Harold Hutchison

OK, again, how do you get that bat in the lineup? The Brewers need a future 1B, a future C (not sold on Nottingham, Garcia and Henry are not even at A-ball, and Cooper Hummel is probably a #2 catcher at best), and Lucas Erceg backslid a little from 2016. If Gomez's bat is that good, put it in.

Why not trade Broxton for Gomez? The Crew doesn't have a first baseman for the future, and it wouldn't be a bad thing to have insurance for Thames after dealing Garrett Cooper. I'll take Gomez at second, catcher, or first as a replacement for Thames, or third. He's a switch-hitter, so, bonus points there. EDIT: Worst case, I see Gomez as a replacement for Hernan Perez down the line. Best case, the C or 1B (or 3B) of the future.

Honestly, my targets are re-signing Sogard, Walker, and Swarzak. Have Walker start at second, with Sogard, Perez, and Villar joining the non-starting platoons of Pina/Vogt, Phillips/Brinson, and Thames/Aguilar as a bench mob. I thin the Crew has some elite prospects coming up in the next 2-3 years. Troy Stokes is under the radar for many, but I think he had the best season of all outfielders in the Brewers minor-league system. Corbin Burnes just broke out last year, and who knows what will happen with Erceg, Clark, Diaz, Hiura, and others.

I think the big question for 2018 is, "Will Attanasio, Stearns, and Counsell be willing to take a step back in the short term to have massive gains over the long haul?" We just bled the Cubs' farm system dry this year. Maybe this offseason sees the Cubs make some ill-advised signings.

Don't forget Jon Perrin! But, yeah... no need to blow $15 million a year on a 5.00 ERA starter.

July 28... Suter goes 7 scoreless against the Cubs. Sept. 23... Suter goes 5.1, holds the Cubs to a run, Shaw with the walk-off in the bottom of the 10th for the only win of that four-game set.

Davies over Nelson and Chase Anderson for pitcher of the year? Davies was healthy all season, and he's lead the league in wins. Anderson and Nelson both missed time with injuries this season.

Off on MVP (probably Santana/Shaw), called the Cy Young, missed Rolaids because Suter earned a rotation spot (and probably is the rookie pitcher of the year), and did call Thames putting up good middle-order numbers even though he batted 2nd a lot this year. And the prospects had me thrown off as well. Pleased that the Crew exceeded my record prediction by 10 wins. I think overall, Counsell made the most of the roster. Was worried he might not after the November 2016 town hall... but pleased to find out the worries were unfounded.

Let's look at this by position: Catcher: The duo of Vogt and Pina looks to be a solid one for at least 2018. The question is whether one or two of Josh Nottingham, Cooper Hummel, Mitch Ghelfi, Payton Henry, KJ Harrison, or Mario Feliciano can take over down the road. First Base: Thames is older, and likely to regress, but Aguilar is also a very solid option and may be on the upswing. Add loads of outfield bats who may move (Braun? Santana?) with youth. Second Base: Walker is old, but solid. Villar was awesome offensively in 2016, slumped in 2017. Both could be solid, both could slump. Sogard's a nice bench option. Shortstop: Arcia's got a great glove, but a .730 OPS doesn't fill me with confidence. That said, Villar showed in 2016 he could play short. I am hopeful he can improve some, but my real worry is he plateaus. I would hate to see the Brewers pay a good-field, no-hit shortstop millions of bucks a year ala Royce Clayton. Third Base: Travis Shaw took a step forward in 2017 from 2016 and at 27, he's in his prime. Other options include Hernan Perez (a righty power bat), Neil Walker (good OBP skills) Left Field: Braun's been injured a bit, but still posts an OPS over .800. But he's not the Braun of 2007-2012. Center Field: A platoon of Phillips and Brinson could make the most of both young players. Broxton may improve, but the depth behind him means he may improve in another city. Right Field: Santana looks to be on the rise. Starting rotation: Chase Anderson had a career year and is 29. But Brent Suter, Brandon Woodruff, and Zach Davies are all improving. Nelson's injury will cost him most of 2018, and it's an open question if he will be the same as he was 28 in 2017. Bullpen: Knebel and Hader are both young, controllable, and likely to be very good. Taylor Williams and Wei-Chung Wang also both are young and will improve. Jeffress was 4-0 with a 3.38 ERA, and at 29, we can count on something similar. I see a lot more positive signs than negative signs with this club. My big worries would be Thames at first, second base if Walker isn't re-signed, Arcia plateauing offensively at short, Braun's health, and Nelson's ability bounce back from the injury. The thing is... all of these are somewhat addressable. Thames can be replaced either by giving Aguilar the job full-time, or moving Santana/Braun. Arcia plateauing means that rather than sign him to a free-agent extension, the Crew needs to look at developing in-house options.I don't mind good-field/.730 OPS shortstops when they cost less than $3 million a season, but if the price goes higher... I'd rather try Hiura, Diaz, or Gatewood at short. Braun's injury just means Troy Stokes makes his Milwaukee debut. As for Nelson... one of Jungmann, Angel Ventura, Derby, or Corbin Burnes will step up.

