Crash2303

There is so much new talent in the system and a lot of talented guys will be repeating a level. So, with that said, here are a few 2017 predictions: 1) Our CMLR goes from 27th to top 5. 2) 3 out of our 6 affiliates will make the playoffs 3) Our A+ affiliate will lead the league in ERA

I think its entirely likely that we'll have eight in the Top 100. However, I think Clark and Phillips are dropped. so, I'd guess: Brinson (9), Hader(32), Ortiz (51), Ray (67), Bickford (71), Woodruff (78), Diaz (81), Diplan (89)

I feel the thing that no one has mentioned thus far, is the difference that positions are valued defensively. yes, those mentioned previously ie Carter, Braun, Santana are all mediocre on defense. However, they do not play "up the middle" premium defensive positions. Broxton/Brinson in CF is tight, Arcia at SS is a highlight reel, and Maldonado/Pina/Susac at C are solid. Add in when Villar or Perez take over at 2B and that is strength up the middle. This is encouraging to me and makes me feel confident that we'll have a strong defensive core for years to come that will help mitigate any shortcomings elsewhere, including next season. which should be less of an issue anyway, when some of the younger guys come up, filling out those other positions.

good luck to the both of them. on a side, reading about how long it takes to develop knuckleball pitchers, but how effective it can be once mastered, I wonder why more teams don't encourage some of the back end pitchers to develop it.

Starting pitching is going to be a battle- actually there's more like 11 guys having a legit shot at starting at some point next season. definitely going to be some moves made in the offseason. Jimmy Nelson Zach Davies Junior Guerra Wily Peralta Chase Anderson Matt Garza Taylor Jungmann Aaron Wilkerson Jorge Lopez Josh Hader Brent Suter

yes def. hope we maximize Brinson's peak years with our contention window. but, wouldn't you apply that to Hader as well? still wish we had waited with Arcia- but maybe it all becomes moot with possible future extensions.

I'm calling it right now- David Stearns to the Yankees whenever Cashman steps down or is canned- and they will point back to this trade as the beginning of that mutual interest

I could potentially see professional non-25 man roster players, or even non 40 man roster guys play. it's not taking players from their MLB team, affecting standings, and it's not stopping play for two weeks, disrupting scheduling and revenues. But, it's allowing developing players to play against outstanding competition and for their country. this is great exposure and experience for the players, in the middle of their season as opposed to the early start of WBC, and its great exposure for baseball. the world getting to see the stars of tomorrow. it's kind of like the Futures game, but an expanded Futures Tournament in the Olympics- that would be great. I think there would also have to be innings restrictions in place for pitchers to appease teams releasing their guys to play.

wow, I know its the PCL, but those are some awesome hitting numbers. great memories. the MLB team had great hitting too- just very little pitching- the story of their late 2000s window. They could have used someone like RA Dickey and Grant Balfour....oh. Still irked about that Linebrink deal- so much pressure to "do something"- wish they had had the patience to give more of a shot to their AAA guys like Thatcher, Aquino, DiFelice, Stetter, McClung, and Balfour- all of whom dominated PCL hitters. the potential rising of 1-2 of them, may have also had the latent benefit of not feeling the need to sign Riske and Gagne the following offseason. that season also saw the empty promise of Capellan and Parra and the bursts of things to come in Gallardo and Braun. and heart-warming to see Dillard there- nine years ago- and poor AAAA All-Star, Joe Dillon- always in the wrong place at the wrong time. ahh, what could have been.

I know not everyone is fans about the WBC, but to me that's as close to a great thing as international baseball competition is going to get. I just wish there were more incentives for fans to attend games- so sad to see so many empty stadiums on tv. also, I'd like to see a unified Cuba team. I think the baseball Olympics could work, if all the teams were amateur based.

this could partly explain Nick Ramirez's 19HR and productive year during his age 23 season at Brevard.

