MKE81

Wake me up when he becomes Randy Johnson. People always go straight to the "it's too early to bail on him as a starter" response. Then when is it ok to bail? People also act as if the pen doesn't play a critical role in a team's success. He's almost through his 3rd level as a professional with terrible BB/9 ratios at every level, has given up more hits than IP every level except last year. His ERA hasn't been good at any level so when he allows guys on base he can't shut the door and prevent them from scoring. Change his entire routine and mind set and get him ready for the pen to move quickly through the system given he has the stuff to be very good there. Instead of throwing 90 pitches per game he can focus on 12-15. He has the potential to be much better because he hasn't flashed anything yet for a 1st Rd pick. People are already expressing concerns about Ray after 100 pro ABs but we should give Kodi a pass?

Hes a pen guy. Get him out of the rotation already and let him grow much quicker through system. All he needs is his fastball and curve (or slider, whichever it is). Change his routine and mind set

Braun and Davis should never be in the same sentence regarding defensive ability. Braun is solid in LF with a strong arm and average in RF but his arm still played there (but wasn't great there). Saying that someone like Scooter, who isn't as athletic as Braun to begin with, could simply walk out to LF/RF without ever playing it professionally and be just as good as Braun is beyond comprehension. Davis is a defensive liability due to his arm. He reads balls well. He's not as fast as Braun but him reading balls well makes him average defensively to the point you can easily get away with him there - but his arm is little league rendering him next to useless in the NL. Scooter's arm is average for a 2b - the shortest throw in the IF and it's average - there's no way it plays in the OF in general let alone in RF where the strongest arms go. My goodness is this conversation really happening? Scooter was going to eventually be traded as soon as Stearns took over for the reasons you all mentioned above - he's adequate across the board and isn't versatile defensively. Villar, Perez (and guys like Rivera) can play 3 IF spots and play them fairly well. Arcia is set at SS. While Diaz is going to be a 2b at the MLB level he could at least slide over to SS if needed to cover some games. Scooter provides none of this. He's having a bounce back year and will be hitting his prime next year with 3yrs til FA. He'll be gone in the off-season with an IF of Carter, Villar, Arcia, Perez. I can see someone like Cecchini backing up both corner spots and there's so much flexibility between Villar/Perez that if another IF has a day off they slide over and cover that spot. Rivera could be a backup IF as well since he can play all 3 IF spots. Won't hit much but will play great defense, which is what you need at minimum filling in for a game.

Haudricourt tweeted yesterday that according to what he heard it's probably not going to be a player of Mendez caliber but ended it saying "but what do I know". Not sure what this tweet means or why he even tweeted about the PTBNL then. But that's what he said

Seitzer played one year with the Brewers then came back for 3-4yrs I believe. Cirillo came back after Seattle/CO. Both of those players came back where there was a role for them to contribute. They both are solid all-around players. Gomez, is not that and he looks lost offensively and defensively. Lumping him in that category is a huge stretch. Plus he's not even a good bat off the bench. And you can absolutely say the Brewers won the trade. It essentially turned into Fiers for Santana, Hader, Phillips, Houser. Fiers is 31 and is doing what you'd expect out of a 4/5 starter. He's nothing more than solid and he never will be better than what you've seen and are currently seeing. Santana has already shown what his potential is at this level and he's only 23. Hader is either going to stick in the rotation or absolutely dominate at the back of the pen (this isn't a "maybe" this is for real). Phillips tools haven't gone anywhere he's just having a down year but has the skill set to get back to where he was - he's also young for his level still. He'll be in AAA next year as a 23yr old. Houser is what you expected. He's either going to stick in the pen or he'll be out of the org because he's certainly not a starter. Again, people need to factor in everything instead of simply looking at numbers in a box score (especially when discussing young players)

I understand the love for Gomez but there isn't one person that should want to bring him back. He doesn't align at all with the current direction the org has taken. And people need to stop saying Kirk sucks and we should take Gomez over him... Gomez - 210/272/594, 16 doubles, 5HR, 29rbi, 13SB, 21bb, 100K in 295 ABs Kirk - 209/322/714, 16 doubles, 10HR, 34rbi, 8SB, 44bb, 106K in 263 ABs (also playing better defense) + Flores and Perez (who's actually getting the RF time over Kirk and Flores with the addition of Arcia) IF Brinson is ready next year it's going to be Braun, Brinson, Santana with Broxton as the only true OF backup. Perez will be super utility playing IF and OF (5th guy). There won't be a Kirk and Flores

