Harold Hutchison

How about getting additional teams at the A or A+ levels?

That sounds about right.

Maybe, but why compromise that rate? Why not look to 1st-round talents from 4-year colleges who slip?

Put it this way: I make noises about a six-year deal for Villar in the $33-39 million range with two option years. Very public noises that he is a part of the future of the Brewers, and we're very very eager to lock him up for the long term...

Personally, if Jeffress gets Garza off our roster, I'll take him back, and if he has a good bounce-back, we can always get another haul.

Honestly, I was underwhelmed by Arcia's performance at Colorado Springs. He had dropped to #14 on my mid-season ballot for 2016 compared to #2 on the preseason ballot.

He put up a 151 wRC+ in 269 AA plate appearances last year so I would think an assignment to AAA to start the year would be fine. Who would be the AAA SS otherwise, Rivera again? Not to mention Diaz is going to be at AA next year so it would make sense to put Dubon at AAA. While Diaz doesn't seem to have a future at SS for the Brewers it is smart to keep him playing both SS and 2B as long as possible. If Dubon becomes a legit 2B for us Diaz might be the expendable one who is traded later on. At which point being able to play SS means a lot to his trade value. "Always in motion the future is." We really don't know. What this does is provide a lot of flexibility - and with that flexibility, options. If the Brewers really put it together and are a player or two away at he end of 2017, then Dubon and/or Diaz could be dealt for The Last Piece. If they are stalling out, Villar, Perez, and Arcia could be dealt, and they can re-stock the system. Or, there are all sorts of alternatives. Maybe Dubon becomes the CF of the future. Maybe the NL gets the DH, and that shakes things up. Dubon and Diaz give the Brewers the flexibility to have options, and that's a good thing.

If Hill draws $16 million a year, Garza could be worth something.

I think the bullpen can sort itself out. Jhan Marinez, Rob Scahill, Jacob Barnes, and Brent Suter all could be options. Yeah, I said Suter. In 12 outings as a reliever in the majors, look at this number: 0. That's the number of runs allowed. Small sample size, but I always felt his floor was late-inning reliever/closer. Knebel might be an option, and there's always the folks who don't win a spot in the rotation.

Arcia could always be dealt. Remember how Alcides Escobar was supposed to be the future at SS... he was for a year, then got dealt in the Greinke trade. Dubon makes that sort of move possible.

Really, the numbers are all I usually have, not being near any of the minor-league teams. So, I look for anything intriguing, and if it catches my eye...

Shaw is cheap, though... and passable at third for a couple of years. Keep in mind, with Erceg in the minors, a couple of decent years from Shaw may be all the Brewers need.

I agree. And not just with Guerra. I think Chase Anderson, Matt Garza, and even Wily Peralta and Jimmy Nelson should be on the market. Deal the two or three of them that bring the best returns, keep the other two, and start seeing what guys like Hader, Woodruff, Suter, Perrin, Jungmann, Wang, Ortiz, Perrin, and Lopez can do.

My mistake. I'll fix that, but it makes him an even bigger hit, IMO.

I agree. To me, the Brewers drafts have had one big weakness: They miss a lot between rounds two and ten. Look at who did make the majors in rounds 2-10 from 2000 on: 2000: none - but the Brewers did get Corey Hart in the 11th round 2001: JJ Hardy (2nd, starting SS for a few years), Brad Nelson (4th), and Dennis Sarfate (9th) 2002: Tom Wilhelmsen (7th) made it, but not with the Brewers. Josh Murray DID win the Bachelorette. 2003: Tony Gwynn Jr. (2nd) hit the majors, but was traded and had his best years elsewhere 2004: Yovanni Gallardo (2nd) was a solid #2 starter, then traded to Texas for an OK haul, Angel Salome (5th) had a cup of coffee 2005: Mat Gamel (3rd) was derailed by injuries, Michael Brantley (6th) put up good years after being part of the Sabathia trade), Jemile Weeks (8th) never signed, and Steve Garrison (10th) had a cup of coffee 2006: Cole Gillespie (3rd) was a AAAA OF, Mike McClendon (10th) had a few short runs. 2007: Jon Lucroy (2nd) was only the best catcher in franchise history, Eric Farris (3rd) had a cup of coffee, Caleb Gindl (4th) probably deserved a longer look as a reserve, Eric Fryer (10th) was a AAAA catcher. 2008: Logan Schafer (3rd) was a 5th outfielder, Erik Komatsu (8th) got a cup of coffee. 2009: Josh Prince (3rd) got a cup of coffee, Hiram Burgos (6th) had a few starts but could still make it, Khris Davis (7th) was a huge power bat. 2010: Jimmy Nelson (2nd) is a decent #3 starter, Tyler Thornburg (3rd) is our closer, Yadiel Rivera (9th) is a backup infielder. 2011: Jorge Lopez (2nd) is trying to fight back after a rough year in CO Springs, Michael Reed (5th) looks to be a backup, and David Goforth (7th) is a AAAA bullpen arm. 2012: Tyler Wagner (4th) was part of that Jean Segura/Isan Diaz trade, Damien Magnifico (5th) looks to be a bullpen arm. 2013: Garrett Cooper (6th) looks to be a Lyle Overbay type of offensive player at first. 2014: Cy Sneed (3rd) made Villar a Brewer. Troy Stokes (4th) is showing some very intriguing OBP and speed combo. 2015: Cody Ponce (2nd) is a good rotation prospect, Demi Orimoloye (4th) has very intriguing raw talent. 2016: Lucas Erceg (2nd) seems to be a very good 3B prospect, Trey York (9th) showed a fascinating mix of OBP and speed, and Mario Feliciano (2nd-CB) and Payton Henry (6th) are vying for second-best catcher in the 2016 draft class behind Gabriel Garcia. I bolded the real hits, in my opinion. Nine in 16 years, counting those who got traded for top prospects or impact players. Not exactly what the team can afford. 2010 was the best, netting a #3 starter and a closer, while 2007 netted the Brewers the best catcher in their history. They need to have two solid hits each year from rounds 2-10, defined as contributors to the big league club. If Lopez and Reed rebound, 2011 could end up being one of those years. and 2016 looks VERY promising in that regard (netting a starting 3B, a contender at 2B, and two contenders for the #2 catcher spot). The steals in the later rounds - players like Corey Hart (11th round, 2000), Manny Parra (26th round, 2001), Lorenzo Cain (17th round, 2004), Scooter Gennett (16th round, 2009), Jason Rogers (32nd round, 2010), Brent Suter (31st round, 2012), Brandon Woodruff (11th round, 2013), Mitch Ghelfi (28th round, 2015), Jon Perrin (27th round, 2015), Gabriel Garcia (14h round, 2016), Weston Wilson (17th round, 2016), and Ronnie Gideon (23rd round, 2016) - are where the Brewers can really clean up. Hitting there two or three times a draft, even if it's a bench player or bullpen arm, means that the Crew doesn't have to sign a free agent to fill that hole. Potential starting pitchers like Suter, Woodruff, and Perrin, though... even if it's the back end (3-5), or a position player who starts regularly... that's a HUGE win.

