Harold Hutchison

Clayton Andrews posted a 15.42 K/9 rate in the AFL, and QTC had a K/9 rate at an even 15. As for Castaneda... I'm wondering if the Brewers don't stretch him out this year. The AFL seems to point to someone who could be an ace starter.

I think it was the right call. Turner made contact with the first baseman, the glove is knocked off the fielder's hand. The contact diminished the ability of the fielder to handle the ball. It was not a dirty play, like the one Machado did to Aguilar last year, but the contact Turner made did interfere with the fielder's ability to make the play.

Both Andrews and QTC showed a lot on the mound. I think one or both contributes in 2020 - and they may make Hader deal-able. Castenada is very intriguing. Loved what Fry did as well. I think he's the best catcher prospect - offensively - in the system, but like Hummel, isn't getting reps. A September 2021 debut, maybe?

The Nationals sure look like they're gonna try to blow a 2-0 lead in the World Series... Not that I mind too much... they beat the Dodgers and Cardinals, and their usefulness to me this season has ended... now I want them to feel the heartbreak of falling short in the postseason.

Torrens might be the most attainable. Still has an option, and could start out at AAA. Get him (price might be steep prospects-wise), sign Eui-ji Yang from KBO, and it's not Grandal, but it might be enough to avoid a black hole.

Ha, oddly I was going to ask you in the SS thread why you didn’t mention the catcher in the KBO. The league OPS leader is a catcher. Eui-ji Yang? Big bat, but he's 32. Might be worth pursuing, but to pry him from KBO at this point would take a Thames deal at least. EDIT: One big positive, the last two years, he's walked more than he's struck out.

Are there any options in Nippon Professional Baseball or KBO that the Crew could look at?

That is the bad news from this change.

Keeping the navy jerseys for the road - pairing them with navy pants and adding gold pinstripes - would be cool, I think. Something different than the bland gray. For the home, I like the classic ball and glove logo on the caps, but I also like the cross bats logo.

In 2016, he had a .738 OPS. In 2017, it was .867. In 2019, the OPS was .779, but he played 141 games - and the highest he'd played before that was 117 in 2016. He's hit .278 or better in three out of the four years. He has a good walk rate, too. My guess is he will be at about the 2016 level with a better BB/K ratio. Maybe a .740 OPS. Not Didi awesome, but solid. Kim Ha-Seong, on the other hand, looks to be far more dynamic.

If Didi lingers on a QO, then that is worth considering, even if it gives the Yankees a pick. That said, I'd rather look to picking up a player from NPB or KBO. Eigoro Mogi (https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=mogi--000eig) is a young OBP machine who is a clear upgrade, and at least would not be a black hole. Ha-Seong Kim (https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=kim---001ha-) has a far more dynamic bat, and may be a cheaper option for third base than Moose/Shaw (and bats right-handed). His versatility makes him an option to replace Hernan Perez - he doesn't play as many positions, and he can't be an extra pitcher, but the bat is far ahead of Hernan's. We could get them both for a combined $11 million a year.

Caldwell, Sheets, Plesac, Gallardo.

I'd like to see a gold uniform with blue pinstripes as at least an alternative. BiG for the cap, but the crossed bats logo for the jersey (I'll say it, I liked the crossed bats logo). The M with the barley on the sleeves.

If you can gain over 100 points of OPS, you can accept some tradeoff on defense.

I'm not the GM of the Philadelphia Phillies. But what I see from the numbers is a decent option at short with excellent OBP skills.

It can be argued that if the Phillies had a viable option at SS right under their noses, they wouldn't have kept running that poo-poo platter of mediocrity out there. Kingery is the only one I'd describe as bad, and he improved in 2019. He only moved from SS because the Phillies acquired Segura. Galvis was nominated for the Gold Glove in both of his years in Philly. Segura's an All-Star SS. When the last four years feature a two-time Gold Glove nominee, an All-Star, and a highly-touted rookie... yeah, I'd put my second SS at second base.

I'd agree. At this point, if the Orioles non-tender Villar, and he wants to come to Milwaukee on a cheap one-year deal, I'd take him if it was no more than $2 million. But at this point, someone like Cesar Hernandez would be a better option. Comes cheap, especially if non-tendered, no baggage from a bad relationship with Counsell, and provides excellent OBP skills. Hernandez has roughly 120 career innings as a SS, and other than a 4-inning stint in 2017, and 20 innings in 2016, he hasn't appeared there since 2015. I'm guessing there is a reason. His defensive stats as a SS are not exactly impressive, which is why I'm guessing he hasn't appeared there. With Hiura at 2B, I think they need a solid fielder at SS. The Phillies had Jean Segura at short last year. Prior to that it was Scott Kingery in 2018, Freddy Galvis in 2016-2017 (and he was decent). So, it may have been more a case of good options at short (save for 2018 - Kingery was almost as bad as Orlando Arcia was that year). But a .741 OPS at short for the Crew would be 108 points higher than what Arcia provided in 2019.

