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I'd think of college bats Happ is the most likely quickest to advance I really like Happ, in fact, I'd love it if the Brewers took him. I have this feeling the Brewers will take a pitcher now, because one way or another, a guy or two we didn't think they could get, will probably be on the board for their pick. You can't win without pitching, and you can't buy the best free agents in this market, so I would imagine the choice would be an arm if someone really stands out in the eyes of Montgomery. I honestly think Happ should go ahead of the Brewers' pick, so if he doesn't, I'd love it if Milwaukee took him. I have this lousy feeling he'll fall to St Louis, and then be a pain in the butt for years.

Johnny Cueto is getting an MRI on his elbow today, which may have significant impact on the trade market - stay tuned.

This was the case before this injury, so I don't think it's part of the plan, but the Brewers do have an open spot on the 40-man.

My latest mock - how did I do? http://www.baseballintheblood.com

They haven't said who will start yet, but Counsell alluded to having an off-day Thursday, and also said, "Maybe it's a bullpen day."

Congratulations, Mr Goforth, welcome to the big leagues! Peralta is expected to miss 4-6 weeks, with an oblique injury.

But will Friedman trade either Seager or Urias for Cueto or Hamels? I don't know, I've never seen Friedman operate in the LA market, but I can't imagine LA trading Seager, period. Would they deal Urias for Cueto - no, he's a rental, but for Hamels, yes, I could at least envision it. Hamels is signed through 2018, and the Dodgers are not the Rays, if they want more than a patch, that's the level they'll have to go to. That only happens if Hamels is the guy they want though, since there should be some excellent pitchers on the free agent market this winter. I think Lohse makes a lot of sense for LA, Garza would, but he actually presents more risk to teams, because of the guaranteed money going forward - he's got to be pitching well consistently to get teams interested, and he hasn't done that yet this season. He might, there's plenty of time, but moving Lohse should be much easier.

I could see the Dodgers going after someone like Hamels or Cueto, but I also think they need more than one pitcher to get through this season and go for the World Series. The won't get two guys at that level, so Lohse or Garza will still make sense. I think it's Lohse, because he's the quick and easy deal, with his contract ending this year. Those of you who are saying Grant Homes, I'm on the bandwagon, but if LA would part with Jose De Leon, the Brewers should not hesitate. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=deleon008jos

Hi Igor. This draft, as a whole, isn't down, but it lacks the true standout guys at the top. Here we are, within a few weeks now, and it's still anybody's guess as to who the very first pick will be, much less locking in the top five or ten. The issue was compounded by an unusually high number of injuries among the kids who are looked at as potential top 10-15 guys this time around. The guy who was picked first overall last year is back in the draft, healing from Tommy John. The guy who may have gone first overall this year is also healing from Tommy John. For example, the Braves may end up with a guy like that, because those players will slide, but if Atlanta believes in them, they could pay them like a higher pick, and come home with talent above their draft position.

For those of you who favor a total rebuild for the Brewers, take a look at what the Braves have done since the end of last season. They traded both Uptons, Craig Kimbrel, Evan Gattis, and minor leaguer Victor Reyes, they allowed Ervin Santana to leave via free agency, and they took on salary from Arizona, by dealing for Trevor Cahill. So, what does all of that mean? It means, Atlanta's farm system, which had been ranked 29th out of 30 teams, got several good young players immediately, and it means Atlanta is set up to dominate the upcoming draft. Teams are allowed to trade, "Competitive Balance Picks", which take place after round one, and after round two. Teams get compensation picks after round one, if they lose a free agent, after making him a, "qualifying offer." The Braves exploited every level, getting a comp pick, (pick 28), for losing Santana, getting a first round competitive balance pick. (pick 41), from the Padres, and getting a second round competitive balance pick, (pick 75), from Arizona. The Braves have six of the top 89 picks in this draft, which obviously gives them a chance to load up on young talent, but look deeper than that. Under the current, "slotting system", each draft pick is assigned a cash value, the team is given a pool of money to sign their picks in the first ten rounds, the amount of cash available is based on which picks you have, the higher the pick, the more cash allotted to sign the player. This means, Atlanta will not only pick a lot of players, but they will also have the money to gamble on players if they want to. If they want to take a chance on a talented pitcher who is currently injured, of if they think they can entice a kid who would otherwise enroll in college, they can do that - they can spend big to get specific players if they want to. Atlanta's work is not done, all of those picks and dollars won't mean anything if they don't draft wisely, but if they do well, they will have moved their farm system from the bottom to at least the middle in one year.

