Harold Hutchison

What is Nelson's prognosis? Will he be the same? How bad are these injuries? EDIT: Here's what qoura had ont he rehab for a labrum tear: https://www.quora.com/How-long-does-rehab-take-for-a-MLB-pitcher-for-a-torn-shoulder-labrum I hope that Nelson's situation is not as bad.

Umm, isn't the whole goal of a rebuild to get young, controllable assets? Davies is 24, and has arguably been the team's best pitcher this year. Trading him for prospects would be taking a HUGE step backward. You have a #2-3-type starter locked in for the next four seasons. Why in the world would you give that up, even for a "huge" return? In my opinion, Davies IS the huge return. Davies and Broxton? You better be getting a young MLB All-Star caliber player back, plus a MLB Top 10 prospect. The Brewers have a lot of SP depth options. Woodruff, Suter, and Jungmann, for starters, with Angel Ventura and Hader as outside shots. Wilkerson, Burnes, and Ortiz all look to be ready at some point in 2018. For the right price, Davies should be available. Now, the team that gets him pays through the nose, but I'm not above dealing from depth to get a huge return.

It would be nice if you didn't always use counting stats to make an argument, but since you did. Thames has 66 walks in 150 less plate appearances, so those are probably about even. Yes, he has 21 doubles to Carters 27...but he also has 4 triples to Carters 1. All of this is in 150 less plate appearances. To say that Thames is less productive than Carter last year is wrong in my opinion. Carter did bash a lot more home runs and drove in more runners, but is that Thames' fault that he had a black hole hitting in front of him for much of the year(Villar), especially in his hot April? Also, he was batting 2nd much of the year. So, he had Arcia(before he started hitting well),the pitcher, and Villar in front of him most of the time. So please, do not use RBI as a way to judge a players worth. Thames has also been batting 1st or second in the lineup for 98 of the 108 games he has started. With Villar's struggles this season, plus Arcia and the pitcher batting 8-9, I'm not surprised he's got a relatively low RBI-to-HR ratio. Nobody's on base when he connects.

Thames had his year paid for by the end of April, so I'm not sure how the deal is a bad one at this point. Unloading a $5m/yr deal on a 30HR guy who can take a walk seems silly to me. It's not a bad deal at all. The thing is... Thames and Aguilar are the kind of players that are good for the short-to-medium term, but long-term may be a different story. If someone makes an offer for Thames/Aguilar that blows Stearns away, then I hope Stearns goes for it. The Crew can always adjust things (plus, moving Braun/Santana does open up space in the outfield for Phillips/Brinson/Stokes and other young players).

Wild Card may not be a bad way to go... the Crew's played very tight against the Dodgers. They could take them.

This. I think the top trade assets on the 25-man roster are: Aguilar Broxton Davies Thames Ideally, I'd see all four dealt, either for more prospects for the system, an elite TOR starter, or an elite bat.

I wouldn't be surprised if people came to the Brewers with offers for Davies, Anderson, or Nelson. All are young, and Davies is controllable for a while. The return could be substantial, especially if packaged with Keon Broxton.

Yes. Or well, maybe not specifically 3, but was going to be a short leash and somewhat of a bullpen day. I would've thought 4 though, pitch count was in decent shape and Suter had looked good. Heck, he was cruising! 2 H, 1 BB in 3 IP... you let him go for 4 or 5 in that case.

Hummel's convinced me that he warrants a longer look. I think he ought to be primary AA catcher, with Nottingham in AAA. But Nottingham has become the 4th best catcher. Fifth best if Mitch Ghelfi rebounds from a lost season.

Broxton alone has some value, even with his streakiness. Broxton-Garza as a centerpiece of a trade could get a slightly better return. Broxton-Davies as a combo in a trade could really net a huge return.

You have to, but if Nelson and Anderson are for real, then you have as good a 1-2 punch as any team in the league. Davies is not bad, but not quite at their level. Woodruff and Suter are probably the top contenders for the 4-5 spots if the 40-man stays as it is. The depth does provide a lot of options, though...

