JohnBriggs12

One thing that is predictable about Melvin is that he will focus on a weakness and attempt to correct it. In listening to Melvin the past month, every time he's spoken, he's mentioned the HR rate of the pitching staff. That's why you can bet the farm he will be after both Marquis and Pineiro because between them, they have allowed just 19 HR this season. Of course the danger is he will overpay based on both guys having big years in 2009. But let's look a little closer. Pineiro was one of the best young pitchers in baseball when he came up with Seattle. Back then, he was far less of the extreme groundball pitcher he is today and more of a strikeout guy. After his first couple of really impressive seasons, he began to struggle, likely because he lost some velocity. Apparently with the help of Duncan, he's reinvented himself as an extreme groundball machine. While it's likely he will regress somewhat from his spectacular 09 results, it's still quite likely he'll be very effective keeping the ball in the park. Will he cost a lot? Yes. But if the Brewers were to sign him, it would serve the dual purpose of stregthening the Brewer staff and weakening the Cardinal staff. In Marquis case, I think his success has more to do with some late arriving maturity on his part. He always had a very good stuff and a top sinker. But he was prone to concentration lapses and would let his pitches get up in the zone, and sinkerballs that don't sink get hit a long way and that probably explains how he can allow 35 HR one year with the Cards and just 12 a few years later with Colorado. The other guy who could be out there that Melvin figures to pursue is Hudson if the Braves don't pick up his option. Pineiro and Marquis don't have the body of work that Hudson has but the 3 are very similar.

I'd want him back (for 1 year only at $5 million) only if Hart was dealt and replaced in RF by a LH hitter that makes better contact. Maybe that can be accomplished by retaining Lopez and Catalanotto. Since those guys (and Escobar) have been in the lineup replacing Hardy and Hart and Hall for that matter, the offense has had a better flow to it. More balls are being put in play, more pressure's been put on the defense. My big problem with Cameron was that he was one of many right handed bats with contact issues. Without Hall, Hart, and Hardy, that is less of a concern. As for Kendall, no thanks unless it was for around $2 million and he were told and management would stick with it, that he wouldn't get more than half the starts. Problem is they won't do that. I do not want Kendall as a full time catcher.

Gamel hasn't earned a callup much less playing time in the big leagues off his poor second half in Nashville. I think the odds are that McGehee starts next year at 3B and Gamel is back in Nashville if he's not traded. Gamel is better off using the remaining games on Nashville's schedule to regain his lost stroke, then maybe come up for the remaining time.

If you're Boston and choosing between Dunn and Fielder, defense isn't going to matter one iota. Youkalis isn't going anywhere and he's at 1B at least as long as Lowell is under contract (through 2010). But with Ortiz signed at least through 2010 and Victor Martinez with a bargain option available to DH on days he doesn't catch, I don't think they are that interested in surrendering a lot for either Fielder or Dunn right now. After 2010, now that's a different matter. That's another reason the Brewers should hang on to Fielder another year. The Brewers will want and need more than one team bidding for his services to maximize his value. Another monster year like this one won't hurt his value either.

If all it takes to get Dunn is Parra and a prospect, if I'm Boston, I go after him instead of giving up a lot more to get Fielder.

I don't think Jones will ever see the majors except as someone's Mike Burns at some point. He's going to be 27 next year so he's long past the prospect stage. Even when he's been healthy enough to pitch, his results have been pretty ordinary. Six years have passed since he went 7-2 with a 2.40 ERA as a 20 year old in AA. That's an awful long time. Rogers on the other hand is no kid anymore either (he'll be 24 next season), but his results this year where he's dominated hitters in Florida at least indicate his stuff could be close to major league quality right now. At 24 next season, he should at least possess the maturity to not be awed by major league hitters. It's a matter of how much of a step forward he can make in stamina. I think the Brewers would be wise to start him slowly in spring and ready him to start the season around May 1st. I'd have him skip AA assuming he has success in the AFL and I'd start him at AAA next year with the idea that if all goes well, he makes it to Milwaukee in 2nd half of 2010 either as a reliever or a starter that goes 5 or 6 innings tops. My reasoning is twofold. First, they lack any other true major league starting prospects at the upper levels. Secondly, next year Rogers will be using up his next to last option year next season. I think they will want to see him some in 2010 so they will have a better idea where he fits in 2011.

Brandon McCarthy has had injury issues ever since Texas acquired him. But he's still only 26, and I believe he's still has upside. Texas has enough young pitching that they let Padilla go in the midst of a race while McCarthy was still on DL. So I think McCarthy could be had for a reasonable return. Keep an eye on how McCarthy does this month now that he's back.

