Austin Tatious

Megill was lazy and stupid. I know you aren’t supposed to leave them out there but I would have. I can’t stand lazy and dumb and anybody who does that deserves whatever embarrassment he gets. 5 runs no outs. 4 had to be earned. And then Uribe is my permanent closer. It was obvious before today, frankly.

I think that’s the first time I’ve seen Erceg live since I really only watch the Brewers. Good for him and his determination the way he’s re-made and transformed himself.

For him to get hired as a hitting coach up here, he must really understand hitting. Brewers knew him well. Looks like a great hire.

Another stealthy guy to extend is Uribe. He’s still young and I think will pitch well with his stuff for years to come.

Personally I’d have Uribe as a closer but there are locker room routines and other considerations.

Tremendous news. Pulling very hard for this young man. Only 19. Very scary thing to go through at a tender age. As a parent, I can say I feel protective of all young people and so this is so great to hear. Not just getting healthy but potentially getting his career back on track!

Love Lockridge. I defended the acquisition when we got him. We don’t just make a trade to get a name to keep fans happy. They target certain types of skill sets and they tend to be right. They want the right mentality and guys they think they can develop.

Not a fan of Rengifo not running hard there. I hope he’s not infecting the locker room with that attitude. Hopefully that gets addressed. This is a winning culture. Don’t bring that loser mentality here.

Those two $15M options are essentially two extra years if he’s good as hoped and stays healthy. But it gives the team some downside protection instead of making them automatic. I’m not just on board with the strategy, I hope we expand it. I think we missed it with Turang. He’s gearing up for Trea Turner type money. Without looking it up I think that was ten years, $30 M per. Regarding Pratt being called a light hitter. Look at his frame. He just needs more development time. Go with the pitch a bit more etc. The Brewers aren’t stupid. This is a real glimpse into value, not guessing by media and fans. They wouldn’t make the deal if they didn’t think he’d be a complete player. The Brewers are cautious to say the least so it’s quite telling. I’d like to see Made get the Chourio deal and some of our pitchers the Peralta and Ashby treatment. BTW, if I had to guess, after the lockout, the control will drop to 4-5 years like the NFL as a concession to get the players on board with owner priorities. Mark isn’t stupid. That’s another variable IMO.

I forgot about the 27th man rule. It’s only for the day of doubleheaders, right?

Man, if the Phillies could get the Brewers to agree to that, they should run the card up to the league office before the FBI can get involved.

I like it, with both Patrick and Mis. Patrick is a warrior and has moxie. Mis’ upside speaks for itself. As for the rest, suppose Priester and Woody are out of the picture at the front end. I personally keep Ashby in the pen. I really like him in that role. Even though I like Ashby better than Hall, I’d probably roll the dice on Hall as a starter before I disrupt weaponizing Ashby out of the pen. So who are the other three starters? With Peralta, Woody, and Priester not there, that is significant manpower deficit on paper compared to last year. I am intrigued by Harrison and Gasser. All Henderson has done is produce even if he needs another mainstay pitch. Those might be my next three but it would be absurd to say that any are proven at this level. If any of those three wet the bed, or even if we want a sixth starter, I’d give Hall a long look if his velo and arm look right. A big issue for him is being capable past even four innings regularly. Even if Hall isn’t a starter, he could backstop any starter who falters in the first few innings and keep us in the game with a solid 3-4 innings. That might be an ideal Hall role. Sproat feels like he he’s got some work to do at AAA in terms of growth and adjustments. I can’t say much about Drohan although I’m intrigued. Crow is a guy I’ve always liked due to his uncommon spin rate and curveball. But all three might need to prove more in terms of triple A work for various reasons. I like all these guys in time but proven starting pitching looks iffy. How much magic does Hook’s team have in them to get these guys established? Even major talents like Burnes, Woody, and Peralta had a lot of development at this level, with lots of ups and downs to show for it.

More ifs than I am comfortable with but if Rengifo and Hamilton are more 2024 than 2025, we can be ok in the IF. For improved pop, if Mitchell finally gets a full season, Vaughn avoids deep funks. Chourio takes a leap commensurate with his immense talent, Yelich has less wear and tear in his DH role, our pop could improve. For offsetting Peralta, if Woody stays healthy. Priester doesn’t step back, Mis keeps improving command These are not entirely ridiculous hopes but certainly they are squarely in the IFs category IMO.

I’ve long ago accepted the Brewers’ financial inequity and am proud of how Mark A has pivoted and been very smart about how he’s arranged his resources to build a consistent winner.

I’d also be interested in Mauricio. Unproven, but there’s a skill set there. Coming off injury. He would be a risk.

The Brewers have just reached a pre- agreement with one of Juan Soto’s sperm for the 2043 class.

I agree it depends and the value would vary. I meant more in terms of a general idea. Plus or minus you could adjust who we send out. But I’m a big Fisher fan. We’ve got Blake Burke too. I think if we dealt one of Adams and Wilken, I am very comfortable with our minor league depth at corner IF.

