Matt Breen

It doesn't list the birthplaces of all the Helena guys, but there are 10 from Latin America (most of the DR), one from Nigeria and one from England.

I'm excited to get the Helena guys playing. Should be fun to see some of the younger guys like Demi.

No, totally get it. Like I said, I thought the same thing. I was just amazed how good of a hitter Overbay was in the minors. Obviously, that translated to the big leagues. It would be interesting if Cooper could somehow improve his strength a little - just add a modicum of pop to his repertoire.

The one thing about the robot ump that is really appealing is consistency (assuming an automated system would be consistent). Batters aren't thrilled at times by calls made, but at least they learn over the course of the game what to expect. I just hate when the ump changes - calling the low strike one inning, then making it a ball the next.

I think Moncada is going to be a beast of a player. He's not small - 6'2" and 205 lbs. He walks a ton (.400 OBP in his minor league career), gets a ton of xbh (43 doubles, 6 triples and 11 HR in 530 ABs thus far). Add in 85 SB in his career, and he's pretty fascinating. He just has the potential to a far more dangerous hitter than most middle infielders. He's never going to approach a guy like Arcia defensively, but offensively, he has a lot more potential. All that said, they'll both be very valuable players. I'd love to have them both, but they are very different.

I have always been big fan of Norris. I advocated for trading for him last year. However, he's not been particularly good this year at AAA, so his value is probably lower than it was prior to this year (not to mention the cancer scare he had - which really shouldn't hurt him, but it probably worries some people). I'd pass on Moya. Good power, but he strikes out a ton and doesn't walk. He has walked roughly 5% of the time in the minors - that's brutal - and probably will be worse in the majors. To me he profiles as Chris Carter without the walks. That's not a good thing. McCann is just a guy. Backup catcher type. He doesn't walk much, doesn't hit much, solid receiver. I'd be fine taking him back so we can fill the spot, but it's not like they are doing us a big favor. If you want something to happen, you'd have to start with Norris and Beau Burrows - the Tigers top pick in the 2015 draft. Burrows' has got a big arm, and pitching well at A ball in 2016 (1.99 ERA in 50 IP) after doing great in rookie ball last year (28 IP, 1.61 ERA, 33K). He's only 19, so very raw, but he has some quality upside. Here's his stats thus far: http://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.cgi?id=burrow000bea Like I said, I always liked Norris. I think he has #2 potential, so I'd love to get him. But you'd need more, in my opinion, for Lucroy. Detroit is so thin in prospects, so they may balk at giving up so much pitching - but if they want Luc, they'd have to pay the price. They did add Matt Manning in the draft, so perhaps they'd be willing to make the leap. Who knows.

I saw the play and, honestly, Crawford made a great play (as others have noted). Flores hesitated slightly, but a ball hit behind him is going to get him to 3B the vast majority of the time. The shift does present an issue - old rules may not always apply and teams need to be smart. In this case, I think Flores is safe most of the time by going. He did the right thing. Just a great play by Crawford.

Prince Fielder is hitting .199 with 5 HR and a .589 OPS. He had an .841 OPS last year, so you have to wonder if there's an injury or something happening. Or did he just fall off a cliff talent-wise? He's owed roughly $96M from 2017-20 ($24M is covered by the Tigers). That's still $18M a year for the Rangers to cover. If he truly is done, that's pretty brutal. It's about on par with the 5 year extension the Phillies gave Howard. That was a fiasco.

Crawford is a good player.

I thought the same thing, then I looked up Overbay. That guy just crushed minor league pitching. He hit .340 in his minor league career - and showed more pop than Cooper. Cooper has a .296 BA in his minor league career. Solid, but nothing great. If only he had a little more power.

Yep. you are correct.

I asked about Lewis to a baseball writer I know, and here was his perspective: - From reports he heard, Lewis wasn't that impressive in some of the pre-draft workouts. - He played in the Southern Conference, which doesn't have that great of competition. So some of the numbers he put up have to be taken in context of the league he played in. - There is concern about his strikeouts. He had a high strikeout rate, even against weaker competition, a red flag to some evaluators. The writer said "the Victor Roache comparisons aren't that far off". Obviously, Lewis isn't coming off a broken leg, so the injury issue was huge for Roache. But the worry is that he's only an average athlete - not a great one - who will get eaten up against better competition. I stress that this was more of a conversation about why we didn't pick him - so we focused on his faults. You don't get drafted in the top 10 without having lots of positives.

This is a strategy that would be something a money rich team could do -- it's similar to what clubs employ with the international signings. If you could sign - as suggested - 10 players who were 1st round talents, it would be a great way to load up a farm system very quickly. Yes, it's going to cost plenty. So if it costs $30-35M, it'll ultimately cost you $60M or so. But you just got 10 1st round picks added to your system in one year. That's an incredible haul. I think the strategy would work best for a team that's actually pretty good - that way when they give up their next two 1st round picks, it's not like you're missing out on Bryce Harper or someone like that. One issue would be other clubs recognizing what you are doing, and they start drafting those good players you want (with no intention of signing them). If you end up only being able to draft four or five first round talents, then it might not be worth it to you. The other issue would be that if you could draft ten 1st round talents, you still have to lure them out of their college commitments. The kid has already turned down $2 million or $3 million by letting the world know he's going to college. That means you need to give him more - maybe another million or two million - each kid will likely be different. It might cost a lot more than $30M to sign them all. It could be $40M - plus the extra penalty. Ultimately, you have to have the extra money, be willing to accept the lose of the two future picks, and then actually pull off drafting that many 1st round talents. PS - I've seen this suggested before in other articles. The feeling is that a team like the Yankees or Red Sox or Dodgers could pull it off. The Sox spent $70M on Moncada - one guy. So why not do the same for 10 first rounders.

