Harold Hutchison

Wonder if that's messing with his power stroke. He'd been racking up singles and multi-hit games...

And Ponce de Leon is pulled.

Daniel Ponce de Leon is looking more like a baby seal in the Canadian Arctic than a major league pitcher. Figuratively, that is. And I don't mind that Avisail Garcia and Travis Shaw did very nice impressions of the interactions Canadian fishermen have with said baby seal. Figuratively.

Knebel's injury history, the way the 2020 season went, and the realities of the arbitration system probably did reduce what Knebel would bring in return. That being said, if Crawford turns out like Brent Suter, then the Brewers will have made a very good move on their end.

It’s a few days, even bad players have MVP streaks. Maybe Hiura has turned it around, but I’m guessing it’s more a hot streak until proven wrong. It’s not like he didn’t have similar stretches in his brutal 2020 season. Not trying to be negative, but a bit soon to assume Hiura has turned a corner for the long haul. And good players sometimes go cold and have need of what one former Cub called a "slumpbuster."

Is it jinxing things to note that Keston Hiura's got hits in two straight games?

Neither Yardley or Rasmussen did their jobs. The offense didn't help, either. I get it's a long season. I get guys have ups and downs, but something has to happen. The only good news is that Keston Hiura got a hit, and apparently had the wheels to score on a blown pickoff. Travis Shaw seems to be closer to 2017-2018 than 2019.

Rasmussen clearly needs some time to work on something...

When I've simulated games with Baseball Mogul, Burns does well, but the Brewer who often comes closest to a no-no is Freddy Peralta... Go figure.

Peralta pitched on par with Woodruff and Burnes. That's a good 1-2-3 punch for the rotation. Suter with a nice rebound outing after the last one. Shaw and Narvaez with homers. Yelich with a hit and a walk.

I have to agree. I think these two paragraphs from an article I quoted elsewhere sum up the problem with Haines: “Launch angle, on the other hand, is something that I try not to look at as much. Launch angle is just a byproduct of where you hit the baseball. My biggest issue with people talking about launch angle is that when you’re teaching younger kids to hit the ball in the air because of a “better launch angle”, you aren’t actually teaching them how to hit. You’re just telling them to hit a pop up and a lot of people are dumping their barrel, which makes for an inefficient swing.” “With professional baseball players, as long as a player continues a proper approach and doesn’t try to consistently hit the ball in the air with a long swing, I think the idea of launch angle is okay. By focusing on getting the ball in the air with the wrong approach, someone could create many holes in their swing. I have definitely told myself to hit the ball in the air before, but I do it by where I hit the baseball, not by manipulating my swing. Personally, I think the idea behind looking into launch angle is a great thing, but how people get to the angle that they want is not always beneficial to being a good hitter.” You know what, maybe hire THAT guy to be the hitting coach.

Perhaps Sobotka could be a Corey Knebel type. Weigel does become an interesting AAA option who could be stretched out while Bettinger and File recover from injury. Does make for some intriguing possibilities.

Before the 2016 season, the BF.Net Top 25 featured the following pitchers... Jorge Lopez (#3), Hader (#5), Medeiros (#8), Ponce (#10), Devin Williams (#12), Davies (#14), Diplan (#18), Kirby (#19) and Houser (#21). Brent Suter (#29), Freddy Peralta (#40), Brandon Woodruff (#42) didn't make the cut & Corbin Burnes was still a few months from being drafted. Just because the system only has two "name" pitching prospects doesn't mean that it won't continue to produce MLB caliber arms from the lower ranks. With over half the staff already filled with guys that graduated from the system & are under control for the foreseeable future, plus Stearns & company seeming to have demonstrated a knack for developing arms since their arrival, I think the long term outlook for the pitching staff is about as bright as its been in franchise history. And some "contributed" in other ways. Lopez was part of the Moustakas deal. Medeiros brought in Soria. Ponce brought Lyles over, Lots of ways for a prospect to help a team.

