CheeseheadInQC

He's on a minor league deal, so that doesn't affect any option talk unless he gets added to the 40-man roster. Sorry, referring to the Houser post above but forgot to quote it.

I'm mildly surprised by this only because I figured he'd either be the first one DFA'd or he'd be kept around. If you buy the injury excuse for his 2017 performance, he's probably worth keeping around given his option situation and the likelihood that you're going to need a third catcher on the 40-man at some point and Nottingham isn't ready. If you don't buy injuries as the reason behind his performance, he'd be an easy early DFA.

Is this his final option year? If so, that might factor in where they put him.

A little late to the game on this one because of work. Losing Harrison in the deal does sting (he was probably the guy I was dreading most given that Brinson was almost certainly going to be in the deal). That being said, it makes sense for the Brewers to deal from their depth of hitting prospects, not just for the usual hitting-pitching reasons but because the team has expended most of its top draft picks and international signing bonuses on offensive players in recent years. The prospective rookie ball (pre-draft of course) and A-ball lineups look a lot more interesting than the pitching staffs.

Given that they've been two of the more talked about cases late in the voting process, I kind of expect Rolen and Andruw Jones to see the two biggest jumps next season. I will say Jones has a better case than I thought he did. The fact that his offensive dropoff came at 30 had stuck in my head and morphed into thinking he only had a five-or-so year prime when it actually lasted nine seasons.

You would be OK with Brinson + Burnes? Wow, that's crazy to me. Losing Burnes would be tough, but I've got a feeling the Brewers don't get Yelich without two from that group of six, and of the other five (assuming Brinson is dealt), I think I'd rather deal Burnes than Hiura, Harrison and Woodruff. I'd prefer it be Ortiz (the upside is still there, but he seems to have the most obstacles to achieving it of the pitching trio), but that is dependent on what the Marlins think of Ortiz.

I think I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact that this is going to involve one of Brinson, Hiura and Harrison (probably Brinson) and one of Woodruff, Burnes and Ortiz, and I'm OK with that. However if that is the case, I hope that any additional prospects dealt don't come from that group or the Phillips, Diaz, Erceg, Ray, Grisham, Peralta, Lutz group.

The Brewers needed a couple of moves like this if for no other reason than, outside of the catcher spot, their AAA position player options are pretty scarce. While there are a few other guys such as Coulter or Allemand who could be pushed up to AAA, if Brinson and Phillips start the year in Milwaukee the core of their Colorado Springs position player group consists of Dubon, Orf and Wren. Even with Choi's signing, they still probably need to sign two outfielders and at least one infielder.

Jungmann might have been considered that, but wasn't Bradley considered more of an upside college guy who dropped because he wasn't a safe pick (struggled a bit as a junior), or am I getting him confused with someone else? Gray might have been a "safer" choice there, and the same criticism was lobbed at the Nelson pick the year before. The problem with that draft wasn't that they went safe. It was that they picked the wrong guys. I mean while there is still time for them to turn it around, you wouldn't have gotten much more production from Taylor Guerrieri and Robert Stephenson if their development had gone the same.

Personally I hope that Nottingham starts the year off in AA. Given the Colorado Springs situation, I'd prefer not to give fringy promotions to AAA to legitimate position player prospects. Let them show improvement in a more normal environment first. And yes, Bandy could make it through waivers or they could sign someone else, but just because he used to be a prospect and has played in the big leagues doesn't make Bethancourt the kind of guy you make a decision because of. He was converted to a pitcher for reasons that go beyond his fastball velocity. There's a legitimate chance he is this year's Rene Garcia. And I'm not saying that Bandy or one of the others won't or shouldn't get DFA'd. It will probably either be him, Drake, Wang or Webb. But I don't think this is a signal one way or the other. The Brewers always keep a lot of catchers around, both in camp and in the minor leagues.

The Brewers seem to like to keep three catchers at AAA (with one inevitably coming down with third-catcheritis) and given that Bandy is out of options, unless I'm forgetting someone their only likely AAA catchers were Susac and Heineman. This also keeps them from having to scramble in case Susac actually wins the backup catcher job. It is possible that one of the catchers is getting DFA'd, but I don't know that this in any way indicates that it is definitely going to happen.

I'd be leery about trading Harrison. I know it makes some sense to sell high, but more so even than Brinson, he seems to be the one in the Brewers system with the best chance to be a legitimate star.

I'm fine with a two-year deal at that price. I'd prefer if they'd give Hader a shot at the fifth starter job until Nelson gets back just to see if he has a future there, but they could do that even with this deal. Also, if he is even serviceable, it is a contract that they should be able to trade after next season if they want to make room for Hader, Burnes or Ortiz.

A piggyback situation wouldn't surprise me only because they showed last year down the stretch how creative they were willing to get with the number of bullpen games. They've got a trio of righties (Gallardo, Wilkerson, Jungmann) that they could match up with either Hader (keep the innings down) or Suter (if they still don't want him facing guys the third time through the lineup).