The timing royally stinks on those grounds alone. Carter's roster spot could have protected Wei Chung Wang. This was poor 40-man roster management.

Then trade him, don't give him away. Very bad decision by Stearns.

LHP Seth Corry is intriguing. Should be somewhere in the second round, but if he slips to the third or fourth he might be the guy you'd want to draft and make a run for.

Pickler was one of the first I took a real liking to, largely due to his walk rate and the fact he also was pretty good on the basepaths, IIRC. Garcia has value sticking behind the plate, obviously. I think offensively, he's very dynamic. That said, the fact he also spent time at third, second, and first is also very intriguing, and part of me wants to see if he can handle the outfield as well.

Same here. He's flashed something at Helena. What it is, or how it turns out, I don't know. But it's worth a look. For me, one sign of a sleeper is to see something stand out. I get fascinated - and want a closer look. For Brent Suter, it was the very low ERAs at Colorado Springs. When most pitchers get a 5.00-something, he racked up a one in the 3.45 range. For Tim Dillard way back, it was a lot of CGs at Brevard County. One prospect I thought highly of (who flamed out) was Brian Passini - who posted a sub-3 ERA at El Paso. With Michael Reed, it's a very good walk rate at several stops. In this case, with Gideon, it was just the huge XBH totals.

Gideon's got a power tool in the 70-80 range, IMO. There's doing well, and then there's dominating, and Gideon dominated. Wilson... I'm more excited by the versatility. Even if he only puts up a 2015-esque Hernan Perez OPS, he still becomes a valuable bench asset. That said, if his bat also holds up... that will be sheer awesomeness. Garcia... I caught a bit of a BJ Surhoff vibe from the versatility as well. Played catcher, second, third, and first in 2016. Honestly, I'd like to see him spend half the time behind the plate, and the other half around the infield. That bat will play, but I bet he could be almost as good offensively as Lucroy was. The versatility makes him an interesting utility option, too. It could be like having a third catcher on the 25-man.

Not keeping Wang, with what he did over the last couple of years is a real head-scratcher.

Not upset about Barrios and Rowen being off, but I liked Pinto in the mix for catcher. He put together a good year.

Just to stoke some discussion... do you think there are any sleepers among the Brewers' picks in the 2016 June draft? I'll start off with a few: 1. C/IF Gabriel Garcia - The 14th-round pick played around the infield, but drafted as a catcher. Posted an .893 OPS in Arizona. Might be a sleeper catcher prospect. 2. 1B Ronnie Gideon - Picked in the 23rd round, I slotted him at #4 on my Top 25 ballot. Raw power (37 XBH in 245 PA). 3. UT Weston Wilson - Picked in the 17th round, he posted an .887 OPS while playing seven positions. #24 on my ballot.

You miss my point. Suter posted a 3.45 ERA in AAA over 146 innings. That's pitching half the time in Colorado Springs, one of the most hitter-friendly parks in professional baseball. He's gotta be doing something VERY right. You seem to be focused too much on "stuff" and not enough on what he actually DOES. From what he's actually done, why not see what he does in the rotation or the back of the bullpen? Does it matter if his fastball is only 85 miles per hour when he gets hitters out? I'm not looking for someone who can post an eye-popping number on the radar. I want someone who sends their hitters back to the dugout. Suter's done that and shown far more ability to do that than Kodi Medeiros (whose ERA was just barely on the right side of 6.00 at one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in baseball - Brevard County).