There need to be more Wade Davis types out there. I'm annoyed by inconsistent starters who throw hard that could be very good/great pen guys but either they or the team don't want them there. It's about maximizing a players potential. I understand starters get paid more but let's not pretend great pen guys can't put food on the table

Bringing Gomez back won't magically make him productive. He was terrible after the trade last year and has been even worse this year. Why people want him back makes zero sense. And Broxton has been killing it the past 13 games. Brinson will be up at some point by the end of next year to stay for good. You're better off having Broxton play well then trading him since he's only 25 or 26yrs old - or you keep him and found your top backup moving forward.

There are plenty of routes to go to land a 1b. You don't need an all-star. There are plenty of all-star caliber players (or just below) coming through the system. You need fundamentally sound players on both sides of the ball. Clearly they're going with players that can impact the running game as well. You don't need studs you need zero weaknesses.

All that matters is we said no to D'Arnaud as the centerpiece

Spoken like someone who stares at box scores then creates a false belief. Almost half his ABs this year he's 260/340/660 seeing inconsistent PT at the age of 24 in his first full season. He's 24. Of course he's going to have ups and downs. Playing 4yrs+ younger than his competition at AAA he was 282/376/825 approaching 600ABs. He plays all 3 OF spots. He will never be a starter but he absolutely can be a quality backup for all these reasons. Regarding Davis, part of his "best numbers in career" are coming from him in the DH spot 40% of the time. If he's in the NL he's not playing as much because he's such a liability in the field. Him hitting 250 doesn't make him more valuable than Carter. Carter is on base more while putting up essentially the same power numbers, run production. Davis is right on par with his career numbers outside of his OBP being down almost 20pts. Regarding Nottingham, calling him a bust is literally comical. He's 21yrs old at AA - he's done some really good things and also struggled mightily as well at times. At the same age as Diaz (20), he destroyed A then had a very good A+ the second half of last year. He should have been starting at A+. So when he gets thrown in AA you should expect him not living up to his 2015 numbers. But as he repeats AA next year (at age 21) and his numbers align more with his 2015 numbers then what's going to happen? Everyone here going to all of a sudden say that it was a good trade and Nottingham's bat will play at the MLB level? It was made blatantly clear when the trade happened that Nottingham has the skills to potentially be an average C but has a lot of work still to do. But if he didn't pan out he could move to 1b. Wait until you hear from the Brewers coaches about his defense this year before you make remarks about him being a bust there as well. Again, he's 21. He's still learning. They (including Lucroy) raved about him in Spring. Regarding CF, Broxton is earning the every day job right now and that's the way it should be anyway given how dynamic he is. Perez in RF with Villar at 3b is the best lineup at this point. Kirk and Flores can float in and out here and there. There's really no discussion to have on the CF job as Broxton should have it the rest of this year. If he performs well then it'll be between him and Brinson (depending how he does in AAA and next spring). But worst case Broxton is in CF next year until Brinson is ready to take over.

Guzman seems to be getting a somewhat negative rep on here outside of a few posters. He's a huge target at 1b, is solid defensively and has a projected above average hit tool with the "potential" for plus power. He's still young for his level (AA and AAA) and maturing across the board. It's just a huge bonus he happens to play a position of need - people are acting as if he's a target solely because he's a 1b. That's not the case, that's just a bonus. I'm fine if he's the PTBNL. I personally would chose a SP given they have Mendez, Jurado, Matuella, Payano. At least 2 of these will be options for us.

