Kricket755

I think the Gennett to Pedroia comparison is a dangerous one due to the gigantic outlier that Pedroia actually represents (and yes, I realize the argument being made is not that Gennett is the next Pedroia). I have heard hundreds of comparisons over the years about how an undersized, non-elite athlete at WR is the next Wes Welker, or a soft-tossing lefty with a mid 80's FB is can develop into Moyer or how a productive, undersized PF can be the next Barkley. The reality is those guys are the rarest of the rare. I like Gennett more than most, and the production makes it difficult to argue him not being in the Brewers top 8 prospects, but the fact that Pedroia is a great player does little to help my projection of Gennett going forward, and I still doubt he is a top 80-100 guy personally.

Hes playing the race card because its the correct card to play in this instance. Its also the easiest card to play in any situation. I am not sure why anyone would wonder why Nyjer would not get the benfit of the doubt in a situation like that. I love him, but he has a big mouth and is one of the craziest athletes in all of sports. Regardless of color, he isn't going to come out looking good. Look at Nyjer's postgame comments. Nyjer does not want the benefit of the doubt. Nyjer does not care what the media thinks of him. Carpenter clearly does. I would think this is much more relevant to the topic than the race of the players.

Really? The Cardinals lead the National league in runs scored this year. The Rangers were 3rd in the American League. Nelson Cruz just hit 6 bombs in the ALCS. And you are sold on the fact that defense wins championships? Defense doesnt hurt, but I would like to hear your argument on these two world series teams being more capable defenders than hitters. If your comment was supposed to be in blue, I apologize.

Win it for the fans dark ages of late 90's/early 00's, who "cheered" when the 2001 squad broke the team strikeout record because, frankly, there was nothing else to cheer for.

It wasn't meant to imply Jungmann or Bradley are likely failures. I am a fan of both. I was just pointing out that at one time, those other names on the list were penciled into rotation spots due only upside and talent (I realize that Rogers and Jones were highschoolers so its a different situation) before they started their minor league careers. Every pitcher, especially those outside the elite of the top 5 picks, have an uphill battle. If one were to say that one of Jungmann/Bradley/Thornsburg/other would be ready to slot into the 2013 rotation, that would sound a little bit more realistic.

A 2013 rotation of Taylor Jungmann, Eric Arnett, Mark Rogers, Mike Jones, and Jed Bradley with Evan Frederickson as the power lefty longman out of the pen should be as talented as any in baseball.

I agree with this. I'm fine with Jungmann and Bradley barely throwing for the Brewers. Let them rest and have them come in for 2012. Absolutely no need to overwork them right now. Maybe give them a few innings but that's it.It's a long time between the first week or two of June (when Jungman last threw), earlier with Bradley and the 2012 season. If they get held back for the start of the Pioneer League, you are talking a full year. It would be much more beneficial to their development to take a month off, then ease them back in this season. Mid August is too late. Other college pitchers drafted later and who signed right away benefit from being able to adjust to life as a professional. That's as important as the work on the field. There's only so long of a shelf life for athletes. Why eliminate a year entirely? To make an extra few hundred thousand in a bonus? If that results in your major league career starting a year later, you push back your post arby years. What it does tell me about a kid, is he doesn't have full confidence in his abilities. Braun wasted no time signing. He knew he was major league talent. I dont think you can make a case that Jungmann eliminated a year entirely. He threw 140+ innings this season. If the Brewers are serious about getting him work, he can make a few starts before seasons end, or more likely pitch in a fall league. There are plenty of creative ways to get a guy work if he needs it. Not that Jungmann does coming off of a full workload. Recent draft picks of the Brewers include Eric Arnett, Kyle Heckathorn, Evan Frederickson, Cody Adams, as well as Rogers and Mike Jones a little farther back from high school. Considering the high bust/injury rate of pitchers, I cant believe someone could fault them for making a few extra HUNDRED THOUSAND dollars in sacrificing 2-2 1/2 months. In Jungmanns case, he likely gained between 500,000-1,000,000 dollars by not signing early. Can you honestly say that you would give that advice to your son as a pitcher drafted in the majors? Leave 500 grand on the table to let the fans out there know you are confident in your abilities. I dont think it is a lack of confidence in ones abilities. I think it is having good representation. Eric Arnett may never get another contract. I dont think you cant fault him for taking advantage of potentially the one time he may have some bargaining power in his career. He has the rest of his life to think about. Having confidence you will make it and planning for the scenario that you dont make it are completely different things. As a fan, yes, I would love if all of our top picks signed and reported right away. But I would not try to present the case that it is the most logical thing for all of them to do. And as for Ryan Braun, the case with hitters is completely different. And Ryan Braun was the #5 pick in an absolutely loaded draft. He is/was a special talent.

