82brewcrew11

This ship has sailed this year, me thinks. It could be an outlier, some talk about the WBC taking a toll. The problem I have is that he has been on a downward trend for three or four years now. Lots of innings on that arm so it could just as easily be the beginning of the end.

Nice to see Coulter back into game action with the Maryvale squad. So is Goforth no longer a starter of this just an innings thing?

Wow, 7 RBI in two innings is pretty impressive. Roache is really starting to turn a bit of a corner.

I think the Brewers are still stuck in baseball purgatory looking at 2014. Increasingly, I get the feeling no major deals will be made this year. Maybe a couple bullpen arms will move but I think that will be about it. Gallardo, Lohse, Weeks, Aoki, Ramirez, Hart and Henderson will all be back. This strategy assumes so much though. Are Segura/Gomez for real? Will Yo bounce back? Will Hart and Ramirez get healthy? Will Braun be with the team all year? Is Weeks done? Does Lohse have one more year in him? Can Gorzelanny cut it in the rotation for a whole season? Can Peralta find the consistency to be as good as he has been the last few weeks? What kind of money do they have to add pieces? If you really believe the answers to most of these questions are affirmative, then I think you have to hold onto those pieces. It just seems like way too many question marks for me.

Looks like Garrett Cooper got a bump up to Wisconsin.

I though so too but I'm not all that familiar with that system. Hopefully they pony up for Garza and leave the other contenders fighting for Gallardo.

Just looking at raw numbers, Salazar seems like the guy. Just Salazar seems like a low return for Gallardo and I don't see much in that system that I like a whole lot and/or is available. Bauer scares me for some reason, numbers don't look great in AAA. Lindor will be off the table I would guess. Anyone have anything on some lower level guys

I have said all along that my belief is that Skaggs and Davidson would be too rich. I still think the return (should this happen) will be Skaggs, Owings, and Chafin/Holmbeg. Maybe the D'Backs feel some pressure because that sure is one tight division and they know the other teams will make some moves, particularly the Dodgers who will probably make a couple of splashy moves. I'm hesitant to throw all three relievers into any deal that would not yield an extraordinary return. Skaggs/Bradley would fit but I don't see the D'Backs parting with Bradley at all. There are alternatives out there that the D'Backs can turn to if the Brewers get too pushy. Epstein is sitting out there with Garza as a big chip. the D'Backs could easily turn to that option and probably have to give up a little less. Melvin needs to be smart here. I think Ramirez will have to be paired with a reliever. He is expensive and a big injury risk right now. Pairing him with something else of value seems to make the most sense in order to maximize the return.

I was at the T-Rats game tonight and TheCrew is pretty spot on (as usual) with the assessment of Lopez. I was concerned that his velo seemed to sit 90-92 and only touch 93/94. Just an observation though I had my nine year old with me so I did not see every pitch. I was expecting a little more than that. I also thought he was very poised and in control tonight. That may be normal for him, but I was impressed with his presence even after the defense really let him down in giving up that first run. A few other observations: Vogelbach can hit some, but I question how that body could ever be considered an every day player on an NL team. That man is the very definition of a fireplug. Leonard Lorenzo is a very large human being. I had a very good view of the T-Rats dougout and Arcia was standing on the rail almost the entire game. No boot, crutches, or anything else. He was limping noticeably coming off the field after the post game handshake line however. Victor Roache can absolutely damage a baseball.......when he makes contact. i was most impressed by his double tonight. That ball was smoked. I would be inclined to think that this guy is going to be much more impressive the further he gets from that wrist injury. Tyrone Taylor has a Hunter Pence type vibe to me. Not sure why, but that kept sticking in my head.

So, the Orioles gave up Arrietta for Feldman, what does that say about Gallardo's value

Bill Mitchell reports Devin Williams as having a "live arm" and sitting 92-94.

