Matt Breen

Not an overly impressive trade looking at those three. None of the three players acquired by the Braves did much to help their stock in 2015, but at the time of the Trade Folty was Houston's 3rd rated prospect by BA (behind Correa & Appel, above Velaszquez & Maverick) & ranked 43/54/59 on the top 100 of BP/MLB/BA. The rankings you have listed are pre-2014 - not pre-2015. Foltynewicz had dropped off BA's and BP's lists after putting up a 5.08 ERA at AAA (as well as a 5.30 ERA in 18.2 innings at the big league level). MLB Pipeline still had him at #78 prior to 2015, but the other publications had dropped him out of the Top 100.

2,242,062 I set my parameters between 2,100,000 and 2,499,999 and let my random dice generator give me the rest. Let the dice gods decide.

The White Sox acquired 3B Todd Frazier in three way deal with the Reds and the Dodgers. The primary guys in the trade are 2B Jose Peraza - who goes to Cincy - and pitcher Frankie Montas - who goes to LA. Peraza is ranked #24 on the MLB Pipeline listing, and is pretty close to being ready for the majors. Montas was listed at #54, and likely is headed to AAA in 2016. The Reds also get Brandon Dixon and outfielder Scott Schebler from the Dodgers. The White Sox also sent infielder Micah Johnson and outfielder Trayce Thompson to the Dodgers. Frazier hit 35 HR last season, and will be under control by the ChiSox for two years. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14380879/the-white-sox-get-third-baseman-todd-frazier-cincinnati-reds-three-team-trade Reds are obviously rebuilding. It remains to be seen what happens to Chapman after his legal issues, but another rumor has Brandon Phillips heading to DC. The Reds may be worse than Milwaukee next year.

Not an overly impressive trade looking at those three. I was wondering about the quality of the guys that Atlanta got last year for Gattis (wondering what our potential take could be). After taking a look, it was definitely a mixed bag. Foltynewicz was the key - a big arm (could reach 100 mph on his fastball) who had, prior to 2014, been a Top 100 prospect. But he had a mediocre 2014, so had dropped out of the top ranks. Ruiz was a young 3B, not a lot of power, but with room to grow. Thurman was a mostly just a guy - nothing special - potential to be a reliever or maybe a back of the rotation starter if things went well for him. It's not a great haul, but it's also a little hard to judge due to the view of Foltynewicz, which was kind of all over the place after his tough 2014. Some people still loved the guy, others saw a reliever. Obviously, we have 2015 behind us, and the guys Atlanta got have not emerged as anything special. If this is the type of prospect package we would get in a deal for Davis, I'm a little inclined to keep him, and hope he starts off 2016 like he finished 2015 - and thus improve the prospects we could fetch. Of course, if someone wants to overpay now, great. It would open a spot for Santana (plus stock up the farm system with more prospects). But I'm not sure anyone will overpay for Khris. The power surge last year is, I'm sure, intriguing to some clubs, but teams will be wary. Still, you never know.

Not that anyone really cares, but pitcher Jeff Francis retired. The interest in Francis is that he was a big, hard throwing lefthander - something teams are always looking for. This allowed him to play parts of 11 seasons in the majors, and earn roughly $17.5M. During that time, he threw 1291 innings and had an ERA of 4.97. The lesson - if your child is lefthanded and can throw hard, encourage them to be a pitcher. Even if they stink, they can have a pretty long and lucrative career. Also, don't pitch in Colorado.

Middlebrooks had a decent half season as a rookie, but even then, the signs of danger were evident. The guy walked 13 times in nearly 300 plate appearances. Teams quickly learned the guy won't take any walks, so they just started avoiding throwing him what he wanted. Unfortunately, the guy has never adjusted, and he's been awful. His inability to walk traces all through his minor league career - so what you see is probably what he is. There are a million guys like Middlebrooks - talented, but unable to adjust to major league pitching. I am really skeptical of guys like Middlebrooks. He's had lots of chances in the majors to adjust, and has failed. That said, if the club sees something in him or simply wants to just see him up close for a spelll, I can't argue about it. As noted, I just don't want to see time and resources wasted on a guy who I don't think is part of the team's future. Still, you never know - maybe something will go on in the guy's head.