I agree with this completely. I don't think that Haines is really 100% at fault here, and I think those blaming him for the hitting struggles are somewhat missing the forest through the trees, but you are correct that there does come a point where the buck actually does need to stop with someone, and when multiple players continue to have the same failed approach, sometimes a shakeup is warranted. If it is Haines that needs to fall on the sword, so be it. Same here. 2020 was such a jumble a bit of a mulligan is warranted across the board. I'd give it until the middle of May, then some accountability for the lack of results needs to start happening. To be honest, I always saw Hiura as a Cirillo-plus power type. He'd hit .300, rack up 45-50 doubles and 20-25 homers a year while playing a decent second base. I think he got caught up in the launch-angle fad, and it fouled up a very sweet swing. For Keston Hiura, home runs should be "pleasant mistakes" that are the result of line drives he "just missed."

There were two types of players that you'd have at the alternate site: 1. Folks who could step in immediately and help in a shortened season. 2. Prospects who teams had to monitor for continued development. Some players who didn't fit those categories were loaned to independent leagues. Hummel, given his quotes in the article, was probably instead turned loose with a LOT of data/video/etc. I don't think that just because an organization didn't have players at the alternate site, they didn't try to figure out how to help those players develop as much as possible - even with a lost season of games.

Odd year. Should have picked UP the option.

Bingo. A few years back it was Cameron Roegner at #1. The #1 ranking he had in the 2018 mid-season and post-season polls as well as the 2019 pre-season poll came after he posted dominating numbers that year. That preseason, my #1 vote went to Corbin Burnes, on those same grounds die to his dominance in 2017. Mid-season 2019 saw Trey Supak become #1, also on dominating performance, while Roegner dropped to 6 based on injuries, although he rebounded and looked good. Pre-season 2020 had Drew Rasmussen at #1, with Hummel at #2. For the former, it was the possibility the Brewers had a right-handed Josh Hader on their hands (which I still think is the case). Cooper Hummel, in the five polls before pre-season 2020 in that timeframe, ranked 18th, 17th, 15th, 15th, and 16th. What made me re-evaluate Hummel, and jump him 14 spots in the pre-season 2020 poll and to take him up to 2021 was this article from BrewCrewBall, which not only noted his wRC+ was behind only Hiura and Grisham, but also provided some interesting material about : https://www.brewcrewball.com/2019/11/25/20982116/milwaukee-brewers-cooper-hummel-prospect-interview These are the paragraphs that won me over: With no minor-league season, I felt there was no reason to change who the top prospect was. But I think Hummel could provide Mickey Tettleton-type production for the Crew as soon as mid-2021, if not in 2022. And from the last two games, the Crew could use it!

May Cubs pitchers prove their courage by pitching to Christian Yelich... and may their man cards be revoked for intentionally walking him.

For me, I see the potential of dominating the decade if they can get Woodruff, Burnes, Hiura, and Hader locked up long-term. Those four, plus Yelich are the core. I see possibly Williams instead of Hader. Going to be cheaper longer and his pitching style could age better. The way I see it, there is a core and an inner circle the Crew should try to keep together. Core: Woodruff, Burnes, Yelich, Hiura, Hader Inner Circle: D. Williams, Suter, Peralta, Pina Bubble: Houser, Urias, Rasmussen, Arcia, Feliciano, Ray, Taylor Prospects: Small, Ashby, Mitchell, Turang, Hummel, Henry - see Brewerfan Top 25 results There may be some prospects who could force their way into this. Garrett Mitchell, for instance, made a huge case this spring for eventual inclusion in one of those categories. But the nine players in the core and inner circle groups are the ones I'd build around if I was the Crew's GM as things stand today. Woodruff, Burnes, and Peralta would anchor the rotation, Hader, Williams, and Suter nail down the pen, while Yelich and Hiura anchor the lineup (to be potentially joined by prospects like Mitchell, Turang, etc.) while Pina becomes a steady backup catcher - and I bet there are plenty of teams who would want him as their starter. All of this could change, based on injury, prospects emerging from nowhere - like Brent Suter did, trades, or free agents who the Brewers sign. But today, there are nine players I'd be trying to keep in Milwaukee for at least the next 5 years, in some cases, ten.

