CheeseheadInQC

The issue with Sunitsch as a starter stats-wise is that his splits are pretty severe. Given that he's not some still green high school pitcher, I'm not sure that is something that is going to go away as a starter. The jump in K's last year and dominance of lefties make him interesting, I just don't think it does as a starter. You often cite Suter, and he was pretty much the opposite: He didn't have problems getting righties out as he moved through the system, sometimes posting reverse splits. Like I said in a previous post, he intrigues me as a reliever. If the K rate stays up (or rises moving to the pen) and his stuff plays up more against righties only having to face them once out of the pen, maybe you have something. As for Devanney, I'd have no problem with him being listed third behind Garcia. The other options whose primary position was shortstop who played stateside for the Brewers last season and are still with the organization: Hairston, Pinero, Castillo, Pitre. Even in the DSL, Jaraba and Roa played more third than short. Unless you're a big Ponce de Leon or Ferrer fan, the third spot comes down to how much do you trust Hamilton coming back from injury. I'd put him third, but I can understand if someone is skeptical.

While I disagree with a lot of them, after sitting down and actually trying to make a top three at each position (based on which position they played most often last year or which they were drafted at in the case of one player who didn't play) it is really tough with the hitters. I didn't include the Biloxi contingent or Devanney in mine, but I had to dig pretty deep in order to do it in the infield. My list would have included a grand total of three infielders (Turang, Erceg and Dillard) who played full season ball in the Brewers system last season, four who played in the DSL, one who was in a different organization, one who barely played because of injury and one who didn't play because of injury. I'd rank my No. 6 catcher ahead of at least five of the infielders who made the three-deep and there are a few others who I'd have roughly even with him. For me, with the exception of RH starters (I had Zavalos in the 10-15 range and I can't quibble with his inclusion to tell you how flat I find that group), the pitching is fairly clear cut as least as far as inclusion. The lefty starters are Small, Ashby and Kelly in some order (with all due respect to Bennett, who probably deserves a mention), and the lefty relievers are Perdomo, Andrews and QCT, in some order. I actually might have given Sunitsch consideration if he were counted as a reliever rather than a starter. His splits against lefties last year were really good and the one Fangraphs writeup on him kind of screamed bullpen. As for the righty bullpen, I'd say any combination of Feyereisen, Wahl, Williams, Barker and Bickford. Sanchez seems a step below and the might be starting next year duo of Castaneda and Lindell are too far away (that counts more for me when talking about bullpen guys).

This is going to sound like I wish McCarthy ill will, but I don't: I think he'd be a better fit in Cleveland. With the workout limitations cutting into the offseason development he used to do with young QBs, one of McCarthy's biggest selling points, aside from his record, is how he managed to resurrect Favre's career after the interception-laden mess it had become in the late Sherman years. I feel as if there is more that he could do to steady Mayfield than improve Prescott, who might not have that much upside left.

While the Arizona Fall League stats are encouraging, looking at Fry's work in Wisconsin, he was a senior sign in A ball and, while very good, wasn't dominant. Unless you're expecting a big bump from no longer having to focus on catching, does his bat really play at first? He is interesting precisely because there's still a chance he could catch. If you want to challenge the bat, have Henry repeat A+ and pair him with Feliciano at AA. Clancy, out of curiosity, with as heavily results skewed as your lists typically are, why no Luke Barker? The guy was one of the best in the upper minors at keeping guys off base last year.

I am guessing the Brewers didn't think his stuff would play up in relief. His age might have limited his margin for error. Partly he got caught up in the fact that the Brewers have a ton of fringe big league pitching right now. That said, given his ability to start I figured he would have at least made it to spring training as a hedge against injuries. His season last year wasn't that bad, it just wasn't as good as most of the others for the Brewers at the top levels. Hopefully he manages to catch on elsewhere.

Sorry I'm a few days late on this, but this offseason has just about been as anti-Ted Thompson as you can get, and this is from someone who was a Thompson fan before he lost his fastball when it came to the draft. Several of the top teams in the league at that time dipped their toes into the top end of the free agent market roughly as often as the Packers did, preferring to focus on keeping their own players. What made Thompson stand out was his aversion for the middle-lower tiers of free agency, at least after his first season. This offseason has been about the Brewers trying to find value and fill holes through those middle and lower tiers. That veteran depth you talk about the Packers lacking is precisely what guys such as Sogard, Smoak, Lindblom, Anderson and even Healy represent. Back on topic, I'm really getting skeptical that a Hader trade happens. If it could fill a major league hole and add minor league talent it might make sense, but as some of the contortions and three-team scenarios being proposed in this thread show, that seems to be getting increasingly difficult to do. I might be wrong, but I think this ends up being a lot of smoke and no fire.

