jmeks23

I was never really sold on Casey to begin with, his minor league numbers coupled with his fundamentally bad batting stance, and poor speed and poor glove (though BA and Rock would tell you he's always been defense first). To me, I think it's about that time they option him to the minors. I don't think he has enough service time to deny it, and he has all of his options left. As others mentioned, I think a clean Green for McGehee swap is a win win for both the Brewers and McGehee. McGehee gets to work on his game against minor league pitching, and the Brewers get to see what Green's really got. Only a year or two ago Green was a top prospect for the Brewers. If they really want to keep Casey up but also bring Green up, I'm not really sure who should get cut. I actually like what Wilson provides, he has good D and not that bad of a bat honestly. You can't get rid of Craig, and who knows if they'll ever cut their loss on Yuni. So that basically leaves Kotsay, but then you only have 4 OF'ers. So who knows.

Well now you know why Kottaras' noodle arm is a bad thing

Someone else said it, but yeah, at the end of the day the roster isn't Roenicke's call. He has influence, but Melvin is the one who is sticking with the crappy roster. He doesn't need Ron's okay to get rid of Yuni, or Nieves, or call up someone to DH for interleague play. I understand that 6 games in between are at home and play NL rules, but what's the problem of having a guy like Gamel able to PH late in games? It just makes absolutely no sense to be so content with mediocrity on your bench. Yes the team is winning for the most part, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't want to continue to improve the ballclub. Kottaras is a better hitter then Nieves, and is LH. Wolf also liked working with Kottaras last year, so he can take Nieves' place as Wolf's preferred catcher. His defense isn't that bad. His throwing arm is a little weak but I haven't exactly seen Nieves be lights out behind the plate. Betancourt is TERRIBLE, and I know Melvin doesn't write the lineup card but my goodness, I think at this point his experiment is over. He sucks, and although his defense hasn't been as bad as advertised, his offense has been FAR worse. This roster could stand to make some serious improvement with relatively minor moves, yet Melvin is doing nothing. Don't get it.

It just seems like everytime there's a runner in scoring position he hits an easy pop up. All in all I think right now Betancourt's near 5 Mil contract is playing right now. Couple that with the fact they have no internal solution at SS, and Betancourt really can't play any other position (can barely play SS anyways) and you get him starting almost every day. I don't agree with it either, and Wilson/Counsell have shown A LOT better AB's then Yuni, mixed with arguably better defense. Hopefully they trade for Hardy or Jack Wilson. They'd probably have to give up Eric Farris for Wilson though, so idk if that's really a better option.

Can Jungmann go back to Texas for another year? And is he actually considering doing it if so? That scares me a bit in his comments. I don't want to jump the gun on anything though, I seem to get be-rated for reading too much into comments.

theCrew07: it's tough to make a final judgement on a guy you saw pitch basically once. He didn't look very good against ASU, but considering his career numbers and intangibles, I would say that start was just a bad start for him. Far more likely he's better than that, especially considering the command issues he was having, which are out of the norm for him.

It really is too early. In football players can't come out of high school and play, so most of your 'prospects' are players that have already played a year or two in college, though some like Cam Newton will play one year and be done. The NFL draft also is pretty much exclusively US players. Baseball you have leagues all over the country, JuCo kids, D1-3 kids(usually not any lower), all over internationally, high schoolers, and even minors like the Canadian the Brewers picked, or Bryce Harper last year. Plus, players stock significantly rises and falls in just one year with baseball which makes a difference as well.

That's fine, I respect all of your opinions. To me getting drafted by a professional sports team has to be one of the most special and truly amazing honors in one's lifetime, as it's such an exclusive club. Even out of the thousands who play in the MiLB and the MLB, it still is only a fraction of the amount of athletes that don't make it. I realize winning high school state titles can also feel that way, but playing for a professional sports team to me seems much grander of a scale. I don't want to take anything away from what high school athletes do, as I was one not too long ago, but for people who long to play professionally and never get the shot, you should cherish getting a chance to play regardless of when you were taken. The thing is, he probably has been taking it for granted for a few years, just basically knowing he's getting drafted. So that really waters down the magnitude and importance of it, considering he's just a teenager. I guess I just feel differently about high school than others. I was a member of a few playoff teams but never got far enough for state, and it never was a high or low emotionally for me.

I disagree. Wilson and Counsell may not have great bats but they make it up for it in other ways. Counsell is versatile and is a wily old veteran. May not seem like much, but remember that AB in STL a month ago? That's the kind of toughness he brings. Plus, he gets the occasional hit and works the count a lot, which I like off the bench. Wilson has looked good offensively, and also plays pretty well at SS which is sorely needed considering Yuni. Kotsay kind of stinks, but he is what he is. Nieves probably should be replaced, but the only reason Roenicke PH's his C (Lucroy) is because Nieves is playing. If Kottaras was on the bench, unless it's the 9th I doubt he's used. Gomez sucks but I'll take that speed and defensive prowess off the bench any day. I disagree that Gamel or Green make this team better on the bench as they aren't really that versatile. Starting or platooning is a different story.

Sorry, didn't go to the link just read it off the comments. That part makes more sense now. Thanks.

He really thinks winning a state championship is more important than getting drafted? Boy, wait til he's older and realizes high school is not important at all (save the education). Getting drafted in the MLB or any other sport is far more of a priveledge. And he also seems to be crediting the NC State coaches as though they'd be better off teaching him than the Brewers professional staff. Rodon certainly looks talented but not sure I like his attitude/demeanor at this point. He probably won't sign anyways if he feels he could move up by going to college.

