BrewerFan

That trade makes sense. Rodriguez is a really nice prospect. There's some Victor Robles comps there, but I think he'll hit for a higher average. Robles as an actual big leaguer, not as a prospect obviously. Small is the type of guy that teams like the Nats should be looking at. Long list of left handed starters without big velo who take a while to get going. And Urias has been worth nearly 7 WAR the previous two seasons?

Great article on Jackson. Sounds like he was a little immature(just leaving the game 35 minutes...I'm skeptical THAT was the whole reason he was dismissed from the team, particularly after explaining yourself and...presumably apologizing). But 20 year old kids ARE immature. It also sounds like this kid has a nice arm, a LOT of projectability at 6'5 180 and already and...who knows? There are how many stories about guys drafted past rd 20 who had great careers? Smoltz, Pettite, Oswalt, Kenny Rogers. We've had plenty of guys have success who weren't drafted or who we found out of the Indy leagues. He has a chance and you gotta love the Brewers scouring every source to try and find talent...though I just think what that 40K could have been used for the big league club in Free Agency!

Are you the reason I caught heat for NOT putting "David Stearns sabotaged the Brewers," while praising him for how he built this system, particularly the LA additions? Or should I just assume this is meant to be in blue? I mean...otherwise, what the heck are you talking about? That package may not get you Garcia and Morrobel, how in the hell is that gonna bring back MAYBE the best hitter in baseball this year AND a top 5 pitcher? Oh, yeah, and a guy who's going to make you a ton of money just because he's associated with your team? Edit-Oh...and IF they can't work out a deal? The Man is probably going to command close to Mark Attanasio's entire net worth...there's not an "if" there.

Well, yeah, you may very well be right over the next 3-4 years, but right now...the O's do have a ridiculous amount of young talent in that farm system. I'm just as confident as you about the next 3-4 years, but there's a lot of projection while Baltimore has...what, 6 top ~60 position player prospects and a few in the top 30. I have no opinion on Salas beyond...great year at low A for a 17 year old who seems to be advanced defensively. Never seen him. If he becomes a superstar...well, good for whatever team the Pads trade him to. Side Note-If the Pads were run like the Brewers...they would PROBABLY have a huge window to win right now. They've dumped soo much talent and they keep finding it. It's like if Tampa Bay was stupid, impatient and spent money poorly. I want to see a team made up of traded Padres. Bet it's better than what they've got now.

It's kinda funny...there seems to be more negative sentiment toward the Brewers average fans(likely due to the poor batting averages, the Hader trade) but they have NEVER been run as well as this in terms of just being ahead of the curve. Scouting LA, their approach to the draft, the way they find pitching. A lot of that is just...trial and error and they'll miss on guys like Guerra or maybe Yeager(we'll see...did he have TJ surgery). Anyway, they still find Payamps, Peguero. But the truly exciting thing is the up the middle talent in the lower levels. This is why the trade deadline could be exciting, but also makes me a little nervous. I don't want to see Guillarte thrown into a deal valued as a "lottery ticket," ala Freddy Peralta. That may be his value, but we've seen enough from him to know that his upside is pretty impressive. Lara has the most value among those(who are trade eligible) so I guess if you value him as a top ~125-150 prospect...then I guess(have to give something up to get something). And then these are the other prospects likely to be traded. The guys who are "MLB ready," or very close to it, but who look like they could be major parts of our next core. As for the run prevention and how important it is, but isn't part of that because we don't score much? In any event, there's a happy medium. Black has looked REALLY good at 3B fielding the ball. He doesn't have that Anderson arm, but we're not talking about Hiura at 2B here. And Black could also play 1B. I cannot articulate how little I care about a 1B with a .600 SLG. If you have a 1B hitting .275/385/475, AND he can be a 20/40 guy? I'll take that any day. Plus I have to believe his defense would be close to elite at 1B. For a guy who can cover ground at 3B and the only real concern is his arm strength, I know it's not easy to move to 1B, but I think he'd be fine. If we trade a guy like Black, it has to be for an IMPACT player. Not "just" a reliever unless it's...Emmanuel Clase(which we know isn't happening).

