JohnBriggs12

Greinke took a gamble in turning down the Brewers offer assuming it was in the Cain range. I doubt he'll continue to pitch this badly, but he's going to need to have some gems to offset what he's done so far if he thinks he's going to get much if any above that in FA. If he continues to to stink it up, he could easily cost himself $10 or $20 milliion.

Gamel will be dealt, either in the winter or late in spring training after he shows he's healthy. My guess is they will look for a bullpen arm in return. Why is this such a mystery? He waited his turn, it finally came, and unfortunately, he got hurt. In the meantime, they found a solution at first base. That happens. The other option is to keep him as a bench bat in the role Ishikawa has right now. That's less likely but not out of the question. They aren't going to reveal their thought process now, so there's really no point in asking. It's to everyone's benefit if Gamel works to rehab his knee and get himself in shape to play wherever next season.

I'm not ignoring it. I fully understand your point about projectablity. I wouldn't have Sanchez in my top 20 but he certainly belongs on any list that deep. And it's quite possible we'll see Sanchez before the season is over in Milwaukee. So then we can all judge for ourselves. Chances of ever seeing a guy currently in high A are not all that great. Sanchez was pretty highly regarded in the Phillies organization too. From The Good Phight 2010 Phillies prospect rankings: 27. Jesus Sanchez, RHP Clearwater Despite being 21 coming into 2009, Sanchez had logged a grand total of 1 pro inning as a pitcher - because he had been a catcher for 4 seasons, a career path he gave up after hitting .220/.295/274 over 355 plate appearances. Shifted to the mound, Sanchez had a breakout campaign at Lakewood, logging 135 innings with excellent peripherals: 7.9K/9, 2.8 BB/9,0.26 HR/9, 38.6% GB, and a 2.77 FIP. I haven't really seen anyhting in the way of a scouting report, but Sanchez always had a strong arm, and the fact that his platoon split was miniscule shows precocious pitching aptitude, especially for a conversion project. The organization liked him enough to protect him on the 40 man roster, so clearly there's some upside here. Now aren't guys in A ball that get put on 40 man rosters, usually considered projectable? I don't see how what Sanchez is done in the 2 years since he was 27th in the Phils system to be outside the top 50 on the Brewers. Other that that one omission, I'm okay with the list in general though I'd move some guys around.

I'm assuming you mean Jesus Sanchez. He just missed (I believe I had him in my top 50 pre-Greinke trade). Here's why: 1. I don't know how good his stuff is. I've heard high-80's low 90's fastball and a good mix of pitches. That's fine and dandy, but relievers, at least for me, better be at least 90 with the fastball. 2. He doesn't miss bats at an elite rate. A guy like Alan Williams (who wasn't exactly super high on the list either) has nice stuff and it shows - he's striking out more than a guy per inning. Sanchez keeps the walks down, which is definitely good, but does he have putaway stuff? And, at the end of a list like this, you could rank them almost however. You want to put him over Kentrail Davis? I don't think anyone is going to call you nuts. Yes, I meant Sanchez. At what point does performance outweigh radar gun readings? Carlos Villanueva has now logged 7 years in the majors. He never ranked high on prospect lists for the very reasons you cite for Sanchez, a high 80's-low 90's fastball. Then there's the "missing bats" argument. Hello Taylor Jungmann. With all due respect to Alan Williams, Sanchez has had success facing more advanced hitters and he's only been pitching for a short time. While I appreciate your list and the work you put in, it seems to me more a ranking of measurable tools in the system than it is a list of actual predictions of success. Some tools can't be measured. Command for a pitcher is one of those, and it usually determines success and failure.

I know bullpen arms in the minors tend to be overlooked, but seriously no Jesus Sanchez in the top 50? He's a converted starter who had 2.99 ERA at age 22 in high A in 2010. This year between AA and AAA, he's thrown 57 innings out of the pen with a combined 1.26 ERA and 1.047 WHIP.

Roenicke is far too soft on veterans. He's supposed to be doing what's best for the team and not trying to salvage K-Rod's career. The trade ship sailed a long time ago.

Yeah right. Instead of getting to them with one out, they get to them with two out. There's no defending k-rod at this point, nor it there a defense for Roenicke using him against contenders.

Segura's the SS of the future, which should be sometime next year, but Bianchi is guy they need to evaluate for his role next season. I would think Bianchi comes up and gets splits the PT with Ransom who's also auditioning for next year utility role. EDIT. I stand corrected. Lets hope Segura is in there virtually every day.

I agree with danzig6767, it's the bullpen overall, in particular the guys who cover the 7th inning on. The Brewers starting pitching in 2010 for instance was lousy, but once Axford took over, and Loe came up, they played .500 ball from mid May on. In 2011, the bullpen was ok in the first half but got considerably better when K-Rod and Saito took over roles that the inconsistent Loe held earlier. It's nearly impossible to win without a solid pen. Period. Most games are close and there are tense moments in the late innings virtually every night. Often times a weak rotation will affect a pen later on by requiring too many innings too.

Exactly. I was referring to the stories that the Angels would be going all out to sign him to an extension. I was trying to point out that he might not be what they thought they were getting (like last night when he was touched up for 6 runs in 7 innings including 4 in the first). I'm not predicting it, or wishing for it, just saying it's within the realm of possibility. Greinke took a risk turning down the Brewers offer.

