Harold Hutchison

Here's what I said: I said that if Lara's bat reached its potential, his bat could be a very huge assets. I also pointed out that if he were to be a very huge offensive presence (and used him as a 40-40 player as an example), then so-so defense, or even bad defense is something I can live with. Here's a yes or no question: If a shortstop posts a .950 OPS, is 50 errors a season something you could live with? My answer is yes. What is yours?

So, if they exceed the bonus pool, what happens?

With enough reps, he can be a so-so defensive shortstop, and his bat gets in the lineup. If Lara's bat matches the potential, that could be a very sweet package. If he is a 40-40 player, I can live with 40-50 errors at shortstop. With Ryan Braun, I've long been on record that his ability to post a .950 or so OPS would have been worth dealing with 40+ errors a year at third base.

Works fine when you do it every now and then but when you do it as much as the Brewers do it gives you a glut of OF and no one of quality anywhere else. Hart, Coulter, Braun, LaPorta, Lawrie to an extent were all just shoved somewhere on a corner because they could hit but you can't field a team of all DH's. And I read it all the time about players on the minors forum that so and so player is playing 2B/3B/SS right now but will probably be moved to the OF because they can't handle their current position. Many here are envisioning Lara to put up prime year Ryan Braun numbers but let's be honest, a low .800 OPS, 20ish HR's is probably best case scenario for him. At SS those are great numbers, but he apparently can't handle SS. At 3B those are still pretty good numbers. But now there's talk he can't handle 3B and will be moved to the OF. A corner OF with those numbers is adequate but nothing too exciting. It's Khris Davis, with probably better defense. Let's just let these kids fail at premium positions before we start shoving them in corner outfield spots. Suppose Lara puts up an .850 or .900 OPS and 25-30 homers? Wouldn't it make sense to try to keep him at third or shortstop and accept some shortfalls defensively to get that bat in the lineup? Maybe the Brewers should have kept Clint Coulter behind the plate (or move him back), especially as he seems to be doing decently in Brevard County. If you get high-ceiling hitters, then get them on the field, even if their defense is so-so. Score enough runs, and it won't matter.

Some of mine: 3B Taylor Green - I thought he was a left-handed Cirillo 2B Jeff Pickler - I thought the Brewers had a late-round gem with some speed and OBP skills at second base P Tim Dillard - I saw the CGs he was posting at Brevard County and thought he was a future mainstay of the rotation C Robinson Cancel - I thought he'd be a future catcher for the Crew P Chris Cody - I thought he was a steal after he tore things up.

That's been the Brewers MO for over a decade now. I'd like to see them develop a player that can play even passable infield defense instead of just a hitter that they shove in a corner OF spot. If the guy hits enough, why not leave him at a position. Going back to Ryan Braun, when the Brewers have an elite hitter - I'm willing to live with some defensive... shortcomings to get/keep a more powerful bat in the lineup. If Brewerfan.net existed back in 1988, I would have posted constantly, urging the Brewers trade or dump Jim Gantner at second, and go with either a Molitor-Sheffield-Sveum or a Sveum-Sheffield-Molitor combo at third, short, and second. Why? Because I wanted Sveum's bat in there, and I figured Sheffield could hit far better than Gantner ever could.

Not to mention he doesn't even have a position. Scouts say he is NOT a SS...period. Then a lot of scouts say 3B is wishful thinking too. If his bat is good enough, then they can shoehorn him in somewhere.

I agree. If Scooter has a hot streak, he becomes a trade asset - say, with the Mets. Young, relatively cheap... could be enough to pry a couple more prospects. That gives the Crew some time to sort out an extension with Segura.

Go 6 man with Fiers to save on the young arms. I like the idea myself but it'll never happen. And I forgot about Tyler Thornberg... There seems to be a lot of young depth in the rotation... too bad it's all right-handers. Maybe a trade or two can help.

How about they keep both Jungmann and Wagner in the rotation? And Cravy, too? Peralta, Nelson, Jungmann, Cravy, and Wagner sounds like a nice, young rotation.

Harrison, I'm willing to give some time to... but I'll be honest, I'm thinking the Brewers might be better served to sell Gatewood when he is relatively high. He's still young enough for upside, but right now, it may be better to just commit to Lara.

I like these top five picks. Allemand, I think, is a huge sleeper. I'll admit, I am a bit of a sucker for switch-hitters - especially ones who show a little pop - going back to Dale Sveum. (Back in 1988, I was rooting for the Brewers to use some combo of Molitor at third or second, Sveum at third base or second base, and Sheffield at shortstop - I wanted them to move Gantner and get both the bats of Sveum and Sheffield in the lineup).

Meh. That was said about Fielder, Hart, Sexson, Burnitz... all kinds of guys. And Braun is less popular right now than all those guys. Fans move on to the next, just as management should. Trade him. The Brewers need to have a strong farm system, but when you get a Prince Fielder, Jon Lucroy, or Ryan Braun, nothing can be more dispiriting for fans than to know that after 5-6 years, that star player's gonna either be traded or leave as a free agent. If Braun hadn't hurt his thumb in 2013, I'd venture to say that he'd be considered the cornerstone of the team, instead of being a contract to dump. The Sexson deal worked out well. If you can get 3/4 of a starting infield for a guy, go ahead. But what can be a killer is something like the Burnitz trade. How well did that work out?

The big question is how do they find a way to schedule when Braun can have the appropriate tratment for his thumb, and minimize the games he will miss? 1. He's still got a .976 OPS over the last 28 days. 2. The contract is very good for someone who posts an OPS in the .860-.950 range 3. The way things are, he is the closest thing the Brewers have to a franchise player. Someone's gotta help keep the Miller Park seats filled.

