Eye Black

Prince Fielder struck out in 20% (rounded) of his MiLB plate appearances. Joey Votto's rate was 22%. Ryan Howard's rate was 27%. Those are just three guys I checked out off the top of my head. Olt's current (career MiLB) clip is 24%. Fielder's MiLB strikeout rate per PA was actually only 16.5 percent. Those other guys are correct though.

According to mlb.com he hit 96 once in the 1st inning and 95 a couple of times in the 2nd.

I understand there is a good possibility of being underwhelmed by the return for Grienke, but it isn't going to be Ervin Santana. He is owed $13 million next season with a $1 million buyout. I really hope Zack pitches well. As long as he shows he is healthy tonight I am confident they will at least get more return than the value of one supplemental round draft pick (which admittedly isn't a very high bar). I really like the guys the Tigers gave up for Sanchez and Infante, and hope the Brewers can get something along those lines.

I would not leave K-Rod in here, but not sure it really matters.

Even with the Brewers a long way from the playoff race watching K-Rod still makes my stomach hurt.

Thanks! I didnt really look too closely. I guess the question would be, "would you rather have a top 15 prospect or a two top 80 prospects?" I would lean toward the one top prospect but getting a couple guys make for less of a chance for a bust trade. Actually I missed Segura, he did make the list at #43 in the updated rankings.

I agree, I believe Turner will end up being very good. He held his own yesterday against the White Sox and he is still very young (just turned 21 in May).

Going into the year Richards was the 83 ranked prospect and Segura the 55th. Cron is interesting but seems old for his league Olt was the 43rd ranked prospect. Now I dont know where they would stand right now but I would be happy with either return unless Richards is over ranked. His MLB numbers outside of ERA are not inspiring Baseball America released updated rankings in early July (top 50 only), and Olt is now #11. The others did not make the top 50.

Get Jon Daniels on line #1, Jerry Dipoto on line #2, and let the bidding begin.

If you are referring to 3and2's upcoming free agent starting pitcher's list, it's because Garza is under contract through next season. The Cubs are shopping him with a year and a half of team control left.

Segura was added to the MLB roster, but no DL for Aybar yet. I agree that the Angels have other attractive trade chips in Richards, Cron, and Cowart as well.

Update: Apparently nothing is confirmed at this point and they are going to reevaluate the severity of Aybar's injury. It sounds like Segura was flown to LA, but that move could just be for insurance for if/when Aybar is put on the DL. I guess that leaves a little hope that Segura is still in play.

Bad news for those who liked the Angels as a trade partner due to the possibility of landing SS Jean Segura. Erick Aybar is going on the DL with a broken foot (expected out 4-6 weeks), and Segura is reportedly being called up to fill his spot.

We also got a 16-6 3.83 pitcher during our best chance at a championship in a generation. Agreed, and I enjoyed every minute of last season. I wasn't trying to give commentary on whether it was or wasn't a good trade, just that having the Greinke era commence with a single comp pick isn't how I envisioned it would end when they acquired him 20 months ago.

Not trying to advance this as a Transaction/Trade Rumor topic, but TLB makes a great point. If the Rangers decided to trade Profar, they would be looking for much more than Zack Greinke. And by more I don't mean Greinke + K-Rod or Axford or Hart or any other combination. Quite honestly, if they were willing to shop Profar I would not be surprised if they were able to get King Felix, who is not only an Ace but also under team control through 2014. I agree with those who are starting to fear that the options are becoming less attractive by the day. Here is my list by order of preference... 1) Trade Greinke - I am still holding out hope that a bidding war before the deadline will get the Brewers a solid return and they can move forward. 2) Take the Compensation Pick - I hate that this is my second option, and it will be such an emotional let down that four prospects were used as commodities to land Greinke (and a lot of hope) but will suddenly transform into a single pick in the compensation round. 3) Sign Greinke - As a huge fan of watching Greinke pitch I will be very excited if the Brewers re-sign him. From a risk management standpoint I will be terrified. I don't think the money can be glossed over as easily as some people suggest. If they give Greinke $120-$130 million, the Brewers can't afford to be wrong. I may view things differently if the Brewers appeared to only be a piece away from a World Series run next year, but I don't believe they are going to be significantly better next year. For a team several pieces away from a legitimate World Series run, the opportunity cost of signing Grienke just seems way too high.

Unfortunately that would only be a single compensation pick following the 1st round.

Isn't he signed through 2016?

Thanks to TheCrew07 and Tedaldtada for the great analysis. It is very intriguing to see how teams approach building their organization and what type of results they generate. It surprised me to hear Keith Law say during the Futures game that the Padres had the best minor league system, but it appears they have built a lot of depth in their system combined with the strong draft Tedaldtada mentioned. It still seems hard to argue the Padres system will have more overall impact at the MLB level then the guys the Rangers have at the top of their system.

The Angels have an attractive pool of players at the top of their system, and Segura would make a great headliner. The trade would look like a big success if the Brewers could land Segura along with any one of: Cowart, Richards, or Cron. The only concern I have is that Jerry Dipoto will get DM to bite on Peter Bourjos instead of those top propects.

1996 BA Rankings, Haynes #38, Wright #66 ...and then two years later the #38 ranked prospect was Roy Halladay. Not an exact science, but I would rather take my chances on prospects ranked in the top 100 then late 1st round draft picks.

Per Rosenthal, the Indians inquired on Hart and were told he is unavailable. I am curious if it's "he is unavailable until we decide we are sellers" or "he is unavailable, and don't call back".

#UMPshow

+1. Well stated. Scoffing at the idea of acquiring prospects not ranked in the top 10 seems short-sighted. Obviously some top 100 prospects don't work out. But sometimes they end up being pretty darn good. A few that come to mind: Fielder (BA #78 in 2002), Grienke (BA #52 in 2002), Braun (BA #49 in 2005, #26 in 2006), and Hart (BA #91 in 2002).

Its interesting to read the Orioles fans reaction who don't want Schoop to be included in the deal for Greinke contrasted with Brewers fans demanding Bundy or Machado. Reality seems somewhere in between. As others have stated, Bundy is as untouchable as Profar, and Machado is very close to the same. As Joseph mentioned, Machado would require more than just Greinke from the Brewers. For the Brewers to make a deal with the Orioles they would have to be willing to take quantity (3-4 prospects including Schoop, Matusz/Arrietta, etc.) over quality (one top 20 prospect). I wouldn't put it past the Brewers to go for a quantity deal, especially if the deal included a starting pitcher that would be ready for next season's rotation. Other teams that could offer attractive quantity-type packages include the Dodgers, Angels, and Rangers. Despite this, I am still hopeful the Brewers will holdout for a high ceiling prospect. I think it is very possible that one of the interested teams will eventually give-up a top prospect that ranks somewhere in the 10-25 range on the most current prospect lists. Best examples cited so far would be the Braves (Teheran), Tigers (Castellanos or Turner), or Rangers (Olt). There are other teams worth checking in with regarding their top prospects: Indians (Francisco Lindor), Cardinals (Carlos Martinez or Shelby Miller), Red Sox (Xander Bogaerts), but those teams appear unlikely trade partners at this point.

Game #81 today, half a season in the books following today's game. Happy 4th of July!