Austin Tatious

Lemons has an interesting arm but he’s likely going to run into Rule 5 issues long before he’s ready. That is what happens when a kid redshirts for three years.

Funny. LOL. However, I will say that I am appreciative that we have discussion in the off-season. I, for one, am happy for that. I hope it keeps rolling into spring training. Let's keep talking ball into the dead of the winter.

If all it took for the Yankees to get Hader was a package led by Andujar and lesser pieces, that trade would have been done in an instant. Cashman would be laughing trying to finalize it before anyone in Milwaukee came to his senses. The Yankees would get a dominant weapon who can help you in 50 games for flawed pieces they don't need. Hader isn't "just" a reliever. He's one of the biggest weapons in the sport. You can trot him out in the 6th inning of a tight game and mow down the heart of your order. That's a piece that's extremely valuable. The way he is deployed isn't captured in stats. It looks like a run of the mill "hold" on paper but it's really the critical piece. He's got four years of control. His value is sky high right now. The Yankees got Torres for a couple of months of Chapman. We get a haul or we keep him.

Does anyone know if he is a dead pull hitter or does he spray it around? When guys are consistently low in BABIP even with a hard contact rate, the culprit can be hitting it predictably right at a defender, e.g., being susceptible to defensive alignment such as via defensive shifts.

Andujar almost assuredly would be part of the deal, but the question might be who else would come with him. Andujar worked hard on his defense at third going into the 2019 season but due to his injury, we aren’t sure how much he progressed.

I have always had the feeling he’d ultimately be pegged for the pen. It’d be really interesting if he kept working up starter’s innings and development. In the end, that would probably still surprise me but it would be a very interesting development. As much as our system gets dogged on, we have some bright pitching prospects with the likes of Small, Kelly, Ashby, and Rasmussen at the top.

Does anyone know whether Lux can play third?

Before I started reading the posts, the first thing that popped into my head was that Hiura would move, but first base is where I went with it. His height is comparable to Princie’s. His bat would play at first and you’d relieve him from as many throws or having to turn double plays.

With Urias in the fold to go with Arcia and rising prospect Garcia, I’m ok with using Turang in a package deal to get the right guy in a trade. He should have value as a guy who has played up for his age. He would provide good value in the right deal.

He’s a sub .800 ops guy which is a red flag at 3b. He doesn’t have enough pop. 2019 was the only year he cleared .800 but the sample size was low.

Stearns is focused on player control with any deals that require significant resources. It’s his M.O.

Literally nothing in this post is accurate. Turn it completely around and you’d be closer. Jeez, you might confuse people with erratic hot takes like this.

I don’t think the Brewers are having a fire sale, nor are they slashing payroll just to save money. Stearns tells us repeatedly he’s trying to build a sustainable model to stay good year after year. My sense is his issue with Moose and Grandal is he doesn’t want to be on the hook for $35 M between them in 2022-2023 when they’d be mid-30s. He’s keeping an eye on the big picture. Mark A has also lived through some moves that hurt the long term, including contracts for solid but unspectacular pitchers (Suppan, Looper, Lohse, Wolf) and also having dealt off prospect capital for a short term benefit. Both of those approaches can compromise the long term competitiveness of the franchise. The Brewers of now will trade prospects, but more for guys with longer term control like Yelich and even Narvaez this year. They would pay big for a player post-30 but only a short term deal (Grandal and Moose last year). Matt Arnold came out of Tampa and they’ve followed this approach too. I think that is what you’re seeing play out as opposed to penny pinching.

They do a great job. I always enjoy their sessions.

Good link. It’s a very good point that he pitched essentially one year in the minors. He has an opportunity to improve and put it together while in the majors. It would not be unheard of if he transforms into a good number 3 or higher pitcher. I’m not predicting it, but with his pitch mix, he’s still young enough to take a step or two forward.

Interesting deal. Credit to somebody (MattYo, I think) who actually called the trade on here before it was in the media. It’s not popular, but I’d hang on to Arcia. He is still young and I don’t think it makes sense to sell low unless he’s a locker room problem. I don’t believe that’s the case at all based on how the players interact. He’s warmly received out in the open by the other players. There’s talent in Arcia and I think much of his issues can be traced to immaturity (dumb approach at the plate, no improvement, lack of hustle and concentration). He can still be a utility infielder and bring defense late, etc. Counsell is not shy about in-game chess moves, and Arcia can play into that. Competition has come in, hopefully to supplant him. If that doesn’t light a fire under his rear end, nothing will. Urias’ prospect pedigree is essentially comparable to what Arcia’s was at the same stage. For a variety of these reasons, I don’t move him. Lauer doesn’t move the needle much for me but he may have the exact profile of a guy who is about to take a step forward based on his first round pedigree, fast ride through the minors, and strong experience for his age. That’s the type of guy who could possibly jump up. We will have to see. I see a lot of skepticism on Grisham. I don’t think it’s the overwhelming steal being touted. Grisham took a big step forward and if you look at his skill set, this is a guy who can bring a lot of juice to the lineup. If Corey Ray can put it together this year, long term, he can fill that Grisham role. Ray has shown himself to be an extra base machine if he can turn the corner. Unlike Grisham, though, Ray is more of the hot streak/cold streak guy as opposed to a guy who’s put it together and turned the corner.

I heard on the radio that he had a procedure on his knee and there was a complication with a blood clot that led to his demise. Very sad situation and it shows that there is no minor procedure when you’re going under the knife. Just a horrible story. I had a friend pass away during a procedure to remove kidney stones. He was 46. RIP.

Maybe between JP, Ray Black, Bobby Wahl and even Taylor Williams there are a couple of hard throwing bullpen pieces that can really help next year, with the other two maybe on the shuttle.

I’m perfectly happy with the minor league system. For one, it’s hard to truly beat the grind of the games they play day in, day out. Being able to go out there mentally as much as physically in games — and all the chess playing that goes on especially between pitcher and hitter — is hard to duplicate. Second, there are prospects who come out of lower draft status and emerge from the masses. It’s hard for them to get a fair opportunity without proving it on the field. Third, the minor league system is great for the communities where they play. In the summer, there might not be much else in terms of college or high school sports, and a minor league game can be a nice night out.

I think the Reds will give us a battle but hopefully our momentum can keep us going.

Suter is an incredibly easy guy to root for. He’s been lights out. Smart pitcher, works fast, great teammate. Versatile role. With as short as starters are going, long men like Suter have been as important as ever.

It's been one of those years. It's been an uphill struggle in so many ways. Knebel, Woody, but so many others including wunderkind Hiura and now #22. What a punch to the gut.

Great job, Reilly. I feel like I diverged from the composite more than usual but I give great value to the composite rankings since so many people contribute.

Great job, Reilly. I feel like I diverged from the composite more than usual but I give great value to the composite rankings since so many people contribute.

Great job, Reilly. I feel like I diverged from the composite more than usual but I give great value to the composite rankings since so many people contribute.