I realized looking back I forgot to insert the optimism part of the post I made last night after getting distracted. Basically, the Brewers have a wide variety of pitching prospects. I was trying piece together the minor league rosters when I had some free time a week or so ago, and this is what I came up with for the rotations (I realize injuries/big league decisions will alter these): AAA: Burnes, Peralta, Supak, Brown, Jankins AA: Bettinger, File, Francis, Rasmussen, Zavalos A+: Ashby, Small, Lazar, Bennett, Castaneda/Sunitsch A: Jarvis, Olson, Kelly, Lindell, Walters, Luna, Lemons if he's ready You've got your results guys (Jankins, Zavalos for example), upside plays (Lemons, Olson, Kelly and I might put Rasmussen and Ashby in this category too) and a bunch of guys somewhere in the middle. I don't know that I would list any as obvious organization filler, though, and usually there are at least a few starters for the full season teams that strike me as that. Add in the fact the AAA bullpen could have Feyereisen, Perdomo, Wahl, Williams, Barker, Sanchez and Torres-Costa with Bickford, Andrews and a potential bounceback from Webb at AA, and you've got a lot of guys who at least look to have a shot at reaching the big leagues.

If results were all that mattered, the Brewers would be looking pretty going forward with pitching. The Missions were first in the PCL in ERA and WHIP and second in strikeouts. The Shuckers were second in all three categories in the Southern League. The fact is Suter having as much success as he has had is as much of an anomaly as Lemons would be if he become a solid big league contributor after not breaking into full season ball for three years. Remember the meteoric rise and quick fall of Chris Cody (yes, despite my post count I have been lurking around here that long)? That is the more common story. On Lemons, I think it is less what have you done for me lately, which to me implies results-based, and more the inability to see what if any progress is being made because of how few innings he has thrown. Even a season like fellow project Nash Walters had last year, while by no means dominant, would at least show some progress. Even a placement at Wisconsin to start next season, even if the results are rocky at times, would display a heartening confidence in him by the Brewers.

It might not translate to top level prospects, but the organization seems to have a significant depth of pitching to the point where there could be some "why didn't he get promoted?" questions when the rosters come out, barring injuries of course. While it has the most variance, as usual, the Wisconsin rotation is going to be interesting to watch, with it likely having a combination of young guys and guys who have overcome a string of injuries or other issues: Jarvis, Olson, Kelly, Lindell, Walters, Begue and Luna. Kelly is the prized prospect, but I've got a feeling one or two of the other guys in that group takes a Lazar-type leap this season.

If the Brewers just want a power guy for the 26th spot, could he be it? I mean, unless I am forgetting someone, the bench is looking like Whichever catcher isn't playing that day Middle infield backup (Arcia?) Gamel left-handed corner infielder TBA Even if the Brewers add a starting third baseman and a lefty corner infielder, the other 26th man options would be Taylor, Broxton, Peterson, Freitas and the two other 40-man middle infielders. They all obviously have more positional value, but if the Brewers just want a pinch hitter, Healy might be the best option.

The problem is the Brewers can't look at things with no regards to money. Resource allocation is a thing. And with Bumgarner there are reasons for people to be glad they didn't do this deal beyond the price, even beyond the fact that his act is pretty tiresome. His road splits have been close your eyes bad. If you believe that is the pitcher he would be in Milwaukee, it is best to steer clear. Even if you believe that he is just naturally better at home, it would be difficult to justify because the home stats will get worse moving to Milwaukee and you still would have the bad road splits. Maybe he finds success outside of San Fran, but lumping him in with Cole and Strasburg seems like a mistake.

It is a beautiful stadium. Thankfully we're now hearing that Q-C is not on the contraction list. Clinton and Burlington are, however.

I'd be less pessimistic over Brown getting chosen if AAA pitching wasn't atrocious as a whole last year. More PCL teams had team ERAs above 6.00 than below 5.00. I wonder if a couple of guys who had abnormally bad years in AAA last year get chosen just to see if it was a fluke related to the offensive explosion across the whole level.

Unless the organization said something, corner infield could just have been the easiest way to get Fry at bats in the AFL. I hope there is still hope for him at catcher because being the Brewers' best first base prospect doesn't necessarily make someone a first base prospect (and you could argue Dillard would be ahead of him at first). As for Castaneda, it is going to be interesting to see who is in the Carolina rotation given the number of players who had at least some success starting for Wisconsin last year. I'd guess Small, Lazar and Bennett have three of the spots, but there are a lot of possibilities for the other two.

Complain about the saltiness of his comments if you want, but I'm guessing some of that is because the say he had in the matter was virtually nil. With Maddon likely on his way out, I have to think the orders on sitting players came from Epstein.

As poorly as Nick Egnatuk started the season, he's turned it on in the second half of the season, and the fact that he's been leading off must mean the Brewers still have high hopes for him.

Mildly surprised about QCT only because a strong showing could put him at Rule 5 risk. Hopefully Abreu shows enough to earn a promotion to Carolina next season. Just from a logistical standpoint, you've got Rodriguez, Gray and Bello likely ticketed to Wisconsin next year (plus Holt if they move him back to the outfield), and Abreu, Ward and Howell too talented to give up on but fringy as far as promotion goes. It would be interesting to know if Castaneda was one of the few who had enough innings left or if they really are just that high on him.

