Fear The Chorizo

I think this conversation becomes more interesting once Nelson is ready to come back to Milwaukee and Burnes has demonstrated there's nothing left for him to prove in AAA as a starter...it's likely there will be another IL stint or two among the pile of starting pitcher options we're discussing, but regardless the makeup of the MLB pitching staff will remain in flux moving forward.

Here are Gary's combine #'s compared to another prominent DE/OLB prospect from a few years ago... Gary ??? Height 6'4" 6'5" Weight 280 266 Reach 34 1/8" 34 1/2" Hands 9 5/8" 10" 40 4.58 4.53 bench 26 reps 21 reps vertical 38" 37.5" broad jump 120" 124" 3cone 7.26 7.27 20 yd shuttle 4.29 4.43 All in all, Gary's performance may be more freakish than that of Jadeveon Clowneys was a handful of years ago considering he's a bigger guy.

Why not? Why not go into a game knowing you're going to try and get a majority of the innings pitched from two guys that are built up as starters and capable of each giving you at least 5IP, when your 40 man pitcher roster is chock full of those options compared to having a deep supply of shutdown relievers that can be relied on for ~3-4 appearances per week? I'd much rather take a piggy backing approach with 1 rotation spot than roll with a 6 man rotation or shuffling a guy who should be starting somewhere into an inconsistent bullpen role at this point. So let's say the plan is to piggyback Chacin/Peralta 4 innings each. 1) Chacin is horrible and can only go 2. Down 6-0. Now you want to use Peralta in a blow out game? 2) Chacin is pitching great. Up 6-0 after 4 innings. You want to yank him just because his 4 innings are up? 3) Close game, Peralta replaces Chacin after 4. Now in the 6th inning Peralta is AB with bases loaded. You're going to let him hit just because he needs his 4 innings as piggyback starter? I know the replies will e, well it doesn't have to be THAT rigid. If it's not, it's not piggybacking. Bringing in Peralta for to innings of relief is called a relief pitcher, not a piggyback. Very, very few games where it would make any sense at all to have one guy pitch roughly 4, then another guy pitch roughly 4. 1st off I'd never pick Chacin as one of the starters currently in the rotation to piggy back - but I'll just keep referring to him when responding to the rest of your questions. 1 - yes, absolutely. It's a blowout game that the team has limited chances to win. get Peralta his innings and see where things go with the game come inning 7 or 8. This way the bullpen is preserved in case one of the starters not being piggybacked has a blowup game. 2 - no not at all - if a starter is pitching great and is capable of giving you ~100 pitches through 5+ innings, you let him make his full start. I'd prefer for the starter in a piggy back situation to go at least the first 5, so I don't know where your 4 inning suggestion comes from. 3 - again, not sure why Peralta is coming in after 4 if Chacin is pitching ok - particularly when considering who's due in the lineup to start innings 5 and 6. Ideally, Peralta would enter the game in the 5th/6th/7th inning and come in right after Chacin is pinch hit for in his last AB. If Chacin is having difficulties getting out of his last inning, you'd use the best available bullpen option to try and work out of a jam, so Peralta comes in at the start of the next inning. if there's a late game situation where the pitcher's spot is due up and a PH is an obvious choice, then sure - you pull Peralta and let him get the rest of his pitches completed on the side in a simulated game to keep him stretched out. Should the NL finally adopt a DH, then this concern is completely mute. None of the scenarios you presented really are good arguments to avoid this strategy.

Why not? Why not go into a game knowing you're going to try and get a majority of the innings pitched from two guys that are built up as starters and capable of each giving you at least 5IP, when your 40 man pitcher roster is chock full of those options compared to having a deep supply of shutdown relievers that can be relied on for ~3-4 appearances per week? I'd much rather take a piggy backing approach with 1 rotation spot than roll with a 6 man rotation or shuffling a guy who should be starting somewhere into an inconsistent bullpen role at this point.

