Greenleaf1

As far as I can tell, Nelson/Anderson both have multiple option years left. Something to consider for next year. Suter's only bad outing was his MLB debut, and it wasn't that bad (didn't they have like 1 hit going into the 5th inning? I know his control was bad and he walked a lot and then he gave up a few homers but that's still not that bad). I know how everyone says he doesn't stand that much of a chance of sticking in the rotation, but he certainly seems like he's earned the right to get an opportunity there after his Colorado Springs performance and his good work so far out of the bullpen. Spring Training is going to be very interesting next year.

Haha my thoughts exactly.

One thing's for sure, Garza has looked terrific lately. I missed his start yesterday, but the one before that was as good as I've seen him in a Brewers uniform. I think we need to be giving more credit to the Brewers pitching coaches, both DJ and the minor league coaches. Nelson may be struggling, but Anderson/Garza/Peralta/Jungmann/Davies have all shown a lot of improvement since their rough starts (granted Davies has been pretty great all season but it was rough there at the beginning). Rough is probably an understatement for several of these guys. Normally I wouldn't think Garza would have a ton of value, but the FA market for starting pitchers this offseason is very thin. We'd certainly be willing to eat some money on the deal like with Aaron Hill, and Garza is still a career 4.01 ERA pitcher. I could see a lot of teams needing someone with his experience in their rotation. I wouldn't wait until midseason to trade him though. Even if he does get better and could provide us with a better prospect in return, I think there's value to trading him now. Get some money off the books and open up a spot in the rotation, rather than risk being stuck with him all year and cutting him for nothing after the trade deadline if he returns to his 2015 self.

Haven't heard anything in a while either, but I don't think Kirby or Williams were expected to be ready until 2017 anyway. When we acquired Missaki, I was under the impression he'd be ready this June/July, but he must've suffered setbacks. Someone should tweet at Haudricourt and get him to find out.

Sounds like the Brewers probably did their homework on Erceg before drafting him. Looks like a steal to get 1st round talent in the 2nd round. The rebuild has been full of top prospects coming to the Brewers, but part of me is always like "oh great another shortstop or outfielder has been added to our system". It's fun to see a guy performing so well offensively AND defensively at a real position of need in our system, and he's got a great story to root for personally. Can't wait to see more of this kid.

I think if we trade Carter this offseason, some players are going to have to start trying to add 1B to their repertoire in ST. Pinto and Cooper could get a chance to earn that spot, but I wouldn't trust either one out the gate with the every day job (and I actually really love Garrett Cooper as a prospect). Perez could play some 1B but his versatility will keep him from holding that position on an everyday basis. Santana would be a great choice given our overabundance of OF prospects. If he wants more playing time, starting a few times a week (to start) at 1B could get him more playing time. Between those 4 guys, I would think we could get a pretty decent level of production out of 1B next season (if we trade Carter, which is a big if considering we could still hold onto him all of next year and trade him later). Easier said than done to learn a new position of course, but Stearns has shown that he is interested in players playing multiple positions. My theory is we keep Carter for 2017, but wouldn't surprise me if other players start seeing more time at 1B, especially in Spring Training.

I think if 2 out of Hader/Woodruff/Ortiz/Bickford can break through and live up to their potential as #1/#2 guys, we have a chance for lasting success year to year. If only 1 of them lives up to potential, then we're going to need to go out and spend some real money or real prospects on a top of the rotation starter (Price? Keuchel?), and that might give us a window but it also might limit our ability to compete long term. I also think that most successful rebuilds of the last 5 years or so have included at least one true impact player. Nats have Harper, Astros have Altuve (and Bregman looks like a stud), Cubs have Bryant......I'm curious who could be that guy for us. Arcia doesn't really fit that mold. With his stellar 2015 and very strong finish this year, I think it's possible Brinson might be that guy, but other than him I don't see anybody quite like that (maybe Diaz but too soon to tell). Braun has been that guy for us for a decade now, but I wonder if he can keep it up another 3 or 4 years, or maybe he won't even be on the team anymore.

This is great, thanks for doing it! I'll be very interested to see what they do with their 3 catchers this month and into next year. Wouldn't be at all surprised if we had 3 catchers on the opening day roster next year, but that would only be if Susac shows us something, otherwise he's too easy to start the year at AAA (by my count, he's used 2 of 3 option years already so next year we could still option him).

