Eye Black

Brewers acquire Brad Miller in exchange for Ji-Man Choi being discussed in this thread.

I saw RHP Nate Eovaldi mentioned in this Tweet. If it wouldn’t cost much he is an interesting high risk, high reward starting pitcher trade candidate. He has come out looking very good in his two starts since recovering from a second Tommy John surgery. He is still hitting the 97-98 mph range with his four seamer according to Brooks Baseball. At his best he had the promise of a being a potential #2-3 starter. He is still just 28 years old and would only be a short-term risk since he is a free agent following the season. He is making just $2.0 million this season. I am at least intrigued.

[pre]Brewers Lineup Phillies Lineup 1. Lorenzo Cain ® CF 1. César Hernández (S) 2B 2. Christian Yelich (L) RF 2. Rhys Hoskins ® LF 3. Jesús Aguilar ® 1B 3. Odúbel Herrera (L) CF 4. Travis Shaw (L) 3B 4. Carlos Santana (S) 1B 5. Ryan Braun ® LF 5. Scott Kingery ® SS 6. Jonathan Villar (S) 2B 6. Nick Williams (L) RF 7. Manny Piña ® C 7. J.P. Crawford (L) 3B 8. Eric Sogard ® SS 8. Andrew Knapp (S) C 9. Brandon Woodruff (L) P 9. Zach Eflin ® P[/pre]

They mentioned on the radio broadcast Aguilar’s home run was the Brewers 79th of the season which leads the National League.

[pre]Brewers Lineup Phillies Lineup 1. Lorenzo Cain ® CF 1. César Hernández (S) 2B 2. Christian Yelich (L) RF 2. Rhys Hoskins ® LF 3. Jesús Aguilar ® 1B 3. Odúbel Herrera (L) CF 4. Travis Shaw (L) 3B 4. Carlos Santana (S) 1B 5. Ryan Braun ® LF 5. Aaron Altherr ® RF 6. Jonathan Villar (S) 2B 6. Scott Kingery ® SS 7. Erik Kratz ® C 7. J.P. Crawford (L) 3B 8. Orlando Arcia ® SS 8. Jorge Alfaro ® C 9. Brent Suter (L) P 9. Jake Arrieta P[/pre]

Yeah, it is a little strange that they announced the other player was going pro while using different language for Elijah Cabell (“released from his National Letter of Intent”), but it is at least a good sign that the LSU scholarship is off the table now. If the Brewers manage to sign their first five draft picks and Cabell I would consider this a very successful draft.

I am going to assume this is just posturing, but it isn’t exactly what I hoped to read either... Tigers remain optimistic about prized recruit Brice Turang picking college over pros If the Brewers weren’t able to come to an agreement with Brice Turang they would receive the #22 selection in the 2019 MLB Draft as compensation.

I am hopeful they get three hitters (Turang, Gray, and Bello) signed quickly and introduced at Miller Park during the next homestand.

Just about every team in baseball would be interested in Syndergaard or deGrom. The problem with going after either is that there are quite a few teams with a greater volume of high-end prospect currency. I think at least two top 50-ish prospects would be a minimum to even begin having a conversation with the Mets for either pitcher, and for Syndergaard that probably includes a top 10 caliber prospect. To put this in perspective below are teams with multiple prospects ranked within the top 60 of Baseball America’s 2018 midseason update. The Brewers had one prospect ranked in this range, Keston Hiura at #43. Braves - Ronald Acuna Jr., Luiz Gohara, Mike Soroka, Austin Riley, Kyle Wright, Ian Anderson, Kolby Allard Padres - Fernando Tatis Jr., MacKenzie Gore, Luis Urias, Michel Baez, Cal Quantrill, Adrian Morejon (plus two more prospects ranked between 61-100) Rays - Willy Adames, Brent Honeywell, Brendan McKay, Jesus Sanchez, Jake Bauers (plus two more prospects ranked between 61-100) White Sox - Eloy Jimenez, Michael Kopech, Alec Hansen, Luis Robert (plus one more prospect ranked between 61-100) Blue Jays - Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Anthony Alford (plus three more prospects ranked between 61-100) Reds - Nick Senzel, Taylor Trammell, Hunter Greene Astros - Forrest Whitley, Kyle Tucker, Yordan Alvarez (plus one more prospect ranked between 61-100) Yankees - Gleyber Torres, Justus Sheffield, Estevan Florial (plus one more prospect ranked between 61-100) A’s - Jesus Luzardo, A.J. Puk, Franklin Barreto (plus two more prospects ranked between 61-100) Rangers - Willie Calhoun, Leody Taveras, Julio Pablo Martinez Nationals - Juan Soto, Victor Robles (plus one more prospect ranked between 61-100) Indians - Francisco Mejia, Triston McKenzie (plus one more prospect ranked between 61-100) Rockies - Brendan Rodgers, Ryan McMahon Dodgers - Keibert Ruiz, Alex Verdugo (plus three more prospects ranked between 61-100) Pirates - Mitch Keller, Austin Meadows (plus one more prospect ranked between 61-100) Tigers - Franklin Perez, Alex Faedo (plus two more prospects ranked between 61-100) Orioles - Austin Hays, Chance Sisco (plus one more prospect ranked between 61-100) Outside of the top 60 for the Brewers were Corbin Burnes ranked #69 and Freddy Peralta at #97. I know the prospect rankings used are subjective, but among the actual prospects listed for each team imagine trying to put together a package to compete against the Braves, Astros, Yankees, Indians, Dodgers, or Nationals for either Syndergaard or deGrom. If any of those teams is motivated to acquire either pitcher it isn’t difficult to see how they could assemble a more appealing prospect package than the Brewers. Even teams like the Angels and Twins who aren’t on the list above could easily put together comparable (if not slightly better) prospect packages to the Brewers.

