daintrain28

Everyone can agree David Stearns is in full "long rebuilding mode", which means the slew of trades that have taken place are likely just the tip of the iceberg. It'd be easier to decide who'll not be traded. As I see it, these are the three guys who will not be traded. Disclaimer: None of these guys are "untouchable," there value just makes dealing them not worth it. 1. Ryan Braun: Any deal for Braun would involve us giving him away. While it is true Milwaukee has a log jam in the OF and needs to make room for highly regarded prospects Bret Philips, Monte Harrison and Clint Coulter, Milwaukee has a hole at 1B and it is one Braun could easily fill. 2. Jonathan Lucroy: People who are in favor of dealing Lucroy point to cautionary tales of slugging catchers like Joe Mauer whose offensive production declined as the brutality of the position took its toll physically on the batter. I'd argue they are missing the point. Luc's bat is simply an added bonus. He's value is what he does behind the plate framing pitches and working with young pitchers. Every big league team wants a catcher like that, very few exist. Milwaukee would be wise to keep Lucroy in town. 3. Scooter Gennet: In Gennet, the team has one of its few left handed bats, a solid defender, and a player with an extremely high ceiling. I really doubt the market will warrant parting with these attributes

I was actually wondering the same thing myself when I stumbled across this post. I'm no expert, but here's my take. Either a) there are fundamental problems with our farm system's pitching coaching, or b) there are fundamental flaws with Doug Melvin's ability to judge pitching talent. For how good Melvin is at judging hitting, he seems to struggle at judging pitching. A thought to fix this. Perhaps the Crew should look for a manager with a pitching background? Perhaps this person could balance Melvin's ability to build a lineup, and shortcomings in the farm system. Just an idea.

I ask this question, because I do not know and am looking for someone to give me some feedback. But, what is the deal with Johnny Hellweg? At the time of the Zack Greinke trade, Hellweg was thought of as a reliever prospect. Then at the beginning of this season, fans were saying he's not only a starting caliber pitcher, but able to be a top of the rotation guy. Now, I am once again hearing he is struggling and probably will be a middle reliever in the bigs. Does anyone have any insight on this?