ZBTMP

At least the Brewers now have a full time Asian scout! Really its hard to see anything Milwaukee can offer that another market can’t. And there is plenty Milwaukee cannot offer (large Asian population base, maximum marketing and branding opportunities, etc.). I believe the bonuses paid out to Carlos Rodriguez and Larry Ernesto mean the Brewers aren’t even considering a serious run. But nothing should be off the table; including playing games in Japan, having large endorsement deals prepared with local companies, and even local government official involvement.

I agree. I don't really care about earning it. But if he you think there is a chance he can help you, see what you got. The rebuild has been predicated on giving unknown and blocked commodities a chance (and acquiring as much talent as possible). Garza is the opposite of that. The results are predictable and the best you can hope for is mediocrity. I'll even entertain the argument that the odds of success are the same between Garza and Wilkerson, but one has the upside of a controllable asset. If he fails, you fail, but at least you found out what you had. When Garza fails, we already knew what we had.

It is fine for a Thursday considering playoff contenders Arizona, Baltimore, Minnesota, Cleveland, Miami and Tampa don't even average that many per game much less on the Thursday before many start school. Plus a gold package Packer game. I mean there are only so many sports fans in baseball's smallest market

Ugh, if Guerra's velocity isn't back to 2016 levels, why send him back out there? His pedestrian K rate makes me think that its not.

I went to bed and missed it.. Why are we running Barnes out of town? Is he in danger?

I can understand passing on pro ball for college as a 39 round pick. I guess I don’t fully understand passing on pro ball for the local d2 school in one of the coldest cities in the continental US. I am sure he has a great relationship with the coaches and I don’t understand the motivations of every 18 year old, but one seemed like the “no brainer” choice if his top goal is career as a pro baseball player.

Through my red colored glasses, I prefer to look at it as they like Edwards more in pass protection that they want him covering the blind side while playing to Dieter’s strength in run blocking. And Biadasz has been has been so good that it became logical to move Dieter outside to get him in the lineup. As a group though, they probably aren’t loaded with top 60 draft picks and future pro bowlers like the vintage Chyrst offenses of the 10 and 11 teams. I still think overall it will be an improved group expecting developmental improvements across the board. Back-up QB is probably concern A for me. Hornibrook didn’t exactly display elite pocket presence to expect him to avoid all injuries. Coan is a decent enough recruit, but not that you’d expect to lead a top 10 team as a true freshmen. With Baun and Cichy out, the options at outside linebacker concern me as well. Suddenly a walk-on, redshirt freshmen that I’ve heard very little on is in the 2 deep; and conceivably, rotation. Its worked before I guess, but… I hope you are right about the DLine. I have yet to see them as the elite group that other team's offense has to game plan for, but the potential to take that step is certainly there and they won’t lack experience. Still might be bit premature to put them ahead of the ’04 line, you know, before Purdue decided to take out James knee.

Unless something has changed Lopez fails to meet eligibility requirements Futhermore, I remain unconvinced that the Brewers have given up on him as a starter long term and aren't primarily just lowering his workload after a full winter ball campaign and WBC. There may be some added motivation thinking he can contribute as a reliever this year, but I think he needs to just rest this winter. The one player I’d add who hasn’t been mentioned is Bickford. I'd be surprised with no workload constraints and lost development time if they didnt send him.

Bumping for the Aaron Brooks claim. Someone explain why to me.. His numbers look awful for multiple seasons now.

It would take quite a bit including probably starting stateside. Carmona, for example, was a top 30 international signing and had a fine DSL summer, but couldnt get a vote. Speaking of Carmona: Also Bickford and Lemons notes in the link.

Jimmy Nelson and it’s not particularly close. I believe far more that Nelson’s BABIP is an outlier due for regression than Anderson’s HR/FB rate is not an outlier due for regression. You can’t throw out the Cincinnati start, but if you don’t define a 2.73 FIP/2.72 xFIP/23.4% K-BB that Nelson has thrown since April as “ace” quality, Im not sure what is. That’s better than Kershaw’s or Schrezer’s season line. You still control 3 more seasons of Nelson, but if they can do something like 4 years 45 million with a couple of 15 million team options tacked on, the Brewers shouldn’t pass at this point.

