Matt Breen

7 walks and an error today. We just can't do that.

Still has to throw strikes.

They need an backup infielder capable of playing SS, though. I mean, I guess you could stick Moose or Shaw there in a pinch, but it isn't ideal. Yeah, that's the big issue. Saladino or Dubon probably needs to be on the roster.

I don't think the Bucks will do anything crazy like trade for Paul. The East is wide open for them. I see Boston, Indiana and Philly as being the best clubs - after us. But I don't think any are better. Oladipo is coming off a major injury. Boston has lots of good young talent and added Walker - but they lost a ton of stuff too. Philly has some really good players - but they lack depth and will need to gel. The Bucks won using a well rounded team and depth. They had guys who worked the system. They'll continue that path going forward. Giannis, Middleton, Bledsoe, Lopez Bros., Matthews, Hill, Wilson, Illysova, Connaughton - that's solid 10 guys. Add in Brown and DiVincenzo - and its a deep team. I imagine we will add another veteran as well (a shooter like Korver may work well). I'd like to see some of the younger guys step up and get better. This will be a club that won't get overworked in the regular season, which is important as we have seen that Giannis and others do need occasional rests. With a lot of veterans, guys shouldn't get worn down. I also think this year's playoff run will help the team. The experience will - hopefully - make them a better team. You can debate whether letting Brogdon go was a smart move - but it has happened - so there's no use dwelling on it too much. In the end, the core of the team is going to be together for at least a few years - and we should be good during that time. With Durant out for this season, that makes this year even more of an opportunity.

I really hate the websites that make slideshows out of an article. Example might be a mock draft. They force you to click to a new page to see each selection. It's just crap done to give the site lots of clicks. If I get a page like this, I generally just close the page and skip the article. But sometimes you want to read it - and it just annoys me.

John, thanks. This is a cool tool to mess around with. Appreciate it.

Here's a July review of our Top 25 list: #1 Keston Hiura, 2B, age 22 - Milwaukee Brewers Back to the Big Leagues for Keston - hopefully for good. He’s going to have his growing pains, but he has the chance to be the best hitter the system has produced in more than a decade. #2 Zack Brown, RHSP, age 24 - AAA San Antonio His season has gone from mediocre to bad. 6.01 ERA, 49 BB in just 82 IP. Hard to watch this happen after making such progress in 2018. #3 Corey Ray, OF, age 24 - AAA San Antonio Injuries have clouded an already bad season (.546 OPS, 44%K rate) for Ray. He has just begun his rehab assignment, so let’s hope he rebounds in the second half. #4 Brice Turang, SS, age 19 - A- Wisconsin Has cooled off a bit, but still hitting .284. Assuming Hiura graduates from the prospect list, Turang is likely the system’s top player in our next poll. #5 Tristen Lutz, OF, age 20 - A+ Carolina After a poor April, Lutz has been solid, yet unspectacular. Still a very interesting prospect, but can’t wait to see him breakout. #6 Aaron Ashby, LHSP, age 21 - A- Wisconsin Has improved all season, even after his promotion to Wisconsin. He could be our top pitching prospect very soon. #7 Mauricio Dubon, 2B/SS, age 24 - Milwaukee Brewers A good batting average (.307) and a power surge (career high 14 HR) has allowed Dubon to reach the majors (due to Arcia’s injury). Time for the young man to shine. #8 Lucas Erceg, 3B, age 24 - AAA San Antonio After a strong start, Erceg has struggled badly - his BA falling all the way to .200. He’s striking out a lot more than in past years, but is on pace for more HRs than any season as a professional. However, the crashing batting average is troubling. #9 Braden Webb, RHSP, age 24 - A+ Carolina After a disastrous start, Webb was demoted to Carolina, where he rebounded (3.44 ERA in 36 IP). Unfortunately, he landed on the DL last month and has not come off. #10 Trey Supak, RHSP, age 22 - AA Biloxi 2.36 ERA in 103 IP for 2019. You would have to think that a promotion to AAA should be coming sooner than later. Likely will vie with Aaron Ashby as the system's top pitching prospect. #11 Jacob Nottingham, C, age 24 - AAA San Antonio Solid production (.769 OPS) combined with improving defense is encouraging. #12 Troy Stokes, Jr., OF, age 23 - AAA San Antonio Stokes never had a great hit tool, and that deficiency is showing itself off at AAA as he is only hitting .213. He does other things well, but his inability to hit for a good average will limit his upside. #13 Payton Henry, C, age 21 - A+ Carolina In addition to a 30% strikeout rate, Henry’s walk rate is a career low 5.5%. Still showing some nice pop with 26 extra base hits this year (one shy of his career high). #14 Adrian Houser, RHP, age 26 - Milwaukee Houser has graduated from our list. Congrats to Adrian, and let’s hope he continues to have great success for the Brewers. #15 Joe Gray, OF, age 19 - Rookie Rocky Mountain Vibes Has only appeared in 10 games this year. #16 Tyrone Taylor, OF, age 25 - AAA San Antonio After a nice start, Taylor has floundered (.218 BA), then got hurt and missed most of June. He’s on rehab assignment and should be back shortly. #17 Carlos Rodriguez, OF, age 18 - Rookie AZL Has only played one game in 2019. #18 Trent Grisham, OF, age 22 - AAA San Antonio Grisham’s improved play (18 HR, .368 OBP) has led to a promotion to AAA. If he keeps performing well, he may get a September call up. #19 Marcos Diplan, RHP, age 22 - AA Biloxi Has moved to the bullpen, and done better (6.86 ERA as a starter vs 4.11 ERA as a reliever). Still walks way too many batters (31 in 51 innings). #20 Jake Gatewood, 1B, age 23 - AA Biloxi Difficult year for Gatewood. HIs numbers are not good (.174 BA, .540 OPS). He started the year late, so let’s hope he can get things going in the second half. #21 Je’Von Ward, OF, age 19 - A- Wisconsin Tough year for Je’Von. .228 BA, .641 OPS. The 12% walk rate is nice, but nothing much else to get excited about for 2019. #22 Mario Feliciano, C, age 20 - A+ Carolina Feliciano’s rebound campaign continues. His hitting has cooled off a little, but he’s still leading the Carolina League in HRs with 14. #23 Drew Rasmussen, RHP, age 23 - AA Biloxi Rasmussen’s stellar 2019 his a bump at Biloxi, where his has been solid rather than spectacular. Has 19 walks and 41 strikeouts in 34 innings at AA . #24 Micah Bello, OF, age 18 - Rookie Rookie Mountain Vibes Has looked good this year (although in only 18 games) with a .895 OPS. #25 Eduardo Garcia, SS, age 16, DSL Brewers Garcia has been great in limited work this year, producing a .919 OPS in his first 10 games. Still only 16 years old.