But someone just said that in their opinion they could have got Savage and Gary later or players equal to them. Of course even if the Ravens and Raiders say they had Savage as their pick inbetween 30 and 21, we don't KNOW that they would have pulled the trigger(the Raiders a bit more likely given they went with a safety). I posted it in the draft thread literally before I saw GB trade up that if the top player on their board at one of their positions of need was still available after pick 20, Gute should move up to go and get him. Then I posted again right after they drafted Savage - Gute made the move up knowing he wanted Savage at safety, and he had to jump over the Raiders' two 1st round picks (24 and 27, I believe) that were ahead of him at 30...because the Raiders would have taken Savage or at least whomever their top safety on their board was at one of those spots. Making the move with Seattle at 21 made the most sense because Seattle was obviously in pick acquiring mode during the early part of the draft. Gute could have easily made that determination during any conversations he had with the Raiders about working a trade up with them swapping a 1st round pick.

I'd actually consider Moose on a reasonably team friendly extension (~2 years, $25M) if it meant trading Shaw to make way for Hiura in 2020. I'm trying not to view Shaw's poor start to 2019 as the primary reason for this - tough to ignore it though. Shaw is a streakier offensive player than Moose, but having to ride though those lows in the middle of the order is frustrating. Plus, I feel like Moose is a much better defensive 3B than Shaw is. Now that Shaw is getting more expensive through arbitration, if Moose is open to an extension it may be a good option if they can find a time to sell high on Shaw before opening day 2020. Of course, you could always move Shaw over to 1B, extend Moose to play 3rd, call up Hiura, and roll with a Shaw/Aguilar 1B platoon next year, too...

Braun's start to this year looks very similar to his April-May splits from last season - some of that is due to his regression as a player, but some is also due to bad luck with that babip...it's still too early to write him off, because he will have stretches of games where he can still carry them offensively. That being said, his days as a #3 hitter in lineups should be over due to that inconsistency that comes with age/regression. He isn't a lineup anchor anymore - I'd much rather see him in the #5-7 range in most batting orders assuming all the other key Brewer regulars are healthy. I'm hoping Aguilar/Thames remains a 1B platoon, and Shaw finds a way to get going - assuming Yelich's absence isn't prolonged, I'd love to see lineups consisting of Cain/Yelich at the top followed by a 3-5 comprised of Grandal, Moose, and 1B in some order. Then you can plug in Shaw/Braun at spots 6-7. Gamel provides tremendous value to this team as a 4th OF, which is his best role moving forward. He'll get extended PT just subbing for the regular OFs, let alone a few stints playing everyday during likely DL stints. And I highly doubt a $4Mil buyout would be bad optics to rid themselves of Braun's payroll obligation if the writing is on the wall two offseasons from now that he's done as a player...that $11M will be much better spent on arbitration salaries/FA on prime-age players.

One of the benefits overall to having a roof on Miller Park is you've got 81 guaranteed games that won't be rescheduled due to weather. It always seems like the Brewers play a pretty heavy slate of games with fewer scheduled offdays in April/May, too - I'm sure schedule makers take advantage of a midwest team not have to play weather roulette in spring. It's tough now, but it preserves the much needed days off down the stretch.

I think this is another indicator they may be setting up for one or even multiple rotation spots to be manned by piggybacking starters. Give Gio the first 5+ IP, then have Peralta finish the game. It would rest your thin bullpen and not overexpose starters, either. They seemingly have a ton of interchangeable starters with some innings limits and a dearth of quality bullpen depth - why not get unconventional and take advantage of it.

Hugwatch...must have been traded to S.F. for Will Smith to help stabilize the bullpen

Yet another setback for Nelson due to that stupid slide...guy can't catch a break. On top of it now he's got two more mouths to feed In all seriousness - congrats to proud papa Nelson! I know it's been a struggle healthwise for his family, and it's nothing to do with his shoulder. Hope they are all healthy and the new arrivals are able to pack on the lbs fast...