FYI, David Wright has been shut down, after a recurrence of back issues. The Mets are trying to hold on to their young talent, pending the returns of D'Arnaud and Wright, but maybe they won't be able to do that.

This one seems pretty easy to spot - will there ever be power in DeMuth's bat, or not? Dustin can certainly play this game, and he doesn't have to be a "power hitter" to make it, but he can't have zero power either.

This thread is inspired by the Kyle Lohse signing's ability to take over any thread it wants, three years after the fact. Honestly, I'm amazed by its stamina and versatility. Let's use this discussion to debate the direction of the team, the "should they or shouldn't they" side of Sabathia, Greinke, Lohse, etc. Do you never trade prospects for veterans, do you always trade star players, to stay young? I'll begin by saying, I would have done the Sabathia trade, I would have done the Marcum trade, I would have done the Greinke trade, and I support the Lohse signing. If the right offer is there, I would trade Carlos Gomez, in-season, this year. Oh, I also hated the 90s logo, I still can't believe they let Molitor leave, telling him he was a part-time player, and I also still can't believe my dad ducked and covered instead of reaching for that ball Roy White hit right at him in County Stadium in '77. (That one is still a fun topic in the family).

The draft last year should alleviate your concerns about a low-floor guy; even the year before when without a first round pick they went upside with Devin Williams and Tucker Neuhaus in the 2nd round. Even in 2012 they went upside with Roache and Coulter, and Taylor in the 2nd round. This is absolutely true, but one thing to keep in mind - Bruce Seid is gone, Ray Mongomery is in. The Brewers went with upside recently, and I think they should again this year too, but it's a new decision maker. The question is, what does Montgomery think?

A couple of things - first of all, if colbyjack says it, pay attention. Nobody's right all the time, and surprises happen in every draft, but Patrick does this for a living, for a reason. On Kolby Allard, what colby said is exactly right, he had a real shot at the top five picks before he had a stress reaction in his back, and was likely to be the first high school arm taken this year. On talent, I also believe he'll go ahead of the Brewers' pick, but the rise of guys like Harris and Jay have made it more likely somebody slides to Milwaukee. I really thought the Brewers would end up with a bat, because I thought the pitchers you, "know you want". would be gone ahead of them, leaving more bats at the top of the board when their turn comes up. There are plenty of bats who would be nice picks for Milwaukee, but now, with Harris and Jay pushing for the top ten, and Allard gaining some momentum again, somebody, Funkhouser, Allard, who knows....somebody may fall to the Brewers. One thing, on Funkhouser - he's not doing so well of late, which is why he may slide. I have no idea if there's a health issue with him, but Dylan Covey scared me off pitchers who aren't throwing as well as they had been, leading up to the draft.