I wish they had put him at Biloxi. It would have done him good to get out of the FSL.

Arroyo is interesting, but nothing amazing. If he could show a little more selectivity, it would really enhance his stock. The guy just doesn't walk very often. I read where he might profile best as a 3B. But he doesn't hit for much power (at least at this time).

I think we are going to see some significant movement in the mid-season poll. Quite a few upper level guys having tough years coupled with some of the younger guys making some strong steps will produce some shake ups. It's tough to see guys like Taylor and Coulter - former #2 and #3 in our original community poll - potentially dropping out of the list all together.

Cooper goes yard twice yesterday. He's 25 years old, hitting .313 at AA. Time to move him to AAA and see what happens.

I don't think this team is particularly good, so I'm not expecting a lot the next month, and I certainly don't think we are going to fool anyone (including our GM) that we are competing for the Wild Card. But I'd love to see guys progress. If Davies or Anderson or whomever gets shelled every time they go out on the mound, it's not helping us long term. I want Davies to prove he can be a solid member of the rotation. I want Perez to show he can keep hitting. I want Broxton to show he can be a major leaguer. If guys do good, we'll win our share of games. That's a sign that players like Davies and Anderson or whomever are stepping up and making themselves part of our next winning club. I'm less concerned about guys like Nieuwenhuis , Presley, Torres or Aaron Hill - I know what those guys are. They aren't part of the future, so I'm not so concerned about how they perform. In the end, I don't think we are good enough to win a lot games. But it's a tough stretch and it'll be a good challenge for the players.

I will probably just keep it at 25. My main concern is that some people just don't go that deep regarding the minor league players, and I don't want to discourage participation. Plus, 30 guys means more work tabulating results, writing up blurbs on more guys, etc. Of course, this me doing things. If someone wants to take over and run things differently, I'm okay with that.

Brewers next 24 games leading up the all star break include 22 games against teams with winning records, including the Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals and Nats (we play 2 games against the A's as well). All four of those teams are either winning their division or in second place. 15 of the 24 games are on the road. We've inched within 3 games of .500, but this upcoming stretch is going to be a killer. We're certainly better than we were a couple of months ago, but it's going to be pretty harsh. Let's hope the guys just can come out still standing when all is said and done.

This was the best option. Wily isn't pitching well. Simple as that. We need to see where Garza is. The other guys don't deserve to be sent down.

Indians have some nice talent, but they are reportedly reluctant to deal their top guys. Still, a couple of guys like Clint Frazier and Brady Aiken would be nice additions. Mets have an okay system right now, but no one is really outstanding looking. Smith, Cecchini, Nimmo - all solid prospects, but nothing great. No arms either - which is something team might prioritize going forward. We would have to take Matz or Wheeler as a centerpiece, but with Matz's success, he would be hard to part with. Wheeler would only offer 3 years of control (plus whatever he pitches this year), plus he's coming off an injury, so there's some risk. I just don't know if anything really works. Sox have some nice looking young guys. Moncada is probably untouchable, but something around Devers and Anderson Espinoza might work. At times, I'm wary about Red Sox prospects, because I think the hype machine (Gammons, etc.) pumps up their value. Angels farm system is abysmal. White Sox is pretty bad too. There's really no great prospect I'd want for Luc in either system. Yanks have some decent guys I'd take back, but no one that great. Like Boston, I am wary of Yankee prospects because they sometimes get overhyped. Still, Mateo looks like a quality SS, and Sanchez looks like a decent catcher. Rangers match up with guys like Tate, Brinson, Ortiz and Gallo. Gallo would be fascinating, but I have a feeling the Rangers are going to move him to 1B at some point to replace Moreland/Fielder black hole. I really liked Tate coming out of college, but his results this year are mixed. I'd be wary of Ortiz due to his weight, but he's looking like a good pitcher. Like the White Sox, the Giants don't have much in the way of prospects. Unless they get third team involved, I don't know if anything works with them. Tampa could build something around Snell and/or Adams. I liked Honeywell a lot as well, but he's hurt now. Not sure of his status. Luc would be perfect for them, but I just don't see them coughing up a couple of their top prospects. It's unlike them. And their record isn't great - 4 games under .500 - so adding Luc be more of a hail mary. Houston still has a nice system, but the main guy I'd want, Alex Bergman, is probably untouchable. AJ Reed and Martes have had mixed success this year, but both would be good additions - just not great ones. All in all, it's going to take some work to get things to match up. I just hope we don't settle for a package of 'okay' players. I want a stud or two coming back if we are giving up the best catcher in baseball.

I'd settle for Julio Urias from the Dodgers I'd be good with him as well. Giolito works for me too. Any of those three guys is fine.

I'll take Yoan Moncada from Boston for Luc. Of course, they won't do that. But I want it to happen, so I'm going to keep saying it to make me feel better.

But the ESPN (or whomever it is from) is that stupid.