Maybe so, but you can have a strategy like getting a Cam Smith for a year at third and then shifting him to OF.

Few thoughts: 1. I’m stunned by the trade. I doubt anyone here can say otherwise. 2. Really like Durbin and I think he’s a winning player. 3. I am not qualified to judge the trade at this point because I’m digesting it and it’s not like I’ve got a recent scouting report on either pitcher we got. 4. I’m not going to blindly defend the move or hate the move. 5. Having said that, my view is these trades don’t just fall into the Brewers’ lap haphazardly. Arnold has a big team behind him and they are using advanced tools and I’m positive they’ve got very good thoughts on every reasonable asset in any organization. 6. But it’s way more than that. They’ve got every guy rated on how they like his metrics, how they think they can develop him, etc. These things aren’t perfectly simple either. Sproat isn’t a perfect Brewer target at some level (flatness of his fastball, spin rate, etc). But they’ve undoubtedly got a deep analysis on him. There are probabilities, etc. This isn’t Branch Rickey in 1953 making a trade at a bar and puttting on his reading glasses to understand who he is getting. 7. Harrison was obviously highly regarded and, like the Brett Baty’s and Coby Mayo’s and endless other guys, you would have thought we could never get him a year or two ago. For the investment guys, it kind of reminds me of a stock that gaps up and then you don’t buy it until it retraces to support. I think that’s exactly where we got Harrison. 8. Bottom line, the Brewers make trades holistically and in complementary fashion. They got Jett in one trade and moved Durbin in another. 9. Now we are looking at young pitching arms like Mis, Sproat, Harrison, and Priester. All very controllable. Henderson, Gasser, Crow, Patrick. That’s how they stay competitive. 10. I think this trade is a precursor to another. I tossed out Henderson plus one of Wilken or Adams. I’d really like to see some pop added to the lineup after those four Dodger games where everyone tanked together.

Would people be ok with packaging Logan Henderson and Brock Wilken (or Luke Adams) for a controllable young 3B?

I like Megill. I am not crazy about his command at times but the pen is a big part of the Brewers secret sauce. It’s good and a core feature of the team because of the way it complements the rotation. The problem with dealing him is the pen is top heavy on left handers as it is. I’d have to see the return but IMO it’s a no go unless the return is an overpay.

1. Jett being a regular shortstop? I like him overall but have my doubts on that on a regular basis. I think where we are is “let’s see what it looks like.” 2. I don’t think Ortiz is as bad offensively as he showed last year. Lost confidence, pitchers figured him out, poor adjustments, etc. Having said that, I’m not in the blind defense of him camp. Last year was unacceptable offensively and the Brewers won’t tolerate it either. They did until now because of his defense, no other candidates for the spot, and the hope he’d play out of it. He did hit well for a stretch but it didn’t last. He’s got to turn it around and get mentally tougher. 3. I’m not worried about Pratt. He was drafted out of high school, like Turang. I used to defend Turang too and he got grief by naysayers. These guys who are far younger than league average but are toolsy get graded on a curve in my eyes. Picture being a freshman playing with a senior. There’s just a built in growth and experience factor that has to be considered in terms of what he can expand by the time he grows into league average age. You can be young for a level and not be very talented. It’s being really young and having all the tools which Pratt has and Turang has. Pratt’s defense is exceptional and if anyone moves off short I doubt it’s him. I personally would like to see him hit to all fields better but, like Turang, it’s not about stats with him. The runway looks great. If anything I think he’s underrated because the Keith Law’s are too stuck on recent stats and not what his runway looks like. With his frame and tools, he has very good potential at shortstop.

Quero is now another year removed from injury. He may never have the arm he had before but if he can get to a 55 or 60 arm and can get his timing back at the plate, I think he’s easily a top 100 talent especially taking into account how hard it is to find catchers. It’s a huge year to see where this is headed. I’d make the analogy to the old days when you’d have an ACL, it used to be the second year back that you’d truly normalize to your new explosiveness.

I had read about his improved performance the second half of last year even before we acquired him. He wasn’t my favorite target for all the reasons Matthew said. But I never could find any info on whether he changed anything in mechanics and approach the second half of the year? Or was the improvement due to something else, like better command, or just statistical variance. To me he feels like a back end of the rotation guy because the adjustments to his approach don’t seem minor. Those can blow up in your face just as easily as help when a guy isn’t comfortable with the changes. The herky jerky delivery also gives me the fear of arm or shoulder injury.

Can Jett play a legit short as a hedge for Ortiz? Wasn’t my expectation but would love to hear more. I have suspected all along we take a shot at Montgomery on a prove it deal. That might be another arm for numbers for rotation possibilities. I will say, I have always thought Myers was underrated but you’ve got to find a solution sometimes to come to terms.