Have no idea if it is the record (and I doubt it is), but if I'm reading the game log right, Jon Perrin got to 39 at Wisconsin in 2016. 47-1 K/BB rate for the Rattlers before getting promoted.

Nice sweep. In kind of the year of the “Is he a legitimate prospect” pitching success stories, Carlos Luna has been really good for the Vibes.

One thing that always makes me optimistic with this poll is that there are usually about 75 who get votes and there is still usually one or two I think you could make a case for being in the top 25 who didn't. In this case I'd go with Jhonnys Cabrera, a 17-year-old rookie catcher who was OPS'ing .800+ for much of the voting period.

It's a long way from the Arizona League to the majors, but man Kelly is dealing. Almost 9/1 K/BB rate and I think he's only given up three extra base hits all season.

I question whether they send Bickford just because it would be more likely to force their hand in protecting him. I've got a feeling either Feliciano or Lutz gets one of the spots, with a AA position equivalent getting another (either Feliciano/Hummel or Lutz/McDowell). It could get interesting if the Brewers have to supply a middle infielder, with Hinojosa and Allemand distinct possibilities. As for pitching, I'm guessing at least one of Bettinger/File/Francis/Ashby/Zavalos/Webb gets a spot depending on innings limits and health. As for relievers, Barker seems a decent guess, but the guy I'd say has the best chance of getting picked (although I'm usually awful at predicting these things) is Clayton Andrews.

I'm not sure what the future holds for Brady Schanuel, but I'll give him this: He is interesting in a way college pitchers who repeat rookie ball almost never are.

1. Trent Grisham: Second best hitter in the upper minors this season 2. Brice Turang: Hopefully some power develops 3. Aaron Ashby: A bit bumpy at times but has shown upside 4. Mario Feliciano: Best hitter at Carolina this year 5. Ethan Small: Hopefully will prove he was underrated pre-draft 6. Tristen Lutz: Always seems on the verge of breaking out 7. Drew Rasmussen: Talent-wise maybe 3, but can/will he be fully stretched out? 8. Corey Ray: Lost season, but the tools are still there 9. Zack Brown: What happened to that draft class with Webb, Burnes and Brown imploding? 10. Trey Supak: Might be low, but I question how long it took the Brewers to promote him 11. Antoine Kelly: The lack of walks is promising 12. Bowden Francis: Fairly high pick, quick promotion, good swinging strike rate 13. Max Lazar: Still being in A ball getting unfair 14. Eduardo Garcia: The fact he only played short before the injury might speak volumes 15. Carlos Rodriguez: There are issues, but he puts the bat on the ball 16. Pablo Abreu: Another lost season, but he led off to start the year at Wisconsin for a reason 17. Payton Henry: Needs to strike out less 18. Devin Williams: Might be underrating him here (12-18 were really close) 19. Justin Jarvis: Despite lack of K's, strong showing for his age 20. Micah Bello: Solid showing so far in Pioneer League 21. Joe Gray: See Ray, Abreu 22. Jacob Nottingham: Thought he'd show the offense that made him highly ranked to begin with. Thought wrong 23. Jesus Parra: Very young and thus far quite good. 24. Luke Barker: Older, but simply dominant this year 25. Nash Walters: Feeling optimistic 26. Reese Olson: Has struggled, but wouldn't be in A ball at his age if they weren't high on him 27. Eduarqui Fernandez: Center fielder with pop, but needs to cut K's 28. Dylan File: Surprisingly outstanding year 29. Clayton Andrews: I thought AA would tell if he was a legit prospect. So far, so good. 30. Alec Bettinger: See File, Dylan 31. David Fry: Senior signs should hit like he has in A ball if they are legit prospects. Still catching is the big news 32. Lucas Erceg: Not giving up hope but should have repeated AA 33. Troy Stokes: Unfortunately combines weaknesses of Grisham (LFO), Ray (K's) 34. Andres Melendez: Solid but not spectacular showing stateside 35. Jhonnys Cabrera: 17-year-old catcher with .800+ OPS. Anyone have a defensive scouting report? 36. Braden Webb: Hopefully next year is better 37. Felix Valerio: Solid showing for youngster 38. Korry Howell: Hopefully offense catches up to athleticism 39. Bobby Wahl: Wish he could have been a factor this year 40. Nick Kahle: Solid thus far in Colorado 41. Noah Zavalos: Leery of older pitch-to-contact guys at lower levels, but good stats 42. Thomas Dillard: Did the catcher thing die before it started or will they work in the winter? 43. Karsen Lindell: Still a bit wild, but that's a lot of strikeouts 44. Lun Zhao: Lost season, but can't forget the upside reports 45. Miguel Sanchez: Struggled in AAA, but could see him blossoming 46. Angel Perdomo: Will they keep him? 47. Max McDowell: Briefly looked like the offense was coming around 48. Je'Von Ward: Not giving up just yet 49. Victor Castaneda: Might be overrating him, but has been very good at Wisconsin 50. QTC: Hopefully returns strong from surgery

Unless one of them ends up getting bumped all the way to AA, these two should form a pretty good front of the rotation for Carolina next season. Lazar has just been flat out dominant.