CheezWizHed

[sarcasm]Someone needs to fix Clark's golf grip. I bet his elbow is all wrong too...[/sarcasm]

AA ball will tell a lot for him. He is having his first real success in a pitcher's park. Contact pitchers normally need a lot of movement on their FB to keep from getting shelled at the upper levels and MLB. So those would be items to watch for next year.

Lohse did give us two very good seasons before this debacle.

SS Luis Sardinas has been placed on the DL with Colorado Springs. Donnie Murphy has been activated from the DL there. Any information on the injury?

I too am hoping we hold him in the minors until Super 2 has passed next year. I don't see how pulling him up now will benefit anyone.

Interesting note from last night's game I forgot to share but one of the Kane County pitchers charting pitches and chatting us up noticed that the Rattlers were able to steal signs from the C. The runner at 2nd base would put his arm up for "breaking ball" and leave it down for "FB". After calling 10 pitches in a row from the stands based on what the Rattlers were doing out at 2B they tried to get the attention of the guys in the dugout but didn't have success. I was wondering why they just didn't walk over there and say something even though they were charting pitches, I would have thought charting pitches could wait... nice guys though. Maybe a little schadenfreude going on? Competing for a promotion perhaps?

I him creeping into my list, but missed the top 25. Lack of any previous notoriety (scouting report and previous performance), size and K rate kept him out.

1 - Orlando Arcia, SS - Pretty obvious selection 2 - Gilbert Lara, SS - Ok, I'm buying the hype. Small sample size, but he is hot in his first attempt at US ball at 17. 3 - Kodi Medeiros, LHP - Just lots of upside and holding his own at A-ball at 19. 4 - Taylor Jungmann - RHP - Recent MLB success factors in, but he has always had a high floor and a decent chance at a #2-3 SP level. MLB level doesn't rattle him at all. 5 - Clint Coulter, OF - Holding serve nothing more. Doing ok at A+ considering the "heaviness" of the air, but not really impressing either. 6 - Jorge Lopez, RHP - Finally his pitching is catching up with his talent. 7 - Jacob Gatewood, SS - Not as raw as expected. 8 - Monte Harrison, OF - Poor start, but still showing talent. 9 - Tyrone Taylor, CF - Still has potential to come around, but even the upside seems a lot lower than a Carlos Gomez type. 10 - Tyler Cravy, RHP - Sneaky SP that will be an end of rotation starter. 11 - Tyler Wagner, RHP - Dominating MiLB, but I wonder about his FB at the MLB level. 12 - Michael Reed, OF - Showing ability to start at a corner in the MLB. Reminds me of an Aoki type player. 13 - Trent Clark, OF - Surprise draft pick. I'm interested to see someone consistently at 300+ BA. 14 - Devin Williams, RHP - Putting together a nice year, but just doesn't stand out much. 15 - Carlos Leal, RHP C - Surprise find at a position of need. 16 - Victor Roache, OF - Can't give up on power. 17 - Marcos Diplan, RHP - Key to the Gallardo trade being a win for the Brewers. 18 - Taylor Williams, RHP - Injury. 19 - Nathan Kirby, LHP - Possibly my favorite draft pick this year. Why won't he sign? 20 - Corey Knebel, RHP - Already succeeding at the MLB level, but is an RP. 21 - Yadiel Rivera, SS - I never thought he would make it this far, but his bat is slowly improving. I wonder about the odds of him turning into an Escobar type SS. 22 - Wei-Chung Wang, LHP - Wake-up call did him well? 23 - Cy Sneed, RHP - Love the mustache! 24 - Kyle Wren, OF - 4th OFer 25 - Cody Ponce, RHP - Potential to move up this list fast. Just missed: Chris McFarland, 2B Jorge Ortega, RHP Hobbs Johnson, LHP Austin, Ross, RHP Edit: Curses! I always get TW (Taylor Williams) and TW (Tyler Wagner) mixed up. Thanks Maas.