I hope we re able to bring back Flores. Obviously he showed little at the mlb level this year but there's good potential and a solid track record. I think w his experience he gained this season he ll be able to take a big step next year if he gets a chance wherever he ends up. If it's not w the Brewers we ve got plenty of OF depth but more depth is never a bad thing

I wonder if a contributing reason they are starting Maldonado over Pina is to give him an opportunity to boost his value to other teams to be traded in the offseason. He's a FA after 2018, so that would give a team 2 years of team control. Maldy can start on some teams...ie ours lol. But, I don't think he offers much more (if any) than some combo of Pina/Susac (or even Pinto/McKenry added to the mix if they are re-signed) would offer for the next two years. If Maldy does get traded- the other guys will have opportunities in the spring and season (rotating the hot-hand) to show what they can do. re: his glove- in spite of advanced metrics, especially for catchers, its interesting how much defensive reputation and perception plays into a catcher's defensive rating by fans and clubs. I still remember that throw off his knees- wow. it had such a large impression on me- when I think of Maldonado- I think of him in context to that throw. http://m.brewers.mlb.com/mil/video/topic/6482152/v589665283 I think same goes for "clutch hits" and who clutch players are- they leave much bigger impressions. However, I don't pay much attention to CS% in any given season, because so much has to do with who is pitching and their long or slow deliveries, which are sometimes just as significant to baserunners as a catcher's arm.

I find myself checking the standings daily (something I haven't done all season) and its not to see how close the Brewers are to the top, but rather, how close they are to the bottom. now tied for the 7th worst record and only 2.5 games back from the 3rd and just 3.5 games back from the 2nd pick in the draft- that is exciting...in a matter of speaking- lol. having something around the 10th pick isn't very high odds of being an organizational game changer- ie Braunesq. but, a top 5 pick, certainly does. on most draft analysis that I've looked at the top four picks, especially, over the last twenty or so odd years have a much higher likelihood of being significant MLB players- all-stars etc. then there's a drop-off and another drop off later on down. certainly, the higher the pick, the more players you have to choose from and the highest talented are drafted first. there is a significant and fundamental difference between rebuilding and tanking. A team can be rebuilding and not tanking, which is what I've seen happening with the Brewers in the last year. Moving short-term, big league pieces for young, controllable talent while still maintaining a competitive major league team, but prioritizing playing younger developing players. Whereas tanking is doing all of that with the intention of losing games for a better draft position (ie 76ers). But, this has all been discussed here before. And I think most of us here, and for that matter, most fans have embraced the rebuild at least on some level. However, knowing how important a #2 pick (and continued round by round draft position) could be in this coming year's draft, I am now all about the TANK. Yes, bring it on! we're out of it- outside of Braun, not many casual fans know many of the guys on the team anyway. if its just 2-3 games that separates us from a #8 pick and a #2 pick, how do you justify NOT trying to lose? Now, I know Counsell and the players are going to do what they can do to play their best and win. and that's great- we need to be for the integrity of the actual game. But calling up some extra under-developed guys in September and giving them an opportunity to play-out couldn't hurt. Arcia and Suter are great examples of this. it's actually a win-win. If the young guys play and are over-matched, we may inch closer to the #2 pick and they get valuable MLB experience. If they do well and make improvements (ie Broxton, Peralta 2.0) it gives us more options in the future. it looks like we may already be doing this- intentionally or no. we didn't begin the season like this, but we're here in position to strike now, so i say let's ramp it up even more and bring on the TANK!

cool, so unless I missed something 29th round pick Brennan Price is the only 2016 Brewer's signed draft pick not to make his debut yet. does anyone know his status?

it could just be my perception, but has anyone else noticed that there seem to be quite a few prospects in the system who have regressed this year, particularly those who are repeating a level or completely fell off at the next level up? if that is the case, what are the reasons for that? coaches? confidence? polluted water? off-hand, I think of Denson, Houle, B. Diaz, McFarland, Houser, Reed, Lopez, Sharkey, Coulter, Phillips, Roache, Taylor. Not including guys who haven't shown much improvement from last year, but are still young for the level and/or have come from other organizations, like: Orimoloye, Lara, Derby, Nottingham, Rijo, Betancourt

It's not Sharkey who is blocking 1B in Appleton, but Gatewood (who I think is going to be awesome there). with that said, I'd love to see what Gideon could do at Wisconsin this year- he's definitely shown he can hit R+. #understatement #sorry for the hashtag use #not really #ok stop) also its too bad Sharkey hasn't shown even average offensive ability- has incredible glove. although not old for the league (22), he's shown very little on the offensive end, in fact regressed big time in his 2nd year w/ the Rattlers, and with the influx of low level 1B talent, it'll be hard for him to find a roster spot in Milwaukee's system next year.