Has anyone ever looked to see if there is a relationship between high walk rates and high hard-hit-%/BABIP? I would think if a player has an advanced knowledge of the strike zone, they're going to be swinging at better pitches, making better contact, and potentially having higher BABIP's over the course of a career. Villar/Broxton don't seem like prime candidates for too much regression based on their patience at the plate. Villar has been the very model of consistency all year, going between .295 and .305 pretty much the entire year. If (and this is a HUGE if) we can expect similar levels of production over an entire season next year from most of the regulars, I don't see our hitting as the problem next year, especially if we see players like Santana/Arcia/Perez continue to make improvements (plus the inevitable addition of Brinson in early summer). I even think our bullpen will be very strong next year, especially if Blazek/Knebel can stay healthy and finally find some consistency to go along with their talent. The rotation is the huge issue right now. They've shown massive improvements lately, especially compared to how we started the year, but can Garza/Anderson/Peralta finish the season strong and carry over their recent improvements to next year? Can Nelson regain what he had earlier this season, and if he can't, are we willing to send him down and try out somebody else? We have 6 pitchers fighting for 5 spots, and that's before you even get to the minor leaguers banging on the door. It'll be interesting to see how the rotation is handled next year and how quickly we're willing to get rid of the current guys in favor of giving new guys a chance. I'd honestly be surprised if the 6 pitchers in the current rotation are all Brewers by OD 2017. I think Guerra makes the most sense to trade, but I also think that getting something for Anderson wouldn't be the worst idea if a good opportunity came up, otherwise he seems destined to be the long man in our bullpen in a few years at best.

Reed is already on the 40-man, so he should be fine.

The Brewers have the option to keep Braun, and there's as good a case for doing that as trading him. The Brewers have no need to shed payroll in 2018/2019, leaving 2 years/$34M (plus $4M buyout or only $15M mutual option) left on Braun's contract during our prime competing years (assuming we get there). He's not a drain on our team financially and he's still competing, the only reason to trade him now would be to continue to acquire young, controllable talent for the future. While Braun continues to contribute to the team the way he has been, that provides less incentive to trade him since he still figures to be able to contribute to our next playoff run (obviously not for sure, but there's a good chance he's still a pretty good player in a few years). All it takes is 1 team with a big enough need for a great hitting corner outfielder to pay us enough to let him go. Otherwise we'll just hold onto him. Unlike with Lucroy, trading Braun is not necessary for a successful rebuild to occur.

Back before Peralta came back up and showed massive improvement, I thought about a straight up trade Peralta for Puig. Two struggling buy low guys with tons of potential, it seemed like a fair swap to me. Maybe we'd have to throw in another mid-grade prospect, but I would've been interested to see that deal. Now that Peralta is showing massive improvement, I obviously wouldn't want that deal anymore, and I think given the fact that most of the time Braun's contract will be on the books the rest of the team will be pretty cheap anyways, I'd rather stick with Braun over taking a risk on 3 years of Puig. I'm still interested in Puig, but we'd have to get a lot more back if we're giving up Braun. Puig/De Leon and we'll talk.....

Perez will determine his own playing time in a super utility role. If he's doing well, they'll find a place for him to play. He can play anywhere in the infield plus right field and probably could try his hand at left field soon enough. If he can make even more improvements next year, he could even see the majority of playing time at second base for the next year or two while we're waiting on Isan Diaz. Perez's value is certainly in his versaitility though. Having someone with his good defense, base stealing ability, and pop in his bat to come off the bench 3 or 4 times a week and give guys days off and not lose too much in the lineup is incredibly valuable to a team (not to mention a great pinch hitter or double switch replacement later in games). Stearns is obviously aware of how important that versatility is. Perez doesn't strike me as an every day guy when we're back to competitive level, but that doesn't mean he can't provide a lot of value to the team.

I freaked out over Haniger's AAA numbers this year, then freaked out more when he got called up and had a few great games. I've calmed down now that I've seen him fall back to earth. I'm going to take my time before I freak out about Jed Bradley. Sometimes prospects get away, sometimes we won't develop prospects properly, but we tried a lot with Bradley before cutting him loose and maybe he just needed a change of scenery and a fresh take on things.

Well Guerra/Barnes are definitely getting "called up" today or tomorrow, plus Counsell said one more guy (reported by Haudricourt on Twitter), then others would be called up after the end of the minor league season. Just wondering if we'll hear the confirmation of Guerra/Barnes/mystery man today or tomorrow. Probably tomorrow.

Are we likely to see callup info today or tomorrow given the off day? Also kinda disappointed that I'm going to the game on Labor Day but that's the last day of the minor league season so probably won't get any more callups until Tuesday.

I think the reason we didn't trade Torres is because he's controllable for 2 more years and has been very good. We had other priorities at this trade deadline, and bullpen arms are always in high demand. Jeffress/Smith were probably lowering the price of Torres just by being around, so it's possible Stearns wasn't getting the offers he deemed worth it to trade Torres now. He can always trade him this offseason or at the next deadline. As for Boyer, not sure there, but I'm guessing the return would be nothing anyways so I'm not going to lament that one too much.

