Brock Beauchamp

We recently asked our (smart, cultured, good-looking) forum community about which trade targets they'd like the Brewers to pursue at the deadline. After many users chimed in with their opinions, here are the players who received the most mentions. The top of the list isn't a surprise, but some of the expected names were not mentioned frequently by Brewer Fanatic users. Tarik Skubal, LHP, Detroit Tigers - 11 Mentions To say pitchers this dominant rarely become available at the deadline would be an understatement served two ways. First, pitchers this dominant essentially never become available at the deadline, because second, pitchers hardly ever reach this level of sustained dominance at all anymore. Skubal is defending two straight American League Cy Young Awards, and while the bone chips in his elbow that forced him to have a fancy new surgery will probably prevent him from winning a third in a row, he’s still one of the top five pitchers in the sport at the moment. A massive lefty, he overpowers hitters with two different fastballs (four-seamer and sinker) that flirt with 100 miles per hour and two elite secondary offerings, in his slider and changeup. He even mixes in the occasional curveball to keep you honest and make sure you’re late when the heater comes back around. The stuff is augmented by elite control; he’s stingier about free passes than any other starter in the league. In short, he’s an old-fashioned ace, and no player can match the impact he could have for someone come October. That ‘someone’ probably won’t be the Tigers, though. They can’t get more than two steps forward without taking two steps back this year, even since Skubal’s return, and it would take incredible fortitude (bordering on insanity) for Scott Harris to hold onto Skubal amid a lost season and risk having him leave via free agency, for nothing but small-time draft pick compensation. Joe Ryan, RHP, Minnesota Twins - 9 Mentions There’s no actual evidence that starting pitching becomes more important in the postseason than it is for the rest of the year, but that doesn’t stop teams from pining for starters who clear a certain bar for reliability and bat-missing capability. When he’s right, Ryan is that kind of starter. He’s tracking toward what would be his second straight All-Star appearance, and despite a minor elbow scare in early May, he’s taken the ball every turn through the rotation. He doesn’t throw as hard as many of the game’s elite starters, but he has two fastball shapes, multiple breaking balls, and sometimes a splitter that can devastate lefties. He’s always racked up great strikeout rates with his wide arsenal’s disparate movement, and he’s so good at inducing chases that he rarely walks people. So far this year, he’s also toned down what was his bugaboo in the past: giving up too many homers. It hasn’t been enough to truly keep the rebuilding-on-the-go Twins afloat, though, and everyone involved knows the team would prefer to maximize the value they get from him by trading him this summer, rather than waiting until the winter (when teams will cough up much less) or next summer (by which point they’ll have had to pay him another several million dollars). Ryan’s career has followed an unfortunate pattern whereby he often peters out a bit in the second half, but if he holds up well through the All-Star break, he’ll be one of the hottest names on the rumor mill on the other side of it. Adrian Morejon, LHP, San Diego Padres - 8 Mentions Morejón is a classic rental; a one-year, $3.9 million deal in his final arbitration year, free agency looming this winter, and the under-the-hood numbers say he's better than his surface line. His 3.33 ERA comes with a 2.55 xERA, a 27.6 K% against a 5.9 BB%, and a career-best 34.6% whiff rate. The contact quality is elite: a 2.1% barrel rate, .249 xwOBA, and a 62.1% ground-ball rate, with his sinker now averaging 99.4 mph — up nearly two ticks from last year. Cheap, left-handed, and expiring, he's an obvious deadline chip. Clay Holmes, RHP, New York Mets - 5 Mentions Contractually, Holmes is a de facto rental: the three-year, $38 million deal he signed in December 2024 carries an opt-out after this season and a $12 million player option for 2027, and he's likely to exercise the opt-out since he can beat one year and $12 million on the open market. He holds a career 3.53 ERA across 555.2 innings with a 22.4 K% and a 9.9 BB%, plus a career .297 xwOBA that sits nearly on top of his .289 actual wOBA. Holmes has historically been a worm-killer: a 62.1% career ground-ball rate, a 5.0% barrel rate, and a 48.2% topped-contact rate, all built on a sinker he's thrown at least half the time nearly everywhere he's pitched. He's currently on a rehab assignment from the fractured fibula he suffered in May, so any acquiring team is betting on the track record, as he won't have enough time on an MLB mound to reassert himself. Who do you want to see the Brewers acquire by the August 3rd trade deadline? Drop a comment and let us know! View full article

The Brewers have gone back to winning ways out of the All-Star break despite not playing their best baseball, and third baseman Joey Ortiz has been one of the hottest players in the game. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View full article

I'm actually more okay with paying for someone like Miller if they're on an expiring contract. At that point, you're modestly overpaying for 2.5 months of the guy, not hoping his arm doesn't fall off at any point in the next three years.

I've rather see them pursue Skubal if they're going to "go big". 1. Skubal is wayyyyyy cheaper 2. I do not believe in giving up big prospect capital for a reliever, ever.