Glad to see Rizzo eatin up Italy- his stats look great. http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=rizzo-000gia However, my question is, if he returns stateside next season, do we retain his rights or is he a minor league FA?

ok, no worries. just thought I'd ask.

Would anyone be willing to post the writeup and listing for the Brewers? I know we want to honor the BA subscription and so listing all the teams would not be ethical, but in the past subscribers have pasted Brewers related content for discussion here on the board. http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/midseason-prospect-update-brewers-2/#0d0OYffhhhCFJoqS.97

omg, I completely thought these were jokes, or some nickname I didn't quite get. then I looked them up. lol. and Lafayette was actually his middle name, his first name was Delancey. wow. also need to throw in Cutter Dykstra in the mix.

not sure if this should have been in the Minor Leagues forum, and is probably more of an offseason forum topic, but regardless, was thinking of all the great names that have played in our system, I know we've made lists like this in the past, but who would be in your Hall of Fame? or maybe to help whittle it down- top ten? and furthermore, "best nicknames"? here are a few to kick it off: NAMES Brent Brewer Maverick Lasker Hobbs Johnson Bucky Jacobsen Gentry Fortuno (always wish we would have signed Nick Bierbrodt) NICKNAMES Capn Lou The Ignitor The Kid Mega Thomas Hurricane Irribaren Turbo/Turnblow Stormin Gorman

just some reflections on a few recent departures fwiw: Sthervin Matos: surprised at this. Although he was in his 2nd full year at A ball he only recently turned 22. Especially at the timing since he was heating up, hitting .281 w/ a .844OPS in July including 3 HR in his last five games before being let go. with that great 2014 season and his positional flexibility, would have seemed he would have at least been given the rest of the year, if not one more in the system. Hobbs Johnson: as so many have mentioned- great name- we need a "great name hall of fame," we've had some good ones come through this system. but more than his name, that 2013 rookie season, made him a favorite of so many here, which saw him promoted up to A ball w/ a 15.9 K/9 and a solid followup season in '14. but came off of the rail in the 2nd half of last year in AA- not sure what happened- makes me think he could still figure it out- glad to see he's still trying to in indy ball. Jaye Chapman/Ben Guez/Jim Miller: These are the type of guys I end up rooting for probably more than anyone. 26+ year olds who have put together good minor league numbers, especially in AAA, who just seemed to never get their shot for a variety of reasons. was hoping they'd get theirs in Milwaukee, but alas. at least Chapman is still going strong in AA with Tampa. they'll probably turn him into another Balfour. Zach Jones/Colin Walsh: I know neither of them would be able to hold their own at the MLB level this year, but think they'll both make it back to the show at some point. Walsh I think can be a decent utility infielder/PH someday, but I think Jones is going to be a stud reliever and was really hoping we'd be able to stash him to keep him in the system. Glad to see they are both excelling albeit back with their original teams. Ariel Pena: sad. had renewed hope after a successful campaign as a starter last year, but was never able to find control. I still think its with that delivery that has him throw off balance to the first base side. either way, as the last remnant of the Greinke trade- it makes one pause when already declaring the Fiers/Gomez trade a big win for Milwaukee. I similarly thought we fleeced Anaheim with three top prospects. And after Segura went on that big 2013, and Hellweg was regularly touching 98 (even though also couldn't find home plate), it looked like we had two long-term future pieces, and Pena was a bonus if he ever was able to figure it out. Jed Bradley: always had steep LH/RH splits so felt he could be a successful MLB LOOGY even the past couple years while he was struggling. which is more confusing that he's having success in Atlanta's system back as a starter. potential's still there, but it was probably time to move on. Even though I don't think any of these guys will come back to bite us (save Jones- but it would have been difficult to keep him as a rule 5), always hate to see our prospects go for whatever reason, especially the "homegrown" ones. Wish them all the best of luck going forward.

both are workhorses, but I think both Guerra and Peralta's stuff would play up in the bullpen.

has anyone else noticed today when clicking to a player profile stat page on BaseballReference, it only is including stats from 2016? is this just me?