James Zumstein

Thank you for sharing this, Jim. I've long suspected that there was a lot of corruption in that part of the baseball world, but I don't think I could have imagined it would ever be that bad. Greed is an awful thing I will never truly understand, and that's how people like this are able to be so successful at swindling people from the money they have. I hope the powers that be can rid this from our great sport we all love so much.

Couldn't agree more. The Dodgers are always about getting the best players, while we're about getting the best value. Skubal's teammate Casey Mize is almost having the exact same season as Skubal statistically and we could probably get him at less than half the value of what the Dodgers just gave up. I have confidence Arnold will find the best value left on the market, and if it's not there, I also have confidence he'll roll with what we have.

I bet he's a fan now.😉

I thought the same thing a year ago about Chris Levonas not signing. Then came his sophomore season...

I loved the Carson Hart pick when we made it, so if we're able to get him signed, I'll be over the moon. I know a lot of people had their hearts set on some of the HS pitchers that are still unsigned, but Hart is very much in line with the type of player we've been drafting for the past half-dozen years. He'll fit in with our organizational philosophy (speed, up-the-middle-defense, good bat-to-ball skills) extremely well.

Posted June 8 While Brick has a lot of qualities the Brewers look for, right-handed hitting HS catchers have probably the lowest success rate of any position in the draft historically. Add in the fact that he would demand slot or higher, I think the risk is greater than the reward. I completely agree with you about needing some fresh blood behind the dish, but guys like Brick and Sean Dunlap, who I was high on earlier, are just too risky IMHO. There are still several HS catchers I feel the Brewers could be looking at, like Dylan Kassab, Kendall Hagedorn, or Maddux Lessard, that fit our profile and would be cheaper and therefore less of a risk. Lots of good college catchers that are possibilities too. Garrett Wright, Robbie Lavey, and Cashel Dugger will all be 21.0 or younger on draft day and are really solid prospects. Even Brady Neal, Alabama's catcher, will only be 21.9 as a SR, so could be a great bargain. I mentioned Hagedorn in a post about a month before the draft. Awesome to see they were able to convince him to join the org!

Umm...I was actually agreeing with you. I think trading for Wacha makes a lot of sense. I have zero desire to trade for Skubal for the same reasons you stated. Not sure why you thought I was disagreeing with you. I would like to get a package of players from the Royals, not just Wacha.

I like the idea of trading with the Royals for a couple reasons. First, Wacha could really help us secure solid, consistent innings, which we desperately need right now. Second, I'd like to see Lane Thomas and Daniel Lynch thrown in as well. This could fill several needs: a RHH OF who can play CF or RF and provide a little pop, and another late-inning arm out of the bullpen. To get this package, I'd be willing to part with Frelick, although his shoulder injury might make that difficult at this time. The emergence of Lara and with Mitchell proving he can be a guy that we can finally count on, Frelick is likely the odd man out going forward. Package him with a young starter, such as Crow or someone similar, and I think both sides would be happy.

Ryan has a mutual option for $13M for 2027 with a $100k buyout. Even if the buyout were to happen, he's still arby eligible for 2027, being eligible for free agency in 2028.

I agree with you that there is some talent, but I have always felt catchers are similar to pitchers in that you can never have too many. Personal preference is all.

The breakdown: 13 pitchers to 7 position players. I say this every year but I wish we had done a better job of addressing the lack of depth at catcher (zero drafted this year). Other than that, a very solid group of players and another great draft overall.

Very stoked about the Carson Hart pick. He was on my short list of possible high schoolers as he checked a lot of boxes that the Brewers like. Still 17, good all around athlete, great speed and outfield defense, promising bat. This is a terrific selection!

Carson Hart, HS OF from Minnesota.

Kruzan is an Ashland, Wisconsin native. Had a very nice JR season for the Gophers, sporting a 1.082 WHIP and over a K/inning.

Marcus Kruzan, RHP from Minnesota.