11] could be on the top half of my 25 if he comes back healthy....big if. 29 Devin Williams - [same] before injury would be in top 25, but want to see how he looks when he comes back. Would have made it FWIW Garrett Cooper would have been #12 on my list- after absolutely annihilating AAA competition. just kept hitting all year. wish him well- and hope he Overbay's it in the big leagues. (Tyler Webb- please be awesome to help the sting go away) Ryan Cordell would have been #25 on my list. well, actually #27, but in tribute- i'll put him there. (if Swarzak gets us to the play-offs- def worth it) DIDN'T MAKE IT AFTER MAKING MY PRE-SEASON TOP 25 Jorge Lopez- was #11 and has slipped 24 spots to #35. Jesus Aguilar was my #25 and the only one last spring that had him in the BF Community Top 25...subtle boast.

in the past month Drake, Barnes & Hughes have given up only 0 ER in 25.2 IP! and you can add in Blazek's 0 ER in 4 IP now that he's back up too. in addition, Torres & Hader have only given up 4 ER in 22.1 IP (2 each)- its not just runs either- all of them have great WHIPS and OPS splits as well this past month. way to go guys! Hopefully a trend that continues through October... Knebel's actually been the "weak link", but that was just one outing and has still been just as dominant otherwise. I'm just left to wonder why Scahill is still on the roster. would like to see Jungmann again or Wang given a chance. and would have to think that Webb will be back up soon and Jeanmar Gomez will be given a shot. so i'll fear not. either way, cannot wait until Woodruff is back healthy and added to the mix in some way- whenever that is. things are looking up.

Hopefully with Brewers sticking with both Demi & Lara, next season they will come in adjusted & ready to hit ground running. I am interested why they didn't send both Lara and Demi back down to Helena like they did w gatewood and Harrison. Both are still young for A ball and although have shown flashes seem completely overwhelmed and out of sorts. It would be nice to see them build some confidence going into next year. They could probably switch them w Dallas Carroll and zach clark who are both older and hitting well

I wish theyd just send peralta down to Arizona it's like he's forgotten how to pitch. No pressure just work w coaches on fundamentals and get your form back. There's no way I'd bring him back to the big leagues until he had some successful outings in the minors and showed he's back on track.

ROTATION TOR Trade Acquisition- cost controlled for multiple years Nelson Anderson Davies Garza We end up holding on to Garza- he pitches averagely for us down the stretch and are able to trade him in the offseason. Guerra is moved to the bullpen after we acquire our TOR and becomes dominant and helps shore up the bullpen negating the need to acquire high cost relief help. BULLPEN Knebel Barnes Guerra Hader Hughes Woodruff Blazek Peralta- is given one last shot after DL stint and rewards the Brewers by not allowing a run the rest of the season. why not? lol apologies to Drake, Suter, T-Will, Lopez, Wang, Jungmann

i'm with most of you that at a minimum there are 4 musts (Nottingham, Dubon, Peralta, Cooper) and 4-6 others who would be great to protect. I think we should be fine, and am not too worried that we'll lose anyone with projectable major league value. There will be quite a few spots opening up on the 40 man that should allow us to keep anyone we want to keep. the major variable of course is what we will do with trades both this season and in the offseason. with that said- here's a look at the potential open 40 man spots that will factor into the amount of guys we can protect. GUYS I DON'T SEE BACK WITH CLUB IN 2018 - (these open six spots) * Stephen Vogt- great pickup for this season and can hopefully continue to help us down the stretch. but with ample and younger catcher depth- it doesn't make sense to bring him back in 2018. * Carlos Torres- if he's still on the club next year, a strong sign that the bullpen is in bad shape * Eric Sogard- as a FA after the year, it's possible we re-sign him, but i think either he'll be traded this season or we fill his slot in house next year. * Jared Hughes- FA after the year, and even though he's turned his season around well, i think we have plentiful in house options for back end relievers. * Rob Scahill- although cost-controlled, he'll be 31 next year, and really wish he wasn't even pitching for us this year. we can do better than that. * Wily Peralta- entering year 2 arbitration, he's due for a raise and will most assuredly cost over 5 mil next year. after this putrid season (no other softer word for it), hard to fathom that he would not be non-tendered, in spite of his alluring tools and our low payroll. * Matt Garza- please. i still really hope we can unload him this season, even if he's pitching well, and then fill his spot in house. but, there is no way he's on this team next year...right? right? DEPENDING ON HOW THINGS GO & HOW MANY GUYS WE NEED TO PROTECT FROM THE RULE V- MIGHT BE WISE TO RISK LOSING (probably 4 spots, depending) * Blazek/Jungmann/Drake/Espino- pretty much all in the same boat. possible that none of them are on the 40 man next season, though also plausible that all of them stay with the club. so i'll split the difference and put the over/under on 2 of them keep a spot. * Houser/Lopez- lots of potential. I think they could successfully risk putting Houser on waivers at some point before the rule v draft- not sure who would risk a 25 man spot for him, as i believe he would be eligible for the draft if removed. though i'm guessing Lopez would be grabbed up despite his unstalworthy numbers the last year and half- and i dont think we'd want to risk losing him. though next year is his make/break year for sure. * Guerra/Pina- although both are cost-controlled through 2021- next season they'll also be 33 & 31 respectively. since we are hoping to continue being a play-off contender and they are key pieces, it could make sense to keep them, at least for one more season. However, with Susac/Bandy in AAA and Nottingham hopefully ready in 2019 and a load of potential starting pitchers coming up in the next two years we have in house replacements that not only could suredly replace their production, but also have higher ceilings. on the order of trading too soon or too late, i'd rather err on too soon for these guys. If they both finish the year strong- i think they would both be attractive trade candidates. * Yadiel Rivera- not to be too insulting- but defensive only middle infielders are a dime a dozen. and with Dubon likely protected after the season, he's a nice but unnecessary redundancy.