For me, I see the potential of dominating the decade if they can get Woodruff, Burnes, Hiura, and Hader locked up long-term. Those four, plus Yelich are the core.

Barrios was really good tonight. He’s been on the brink of developing into an ace pitcher for awhile. He’s also shutdown the Brewers in the past, as well as the new additions such as Jackie Bradley Jr. who came into the game 1-for-12 against Berrios. Two good pitchers started. Suter's been very good over his career. Offenses will have those kinds of days over a 162-game season. Too bad it coincided with a near-gem by Burnes.

I find it oddly satisfying that Baseball Mogul's roster setup always has Molina on the bench. For the 2020 season, Matt Wieters was ahead. For 2021? Tyler Heineman.

Please clarify: were you meaning best Brewers pick for 2016 or the best overall talent coming from the 2016 draft??? As good as Burnes has been, he is still trailing other products from that same draft (2nd round pick Peter Alonso & 4th round pick Shane Bieber for example) & now a number of the HS bats from that draft (Alex Kirilloff, Gavin Lux, Brandon Marsh, etc) are finally starting to get their chance in the majors along with some others (5th round Cavan Biggio). Other notable pitchers from the 2016 draft already in the majors (after quick review): AJ Puk, Dustin May, Aaron Civale, Jesus Luzardo, Zac Gallen & Zach Plesac. Until all the careers are completed, it will be near impossible to say who was the best from that draft but becoming a legit ace as you put it would put Burnes in discussion for top 8 (if there was a post career redraft). Best Brewers pick, naturally.

Yes, "the whole smash" (name the movie) was moved... Future's Game/ HR Derby/ Draft/ everything with the All Star game this year was moved.... Apollo 13 was the movie in question. That said, I fear for the future of baseball now. Oh, I think it will survive, but I think that by the end of our lifetimes, the structure of professional baseball will have changed with these events.

I've always felt that Cooper Hummel was, in many ways, the position player equivalent of Brent Suter. He's not a high draft pick. He hasn't really stood out on prospect lists, but the numbers show he'll produce and contribute, and probably far better than some of those hyped on the prospect listings. Part of it is seeing the high walk rate he's shown. Part of it is being a switch-hitter with some pop who can play multiple positions - again, I'll point to Tettleton - reasonably well. But what really has won me over was the November 2019 profile in BrewCrewBall. I think he adds one bonus in that he can take the mound in a blowout for an inning or two. https://www.brewcrewball.com/2019/11/25/20982116/milwaukee-brewers-cooper-hummel-prospect-interview This is a guy who I think knows how to hit that way Brent Suter knows how to pitch. Not the flashiest tools, not the most hyped, but someone who can redeem an awfully bad draft year or be a huge bonus. Suter's the guy who kept the 2012 draft from being a total disaster - okay, Haniger did bring us Gerardo Parra, who brought us Zach Davies, and Tyrone Taylor could break out - but the 31st round pick is likely to be the star of that draft class. Hummel, right now, could be an unexpected bonus in the 2016 draft. Corbin Burnes could be the best from that draft if he is a legitimate ace, Mario Feliciano and Payton Henry are two excellent catcher prospects, Corey Ray still could be a left-handed Keon Broxton, while Zack Brown, Thomas Jankins, and Braden Webb all could contribute to the Brewers pitching staff. But Hummel - and to another extent, Weston Wilson - could be huge contributors, too. Wilson has that Hernan Perez vibe (albeit he draws walks more) as a multi-position utility guy who can take the mound in a pinch. I think the cancellation of the 2020 minor-league season has caused him to be more easily dismissed, but I think he's going to be a valuable contributor for the Brewers sometime in this season, or 2022. I just hope it's not a Mitch Haniger type of contribution.