MadThinker88

This is free content & I thought others here would be interested.. https://247sports.com/mlb/indians/ContentGallery/2019-MLB-Mock-Draft-30-132398123/#132398123_22 Its a mock draft, picks 1 thru 41.... Enjoy. For the Brewers - 28 Milwaukee Tyler Callihan, 3B, Providence HS (FL) Sleeper Braden Shewmake, SS, TAMU The Brewers go for hitters with clean profiles and potential above average to plus hit tools. This is the profile for a first round pick under Stearns. They never get held up by what a player can’t do or what they have not developed but, instead, just focus on the hitter. Callihan is a potential above-average hit and power prospect who has played first, third, and catcher. He is a sub-six foot, but a well-built player whose ability as a hitter is why he is going to be drafted. The fact that he will turn 19 at the end of June and the questions about his position are why he is still on the board this late in the draft. I think he is a lot closer to Brett Baty than he gets credit for. If the Brewers want to go the college route, I would think that Shewmake, the polished infielder from Texas A&M, would make the most sense.

The numbers for Luis Ortiz are not getting better in AAA. Brewers did well to get what they did... 9 games (all starts so far) Year Tm W L ERA IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W 2019 Norfolk 1 5 7.26 39.2 50 36 32 8 21 1 25 1 0 2 192 1.79 11.3 1.8 4.8 5.7 1.1

Its against Beloit (Oakland affiliate). There doesn't seem to be much prospect wise on the Beloit roster at this time. Remember play starts at 5:05 as they complete a suspended game from earlier in the season. I'm unsure at what point it ended but that one will go thru 9 innings (or more if necessary). Once completed, the regularly scheduled game will be played but will only be a 7 inning affair.

Prayers to Howard, his family (and anyone else affected by this terrible accident).

Just a quick report today (mainly from some personal curiosity). For games thru 5/25/19 Top 3 spots are: Tampa Bay +33 (113-80) Pittsburgh +28 (108-80) Texas +25 (110-85) Rounding out top 10: 3 way tie at +20 between Milwaukee, Houston and Arizona. Cleveland at +18 LA Dodgers at +16 Baltimore at +15 NY Yankees at +13 Bottom groups: San Fran at -23 Cincinnati at -25 Oakland at -26 Miami at -28 (85-108) Detroit at -29 (78-107) Boston at -43 (72-115) <------ OUCH! Full regular update next Sunday 6/2...

I get the idea of adding EE and having a consistent RH power bat in the lineup. Not debating that. EE is the poster child for consistent RH power. That said, beyond the contract issue there is also the issue of how to use him in the NL. The lack of a DH role in the NL is a limitation that impacts the Brewers big time in this case. Asking EE to be an everyday 1B at this point (36 about to be 37 yrs old) is begging for problems. Using the Rtot/yr stat from Baseball Reference Edwin is -16 at 1B this season. Taking the same stat, you have Aguilar at 9 and Thames at 6. So both the current guys are markedly better defensively than EE. Bringing EE in might add to the lineup but he has to come out late each game and that might become an issue. Additionally having watched EE up close the past 2 years, I can say he among the slower base runners out there. He tries and gives effort but he is station to station. The idea of him scoring from 2nd on a single or 1st on a double begs for outs at the plate.. Buyer beware....

First, Greene is still under Tiger control for next year as well so that would change the value calculation. Greene has another year of arbitration before becoming a free agent (unless he is released). So Detroit is dealing away 1+ years of control and the acquiring team gets him for this season and next (if not more should an extension get signed). Yes the Brewers could help to upgrade many Tiger positions as Detroit is rebuilding. As you point out Greene has been very good this season & in the past. He is likely the best trade chip the Tigers have that they could start a bidding war over. I believe it would take much more than 1 of the 3 prospects you listed, especially if another contender (in AL or NL) needs to add a piece to their bullpen. He is a good target to consider but its going to take more than you think to get him.