as much as i'd love for Nerd Power to be a Brewer for life, his value probably doesn't get much higher than its going to be right now. As a free agent after the year it's possible we bring him back on a 2-3 year contract to be our primary middle infielder backup, not the worst idea ever. but, backup infielders are fairly common and we could find a cheaper option in house. considering how hot Ivan DeJesus is right now, i think you could trade Sogard, bring up De Jesus and not have much of a drop-off in production offensively or defensively. afterall, he's been Sogardesq- hitting .363/.422/.500 on the year - but in the past month he's hit an astonishing .430/.485/.613 in over 100 PAs- that's crazy!!! and the most impressive thing about it is (unlike seemingly everyone else in Colorado) his Home/Away splits are not that drastically different- in fact all 4 of his HRs have come on the road. admittingly this would be a bit of a drop-off in cult hero status for fans (which probably should be factored in), but i think it would still be a solid move- even if we're in the play-off chase. i don't think we'd get much for Sogard straight up (though we did get Zach Davies for Gerardo Parra- which i think would be a baseline return) - but packaging him with one of the plethora of middling OF prospects we have, i think we could get back either some relief help or a solid low level prospect.

As much as we have a great logjam happening in the OF, we have a similar situation at first base. Both Thames & Aguilar are hitting well at the MLB level and Cooper is hitting at an other worldly level at AAA. a latent benefit of the Braun & Thames injuries is that it gave Aguilar a chance and he has done the most with it. but now that Braun & Thames are back and Brinson is kicking down the door- there will be less of a chance for Aguilar to play. This might be the best time to deal one of our first basemen. FIRST BASEMEN since Cooper's ascension has come out of nowhere (to people outside of brewerfan) with little track record for his power, add in PCL & Colorado Springs and it doesn't seem like the type of prospect who usually brings back a ton. i think GMs would be wary about trading for Thames unless he can turn around his performance over the last two months into something a little more trustworthy. if he does- a team friendly contract and ability to play corners makes him more attractive. but, also more attractive to us- especially with his branding/fan fav status. Aguilar might be the best asset to trade at this point. although he would be an extremely awesome bench bat to have if we stay in the playoff chase- would his pinch hit duties and spot starts be worth what we could get back in return? he's not some journeyman AAAA player....at least not yet. he has shown nothing but success in the minors, but was blocked for three years in AAA and is still reasonably young at 26. if we could package him to bring back a young, controlled dominant reliever or some pitching prospects- i say pull the trigger. AVAILABLE TEAMS Yankees have been reported looking for at first baseman and i would have to think the Rangers and Mariners, not too far from the wild card could potentially be looking as well. Napoli & Valencia are not performing well and both teams could use a boost at that position. unfortunately both are also RH so not sure how much interest they would have in Aguilar.

And the chances the same thing happens to Torres and Drake are equal or better than the chances the likes of Wang, Cravy, and Blazek being any better. very true, except that was earlier in the year with Hughes, when the team was in a more wait and see approach- not really knowing what we had as a team. We are in a much more urgent mode (of course not short-cutting the rebuild process). At this point there isn't as much patience for back-end guys without huge upside like Hughes, Torres & Drake. Ironically, I thought your post in another thread regarding Franklin articulated this well- and the same applies to the bullpen.