I agree that's a route we COULD go. We could retool a couple pieces and give more young guys opportunities. I think it's more likely that we spend some money on 2-3 year deals for significant bullpen pieces, make a play for a high-end SP, make the obvious move with our OF situation(trade broxton, phillips starting with brinson at AAA briefly), and possibly try and re-sign walker depending on his price tag. If we sign walker, I would think we also trade one of Villar/Thames. Those moves along with improvement from our young players would likely net us more wins in 2018 than this year. I'm going to hope that Stearns recognizes that Milwaukee is not Chicago, and money for free agents doesn't grow on trees in this market. 1. Trade Broxton to the White Sox for a package that includes 1B Casey Gillaspie, LHP Ian Clarkin, and LHP Bernardo Flores. 2. Let Garza walk, re-sign Walker and Sogard 3. Load up the pen with younger arms. See about trading Hughes/Drake/etc. for the "lottery tickets" to net more Freddy Peraltas. Going back to 75-80 wins is not a bad thing, especially if the younger players can be refined. I favor a Phillips/Brinson platoon in CF, and not opposed to Thames/Aguilar at first, but Gillaspie could be a short-term option if one or both of Thames/Aguilar struggle. Gillaspie is showing a good walk rate, and some power. For the rotation, exploring the in-house options makes much more sense. I have Jungmann as 5th starter, but it could be Hader, could be Angel Ventura... there are folks who deserve a shot in Milwaukee's system now. Also, who knows how fast Corbin Burnes could hit the majors? If he's pitching in 2018 like he did in 2017... I would also not be surprised if the Brewers decide to move Santana to an AL team, especially if Troy Stokes continues his development.

Actually, a three-year deal for Walker makes sense, since the Brewers have Hiura rocketing through the system. 2018: Hiura in Carolina/Biloxi 2019: Hiura in Biloxi/AAA 2020: Hiura in AAA/majors That allows Walker to play a role in 2018-2019, then hand it off to Hiura in 2020. Use Villar as a utility player/backup for those three years. I'm all for depth on the bench. A "Bench Mob" is a good thing.

Ideally, the Crew has both. If Villar returns to 2016 form, and Walker stays - awesome. If Walker stays, but Villar is closer to 2017 than 2016, hey, not bad. If Villar returns and Walker gets big buck, not bad, either. But if Walker stays and Villar returns to 2016... heck, if Arcia can't get his OPS higher than .730, you can always move Villar to short, play Walker at second, and you gain 96 points of OPS at short and Walker will add 10 points over Villar's 2016 numbers at second while Arcia can work on getting the OPS up.

The beauty of this off season will be the options available. Considering how many different directions he could go, I actually suspect Stearns will make some decisions that some of us will strongly disagree with. But Stearns has done wonders with this roster in 2 years, have faith and hope for the best. Right now, the Brewers have the money to sign Walker as a stop-gap until Hiura comes up. There are lots of arm options in-house for the bullpen. And a "bench mob" of Sogard, Villar, and Perez provides outstanding depth in case someone gets hurt. Now, if Stearns gets an outstanding offer for one of the bench mob, he should go for it, but otherwise, stand pat, and leverage that depth.

c: Pina 1b: Thames/Aguilar 2b: Walker ss: Arcia 3b: Shaw lf: Braun cf: Phillips/Brinson rf: Santana bench: Vogt, Aguilar/Thames, Phillips/Brinson, Perez, Villar, Sogard rotation: Anderson, Davies, Suter, Woodruff, Jungmann bullpen: Knebel, Hader, Jeffress, T. Williams, Barnes, Wang, Guerra Trade: OF Keon Broxton and RHP Aaron Wilkerson to Chicago White Sox for 1B Casey Gillaspie, LHP Ian Clarkan, and LHP Bernardo Flores

I hope so, too, but I think that given what I know of the situation down there, and the fact he hasn't been improving... well, it doesn't look good.

