Matt Breen

I still think there's a good chance something happens in the next week. It just takes one person to cave into our demands to make it work. It's not like there's only one team that could use Luc. He's looking good, hitting the ball well - someone will be convinced that he's good to go for 2016 and pull the trigger. If that great deal doesn't come in, we can wait. Luc will still be valuable at the deadline or next off season. I just think it'll happen sooner than later.

Nicholas Zettel is leaving Disciples of Uecker to take over Baseball Prospectus Milwaukee from JP Breen. http://milwaukee.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2016/03/21/changing-directions-at-bp-milwaukee/

Just a note: Jacob Gatewood has officially been moved from SS to 3B. http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/168258362/brewers-jake-gatewood-shifting-to-third-base

We've already got 21 ballots in - keep them coming! I appreciate everyone's participation.

Thanks everyone for getting so many submissions in already. I appreciate everyone including first names or initials. It will make things easier for me in the long run. One suggestion: could a mod put a link on the major league forum and sticky it to the top? I want to make sure everyone realizes the poll is active, and doing this has helped in the past. Thanks.

Luc went yard today. He's an exceptional player - I think someone is going to pony up what Stearns wants sooner than later.

Yes, they would. I can't believe I forgot them. I'll add them to the list above. I missed Sean Nolin as well. I added him to the intro post.

Wahooo! First list. Thanks for getting things started.

Yes, they would. I can't believe I forgot them. I'll add them to the list above.

We would like to invite everyone to participate in our 2016 Pre-Season BF.net Fan Community Top 25 Prospects voting. Lots of exciting things going on (and more likely to come). Please take time and submit on this thread your top 25 Brewer prospects. Feel free to list any resources or news that you feel might help people with their voting. Because there are so many new players - as well as players who may or may not end up in the system by the start of the season - we’re going to keep voting open until April 5 - a couple of days after the season begins. This way we’ll know about any last minute moves, especially regarding borderline prospects without options. VERY IMPORTANT: You can change your votes through April 5 - so if you want to post your list early, you are free to edit it up to the April 5 deadline. This will be important if any major trades occur (such as Lucroy getting dealt). RULES 1. Submit your Top 25 prospects, in order, by end of day on April 5. Put the player's full name to avoid any confusion (such as which Diaz you are selecting). 2. You MUST submit 25 prospects. If there are only 10 or 15 or whatever, your list will not be included. 3. You are encouraged to go beyond pick #25 - adding a few more is totally fine. That way if someone in your top 25 is traded or released, I can just bump up your next player(s) into the Top 25. 4. Rankings are determined by total points. The top prospect gets 25 points, second prospect gets 24 points, etc. 4. As noted above, if you submit your list and want to change something, just add the change to the thread. I'll accept changes up to the deadline. 5. Within a few days after the deadline, we'll publish the new BF.net Community Top 25. Eligibility questions: Rookie eligibility is determined by 50 IP or 130+ ABs at the major league level. - Ineligible players: Hernan Perez, Shane Peterson, Domingo Santana, Taylor Jungmann, Corey Knebel, Will Middlebrooks, Josmil Pinto, Jonathan Villar - Eligible players with ML experience: Tyler Cravy, Zach Davies, Ariel Pena, Wei-Chung Wang, David Goforth, Keon Broxton, Rymer Liriano, Garin Cecchini, Ramon Flores, Jorge Lopez, Michael Reed, Yadiel Rivera, Yhonathan Barrios, Adrian Houser I would encourage everyone to vote based upon the above criteria. Player Notes: - Pitchers Taylor Williams and Nathan Kirby will likely miss all of 2016 with Tommy John surgery. - We have three Diazs in this organization. If voting for Isan, Brandon or Miguel Diaz, please be clear who you are voting for. - We also have multiple Williams - Devin and Taylor. - There are also two Ortegas - pitcher Luis Ortega and pitcher Jorge Ortega. - Please comment if you know other conflicts. Newcomers to consider: - 3B Garin Cecchini (acquired from Boston for cash after being DFA) - OF Rymer Liriano (acquired from SD after being DFA) - OF Keon Broxton (acquired in Jason Rogers deal) - OF Ramon Flores (acquired in deal for Sardinas) - SS/2B Isan Diaz (acquired in the Segura deal from AZ) - C Jacob Nottingham (acquired from Oakland in Khris Davis deal) - P Bubba Derby (acquired from Oakland in Khris Davis deal) - P Carlos Herrera (acquired from Seattle in Adam Lind trade) - P Daniel Missaki (acquired from Seattle in Adam Lind trade) - P Freddy Peralta (acquired from Seattle in Adam Lind trade) - P Trey Supak (acquired in Jason Rogers deal) - 2B Javier Betancourt (acquired from Detroit for K-Rod) - 2B Colin Walsh (Rule 5 pick) - P Zach Jones (Rule 5 pick) - P Sean Nolan (Waivers from Oakland) Players lost this off season: - P Tyler Wagner (#19 in last poll) - P Cy Sneed (#24 in last poll) Brewer Prospect Rankings: MLB Pipeline Top 30 Brewers: http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2016?list=mil Baseball America Top 10 by team - http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/revised-top-10-prospects-index Miller Park Prospects Top 40 Brewers: https://millerparkprospects.wordpress.com/2016/02/08/milwaukee-brewers-top-40-prospect-rankings-4/ Minor League Ball Top 25 Brewers: http://www.minorleagueball.com/2015/12/2/9814812/milwaukee-brewers-top-20-prospects-for-2016 Fangraphs Brewer Prospects: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/evaluating-the-2016-prospects-milwaukee-brewers/ Baseball Prospectus Top 10 Brewers: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=27976 Top 100 rankings Baseball America - #8 Arcia, #49 Clark, #57 Phillips, #59 Lopez Baseball Prospectus - #12 Arcia, #66 Nottingham, #69 Phillips, #71 Lopez, #99 Clark MLB Pipeline - #6 Arcia, #32 Phillips, #57 Lopez, #61 Hader, #83 Clark Previous Polls BF.net 2015 Post-Season Top 25 - viewtopic.php?f=64&t=33436 BF.net 2015 Mid-Season Top 25 list - viewtopic.php?f=64&t=33032 BF.net 2015 Preseason Top 25 list - viewtopic.php?f=64&t=32447 BF.net August 2014 Top 25 list - viewtopic.php?f=64&t=31859 BF.net May 2014 Top 20 list: viewtopic.php?f=64&t=31355 Stats: Looking for stats? Check out this handy BF.net page: viewtopic.php?f=64&t=12293 Thanks for participating!

