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1. The Brewers will not get Seager from the Dodgers. Not only is he one of the best prospects in the game right now, he fills a need there, at third base. Juan Uribe will be gone after this season, and Seager will slide right in. 2. Yes, I have thought about Gomez for the Mets. They have arms, they need to make sure they have enough in the lineup to get it done. Carlos has to get back and get hot, but he will. Carlos will have plenty of value, he's a great player, who is signed beyond this season.

Sure it is, Plush, when you've got the coaching staff comparing the player's raw skills - favorably - to a current major league player at the same position - you can't tell me there were 1200 players available for that draft who have a better chance to succeed than this player has as a catcher. Leal could miss, he could be out of baseball in two years for all we know, his future success isn't obvious, but I'll stick with my statement. In a 40-round draft, someone should have grabbed this kid, with the intention of finding out whether he could make it as a catcher.

I remember when this happened. The A's had been the best team in baseball in the early to mid 70s, but they had a terrible owner, who let the whole team leave via free agency, leaving a AAA roster out there. Attendance disappeared, and the team started threatening to move to Denver. Oakland is still battling for a stadium, etc, all this time later.

St Louis' farm system isn't as deep as it was a couple of years ago, but it's still solid, with some good pitching. When talking about whether the Brewers would deal within the division, sending Lohse out this year isn't a big deal, because it's only for this year, perhaps the better question is - what would the Cardinals send here, knowing that player would be with the Brewers for a while? My first thought is, the starting pitching prospects are what would interest the Brewers, but then, if I'm the Cardinals, do I want to send a young starter up here? We need to hope Lohse pitches like his old self going forward, and we need to hope there is pressure on St Louis, or we're probably looking at the sort of return that doesn't scare the other guys.

This is funny, the day before Wainwright got hurt, I called a good friend who is a Cardinals diehard, and told him Lohse would be their guy when someone gets hurt. He laughed it off, saying they wouldn't need a pitcher this year - guess again. If Lohse pitches well going forward, I think this makes great sense. It depends on how quickly St Louis decides to make a move, if they go the trade route, right now there aren't many teams who will be willing to trade someone they'd want. The longer they wait, the more teams they'll have to talk to.

I'm with Crew07 on this, I'd leave Coulter where he is for the full season, and I'd leave Roache there at least for the first half. Roache had not met expectations to this point, let him have some success, if he stays hot, he can hit AA in July.

The closer you get to the scouting/drafting process, the more you realize how much room there is for improvement. In Leal's case, whatever happens from here, he obviously should have been drafted as a catcher, and he obviously should have gone much higher than round 34. Even if he never sees the big leagues, this is a prospect, not a novelty, and the entire industry missed it. Specific to the Brewers, the pitching thing was a failed experiment, but at least they have him. Even in this very small sample - you're telling me not one team viewed Leal as a viable prospect at catcher? The draft system badly needs to be simplified. Cut it to 25 rounds - the teams only sign that many of their picks in the first place. Have the players declare for the draft, like every other sport, so you know which kids to focus on, and get all the, "this guy was drafted three years ago" nonsense out of the room. Right now, you're telling scouts, "We're going to draft 1200 players, but we're only going to sign 750 of them - don't waste our time, but don't miss anyone. Ready. Set. Go. Get all over the U.S., up to Canada, and down to Puerto Rico, but don't worry about anywhere else, oh, and there won't be any medicals on these players until after the draft." Seriously? A multi-billion dollar industry can do better than that.

Betts is definitely more advanced as a hitter than he is as a catcher, but scouts seem to think he'll stay behind the plate. According to, "they", Betts will go somewhere around pick #20, what I don't know is - what do Milwaukee's scouts think of him? Picking in the middle of the round makes a team something of a wildcard - does someone fall to them, do they like someone more than other teams do - like they did with Medeiros last year? With this being Montgomery's first draft here, does he bring a blueprint that he sticks to? I think Betts belongs on the list of possibilities for Milwaukee, with at least five or six other players. While I expect the first round to be dominated by pitchers, the Brewers' pick looks like it may align with more bats than arms. Betts, Ian Happ, Trenton Clark, Nick Plummer, Daz Cameron, Alex Bregman - depending on who's left when they pick, and who the Brewers like, any of those young men could tour Miller Park this summer. Pitching is unique this year, not just in its quantity, but also when it comes to health. Not only are there the two headliners with the Tommy John issue, but Kolby Allard has had a back injury, and a couple of other projected first rounders have had the ever popular, "strained lat." Pitchers will go early, but it's possible someone surprising is there when Milwaukee picks...its been a weird year in that regard.

