Harold Hutchison

The problem is we need more than one run to beat the Cubs. This was a must-sweep series. We had to take the life out of them. 2 out of 3 doesn't do that.

Serves me right for posting that late.

Red Sox get: RHP Zach Davies SS/3B Gilbert Lara Brewers get: 3B/2B Michael Chavis 1B Josh Ockimey LHP Jalen Beeks

Might not be a bad idea. His versatility is a huge asset.

Zach Davies and Matt Garza are both very solid pitchers - ERAs in the 4.00-4.50 range, give or take .25 of the ERA... What could Davies bring in return if dealt over the offseason? Garza? Both together? Between Brent Suter, Brandon Woodruff, and Josh Hader, all of whom are on the cusp of the majors, plus Luis Ortiz, Corbin Burnes, and Angel Ventura, all of whom have 2018 ETAs, might it not be worth flipping one or both of them to get prospects or other talent?

Between Suter, Woodruff, Davies, and Hader, the Brewers have a bunch of young guns capable of doing as well, if not better. Next year add Angel Ventura, Ortiz, and Burnes to the list.

Suter has definitely nailed down the Anderson spot in the rotation, which could have turned into a black hole during this DL stint. Don't know if Suter is top of rotation quality, but I'd be plenty happy if he becomes this generation's Jamie Moyer. How about a poor man's Mark Buehrle? This month, Suter's been a lefty version of Greg Maddux.

Hope the Brewers decide to give Berroa another shot. That kind of performance...

He's done well this entire month. He had a 1.96 ERA before this start. Went 7 scoreless. I knew he'd be a rotation asset, maybe even top of rotation-ish. Suter has definitely nailed down the Anderson spot in the rotation, which could have turned into a black hole during this DL stint. Don't know if Suter is top of rotation quality, but I'd be plenty happy if he becomes this generation's Jamie Moyer. The more work he gets as a starter, I think he'll be able to get folks out the third time they see him. Just a matter of getting stretched out, and figuring out the hitters.

I doubt he would say anything else. He wants his fans to feel good about trading their best pitcher. And how did that work out for the Cubs today? Well, Quintana got out-pitched by 2012 31st-round pick Brent Suter.

Just gotta win two more: One Saturday, the other Sunday.

He's done well this entire month. He had a 1.96 ERA before this start. Went 7 scoreless. I knew he'd be a rotation asset, maybe even top of rotation-ish. The numbers from 2015 and 2016 pointed that way... but this month has been awesome. When Chase Anderson gets back, maybe someone else leaves the rotation. Guerra, perhaps? Suter's giving the Crew a chance to win every time he takes the mound.

One more out... c'mon Corey...

Well, the Cubs series just became a must-sweep.

I wish they'd keep him behind the plate, although, he has played IF and C as well.

Your premise is right on the money. The Cubs are pretty well set through 2021. The Brewers need a lot to go right in any particular year between now and then just to get to the position they are in now. They will have to spend a lot on FA, whereas the Brewers are ahead of schedule on the re-build. There are a host of young starters on the way up or who are rookies... Woodruff, Suter, Burnes, Ortiz, Hader - that's a rotation right there, and doesn't factor in Wang or Wilkerson. I like that kind of set-up... and thats not counting F. Peralta, Diplan, and others coming up.

At this point, Garza is a no brainer pick at $5M. Come the end of the season, if he's healthy and sitting around a 4.00 ERA - that's better than league average (which is around 4.35). The Crew can always trade him down the road if they decide they want to move on from him and go with younger guys. But for now, he's pitching pretty good, and $5M is cheap for a back of the rotation guy. I say, keep Garza, but flip him when Corbin Burnes is ready to come up next year (hey, the way Burnes is dealin'...)

I have to agree. I'd have felt better if it were Kyle Wren. We traded a replacement/supplement for Hernan Perez for a rental. Not a fan of this move.

He has been dominant enough that it would make sense to put him in more high-leverage situations, but it seems like we go two or three days between his appearances. Today, he went 1.2 innings, no walks, one hit. No walks in his last three appearances, and in July his K/BB is 3.00 compared to 0.71 in June. Checking the game logs at baseball-reference (which don't include today's game), he is averaging 3 days rest between appearances. Perhaps he is having his mechanics tweaked in side sessions.

I probably wouldn't have projected a trade like this two days ago. But Phillips getting promoted ahead of Cordell, despite the fact that Cordell is over 2 years older than Phillips, makes me really question how valuable Stearns sees Cordell as a future major league piece (and I am aware of the lefty bat versus righty bat aspect). Pretty much everyone would have Cordell ranked as the Brewer's fifth best outfield prospect and with Santana and Brinson already producing as major leaguers, it doesn't bode that well for a 25 year old stuck in AAA. Williams is already 25 years old and missed two seasons with a major elbow injury. Over two full years since the injury and I believe the max number of pitches in any outing this season is 57. And Williams was never a top-of-the-line prospect even prior to the injury. In Baseball America's 2015 Handbook Williams was ranked #7 (in an organization that was ranked #21) and the key sentence in the write-up states that due to Williams' lack of size many scouts see him as a reliever but the Brewers think he can be a starter because of his command. A move like this is hardly like giving away the farm. On most expert's top 30 list Cordell would rank in the 13-15 area and maybe Williams cracks the bottom. If things go south for Milwaukee, barring injury Wilson would be a pretty easy flip next off-season and likely would bring back the equivalent of Cordell. He's a 95 MPH lefty with a solid MLB track record. Brewer fans see Stearns making an effort to help what is emerging as the weakest part of the team and Counsell gets a proven MLB lefty to work with. Cordell can play all three OF positions, as well as 3B, SS, and 2B. He probably can play first as well - it's not observed, but with the versatility he's shown, I wouldn't bet against it. In essence, he's either a supplement to, or replacement for, Hernan Perez and/or Jesus Aguilar.

