Cory Sparks

I would've thought so too. Even Skubal didn't have a high price relative to what many projected.

Bo Naylor is a former first-round pick, and the Milwaukee Brewers just acquired him in a trade with the Cleveland Guardians. In this video, we'll break down Naylor's plate discipline, pull-side power, and how the Crew can maximize the backstop as they pursue another deep postseason run in 2026. View full video

Image courtesy of IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect The Milwaukee Brewers have made a deal a day ahead of the 2026 MLB trade deadline, and this one centers around Bo Naylor. Milwaukee is shipping pitcher Craig Yoho and outfielder Blake Perkins to the Cleveland Guardians in exchange for pitcher Codi Heuer and Naylor. Naylor has shown in the past that he has the intangibles to be a productive bat in a contending lineup. Let’s break down what has gone wrong in the past couple of years and how the Brewers can maximize their return on this deal. Bo Naylor’s Background Naylor is a five-year MLB veteran, and he’s a former first-round pick from the 2018 MLB Draft. Cleveland selected him with the 29th overall pick as a product right out of St. Joan of Arc Catholic CC. The 26-year-old made a splash in 2023, his first real crack at the big leagues after logging just eight at-bats the year prior. The Guardians’ former backstop currently has 40 career home runs and a .199 batting average over 1,131 at-bats. This year, with a limited sample size to go off of, the catcher has struggled to get on base at a consistent clip. However, there’s evidence out there that Naylor can punish opposing pitching. The Early Glory Days The 26-year-old’s best season to date was three years ago. The backstop hit 11 home runs and drove in 32 runs over 67 games, slashing .237/.339/.470 with a career-best .809 OPS. He was picking up the baseball, operating with a 37.0 Launch Angle Sweet Spot percentage, good enough to put him well above the league average that year. Naylor showed an ability to spray the ball all over, but 10 of his 11 long balls that season were to the pull side, implying the newest Brewer has been at his best when he can get in front of a pitch. His pop time was also an immaculate 1.94 (67th percentile) that season, showing that he can have a profound impact on defense too. What Went Wrong? Over the last three years, we’ve seen Naylor’s OPS drop drastically. So far in 2026, it’s at just a .438 through 28 games. This also marks the first time since 2022 that Naylor has been a negative WAR player, registering a -0.6 mark entering the month of August. What led to this drop-off? Naylor’s walk rate has tanked to 6.7 percent. It’s well below the league average number. Advanced analytics imply he’s running into a bit of bad luck, as his expected batting average (.215) is 72 points higher than his actual clip (.143). The same can be said for his expected slugging percentage (.399), a mark that far exceeds his real mark (.238). The good news, along with those numbers implying he could be due for a spike in production, is that Naylor has the right habits. His 25.6% chase rate and 14.8 % whiff rate are far better than the big league average; now it’s just about working enough counts to see ball four or at least get in an advantageous count. Milwaukee Is The Perfect Fit Enter the Brewers, a team that could serve as the perfect home for someone aiming to get on base. Entering play on Aug. 1, Milwaukee has drawn the second most walks (451) in all of baseball, trailing only the Cubs. As a result, Pat Murphy’s squad also has the third-best on-base percentage (.338) of anybody in the sport. There are examples up and down the lineup of players who can spoil off pitches, work deep into counts, and get their on-base percentages up. With Gary Sanchez slashing .214/.368/.422, there could be room for Naylor in a role supplementary to William Contreras. View full article

The Milwaukee Brewers are one of the best teams in baseball approaching the trade deadline, and the front of their rotation has been remarkable between Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison. Would trading for Jose Soriano of the Angels make sense, and how much would it cost the Crew to bolster the back end of their starting five? Let's dive in. View full video

