Ron Robinsons Beard

Looking at that, it makes Hader about as valuable as a #2-3 starter. That seems significant.

I get that, and agree using 51 PAs as an argument makes that argument a bit lacking. However, at least what I'm saying is that maybe he wasn't as far away from Mejia as most people think and that his strong start to the season is a reason to be optimistic about that viewpoint going forward. That's what I was getting at, albeit in a convoluted, roundabout way. Nottingham's 2017 numbers on the surface don't look great, but they show a hitter that did improve and ran into a lot of bad luck. There was definitely room for improvement, though. It appears that, at least so far, he has made necessary corrections, and is seeing positive results. That's exactly what you want in one of your top prospects. Nottingham's great start, and Mejia's horrible one, is a great lesson on the volatility of prospect projection. There were plenty of people here ready to either dump Nottingham as a throw-in in a trade, or risk losing him in the Rule 5 Draft. So far he is proving those skeptics wrong, albeit in a small sample. I for one hope it continues, and perhaps by the end of this season, Nottingham's name will be mentioned along with Mejia's when people talk about the best catching prospects in the game.

Thames was starting every game against right-handed pitching until he was hurt. I'm not sure where you are getting this idea that he barely starts from. You brought it up in a different thread, and it was quickly pointed out that it was incorrect. Plus, Thames is hurt right now, and out for the next 6 weeks. Braun would have to approve a deal to the Indians, and I highly doubt that he would.

Well if that doesn't scream rotation savior?

That's kind of a facile argument though. Many players do hit well in Colorado Springs, that's true, but at the same time, you can't dismiss performance out of hand without considering other factors. Nottingham's wRC+, which normalizes production for league and park factors, is 199 so far. In other words, he's been excellent and about twice as good as the average player. I don't think anyone expects Nottingham to maintain this, especially given his BABIP as you noted. But even depsite just throwing on a Sky Sox jersey, he's been lights out. Mejia's wRC+ so far this year is 40, which is awful. I'm not trying to argue Nottingham is a superior prospect to Mejia or anything - I don't think he is. However, context, and not just superficial context, is key. It's literally 50 plate appearances in the best hitting environment possibly in any league of baseball where he has a .500 BABIP. He has essentially not played on the road this year. I'm sure he could hit .280/.340/.500 in Colorado Springs. If his K% changes, then we can start to talk about a change/improvement. The fact that he's hitting pretty well tells me he could maybe put on an MLB uniform for an extended period of time. Beyond that, it doesn't say much. Brett Phillips crushes CS. Ivan De Jesus does. Brinson hit .331 last year. Garrett Cooper hit .360 last year. Eric Sogard put up a .937 OPS hitting .330. I am literally having a hard time finding someone that got an extended stay there that didn't hit around .300 with all-star caliber numbers other than pitchers. Nieuwenhuis is basically the only sub-.800 OPS regular in 2017 and he's getting back on track in 2018. Nieuwenhuis is in Tacoma now. I agree that Colorado Springs is a hitter's paradise. But you seem to be writing off Nottingham as a AAAA player, while saying his Colorado Springs numbers are empty. Personally, I think that isn't fair to a 23-year-old catcher.

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree. But it's not that I dislike Mejia. He's a great prospect that any team would be lucky to have. I'm sure he'll turn it around, but he's been bad so far this year in AAA. I just think penalizing Nottingham for doing exactly what he's supposed to be doing isn't fair to him as a prospect. And, to me at least, his existence in the Brewers system would make giving up a ton of value for a guy like Mejia a poor investment. Maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't think Mejia is a "can't miss" guy.

Nottingham is 23 and destroying AAA. Mejia does profile with a higher average than Nottingham, but Nottingham profiles with better power. I know we almost traded for him once, but I guess I don't see the infatuation with this guy ... especially with the ransom the Indians would likely put on him. Basically every player that puts on a Colorado Springs uniform "destroys AAA." Even with those gaudy, BABIP-inflated stats, Nottingham is striking out 25% of the time, which is pretty much the norm over his minor league career. Mejia is striking out a bit more early this year, but generally has been at 15%. That's a huge difference. Mejia probably profiles to a .280-.300 guy with 20-25 HR and a .360 OBP. Potentially a prime Jonathan Lucroy-type bat. Nottingham, while he still has time to turn it around, profiles to a .230 guy with 15 HR and a .300 OBP. Maybe a poor man's Mike Zunino or a Chris Iannetta if he actually even makes it. They aren't in the same galaxy currently. I think you are looking at absolute best case for Mejia and worst case for Nottingham, but to each his own. AAA numbers are AAA numbers, and when comparing the two age wise, Nottingham is destroying Mejia right now. It's not Nottingham's fault that he's playing his home games in a hitter's paradise. But we've seen offensive prospects fail there, too, so writing off his numbers completely as a product of where he plays isn't fair at all. But where in the world are you getting those prospective power numbers from for Mejia? The guy has never profiled as a power hitter, and his very slight frame (for a catcher at least) lends credibility to that. I think if can hit .290-.300 with 10 HRs and a .350 OBP in a full season, that's his ceiling. And that small frame is an injury concern to me. Would I trade Nottingham for Mejia? Yeah, probably, just because hit hit tool is significantly better, and his contact skills would be a nice contrast to the "All or nothing" approach that many of this team's current hitters have. I'm just saying that the two of them are not a night and day difference in prospect value, in my opinion.