Rosenthal says the Rangers are still interested in Lucroy, but no talks of late: http://www.brewcrewball.com/2016/3/14/11223464/trade-rumors-teams-still-interested-in-jonathan-lucroy I still thinks someone makes a play for him in the next week, but that's just my guess.

For the Nats, I'd like Trea Turner and Erick Fedde.

Tigers would be interesting. I love Daniel Norris, even after the cancer scare, but I don't know if Detroit would be willing to deal him as (I think) they see him as a key part of their rotation. Otherwise, Michael Fulmer would be about the only guy to headline a deal. What about Fulmer and Norris for Lucroy and one of our starters (Peralta, Anderson). I'd love to add a couple of higher end pitchers to the system. I just don't know if Detroit is willing to cough up their top two high end young players.

Baseball America has story on the early success of Tennessee 3B Nick Senzel: http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/solid-showing-hot-corner-sends-senzel-draft-boards/ BA has moved him to #2 on their overall 2016 prospect list: http://www.baseballamerica.com/college/2016-top-100-draft-prospects-3/ The articles note that Senzel has made the move from 2B to 3B without any problem, but say that some scouts are concerned about how much power he will develop.

I like BA, and am happy he'll be back for a while. I guess one thing I've noticed since I've gotten MLB.tv (and I can watch the occasional non-Brewer game) is how bad so many of the announcers are. It's painful at times listening to some of these guys. I think it made me appreciate BA and Rock more.

I've read a couple of stories on Ponce where they note he's trimmed down. One article said he lost 15 lbs. Generally, I think that is probably a good thing for a guy his size (but you never know).

Kid had taken a picture of the game and sending it to his mother.

This could be avoided by setting up a strict structure of pay that's pretty much the same for everyone - such as: Year 1: $500,000 Year 2: $600,000 Year 3: $700,000 The numbers could be changed, but you get the idea. You could also offer bonuses of some kind - things like 25k for winning a Gold Glove or 20k for making the all star team - that sort of thing. Again, the idea is to set up a basic structure that all players adhere to. Then there's no 'negotiations' in the pre-arby years. Everyone knows exactly what they will be making. This means that players all make the same these first 3-4 years - but with a myriad of bonuses a player could receive, that would allow a player who does well to make some extra cash. Just an idea.

Shrug. Every year there is a player or two who do this.

Garza has 2 years on his contract left at $25M total. Last year, his walk rate, strike out rate, HRs allowed rate, ERA and WHIP were the worst (or second worst) of his career. He was pretty awful. Garza is 32, and players fall off cliffs sometimes, and he may be one of those guys. I don't really know. In my opinion, no rebuilding team is going to want the guy - he's not a future part of your next winning team. And no team with hopes of contending would want him either (at this point). He's getting older, he's had various injuries over the years, his numbers were bad last season - and just as importantly - many underlying numbers (like FIP, walk rates, K rates, etc.) indicate he's a player on the decline. Does anyone think that a club with a hope of winning this year would want Garza in their rotation at this point. Clubs simply have better, and cheaper, options at this point in the year. If you paid $20M or so of the contract, perhaps someone would take him. But he really doesn't fit into anyone's plans - except Milwaukee. Let's face it - we owe the guy $25M (minimum). The way to try and recoup some of that is to let Garza pitch in 2016, and hope he does decent, then trade him when the chance arrives. Despite all the bad signs last year, Garza's velocity was about the same as previous years. And prior to 2015, he's been remarkably consistent, with an ERA between 3.31 and 3.95 over 8 straight seasons. We can hope 2015 was an aberration - bad years happen. And at 32, he's not that old. If things go well, perhaps Garza can be dealt this summer - saving the team money (maybe only including $10M instead of $20M in a deal) and/or perhaps actually netting the club a decent prospect in return. Deal him now, and you flush at least $20M down the drain, and you get next to nothing in trade. If Garza truly is done as a good pitcher, the team may have to end up cutting him at some point - in which case you eat his entire contract - which is close to what you'd have to do if you traded him right now.

This. No one is taking Garza until he proves he's pitching well again.

I'm just excited to see a game thread!

I'll second this statement. I don't have links, but as noted above, these are comments in articles, generally in the 'Brewers would love to trade Braun, but little value at this time' vein.

BA listed the Top Shortstops. #3 - Arcia #21 - Lara #49 - Diaz #52 - Y. Rivera http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/position-rankings-shortstops/

Gatewood seems particularly low in comparison to similar players, namely Harrison and Isan Diaz. Seeing Freddy Peralta on the list is surprising. If Milwaukee's system is vastly better than Seattle's and Peralta didn't make Seattle's most recent top-30, how did he increase in value without playing more games? The last MLB Pipeline list was made mid-season in 2015. Peralta had barely played by that time last year since he was in rookie ball, thus never got onto the radar as an up and coming prospect. If he was still with Seattle, he'd probably be in their top 10.