Braun is done after 2020 unless he suddenly has a good year. He's an aging hitting with diminishing offensive output, bad defensively - as well as limited defensively. That's not a player you want on the team any more - even if he's cheap.

Thanks for the updates. Appreciate it.

I think Kaminksy would have fit our system pretty well. In fact, the Bucks were reportedly interested in him at the deadline last year. However, while I think Frank would have offered a shooter like Lopez, I don't know about the defense. Maybe Milwaukee just didn't think he could be effective defensively in our scheme (I personally don't know -- I can't judge that kind of stuff very well).

Robin Lopez gets 2-years, $9.77M total. $4.77M in 2019/20, and $5M for 20/21. The Bucks are using their Room Exception to make this move.

Well, I think the Bucks did okay today. I really liked Brogdon, but I don't think he wanted to be in Milwaukee. But he will be missed. On the flip side, we get Hill for the entire year, and the addition of Robin Lopez could be a steal. Getting the 1st rounder (and the two 2nd rounders) is a nice way to reload the supply chain. We need those kinds of assets. Are we better than last year? I don't know. But I think we can get there. Let's hope a full year of Hill, plus Lopez, makes up for the lose of Brogdon. The other thing we can't discount is the club adding a good player or two for league minimum. There are always role type players that are looking to play on a good team with title aspirations. Milwaukee is one of those teams. Perhaps we can draw another player or two to contribute next year. If the Bucks can stay under the salary cap, that would be great. Sure I want them to spend - but I'm not going to worry about what I can't control. If the team elects to do so - great. But no one can force them to make moves.

Supposedly a deal is done. Robin Lopez coming to the Bucks.

The Onion is so brutally on target at times: Norfolk Tides Third Baseman Sent Down To Baltimore Orioles https://sports.theonion.com/norfolk-tides-third-baseman-sent-down-to-baltimore-orio-1835884994?/setsession

Two HRs for Trent tonight. He now has 13 for the season - tied for 2nd in the Southern League.

Just watched the first season of Bosch on Amazon Prime. Really, really good cop show.