I don't understand why he was kept on the 40, but they just wanted nothing to do with Pannone? He seemed like a capable...what, 9th starter and nice AAA filler. He didn't opt out, we just cut him.

I feel like this is just an argument you made...perhaps when Arcia didn't become a star(though he became a 2+ WAR player for us, which is EXACTLY what you'd rather have). Is this something you ACTUALLY believe? Does seeing Wander Franco for the Rays or Juan Soto, Tatis Jr, HALF of the players in WAR in MLB(position players) from Latin America, that...means nothing to you? So what'll change your mind? How about if Chourio and Quero are just 3 WAR players(lets say neither end up as good as projected right now)? Would that do it? Or is this a situation where you're going down with the ship irrespective of the mountains and mountains of evidence that run contrary to this...argument you're making.

It does(belong to the Os IMO), but they're graduating so many guys...still a few yet this year most likely while the Brewers have a really nice young core of guys in the lower levels who are I think will step up into that top 100-150 range in the next year before Quero, Chourio and a couple others graduate. Baltimore made the mistake of investing money into the LA market though... What are they thinking? They could have signed...a veteran MiLB free agent for that! Probably two of them...now they just have a silly top 100 catcher hitting well in A ball at 18. Obvious sarcasm, but I'm not a fan of the blue. I can't really read it with the black backdrop...

Well...on top of that, THEY'RE ALSO HITTING STATESIDE! As are several other players like Lara, Gullarte.... It's also worth noting when Stearns took over, they were handicapped by the Lara signing. They could only spend 300K in '16 and '17 I believe. Maybe it was '15 and '16, doesn't matter. Point is, they were not able to because they went for ONE big name...which is not a great strategy.

This is just comically short sighted and literally the WORST thing the Brewers could do. For the price of a 2 WAR OFer each year, the Brewers are starting to churn out elite Latin American prospects, one after another...and you think we'd be better off with what? Another reliever instead? HALF of the Brewers top 30 prospects are Latin American. The Brewers system would be the worst in Baseball without investing in Latin America. I really don't know how you can look around Baseball and seriously say with a straight face that spending ~10M a year at the MLB level is worth more than that. Chourio HIMSELF is worth ~100M in Surplus Value HIMSELF. The "cash strapped" teams are the ones who need to sign players like Abner Uribe for 85K more than anything else. The Rays...Wander Franco, Yandy Diaz....hell, 7 of their everyday players are LA signings. And they've traded away the likes of Willy Adames for a starting pitcher. The MAIN reason they've been competitive is because of their LA facilities and scouting. This is an example of not understanding the changes the Brewers have made and grossly overstating the cost relative to MLB FAs. Look at the team we JUST played. Of the top prospects? They 100% would NOT be better without half of their top prospects, that's...ludicrous and not worth really debating...so I'm not sure why I did, but I'm not going to any further....beyond to say, did you see Chourio and Quero, the two young phenoms in AA? Chourio with a MISSLE to the deepest part of the park and a double tonight and Quero 2-4. Fits in BEAUTIFULLY with Black in that lineup and in Milwaukee moving forward!

If he makes it clear he won't re-sign, I don't think he will. If he leaves the possibility open in internal talks? It's not kosher, but maybe. Trout and Ohtani having their biggest AB and innings pitched in the WBC is a tragedy for MLB. The Angels seem like they've been after quick fixes for so long to get to the playoffs...and even when things go well, like this year, it all falls apart with a 1-10 stretch up to and right after the ASB. But if you see the Dodgers and everything they've done to get under the luxury tax this year(even with Bauer)...I could see them trying to deal away a guy like Chris Taylor, attach a nice prospect with him, get under the luxury tax and if that happens, that's a CLEAR cut sign to me they're going all in on Ohtani next year. With all their prospects coming up, they could build around him nicely. Spend next year, get back into the 275-280 range, under the Cohen tax, but at Ohtani and a bat or...maybe even Hader and let the young guys fill in as they're ready as they've been doing forever. Seattle is a longshot, but they've got a big Japenese fan base. The Yankees obviously and then the Mets may just throw 700M at him over 12 years and blow the competition away. But my money is on LAD. You could write a novel on all the possible Ohtani outcomes(I think I just did).

