ZBTMP

What is a woeful lack of LH bats and why that's a concern? Are teams going to skip left-handers starts vs. us? Are we going to be susceptible to RH pitchers without good change-ups? Not trying to be snarky, I just don't see these as being limiting concerns. In 2012, we really only had Aoki and still led the league in runs scored.

Still on a whole he is striking out 5x more than he walks. Its very hard to provide sustainable production doing that. However, that is still a significant improvement from last season so maybe there is more to come. His BABIP is .333 vs a xBABIP of .305 via his statcast data. Thats a big deal when your OBP is fringe anyway. His most optimistic projection for the rest of the season is 75 wRC+. Its within the range of outcomes that he becomes a 2-4 win player and Im fine giving him opportunities to find out, but my expectations are alittle lower.

Per the previously linked article, the Astros are already directly working with the city of Fayetteville to get a stadium built so I doubt there is much of an opportunity for the Brewers to jump in at this point. This leaves the Mariners looking for an affiliate and the hitters paradise of Lancaster looking for a parent club.

Even if Hader becomes the next Chris Sale; unfortunately, still seeing more ? than answers; Davies-Has he hit a wall or just a bump Guerra- has the splitter torched his elbow? Nelson- has regressed in almost every way. His FIP is now over 5. Peralta- looked like a change man for 2 starts, but back to the same in his last. Garza- a corpse at this point Anderson-Regressing to the point of no longer being useful Suter- I'm not betting on an 85 mph fastball translating to the majors. Jungmann/Lopez- I’m sure there are scenarios where they become key rotation pieces, but neither seems likely Wilkerson- Maybe, but I doubt they even try to figure out what they have until mid-2017 when they can get a 40 man spot Wang- He is showing nice signs, but the realistic upside seems back-of-rotation Woodruff/Ortiz- Seem like a best case scenario to be in the bigs by mid-2017, but I’d bet on them being key cogs in the next competitive Brewers rotation over any of the others on this list (besides maybe Davies). But realistic development curves put that at 2019 timeframe before they realistically excel in the majors.

So it makes more sense to have an open roster spot when you have at least 18 innings to play?

2014- Tommy John 2015- Rehab 2016- 102 innings So I imagine he won't be pitching or possibly he is getting a break before a very short stint of pitching. HERE was the last update on Braden

To say his prospect status is slipping isn't much of a controversial statement. Saying a 20 year old pitcher who has never shown control even in any meaningful sample needs to immediately be removed from the rotation is where you lose me. Giving him less repetitions would seem counterintuitive at this point. The velocity reports are disappointing. He didn't have much to lose.

4 pitch mix (Fastball, Slider, Curve, Changeup) Fastball consistently low 90s, clocked as high as 97 his junior year of college.

I haven't given up hope. With Terry Ryan's firing, sounds like Rochester isn't a lock to affiliate with the Twins again. While the Mets would probably would be chosen over the Brewers if they do decide to move on, Viva Las Vegas! Not much better, but better and can't beat the flight options!

I'd be rather surprised if the Brewers did not protect Taylor Williams. Guys who I'd potentially move on from: Garza: outside of a warm body, I don't see a point. Boyer: FA anyway Nieuwenhuis: He was picked up for nothing and he hasnt done anything to increase his value Flores: I'm a fan more than most but will need to show some signs of life before the end of the season. If the Brewers don't have enough faith to give him playing time anymore, no sense in carrying him. Elmore: No longterm upside, not enough production Wilkins: No longterm upside, not enough production Scahill: No longterm upside Rowen: Scahill being called up would indicate he is below him in the organizations mind Goforth: Never enough sample size to judge a reliever by stats but he never has had good ones Capuano: Career likely done Barrios: Shoulder injuries are no joke Middlebrooks: No longterm upside, not enough production Cecchini: Admirably cut back the strikeouts, but the elite walk rate is gone. An 88 wRC+ from Colorado Springs is not worth protecting Wouldn't sweat moving on from: Peralta: Are the Brewers really going to tender him a contract to sit at AAA? Next month is important for him Nolin: Brewers got him for free with a "good" elbow. Might be able to sneak him through waivers. Cravy: He is still cheap, but I have more faith in Wang and Suter currently. Rivera: has never shown any offense, but he still gives the Brewers a good defensive option if necessary Adds (in order of priority): (1) Brinson (2) Hader (3) Phillips (4) T. Williams: Are the Brewers really going to risk losing a guy whose stuff they've compared to Craig Kimbral and he had good control? (5) M. Diaz: It'd be a tough jump for someone to take him but there are enough teams in "non-compete" mode, I wouldnt risk his upside (6) Wang: I didnt even have him in my top 50 coming into this year, but he has finally started striking people out and the home runs haven't jumped like I thought they would (7) Orf: Good strikezone judgement, defensive flexibility, and Brewers seem to like him (8) Suter: He has done enough to be rewarded with a September call-up (9) Wren or Rangers PTBNL??: Wren's .419 BABIP will regress, but I can't argue with the production Risks: Taylor: Sub .300 OBP and sub .100 ISO in AA. Cannot see a team carrying him. Coulter: Still work in progress defense and hasnt shown an offensive pulse in a long time. Ventura: Keeps stiking out over a batter per inning at every level. I dont think there is enough upside for someone to take him, but I'd consider protecting him if the numbers work out. Betancourt/Rijo: Both are young enough to maybe attract some interest, but neither is capable of hitting advanced pitching yet.

