Harold Hutchison

The problem, as I see it, is that Arcia's AAA numbers don't warrant a callup. They've arguably regressed from his AA numbers in a park that ISN'T a hitter's paradise, like Colorado Springs is. Villar was holding shortstop down very well, thank you very much. The Brewers didn't need to start Arcia's clock.

Make it 7 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER... 94 pitches. EDIT: And he is pulled for a PH in the 7th... What kind of a prospect is Suter? Strengths and style? Hard thrower or finesse? Dunno, I haven't seen him pitch. What I do know: he was a 31st-round pick. What I am seeing are the numbers at Colorado Springs... 3.31 ERA after this start (at home, mind you), only 3 HR allowed over the whole season, grand total of 13 walks over the season. They speak for themselves.

c: Nottingham/Susac 1b: Braun 2b: Isan Diaz ss: Arcia 3b: Erceg lf: Phillips cf: Brinson rf: Ray bench: Nottingham/Susac, Cooper, H. Perez, Orf, Reed, Stokes rotation: Hader, Ortiz, Suter, Davies, Bickford bullpen: Magnifico, Jorge Lopez, ??????

Make it 7 IP, 6 H, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER... 94 pitches. EDIT: And he is pulled for a PH in the 7th...

So's Brent Suter, blanking Oklahoma City. So far: 6 IP, 6 H, 6 K - NO WALKS.

You sure do enjoy getting a rise out of people. Look at what Suter has done in Colorado Springs. Then look at how Hader and Lopez have fared. Those numbers are saying something. It is one thing to have a dominating year pitching at Brevard County. Suter's numbers would be ho-hum. But those numbers pitching half the time in one of the most notorious hitters parks in professional baseball is worth noting. Combined with Suter's 2015, and I think the Brewers have a real prospect on their hands.

1. LHP Brent Suter – One cannot look at the numbers over the last two seasons and deny that Suter is a legit pitching prospect. Few walks, few gopher balls, a 5:1 K/BB ratio. 2. LHP Josh Hader – Superb numbers at Biloxi, but treated like a baby seal in Colorado Springs. I’ll give him a mulligan and put him right behind Suter. 3. 2B Isan Diaz – Dynamite bat in the middle infield. Could he be what Brewers fans hoped to get from Rickie Weeks? 4. 3B Lucas Erceg – Showing superb hitting, but OBP skills are a little weak. 5. RHP Phil Bickford – Acquisition from Will Smith trade looks like a right-handed Josh Hader 6. RHP Jon Perrin – Let’s just hope that Harvard Law School keeps passing on him. Besides, pitching is more honest work. 7. OF Lewis Brinson – 5-tool CF. Outfield’s getting kinda crowded, is it not? 8. LHP Wei-Chung Wang – After a lost season as a Rule V pick, Wang’s established himself as a very good pitching prospect. 9. RHP Luis Ortiz – Will be interesting to see how he does with the Crew, but two plus pitches look promising. 10. 1B/OF Garrett Cooper – He hits for decent average, lots of doubles, and now shows flexibility in the field. 11. OF Trent Clark – OBP skills and speed are his major selling points. Can his average climb up there? 12. RHP Brandon Woodruff – Has exploded on the scene in Biloxi and Brevard County. 13. OF Corey Ray – Potential five-tool player, but Brevard County is NOT a good place to start a career. 14. SS Orlando Arcia – The glove is there, but offensive performance at Colorado Springs raises questions. 15. RHP Marcos Diplan – Have to love a 2.21 ERA, and almost 11 K per 9 innings. 16. RHP Freddy Peralta – Slightly higher ERA and SO9 than Diplan. 17. RHP Jorge Ortega – Still keeping walks low, but giving up too many gopher balls. 18. C Jacob Nottingham – On the one hand, he clearly regressed from 2015. On the other hand, he’s only 21. 19. OF Michael Reed – OBP Skills and speed are clearly there, but docked for the same reason Arcia’s down to #14. 20. OF Troy Stokes – OBP skills and doubles power look very intriguing. 21. C Mitch Ghelfi – Clearly hitting for average at Brevard County/ 22. OF Demi Orimoloye – OBP skills improved, but other numbers are down. 23. OF Brent “Maverick” Phillips – OBP skills are there, power is there, defense looks good, but drop to a .225 average raises questions. 24. 2B/3B Nate Orf – OBP skills and versatility makes for a valuable bench asset at the very least. 25. 3B/SS/1B Jake Gatewood – The power’s there… but some OBP skills would be nice. 26. SS Gilbert Lara – Struggles at the plate raise more questions… and I’m not sure I like the answers. 27. 2B Trey York – OBP skills and high-average bat look promising. 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. RHP Damien Magnifico – Best closer prospect in the system. 32. OF Monte Harrison – He just looks overmatched, based on the stats. 33. RHP Jorge Lopez – Became a baby seal at Colorado Springs.

