Playing Catch

Yeah. I put it in the prediction thread. We've got a lot of threads going. I was mostly responding to the idea of giving up Wilken.

Let's go get Skubal. As far as I'm concerned, I would give up A LOT. Misiorowski, Wilken, Black, and a Carolina SP. I would NOT do a trade that featured top players at EVERY minor league level, as I think their older guys don't necessarily have a pathway, whereas it's easy to imagine the Brewers needing Lara, or Pratt, or Bitoni in future seasons.

I'd give up Wilken and Misiorowski for Tarik Skubal. Edit: sorry. This is the Flaherty thread.

Yeah, this basically says that the Brewers didn't feel confident that Wiemer would ever be able to hit .200, which surprises me because of his defense and power. Lots of no-hit centerfielders in MLB. Or, I guess the team really likes Montas for some reason. Admittedly, I haven't liked Montas ever since is 50-game suspension for performance enhancers.

I'm with Oxy on this one. Perhaps not a conspiracy, but phantom-like injuries are an easy way to stockpile arms on your roster without having to release/option guys. They've got a number of players getting ready to come off the IL. It's a good time to rest a few arms before the push begins. We know teams do this. After all, it's why Eppler got suspended for the whole season. So long as the player/agent are on-board with the rest, I see no reason for them to be considered "phantom". With all of this said, it is entirely possible that yes, all of the injuries are completely legitimate.

I hate this. I don't understand it. I am confused. I like cheap Junis more than less cheap Montas. Apparently, my prospect love for Wiemer will remain unrequited. Say it ain't so, Joe-y.

Yeah, that's my pick.

All of those guys make sense. Lowe is always hurt, however.

Do we know how he's looked in the field?

I'll guess that the longer-term plan will be Tyler Black.

I actually wonder from time to time if they "help each other out". It would make some sense, actually. Even if it's a little collusion-y.

With the trade-deadline approaching, I'm checking in on the longer-term plans for the division. The Cardinals rotation can't ALL be healthy the WHOLE season, can they? That rotation was put together to contend THIS season, not next. I have to think they're looking for rentals and perhaps try to sign a couple free agents this off-season. They're in pretty good shape, salary-wise. Other than Arenado, Contreras, and Gray, no one else is committed long-term, but they are currently merely $1M shy of last season's record high opening day payroll. The Cubs are in a weird spot, both now and in the off-season. I understand that they are committed to a number of players for the foreseeable future, but should they be? If I'm Hoyer, and I'm punting on 2024, I think I would consider a more significant re-build. Not because they need more prospects or young players as much as they just need different players. Their lineup is filled with decent or better starting major league players, but obviously, the combination of players isn't working. Replacing Wisdom, Morel, one of their outfielders. They need a catcher badly. I just don't see a bunch of winners there. Both Taillon and Hendricks are signed through 2026. At $214M, they are currently sporting their record-high opening day payroll. The Reds need more pitching and to get healthy. I have to think they'll be better next season no matter what. They are $36M under their record high opening day payroll in 2019. The Pirates rotation is scary good at the top, but any sort of injury issue there, and what else can they lean on to scratch out wins? A good bullpen, I guess. They are $14M shy of their record-high opening day payroll in 2016. The Brewers have been beat-up with a below-average starting rotation all season, and their bullpen hasn't been lights-out, but their lineup has been collectively strong. It is hard for me to imagine that the Brewers won't be better in 2025. William Contreras and Megill are the only significant pay increases next season as they will be in their first arbitration season. They are currently $28M under their record high opening day payroll from 2022.

I like that approach, and agree that is the typical tack for developing hitters. But I would presume that for 17 year-old hitters, the development team would be a bit more hands-on. If the coaching staff is literally not providing any criticism or feedback for a 17-year-old hitter, I would argue they aren't doing a very good job coaching.

I generally agree that major overhauls are often a fool's errand, but for a 17-year-old, kid's just starting his journey. a tweak here or there for the next 4 or 5 seasons, and voila! a major overhaul. Also (*non-scout caveat*), I didn't think Payne's swing was so odd that it would require major changes. Just seems a little flat, and that he's been coached to get out of the box as soon as possible.

I agree with that spot being a lefty, but I kind of like having different styles of hitters throughout a lineup. I don't like having 3 consecutive strikeout-prone hitters in a row, for example. It doesn't need to be Frelick, but I do like a guy there that's gunna lean on the pitcher, go into deep counts, foul pitches off, and put the ball in play.

Oooohh, this is an excellent question. Essentially promising guys "perks" for signing. Not unlike old-school college football recruiting. I have to think that teams have done this before, and that MLB has controlled for it in some way. It could even be accomplished by some kind of internal memo from the Commissioner's Office, "Hey guys, we see what you're doing and you've got to knock it off, or we'll need to add it to the next CBA, which is annoying for all of us."

I respectfully disagree. Certainly he's getting a lot of guys out by strikeout, but he's walking a TON of guys, and giving up barreled balls really, really often. p.s. for the stat-nerds --- is the percentile rank simply based on a ranking of players? Or is it controlled for statistically? What I mean is while Kopech is in the 88th %ile for Whiff %, does that mean he's in the 88th percentile of pitchers, or the 88th %ile of Whiff %? As in, beyond one standard deviation from an average Whiff %? (Forgive me for my lack of education. I never took a statistics class, and I think I'm missing out on things, probably asking a stupid question).

I totally agree with this. I do not understand why some posters are so enamored with him. He had nearly negative 1 WAR last season, and if he wasn't just throwing BP innings, he'd be pushing that number again this season.

Following the AZ and DSL games is getting... boring? It's so predictable. Every day it's the same thing. Jose Anderson this, and Jesus Made that and whatnot. Throw in another couple of SBs from Pena. It's like clockwork.

Wow... Pratt is 19 going on 29. Very mature in the interview. Seems grounded, but with big goals.

I mentioned it in the other thread, but the drop-off between #17 and #25 was more than $1M. (A) That's a lot of bonus money to play with, and (B), in a draft that's tiered at #15-60, it's silly not do go underslot at #17. Also, we don't know if some players insisted on being signed at "slot value". That would possibly eliminate many of the guys that we were looking at. I dunno. The vagaries of the draft slot value system are myriad. There's not much sense in trying to make sense of it all.

If accurate (not questioning you), that's late first-round money. I didn't realize that the slot values dropped so precipitously. In some ways, depending on the team's draft "board," it would be silly not to try and sign guys underslot at #17. This all depends on the specifics of the draft, but many outlets said that the drop-off between 15-60 was negligible. And if you were a team drafting at say, #22, that's a whole 'nother HS pitcher's worth of value.

My buddy had an extra HR Derby ticket in the Target Field luxury boxes behind home plate the year Minnesota hosted. It was a novelty, and fun. But the night will burn in my memory forever because of a social foible. Walking into the park that night, I saw Frank Thomas doing some kind of "pregame" spot on TV for the derby. Later, after having a couple drinks in the box, I went to the restroom and walked right into Bud Selig and Frank Robinson, and I say, "Nice to meet you Mr. Thomas." He looked at me kinda funny and kept walking when I realized my mistake. I felt so stupid.

Considering the thread, perhaps he thinks each pick was daft and overly optimistic.

Being that announcers engage in Homerism, do you think Edmonds's criticism then, supports the "Cardinals Way? Is he reflecting the values of his team and his fanbase with his criticism, or is he merely expressing a personal opinion? Do you believe those values are shared by the Brewers and their fans? Do you not agree that Edmonds is a tool?