Every team, every year has a chance to make the playoffs. The question is, is the temporary gain worth the future loss of talent. Brandon Phillips had a no trade clause and the best forecasting data we have access to has him for an 84wRC+ rest of season. That’s almost identical to what it thinks about VIllar rest of the season. Rajai Davis has a .295 OBP and a 79wRC+ with mediocre defense, I’ll forgive Stearns for not jumping all over that one. There is also the big issue of opportunity cost with temporary solutions. The Brewers will need a 2B and a CF in 2018. Villar may or may not be the answer, but how are the Brewers going to find out if he is sitting on the bench. If he continues to suck, you can move on in the offseason. Brinson should be the 2018 CF IMO, but Broxton might still have be able to get hot and carry some trade value in the offseason… not from the bench. If the temporary fixes aren’t good bets to be upgrades and carry far less longterm value, its bad for the organization to pursue them. As for the bullpen, they added a reliever. Sure they could have added 2, but do you think it would have saved anything at this point. Again, they believe Barnes can be a long term asset. They believe there is a non-0% chance Jeffress can be fixed. If any of those things happen, they have a lot more value than a temporary fix. The focus should be on finding the next Swarzak and not have to waste precious payroll on volatile bullpen arms.

The Brewers wRC+ in the second half is 68. And you are upset we didn’t move prospect capital for temporary upgrades? Stearns could have went out and gotten Mike Trout and it would not have made much difference.

I've not seen or heard anything on his stuff. I was under the impression it was pretty ordinary though that impression is admittedly unfounded. What do you have that says his stuff? I thought I remember Minasian praising his stuff this spring/when assignments came out, but I can't seem to find it so maybe it was all in my head. Thanks And That for the info on him. I don't know if anyone in the system is pitching better than him since the start of July 11.45 K/9 2.05 BB/9 1.23 ERA.

Surprised Roegner didn’t place somewhere on your top 100. He was one of the last few cuts from my top 30. Big lefty with decent stuff and keeps getting better as the season goes on. Just a case of being 24 at A ball? I give him some pass on that being a Tommy John and warm weather pitcher. I know you watch the T-Rats regularly so thought I’d ask.

Between Neil Walker, Ian Kinsler, and Brandon Phillips, I do prefer Walker and I think he makes the most sense. But then again that also requires dealing with the Mets. But Walker has cleared waivers.

This is basically saying Hispanic/Latino lower income area vs. an African American lower income area? WOW. Just wow. But you are not "scared" to drive from the Caucasian wealthy areas (Brookfield, etc) to the Caucasian lower income area (West Allis/West Milwaukee) to see a game at Miller Park? Are there any nice hotels and shopping centers within walking distance from Miller Park? Answer: No I guess being drunk in a big parking lot shields us from all that. That’s a pretty bold acquisition. Curious, are there West Allis neighborhoods or South Side neighborhoods that match Metcalfe Park or Park West in crime rate? Also, when was the last time you were at Miller Park? There is tons of nice shopping on Miller Park Way. And yes, I’ve walked from Target to Miller Park before even though game parking is “outlawed”. And yes I’ve visited the stores and restaurants before and after games.

This is really dumb. Maybe they are trying to re-coop some Broxton value to move him in the offseason, but Brinson deserves an extended look. Since Brinson's first demotion (June 25th) he has outhit Broxton in AAA (193 wRC vs. 180 wRC) and MLB (101 wRC vs. -9 wRC ). Brinson is the better option currently shortterm and longterm.

LATEST: The 6'11" Koenig, 40th round pick, spurned a $100,000 (plus college costs) offer. I gotta question the advice he received on this one. You are going to pay (D2 scholarships are only 50% I believe) to go to school, receive d2 coaching, facilities, and terrible spring weather and limited offseason training options. Versus being handed $100000, free tuition fallback, professional coaching, facilities, Arizona weather, etc. I realize MiLB baseball is a grind but this one seems pretty easy to me.

Since I passed the rigorous vetting process, if you can count to 25 I think you are good.

