Austin Tatious

I like this. I agree. I'd love Bukauskus or Wright but any chance with those two are fading hard. Faedo has proven himself over time, and has considerable arm talent. I agree that there's a ton to like about Faedo, but the knee issues give me serious concerns. Double knee surgery at age 21? You could see how that effected him early in the season. Now how can we bank on the knee's not being a problem going forward if they're both already a problem at 21? He's an outstanding pitcher, but he comes with even more injury risk than most pitchers. Excellent point. We'd have to rely on the medical people there. I had thought he had gotten off to a slow start because of the knee but was moving past it. If he ends up medically ok, he could be a steal at nine because other teams may be spooked. I have to say, I have gotten really fixated on Mackenzie Gore. He sounds terrific. But, MLB now lists him as number 5 overall. Callis and Mayo can get really high on high school arms with upside. Personally, I agree with them. We need to try to grab the elite talents. We can't afford not to. We aren't the Bosox, Yanks, etc, who can acquire upside talents different ways. When we have a shot at a big time guy, you can't skip it. Toral, MJ Melendez, and Mark Vientos all look interesting to me at 34/46, especially if we can get a pitcher at 9. I'd have no problem toploading the money to try to get three-four high end prospects at the top and then getting a bunch of guys with less leverage the rest of the way. Last year we did that in a sense with the Browns, Burnes, Webb, et al, although we did a great job snagging McClanahan with extra cash.

I assume you guys all saw Haudricourt's piece from the weekend, which looked to be sourced. The Brewers' position is that we would want significant prospects and aren't going to pay a ton of money to get them. There are only a few teams, tops, where a deal could even be made per Braun's wishes. So, we know there will be no deal just to shed salary, and the Brewers will want significant prospects back. Now, whether the Dodgers ever step up to meet the asking price, that's a different question. But, there's no need to speculate what the Brewers have set Braun's market as; we know.

Yes on Woodruff. Hader's control is still an issue. Woodruff looks very, very solid. I really hope Hader clicks with his command. He can be nasty if he does. Great to see with Gatewood. He's showing significant improvement. I know he's at first, but I wonder if he still has hope at third, defensively, since he's a former shortstop. If anyone wants to dismiss it as a small sample size, he hasn't really shown the balance in his approach before. I'd call that real development. Lara, what can you say. He looks great in the team photo but it's not translating. He's still young but you'd like to see a spark there.

If Williams can shake off the rust and get his control going, he could soar through the system and be a star closer for years. He's electric. Of course, command is like accuracy for a QB. You can have all the raw ability in the world but if you don't have command, you're not going anywhere.

If you gave me one lottery ticket of the types we got from Seattle for Lind, I'd be happy. Right now, Garza is a progess stopper for guys like Woodruff or Lopez. They are ready for their shot, IMO. Most importantly, let's hope that Attanasio and his brass (a) understand not to go after a Garza type again, and (b) proactively and competently draft and develop enough pitching talent that we don't need to resort to these overpriced signings on mediocrities who are on the back nines of their respective careers. There are much better uses of the money than Braden Looper, Wolfie, Lohse, Garza, Soup, et al. It's been a perpetual tool that was part of the Brewer roster building for a decade. Some of the signings may have been ok for fewer years but that's circular because that's what it took to get them here.

I like this. I agree. I'd love Bukauskus or Wright but any chance with those two are fading hard. Faedo has proven himself over time, and has considerable arm talent. Speaking for myself, I'd look at the overall body of work over a multi-year basis, and how that projects. I'd look at higher level talent. With high picks, I'd be leveraging them for high level skills. 1st or 2nd starters in your rotation, middle of the order bats, or super toolsy middle infielders/outfielders. Faedo fits this. He's proven himself over time and he can be a 1 or 2 starter. You look at all the mistakes the Milwaukee Brewers have made in the draft since 2005, and it really shows the fallacies and mistakes in the thought process. Right now, the Brewers have maybe 3-4 guys on their roster who were drafted by the franchise (Braun, Nelson, Barnes, maybe a couple of more, I don't have the roster in front of me). It hasn't been good enough. Things I would not do with a top ten pick: 1. I would not use the underslot strategy on a top ten pick, particularly now when the Brewers already have tremendous depth in the farm system. If you go underslot in the top ten, you're doing the competition a favor, who will nicely swoop in and snag upper level talent while you try to snag someone later. What the Brewers need now is quality not quantity. 2. I would not get excited by a late workout etc. 3. I would not get excited by guy who puts up huge numbers right before the draft, but whose prior numbers were far less impressive. 4. The helium concept may make sense for high schoolers but not for college guys who have a longer body of work. 5. I would not take a safe pick over a big, but riskier talent. Off the top of my head, I'd be interested in Faedo, DL Hall, MacKenzie Gore, and Pavin Smith at nine. I'm assuming Bukauskus or Kyle Wright will be gone. I'm hoping the new analytics draft guru can change the Brewers' process and finally get it on track. I know my feelings on the draft upsets people, but instead of constantly railing on me, at least respect that I have brought a thought process to my posts. My heart has mostly sunk year after year with our top picks since Braun.