Ok. Update time. For games completed thru 5/18/19. Rank …… Franchise …… ….W …… ..L …… …..Pct 1 ….. Tampa Bay Rays …… 97 …… 70 …… 0.5808 2 …… Pittsburgh Pirates …… 92 …… 69 …… 0.5714 3 ….. Texas Rangers …...… 94 …… 73 …… 0.5629 4 ….. Milwaukee Brewers …… 92 …… 73 …… 0.5576 5 …… Houston Astros …...… 90 …… 72 …… 0.5556 6 ….. Arizona Dbacks …...… 92 …… 75 …… 0.5509 7 ….. Cleveland Indians …… 86 …… 75 …… 0.5342 8 …… New York Yankees …… 84 …… 75 …… 0.5283 9 ….. Baltimore Orioles …… 84 …… 77 …… 0.5217 10 ….. Los Angeles Dodgers …… 85 …… 78 …… 0.5215 26 ….. Cincinnati Reds …… 74 …… 91 …… 0.4485 27 …… San Fran Giants …… 72 …… 90 …… 0.4444 28 ….. Miami Marlins …… 69 …… 95 …… 0.4207 29 …… Detroit Tigers …… 66 …… 92 …… 0.4177 30 ….. Boston Red Sox …… 57 …… 101 …… 0.3608 Others in NL Central 16 ….. St. Louis Cardinals …… 83 …… 82 …… 0.5030 17 ….. Chicago Cubs …...… 84 …… 83 …… 0.5030 Items of Note: Top 18 spots have records of .500 or better (3 way tie between St. Louis, ChiCubs & the Atlanta Braves Most games played by organization: 168 (Colorado) Least games played by organization: 157 (Philly) While no team has yet to win 100 games (Tampa is closest at 97), Boston has already lost 100 and Miami is not far behind at 95.. Ouch!

I don't see a match with Cleveland, even for a PTBNL.. Cleveland is LHB heavy so Thames does not help with that. It already has 1B covered for this and multiple future years by Carlos Santana and Jake Bauers (along with prospect Bobby Bradley). Heck, the afore mentioned Nolan Jones might get shifted over to 1B if his D at third continues to be shaky/ problematic. As for the OF situation, Cleveland is using the idea of D & speed 1st, Offense after. They are finally giving time to younger players (Luplow/ Mercado, with the group of Allen/ Zimmer & Daniel Johnson on the horizon). Even Jake Bauers has been surprisingly good in LF when not at 1B/ DH. Additionally Cleveland has limited funds so I doubt they would spend any of it on Thames (even with his reasonable contract). There are even whispers of the club selling off more pieces (for a quick retool). Its a nice thought on the surface but digging into it, this trade possibility is not a match.

Spotted this on BR & thought it should be shared (in its entirety) Bumgarner’s No-Trade List Ken Rosenthal ✔ @Ken_Rosenthal Madison Bumgarner’s eight-team no-trade list, per sources:#Braves#RedSox#Cubs#Astros#Brewers#Yankees#Phillies#STLCards Bumgarner chose teams strategically; list comprised solely of contenders that might want to acquire him from #SFGiants, not teams he wants to avoid. 1,291 12:54 PM - May 11, 2019

Spotted this on BR & thought it should be shared (in its entirety) Bumgarner’s No-Trade List Ken Rosenthal ✔ @Ken_Rosenthal Madison Bumgarner’s eight-team no-trade list, per sources:#Braves#RedSox#Cubs#Astros#Brewers#Yankees#Phillies#STLCards Bumgarner chose teams strategically; list comprised solely of contenders that might want to acquire him from #SFGiants, not teams he wants to avoid. 1,291 12:54 PM - May 11, 2019