I never really had a problem with Clancy believing Suter could be an MLB player. If I recall one of the recent times he rated him #1 he also called him a mid rotation guy. I just don't get how in a deep system our #1 guy isn't anything short of a potential All Star. If you are going to rate Suter #1 he better be a future ace in your mind. Too bad Clancy rates these unknowns way too high. If he rated them more like 15-20 range people might take them more seriously and be interested in his view. When you put them above 5 or so Top 100 prospects it's hard to even take seriously. Being aggressive when rating certain guys is fine just don't over do it. I love Monte Harrison and will rank him higher than most, but I won't rate him #1. Yeah, I think it's over the top, but I guess I understand that people have different ways of evaluating prospects, too. Which is more important when ranking prospects, ceiling, or floor? Obviously you take a prospect like Corey Ray, or Isan Diaz, and you've got a much higher ceiling than Suter. You've also got a much lower floor, since Suter is already contributing at the big league level, and there is a chance that Ray and Diaz never do. So I guess you could say that he just values floor that much, but I suppose Ronnie Gideon kind of throws that theory out the window. Gideon's numbers at Helena were eye-popping. Even given that he was a college player, that OPS of 1.010 was still very impressive - not quite Prince Fielder's 1.209 in the Pioneer League, but still way up there. Maybe I read too much into that, I dunno, but I don't really get to see a lot of games, and have never even seen a Brewers home game. I gotta go by the stats and the box scores. The 2015 and 2016 stats for Suter convinced me he was something... is he the sub-3.00 ERA pitcher currently in the rotation? I don't know for sure, but I think he contributes. Even if he reverts to a 4.00 ERA, he is valuable through 2020 as a cheap, reliable rotation arm. His presence means you're not paying $10-15 million a year for Jeff Suppan or Randy Wolf. If he is this good, then stretch him out, and enjoy the TOR starter we got in the 31st round. That's why I dropped Arcia from, 2 to 14 from pre-season 2016 to mid-season 2016. I felt that his lack of offense at Colorado Springs was a red flag. For the most past, with the exception of June, I'm not sure about the bat. I'm willing to be proven wrong, but at the same time... you know, maybe it isn't a bad idea to move Jake Gatewood back to short if he's put the offensive side of things together. I remember Al would always say you don't pay millions for a good field-no hit shortstop. Still makes sense to me. Best not to have a Gantner-type black hole in the lineup. Right now, one of four guys ends up in the top spot of my ballot: RHP Corbin Burnes - He's got even more statistical dominance than Suter showed. RHP Nate Griep - Looks like a dominating closer/relief option OF Trent Clark - Seems to be a 3TO bat who can steal 30-35 bases a season OF Troy Stokes Jr. - Probably the best all-around bat among outfield prospects in the system

Some of my picks have lamed out over the years... so I don't blame people for being skeptical. Ronnie Gideon may be a flameout (although I think it's more an adjustment to full-season ball and the colder weather in Wisconsin - he may do better repeating the level). Mitch Ghelfi missed a lot of time this year, as did Michael Reed. BTW, do you know why Perrin was stuck in the pen for a lot of this year? I had him at #7 this year, but he kinda vanished for the first half.

That is, really, the big question the Brewers face. How do you beat teams like the Cubs, Dodgers, Red Sox, and Yankees, who can throw money at free agents year-in and year-out? Right now, the Brewers may need to look at trying to replicate the Lind trade with deals centered around Garza, Guerra, and even Broxton. At some point in the medium term, MLB need to go back to some form of the older compensation system and/or a salary cap and allow teams to trade June amateur draft picks.

I think 2018 will be the year that some of the young players will be brought up. The Brewers will move Garza and Guerra over the offseason. It will be when Woodruff, Suter, and Wang get long looks to see if they are the future or stopgaps. Brinson and Phillips will platoon in CF. We may see Cordell come up as a bench asset. There will be some trades to clear room for them. But the young players will be coming up. We'll see Corbin Burnes in Milwaukee by August 1. Stearns will still look for the nuggets, but my hope is that most of the searching is done in the system.

Had the Brewers not been swept, I'd buy that they were 1-2 pieces away. But they were. At this point, they need upgrades at second base, in the rotation (replace Garza and Guerra), and in the bullpen. Time to refine the young players they do have. If they make the playoffs, great, if not, stick to the plan.