Exactly. This is something that can be worked around. I am far more worried about the meniscus of Khris Davis than this...

Reed's got OBP skills and speed, plus increasing power (1 homer in all of 2013, 5 in 2014, 3 in 1/3 of a season in 2015). I think he's another Carlos Gomez. He's got an arm (7 assists so far). I could see a starting outfield of Roache in left, Reed in center, and Coulter in right in 2017.

Lucroy was the second-best offensive catcher in the majors in 2014, and would have been the second best in 2012 had he qualified. He was 4th best in 2013. I wouldn't let him walk after 2017 - I'd try to get an extension and keep that sort of asset on the Brewers. And it'd take a huge offer to pry him away from the Brewers if I were GM.

I got three reasons to move Braun back to third, especially if his OPS over the last 28 days (.987) is for real: Matt Carpenter (.960 OPS so far this year as of today) Kris Bryant (.880 OPS so far this year) Todd Frazier (.898 OPS so far this year) If the Brewers can go with an outfield of Roache, Reed, and Coulter on Opening Day 2017, then why not put Braun at third, and get offensive parity - if not superior offensive production - over NL Central rivals at that position? Moving Braun back to third, given the dearth of options in the farm system, makes sense. If Braun can reliably post a .950+ OPS, is 40-45 errors a season - one every four games (or 36 innings) on average - really a deal breaker?

Their rotation will be something like Peralta, Fiers, Nelson, Jungmann, Thornburg. They will not win with that, so they should cash in on the treasure-trove of talent they'll get from a Gomez trade instead of losing him for a comp pick when he leaves for free agency. They have been getting less and less talented every year since 2011. Due to a bit of luck in snagging Gomez in the Hardy trade, and his being a late blooming All Star instead of a bust, they have a chance at making their rebuild less painful. If they try to "go for it" again next year, they will have wasted that chance, and pretty soon they will have little of value to trade. That will be when a rebuild is very long and painful. I'm not so sure that a rebuild is necessary. Perhaps a re-tooling around Gomez, Lucroy, and Braun can do the job. The way I see it, there are some very good prospects in the system in Orlando Arcia, Victor Roache, Michael Reed, and Clint Coulter. The good news, I see all of the eight every day spots filled for Opening Day 2017 in-house, if you will - with two scenarios: Scenario A RF: Michael Reed 2B: Jean Segura 3B: Ryan Braun CF: Carlos Gomez C: Jon Lucroy 1B: Clint Coulter LF: Victor Roache SS: Orlando Arcia Pitcher Scenario B CF: Michael Reed 2B: Jean Segura 3B: Ryan Braun 1B: Adam Lind C: Jon Lucroy RF: Clint Coulter LF: Victor Roache SS: Orlando Arcia Pitcher Michael Reed looks like he is also very good. Victor Roache and Clint Coulter are posting very good numbers at Brevard County. The big questions are: What pieces are needed? What can Parra, Gomez/Lind, Gennett, Lohse, Garza, Broxton, K-Rod, and other sundries (Gatewood, Medeiros) secure for the Crew? Are there free agents the Crew could acquire to either patch holes or help the 2017 team make a run?

Yup. The question is, how do you maximize the legit star bat? St. Louis has Matt Carpenter, who is posting a .960 OPS at third base. The Cubs have Kris Bryant, posting an .880 OPS at the hot corner. Cincinnati has Todd Frazier, who's racking up a .898 OPS this season. I'm worried that the Brewers are being outclassed at the hot corner by the entire division.

Braunie does look like his old self at the plate lately. Yep. A .987 OPS over the last 28 days is very much like typical Ryan Braun. So... NOW can we get back to the debate over the "high-class problem" such a bat creates, to wit, the discussion as to which position he should play to maximize his bat's value to the offense?

Gatewood and Medeiros didn't seem to do that hot last year, either, at least based on the numbers. I want to be proven wrong, but so far, I'm not sure that leaving them off my ballot for the top 25 was a mistake.

Braun's May OPS is .913. His OPS for the last 14 days is .948. Over the last 28 days, it's .888, per Baseball-Reference.com. That .888 OPS, by the way, equals his 2008 figure and tops his figures for the 2010 (.866) and 2013 (.869) seasons. I think it is safe to say it is more probable than not that Ryan Braun could be back to being Ryan Braun.

That's why I think the only way to get good return is a three-team trade. Get a second team involved to get fair return for Lucroy.

I am trying to be as nice as possible...but is this actually serious...? Carson Blair is not a very good catching prospect. He is some scrub the A's picked up in November for organizational filler. The other two A's minor leaguers don't even show up on their Top 30 list either...nor does Codiera for the Astros. The other two at least show up on the Astros top prospects list at #7 and #9. So for Gennett, LUCROY, and Gatewood all we can manage is two so-so prospects and filler? I mean maybe I missed something and apologizes if I did, but this is what I understand from some quick research. EDIT: ALRIGHT I see the misspelling of Correa. That makes that deal make negative sense for the Astros. They get limited value in the deal and give up 3 of their Top 10 prospects with one of them being one of the best prospects in the game. Yikes Gatewood's not topped a .530 OPS yet - he should have repeated at Helena, but he looks to be floundering in Wisconsin. I'm inclined to throw him in - selling high while he is still a prospect rather than see him fade out like Josh Murray did. The Brewers need prospects - Oakland alone won't provide that, but they have the major-league holes. Houston has good prospects... but I don't see how they match up with the Brewers.