Ok. Update time. For games completed thru 5/4/19. Rank …… Franchise …… …….W …… ..L …… …..Pct 1 ….. Texas Rangers …...… 68 …… 47 …… 0.5913 2 …… Pittsburgh Pirates …… 66 …… 46 …… 0.5893 3 ….. Houston Astros …...… 63 …… 49 …… 0.5625 4 ….. Tampa Bay Rays …… 63 …… 51 …… 0.5526 5 …… Arizona Dbacks …...… 64 …… 52 …… 0.5517 6 ….. Seattle Mariners …...… 63 …… 52 …… 0.5478 7 ….. Minnesota Twins …… 62 …… 52 …… 0.5439 8 …… Cleveland Indians …… 61 …… 54 …… 0.5304 9 ….. New York Yankees …… 58 …… 52 …… 0.5273 10 ….. Washington Nationals …… 61 …… 55 …… 0.5259 26 ….. Cincinnati Reds …… 50 …… 64 …… 0.4386 27 …… San Fran Giants …… 49 …… 63 …… 0.4375 28 ….. Miami Marlins …… 49 …… 63 …… 0.4375 29 …… Detroit Tigers …… 46 …… 60 …… 0.4340 30 ….. Boston Red Sox …… 43 …… 67 …… 0.3909 Those in NL Central (not already noted) 13 …… Milwaukee Brewers …… 58 …… 56 …… 0.5088 14 ….. Chicago Cubs …...… 57 …… 58 …… 0.4957 17 ….. St. Louis Cardinals …… 54 …… 57 …… 0.4865 Top 13 spots have overall records of .500 or better Most games played by organization: 118 (Colorado) Least games played by organization: 106 (Detroit) The next scheduled updates will be 5/19 and 6/2. Unsure if I will go to weekly updates starting on 6/9 or 6/16

Thanks EyeBlack. It would be interesting to know when that info was pulled. The numbers I pulled for the update this morning (5/5) for results thru 5/4 are close but not a match. Then again Brewer affiliates went a combined 0-7 for completed games on Friday and Saturday. That does make an impact on win percentage.

Hello everyone and welcome to the 2019 Affiliate Record Tracker by Organization. Over the past few years I have started and updated a discussion thread with this info & will try again this year. Again, I will only report on FULL SEASON minor league teams (A thru AAA). That way there is a consistent measurement of 4 affiliates for each organization. While winning is secondary to developing players in the minors, winning is important in its own right as it develops a culture of success, helps to focus players and hopefully produce post-season appearances in the minors (which results in more learning opportunities & development of the players). For this report I will list all 30 teams. In the future I will narrow the reporting (top 10, bottom 5, noting teams of the division if not already listed). Updates with be bi-weekly for little while before switching to weekly sometime in June thru the end of the season. Here is the 1st report (with games ending 4/20/19). Enjoy Rank …… Franchise …… …….W …… ..L …… …..Pct 1 ….. Texas Rangers …… 38 …… 27 …… 0.5846 2 …… Pittsburgh Pirates …… 37 …… 27 …… 0.5781 3 ….. Kansas City Royals …… 38 …… 28 …… 0.5758 4 ….. Washington Nationals …… 38 …… 28 …… 0.5758 5 …… Cleveland Indians …… 37 …… 28 …… 0.5692 6 ….. Arizona Dbacks …… 36 …… 28 …… 0.5625 7 ….. Houston Astros …… 36 …… 29 …… 0.5538 8 …… Seattle Mariners …… 35 …… 30 …… 0.5385 9 ….. New York Mets …… 32 …… 28 …… 0.5333 10 ….. Oakland Athletics …… 35 …… 31 …… 0.5303 11 ….. New York Yankees …… 32 …… 30 …… 0.5161 12 ….. San Diego Padres …… 34 …… 32 …… 0.5152 13 …… Toronto Blue Jays …… 31 …… 30 …… 0.5082 14 ….. Chicago Cubs …… 32 …… 31 …… 0.5079 15 …… Minnesota Twins …… 33 …… 32 …… 0.5077 16 ….. Chicago White Sox …… 32 …… 33 …… 0.4923 17 ….. Milwaukee Brewers …… 31 …… 32 …… 0.4921 18 ….. San Francisco Giants …… 30 …… 32 …… 0.4839 19 ….. Colorado Rockies …… 32 …… 35 …… 0.4776 20 ….. Los Angeles Dodgers …… 31 …… 34 …… 0.4769 21 ….. Tampa Bay Rays …… 30 …… 34 …… 0.4688 22 ….. Los Angeles Angels …… 30 …… 34 …… 0.4688 23 ….. Baltimore Orioles …… 29 …… 34 …… 0.4603 24 ….. Miami Marlins …… 29 …… 34 …… 0.4603 25 ….. St. Louis Cardinals …… 30 …… 36 …… 0.4545 26 ….. Philadelphia Phillies …… 28 …… 35 …… 0.4444 27 …… Detroit Tigers …… 25 …… 33 …… 0.4310 28 ….. Cincinnati Reds …… 27 …… 37 …… 0.4219 29 …… Atlanta Braves …… 26 …… 37 …… 0.4127 30 ….. Boston Red Sox …… 22 …… 37 …… 0.3729

Serious Inquiry: Is there any official word if the Brewer/ Indian Co-op team is continuing in the DOSL for 2019??? The foreign affiliated teams has not been added to the 2019 Baseball Reference page so I am looking for some insight..