Here’s my June Top 25 update All info is as of June 4, 2019. #1 Keston Hiura, 2B, age 22 - AAA San Antonio .865 OPS in 17 games in Milwaukee - but back to AAA with Shaw’s return. Not much left for Hiura except to try and cut down on the strikeouts. #2 Zack Brown, RHSP, age 24 - AAA San Antonio Erratic performance in 2019, with his control going AWOL. Has just given up way too many baserunners this year. #3 Corey Ray, OF, age 24 - AAA San Antonio Came back from IL and popped a few HRs - then got hurt again. Frustrating year for Ray. Poor numbers and injuries will likely cause him to drop in our rankings this summer. #4 Brice Turang, SS, age 19 - A- Wisconsin Keeps getting his hits and taking his walks. .318 BA and .414 OBP is nice to look at. #5 Tristen Lutz, OF, age 20 - A+ Carolina .549 OPS in April. .865 OPS in May. Let’s hope the improved numbers keep coming. #6 Aaron Ashby, LHSP, age 21 - A- Wisconsin Walked a few too many batters, but Ashby has produced to the tune of a 3.40 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 53 innings. A promotion to Carolina may not be far off. #7 Mauricio Dubon, 2B/SS, age 24 - AAA San Antonio Doesn't walk much. Power is meh. But with a solid BA (.286), good defense and some speed, Dubon is just waiting for his chance in Milwaukee (which likely means an injury to Arcia or Perez). #8 Lucas Erceg, 3B, age 24 - AAA San Antonio Good April, awful May. Just can’t put it all together. #9 Braden Webb, RHSP, age 24 - A+ Carolina Disappointing year. 33 walks in 39.2 IP. Has been better since his demotion to Carolina, but is still struggling. #10 Trey Supak, RHSP, age 22 - AA Biloxi Just keeps getting the job done. 1.85 ERA in 68 innings this year. Recently, came within one out of throwing a no-hitter. Probably needs to be pushed to AAA in the near future. #11 Jacob Nottingham, C, age 24 - AAA San Antonio Hit is first ML HR in brief call up last month. Back to AAA where regular playing time will do him some good. #12 Troy Stokes, Jr., OF, age 23 - AAA San Antonio Struggling to hit AAA pitching (.179 BA) - although he has missed time with injuries. Power and patience is there. #13 Payton Henry, C, age 21 - A+ Carolina Showing himself to be a streaky hitter with some power - but a big hole in his bat (37.4% strikeout rate). #14 Adrian Houser, RHP, age 26 - Milwaukee Houser has graduated off of our Top 25 due to his extended time in Milwaukee this year. He dominated at AAA, and has been solid for the Brewers (19.1 IP, 19K, 8BB, 3.26 ERA). Needs to keep refining his command. #15 Joe Gray, OF, age 19 Has not played yet in 2019. #16 Tyrone Taylor, OF, age 25 - AAA San Antonio Hot April (.309 BA) followed by cold May (.171 BA) leads to a lot of ‘meh’ for Taylor. Nice to see he is retaining some of the power (6 HR, .439 SLG%) he showed last year. #17 Carlos Rodriguez, OF, age 18 Has not played yet in 2019. #18 Trent Grisham, OF, age 22 - AA Biloxi A recent surge has lifted Grisham’s numbers tremendously. His 10 HR are a career high. And his .260 BA is the best since 2015. Let’s hope something ‘clicked’ for Grisham - and he can regain the lofty prospect status we had for him a few years ago. #19 Marcos Diplan, RHP, age 22 - AA Biloxi Same results. Decent strikeout rate, but too many walks and too many hits allowed. Has been moved to the bullpen, where his numbers are a bit better than as a starter. #20 Jake Gatewood, 1B, age 23 - AA Biloxi Has struggled mightily since returning in May - hitting .110 on 73 ABs. Still early, but would like to see things start clicking for Jake. #21 Je’Von Ward, OF, age 19 - A- Wisconsin Mediocre performance so far in 2019 (.234 BA). Must keep preaching patience with Ward, who took up baseball later than most prospects. #22 Mario Feliciano, C, age 20 - A+ Carolina Numbers looking good this year. 11 HR, .275 BA, .818 OPS. Leads the Carolina League in HRs. #23 Drew Rasmussen, RHP, age 23 Dominated two levels of A ball - and done really well at AA. Looking like a steal of a pick for the Crew. #24 Micah Bello, OF, age 18 Has not played yet in 2019. #25 Eduardo Garcia, SS, age 16 Just this week, he hit an HR in only his 2nd pro game. Still only 16 years old. Here's a few non-top 25 players that have been intriguing thus far (for differing reasons): David Fry - Hitting .292 with 6 HR at Wisconsin. Nate Orf - .302 BA for San Antonio. Aaron Wilkerson - 0.46 ERA in 39 innings of work at San Antonio. Miguel Sanchez - 2.28 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 27.2 IP for San Antonio. Joantgel Segovia - Hit .302 at Carolina, earning him a promotion to Biloxi (where he’s got 7 hits in his first 18 ABs). Nate Griep - 1.07 ERA and 12 saves for Biloxi. Clayton Andrews - 2.50 ERA, 28K, 5 BB and 7 saves in 18 innings for Carolina.