Anyone know the hold-up in signing Kirby?

So any thoughts on whether his tendinitis caused the poor season or whether his poor season "caused" the tendinitis (i.e. you've been sucking... take two weeks off with tendinitis)? If its the former, we at least have some hope that he can bounce back when he returns.

He allowed one hit, walked two, and struck out three over four scoreless innings. Just as easy as 1-2-3-4. Which is 33% harder than 1-2-3, but I'll take it.

I never was a Gantner fan back in the day... and I had no idea what OPS was then either. Granted, it probably wasn't until the 90s when I started wondering why they didn't replace him.

I was just looking at the SPs in the NL for another thread and noticed this: STL has 3 starting pitchers in the top 10 ERA in the NL. A fourth is in the top 20. Our top is Mike Fiers at #30. You might not like ERA, but the story is similar if you use other metrics. The disparity is huge.

You realize that Fier's second year (where he was "figured out") only lasted 22.1 IP due to his arm injury. Since then, he pitched 71.2 IP with an ERA of 2.13 last year and 94.0 IP with a 3.83 ERA this year. He is currently 30th in the NL in ERA and 27th in WAR among SPs that qualify. He is a bit better than "a 5th SP for now". Peralta's return is a bit slower than I originally anticipated. I wonder if that was intentional or just coincidence that he is slated to come back just after the trade deadline? No way to move Jungmann down to AAA the way he has been pitching. Lohse to the BP makes the most sense. You still need to manage Garza for next year and he should rebound given his age. Lohse might have simply hit the end of the road.

Maybe that team will be the Brewers? Lara was one of the highest paid players signed the year the Brewers got him.

Pouty lipped Mejia and an inverted W from Burkhalter

Gotta keep up! Yes. Too much work. I need to get priorities right.

Hmmm.. I used to live right down there, but the name doesn't ring a bell. Here's his page at VT: went to Wilmot HS http://www.hokiesports.com/baseball/players/hayden_brendon.html My daughter attended Wilmot grade school for a couple years, but she is 8 years younger.

People were excited before he set foot on US soil... so I don't think so. Very exciting for you locals to be able to check out 2nd round RHP Cody Ponce so quickly in Appleton, enjoy. Is he moving up to A-ball or did you mean Helena?

Yeah, I thought about that when I mentioned Zimmerman; Its too early. But its nice to have the local guy.

If you have to pay him anyway and can't get anything for him why not? He can be the mop up guy. Considering how quick a hook Counsell has having a guy like him in the pen isn't a bad idea. +1 Yeah, I hadn't thought of it, but its probably the best solution if they can't trade him. Better than sending anyone down.

I think its the hole at 3B that has people thinking about this. Who else will play 3B? We have no one in the pipeline that will make the MLB level in 2 years; maybe not the next 3 or 4 either.

So Peralta is finally on his way back. Who leaves? Personally, I'd prefer Jungmann remains. Nelson has struggled a bit, but I don't think going to AAA is going to help him. I think we all would hope a trade of Garza or Lohse are traded to open it up. But if not, does Jungmann go back?

I agree that our next "wave" is pretty weak. Which is why I advocate to add to it (thus trading Lind). Plus, I'd rather suck this year and rebuild (and get a high draft pick) than field a mediocre team this year and next. Same discussion that was going on with the Bucks a few years back. They did enough to make the #8 seed of the playoffs, but were a joke against a #1 seed in the playoffs. I'd rather dismantle right now and build around Arcia and others. That probably means a trade of Lucroy also (as much as it hurts to say that). Edit: I just found this article from BrewCrewBall that sums up my thoughts above nicely.

I think Lind could bring back a nice return, but it has to be the right situation. For all the same reasons you mentioned that he should stay with the Brewers. If someone is in that same situation, but contending, he could bring back something worthy. Probably not a AAA MLB ready prospect, but I could see getting an A-ball B level prospect or two. And that wouldn't be a bad thing for the Brewers. That would fit into our "next wave" nicely.