Image courtesy of USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect Jesus Made is the top prospect in baseball, and he leads a farm system loaded with top-end talent. The Milwaukee Brewers’ best farmhand is still only 19 years old, but he’s outplaying nearly everyone at the Double-A level right now. The most impressive part of what he’s been accomplishing lately, though, is his ability to build another tool from the ground up. Made has had the spotlight on him for years now, but despite playing at 4.9 years younger than the average Double-A player, he's shown no signs of slowing down. The Biloxi Shuckers’ shortstop is slashing .276/.351/.438 with 10 home runs and 29 stolen bases in 87 games. He was clocked throwing a ball 100 mph across the field earlier this year, and the well-rounded talent touts a 65-grade overall rating on the MLB Pipeline 20-to-80 scouting scale. One of the best parts of Made’s game is his plate discipline, and the switch-hitting infielder hasn’t allowed that aspect to waver in the 2026 season. He’s drawing a walk 10.3 percent of the time, and he’s one of the toughest hitters to strike out in all of Minor League Baseball. The 19-year-old has punched out just 14.5 percent of the time this year. Made’s journey hasn’t ended once he’s reached the bases, as he’s on track to eclipse 40 stolen bases for the second consecutive season. The one projectable skill that hasn’t fully shown itself in box scores is Made’s power—that is, until this year. The Dominican Republic native had just 12 home runs over his first two years (166 games), but there were signs that he had slugging potential. He hit 28 doubles last year, registering a .792 OPS. His MLB Pipeline scouting report even had the following description: “Made is one of the twitchiest prospects in baseball, relying on quick bat speed from both sides of the plate. He ran almost exactly even platoon splits in ’25, and while his six homers don’t exactly jump off the page, his raw power continues to grow as he ages.” Well, guess what: it’s about that time. Made is currently listed at 6-foot-1, 221 pounds, and he recently hit his 10th round-tripper of the 2026 campaign. At this rate, he’s on pace to hit about 20 homers in the same amount of time it took him to hit the first 12. Now, imagine what he looks like (and can do) in two more years. Made’s body still has some maturing to do, but we’re already seeing him fill out his frame. The 25-30 home run potential is nearing fruition. Is there a world where the budding power numbers lead to Made making his major-league debut as soon as this upcoming postseason run? It's unlikely, but not impossible. He's ascended to the top of the prospect pile without fully unfurling his tools in games. Now that that's starting to change, he's closer to the big leagues than it might appear. View full article

Image courtesy of Kirby Lee-Imagn Images The move that would make the Milwaukee Brewers’ rotation historic is taking a flyer on Detroit Tigers starter Tarik Skubal. While that would make the most waves of any Brewers trade since the team acquired CC Sabathia in 2008, there’s a reason that was such a significant move: it’s uncharacteristic for this team. The more realistic move is that the team bolsters the back end of the rotation. With the hope that Jacob Misiorowski and Kyle Harrison are both healthy and able to be the 1-2 punch, José Soriano would be a dynamic third piece in an already strong group of starters. Let’s do some cost analysis on the Angels starter. This season, the hard-throwing righty has a 9-6 record with a 3.29 earned run average and 127 punchouts in 123 innings. He’s been a consistent presence in the team’s rotation, already logging 22 starts. Soriano touts a five-pitch arsenal, leading with a high-octane sinker. The arm-side riding pitch is just a tick off of his four-seam fastball (96.4 miles per hour compared to 97.2) with more horizontal movement, tunneling well out of a relatively shallow arm angle of 34°. The velocity is great, but the other stuff is even more impressive. Plenty of pitchers can throw hard, but how they get a hitter to react is the real key. Soriano checks off many of the right boxes, ranking in the 89th percentile for whiff rate (31.4%), 89th percentile for ground ball rate (52.3%) and 68th percentile for strikeout rate (24.9%). Between the sinker, curveball, four-seam fastball and splitter, the Angels’ ace uses all four options at least 19% of the time. His slider, which is his fifth pitch, is arguably the most devastating. Despite the small sample size, the offering has held hitters to a .188 batting average, not allowing an extra-base hit across 19 plate appearances. Reportedly, the Angels have prioritized acquiring a young catcher for either Soriano or Reid Detmers. In Jeferson Quero and Marco Dinges, the Brewers have two intriguing upper-level catching prospects whom they could offer as co-headliners in a deal. Soriano would probably cost them another of their top outfield or pitchiong prospects, too, but because he's controllable beyond this year, the electricity he would bring to the rotation would last. This move could position the team to contend more fiercely for a place in this year's World Series, but it would also bolster them during the next two campaigns. For that prize, it's worth paying a handsome price. View full article