I haven't looked at the data recently, but the last time I checked the Dodgers needed a high OPS right handed stick because that was the sore spot in their lineup. Bellinger isn't a fix for that.

I hear you on your concern. But I will point out that LaPorta got hot his last year in school and posted outlier data that skewed his projection. His earlier years were well off the mark. Be wary of a guy who gets hot and has numbers quite different from his norm. Pavin, on the other hand, has been solid and consistent on a multi year basis so I don't think you're looking at a LaPorta.

No worries, Paul. I think I'm pretty aligned with your view. I was nodding my head when I read your comments.

Regarding position players, since the Brewers' new head of the draft has an analytics background, I am going to speculate that we might be more interested in Pavin Smith than Kendall. Kendall strikes out at an astonishing 33% rate. Meanwhile, Pavin is an advanced hitter with good plate discipline. Regarding pitchers, I wouldn't take a guy who projects as a mid to back of the rotation guy at number 9 overall. Up there, I'm going to look at somebody who could project at least as a number 2 starter. Every team may not have a true "ace," depending on how you define the term. Ace or not, though, you need quality guys at the 1 and 2 spots in the rotation. This may mean more of a risk than the sure bet, and if it turns out like Mark Rogers, I can live with that, understanding that the team took a risk. No pain, no gain. So, if you can get someone who has the arm talent to be a possible number 2, whether it be Faedo, Wright, Mackenzie Gore, or Bukauskus, depending on how they are viewed by the scouts, that'd be my first priority. On the other hand, if the organization is thinking is all you have are middle rotation projections on whatever's left of reasonable pitching prospects at number 9, then maybe grab a Pavin Smith who has a really good chance to be a nice bat in the middle of your order. Who knows, maybe Pavin becomes a Russo for us. That's value at 9. I will say I like how some teams have a knack for identifying pitching. The Braves took Kolby Allard one pick before we got Trent Clark. That's the type of pitching move we need to start making in the draft, and frequently.

If Kyle Wright gets to 9, you gotta run the card up to the podium.

Great win. The Raptors have that mental block in game ones. I think we all agree it's going to be tough the rest of the way. I will say that I wish we were on the Celtics side of the bracket because I think we could take them out. Cleveland would be brutal.

Colby, I take it you have the two college catchers, JJ Schwarz (Florida) and KJ Harrison (Oregon) as moving to other positions? Otherwise I would have thought they would make your list. To me, other than front line starter, good catching is the next hardest thing to find. And with their shelf lives, it's essentially a position to constantly replenish.

I've never studied this. I assume if a team trades for a pick, you also add the value allocated to that pick to the team's total money available for the draft.

You don't panic too fast but if he doesn't stop being an automatic out, I'm not going to be shocked if he's sent to CS soon. You can't just wreck a guy who is overmatched. He's still young. He can still develop at the plate with less scrutiny. Broxton went down last year and got a lot better. We've got Dubon as a hedge for the long term. As good of a fielder as Arcia is, he just needs to be a passable hitter. But he's going to need to improve to be passable. I think he's athletic and with a lot of talent and moxie. Maybe he's pressing. But he needs to improve with the stick.

Great write-up, Colby. And you avoided saying helium, so kudos. Appreciate the read. As always, there are lots of updates to the projections as the spring data comes in. Faedo, in particular, was supposed to be at or near the top of the draft and now sounds like he has slipped off the perch at the moment.