Much as I like him, I'd rather wait until September, keep stretching Suter out as a starter, and see what he can do in the rotation next year.

Not. Milwaukee's. Problem. EDIT: Obviously, not wishing ill on Will Smith, but the knee is the Giants' problem now.

Bickford's #5 on my ballot now... behind Suter, Hader, Isan Diaz, and Lucas Erceg.

I agree, because a trade is not the only offseason option. Lucroy could always be extended in the offseason as well. And over the course of a five-year deal, he'd still be pretty good. 2015 looks to be more a fluke than a herald of significant decline.

The only real catcher prospects in the system are Nottingham, Feliciano, and McDowell - maybe Pinto, albeit Pinto's 27. I want more depth. So, if the Rangers want Lucroy, they can hand over Gallo, one of Trevino, David Garcia, or Brett Nicholas, and at least one other prospect.

Gallo has very good OBP skills to go with his 80 power. 3TO Gallo. I'm okay with Gallo, but Lucroy warrants at least two other prospects, and one has to be a catcher. I'll toss in Guerra and Jeffress, but that means the haul has to be huge.

Guerra would be my choice. It would be a good sell high move. Lucroy, Jeffress, and Guerra for IF Joey Gallo, LHP Yohander Mendez, OF Ryan Cordell, C David Garcia, and C/1B Brett Nicholas

At this point, the Brewers need to exercise the option and wait for the offseason for a trade, or better yet, work out an extension. A rushed deal is very likely to be a bad deal. Better to just stand pat.

Right now, it looks like my top six will be Suter, Hader, Erceg, Wang, Isan Diaz, and Perrin in that order.

Look where Suter's pitching. Most of that staff's pitchers get clubbed like baby seals. Lopez is getting clubbed. Hader's getting clubbed. Suter isn't. He's posting a 2.08 ERA since May 7 (with the exception of ONE start on June 19), again with half the time being in Colorado Springs. He's allowed TWO home runs all year in 84.1 innings. Last year, posted a 3.31 ERA in 35 innings in Colorado Springs - a superb performance, the only negative I saw there as he gave up four gopher balls. A 2.08 ERA is dominating in and of itself. Suter's doing it pitching half the time in a hitter's park where most of the rest of the staff are getting clubbed like baby seals more often than not, and he's given up HALF the homers he gave up in a sample only 5/12 the size of this season. Forget the prospect watchers. The numbers from last year and this year tell me Suter's put it together. If they stretch him out as a starter, then the Brewers have a legit contributor in the rotation. Lefty Mike Fiers at worst, and very possibly a #2 starter.

The task now is to stretch him out to be starter so he can replace someone in the Brewers' rotation next year. I think his floor is as a left-handed Mike Fiers. Ceiling is a #2 starter, but given what he's doing in Colorado Springs... who knows?

I would argue Ichiro brought a fair bit to the table. He is one of the all-time greats in hitting for average (73rd all-time). He had 506 career stolen bases, good for 36th on the career stolen bases list. He's third in all-time fielding percentage among right fielders, and 47th in assists all-time from that position. Ichiro had an 80 "hit for average" tool, and he was, I think, about 65-70 in terms of speed and defense. One of the top 20 leadoff hitters of all time.

Had a chance to read the article. Not bad, but here's what has me excited about Suter: In Colorado Springs over two years, he's allowed six homers in 118+ innings. He's also only walked 18 people over those two years. In a hitter's paradise. My worry is that the shuffling between the bullpen and rotation means that the Brewers aren't maximizing what seems to be some potential in Suter. I don't think "mediocre" posts a 3.72 ERA in Colorado Springs.

It's just frustrating to see him from the bullpen when he is pitching well as a starter in Colorado Springs. I don't get the thinking behind that. I just don't.

Got a bad feeling about Perry's broken hamate. Didn't that derail Brad Nelson?

Josh Hader, Jorge Ortega, Brent Suter, Jon Perrin, Marcos Diplan and Freddy Peralta are, IMO starter prospects that are in the #1/#2 starter range based on their overall 2015/2016 numbers. Suter and Ortega have had some rough patches this year, but overall, both seem to be pitching like they did in 2015 more often than not. In the case of Suter, but I worry that the Brewers aren't giving him the sustained chance to be a starter - instead it's a start here, then an inning or two in the middle of a game there, then closing a game, then four innings after a rain delay. Diplan and Peralta both look to have strong potential but it's a long way from Low-A to the majors.

Reed's also rebounding from an early-season slump (he still walked a lot while "slumping").

At what point does Brent Suter go from "swingman" to legit starting pitching prospect? Aside from April, and one bad start this month, he's been more than holding his own at Colorado Springs.