Was the fastball uptick legit or did it come from the change in how it's measured (I know that was a big talking point a while ago, but I don't know if I ever read how much it added on average). The Milone deal makes some sense, given the need for big league arms, but I do worry a bit about 40-man space if they get a couple of more signings. I'd rather hang onto someone like Baker, who feels like a Rule 5 type without the Rule 5 restrictions, and give him a year to show that he should be in the 2019 plans before the Rule 5 crunch comes next year.

I guess I can kind of see both sides on this one. This deal in that middle range for me where I wouldn't have hated it if they had matched but can understand why they didn't.

The triple-A phase. The Angels minor league system might be bad, but this one is on whomever compiled that list.

Breakout: Zack Brown I'm pretty sure I chose him last year, too, but the reduces walk rate to end the year in Carolina has me hoping he puts together a Woodruff-like second full season. 2nd choice: Braden Webb - Less experienced than most college pitchers and had a rocky start, but he had a strong close to the season as well. Bounce back: Isan Diaz Seems like the obvious choice. Keeping the scouts from losing faith during a poor statistical season is a good indication of a bounce-back candidate. 2nd choice: Chad McClanahan - More talent than he showed last season. Bust: Phil Bickford The more time passes, the less confident I am in him. At the very least, I'm guessing he's in the bullpen by year end. 2nd choice: KJ Harrison - I think he'll hit at Wisconsin, but I'm skeptical that the transition back to catcher goes smoothly. Sleeper: Josh Pennington This might be too obvious of one for a sleeper, but pitched well when healthy and has a chance to shine at Wisconsin and Carolina next season. 2nd choice: Zach Clark - The strikeouts are a big issue, but the tools also shown through. This might be more hopeful than realistic, but has a better chance to make a legitimate big league impact than most of the other guys who didn't earn a mention in the Fangraphs article. Deep sleeper (because Pennington might be too obvious): Wendell Rijo Still pretty young, was once a top 20 prospect for the Red Sox and was actually pretty solid while in Carolina last season. Longshot, but I'm not writing him off. 2nd choice: Preston Gainey - Too many walks and too many injuries, but man those strikeouts are intriguing.

I don't have much experience tracking pitchers who have what are considered "deceptive" deliveries, but might switching back to the National League help Fiers for more than just the normal reason? I know interleague play eliminates this somewhat, but might he do better against hitters who are less likely to have faced him recently? Like I said, I don't know if this is a factor or not, just something that popped into my head.

Yah, Wisconsin is locked in for a New Year's 6 bowl even with a loss to Ohio State. It probably will be the top three in the Big Ten and SEC, the top two in the ACC, the Pac-12 champ, the AAC champ, Oklahoma and either TCU if they win or Notre Dame or Washington if TCU loses.

While I'm not discounting it entirely, I think the likelihood that the Brewers lose a pitcher is less than 30 percent. During the last three drafts, every minor league reliever picked fell into one of three categories 1) guys with a 9.0 or better K/9; 2) lefties; 3) lefties with a 9.0 or better K/9. None of the names mentioned fall into any of those categories. I guess Archer could if you argue Colorado Springs hurt his K numbers, but even then most of the guys picked are 11 K/9 guys who might have some command problems or who are simply caught in a numbers game. That's never been either Archer (best season 9.0) or Uhen (best season 8.1). Preston Gainey might fall into that category, but he has barely topped 30 innings the last two years combined. Both Archer and Uhen are at least somewhat interesting as prospects, but a lot of teams probably have those type of guys who were left off the 40 man.

Catchers are a bit of a different beast. While he has a better defensive reputation, the Rangers just protected a catcher who couldn't crack a .600 OPS at AA, and he's older than Nottingham. I doubt you find too many sub-24 year old catchers who get even a .700 OPS in AA or AAA and don't get protected, especially if they are seen as having solid offensive projection. To me, the decision on Nottingham will speak to how the Brewers view his defensive progress. If they believe he is well on his way to being even an average defender behind the plate, I don't think they risk exposing him to the Rule 5 draft. If they don't, well the improved peripherals aren't enough to protect him as a first baseman.

Watch something weird get announced before I finish posting this, but I've got a feeling Nottingham is the only real question mark. Peralta is a definite lock, Dubon is probably close and I'd be surprised if they leave Diplan out after losing Diaz. Similarly, I can't see anyone else getting added now that we know Ramirez and Ventura didn't. If Orf had more power or was looked at as being able to play shortstop or center field well, he get protected, but as it stands I doubt he ends up on the roster. I guess Archer is a dark horse, but he could have been added and called up late in the year if they were that high on him.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm guessing that every major Brewers top 10 list that comes out this offseason will be some permutation of the top 13 guys on this poll. Maybe I'm too low on Dubon, but I just think after those 13 it gets tougher to justify a high ranking. If someone else does break through, I'd guess it would be an evaluator making his call on a ceiling guy like Supak rather than any of the next five guys in the poll.

The guys who missed the list add to my optimism about the system, especially the pitchers. The fact that Houser, Derby, Pennington, Brown, Herrera, Wilkerson, Perrin and Lemons are all in the also-ran category speaks to the depth that they've got. Even Braden Webb, who had a strong second half, is pretty intriguing for a guy who only got one point. At the very least hopefully they are able to get a few above-average relief arms from this group.