Wily pitched well enough that he will likely get another start Sunday, but they will still need to cover the double header next week. Since the calendar turned to July, Jungmann has been very good with a sub-2 era in AA and is already on the 40 man so he seems likely to get the spot start, but I have to wonder if Suter or Hader will get a shot.

Eligibility Rules Jorge Lopez is ineligible being from Puerto Rico. Not sure on Wang's eligibility since he only has 1 year not "more than 1 year". I'd bet Ray goes just to get him more professional experience.

Link Anyone wondering what former Brewers catcher Chad Moeller has been up to, the correct answer is working out Tim Tebow. Might be one way to excite the Kissamee ownership to re-upping with the Brewers....

Dallas Keuchel may be a "dream" comparison as he struck out even less hitters in the minors, but unfortunately Suter doesn't quite have the same extreme ground ball profile. He must be doing something to limit hard contact to have that HR rate in Colorado Springs though.

It might help that the Astros and Rangers seem likely to shift California League franchises to Carolina, limiting the potential suitors http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/public-hearing-fayetteville-team-set-aug-11/#IfrDMtyeP45r65Dz.97

It still boggles my mind that the Brewers with the worst farm system in baseball gave up pick #17 to sign the guy and then were surprised by the lack of excitement it generated.

Stearns wants Rangers to assume injury risk for the remainder of the season would point to pitcher. Sure hitters can get hurt but not as substantially to impact their value I seem to remember Stearns referring to Manny Pina as a prospect, but not "very quality". Refering to Pina as a prospect might be a stretch, but I'd expect something worthwhile, not great. Mendez and Guzman were just promoted to AAA so I doubt they would do that if they knew they were to be traded. My guess: Brett Martin

I'm sure there was a purpose to this claim and the Scahill claim, but Im not seeing an imminent role with Boyer, Torres, and Marinez secure in their jobs, or a reason to hold them through the offseason.

AA wRC+: Orlando Arcia 126 plus a 1.337 OPS in the playoffs Nomar Mazara 123 Francisco Lindor 114 followed by an 88 wRC in his first 180 AAA at-bats Arcia may never hit like that before and may never again, but saying he is a weak bat isn't entirely the case.

Not sure if you mean hitting his spots or limiting walks, but for the latter he has walked 1.23 BB/9 since start of July. Over his last 13 starts in high A he walked 2.06. MLB average is over 3 and he hasn't been at that since rookie ball. While every prospect could sharpen their command, Woodruff hasnt been bitten by walks too often.

Im still holding out hope that our next moves are to announce that the excess revenue from maintaining the lowest payroll in the majors is being used to buy a Carolina League and International League Affiliate and move spring training into a state of the art facility out of the ghetto of Phoenix (Yes, I know its not "that bad").

I would guess few GMs have the flexibility to add $80 million in future commitments without some kind of review and ownership approval. His contract may be market or slightly below market, but I think he clears if for no other reason than chief baseball decision makers probably are reluctant to sit down with ownership to review the potential financial implications of claiming Braun.

Given his exceptional statistical profile, scouting report of multiple plus pitches, and relative high floor due to proximity to the majors I wouldn't assume his inclusion on the list means a younger guy like Guzman isn't on the list.

To be fair, Braun also said Wily Peralta was the best pitching prospect in baseball or something like that so Im not ready to move him to the front office yet. I don't think the jury is out on Villar's defense at short. He is below average but passable. If a team would consider him at short he isn't going to change many scouting reports or defensive metrics over the next 2 months. I don't think the longterm values of Machado, Bergman, Peralta, or Kang are hurt because they primarily play third currently.

I don't get the barfing over Fasola. He may not be a 50 FV, but he is an intriguing arm. His scouting report coming into this year combined with a >20% k-bb% makes me think he is a good bet to be a key bulpen contributer at some point in the not so distant future. What am I missing?