LouisEly

I mentioned Randy Johnson in another thread - SF desperately needs power and they have a glut of infielders who are both old and not good (Aurilia, Uribe, Renteria), so they may see value in a Heether or Katin. The problem is that San Francisco is only 7 games back of LA, so they aren't going to make this deal any time soon.

Late to the party, but... it had to have been Peavey. Hoffman talked him into coming (Gerut may have helped too). In exchange they get Parra (needs a change of scenery), Hall (helps balance salary taken on, and SD needs infield help), and prospects. Heether comes up to take Hall's roster spot. Makes too much sense. So now what? Sounds like they have two weeks to make up their minds as they don't need a 5th starter until 6/27. Do they gamble and wait and see what the real diagnosis is with Peavey, or do they seek other options? My wager is on holding tight until the All-Star break, with Dillard getting the starts. They don't need a 5th starter until 6/27, and that 5th starter will only have three starts before the All-Star break and two of them are at home (however of those three, one is at the Cubs and another is home against the Cardinals). After the break the next start of the 5th starter won't be until 7/20 at Pittsburgh, and that gets them almost to the trade deadline at which they can see how Peavey's ankle is doing. Melvin is right in that no one is looking to dump players now, but if SD or ARI don't gain any ground on LA until Manny Ramirez comes back from suspension, then those teams will be looking at making trades then. EDIT - it just hit me, they'll look to make a move prior to the Cubs/Cardinals series prior to the All-Star break. That's why they wanted to make the move now - their four series prior to the All-Star break are Mets (home), at Cubs (four games), St. Louis (home), and Dodgers (home). Arguably the most important two week stretch of the season. Look for a deal to be made by 7/1.

That's why I said "if". I didn't say they would or necessarily could.

As disappointing as Corey has been lately - I don't really see a natural fill-in on the Brewers roster. Actually I don't think that Katin (or a Katin/Catalanotto platoon) could be any worse than what Hart has done the last year and a half. No, Katin's not an OBP guy, but Hart hasn't been either (.311 this year, .300 last year) and Katin has an OPS with runners on base of .931 this year which has to MLE better than Hart's .644 OPS with runners on base. Now that Manny Parra has officially fallen apart (hopefully only temporarily), they do need a starter and if Hart can net a good starter and a Katin/Catalanotto platoon can give just as much if not more production than Hart then I think that trade improves the team.

Amen, sister. They need him because they really don't have much for starting pitching prospects coming up in the next 2-3 years, so in order to prevent having to overpay for free agents or mortgage prospects in trades to fill the starting rotation they will need him to get back on track. I don't see a problem with low strike outs with a sinker ball pitcher but I do wish he would get his walks down though. When your third basemen are Mat Gamel and Bill Hall it might be a little bit of a concern. Granted, Weeks and Fielder have made strides but when 3/4ths of your infield could potentially be Gamel/Weeks/Fielder, a low strikeout sinkerball pitcher doesn't make you entirely comfortable. I do think though that Dillard is the guy to try first. As for McClung, the Brewers don't have enough innings in their bullpen now to stretch him out. He needs to stay in the pen.

Well first off...it's him vs. Hart then. I would say it is him vs. Gerut & the experiment known as Chris Duffy.

The thing with Kemp is that this year and last year it seems like most of his games played are not at catcher. Is there a reason for that? Is he not good defensively, or has he had injury reasons for not playing there or is it wanting to give younger guys (Kemp was drafted out of college) more work. If someone with more knowledge could chime in it would be appreciated. I know the FSL is supposed to be more of a pitcher's league (as is BC's stadium), but I don't know if I've ever seen a bullpen with numbers like that. Gillespie with triple #5 on the season - the dude has wheels. Katin with another bomb (and three K's).

The only issue I have is that everyone on everyone's list, perhaps with the exception of one pitcher on one person's top 10 list, is in A-ball or rookie ball, and thus at least three years away. Certainly we'd all do backflips if Cody could put up Jamie Moyer type numbers in the majors, but Swindle hasn't been able to project his AAA numbers to the majors so it gives me pause if Cody will be able to. Dillard is starting to look like the bullpen is whatever future he might have (but he can't be any worse than Parra now). It's unlikely that anyone is ready to step up from the minors this year, and the best options in the next two years are Cody, Dillard (probably goes back to the pen), and perhaps Butler.