It happens, Betances as mentioned, Will Harris, and Tony Watson are recent. There are likely a few more, I'd have to guess KC's WS RPs were in the running. Knebel made it last year with half the time being closer up til AS game. You'd think at this point Hader will have a lot more Saves coming to him. So where's the cutoff on Saves total before AS game to not be considered a closer? With Knebel due back next week, I'm guessing Hader's save chances are going to nosedive. It actually wouldn't surprise to see his appearance lengths decrease so that he can be used more often. That is actually a good thing, because ALL-STAR CLOSER RETURNING!!!

I'm just very worried it's going to be a "careful what you wish for" situation when we see Miley inserted into the rotation. The starting pitching hasn't been a problem ... it's been the hitting. But I guess the answer to that problem is to shake up the rotation? I would be willing to bet that Wade Miley is much closer to the struggling upper 5 ERA gas can that we've seen the last couple years, than the decent pitcher we saw in Spring Training and one AA start.

Nottingham is 23 and destroying AAA. Mejia does profile with a higher average than Nottingham, but Nottingham profiles with better power. I know we almost traded for him once, but I guess I don't see the infatuation with this guy ... especially with the ransom the Indians would likely put on him.

Love the catching depth in the organization right now. Nottingham continues to rake in Colorado Springs, and Bethancourt's bat has been so hot, he's getting DH at-bats. I think Bandy is surely gone once Vogt is back, and Vogt better hit, or he's going to have to watch his back as well. I know Springs increases offensive numbers, but what Nottingham is doing as a 23-year-old catcher at AAA is no joke. He's going to make a huge jump up prospect boards by the end of this season, if he isn't already getting regular time in Milwaukee. I love Jon Perrin too, and hope he gets a chance in Milwaukee at some point. I'm sure he will cause consternation among fans, though, as he's basically a right-handed version of Brent Suter, with a little more life on his heater. Burnes is struggling right now. Man it must suck pitching at Colorado Springs. A bit part of me wants to just see him called up to sink or swim in the Brewers rotation. Unfortunately (or fortunately I guess) there is quite a bit of depth and no obvious candidate to demote.

I cannot possibly understand where this narrative is coming from. 5 IP, 3ER 5 IP, 4 ER 5.1 IP, 1 ER 5 IP, 3 ER 5 IP, 5 ER 5 IP, 2 ER Those are Suter's game logs so far. All early hooks, but every pitcher has gotten early hooks, so it must be by design. These are by no means great numbers, but none are blow-up starts either. I mean, is it because he doesn't throw fast? That has to be it, right? Because what he's putting up are 4th-5th starter numbers, which is exactly what he is and what is expected of him. He by no means deserves the ridicule he's getting on this board. I'd much rather have Suter's consistency than Miley's likely 6 IP, 3 ER line followed by a 3 IP, 8 ER line.

That's just not true any more. Yes it is. He should be a starter, they’re using him the best way if they are going to make him a reliever but it’s not maximizing his potential value. This I agree with. Making him the closer I do not.

Or it could be that he is not crap, and many are overreacting. I guess we'll see when Miley gets going.

When the bats catch up to the level the pitching staff is at, this will be one of the top teams in the league. Nothing like a 3-gamer against the Reds to get them going.

Even though it should be Drake, I am about 99% sure it will be Saladino getting DFA'd. Woodruff will be optioned. Something tells me that it isn't going to be long into this Miley experiment before we will be looking to Suter to make starts again.

I'm coming around to thinking that if we make mid-season acquisitions, it's going to be for offense. Specifically catcher and 2B. This is pretty much the exact opposite of what I thought would happen. I figured offense would be great, and pitching would be suspect at best.

The great starts from many of our top prospects has me wondering if a few of them may be flipped for Realmuto at some point. Pina's 2017 numbers so far look like a mirage, and while Nottingham has looked good, he's still only 23 and has a lot to prove. Hopefully Vogt is back soon and can hit a little while playing passable defense.

So much for our incredible offensive depth.

The ironic thing is - Packer fan could end up rooting for Taysom Hill, but this time hoping that he is bad.

Hey, if they want to sell low on him, I'd still take him, with the hope DJ can get him turned around. At least we wouldn't have to deal with more bellyaching about every effectively crappy Suter start.

Welp, nice work yet again offense.

Take a called 3rd strike in the 9th? Atta boy Sogard. Way to look out for Dubon, who has got to be close to taking your roster spot.

Perez provides faint glimmers that he might be useful on offense, then turns back into Perez. Every time.

Wow, Santana is breathing!