They've never had a player like Ohtani who they were in danger of losing for nothing. They've lost 9 of 10. There's a reason they're suddenly not saying they're open to trading him. It's because it's the only rational decision they can make.

Expecting a guy people are REGULARLY referring to as the GREATEST player ever...and then getting a huge headstart on re-signing him to the biggest, most well known team in American sports isn't worth a couple top 50 prospects and a top 100? The Yankees...who don't have a bad farm system BTW, it's just not as good having graduated a couple of elite players off it like Volpe, Peraza and others. The Yankees would have to go Volpe, Dominguez, Beeter, Wells and then if I'm the Angels, I'm trying to put Rendon into the deal. they pay his salary this year and next and then they're done. But no WAY do I think a deal like Frelick, Black, Small and Lara get it done. 2 top 50 and three top 100 MIGHT be a bit much, but Frelick is probably closer to 50 right now, Black gets pushed out of top 100 with the signings. Lara is undervalued at this point, not having played above A and Small? Small is a guy you're HOPING just happens to figure it out and can EVENTUALLY develop into a Wood type pitcher. A hope that's fading at the moment. A team is gonna have to give up at LEAST one difference making prospect IMO and then 3-4 others who vary from top 30 to top 100-again, before the draft signings are factored in.

Yeah. You're getting '08 CC and a '04 Carlos Beltran type player all in one. Or if you want to stick with that 2008 season, CC+Mark Texiera who hit like .360 and was huge for the Angels(and then cost us Trout because he signed with the damn Yankees). A Randy Johnson, Curt Schilling. Max Scherzer and Trea Turner may be the closest in real life, but...he is unprecedented. It's more than just the on field play. I'd bet half a season of him would be HUGE for any fan base. Speaking of which, I wonder how much money he generates for a team? I've seen it's ~30-40M in the interest he brings. I'd have to imagine that could be even higher in a smaller market like Milwaukee. So you could pay him 60M a year and he's WELL worth it...so long as he stays healthy. That's not a "lets do a Bobby Bonilla type deal and defer 40M a year for 40 years," type suggestion, just a passing thought. IF he was actually interested in coming, I wonder how much it'd actually cost the Brewers after you factor in added revenue as a result?

He's one of the guys I wanted to see added on that top 20 list. I am just so excited about the young talent. It's just coming in waves. Franklin Rodriguez, Lara, Yophery and that's after the top 6-7 CF prospects we've got!

93-94 but relies on the slider...from what I've read.

Yes, thank you. I think Rodriguez *MIGHT be out next guy to really break out...but he's off to an excellent start in any event.

LOL...I'm just picturing him interviewing with the stuffy Northwestern Administration in that Bayou accent! And I agree, it wouldn't be a great fit based on the school and the region. I might have misinterpreted your meaning with the 'only coming from one side,' and they're too smart for that as a more general indictment on his coaching ability.

Yeah, use it to take out a loan. And now you're in a small market repaying a ~500M loan vs letting Nashville, an affluent city that was already bigger than Milwaukee as a market and growing faster than any other city, build one for you. I don't want to become the Milwaukee Sounds and watch AAA Baseball. Hell, I feel like I did that growing up as it was. Selig, Kohl, they were loyal to Milwaukee. They made a lot of money, but they made staying part of the sale. These owners, I doubt the City of Milwaukee is their priority. I wish they'd just kept the 5 county tax going to pay for all this. It didn't bother me in the least bit and it kept them around...