Awesome. Ray's only 37. I think if he had kept himself in better shape he might still be playing. I agree. I feel like he is a classic candidate that we hear from in about a year or so, when he comes out and says he's working out again and "in the best shape of his life" and ready to make a comeback. And hes lefthanded, so he will probably get a shot.

http://rotoworld.com/player/mlb/1689/arthur-rhodes Arthur Rhodes to be DFAed by the Rangers. With our current bullpen situation, every southpaw that becomes available probably at least deserves to be mentioned. He has has recent success posting strong ERA's and K rates the past 3 seasons prior to this one. He would likely be very cheap and more useful to the Brewers than Tim Dillard at this point. The walks are up this season verse lefties, which may account for the higer ERA. Could be a cheap, interesting option. The age makes the decline potentially legitimate and a little more risky. Seems like a low risk-medium reward situation to me.

The 2006 Cardinals won 83 regular season games. I don't think they had the overwhelming "feeling" of a World Series team.

Barney? One, he plays 2B and two, he's the 2nd to last guy the Cubs would deal.Barney played SS all throughout his minor league career, and is generally regarded as a pretty decent defensive SS. They moved him for Starlin.

If they do decide to make this a strictly cash deal, do they announce the deal as completed after the decision or do we, as fans, simply find out by the hard way (by waiting). I believe (but not sure) the Carlos Villanueva deal was announced as completed when the trade became an official cash deal. Seems as if the Mets will save face by waiting a few months to complete a cash-only deal when their fans have forgetten about the PTBNL's.

I am going with Komatsu and Ross. I havent seen Komatsu's name thrown out there much yet, and maybe his production has him at a level above the type of prospect we are giving up. Komatsu may be a win-win in that he is productive (I was going to go Schafer, but i think health/production combo of Komatsu makes for better PR for the Mets than Scahfer's upside) but is not viewed as an everday CF in the big leagues (Brewers only lose a potenial 4th OFer). For the record, I love Komatsu as a player and I would definately settle for the Ross-Haydel package originally mentioned.

I agree. with the state of the current system, one would hope we get as many young kids with potential in as soon as possible. I was just making the point that since we are on a budget, the lost time negotiating for a few weeks may be worth the money saved. In three weeks, if we are still seeing most of the top 20 guys unsigned, then we will start to show some concern. And you dont have to convince me on a large amateur talent budget. Not only is it a prudent investment (especially for a team like the Brewers), it is so much fun to follow.

Justifying the cost of everything in baseball in relation to the Betancourt contract would lead to wild and rampant spending that we have never seen before. Given the percentage of players that fail to make any positive contribution to the Major league team, the patient approach is understandable, albeit frustrating. Saving a couple hundred thousand through negotiation here could lead to more money to be put back in the system by other means (such as a few latin american signings.) I think that open international market completely changes the negotiating angle of the teams with draft picks. I would love to see an Andrew Cain-type pick sign immediately after the draft, if he is demanding $150,00-$200,000 bonus, that could also be used on an international kid who may or may-not have more upisde than him.