They paid Cameron plenty this year and they aren't winning. He's a decent player and was above average this year stat wise but he's not a difference maker for this team as it's presently constituted. Next year he'll be 37, so a decline is quite possible. He'd get a lot in arbitration because it rewards history and doesn't project forward. I think the Brewers want him back but at their price so they can focus their resources on the real need, pitching.

Jaybird, You're a little too tough on Belliard. This is only the second time he's been traded. All the other times he switched teams, he was a FA. You don't hang around in the majors as long as he has without producing. He's had a very solid career and been an All Star. At 34 he's now a very good utility player that good teams want down the stretch. That is hardly a negative.

Reno is a hitter's paradise and always has been due to the very light air and elevation. Half the Reno team this year carries OPS' over .850. I was there in 1992 on business and happened to see Stockton (then the Brewer affiliate in California League) play Reno (then an affiliate of the A's). Stockton won. I can't remember the exact score but it was something like 26-14. Pitching in Reno is tough. Breaking balls don't break and the ball travels.

Reality check. They are likely going to need Rogers in Milwaukee next year at some point (likely after they pull the plug on Suppan in July sometime) to save Melvin's job. That's why what he does the rest of this year and in the AFL is more important than virtually anything going on anywhere in the system right now including the big league club. They need him building arm strength now to prepare him to go 150 innings in 2010. They should start him slow next spring. Hold him in Arizona an extra month, then send him to AAA around May 1st when he's ready to go 5-6 innings every 5th day. He should bypass AA. The AFL experience should be his AA level. He's dominating high A hitters (albeit in limited action) many of whom he'd see in AA next year. He doesn't need to prove he can get those guys out.

The fact that next year is the final year of his deal, I don't think the Brewers are forced to stay committed to him as a starter other than perhaps the first 2 months of the year. If he's bad in April and May, there's no following year looming at big bucks that would make it wise to give him an extended period to "find himself". It will be fish or cut bait time and if he's not posting an ERA below say 5.20 around Memorial Day, my guess is he goes to the pen and doesn't come back. If he does manage to post the occasional decent start and keep his ERA around 5, he'll last until his first 4 straight bad game stretch after that. If he's not at least useful there as a long reliever, I would expect him to be shown an early exit sometime next August.

There's so many ridiculous statements in your post I don't know where to start. First 85 AB's is 4 times as many than 21. To bring that up is ludicrous. He's not an everyday player in this system? He's played 116 of 118 games Brevard has played, 111 of them at one position. Is he better than Weeks? Perhaps not, but are Brent Brewer and Josh Prince better than Escobar or Hardy? Are Chris Dennis, Eric Komatsu and Lee Haydel better than Ryan Braun? Is Caleb Gindl better than Corey Hart? Is Taylor Green better than Gamel or even McGehee? All those guys are ahead of Farris on the P50 list. He's not a plus, plus runner? What makes a plus, plus runner? He's on pace for 65-70 steals and a 91% success rate. There's just a handful of guys in baseball that exceed that. That Iribarren hasn't cracked the lineup isn't proof that he couldn't be a solid everyday player. He's just never had the opportunity. That's not to say he won't get one somewhere (see McGehee). Iribarren is better defensively? There's no stat that backs that up. Can I remind you Farris was voted the top defensive 2nd baseman in the Fla State League. As to his success being the result of making adjustments, that's a huge positive, not a negative. The abiltiy to make adjustments is the key to staying power in the major leagues or any league. Hardy is in AAA because he couldn't make adjustments. The jury is out on McGehee because we haven't yet seen how he will adjust when pitchers start pitching him differently. Finally, just because I'm going against the consensus on this board, doesn't make me wrong or that it's not worth debating.. All lists are opinions. The value of a Power 50 is that it invites discussion and disagreement. That you don't wish to debate it tell me you can't back up your arguments. I still say Farris belongs in the 20-25 range of Brewer prospects. That is not a "can't miss" rating, but it's considerably higher than he is on one person's list.

Well, it helps when you are on the back end of double steals like he was tonight with Eric Farris who's now 62 for 68 in stolen bases. By the way, Farris now has 35 hits in 85 AB's in August. That's a .412 BA this month for number 43 on the Power 50.

If they offered something of value, the Brewers should listen. No I do not think they should. Last I heard Hoffman was a Type A free agent. That means we will either sign him our get a first round (or top half of second round) pick and a sandwich pick. I cannot imagine getting better value than that in return for Hoffman. So we either get high picks or we get another year of Hoffman. If we trade him we would have to give up a pick to get him back. That does not make sense for a team with no internal options at closer.Allocating significant dollars for a 42 year old closer on a team that can't get the game to him makes zero sense. They need starting pitching first and foremost before they even address the closer role. They have an internal candidate and his name is Coffey. They made the deal for Weathers after they were out of the race because they can keep Weathers to set up next year.