What would be the point? To buy low and hope to flip him next year? They'd have to be paying almost his entire salary to make that worth it, plus it would be a risk because we'd probably have to give up something to get him. I'd rather we give that spot to a young guy who might improve or some cheap pickup in the offseason that's lower risk.

Given the fact that there aren't a lot of wild success stories for the entire year hitting-wise, Diaz will definitely be winning that award. Haven't heard anyone realistically argue for anyone else. Agreed that pitcher of the year is down to Hader, Woodruff, or Perrin. I would go with Woodruff. He has the better stats, and like it or not, Hader has had trouble at AAA, not just in Colorado Springs. He's been mostly better lately, but Woodruff has been more consistent. The only reason I'd see them going with Hader is for political reasons (he's obviously much higher profile than Woodruff). Woodruff has arguably been more dominant at AA (he lasted longer on average in his games there: Hader 5.18 innings/start, Woodruff 5.61 innings/start), he has more K's on the year than Hader (which most would view as Hader's most impressive stat), less walks in more innings. I think Woodruff has had the better year and I'm not sure it's even been close. I love Hader but that's how good a year Woodruff has had.

Offseason Trades: Gennett, Maldonado, Garza (someone would take him if we pay most of his salary for one year right?), Nieuwenhuis, Guerra (if he has a good September), Torres, Carter Midseason 2017 Trades: Thornburg, Braun (if his success continues), Nelson/Peralta (if they can rebound) Let Susac/Pina duke it out for catcher, give Pinto and a few cheap pickups a chance at 1B, waiver claims for 2B, Arcia at SS, Villar at 3B, Braun in LF, get some cheap options from AAA or waivers for CF/RF, hoping that Broxton/Brinson/Santana can group up to handle those two spots. Perez should continue to be super utility, maybe playing mostly at 2B. Rotation: Davies should stick around, Anderson can stick around for now, let Suter/Hader get their shot, and maybe Burgos if we can resign him. Need to leave room in the rotation for rookies in 2017 to see what they have (Hader for sure, maybe Woodruff by the end of 2017).

Maldy will go through arbitration and make potentially 1.5-2M next year after making 1M this year. I was originally thinking that he'd battle it out in Spring Training with Susac/Pina/Pinto but maybe he's a non-tender candidate depending on how September goes. If Maldy continues to get most of the playing time in September, he'll definitely make it to Spring Training 2017, but if playing time starts to go to Pina (and Susac if he gets called up in September which apparently is possible now that he's coming back from injury), then who knows. My bet is that Maldy is the backup next year no matter what, and then Pina/Susac battle it out for starter in spring training.

If you're looking for a test of his arm, look no further than yesterday's game in the 7th inning. Arcia's throw from deep in the hole to get McCutchen at first base was amazing. I agree that his defense hasn't looked elite so far, mostly due to mistakes and a few tough plays that he didn't make that based on his reputation I would've expected him to make, but so far he has done a good job at making some medium to tough plays look easy, and I think with more experience he'll only get better.

I thought the general consensus was that the Brewers were going to be able to push the rebuild up a little bit by acquiring some talent that was closer to Major League ready (Brinson, Ortiz, Susac)? They'll call up the players when they're ready. Brinson looks like he's ready. After a rocky start (pun intended), Hader is looking pretty ready at AAA recently. Back on topic, let's say Brinson gets a September call up and impresses, then wins an outfield job to start 2017. Between Broxton and Brinson, who is likely to stay in center and who is likely to move to right field? I'm bad at researching defense metrics, does anyone know who figures to be better in center?

Thanks for this info, definitely puts things in perspective. For all the talk about Colorado Springs and its effect on our prospects, I wonder if we're overlooking just how dramatic an effect Brevard County has in the other direction. This year it's a little harder to notice because all the super young pitchers there aren't doing that great (Diplan, Medeiros, etc.), but almost nobody is hitting there with any kind of authority, and Ray is putting together quite the month of August. That said, less than half a season of pro ball is just not enough to get an informed opinion on him. Will be interesting to see how he does in 2017 (hoping to see him at Spring Training too).

I think Maldy is a reliable backup, nobody in Milwaukee thinks he will keep the majority of the playing time for long, especially not by the end of the rebuild, but he's earned this chance to prove himself now that Luc is gone, and if you take out his hitless slump at the beginning of the season, he's actually not that bad offensively this season. I'm pretty high on Pina, and would like to see him get more playing time, but I think he'll get the chance eventually. Let Pina/Susac/Maldy battle it out in Spring Training next year. None of them are the heir apparent.