Just a note from JP Breen at Baseball Prospectus regarding Braun: "I do know that some teams have been sniffing around to see if Braun is available and to determine the potential cost." http://milwaukee.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2015/12/14/david-stearns-is-accumulating-options-isnt-done/ Not a lot there, and it's not something we can't imagine, but it's a hint that some clubs are looking at Braun. Probably nothing there, because they are likely trying to get Ryan for cheap. But it does offer some interesting possibilities.

For what it's worth, a person I know with connections in the Brewer scouting department said the team loves Herrera. They think he's going to be something special in a few years. Just thought I'd add that.

Gotcha covered.

I'm happy about pick ups like Cecchini because it (appears) that we are past the stage of filling holes like this with crappy veterans, and instead trying to find players that might (stress might) be able to help in the coming years. Yuni Betancourt, Mark Reynolds, Lyle Overbay, Juan Francisco, Alex Gonzalez, Cesar Izturis, etc., etc. all got far too much playing time over the past few years. I'm not saying Cecchini is going to be anything special, but he's only two years away from being a top 50ish prospect, and I'm cool with trying to revive a guy like this as opposed to signing David Freese for 3-years/$30M (which is what we would have done in the past). If Cecchini flames out, no big deal. We move on from him. But now's the time to take these kinds of risks. We are going to win next year, so let's take some chances. If we do this with several players, and one turns out, it's a victory. And certainly better than being saddled with a long term contract for a fading, older player.

Love it. You can see the kinds of players Stearns is trying to add with Walsh (in the Rule 5 draft) and Cecchini - high OBP types. He said that when he was hired that getting on base was important.

Good move. See if you can resurrect the guy.

Walsh is an interesting player. 52 extra base hits, a .447 OBP. The 124 walks is sort of insane. People just don't do that very often anymore. I'm a sucker for guys who get on base. He's a switch hitter without any real split issues, which is nice to see. We'll see about defense. If it's average, you could have someone pretty interesting as he could be a candidate to play 3B or 2B.

Go Rogers. 1. I just like him - good story - fun to root for. 2. He's got a great smile (my mom told me that - she said he looks like a nice man). 3. Guy won't be great, but he did okay last year, and he's generally improved at each level after a little experience. Trends look good. 4. If he is decent, he's a nice find who is in his prime, and cheap. 5. If he bombs, he helps us get a better pick.

Amazing thing to read given where things stood just a short year ago. Shorter than that really. I'm a big believer in trying to acquire 'impact' potential players, but for Milwaukee, it's also critical that we have quantity. Milwaukee has been killed by horrible depth in the system over the years. Playing clowns like Yuni at 1B - that sort of thing. Or running out to the mound the likes of Vinnie Chulk and a hundred other guys that should never have gotten onto our pitching staff. We need depth quantity and quality. I don't just mean really good guys who are going to be stars (of course I want those guys), but guys who can come up from the minors and handle an extended time at a position or in the rotation. The Cardinals seem to do this really well. Grichuk, Piscotty, Pham - they all came up last year and played key roles in helping the team win 100 games. And only one of them was a Top 100 prospect type. We've also been killed by overpaying for starting pitching that is mediocre and often aging (and it rarely turns out well). It means we go through Suppan, Wolf, Lohse, Garza. Some of those years are okay, but they often turn ugly. And then we're stuck paying these guys far too much money. We need to produce more 'average' type guys like this ourselves - getting the guys in their prime and at lower salaries. To do all of this, we need to crank out lots of players. Remember, players fail more than they succeed. That's why if you need a starter, you should be developing 4-5 guys to find who will fit in that one slot. Ideally, we develop the majority of our players from within and via trade. You can still fill a hole or two via free agency or with a trade from our depth, but you aren't relying on FA like we have in the past. That's why the depth of the organization is crucial to making this a winning team down the road. And it's great to hear others, like Baseball America, feel that we are getting to be a deep system. This is the type of deal that provides a lot of depth. Maybe these guys won't be great players, but they have a chance to develop into something decent.