Jim Callis says Kolby Allard to Milwaukee. He has Ian Happ and Phil Bickford going well after Milwaukee's pick, with Chris Betts missing round one. Take a look at where Tyler Jay is ... http://m.mlb.com/news/article/125729150/two-shortstops-headline-latest-mock-draft

Thanks Patrick. I wasn't sure how the industry saw Allard right now, after his back injury, it sounds like teams believe in him. I like Ian Happ, there was a time when I thought he might make it to the Brewers' pick, but it doesn't look like it now. I posted something about Benintendi in this thread a couple of days ago, until that time I hadn't realized how hot he had gotten. Tyler Jay is really interesting, I agree, he has a good shot at the top ten picks, and that surprises me some. He has moved himself from, "Is he a starter or a reliever?", to, "He's just plain good." Jon Harris - I'd love it, but I'll bet against it. With so many of these guys having questions around them this year, I think someone ahead of the Brewers will take him - he's just kept pitching well. I was surprised to see you list Fulmer as a guy who might make it to the Brewers' pick, I thought he was safely in the top ten. I still like Betts, I don't know what to think of Funkhouser right now, and having read your summary of Kaprielian, I'm fighting the urge to just roll my eyes and assume Milwaukee will take him.

Patrick, for the Brewers, who would you take - Kolby Allard, Kyle Funkhouser, or James Kaprielian?

Briggs, the change I would make to your list would be to list the impending free agents first, because there are fewer obstacles to a deal, aka, we'd deal 'em, and the other team wouldn't have to destroy their farm system to get 'em. Lohse Parra Broxton Ramirez Then I would say Gomez, only because I think there will be enough interest to get an offer that's hard to walk away from. Garza makes sense, but he has to pitch better, and stay healthy for once. I think he's more attractive to teams in a year, when there's less guaranteed money hanging out there. K-Rod, if he keeps pitching well, I would think that one could happen.

Whether it's for Gomez, or anyone else the Brewers have, I would not trade Syndergaard, because the Mets could say, "We'll give you Steve Matz", and the Brewers would probably make the deal. Syndergaard is better, but the Brewers don't have a pitcher who can match Matz' potential anywhere in their system right now.

Stay with it, Brewmann, I think Lohse has 5-6 more starts for the Brewers, going in late June. Lohse is pitching better, which doesn't surprise me, and he's got a good reputation as both a pitcher and a teammate - there will be interest. Some bigger name, more expensive pitchers may be traded a little later, guys like Cole Hamels, and Johnny Cueto. The teams that have those players will probably take a little longer to work out their deals, because they will be bigger and more complex. I think the Lohse trade, when it happens, will move very quickly. A team or two are ready to get an arm, Lohse is right there, quick and easy, and helpful to them...a couple of phone calls, and a trade.

I'm sure they've been open to trades for awhile now. Melvin even said himself, teams don't wanna deal this early. Gotta wait till mid-late June before anything heats up. When do you ever see trades this early in baseball? That' exactly right, it's one thing for the Brewers to say, "Make an offer", but the other teams have to make their decisions too, before anything gets done. I would bet Lohse goes in June. He's a known commodity, the trade equivalent of a "safe" draft pick. The Brewers aren't going to get someone's best prospect for Lohse, but they'll get a solid one - the more starts he makes for his new team, the better for Milwaukee. Teams need to decide, for certain, that they have the need - I'm not worried, that will happen.

Here's Haudricourt's piece on Leal... http://www.jsonline.com/sports/brewers/carlos-leal-happy-to-be-off-the-mound-and-back-behind-the-plate-b99500955z1-304016551.html

Tweet from Kiley McDaniel... Borderline unbelievable amount of scouts here for Arkansas CF Andrew Benintendi's BP. 15-20 crosschecker/director/VPs, many in top 15 picks.

Eye Black, there is no doubt, if Funkhouser falls to the Brewers, he'll get real consideration. He has been up and down a bit, but again, this is a player who was thought to be ahead of the Brewers' pick a couple of weeks ago. The crystal ball is extra cloudy this year, the concept of the "safe pick" seems a bit silly to me in a year with fewer, "sure things." Look at Tyler Jay, "Is he a starter or a reliever?", has turned into, "He'll go in the top ten." Meanwhile, Funkhouser, projected in the top ten for quite a while, may slide right on past the Brewers. EDIT: Why do I think the Brewers' pick will be criticized more than not when it is announced? With no consensus, players moving all over the place, the Brewers could easily take a guy none of us really expected.