I remember many people posting over the offseason that the NL as a whole was going to be a dogfight... It's early and all, but looking at the standings right now really points to that being accurate. Getting any kind of separation is going to be difficult. The current version of the Brewers' pen does stink - losing Knebel so late in spring training rocked them. They're now in a tough spot, with seemingly a conga line of starting pitchers making their way back from injury or inconsistency or just a late April signing - none of which being great candidates to thrust into late inning relief roles. Maybe the Brewers will just say "Screw Bullpens", and just field a pitching staff with around 7-8 starters and turn two or three of the rotation spots into piggyback games for awhile. Chacin + bullpen scraps + 1-plus IP from Hader Gio/Nelson Anderson/Burnes Davies + bullpen scraps + 1-plus IP from Hader Woodruff/Peralta (or Houser)

It's absurd that Hiura's OPS is approaching 1.100 despite 3 measly walks to date this year and a still way to high 32% K rate (trending down recently). Have bat, will play...

I think the Brewers need to roll with Anderson and Davies in the rotation for awhile, plus Nelson may be on his way back to milwaukee in the next month - if he is healthy and arm built up, he's in the rotation too. Then you have chacin, plus I think you have to keep woodruff in the rotation. I'd be ok with peralta taking anderson's pen role as the bullpen longman/spot starter. I think burnes needs time in AAA now that they are out of CO Springs to get extended work as a starter - that is still where he needs to be. Includine Gio into the mix could easily lead to a scenaRio where 1-2 rotation spots get piggybacked, too

The Ks are a slight concern, but yeah, he's doing exactly what a top hitting prospect should be doing. It's been a long time since this team has had a bat like that on the cusp of the majors. Small sample for sure, but the crazy k rate has been dropping over the past 7-10 days. With how high his slg% has been all year, the k's were a product of him just getting himself out swinging at balls outside the zone. When he locks in and swings at hittable pitches he does serious damage, particularly for a middle infielder.

Safe to say Keston is getting pretty comfortable in AAA...1.039 OPS and a 0.316 BA after tonight, I think

this game might end before we get to sunday

Velo looks ok, but something is wrong with DeGrom and it's not just his recent bout with strep...gotta be concerning for the Mets

1st guess is there's something in his medicals that have alot of teams concerned.

Probably because most mocks every year fall in love with certain position groupings in each draft and in turn undervalue really good players that don't play those overhyped positions. Gotta remember that mock drafts are put together by people who don't have jobs with NFL teams. Plus it's almost assured that the Raiders are going to take a safety/DB with one of their next two picks, which would have both been before 30. If GB wanted to address safety and had their top player at that position on their board still available after it got to #20, mightaswell trade up ahead of Oakland to get him. Plus, Savage is a good football name, was named the top DB at the Senior bowl, and ran a 4.36 40 at the combine...

looking for GB to bounce back up somewhere over the next couple picks with a trade here Edit: and as I type this....BINGO

That's pretty pessimistic considering the 1st round isn't even 2/3 over yet - I'll give you props for being punctual

I find it hilarious the Vikings draft a center in round one less than two years removed from hearing nothing but glowing praise for Pat Elflein as being their longterm answer at that position as recently as this past fall up here. The Vikes' O-line continues to be a mess - this guy might help solve some of their issues, but it doesn't take away from the fact the line has been their bugaboo for quite some time.

Gary has a large enough frame that he could easily be a 3-4 DE, particularly if he lines up next to one of the Smiths as an edge rushing OLB - given the Packers' offseason OLB signings, I'd guess Gary winds up just maintaining his weight right where it is. Daniels, Clark, and Gary as the 3 base DL is interesting with Smiths bookending them.

Given the general nature of how college football is evolving, perhaps after the opener last year against ND that they lose and effectively removed them from CFP consideration, Gary decided it best to play out the season knowing full well that getting through it healthy basically guaranteed him a top 15 draft pick contract.