Katin = clutch; .941 OPS with runners on, .924 OPS w/RISP

I believe at the second game in BC we got a pretty good look at the pitching staff of the 2012 Milwaukee Brewers. Combined 3 hits and 12 K in 9 innings. That's just not fair.

Post your predictions of roster moves in the next couple of weeks to make room for the draftees and/or guys in Helena from last year's class. I don't see many position players moving, except eventually possibly Dennis to A+ to make room for Davis if he hits well in Helena. Can't think of anyone still at Helena that should be in WI. Dennis may go to A+ if/when Komatsu comes back. Maybe thank Parejo for his services and move up Wilson. Ritchie, Henderson, and either Meadows or Scarpetta from WI to BC to backfill for Anundsen, w00ten, and Axford to AA; outside chance of Rapoza because of age, possibly Mercedes. Arnett and two pitchers assigned to Helena to backfill in WI. At Huntsville, Bucci back to Helena, Cody stays in AAA, one of McClendon/Hand, possibly Baron to AAA; possibly thank Holliman for his services or assign him as needed. At AAA... what the heck, leave Butler there until he proves he can't handle it, then maybe back to AA; give Littleton his walking papers.

Not coming to Italy, but I'm coming to Slovenia and Croatia the first two weeks of September.

Hopefully he comes with "double sheaths" on his tendons.And no violent waggle of the bat. The Good: The fastest riser among college arms, he generated an enormous amunt of buzz over the last month with his massive frame, 95 mph fastball, and plus slider; he repeats his mechanics well, and he has outstanding stamina. The Bad:He rarely throws a changeup; the slider can become inconsistent at times; there is some concern over his lack of a track record, as this was his first successful year. In A Perfect World He Becomes: A durable, above-average innings-eater. So he sounds somewhere between Ben Sheets and Cal Eldred. If that ends up being the case, not a bad pick at all, especially at #26. I'm sure they'll have him working on an offspeed pitch right away, which will make his minor league numbers look deceptively mediocre. X, good call on the LaPorta/Brantley comparison. Davis and Walla - both lefties. Like that a lot.

Not surprised to see three college guys at all, especially pitchers. Odorizzi/Lintz/Frederickson/Jeffress/Anundsen/Braddock/Scarpetta/Peralta/etc. are all in A-ball or lower right now, and Periard and Seidel are on the DL and Rogers is coming off a major surgery - they don't have anything better than a #4/5 starter coming up in at least the next two years, so two college guys who can move through the system quickly could be a dire need. If Davis has 30-30 potential and can play CF that's a pretty good pick. So far I'm really happy.

Davis was hurt this year - " A torn hamstring and a torn ligament in his left thumb have set back his development this season. Despite the injuries, he has gamely stayed in the lineup to help spark the Volunteers' 7-4 start. "I've been trying to battle through it all season long," Davis said. "My hand started bothering me, and then my hamstring. I've just been trying to gut it out and stay in the lineup."

"Fat"? You aren't referring to Kentrail Davis, are you? The picture in this article seems to defy that adjective: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/news/story?id=3286474 They describe him in the article as being pretty ripped.

If Scheppers is still there at the comp pick, I say go for the daily double. The kids picked last year (Odorizzi/Lintz/Frederickson) will take a while to develop, Adams doesn't look like he's on the fast track either, so why not go for two guys who could move through the system quickly? Jeffress has regressed somewhat, so other than a couple of #4/5 type starters there aren't any quality starting pitchers knocking on the door the next two years (Jeffress and Anundsen are 2011, more likely 2012).

Arnett it is!

Latest MLB.com mock has Scheppers slipping past the Brewers to the pick after him. If he does slip that far due to injury concerns, I think it's a risk worth taking since they have two sandwich picks and second round picks and since Scheppers could move up the system quickly.

"After this contract, I'm done," said Zambrano Could you go a bit quicker than that, please?