Ok. There seems to be enough interest for this continue another season. A new thread will be created for the 2019 season and the 1st report will be on 4/21/19 (Easter Sunday)...

Unlike the other spots you named (LA/ NY), Kimbrel could step in as closer in Milwaukee. Those other spots have established (& pricey) closers in place already. Kimbrel might take a 1 yr pillow deal in that case as he would not need to deal with a QO after the season if he re-enters the market. Serious question: Do the Brewers want to pay a big $ number AND give up even more draft capital (pick and bonus slot money). The impact of more lost draft capital won't be truly felt for a couple more years. A limited farm system not only impacts talent for the Brewers to field but also trade capital to acquire any needed pieces to remain competitive/ in contention. I'm not against or for the signing of Kimbrel. Just trying to examine & evaluate the entire landscape of the issue.

So far there are 3 people wanting to see this continue. I will give it to April 6th for others to chime in. If there are not at least 5 people wanting this type of thread to continue, I will let it pass into the mist of history..

I think you answered your own (implicit) question on why High-A .... Its his Rule 5 year. The Brewers need to see if he can be ready/ worthy of a roster spot after the season or not. The days of hiding good talents in the low minors and sneaking that talent thru to another year organizational control are long over so the Brewers (like all organizations) need to make choices and put out some challenges to players in order to see what is there (or not). My fingers are crossed for Chris & I hope it all works out for him.

Question for everyone... For the past few years I have started a thread & posted on a bi-weekly (and later in the year weekly) basis a standings of the overall (Win- Loss- Pct) record of the full season affiliate clubs by organization. Is there an interest in seeing that continue?? If there is a handful of people interested (at least 5 people) I will continue with pulling together the info & posting it. Just let me know the thoughts...

X-Rays negative. Wait & see if JRam with need additional time off or even a trip to the IL. Silver lining: better now (even with Lindor & Kipnis starting the year on IL) then during the season itself...

Are you referring to the Minor League Baseball Analyst?? I'm waiting for my copy to arrive and should have it late next week. Of the 9 sites/ sources (for farm system rankings) I have seen so far, only 2 have the Brewers above #22. Heck the only site so far that put the Crew above #20 is also the ONLY site that didn't put the Padres system at #1 (giving the nod to the ChiSox). While I wish some of these sources spent more time going in depth on the Brewers and other teams, we have to realize their time spent looking at other systems helps them to compare/ contrast the strengths and weaknesses of those other systems. While we may feel the Brewer system has greater talent or depth in certain areas, compared to the other systems (especially against some others in the NL Central) the Brewer system might be weaker and thinner then we want to believe.

I don't know what the fully proposal was regarding the "3 batter minimum" but I was FOR the concept. The reduction of pure specialization and number of "during the inning pitching changes" would definitely pick up the pace of play help the game move along. I do think the verbage of the proposal was extremely important & I would be very interested in learning what that was. For example: reliever comes in, throws 3 pitches and induces a double play to end the inning. Does that equal 1 batter or 2? It ended the inning, must that same pitcher return to the mound next inning (for 1 or more batters) or can the manager use the natural inning break to change pitchers? Let's change the example and say the reliever comes in with 2 out and pinch runner on 1st. Before delivering a pitch to the plate, the reliever is able to pick off the runner to end the inning. Same general questions apply. Does that count as a batter? Does he need to return to mound the next inning?? Would it count as a batter if on the 1st pitch, the runner tries to steal and is gunned down by the catcher to end the inning??? Saying "3 batters" seems too simplistic and a penalty for a pitcher that was successful for getting his team out of a jam or quickly ending the inning.

True but it also counts as a year of service toward arbitration & free agency....

With Machado going to the Padres, unless the Phillies land Harper, I get the sense that Dallas will go with the Phillies for multiple years...