I have to agree. With Nelson out, the crew can do an in-house rotation of Anderson, Davies, Suter, Woodruff, Hader/Burnes in 2018 (the best way to do that switch would be have Hader in until the break, then call up Burnes).

He is intriguing. Nelson's shoulder surgery wasn't as bad as it could have been, bu this could be an insurance policy.

We've talked the rotation, but the pen in 2018 could be very, very good. Closer: Corey Knebel Set-up: Hader 7th inning: Swarzak (if re-signed) LOOGY: Wei-Chung Wang Short Relief: Jeremy Jeffress Middle Relief: Jared Hughes Long Relief: Guerra Barnes will likely be on the outside looking in, as will Torres, Drake, and Tyler Webb.

Josh Hader is giving you a hair flip while saying "Hi". Also, is there really a chance that Nelson isn't going to be ready for the 2018 opener? I sure hope that isn't the case. I haven't really seen much on his expected recovery time. As for Suter, I know you love him, but his ceiling is at most as a #5/swing guy. The role he is in right now is likely where he'll be next year. That is still very valuable. He has proven this season to be dependable, and I'm sure his willingness to take the ball whenever asked, and in any situation, is much appreciated by Counsell and Stearns. Finally, I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that the team uses some of the minor league depth they've built up to make a trade for a controllable starter in the offseason. Someone like Matt Moore or even Bumgarner or Stroman may be possibilities. Hader and Knebel are the backbone of the 2018 bullpen, hopefully Swarzak is re-signed to help there as well. Figure Jeffress comes in as another short-relief option, Wei-Chung Wang as the LOOGY, and someone like Guerra as the swingman. This past June and early July saw Suter make a dominant run. If he's stretched out as a starter, and gets more MLB experience, he could easily be able to be a quality starter, even at the back end. Beats seeing the Crew sign some free agent at $15 million. Suter's cheap for three years. Even if Nelson is out, after Anderson, Davies, and Woodruff, the Crew has Jungmann, Suter, Angel Ventura, and Wilkerson as immediate options in-house. Bubba Derby, Corbin Burnes, and Luis Ortiz will be forcing their way into the mix by the end of 2018 as well.

The Crew needs another sweep of the Cubs, and to beat down on the Reds and Pirates.

That is interesting. The overall sample for Suter in the majors is small. We have more of an idea in the minors, where he had some very good years in 2015/2016. How much of that was the rotator cuff strain in August? Could he do better with more pitches if he is stretched out as a starter instead of being bounced between the pen and the rotation? Even with the very good numbers he posted 2015 and 2016, there was that bouncing between the rotation and bullpen. In 2017, he bounced between the rotation and the bullpen AND between AAA and the majors. Did that have an effect? That said, if the Crew wants a lefty in the rotation, Brent Suter is the only option. Meideros was in A+, and still not impressing. the other options are Drake Owenby and Cameron Roegner, and both were at full-season A. My opinion? For 2018, put Nelson on the 60-day DL. Go with a rotation of Anderson, Davies, Woodruff, Suter, and Jungmann. I'd take Garza's option and let him pitch in spring training on the chance that some other team will need a starter and MAYBE the Brewers can get a lottery ticket or two for Garza in that eventuality. Otherwise, cut Garza loose as one of the last cuts in spring training.

Ernesto Martinez will be one I have my eyes on... that walk rate in 2017 has been impressive.

How about 6-0, with the Cards skidding after beating the Cubs?

I'm confident with Anderson, Davies, Woodruff, and Suter. It's just Garza/Guerra for that fifth spot that worries me. Maybe help comes after Colorado Springs finished their playoffs.

Sweeping the Cubs... awesome. Puts the Crew back into the mix for the NL Central.