It was discussed over the past couple of days in the MLB Draft forum (LINK).

Would that be before or after you thank him for trading Gomez/Fiers for Hader/Santana/Phillips/Houser? I think that trade showed that Melvin was perfectly capable of making intelligent rebuilding moves. I've been as critical of Melvin as anyone, but in retrospect I think he was mostly acting on Mark A's "win with a limited budget" directives. I am not picking sides and I certainly don’t advocate hitting anyone in the face, but in the words of Garth Brooks... sometimes I thank god for (Doug Melvin’s) unanswered prayers...

Specific to outfielders drafted and developed in the system that weren’t considered blue chip talents like Ryan Braun, I would say Corey Hart, Lorenzo Cain, and Khris Davis are the best “recent” examples. Obviously Cain and Davis were traded away, but much of their development occurred on the Brewers watch. A lot of Brantley’s development took place with the Brewers also, but it’s hard to say if he would have been the same player (or been given the same opportunities) with the Brewers.

They should just draft the entire LSU recruiting class and offer, “you can all still play together and we will pay your full tuition as opposed to the partial scholarships you’ll get playing college baseball.” ...and for the record, that is mostly just a joke.

Ask the Red Sox if they'd like current Travis Shaw in their line-up. As far as second guessing trades goes, I do think there is a big difference between a player developing into a good player a few years down the road (i.e. Haniger) versus a player seemingly becoming a difference maker overnight upon being inserted into a major league lineup (i.e. Shaw). In my opinion, the Travis Shaw trade is much easier to regret and question (from the Red Sox standpoint) than the Haniger trade (from the Brewers standpoint).

[pre]Brewers Lineup Indians Lineup 1. Lorenzo Cain ® CF 1. Francisco Lindor (S) SS 2. Christian Yelich (L) LF 2. Michael Brantley (L) LF 3. Jesus Aguilar ® 1B 3. Jose Ramirez (S) 3B 4. Travis Shaw (L) 3B 4. Edwin Encarnacion ® DH 5. Domingo Santana ® RF 5. Yonder Alonso (L) 1B 6. Ji-Man Choi (L) DH 6. Jason Kipnis (L) 2B 7. Jonathan Villar (S) 2B 7. Yan Gomes ® C 8. Erik Kratz ® C 8. Lonnie Chisenhall (L) RF 9. Eric Sogard (L) SS 9. Rajai Davis ® CF[/pre]

He made some significant changes to his swing while in Arizona (The evolution of Mitch Haniger), and some additional tweaks since while with Seattle. Player development not only matters, but it is nearly impossible to quantify. Mitch Haniger in his current iteration would be great to have, but I’m not convinced he was likely to become that player in a Brewers uniform. If he hadn’t been traded for Gerardo Parra in 2014 it seems more plausible he would have either been traded for someone else, or left in roster limbo down the road, than the likelihood he was going to transform into a middle of the order slugger.

Coming into this year Nick Markakis was on pace to become the highest WAR hitter of all-time to NOT make an All-Star Game appearance and to NEVER receive an MVP vote. It is actually pretty difficult to accumulate the numbers he has without at least one of those things happening at some point. The current leader in this category is Mark Ellis at 33.6 career WAR without accomplishing either distinction (Markakis currently sits at 32.0 career WAR). Regardless, he has likely ruined this fun fact now since he appears destined to make the All-Star Game this year. Nick Markakis’s early career statistics are actually quite similar to those of Christian Yelich.

[pre]Brewers Lineup Indians Lineup 1. Lorenzo Cain ® CF 1. Francisco Lindor (S) SS 2. Christian Yelich (L) RF 2. Michael Brantley (L) LF 3. Jesus Aguilar ® 1B 3. Jose Ramirez (S) 3B 4. Travis Shaw (L) 3B 4. Edwin Encarnacion ® DH 5. Ryan Braun ® LF 5. Yonder Alonso (L) 1B 6. Ji-Man Choi (L) DH 6. Jason Kipnis (L) 2B 7. Jonathan Villar (S) 2B 7. Yan Gomes ® C 8. Manny Pina ® C 8. Lonnie Chisenhall (L) RF 9. Orlando Arcia ® SS 9. Greg Allen (S) CF [/pre]

I don't know that they're that similar. Bello is 3-4 inches taller and built more lithely than Stokes. Bello has a plus arm and projects to be a plus defender in center, while Stokes has a below average arm and is fringey in center. Bello has a bigger leg kick and bent rear leg from an open stance with hands set much higher than Stokes. Stokes has a very calm swing, though not as much bat speed. Maybe the video is deceiving, but from what I can tell in the limited video footage available of Bello his bat speed looks exceptional. Appears to have very quick wrists.

It was a small sample size (9 games), but here are the Player Stats for Turang and others on the Team USA 18U team last summer.

Pre-draft article on Micah Bello... Hawaii Tribune Herald: Bello primed to be Big Island’s next big hit

Meant to mention this last month, but Baseball America’s May issue listed nine players that weren’t highly ranked International players at the time of their signings last summer, but are “trending in the right direction” and considered sleeper prospects that could make a big impact. Included in that list compiled by Ben Badler was catcher Andres Melendez.

Some very high praise from the Brewers staff in this Wisconsin State Journal Article about Brice Turang: Brewers select high school shortstop Brice Turang with 21st pick in draft A couple of quotes from the article...

Yeah, I can’t necessarily argue with that since both of those pitchers look really impressive and would have been nice picks, but I think Brice Turang is going to be a fun player to watch develop.

I am kind of curious who would win a 40-yard dash between the Brewers three picks today?