Schafer just needed better competition to start drawing walks. I'd like to see Wilson stay at 3B, but with Gamel and Green ahead of him maybe versatility is his ticket to the bigs. As the sample size gets bigger, maybe Dillard is best in the pen after all.

So people are geeked about Heether and posting his MLEs based on less than 100 ABs repeated in AAA at age 27 and calling him a "late bloomer" despite not being on the 40-man roster, but whenever people write something positive about Gillespie/Gwynn/Katin... I'm glad he's gotten off to a hot start, and maybe he can be a poor-man's Cirillo. Maybe another team will value him and he can be packaged in a trade. Maybe they move Hall in the offseason, maybe Cameron doesn't come back and they move Hall back to CF for a year until Cain/Schafer is ready which opens up a spot for Heether. But the biggest thing is that he needs to get on the 40 man roster first, much less the ML roster. San Francisco needs an upgrade over Juan Uribe, and who knows if Sandoval at 5'11", 245, can stay at 3B (or C). SF also needs to send Burriss down to get the seasoning he needs, and they are desperate for power, so maybe they take Heether for a late season rental of Randy Johnson (he was born in Walnut Creek, so he may have a no-trade in his contract because he wants to pitch close to home), or Heether/Katin/A-ball pitcher for Jonathan Sanchez.

Personally, if I'm going to take a SG or SF in the top 10 they better be a sure-thing, not just an athlete (this isn't college hoops - you need guys who can shoot as well as jump). You can find shooting guards and small forwards later in the draft, even into the second round, but unless there's a SG/SF you know will get you 20 points a night I think you go C, PF, or PG in the top 10. If you're stacked at those positions, you're probably not drafting in the top 10. That being said, Redd will be 30 this year and has two years left on his deal, and they need to do better than Charlie Bell as the backup SG in case Redd is hurt, so if there is a sure-thing SG available I wouldn't oppose it at all. Jefferson, Alexander, and Ilyasova basically play the same position (SF), and CV is more like a SF than a PF, so I really don't think they need another SF. IIRC Bogut prefers to play C and not PF, so a PF or PG would be my choice. Assuming Jordan Hill, James Harden, and Jrue Holiday won't be there at #10, my choices would be: 1) Jonny Flynn (PG, Syracuse) 2) Stephen Curry (PG/SG, Davidson) 3) James Johnson (PF, Wake Forest) 4) Tyreke Evans (SG, Memphis) 5) Ty Lawson (PG, UNC) Still a toss-up though; I watched Flynn play in the Big East and I think he'll be a good pro - Sessions might be gone and Ridnour will be gone one way or another by the end of next year. Curry could play either PG or SG, filling two roles. Big guys from Wake Forest seem to do well in the NBA - the Bucks need a true PF and Johnson at 6'8", 255, would fit that mold. Lawson could be a better pro than college player; more of a passer than scorer, but the shooting % was excellent. If Tyreke Evans should fall to #10 and Flynn and Curry are both gone, he would be really tempting to fill that backup/future SG role. I have a bad feeling about DeRozan. Something tells me that Milwaukee won't be a big enough pond for him, and that his focus isn't entirely on basketball. I don't see him wanting to be here, or wanting to stay here. Interesting though - his player similarity on ESPN.com? Richard Jefferson. Jeff Teauge seems like Mo Williams - more of a shooter than PG; Teauge's assists/turnover ratio concerns me about his ability to play PG. But if he turns out to be Mo Williams he would be far from the worst #10 overall pick in the draft. As for the 2nd round - Jermaine Taylor or Dionte Christmas could be that backup SG to develop; Ahmand Nivins could be a bigger Mbah a Moute, and Milan Macvan could be worth taking a flyer on. And the Marquette trio - Matthews might be the best pro but limited upside, McNeal is undersized but brings it on defense, and James has explosiveness.

Zelous Wheeler over Steffan Wilson? Those two earned runs Rapoza gave up last night cost him his spot.

OPS with runners on base in 2009: Corey Hart (majors) - .609 Brendan Katin (AAA) - .958 Just sayin...