1. Lewis Brinson - tools are immense, hopefully stays consistently healthy 2. Josh Hader - hoping he is a number 1 or 2 starter 3. Isan Diaz - can flat out hit 4. Lucas Erceg - ditto 5. Brandon Woodruff - love the arm 6. Luis Ortiz - he produces despite his weight 7. Corey Ray - hopefully he gets healthy. I see him as a steady MLBer with leadership skills 8. Mauricio Dubon - love the pickup from the Bosox, athletic and good in middle infield with decent bat 9. Marcos Diplan - This guy may just end up being a MLB starter 10. Phil Bickford - drug setback was disappointing 11. Trent Clark - would love to see him emerge and show his talent 12. Jake Gatewood - talented guy who may be putting it together 13. Ryan Cordell - impressed with his athleticism in Arizona, can play all over 14. Nate Kirby - hope he rebounds from injury; I think he can be a good MLB pitcher in time 15. Brett Phillips - floor is a good fourth outfielder 16. Taylor Williams - this guy can be a closer if his arm is back 17. Braden Webb - excited to see what he can do, have heard good things 18. Corbin Burnes - may be sneaky good 19. Jorge Lopez - he's been stalling the past couple of years; time to put up 20. Gilbert Lara - bonus baby needs to show some sign of life in his development 21. Cody Ponce - big arm but needs to put last year behind him 22. Monte Harrison - may rise if he stays healthy and improves 23. Jacob Nottingham - need to see him improve in his receiving skills 24. Freddy Peralta - impressed last year, I think he will be a factor 25. Josh Pennington - love the power arm, I sense a possible late inning reliever Next up: Devin Williams, Kodi Medieros, Trey Supak, Clint Coulter, Zach Brown, Demi Orimoleye, Troy Stokes, Mario Feliciano, Jon Perrin, Nash Walters, Chad McClanahan, Payton Henry...many more. The guys left out could easily be respectable members of the top 25 at another time. While the organizational depth is more legit than anytime I can remember, to be fair, I would say we have a ton of "ifs." Last year was a bit disappointing in performance for a number of guys, or with respect to injuries.

Peralta has a big arm and has pitched very well for stretches at a time. He's also a disaster for certain stretches. He's still young enough that you might think he can transform into a consistent pitcher. His raw talent is pretty good. It might have been his rookie year, before his 17 win season, where he was terrible at the jump but then put it together down the stretch and was very good. Similarly, his 17 win season included some top notch stretches. Last year was like his rookie year. He had one injury marred season in there too. There are enough really good stretches, usually when it gets hot, that he's still intriguing.

Here's a link to the article. http://sportsday.dallasnews.com/texas-rangers/rangers/2017/03/26/rangers-eyeing-this-controllable-affordable-nl-central-pitcher-where-jonathan-lucroy-contract-talks-stand-1

Lol. Man, that was funny

He's got a long way to go at the plate, and it's fair to be concerned, but he does have good quickness in his swing. I am still hopeful he's a .270 hitter. From there, the glove makes him a really nice player. I will say this. I like that there is no end to Stearns' focus on acquiring middle of the diamond ballplayers. If Arcia wets the bed permanently, we've got Dubon, and so on. Villar is still here.

Gery is like that uncle who gets tipsy and says bizarre things that everyone rolls their eyes at, except that he's not tipsy. The article makes no sense. He says the rebuild is half-hearted then complains the Brewers are going to have a long season. Well, if you're in a full-on rebuild, you'd expect to lose big. As for Braun, he's likely waiting properly for the right return. I give Stearns credit for that. It appears that he firmly believes in a certain value that he's set, and he won't budge from that. Personally, I like that. There was angst about Lucroy and he ended up hauling in Ortiz, Cordell, and Brinson. All three have a real chance and Brinson has a very high ceiling to boot. Beyond that, he has no idea that Stearns is in over his head. We have a lot of depth amongst our prospects. In that respect, I can't remember the Brewers ever having that. You increase your percentages like that, and you may have a very solid team in good time.

I'd like to see Scooter show some versatility to add value to his game. A second division second baseman who can't play any other position does not have much value. We saw that this past off season. But, if he suddenly becomes a left handed stick that can play 2b, 3b, 1b, or lf, now he may have some value. He's got a bit of pop. I agree with Adam's view. I am also not a huge fan of Scooter's game (nothing personal). But, position flexibility for someone of his ability level could make a difference. And, to give Scooter credit, he is very willing. Players with a "can-do" attitude usually work well in a clubhouse. With roster spots at a premium, Scooter can possibly increase his value if a team thinks they can use Scooter a variety of ways so the relief corps can then have potentially the number of slots the team wants. Besides Scooter, there are a few other guys I'd love to see build value. Peralta and Chase Anderson are two that come to mind.

I am guessing I speak for quite a few of us when I say we need more Mass Haas audio in our lives! Just fantastic, I hope everyone gets a chance to listen! Agreed - it was a great interview! Mass, I appreciate all you do on this site. And listening to you, I realize we have a ton in common. I am about your age, was into the 1978 Brewers, and liked the Brewers from afar.

I'm with you, man. Watched it every week. Mel Allen blaring away. I'd hope for Brewer clips. I also watched Johnny Bench's kid show. Baseball Bunch or something like that. The SD chicken would show up. I was out of state so I'd watch the weekly game of the week. Joe Garigiola and Tony Kubek. I knew it was a big game. A huge frustration for me - on the last day of the regular season in 1982 - they didn't show Brewers vs Orioles in my region. It was absurd. Luckily Oglivie went deep and Robin proved he was MVP and a flat out superstar off of Jim Palmer.