Phil Bickford sighting! 2 runs allowed in 1/3 of an inning for Carolina. Oh well, it's a start.

My son watched that film a thousand times growing up, so I saw it a thousand times as well. I think the things that stand out (the negative parts) are as follows: 1. The plot. Naboo it being blockaded by the Trade Federation in preparation for an invasion by said Federation. So, during a big chunk of the film, the Jedi and the Naboo Princess have to escape back to the Galactic Republic capital to let everyone know what is happening on her planet (because, apparently, only messages delivered in person will be effective). But you know how bureaucrats are - they won't listen. So the Jedi and the princess have to head back to Naboo to stop the invasion - making the entire trip worthless. Meanwhile, we've met Anakin Skywalker and due to his high metaclorins he can drive a speeder really well. What the...!??! At least the Trade Federation leaders talk as if they are an old man doing mock Chinese accents straight out of a 1940s movie. The plot is, in all honesty, ludicrous. It's over complicated, and drags on far too often at times. Just try and explain it to someone. Their eyes will glaze over. 2. Bigger is not better. George Lucas seems to think that bigger and more equals better. Have a giant undersea monster? How about we add another, bigger giant undersea monster! Want to have a car race around a track? Well, let's do it three times, because the same thing three times is better! 3. Slap stick comedy Jar Jar steps in poop. Jar Jar sticks his head into the electric stream. Jar Jar falls over and causes bad guys to get destroyed. Jar Jar (insert stupid thing). Lucas later said he wanted the film to appeal to children - so that's why Jar Jar is in the move - and acts like he does. I just think it's Lucas' inability to understand subtlety. In reality, it's just dull. 4. Bad director. George Lucas the director has never been that good at this job. The actors are - for the most part good actors (save for little Anakin) - but in the film they are stiff and wooden. That's the director's (and the script's) fault. He has a reputation of not really liking to work with actors. There is not a lot of joy and fun in the movie - unlike the original three. Part of my picking apart of the film is that I have seen it so many times, and the weaknesses just get magnified. I also don't want to say I hate the film. It has some good parts. Ewan MacGregor as Obi-Wan is great. And Darth Maul was a great villain (he really saves the film). The Phantom Menace is - in my opinion - the worst of the Star Wars films. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have its good points. And hey, if you like it, you like it. Nothing wrong with that.

Adrian Houser, our #14 prospect in our latest poll, appears to have enough service time that he is no longer eligible for 'prospect' status. Houser had 31 days of service coming into 2019, and at 45 days of service, you are no longer eligible for prospect status. He will, therefore, graduate from our list and be ineligible for our polls going forward. Congrats to Houser.

Right now, I'm guessing Brennen Malone or Seth Johnson. Just a guess.

I was wondering about extending Moose as well. However, I'm wary of a guy like him aging rapidly. He seems like a guy who if he loses a notch of his quickness he could really turn into a very mediocre player. That said, he is only 30 - so if you could get him for a two year extension - that would mitigate the risk. My thought is something like 2 years/$25M, with a $12.5M team option - or a $3M buyout. Or maybe start with a 2 years/$10M with a $5M buyout on a third year option. But you have to wonder what is an overpay - not necessarily with regard to production - but based upon what he ended up being paid the last couple of years. I mean, he hit 38 HR two years ago - and could only get $5.5M. That's kind of weird. The big difference between now and the past couple of seasons, is that Moose has shown he can play 2B. Perhaps some teams will feel more comfortable giving him a deal knowing he can play more than one position. This extension talk can easily be said about Grandal. He's been really good - and you wonder if there would be a way to extend him for a couple of more years.

I don't think I ever heard Roache referred to as 'toolsy'. Dude had power - nothing more. Coulter wasn't much different - although he did have a strong arm.

Well, this is earlier than I anticipated, but if there's an injury, it simply forces the Brewers hand. Let's hope Keston comes up and doesn't look back. Excited to see him in Milwaukee, even if it's just a short stint.

You're welcome. I like how I say Dubon looks like a utility guy - and then he goes and pops 2 HR and raises his OPS by 40-50 points.