1) Brinson- Nothing left to prove in the minors 2) Hader- I still think he can start long term 3) Woodruff- Not too worried about his stats in CS, the walks are a bit more than I'd like though. 4) Hiura- Its too SSS to worry about yet, but please take a few walks soon. 5) Burnes- On track for Brewers MiLB pitcher fo the year 6) L. Ortiz- Seemingly turned a corner and the Brewers seem to be forcing him to develop his full arsenal so lack of elite results is less concerning 7) Clark- Unique player, but has shown improvement in K:BB and power that you hope for. Everything is trending in the right direction. 8) I. Diaz- Not the season envisioned, but not disastrous 9) Bickford- Well at least the Brewers do not have to worry about overworking him 10) Dubon- Not sure there is an everyday player here yet, but he still flashes 11) Phillips- When/where does he get his shot? I'd be satisfied with the strong side of a platoon 12) Peralta- 21 and missing advanced bats at an elite rate, would like to see the double digit BB rate come down though 13) M. Harrison-If this was a make or break year, he certainly didn’t break. 14) Lutz- Productive start, looks ready for A ball in 2018. 15) Ray- He hit the most home runs in future game batting practice! 16) T. Williams- Control is the last thing to return after Tommy John, but the Brewers cold use his arm so hopefully it comes soon. 17) Stokes- Too late to learn 2nd base? Not sure he has the tools to break through the crowded outfield situation, but he does everything well 18) Ponce- Not overwhelming hitters, but he is productive enough that it is time for the next step on the development latter. 19) Yamamoto- If he can keep locating his breaking pitch, he can get advanced hitters out 20) Erceg- We will get to see how he adjusts to struggles I guess. 21) Herrera- DJ Peterson was recently DFAed. Remember when people thought we should demand him for Lind? Too bad Stearns didn’t take a similar approach with Khris Davis 22) J. Lopez- After a full winter ball season and a WBC, Im willing to entertain the theory he is just exhausted currently. 23) M. Feliciano- He is still younger than a lot of the high schoolers just drafted, and it might not be a bad thing long term that his bat isnt too far ahead of his glove yet 24) Medeiros- The results are going the right direction. Still would like to see a run of dominance 25) Perrin- The numbers still look like someone who has MLB future 26) Wilkerson- Time to give him a shot. There could be a effective controllable starter. 27) Diplan- Discouraging results for the near preseason top 100 prospect. Still youngish and healthy though 28) Supak- His K rate dropping in A+ was discouraging, but may be a back end starter here yet. 29) Webb- My refusal to admit Im wrong keeps him in my top 30, but his A ball performance leaves much to be desired 30) Lemons- Doesn’t seem like the type of prospect the Brewers have success with, but there is a first time for everything

Its not that the ideas mentioned would be totally ineffective. The Brewers could only sell to Wisconsin zips, force purchasing non-Cub games with Cub games, incentivize Wisconsin based-companies to have group outings during Cub series, etc. None of them would eliminate Cubs fans, but each would reduce to some extent. Whether it’d be noticeable is debatable, but it would cost the Brewers revenue. Bottom line, the Brewers are at a $200 million annual revenue gap to the Cubs, they shouldn’t take action to reduce revenue.

Not quite sure I understand the context of your post, but MiLB.com did grab comments from Colorado Springs hitting coach Al LeBoeuf as part of a feature article with additional video -- Dubon scores career-high five runs for Sky Sox Brewers No. 9 prospect reaches base in all six plate appearances By Alex Kraft / MiLB.com Just frustrated. Dubon did something in most contexts that should be considered outstanding and raise his status and value, but given the context of 6000 feet above sea level, we have no idea how to analyze it or if it means anything for his future prospects with the Brewers. Nor do we have any idea how it fits into his development progression.

Sorry, this one is on me as I made the mistake of boosting to Cubs fans that the Brewers still had the better Pythagorean record after they moved ahead of us.

Your top middle infield prospect is on base 5 times with a home run and a double and it’s hardly noteworthy. Hey, Toledo is 12 games under and New Orleans sits 24 games under... would have been nice.