I would think the Brewers would take the approach of not commenting much. That is why Roenicke's comments about showing up late are interesting. Without giving any more insight into the situation and clarifying that there is a larger issue at hand, it is easy for to take that as Zach being a slacker and the demotion being more disciplinary (especially the casual fan without any other knowledge of the situation). With that said, I didnt see Roenicke make the comments so I dont know the context. I have a brother-in-law with a sleep disorder. Without a lot of knowledge on the issue, I believe is relatively mild, but the effects are very real and noticeable. In the case of my brother-in-law, he struggles driving anytime after 9 without drifting into sleep, and any conversation at night can be over suddenly if he is sitting (Its not narcolepsy. He's been tested). I am not pretending to Zach's issues he is dealing with, but I hope he is able to find some balance. The travel/schedule of a baseball player is probably not an easy place to deal with an issue like this.

I know it is not incredibly common, but there may be room for a non-closer reliever. If there was ever going to be one, Johnny Venters this year seems like as good of pick as any. I like his chances of making the team.

I think Hunter started out the year playing 3rd base, so I think that accounts partially for the high error total.

Wayne Gretzky's son Trevor comes off the board in round 7 to the Cubs. He is also a college football prospect.

There were reports coming out late last season that Lawrie was beginning to work at 3B. I think there is a pretty decent chance that he would have began this season at 3B in the Brewers system (though we dont know anything for sure), especially after Rickie's extension.

So far (obviously still very early), this trade looks like one both teams are still happy with. Marcum is surpassing expectations with his production this season, and Lawrie would likely now be a top 5-10 prospect in the game in any updated prospect rankings. Granted its June 1st, but the numbers at AAA are pretty filthy. Nice work to both GM's on the trade. Personally, I am a big picture fan, and I might take Lawrie over Marcum if given the choice. The next 3 2/3 seasons of pre-arby production by Lawrie could look very nice for the Blue Jays. I understand the Marcum trade went hand-in-hand with the Greinke, so it makes sense. On a sidenote, how many GMs in baseball right now are better than Alex Anthopoulos?

I am not sure why we would want to copy the offensive strategy of the Cardinals or Cubs. The Brewers have outscored the Cardinals 3 of the last 5 years and the Cubs 4 of the last 5 years. Over that same 5 year stretch (2006-2010), the Brewers are about 65 runs better than Stl and 100 runs better than the Cubbies. I think they are probably looking at our lineup wondering why they don't have more hitters up and down the lineup that can make a pitcher pay. With that said, Gomez and Betancourt aren't very good. I think most of us would take some people who could get on base at a decent rate over either of them. But it isn't as if Doug Melvin targeted Betancourt to fit his style. It is simply an afterthought of the Greinke trade. I would take this same lineup with a healthy Hardy and Cameron (hardly .280-.300 hitters that are safe players) and be perfectly happy without any scrappy gamers.

As far as the 24 man roster until Marcum gets back, is it possible the Brewers will activate Marcum before his scheduled start Saturday? He isn't on the D.L. He is on the bereavement list. Technically, once he re-joins the team I believe the team should re-activate him as to not take advantage of the rule that is in place. With that said, I am not sure when he is planning on re-joining the team.

Good write-up, Nate. I do think a package of Gennett, Scarpetta, Schafer/komatsu, and a PTBNL would fall pretty short of bringing in Reyes. Even in the PTBNL is Peralta/Rogers/Heckathorn, I dont think the Mets would sniff it unless the one of them breaks out in a big way between now and the middle of the season. I do know if the opinion that Scarpetta and Gennett could be ready by next season is accurate. Scarpetta has yet to prove he can cut down his walks and get outs at the AA level and Scooter hasnt had a chance yet beyond A ball. 2013 is a much better bet of when each would be ready for the bigs full time (and we know Cody's clock is ticking due to the contract). It would be interesting to find out what package of 4 guys in the system it would take to bring Reyes in. A guy like Rogers or Peralta could really help themselves out quite a bit by mid-season. Or they could go the other direction.

I am not sure the trade with K.C. means that they were overly impressed with the system as a whole. Two of the guys in the trade were going to be starters on the major league squad next year for us. They were not considered part of the system. Giving up a couple of everday major league ready players was a big part of the deal. Add in the fact that we traded 2 of our top 4 prosepcts in the deal(even in a poor system, the top handful of guys still have value), and I don't think that the trade gives any evidence that our system wasn't near the bottom even before the trade took place.