Please no to Alvarez. He's the worst 1B in baseball. I know he can hit, but I just imagine Juan Francisco Part 2.

Mass Hass posted this link on the media page: http://m.mlb.com/video/v533882683/gm-stearns-breaks-down-the-brewers-newest-additions It's Stearns talking about the trade. Nice and short and to the point.

I'll guess Lucory. He has lots of value, and he's not in our long term plans.

minorleagueball.com did a thing about a couple of interesting Rule 5 guys, including CF Jake Cave of the Yankees, who is listed as the club's #16 prospect on MLB.com: "The 23-year old left-handed hitting center fielder was drafted in the sixth round of the 2011 draft by the Yankees. Cave suffered through two years of injuries — completely missing 2011 and 2012 after breaking his knee cap in his first at bat — before settling into his role: a speedster who had nice gap power and solid defense. The biggest knocks on Cave were his splits and base running ability. Entering last season, he had the speed to excel on the base paths, but was sloppy. He stole bases at a paltry 67% rate over the first four years of his career, but wound up swiping 17 of 20 attempts last season. He also shows major flaws batting against lefties (.205/.258/.231) versus against right handers (a much more respectable .289/.351/.379 with both of his home runs in 2015). So, again, he seems to have more of a future as a platoon player or fourth outfielder. He does play a solid centerfield, and he does make contact with the ball. He did strike out 106 times last season, but he saw 592 combined plate appearances, so his 17% strikeout rate is something to take notice of, but I wouldn’t call alarming. When he got his first taste of Triple-A, albeit a mere seven games, he excelled at his opportunity, slashing.458/.517/.667 with four extra base hits." Cave looks like a fringe starter, 4th OF type, but he could possibly handle CF until Phillips is ready and/or provide depth. He was a pitcher in HS and reportedly threw 90mph as a senior - so he has a nice arm. He'd fit the 'short term' need that Stearn wants. And if he plays okay, he can help club down the road as a reserve. http://www.minorleagueball.com/2015/12/9/9876014/two-names-of-interest-in-the-rule-5-draft

Baseball America runs down the trade: http://www.baseballamerica.com/majors/trade-central-mariners-get-lind-brewers/

Nicely said. I think this is a long haul rebuild. With the rising cost of veteran players, it's become even more evident that we need to develop talent from within, and acquire young talent whenever possible, and free agency and long term deals, for the most part, becomes the purvey of other franchises.

I don't know anything about these guys (other than the brief write ups people have posted), but being lower system guys, I have to trust that the Brewers have done their due diligence about them, and feel like they are good additions to our organization. Even more so than say adding a player like Zunino or Peterson. A big reason these guys aren't on current prospect lists is because the rankings are set in the pre-season and/or updated in mid-season (like MLB Top 30). Perhaps if a system update had been done yesterday, some of these players would have been Top 30 types. I think the team needs to be loading up on players, and this helps. No, there's no Top 100 guys (yet), but the nature of prospects is so fickle (especially pitchers). You often need to throw 5 or 6 guys into the developmental wringer to come out with a gem. I didn't expect a ton of trade value for Lind. I was thinking a buy low guy like Peterson was a likely return (former Top 100 guy coming off a bad year). I don't know if this is a better deal than Peterson or Zunino - but I think it's a good way to get things going.

Peralta struck out 67 in 57 innings last year in Arizona. Only 8 walks. Missaki - 34K in 34 IP. Only 5 walks. Midwest league. Herrera - 73K in 80 IP only 13 walks in the DSL.

Don't know any of them, but I am happy to have them in the system. This is really buying a lottery ticket, but I'm okay with that.

I want upside. If those guys are at A ball or Rookie league, then great. I know everyone wants impact guys now, but this is one year of Adam Lind - not Carlos Gomez. Stock the system. Steady flow of talent. That's how this franchise is going to win in the future. I love the change in attitude. I'm tired of 'major league ready' players who are marginal talents. Give me guys who can amount to something special. I'll wait the extra few years and take the risk that one of them reaches their potential.