I saw game 5 of the 82 WS, as well as game 4 of the ALCS that year. I was also there when Lezcano hit the walk off GS on opening day. But the coolest thing was seeing Aaron's 754th career homer. That's right, his 754th, not 755. In all the stuff about greatest Brewer moments the last one he hit is always mentioned, and understandably so, but nobody knew at the time it was his last, and the HR had little significance in the game. But his next to last never gets a mention despite the fact that he points to it in his book "I had a Hammer" as up there among his most memorable. The situation was that the Brewers, mired deep in the standings, were trying to finish off a 4 game sweep of the Rangers and win their 6th straight. It was the 2nd game of a Sunday doubleheader (oh do I miss those!) and quite hot. Most of the crowd stuck around, primarily because Aaron was in the lineup in game 2 and fans then knew they were getting one of their last looks at him. After Aaron made the 2nd out in the bottom of the 8th, it didn't look like he'd get another AB. But the Brewers rallied from 2 down and tied the game in the 9th on a two out hit by 20 year old Robin Yount. That meant Aaron would get at least one more AB. After looking every bit of his 42 years in his earlier AB's, this time he drove one over the left field wall off of Steve Foucault, and the crowd went nuts. We all knew we had just seen something very special and we stayed and cheered until Hank came out of the dugout for a curtain call. I figured he'd hit a few more, but none were likely to be as dramatic and I was so glad I was there. I thought back to when I was just 5 years old and saw my first Braves game in 1958 and a young Aaron hit a HR that night (off Koufax no less) for the only Brave run. In retrospect, since he hit only one after that, I wish that had been his last one. It would have been much more fitting.

Weeks consistent? He's on pace to hit under .240 for the 4th time in 8 seasons as a starter. Yes BA is an old school stat, and he does get on base at a decent clip, but I wouldn't call him consistently "top level". He gets plenty of rope because at least $21 million owed him in the next 2 season. With 2015 dependent on him getting 1,200 total plate appearances in 13 and 14, it will be interesting to see if he gets benched more often if he goes into another prolonged slump next year. He's had a nice run lately and we see what effect him hitting does to the lineup. Then again, what pressure was left on this team disappeared after they got swept in Cincinnati. So it's definitely "grain of salt" time.

Every time I bring his name up, people roll their eyes, but Eric Farris has been on a nice little run lately. In his last 72 AB's, he's hitting .361/.403/.569.

I agree with RoCoBrewfan. After some inconsistency issues earlier in his career, he's been put together 3 straight very good offensive years. If the price was right, I'd be okay with the Brewers extending him because as long as he's this productive, if they want to deal him down the road, there will still be a market for him.

Overbay hit .227/.300/.349 in 103 games for Pirates last year. I don't think he's remembered all that fondly or considered an upgrade. His numbers this year in AZ were in a very small sample. Ishikawa has 2 more HR and 8 more RBI than Overbay in virtually the same amount of AB's. I don't think LO would be any better.

Right now there are very high expectations in Anaheim for Greinke. But lets not forget he allowed 15 runs (12) earned in 3 postseason starts last year. There's a very real possibility he could do that again facing the likes of the Yankees. Think Anaheim will blow the top off the Brewers offer if they are eliminated in round 1? This isn't Bob Gibson in his prime. So far he's faced the offensively challenged Rays. Lets see how he does facing the better offensive clubs in the AL.

Fiers figures to get 12 more starts, so conceivably he could get to 140 innings. But he's going to have to be at least a half run lower in ERA than Miley who's on pace for around 190 innings. At 27, I don't think the Brewer are overly concerned about his innings. To be considered, I'd think Aoki needs to have enough AB's to qualify for batting title and have a BA of close to .300.

Corbin and Bauer or Corbin and Archie Bradley would be more realistic. Long shot? Sure. But I haven't seen his name shot down anywhere.

I'm still hoping somebody swoops in and grabs Wolf so Peralta can make his next start in St. Louis on Friday.

I don't think anyone suggested trading Fiers.

Seriously, if you could get Bauer and Skaggs for Gallardo, or Upton and one of those two, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Bauer (9) and Skaggs (13) were two of the top 13 BA prospects. Neither has done anything this year that would lower those rankings either. Both have ERA's under 3 in Reno, a hitter's paradise. Gallardo's never had a full season with an ERA under 3.5. As for leaving yourself short in next year's rotation, I'll try and get by with what 8 or 9 pretty decent candidates, all of whom would be inexpensive. If you need a solid veteran #2 or #3, look at all the chips you'd have to deal for one and plenty of cash to shop for one in the FA market.

Nice outing by Matthew Miller. He's been pretty solid over the last month especially.

I'd like to see them stick Estrada back in the bullpen and bring up Peralta to take his spot in the rotation. Now Peralta last started Thursday, so he'll have to wait another turn. But that makes the most sense to me. Then once Thornburg makes a start or two, I'd bring him up and send Wolf to the pen for the duration.

I agree. Brewers knocked him around pretty good. I'd be more tempted to inquire on Beckett if I were looking at under-performing starters with big contracts who could be on the market. Beckett only has 2 years, $31.5 million left. Beckett has at least shown he can rebound from bad years. He's done it

If a qualifying offer means guaranteeing him some $12 million no way can you do that with a guy coming off a significant injury. No team in the open market would guarantee him that much. It would have to be on an incentive laden contract with a fairly low base in the $4-5 million range with incentives that could reach the $12 million.