According to MLB.com's Adam McCalvy, the Brewers are aiming high before the trade deadline on August 3. They've reportedly reached out to the Detroit Tigers about ace pitcher and perhaps the best pitcher in the American League, Tarik Skubal. They've also reached out to the San Diego Padres about their closer extraordinaire, Mason Miller. Skubal is playing this season on an expiring contract. He won his arbitration hearing in February, receiving a record $32 million salary after the Tigers filed at $19 million, and said the Tigers made no long-term offer this offseason. He's expected to command roughly $400 million as the top 2026-27 free agent. On the mound, he posted a 2.70 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over seven starts before a left elbow injury sidelined him in early May; he's since returned, and now sits at 6-5 with a 2.83 ERA and 98 strikeouts across 14 appearances. Miller's situation is the opposite of Skubal's: cheap and controlled. He signed a one-year, $4 million deal to avoid arbitration in his first arbitration-eligible year, and remains under team control through 2029. He has expressed interest in a Padres extension, though no talks have occurred. Performance-wise, he's been dominant as San Diego's closer, with a 0.86 ERA, 25 saves, and 78 strikeouts against 15 walks this season. With the Padres coming under new ownership, it's almost impossible to predict the actions of their already-maverick president of baseball operations AJ Preller. What do you think of this news? Are the Brewers aiming for a level higher than they have at previous deadlines, or is this just due diligence? View full rumor

Oh, make sure you screenshot that and send it to me if that happens again. I've never heard or seen this warning before.

As a gold caretaker, the ad code shouldn't be loaded for you at all. It should be impossible, all trackers and code are removed. I just emulated your account, and see no ads displayed of any kind, nor is there ad code. Are you still having this issue?

Welcome to Brewer Fanatic!

Who are the three targets you want to see on the Brewers come August 4th? This can be however you want to view the trade deadline: modest pick-ups, a reasonable push, an unreasonable emptying of the farm, however YOU view the deadline.

The Brewers playing sloppy baseball? Not used to this, do not like. Zero stars.

FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Trevor Megill 11 13 0 0 0 24 Lance McCullers Jr. 0 0 0 50 0 50 Grant Anderson 0 0 8 16 0 24 Craig Yoho 12 18 0 17 0 47 Chad Patrick 21 0 34 0 12 67 Bryse Wilson 0 0 0 0 65 65 Abner Uribe 11 17 0 0 0 28 Aaron Ashby 17 0 18 0 0 35

Yesterday bit the Brewers in the butt. Shake it off, get a series win today.

It's possible, but should the Brewers be all that picky at this point? They really just need someone at the back of the rotation, they don't need Ace Freddy (if that ever really existed anyway).

Yeah, the Cubs are a natural fit for sure.

On a scale of 1-10, how funny would it be if the Brewers reacquired Freddy? THU FRI SAT SUN MON TOT Trevor Megill 0 11 13 0 0 24 Lance McCullers Jr. 0 0 0 0 50 50 Grant Anderson 0 0 0 8 16 24 Craig Yoho 0 12 18 0 17 47 Chad Patrick 0 21 0 34 0 55 Bryse Wilson 0 0 0 0 0 0 Abner Uribe 0 11 17 0 0 28 Aaron Ashby 0 17 0 18 0 35

This was a writers only vote, the next public vote will follow the trade deadline. Ranked ProspectsJesus MadeLuis PenaLuis LaraCooper PrattAndrew FischerJosh AdamczewskiBraylon PayneBlake BurkeJeferson QueroJett WilliamsMarco DingesTyson HardinBrady EbelLuke AdamsBishop LetsonJosiah RagsdaleDylan O'RaeTrey EbelJosh KnothSawyer Strosnider

Fastball Freddy returns to MKE! WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Trevor Megill 0 0 11 13 0 24 Grant Anderson 0 0 0 0 8 8 Craig Yoho 0 0 12 18 0 30 Chad Patrick 0 0 21 0 34 55 Bryse Wilson 0 0 0 0 0 0 Abner Uribe 0 0 11 17 0 28 Aaron Ashby 0 0 17 0 18 35

Just keep winning! TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Trevor Megill 0 0 0 11 13 24 Grant Anderson 0 0 0 0 0 0 Craig Yoho 0 0 0 12 18 30 Chad Patrick 0 0 0 21 0 21 Bryse Wilson 0 0 0 0 0 0 Abner Uribe 0 0 0 11 17 28 Aaron Ashby 0 0 0 17 0 17

Jack and Spencer react to the Lance McCullers Jr. trade and recap the Brewers' selections in this year's draft. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View full article

Watch the Brewers somehow magically get a 3.40 ERA from McCullers down the stretch.

As we cruise into the All-Star break, Jason Wang and Jake McKibbin look back on how the season has gone and what to expect in the second half. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View full article