Hernandez would not come cheap. He's already making $7.75M and very likely will get an increase on that, even if the Phils trade him. The MLB.com article I posted earlier in this thread noted Hernandez was a non-tender candidate. If he is non-tendered, the situation changes.

I'd agree. At this point, if the Orioles non-tender Villar, and he wants to come to Milwaukee on a cheap one-year deal, I'd take him if it was no more than $2 million. But at this point, someone like Cesar Hernandez would be a better option. Comes cheap, especially if non-tendered, no baggage from a bad relationship with Counsell, and provides excellent OBP skills.

I see them trying to do that as well... albeit they may not like the return they get for Villar. Too many teams will wonder if they get the 2016/2019 version or the 2017-2018 version. No way do I go for Villar unless it's pretty much for free.

Villar is listed among potential non-tenders for 2020 by MLB.com. https://www.mlb.com/news/non-tender-candidates-2019-2020-offseason More interesting to me is Cesar Hernandez https://www.mlb.com/player/cesar-hernandez-514917?stats=career-r-hitting-mlb&year=2019 Primarily a 2B, but has played some at short, third, and center field. He's a switch-hitter with a career .733 OPS, had a .741 OPS in 2019, and prior to 2019 showed the ability to get a LOT of walks. Worst case, a slight upgrade over Hernan Perez as utility player, but I think he'd be worth replacing Orlando Arcia at shortstop. If he reverts to his pre-2019 form in drawing walks, I think he becomes a BIG upgrade that can be had relatively cheap.

Yeah, when it's close to 50%, that's too much. Keon is either a starting CF for a team that is buying time for rebuilding, or he is a 5th outfielder on a very good team.

It exists as entertainment, but major league teams don't have to stock those teams with players. When 80+ percent of draftees don't ever spend a day in MLB, what is the justification for MLB teams drafting and signing them? What other business hires and pays hundreds of people knowing that most of them will provide them with no financial value in return? And the question really is, are those hundreds of players really best served by sending them to remote outposts with minimal coaching, and having them play hundreds of games? Or is there a better way to help them reach their peak performance level? Tell me this: Who makes it? I'm not asking how many - I just want to know WHO. You can't really do anything beyond a wild guess without getting those players on the field and having them play games. Take the 2012 draft for instance. Did anyone think that the player who would make the biggest impact for the Brewers out of that year would be Brent Suter, a soft-tossing lefty drafted in the 31st round? (Mitch Haniger doesn't count, he was traded for Gerardo Parra). Clint Coulter and Victor Roache, the Brewers' first-round picks, were busts. Did anyone think that 2010 32nd-round pick Jason Rogers would eventually land the Brewers Keon Broxton and Trey Supak? The former was a solid player for a few years, and got turned into three prospects via a trade. The latter's arguably one of the best pitching prospects in the system. The Brewers didn't even sign their first-round pick that year. Or from 2015, there is Quintin Torres-Costa, who looks like a poor man's Josh Hader with a career 11.6 K/9 ratio. He was a 35th-round pick who arguably would have been on the Brewers instead of Alex Claudio if not for his need to have Tommy John surgery. Trent Grisham made the majors this year, but Nathan Kirby hasn't been able to stay on the field, Ponce was dealt for Lyles, and Demi Orimoloye was also dealt after not quite being able to put it together for the Crew. If they didn't play the games, how do you find those contributors who were arguably overlooked by the scouts to some degree in the first place?

If you add the Angels, you have to add the Mets as well. The Mets have DeGrom and Thor... and Cole would make a nice upgrade over Wheeler. The Mets also get out from under the Lagares and Frazier contracts this offseason. That combines for about $24 million. They get out from under the Lowrie and Cespedes deals at the end of 2020. https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/new-york-mets-salaries-and-contracts.shtml Gerrit Cole joining DeGrom and Thor lets the Mets match the Nationals rotation - or even exceed it if Strasburg opts out.

He does: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/10/brewers-josh-hader-super-two-cutoff-arbitration.html B-R states that he'd be arb-eligible in 2021, which means the 2020-21 offseason (or after next season). They obviously didn't foresee the Super 2 number coming in as low as it did. Yikes. Four years of control, then, and more expensive control at that. That does alter the calculations, then. I'd been reading their arby thing wrong, and the Super 2 is an unpleasant surprise.