It would be great, but I'm more interested in getting Perrin, Ponce, and the A+/Full-Season A pitchers developed.

I consider him the best OF prospect in the system. I loved the walk rate and speed, and liked the doubles power, but now... I think he could go to the #2 spot on my next ballot, behind only Burnes, because he has upped his power production substantially. Yes, Harrison's ceiling is higher, but Stokes is likely to make the majors and contribute, even if it's just in a Brady Clark role.

My first thought is that I don't want to see the Brewers sign a free agent, and I want to see Garz dealt (maybe as part of a package with Keon Broxton). For the rotation, that gives the Brewers: Nelson, Davies, Anderson, Suter, Woodruff, Jungmann, Guerra, Hader, and Angel Ventura I'm sure I'm missing a name or two. But there should be NO problem after the top three of Nelson-Anderson-Davies of coming up with a #4 and #5 starter, and Suter an Woodruff have flashed dominance this season. If there is some spending on a free agent, it's to keep Walker here for 2-3 years until Keston Hiura is ready to come up, NOT for a Garza/Lohse/Wolf/Suppan type of pitcher.

I'd keep Garza for garbage time, but try to package him in the off-season. Even with his 4.77 ERA, at only $5 million, he's still got some value. Granted, it's probably gonna be two or three low-level lottery tickets - about what Lind brought back in the 2015-2016 offseason - or he is a throw-in to a Keon Broxton deal. That $5 million option is really cheap considering how much free agents will cost. Many free agents of Garza's current caliber and age don't end up finding jobs at all or get picked up on minor league deals. The way he's pitched down the stretch, that is very likely. Perhaps, but at $5 million, he's still cheap considering the market.

I'd keep Garza for garbage time, but try to package him in the off-season. Even with his 4.77 ERA, at only $5 million, he's still got some value. Granted, it's probably gonna be two or three low-level lottery tickets - about what Lind brought back in the 2015-2016 offseason - or he is a throw-in to a Keon Broxton deal. That $5 million option is really cheap considering how much free agents will cost.

3-3 against the Dodgers this season, and held them to 3 or fewer runs in five out of six. I like the team's chances. I think the Dodgers are cocky enough to think the Crew is a pushover... and the Crew could take them, especially if a Suter or Davies is red hot and the offense shows up.

I'm starting to get a good feeling about Harrison as well. He's got his injury issues behind him - just seems to be getting better and better. I think Harrison could be an outstanding center fielder... if he can make the majors. He does have an injury history, and prior to this year, his offense was... kinda hard for me to put a finger on. He showed good OBP skills in Arizona in 2014, but they dropped off in 2015 and 2016 between Wisconsin and Helena. Now, he seems to have a lot of it together, but he did spend his thrid eason at Wisconsin. I will say that Harrison has perhaps the highest ceiling. Easily a 30-30 player. That said... Troy Stokes Jr. has shown consistency across the board, plus a power surge this year. His ceiling may be a Brady Clark who is a 20-25 homer, 25-30 SB player - decidedly not as high or superstar-ish as Harrison's, but I'm far more certain Stokes will be at worst a Brady Clark type - and six years of that as a 4th outfielder is not bad.