In Stearns making that comment was he referring to Brinson (AAA) and Ortiz (AA), specifically to the PTBNL or the entire package (all 3 players)? Brinson/Ortiz are already in the upper levels of the minors vs the 3 prospects from CLE so his statement holds true as it stands right now. After going back and researching Guzman a lot more in-depth I can see them targeting him given he's still growing into his game and already solid 6'5 frame with the added bonus of him playing a position of need and being a lefty. His AA season this year is showing this. He's still only 21 and will continue to develop. Anyone who watches film on him will see he has a nice fluid swing. His projection is above average hitter with potential plus power while being a solid defender, even if he's only relegated to playing one position (1b). Ibanez, Taveras, Garcia make sense given their tools and age. But we'll have Villar at 2b for several years then Diaz as a Top 100 coming right after that. Taveras is many years away but he'll only be 1-1.5 levels behind Clark/Ray who are already following Brinson, Phillips (all 4 of our guys are Top 100). Garcia is easy 7yrs+ away from MLB level and while it would be great to add a catching prospect at the bottom of the system I just don't see it happening in this specific trade. I understand taking best potential you see and letting the players work it out but in regard to this specific trade if you can net a strong 1b prospect at upper levels in the minors who's still young OR a SP with ace to mid-rotation ceiling you take it. This is why I can see Guzman at/near the top of the list. The only other position player I think makes sense is De Leon given age as he's a legit SS prospect coming up from the very bottom with Arcia already arriving. The 4th piece to the CLE deal was a MLB ready pen arm (Andrew Faulkner anyone?). I don't see Faulkner as the PTBNL!! My final pick on this - I think it'll be one of Mendez, Guzman, Jurado, Payano, Matuella (don't care if he's shut down he's absolutely worth a gamble). Mendez, Guzman just promoted to AAA with Jurado at AA. Payano won't be too far behind for A+/AA. Matuella has ace, or closer, potential with 3yrs college experience. I really hope it's a SP though

I feel the exact opposite about Rugby!!

Guzman is a solid prospect but there's at least 5 others is take over him. I agree that it needs to be SP or MI. Still hoping for Mendez or Matuella

You can cite WAR all you want but it's a broken statistic. Flores didn't replace Davis either. Broxton, Kirk, Flores (and Rymer) were fighting for the starting CF job and the backup spots. Santana replaced Davis, which is why Braun slid back to LF. Anyone with eyes can see Santana, 23, has flaws and needs to correct things (maintain patience at plate and not fall back to old habits - lazy at times in the field). But if you can't see his abilities and how a well-rounded player is greater than solely a power hitter then it is what it is. Carter makes 2M more but lets not pretend that 2M makes a difference this year in payroll. And Carter absolutely replaced Davis' power in the lineup. You don't have to literally play the position Davis played to replace his power. We lost Davis and his power in the lineup and replaced him with Carter and his power. We upgraded defensively over Davis as well in the process (every OF that's played this year was an upgrade over him). If we had a DH spot I'd have zero issues with Davis on the team even though his OBP isn't good. But his defense is such a liability - the final month last year team's were running the bases 110% on every ball hit to LF, including 1st to 3rd on balls right at him. Taking an extra base has a huge impact on the game and it became insanely evident the final month last year that he absolutely needed to be traded regardless of how much power he has. Back on topic, Brinson was a great add because his defense is a main stay in CF. Phillips can easily slide to RF with his arm. I agree that Clark/Ray will not have a chance in CF with both Brinson/Phillips ahead of them. I don't think they'll be able to stick there anyway similar to Diaz moving to 2b. Those guys can easily handle LF though. I like Santana and see a lot of potential in him but I also prefer the overall skill set/ability of the other guys over him including better contact. I don't think Santana as part of the long-term future but we won't know for sure unless he stays relatively healthy next year. He absolutely needs to start in RF and show what he's capable of - if everyone else coming up progresses just fine then Santana is trade bait or they're trade bait. But at 24 next year he needs all the ABs he can get. Broxton flashed in spring then again when demoted to AAA - he didn't look comfortable at all with the Brewers. He's hasn't looked comfortable all season until the past 10-11 games. But a dynamic dude like him who's gaining confidence can be a difference maker. I'll take Broxton over Davis every day of the week because he's well-rounded and has the tools to impact every facet of the game. He needs to start in CF the rest of the season and have Kirk/Flores fill in RF or backup for a night off. Broxton should be starting in CF next year too if they're not ready to have Brinson up. Braun/Broxton/Santana with Reed/Flores (if go 5 OF). Future looks bright in CF though. Regarding Flores in the recent posts, he's absolutely a MLB backup talent. He's very young and this is his first extended PT at this level. He doesn't flash plus for any tool but he doesn't need too in order to have a 10yr career. He's plenty capable of filling in here and there putting together good ABs while playing solid defense at all 3 spots. He's not a starter. I think he'll turn out to be a quality backup with us or someone else. Solid in the field, decent enough arm, has a nice line to line contact swing and understanding of the strike zone. The more experience he gets the better he'll become. Plus he's a lefty, which is always nice to have off the bench.