If they offered something of value, the Brewers should listen.

You wouldn't think a contender would want him, but Smoltz and Padilla have been picked up in recent days by contenders, so it would be no surprise if a Colorado which just put Cook on the DL were to pick him up. I think the Brewers who need to explore every available method of adding pitching will probably wait for the offseason and look at the discount bin of one time high priced veterans now available cheap as a result of injuries and diminished recent performance. That list is pretty long.

I completely agree with X ellence. Lopez is a guy you find a place for. Either you move him or you move Weeks. He brings offensive skills that have been sorely lacking for years with this team and he would allow Weeks to hit in the middle of the lineup where he might blossom as an RBI guy.

Some walks result when the hitter has a low rate of putting balls in play per swing, therefore giving the pitcher a greater opportunity to miss the zone 4 times in a given AB. Usually these type hitters aren't susceptible to expanding the zone so much as they just have holes in the zone. They also have enough power that pitchers are somewhat careful and may nibble a lot in certain situations. Gorman Thomas was the perfect example of this type hitter to the extreme. He had huge holes in the zone and swung and missed a lot of strikes and struck out a ton. But he didn't fish for a lot of balls outside the zone all that much so if a pitcher tried to get him to chase, he usually ended up walking. He also had enormous power that when a pitcher got one in the wrong spot in the zone, Gorman could may them pay dearly. Cameron has holes that are in the zone. He swings and misses more strikes than most hitters. Because of that he usually forces the pitcher to throw him a few more pitches than say a guy like McGehee who often puts the first strike he sees in play.

It's the lack of guys that project as 3-5 major league starters at the upper levels that has Melvin stymied as much as not having 1's or 2's. Let's hope Rivas and a few others can fill that void in the next year.

The only guy that the Brewers would think of offering arby to that would bring a draft pick is Lopez. They might like Cameron back but at a rate lower than he'd get in arbitration so I don't think they'll offer him. If Cameron truly has "draft pick value" then someone will offer something of value to get it. As for not getting anything back, so what? If you want Counsell back next year, wouldn't he be appreciative of a chance at playoff baseball? What is he going to do in a month for the Brewers other than take playing time away from young players? With Gamel and Heether as potential callups and Iribarren, McGehee and Escobar around, why play Counsell?

Harang is going to cost $14.5 million minimum ($12.5 plus $2 million buyout for 2011). Given Hardy's performance (or lack thereof), that deal is going to add at least $10 million to the payroll for 2010. That's enough that it would take them out of the FA pitcher market entirely, would use up a trading chip and would leave them with nothing beyond 2010. They really need at least 2 arms via trade and FA this offseason. They are better off with a mid-level FA on a 2 year deal and using Hart and/or Hardy for a guy at about the level Bush was when he was acquired. It's not a terrible idea, but it costs them flexibility and doesn't address matters beyond 2010.

The future of one guy who many speculated would be a nice buy low target is up in the air. Justin Duchscherer has been diagnosed with clinical depression and miss the remainder of this year. Duchscherer possesses the one attribute you can bet the Brewers will place high value on in their pitching search and that he's got a decent HR allowed rate of 0.9/9 inn over his career. He now becomes a higher risk sign, if indeed he decides he wants to resume his career. The guys I now believe will attract interest from the Brewers are: Piniero, Davis, Marquis, and Washburn. I also think they'll kick the tires on Garland if the D-Backs don't pick up his option. Don't rule out Brewers sniffing around about Tim Hudson either who's got a $12 million mutual option with Atlanta. He's been rehabbing in the minors 12 months after Tommy John surgery. Not sure the Braves would commit that much to a guy trying to come back, but I'm sure Brewers will look at his historically low HR rate, Macha's familiarity and think this might well be a risk worth taking.

No, please no. He's among the bottom 2 or 3 OF defensively I've ever seen and he's a whiff machine. His minor league numbers aren't even that good. Had he not been Dave's kid, he probably doesn't make the big leagues. I don't think he'll ever put up numbers like he did in his 2 good years in St. Louis. They'd be much better off bringing back Catalanotto, even at age 36.

I think any of Rogers, Anundsen, Rivas or Bowman become legit call up candidates in 2nd half of 2010 if they are successful at Huntsville next year. Big key is if Rogers can get up to 5-6 innings per start. Ideally, none of those guys would see Milwaukee until 2011, but Brewer pitching situation is far from ideal.