Lots of talk about possible chips and destinations and a few actual proposals. This is just my very under-informed wish list. Arizona: Gallardo, Rodriguez, and Gindl for Skaggs, Owings, Chafin ( a lot of people think Davidson could be part of the deal as well, might take a better prospect to do that though. Something I would not be opposed to) LA Dodgers: Ramirez, Heckathorn, and Cash for Pederson (Cash may not be necessary. If cash is not included then maybe a guy like Lee instead of Pederson) Detroit: Axford and Kh. Davis for Castellanos and Crosby (Might be a stretch to get Castellanos and Crosby, but I think Detroit would do it.) Baltimore: Weeks, Henderson, and cash for Schoop (This is the one I am most unsure of.) SD: Lohse and Gonzalez for Freid and Ross (I can see SD getting a little desperate.) Oakland: Gorzelanny and Lorenzo for Gray and Krol (Might be a stretch here too, but if they can find a couple of low level minor leaguers that Bean likes, it could get done)

I just read a Buster Olney tweet saying the D'Backs view Gallardo favorably becsuse he is signed beyond this year and because he was born in Mexico, which they consider marketable for them. He followed that up with a tweet that the D'Backs are willing to trade Skaggs "in the right deal". Interesting. Probably makes too much sense to actually happen.

I would prefer Pana as well, just trying to read the tea leaves a bit. Maybe Reed gets a bump then, but something has to give on the rookie level rosters. Just not enough at bats for 13 OF's, even with a DH.

Actually, it was Brock Kjeldgaard that left the game with a lower body injury. Kentrail Davis is very deserving of a promotion to AAA. Hopefully with Stang moving up, Davis will be bumped up as well. I don't know what the back-fill moves will be but they have 13 OF's between Helena and Maryvale right now. Noticed Rubio was removed from the Maryvale game early as well. Possibly Taylor gets bumped to A+ and Rubio up to A.

22nd round pick Johnny Davis making an appearance for Maryvale.

Looks like 22nd round pick Johnny Davis has signed and is on the Maryvale roster. From Friday's Link Report: 22nd round switch-hitting 5'9" OF Johnny Davis joined the squad. Davis is 23, but was only a freshman coming out of West Los Angeles Community College, so he probably has an intersting backstory about his days immediately out of high school (brief video of him hitting off a tee ). Davis singled in the 9th in second pro at-bat, congrats. Davis had one of the three A-Crew hits, all singles, but two came in the 9th as part of an ill-fated rally attempt.

A lot of nice pitching lines from starters tonight.

In order: Gallardo Lohse Ramirez Aoki Axford Other BP arms

San Diego has to be in there somewhere, maybe over Baltimore. Erlin and Freid make pretty nice targets, both are left handed starters.

I'm guessing not Davidson and Skaggs plus others.

I think you can sort of do both. I'll start by assuming that Archie Bradley is out of the question (because he is), but I also think the Brewers can be a one stop shop for the D'Backs. They need bullpen help as well. I think you can use Gallardo and maybe Rodriguez to get one of Davidson/Skaggs and add volume with maybe two of Tahan, Owens, or Chafin. I would guess the Brewers would need to include a minor league player as well. Dude 80, I would have zero interest in Holmberg or Spruill, they just seem like more mid rotation starters at best. Barrett is strictly a bullpen arm. Drury is a guy I did not think of. Maybe Gallardo, Rodriguez, and Davis/Gindl for Skaggs, Chafin, and Drury would work.

Interesting. Don't know how much stock I put in a Rosenthal report, but.......

Rizzo is certainly tantalizing. I am really hoping for some scouting reports on the guy.

I think that's equally a draft and developmental issue. If you draft guys who don't have plus stuff and/or control then they are going to move more slowly... seriously if developing MLB plus pitches was that easy every pitcher would have them. I don't mean to suggest that the Brewers are great or even good at developing pitchers, but let's be honest, most of these guys have had a very long way to go to become MLB quality starters. I have many issues with the Brewers' development staff, but the pitching progression isn't one of them. They are baselines you need to have success at each level and if a pitcher doesn't have pretty good arsenal with decent control they are going to get shredded at AA. Their are some very wide or low strike zones in A ball that pitchers can take advantage of, those advantages start to disappear the higher up the ladder you go. For example Lorenzo was exploiting a particular umpire's strike zone last night, the T-Rats have had that same crew a bunch over the last month so they know the nuances of both umpires' zone very well. Well you know more than I do so I'll defer on the strike zone issue, but that seems like a tough sell to me. The argument for needing a baseline of success at every level is one I don't buy at all. Did Peralta have a baseline of success at AAA? He had some good stretches, I'll give you that. The final numbers were not very good. I certainly would not call his arsenal plus. He has a plus fastball but I would think his secondary pitches are not in the plus range, at least not yet. Still, despite the numbers I would rather have Peralta in the rotation than Narveson, Estrada, Figaro, Fiers, Burgos, and any number of other guys that have been given a shot.