Matt Breen

When you think of the best Brewer pitchers, the names such as Sheets, Higuera, Caldwell, Gallardo, Plesac, Hader, and Fingers come to mind. Yet if you want to know who leads the organization in career wins, games started, shutouts, innings pitched and a host of other categories - the name that rises to the top is Jim Slaton. Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic When you think of the best Brewer pitchers, the names such as Sheets, Higuera, Caldwell, Gallardo, Plesac, Hader, and Fingers come to mind. Yet if you want to know who leads the organization in career wins, games started, shutouts, innings pitched and a host of other categories - the name that rises to the top is Jim Slaton. Jim Slaton was born in Long Beach, California, in 1970. After a short stint at Antelope Valley College in Lancaster, California, Slaton was drafted by the Seattle Pilots in the 15th round in 1969. He moved quickly through the minor leagues, reaching Milwaukee in 1971. By 1973, Slaton established himself as a workhorse starting pitcher, throwing more than 210 innings in each of the next seven seasons, including 292 innings in 1976. After the 1977 season, the Brewers sent Slaton to Detroit for slugging outfielder Ben Oglivie. After a solid year, he returned to the Brewers as a free agent, picking up right where he left off. Slaton's career was forever changed in 1980 when he suffered a rotator cuff injury. He missed most of the year and then returned and played for six more seasons. However, his days as an innings-eating starter were over. Instead, Slaton returned as a long reliever and spot starter. The Brewers dealt Slaton to the Angels after the 1983 season for OF Bobby Clark. He played three more years before retiring at age 36. Slaton's time in Milwaukee was not insignificant. While he was never a great pitcher, his ability to soak up innings was a tremendous asset. He owned a 3.86 ERA over 12 years, and his 117 wins, 69 complete games, and 2,025 innings pitched are still Brewer records. His longevity also means he has the most losses in team history and has given up the most hits, home runs, and walks. Some other highlights include an all-star appearance in 1977 and the winning pitcher for the Crew in the fourth game of the 1982 World Series. Despite the many accomplishments of Slaton, he is often forgotten. He was consistent and solid, never striking out many batters or flashing fantastic stuff. His walk-to-strike out rate is relatively poor - for his career, he walked 1,004 batters and struck out 1,202. Still, his longevity and workhorse performance solidifies Slaton a place in Brewer history. After retiring, Slaton got into coaching. For more than two decades, he has worked in several capacities in the minor and major leagues, including stints as the bullpen coach for the Mariners and the Dodgers. Slaton was added to the Milwaukee Brewers Wall of Honor in 2014. Please share your memories of former Brewer pitcher Jim Slaton. View full article

I never caught that. I don't know who a bunch of the lesser guys are. I just write things down and add them up. I'll fix.

Regarding grades, an exec responded to some praise his team got in the draft. He just shrugged it off - saying something like, "You still have to make them play" or something like that. And then he noted how back in 2012 - when he was with Seattle - they got a 'D' grade by one prominent publication. That was the draft that netted them Bruce Irvin, Russell Wilson and Bobby Wagner. Don't get me wrong - I want to feel like we've done well. I want to feel like our execs know what they are doing. But in the end, we gotta get these guys to play - and no draft grade is going to change that. I also don't think it's a ridiculous thing to do. A team should always be assessing their situation. But you just have to understand where you are in the process.

Draft was fun. Thanks everyone for playing along again this year.

It's amazing that TE Jalen Wydermyer may not get drafted. A month or so ago he was talked about as a day 2 pick.

Hicks drafted! Badgers making a good showing. Sanborn is next.

Yeah, seems like a very Packer like guy

Love seeing my Badgers picked.

Yeah, they probably need to add at least one guy to the mix. I had Kingsley Enagbare. Partially because that's an awesome name. Might add someone as a FA as well - just a depth guy.

I don't know if this was posted - but it's pretty cool:

I think they both go pretty quick tomorrow. But you never know.

I don't know if the Packers want another TE. Just a lot of question marks on the roster. Plus, Tonyan is on a one-year deal.

Some ideas for round #4: WR - Khalil Shakir, Bo Melton, Calvin Austin TE - Isaiah Likely, Daniel Bellinger, TE Charlie Kolar OG - Darian Kinnard, Jamaree Salyer OT - Daniel Faalele, Rasheed Walker DE - Kingsley Enagbare DT - Perrion Winfrey CB - Zyon McCallum, Tariq Woolen Lots of options. I'm sure there are a ton of other ideas as well.

Yeah, very true.

Can we play the Cubs and Pirates all the time?

Badgers going like crazy! Logan Bruss in round 3! I think he can have a nice career as a guard.

Chenal to the Chiefs! Congrats to the guy.

Coming into today I had hoped to get some combo of two receivers (TE and/or WR), offensive line depth, and a safety depth. Edge guy was probably next on the list. For receivers, I didn't expect to get Watson in the 2nd. Or even Pickens or Moore. I was thinking maybe Pierce or Tolbert would fall to us. Maybe get McBride. In the end, we filled two of the spots. So that's cool. And the team seems to love Watson - so power to them. All in all, pretty nice draft thus far.

I read he is expected to move inside as a pro.

Solid pick. Right around where you'd expect him to go. Line depth. Awesome.

Sean Rhyan it is.

Big slide for Malik. Wow.

Tolbert to the Cowboys. Sucks.

wrong again!

I thought Chenal would go to NE in round 2. Maybe here.