True...but Evers already wanted to fund the stadium, the GOP didn't NOT want to give them money, they thought the money should come with a longer lease agreement. So to oversimplify the situation, it seems like both sides agree on funding it, but...they each gotta win. If nothing else, it suggests to me this will get solved eventually when both sides can claim a victory. Just wish John Menard was a big baseball fan rather than racing. Get us a guy worth 10-20 billion and this wouldn't be an issue. Hell, we could extend Burnes, Woodruff...I was thinking Ohtani as well, but doubt he wants to give away half his total net worth on one player!

If he's upset, it's his fault. He did the Cards a huge favor by opting in. If he'd have opted out, he likely gets more money and the Rockies are off the hook for the additional 20M I believe for opting in? I'd have thought when he opted in, he would have at least gotten an extension from the Cards. Not a long one by any means, but at least tack on a year for saving them money both bidding against other teams and for the money the Rockies were chipping in. That trade was a steal for the Cards and baffling for the Rockies. But as has been pointed out, they "operate in their own little world."

So they could still give Letson almost 675K in this hypothetical to stay under the 5%? Letson would be the perfect cherry on top to this draft.

LOL...no, absolutely nothing like Perez. First of all, I don't know which is more ridiculous, calling Perez a "waste of resources," or comparing him to Chourio. And he was never "the next big prospect." He was ONE player people talked about MAYBE becoming the next big prospect...and then he didn't while Chourio did. One actually produced and the other is STILL just a 20 year old and still young for his league, but he hasn't produced. The Brewers have only recently built facilities and become players in the IFA market. What, 2017 after penalties for Lara? But I'm really not sure how Chourio and Perez get mentioned in the same sentence when talking about return on investment. De La Cruz is 22 months older than Chourio. He was hitting .269/.305/.477/.782 and 5 HRs at the same age as Chourio...but he was in Low A. Go and take a look at the top prospects and see how do jumping to AA? Chourio is maintaining his prospect status and more than holding his own. I'm genuinely curious what would make some people happy if they look at Chourio and Quero and say "complete waste of resources."

Yeah, no prospect has a "floor" of an All-Star. Especially at catcher. We had a guy not that long ago who was pretty young for AA...he was putting up a .360/.415/.560/.975 line. He had a huge arm. Not as polished defensively, but had big time tools. We ended up with an AS Catcher from the team he was on, but it wasn't him. Angel Salome asked to move to the OF due to anxiety IIRC and Lucroy who everyone slept on became an AS. That doesn't mean anything for Quero other than...we're jumping the gun quite a bit saying the WORST case is that he's an All Star in the future.

I like Orgeron, but the way you're saying this makes me think you don't think he's a good coach? I have no idea if he is or not, can't say that I watch any of his teams that closely. Seems like he's done a good job taking over talented team. USC, obviously his run at LSU was great...but that he was fired so quickly after is telling. I guess...he had been there for 3 years by then, so it was kind his team. I have watched Leonhard though and I think he'd have been great at UW in a similar way to how Fitz was great at NU. He probably couldn't have elevated them, but Fitzgerald kept them about as competitive as a program with those restraints would allow for. Leonhard would likely have gotten UW back to a double digit win team pretty regularly. I just never would have imagined a combo like Fickel and Longo coming in here. On LaFleur? Nah, I'm happy with him. At least what I've seen. We haven't really seen his whole offense yet, but I think it's been pretty good so far. He's had talent, but he's also had some obstacles. Meanwhile that defense has roughly 19 first round picks(actually 8 that should start) and the last two years it's taken half a year and MLF to publicly comment about how they need to play more aggressive before they start...occasionally playing less than 8 yards off the ball. Though they go back to that in the biggest spots! I was surprised Barry wasn't fired last year. But don't wanna go too deep into Packers talk here.