OK, here's my deal for the Padres... They've paid James Shields, and traded for both Uptons, Matt Kemp, Craig Kimbrel and Wil Myers, in doing so they traded their five highest rated pitching prospects - this is what we call, "going for it." They're playing to win, obviously, and they need Segura, just as obviously. The Brewers need young talent, obviously, and the time has come to rebuild, just as obviously. The Padres are trying to win the division, so the Brewers should try to win the deal - a couple of the Padres' best prospects are currently blocked at the MLB level. For Segura, I want catcher, Austin Hedges, outfielder, Rymer Liriano, and a pitcher like Cory Mazzoni or Elliot Morris. Hedges is a defensive stud, he Honest to God has a chance to become the best defensive catcher in the league. The question is, will he hit enough to play every day in the big leagues? I think he will. Hedges is not going to be a stud with the bat, but I think he'll hit .260, with a low 700s OPS, and 10-12 HR per year. Liriano is an outfielder with plenty of potential, he has 20/20 tools, and a good arm. He should be available because the Padres brought in four veteran outfielders over the off-season - there's no spot for him. He's also missed a full season following Tommy John surgery, and he has to prove he's not going to play himself into a fourth outfielder role by chasing too many pitches. The pitchers I mentioned are in the, "might make it - might not" category. At best, either of them is a #4 starter, with a bullpen role seeming to be the more likely for either of them. San Diego has Derek Norris at catcher, under control for three more seasons beyond this one. They can afford to deal Hedges. San Diego has Justin Upton, Matt Kemp, Wil Myers and Melvin Upton in the outfield. They can afford to deal Liriano. San Diego is well past the point of no return, their farm system has been scattered in the wind in recent months - a pitcher like I've mentioned in the deal shouldn't stop them at this point. The key is Segura's play - he looked amazing at this time two years ago, then he fell off with the bat, and stayed off. We know he can field, and we know he can run, if his hitting issues are behind him, and he keeps playing the way he is right now, he's an outstanding all-around player, under team control for three more seasons, at a premium position. He also happens to play a position the Padres have not adequately addressed yet. San Diego is already going for it - I think the Brewers should too. This is what I want, and time is on Milwaukee's side. The Padres need to upgrade at shortstop, they've come too far to go with what they have, and the Brewers' season is already a mess. We can keep running Segura out there, we're not going anywhere - the Padres are the ones with motivation to move in this case.

I don't want to trade Segura either, but the team clearly needs new talent, and (go figure) three of the best young players they've got all play the same position. You've got to give to get, and right now, SS is a position of strength to deal from - if the Brewers can get a strong return for Segura, they have to take it seriously. No team has ever had too many good pitchers or catchers, and the team could certainly use a corner infielder or corner outfielder at the top of the system right now. The bad news is, the big club is a complete failure right now, the good news is, if they want to, they could completely reshape the 40-man by the end of the calendar year.

Hedges is outstanding defensively, no one doubts that, and before last year he looked like he'd become an acceptable hitter, but last year he was an automatic out. It's weird, Hedges' OPS was always in the 700s until he got to San Antonio...where he just stopped hitting. He's off to a good start with the bat this season, so who knows? He's never going to be a difference-maker with the bat, but he should be with the glove - IF he can hold his own as a hitter, he's a guy you want.

MLB Network reports Hamilton will be traded this weekend, it looks like he's going back to the Rangers.

Don't feel sorry for Bob, I'm sure he doesn't feel sorry for himself. Ueck got to play in the major leagues, he has a World Series ring as a player, he's done TV, movies, Miller Lite commercials, and a book, while doing what he loves for decades. That's an amazing life - nobody gets it all.

For years, the Brewers didn't pay much attention down there, but in the last few years, they've put a lot more effort into international players. You'll notice, they gave more than three million dollars to a young man last year....what was, is not what is.

Nodak, that's right, MLB does not allow teams to trade draft picks - they're experimenting with it, by allowing teams to trade their, "Competitive Balance Picks" right now.

I was just looking through my latest mock draft. I have an early run on pitching, a cluster of position players in the area where the Brewers pick, and then another run on pitching, which resulted in just nine bats going in the first round, to 17 pitchers. Am I way off on this, or is a ratio like that actually possible this time around?

OK, OK...we're all beating up on the Brewers, and thinking of new, creative ways to beat up on the Brewers - hey, why not pay some attention to the kids in the minors, and the upcoming draft? viewtopic.php?f=69&t=32016&p=937546#p937546

BEHOLD! My mock draft update... http://www.baseballintheblood.com/?p=1185

Patrick, I thought about mentioning Cameron as a possibility for the Brewers, but I'm still stuck on all of the projections that had him in the top 5-10 picks. Do you have any idea why he's slid a bit?

Austin, I like Chris Betts, he's one of several players who may fit where the Brewers pick, and I agree, adding a good catcher to the system is never a bad idea. The catcher you're thinking of from last year is Max Pentecost. There were rumors that Milwaukee might have interest in him, but Toronto picked him a few spots ahead of the Brewers. In the first 100 picks, the Brewers picks are...15, 40, 55 and 90, so yes, they should be able to add some good talent to the system. The Brewers got much more aggressive, abandoning, "safe picks", instead taking players with higher upside, but less polish in the last two drafts, which certainly added some fun potential to the mix. With a new scouting director at the helm this year, we'll all learn something when Milwaukee's picks come up. I think there will be more pitchers than hitters picked ahead of the Brewers this year, and with Brady Aiken and Mike Matuella both being fresh off, "Tommy John", some unexpected things could happen. If you want some arms to watch for the Brewers, check out Phil Bickford, Mike Nikorak, Kyle Cody, maybe Carson Fulmer. For bats, I do like Betts, also Ian Happ, Nick Plummer, or Trenton Clark. If you want a wildcard, watch Alonzo Jones.

While you're at it, would you mind finding injuries with Garza and Peralta too? I wouldn't stop sending Lohse out there just yet, but given the current disaster that is the Brewers, I can understand the question.

Josh, that's great news! Do you happen to know, did he ask for the position switch, or did the Brewers suggest catching to him?

Josh, that's an excellent article, I encourage everyone to read it - it's Jeremy Jeffress discussing Josh Hamilton, and what it's like to live as an addict.

A pile of hits in the first few games, and he's thrown out four of the first five who have attempted to steal.

My source on this is right there, "in the room", trying to help the young man - either he has been completely misled, which would make no sense, or this is what's going on.