Personally I think his bat speed has slowed and as others have said he's been dipping his shoulder a bit. Being behind and swinging and missing, then when you do hit it you pop it up...it's a recipe for struggles. I also think pitcher's may have found his weak spots a little better too. I personally never saw him as a long term 3B option, but I will keep that out of the topic as you requested.

They probably were going to take Springer too considering the Cubs took Baez. Stupid Astros.

Both Hardy and Reynolds were just traded for by the Orioles. Doubt they want to trade either of them, though I've been on board with Hardy if it is possible. As far as what the Orioles would get, I highly doubt it would take 3 prospects, then again considering it's the Brewers farm system it might. Still don't know if Heckathorn is worth it, and he still looks to be pretty good.

Interesting thought by Cheez. Little unrealistic for Melvin and even for the fans though considering Fielder is contributing big time so far this year. Realistically, unless the Mets really just don't want Reyes anymore for cash reasons, there's no way they pick any package the Brewers offer. Melvin would have to pull a big time rabbit out of his hat to swindle the Mets considering Cincy is a far better option for them. Really the only thing you could offer that they might take is Gamel and maybe Thornburg and Rivas/Peralta. Then you have to sign a FA 1B and hope Hunter Morris comes through in 2013. As many have said, Hardy is a far better option, and it wouldn't matter if his feelings were hurt or not because he has no option. He would cost a lot less prospect wise, and you could probably include Yuni in the deal (Brewers paying the buyout for next year). That way you most likely wouldn't have to give up Thornburg, or Rivas/Peralta as well, but maybe 1 of them. Who knows, the Brewers seem content with the situation at the moment, whether right or wrong.

Any word on why the Brewers passed on Delmonico? Everyone seems to think he has a very high upside bat, which is typically what the Brewers love.

I think TB screwed a lot of people out of MI depth in that first/sandwich/2nd round. But yeah, little disconcerting that they haven't even drafted one yet.

Didn't know he was asking for 4M. Good luck Daniel!

I'm honestly a bit surprised the Brewers took Lopez over Daniel Norris. Norris had mid first round written all over him, and even if he had some issues or something, at 70 that's still a pretty nice deal. Oh well, Lopez seems to be a nice upside pick as well anyways.

Are they are any high risk high reward HS bats left? Might be a good time for a couple of those at this point.

I still think they're high on Guerrieri. It's looking like he'll be more likely to be there at 15 then Gray at this point as well. As far as Baez and Lindor, I still think I like Lindor's upside more but who knows. Perhaps Baez could stick at SS and he clearly has more upside with his bat which would make him better in the long run. Either one is fine with me honestly. And just a side note, I realize we're short at SS and 3B, and many other positions but organizationally SS is our weakest link, and those holding out hope for Yadiel Rivera should keep on hoping. He's a long ways away.

Still baffles me that Selig and the MLB haven't put in a salary cap for rookies yet. On the Law draft he mentions Hultzen could be falling due to a big contract demand. Why are these kids so stupid? You had a chance to be a top 3 pick now you might fall out of the top 5 just because you want more money when you haven't even thrown a professional pitch yet. Just absurd IMO. As far as the draft, I still think Lindor and Guerrieri would be a tremendous draft (first round) for the Brewers. However, I'm fine with Baez, Barnes, Archie Bradley (though he might go top 5 now), Gray, and Norris. Some others I'm on the fence about. And I agree with the general sentiment here that Meyer is a total bust waiting to happen. Who knows though. I'm just really hoping the Brewers aren't sticking with their 'we can only draft big tall pitchers' theory. Personally I hate that theory. There's far more average height superstar pitchers then big tall ones. Plus they can get hurt just as easily (ie Josh Johnson). They should just take a look at their current rotation and realize you don't have to be 6'5+ to be a good pitcher. Greinke, Gallardo, and Marcum are all average height.

Hey guys, long time reader first time poster. My ideal draft would probably be Lindor and Guerrieri. Baez I wouldn't mind either, but the Brewers severely lack SS depth organizationally and Lindor projects to be even better at SS (bat and defense) then Escobar did which I like. Baez would be nice specifically for a bat, and maybe if he could maintain defensively could be a Troy Tulowitzski type of player. I'm not a huge fan of Cron as he's mediocre at basically everything but the bat, and who knows if that's enough if he can't do anything else well. 1B seems to be relatively shored up with Gamel, and Morris behind him. Not to mention free agent 1B are not too hard to come by these days. Springer and Mahtook, not a huge fan of and I'm not sold their game projects to the MLB. As far as pitching there's a TON of interesting names out there, but I think Guerrieri seems like a very nice bet. Has top of the rotation stuff and has been maintaining a solid mid 90's FB. I'm not a big fan of Jed Bradley, or Alex Meyer, I think they're both busts in the making. Anderson is interesting, but not sure he could ever be a good MLB starter. Jungmann was looking nice but his last start his FB velocity was down in the 80's and I believe he got roughed up as well, not a good sign with the draft right here in front of us. A guy I've liked for a while is Daniel Norris, but he's demanding a high price I guess. Still, he has top of the rotation stuff and is a LHP, which makes him pretty valuable. Barnes is another interesting option but I'm not totally sold on him either. Overall, in this particular draft I'd be fine with "best available talent" but I'd like them to get at least 1 pitcher as they will be severely lacking in SP in a few years, while most of their position players will still be under contract.