Harold Hutchison

I'm sure the Cubs would disagree with you on this one. Yeah, they call it tradition.

Will remember for future ballots. Still, whether Wes or Weston, he looks very intriguing.

1. LHP Brent Suter - His floor is as a very solid late-inning reliever. Question is, what is the ceiling, closer, or somewhere in the rotation? 2. 3B Lucas Erceg - Just dominated and will climb fast. 3. 2B Isan Diaz - Will he be what Rickie Weeks could have been? 4. 1B Ronnie Gideon - Awesome power bat at first base. 5. LHP Josh Hader - Can he overcome Colorado Springs? 6. CF Lewis Brinson - Five tools, top talent 7. RHP Jon Perrin - Went from Wisconsin to Biloxi. Moving up fast. 8. RHP Luis Ortiz - Two plus pitches mean great promise. 9. LHP Wei-Chung Wang - Former Rule V pick could be a steal. 10. IF/OF Ryan Cordell - Can play all four IF positions and all three OF positions 11. 1B/OF Garrett Cooper - Shades of Lyle Overbay, but more versatility. 12. RHP Brandon Woodruff - Dominated at AA and A+ 13. RHP Phil Bickford - A right-handed Josh Hader 14. RHP Marcos Diplan – Have to love a 3.09 ERA, and almost 10.25 K per 9 innings. 15. RHP Freddy Peralta – 3.65 ERA, 10.65 K/9. 16. OF Troy Stokes - Quietly showing OBP skills, speed, and gap power. 17. OF Trent Clark - Awesome OBP skills, but can he boost his average? 18. OF Corey Ray - High pick, but starting at Brevard County was a mistake. 19. C Mitch Ghelfi - Switch hitter did solid in Wisconsin and Brevard County 20. C Jacob Nottingham - For a 21-year old at Biloxi, not bad. 21. OF/C Clint Coulter - Amazing what getting out of Brevard County does for a hitter. 22. OF Brett Phillips - Flashed power at Biloxi. Looks solid. 23. 3B/SS/1B Jacob Gatewood - Lots of power, but can he improve his contact and OBP skills? 24. UT Wes Wilson - Shows hitting and versatility (Spent time at seven positions). The new Hernan Perez? 25. RHP Jorge Ortega - Fell off from dominating 2015. Could bounce back, but leash must be short. 26. SS Gilbert Lara - Not seeing production 27. OF Demi Orimoloye – OBP skills improved, but other numbers are down. 28. RHP Cody Ponce – Peripherals look good, but only four innings a start is not good. 29. C Mario Feliciano – Hitting for average, but would like more OBP skills 30. RHP Devin Williams – A step behind Diplan and Peralta. 31. OF Monte Harrison – He just looks overmatched, based on the stats. 32. OF Joantgel Santovia - High-average hitter, no pop 33. C Nathan Rodriguez - Worth a look 34. 1B Moises Perez - Flashing a 3TO bat in the DSL 35. CF Jesus Lujano - OBP skills, some speed. Intriguing DSL project.

I second that motion.

To be honest, Suter's bounced between the rotation the last couple of years. Two starts in the majors is a small sample size. I'd like to commit to Suter in the rotation for a year, and see how it goes. We know he can be a shut-down bullpen guy - a left-handed Doug Jones. But can he be more? Id like to find out. Worst case, he goes back to the pen as a shut-down reliever. Best case, he buys time for the top pitching prospects. I thought Suter is the top pitching prospect. I think he is. But I do worry about what the bouncing between the bullpen and rotation did. I think he could be very good. I think his floor is as a closer - a left-handed Doug Jones. Top case? A #2 starter. Middle case, a borderline #3/#4. Still, I think he's got the lowest risk of the pitching prospects. But he needs to be stretched out, and the Brewers need to commit to a real shot at the rotation.

To be honest, Suter's bounced between the rotation the last couple of years. Two starts in the majors is a small sample size. I'd like to commit to Suter in the rotation for a year, and see how it goes. We know he can be a shut-down bullpen guy - a left-handed Doug Jones. But can he be more? Id like to find out. Worst case, he goes back to the pen as a shut-down reliever. Best case, he buys time for the top pitching prospects.

Better Braun at third and Carter at short than Yasuil Puig ANYWHERE on the Brewers roster.

Phillies get: RHP Matt Garza OF Tyrone Taylor $6,000,000 of Garza's salary covered Brewers get: SS Malquin Canelo C Deivi Grullon

The jitters should be out, too.

I was torn between H. Perez and Ryan Cordell at that spot. I went with Perez because he's shown dramatic improvement from 2015 to 2016, and I think he has more upside. On the next great Brewers team, they're the heart of the bench. But at this point, the only circumstance where I'm okay with Perez on the bench with Cordell, is if Braun were shifted back to third, Carter stayed to play first, putting Santana in left (I would be open if the Brewers acquired another young OF to try out in left or a young first baseman). Otherwise, deal Carter, Braun stays in left, and Santana is at first, and Perez plays third.