Ive always thought Mendez is a stretch but also possible. Could very well be any player you mentioned along with Payano or Matuella (1-1 talent to follow his rehab and such). Even though we might see a gap in their prospects they might not. They could already have a final list to choose from or still be working on adding someone like Mendez. All I know is this person will be a strong talent based on everything Stearns and the scouts have done this far and it'll be exciting to hear the final decision

Ask Ken what the name of this "significant prospect" is

How do Santana's numbers compare to Khris Davis? Briggs and I will never get over giving up Khris Davis with 4 years of team control for what they got back, this I admit. Im speaking for Briggs, but Im comfortable in my position. Well, at least we have Ramon Flores to pick up the run production slack. Actually, Chris Carter was there to pick up the HR and run production from Davis and he's done just that. They're on pace for basically the same number of ABs and Carter will post a 218/305/792, 31 doubles, 38HR, 93rbi, 67bb, 209K while Davis will post 254/296/809, 21 doubles, 41HR, 104rbi, 26bb, 158K while being utterly useless in the field. Carter actually contributes defensively. If given the same ABs as Davis is on pace for then Santana, out of the leadoff spot, would post a 234/347/737, 35 doubles, 18HR, 57rbi, 92bb, 228K as a 23yr old while also being a massive upgrade over Davis in the OF. But hey, no potential anybody should see in that. If Davis was given same amount of ABs last year as he is on pace for this year he would have hit 39HR. Same production. There's a reason there's no market for him in the off-season even. He can't play the field so half of MLB has no use for him. He's really killing it with that 296 OBP. Nobody cares if he's 40HR when you literally bring nothing else to the table. You're not going to all of a sudden get a massive haul for him after this season. Nottingham is 21yrs in AA performing well half the season and junk the other half. Again, HE'S 21. And he was #66 on BP's Top 100 list coming in. Yeah, awful trade. Lets just call it what it is right now and not when Nottingham gets to the MLB level by end of 2018 or 2019

I wouldn't read into the promotion at all given they don't know who Stearns officially wants therefore they'll continue to treat every player as they normally would. The more I think about it the more I lean toward Jurado or Payano. Neither is a stretch as an inclusion to the trade.

Actually it's ALL about numbers. Or one number anyhow- 23. Time to move up or move out. Fun fact. Biloxi now the home to 3 light hitting #1 Brewers draft picks. One can have good ABs with an empty box score so it's definitely not ALL about numbers. They're clearly banking on a change of scenery making a difference. I saw Coulter, Taylor, Roache take extended BP in spring and never understood the hype. Roache, by far, looked the best. But he's a BP hero and doesn't translate well to the field

He's highly intelligent, articulate and methodical. He also understands how to frame conversations. There are plenty of words he could have chosen including simply leaving out the word "very". There's nothing wrong with a "quality prospect" but he didn't say that. It could be someone from the current Top 10 Rangers list or a Matuella/Payano/David Garcia or even Freddy Peralta type nobody's heard of. Lot of good looking options.

Thanks for the clarification. There was another post with just those 4 names and I read that as those would be on his PTBNL list. My mistake

A poster gave his insider list I recall of Mendez, Guzman, Jurado, and Payano in order of priority. But someone decided on Brinson/Ortiz/ptbnl. Seems the scouts advice werent taken. Howd you like to be that group? If your advice isnt taken, then why not just make your next priority list the worst 5 you seen in a teams top 30? Your work doesnt matter with ignoring your opinions. Arcia's stance. Maybe theres a body frame that allows him to make it work. Youth, slender, and athleticism? As he ages and body fills out some more maybe then he takes a more traditional stance? I will say his swinging was Gomez like in agression. I dont see an approach where he has any intention of using CF/Opposite field. Thats a little worrisome for immediate future. But at same time, if hes swinging this way and gets eaten alive by ML Pitching. Well he gets to work on that in AAA to start next year Wasn't that list of 4 players the list for the PTBNL? I thought that person mentioned Stearns wanted several lower ranked prospects instead of just Brinson but thought he didn't name those prospects.

Flanagan spoke highly of him 2-3 months ago in an interview and called him underrated or under the radar.