Jesus Made is the Brewers' top prospect and the best prospect in baseball. Described as a five-tool player, with each attribute being rated at a 55 or higher on MLB Pipeline's 20-to-80 scale, the one aspect that hadn't shown up a ton in the box score was Made's power. In this video, we'll explain why that's changed and how Made is on a one-way path to becoming a dangerous slugger who could impact the big-league ball club as soon as this year. View full video

What do you Ward's value is? Down year, but the underlying metrics imply he could still do damage

Love the Steer pick

Which starter do you want? If it's Skubal, what's the price for a rental like that?

He definitely didn't live up to the draft value in the initial years, but he's turned it around the last two years. Is it a Coors bump? Maybe

If it's a bat, I see the Brewers making a marginal build considering the current construction of the team. If they want to build out that rotation, however.... do we get a Skubal rental?

That's totally fair - I'm really curious to see how much value Ward truly holds, especially as more bats go via the market. It feels like the Mead/Early deal at least gave us a barometer

Even with his HR numbers being down, the advanced analytics are encouraging!

Image courtesy of IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect While the Milwaukee Brewers have a pretty well-rounded team heading into the final third of the season, there’s always room to improve. Christian Yelich has had his fair share of injuries, Jackson Chourio started the year bruised up, and Garrett Mitchell is still looking for his first 100-game season in five tries (although he’s a few games away). Let’s take a look at three outfielders who could fill out the Brewers’ depth chart at the position. JJ Bleday - Cincinnati Reds Maybe there’s a bit of a divisional rival tax if a deal goes through here, but the Cincinnati Reds outfielder can be a contributor on a contender. For one, he’s had remarkable pop this year. The 2019 fourth overall pick has 17 homers in just north of 300 at-bats, and his advanced analytics are off the charts. All of his power starts with the bat speed, a mark that’s listed at 73.9 miles per hour, good enough for the 71st percentile. He’s barreling the ball 10.5 percent of the time (66th percentile), and his sweet-spot percentage of 43.1 is one of the best in all of baseball. Bleday’s spray chart shows that he’s a strong pull-side hitter, but in the post-shift era, that doesn’t hurt him much as long as he can hit for power. Our breakdown on the top 2026 trade candidates list reads as follows: Mickey Moniak - Colorado Rockies Mickey Moniak is a former first overall pick, and outside of some injury issues this season, he’s putting together one of the best years of his professional career. The former Philadelphia Phillies draft pick, now a Colorado Rockies hitter, has slugged 16 home runs with a .279 batting average. The 28-year-old has a strong sprint speed of 28.2 miles per hour, good enough to nestle him in the 73rd percentile as a rangy left fielder. He has especially mashed the fastball this year, hitting .319 with seven of his 17 long balls on the season against most hurlers’ primary option. His breakdown reads as this: Taylor Ward - Baltimore Orioles Taylor Ward has had mass appeal for the last couple of trade deadlines, and 2026 may be no different. The Orioles are well below .500, making them likely sellers. Ward, a 32-year-old slugger, entered 2026 with 61 homers over the course of the last two seasons. While he only has seven round-trippers this time around, the measurables show he’s still valuable. Ward’s sweet-spot percentage is up there with the best of them at 36.9 percent (77th percentile), and his approach is one of the best in all of baseball. Ward chases just 14.2 percent of the time (100th percentile), and his 17.1 percent walk rate is also near the top of major league hitters. His breakdown on our trade candidates list is this: What do you think, should the Brewers trade for one of these outfielders? View full article

The Milwaukee Brewers are contenders yet again, but with their outfield having a rotating trend of injuries, it wouldn't hurt to acquire some depth at the deadline. In this video, we'll dive into the various reasons that trading for JJ Bleday, Mickey Moniak, or Taylor Ward would be a wise decision for the Crew. View full video

The Milwaukee Brewers lost another starting pitcher in Brandon Woodruff due to injury. In this video, we'll break down why trading for the likes of Tarik Skubal, Sean Manaea, or Trevor Rogers could bolster the team's rotation and its chances at claiming a World Series title in 2026. View full video