My hopes for a 25-man roster: 2b: Villar 3b: H. Perez lf: Braun 1b: Santana cf: Brinson rf: Broxton c: Susac/Pina ss: Arcia bench: Pina/Susac, Rivera, Cordell, Pinto, Reed rotation: Nelson, Peralta, Davies, Suter, Jungmann bullpen: Thornberg, Knebel, Marinez, Barnes, Cravy, Magnifico, Dillard Traded: Carter, Gennett, Garza, Guerra, Anderson, Maldonado Released: Capuano, Rowen, Boyer, Torres, among others The big goals for 2017 are twofold: 1. Find out what the Brewers really have in the rotation - therefore, Guerra, Garza, and Anderson get moved for what the team can get, even if just lottery tickets. If there is an injury we see what Hader, Wang, Ortiz, Wilkerson, or others can do. 2. Get in a position to flip players like Nelson and Peralta - hopefully, they rebound and become valuable trade bait - to further bolster the farm system.

Villar's very exciting, but I think he's not the only 20/60 guy on the roster. Keon Broxton could easily reach that level (for 2016, his 162-game project is for 20 homers, 50 steals). The other player who could hit that mark? Hernan Perez (projected to 18 homers, 45 steals). Honestly, I think the Brewers ought to look at the Power/Speed number. That could give them a very dynamic and exciting lineup.

I liked Davies a lot - had him at #8 on my post-2015 ballot and #15 in my 2016 pre-season (due to some of the acquisitions via trades and re-thinking things over the off-season). Not as high as Suter (who could post some Davies-esque numbers in the rotation, IMO). Worst case, he and Suter are the back end of the Brewers' rotation when they make their run. Best case, I think they are both 85-90% of what Greg Maddux was, command/control pitchers who use that to get a lot of weak dribblers, ground outs, and pop-ups. 2017 is the year to stick `em in the rotation and see what they are. Either way, they are part of the Brewers' next run.

What killed me with Dillard was this notion he couldn't be a good starter. I think he had it in him - certainly it was worth a longer look. It's what worries me about Suter. Could he be pigeonholed into the bullpen, and the Brewers miss out on a good starter? The stats point to very good control and command over the last two years.

He needs to be on the bench. This is a guy who gets signed to a long-term deal NOW.

I remember when I was excited about Dillard as a rotation prospect - remember all those CGs he racked up at Brevard County?

I disagree. In my three decades of rooting for the Brew Crew, it was always the injuries that derailed promising seasons, or which lead to a hurried trade that cost the Brewers down the road. I think that having good backups can be just as important, not only for the short term (filling in for the injured player), but the long term as well (the prospects you don't trade in a panic to keep a season going can help the team 2-3 years down the road). This sort of backup doesn't come along often. When you have him, keep him. He may well save a season, he may well keep the Crew from having to trade prospects for a fill-in.

Clint Coulter didn't hit much better (if any better) there: .236/.311/.372 over two years.

He's 23, and honestly, if he's out of Brevard County, I think he'll prove to be a solid option. Brevard County is a death trap for hitters.

In all of MLB's top 100, only one guy gets a 70 for control. Heck, only one guy gets a 60 or 65. To say Suter has a 70 control is really stretching things. His career BB/9 in the minors is 2.5. The career HR/9 in the minors is 0.6. I'd argue his primary skills are control and command - and they have to be very good if those numbers are that low.

Don't sell Mitch Ghelfi short. He's only 23, a switch-hitter, played some catcher, and did okay at both positions. At first, that had me curious. He posted a .763 OPS at Wisconsin and Brevard County. Now, that has my attention.

That sucks for him. I hope he will make a full recovery.

I think he ought to get a good shot at starting, but he does seem to be very effective in the bullpen as a fall-back. If anything, he certainly has shown he can start and fill just about every bullpen role (hasn't been tried as a closer yet, but hey... a left-handed Doug Jones?). As for talent, I think there is definitely some: Based on his production, his control and command seem to be in the 70 range on the 20-80 scale. That would indicate two very plus "tools" pitching-wise.

I think a top-of-the rotation starter is defined by the numbers. It doesn't matter if they blow away hitters and rack up a ton of strikeouts, or if they use guile and get a lot of weak groundouts. If they post a 2.50 ERA, they're probably a top-of-the-rotation guy. It should not matter if that is Suter, Woodruff, Hader, Ortiz, or Lopez. That's why the Brewers need to clear the decks in the offseason and move Anderson, Garza, Guerra, and maybe even Peralta. We need to see which of the "young guns" are top-of the-rotation starters, which are mid-to-back guys, which need to go to the bullpen, and who is AAAA.

The Crew is one or two surprises away from the timetable speeding up. On the pitching side, Wang (Acquired via Rule V draft prior to 2014), Suter (31st round, 2012) and Woodruff (11th round, 2014) came out of almost nowhere to become likely contributors to the Brewers and emerged as forces in the last two years. To say nothing of Guerra, who's numbers are that of a #2 starter. As for position players, who would have guessed six months ago that Hernan Perez would be a valuable contributor offensively? Or that Jonathan Villar would be third on the team in OPS while stealing 52 bases? Keon Broxton has also emerged as a good player. If I were Stearns, I'd be looking to flip Guerra, Garza, and Anderson to clear some space to see which of the "young guns" could stick. I'd also flip Scooter Gennett and Chris Carter as well.