SEASON / LAST 30 DAYS WHIP OPS / WHIP OPS Peralta- 1.71 .892 / 2.77 1.003 Torres - 1.55 .824 / 1.85 1.023 Drake - 1.45 .795 / 1.35 .818 Suter - 1.57 .794 / 1.35 .764 Espino- 1.18 .697 / 1.15 .722 Hughes- 1.33 .754 / 0.91 .545 As everyone acknowledges, Peralta has big time tools. however, he is a mess right now. and the likelihood that he is with this team next year, even if he pulls things together is slim with his arbitration $tatus. it is time to DFA him. maybe he doesn't get claimed and he can fix things down in Colorado and come back up later in the summer to help the team (hopefully) in a pennant race. maybe you let him try one last time after he gets back from the DL, but looking at his history, what evidence would suggest that he is going to be any better? it's too bad we won't get anything for him, but he needs to go. Torres had a solid year last year and has enjoyed previous moderate MLB success. however, he doesn't have high end stuff, and over the last month, even including his recent 3IP no ER, he has been atrocious. maybe you let him ride this [sarcasm]hot streak[/sarcasm]. but, like Blazek last year (after his nice 2015) Torres is getting killed out there and its time to try someone else. Suter & Espino haven't had enough chance at the MLB level this year to see what we've got. I think both soft tossers are at least pitching better than Torres & Peralta and have earned a chance at a further extended look, both with their AAA performances and the limited albeit inconsistent performance they've showed thus far in the majors. Drake- gotta love those punchouts 11.6 K/9 this year. aside from that- has been replacement level- classic AAAA reliever- dominant in AAA. i'd put him 3rd to go behind Peralta & Torres. Hughes- i wanted him gone a while ago, but he really turned things around in June and bumped his overall numbers to almost respectable. i guess, he's bought himself some more time. Not sure how long Hader will last until he can reign in his control, but i like giving him a shot and building his MLB experience as Colorado was brutal to him and AA did him little good- like pitching to grade schoolers for him. WHO's LEFT? solving the bullpen within the system is a preferred option as we don't have to give up any assets (though if we don't we'll probably lose some in the rule V draft anyway). the thing is, the only healthy guys we have left are probably all replacement level- no one to really moves the needle for the team. Torres & Peralta have to go, so that means two more guys need to come up. here are the best realistic options remaining: 1) Woodruff - disappointing that he got injured just as he got his call up. however, he might be coming off the DL soon, and when he does, i'd give him one start then bring him up. The following four guys i think would all produce similar results. one could argue that none of them are the solution to fixing our bullpen woes this season or for the future. with that said, at the very least they are replacement level guys which is better than what Torres & Peralta have been giving us. and at the best, they have shown the ability to succeed at times. either way- i'd give them all a short leash. 2) Wang - time to give him another shot. has produced good results in Colorado despite unspectacular peripherals although he does hold guys to a pretty low OPS- and that's something, especially in Colorado. let's see what he can do in the majors. 3) Cravy- now that he's back from the DL- he needs another chance with the Brew Crew. he has paid his price for his spring training insolence and should be back in the show. all he has done is produce great results as a reliever both in the minors and majors. 4) Jungmann- the tale of two Jungmanns. he has shown the ability to dominate at the MLB level, but has also shown that he can be terrible against, well anybody. who is he today? well, since being called up to AAA, he has been great. can he replicate the success he had his first 16 starts in 2014 (2.42 ERA)? i'd like to find out. 5) Blazek- interestingly has been pitching better once that moved him back to the rotation out of need. very similar to the end of 2014 when they did the same thing, which led to his breakout 2015 season. but, i don't see him breaking the brewers rotation, even if Garza is dealt. and there's little to suggest that he's reclaimed his 2015 magic- namely that heater. THE WILD CARDS - i'd be inclined to cycle through the above players first, albeit with a short leash, but considering the following guys have the potential to be better than any of the previous four above, it could be a higher risk/higher reward to bring them up instead. Is Stearns a gambler? seeing what he was inclined to do with potential high end guys like Hader and Woodruff and sticking with Peralta, it looks like he is. 6) T-Will - after all the injuries- would love for him to just enjoy some modicum of success in Biloxi this year without any extra strain/pressure of amping up for the major leagues. let him come in next spring and compete for a bullpen role- i'd bet he gets one. with that said, as bad as the relief core has been, and as good as he's been...it's tempting not to think about it. oh, heck- give him a chance. 7) Lopez - with his recent move to the bullpen- looks like bringing him up is the next step. but, let's let him get his footing in this new role and build some confidence as he's been so inconsistent at AA. as others have mentioned- his fastball/curveball combo is enticing to think about in Milwaukee. HOW DID WE GET HERE? - a last ditch option is anyone else in the system. if it comes to this, i think we can safely say our season has been lost. you never know- Wilkerson could rise up to the occasion or Barbosa finally figure out how to use his enormous frame with that said- i hope it doesn't come to that.

please now, let Torres & Peralta follow in suit.

Jon Bois with SB Nation tackled this to some degree with a humorous data/thought exercise that looked at Bonds' historic season of 2004, which he argued was not only his best, but the best hitting season of alltime. though, it only focused on hitting...or lack thereof. check it out here:

who knows how it'll all shake out with the overload of OFs, but it is quite plausible that in 2018 our OF could be Brinson (CF), Broxton (LF), Phillips (RF), which would have excellent defensive potential. in fact, one would assume that with another year of maturation from Arcia (who is already excellent), Villar (getting used to full-time 2B), Shaw, and whoever is at 1B (Thames, Cooper, Aguilar)- in addition to Pina/Bandy/Susac all solid defensively- we could have one heck of a defensive club. then again, it could just as plausibly be Braun, Santana in the OF and Villar never gets his groove back and never meets his defensive projection and Thames also gets time in the OF to give more ABs to Aguilar at 1B.