I think this is the opinion that is closest to mine. The only differences I would have is Braun in LF as the only regular. Brinson/Phillips/Santana rotate in CF and RF and in LF when Braun needs a day off. These three should accumulate somewhere close to 500 PAs. Perez should almost never see the OF unless it is a true defensive replacement as Braun starts to age and Santana needs to be pulled. Trade Broxton for the best offer you can get. Maybe package him to increase the return. Interesting thought...deal Broxton to SF for Will Smith? The way I see it, the Brewers have the following CFs in the system, grouped by ETAs: 2018: Brinson and Phillips 2019: Troy Stokes, Jr. (AA 2018, maybe to AAA mid-season if he performs like he has this season) 2020: Carlos Ray, Trent Clark (AA 2018, AAA 2019) 2021: Monte Harrison (A+/AA 2018, AA/AAA 2019, AAA/MLB 2020) Looking at that, I think a Broxton-Garza package in the 2017-2018 offseason makes a lot of sense. That should net two of an organization's top ten prospects, plus maybe another one or two from 11-30. If we throw in Carlos Ray, maybe the Brewers can net three top ten prospects, plus one or two others. I like the rotation idea for Brinson, Phillips, and Santana in 2018. In the 2018-2019 offseason, I'd then look to deal one of Brinson/Santana to make room for Stokes as the 4th OF. For 2019-2020, figure that the Crew then uses Clark as the 4th/5th OF, and moves Braun to first. Or the NL could adopt the DH by then. When Braun retires after 2020, then in comes Harrison.

Troy Stokes Jr. gets my vote. .789 OPS at Carolina at age 21, .770 OPS at Biloxi at age 21 this year... 18 HR, 24 2B, 26 SB...

Yeah, I don't have much use for Perez. It's too bad because every other part of his game is adequate. He can play anywhere in the field adequately, is an alright hitter with some pop. If he were a .258 hitter with a .328 OBP, he'd be a nice valuable player. 258 with a .286 OBP is just horrible. Maybe it's Dubon next year. He profiles as a utility backup. With Perez being a minimum salary guy I'm not totally opposed to keeping him around as a utility player next year but it doesn't look like he'll ever walk. He's actually showing less patience than last year. Perez has actually reduced his strikeouts as a percentage of PAs from 21.86% in 2016 (94 in 430 PAs) to 16.8% in 2017 (63 in 375 PAs). He's making more contact, the ball's just being fielded and turned into outs. He plays seven positions (all three OF, all four IF). He can steal up to 30 bases, and he has pretty good power. He can fill in if someone gets hurt, he can give anyone a day off, if they need a double-switch, he's there. If the Brewers can get a relatively cheap 5-6 years deal (say, $3-4 million a year) that buys out the arby years and 2-3 free agent years, Perez becomes an immensely valuable asset. The same can go for Villar as well. This year, his BABIP is only .307. In three of his past major league seasons, it's been over .360, and his career BABIP is .338. If he returns to his career average, his versatility (playing SS, 3B, 2B, LF, CF) becomes valuable. He's also able to steal a minimum of 20 bases, and he does flash substantial power and switch-hits. Again it may be worth buying out his arby and a couple free-agent years at $3-4 million per year. Now we have the nucleus of a "Bench Mob." Think of it this way - we have starting talent. So will big-market teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, and Cubs. The Brewers, though, need to think more outside the box. A "Bench Mob" is probably one wya to go. Get very versatile guys who have one or two reasonably plus tools...

I think the resistance to machines calling balls and strikes will last and succeed only as long as the umpires remain credible. That said, with that technology, how long before some analytics guy uses this to track how various umps call the balls and strikes, and then passes that on to the pitchers? I could see this really helping a pitcher like Brent Suter, who relies less on blowing it by hitters and more on using control and command.

A super-sub like Villar is valuable because he provides options in case of injury, not to mention a little roster flexibility as well. I don't think he is as bad as 2017 shows, but maybe 2016 was his career year. Something in-between maybe where the "true" Villar is offensively. Maybe not a world-beating starter, but as an injury replacement or a late-game sub, it's still a net asset. EDIT: Think of Villar and Perez as the centerpieces of a baseball equivalent to the "Bench Mob" the Chicago Bulls had a few years ago.

I'd hope that the Crew keeps these guys: RHP Jorge Ortega - Had good control prior to needing TJ surgery. RHP Wily Peralta - Maybe he can turn it around. LHP/1B Nick Ramirez - Toolshed 2.0 OF Michael Reed - Superb OBP skills RHP Angel Ventura - Like what I've seen this year C Rene Garcia - Never hurts to have depth LHP Sean Nolin - Can't have enough lefties

Rotator cuff... crap, that isn't good.