TheCrew07

When trading you are trying to fill organizational needs, it's not like the draft where you take BPA. Given the team's OF depth I wouldn't want to trade for an OF unless we traded both Aoki and Gomez away. Then I'd consider someone like Eaton or Pederson.

Last week we saw 3 runners hit by batted balls in 3 days... fast forward today and Gioskar Amaya just got drilled in foul territory between 3rd and home. Had Amaya been in fair territory that would have been 4 straight games at TWC field that a runner would have been out by a batted ball. As I'm typing this Garza makes a heck of a defensive play on speedy Almora to save a run. edit. And Mehring just tweeted the exact same thing... sneaky.

I don't think the contact play is a RR thing, I think it's an organizational thing. The T-Rats run into outs with it all the time, including last inning when Arcia and Taylor got doubled up on the contact play... Arcia between 3rd and home and Taylor going to 2nd.

We should probably get used to reading about this young man the way MiLB panders to the large markets. NWL notes: Cubs' Blackburn bulks up

There's no way I'm interested in signing any 38 year old player to a multi-year contract. Stripling makes best start for Lookouts

All of about about 2-3 years. In addition to their big league roster they have all of this coming plus Stetson Allie. This is Jim Callis' post draft Pirates top 10. I don't buy Sanchez at 10 but there are 2-3 prospects that I would feel good about putting there. Yea I know that prospects still have to perform, but that's an awfully high ceiling bunch, much different than our top 10. 1. Jameson Taillon, rhp $6.5 million man has better feel than Cole and his stuff isn’t far behind. 2. Gregory Polanco, of Keeps getting better and might be a five-tool center fielder. 3. Austin Meadows, of This year’s No. 9 pick might be a five-tool center fielder, too. 4. Josh Bell, of Now that he’s healthy, showing why his bat earned him a $5 million bonus. 5. Tyler Glasnow, rhp Breakout prospect has an unhittable fastball/curve combo, needs more command. 6. Reese McGuire, c No. 14 choice in June has above-average catch, throw and bat skills. 7. Alen Hanson, ss This feels low for an offensive shortstop with average defensive tools. 8. Nick Kingham, rhp Like Glasnow, he’s a projection righty coming into his own this season. 9. Luis Heredia, rhp Very polished and has two pro seasons under his belt at age 18. 10. Tony Sanchez, c Showing signs that he just might be a big league regular.

I'd rather see Pena as I just noticed Ozuna only has 4 ABs thus far.

Clinton holds on to top Rattlers Wisconsin's ninth inning rally falters By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers CLINTON, IA - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers attempted to make it back-to-back ninth inning comebacks against the Clinton LumberKings. But unlike Thursday night, the LumberKings held off the Rattlers in their last at bat to defeat Wisconsin 3-1 at Ashford University Field on Friday night. The top of the Wisconsin batting order put them in front in the fourth inning. Michael Reed doubled to start the rally. Orlando Arcia bunted to move Reed to third. Tyrone Taylor continued his hot hitting with a single to left to drive in Reed. Taylor pushed his hitting streak to twelve straight games with that hit. Clinton (39-38 overall, 6-2 second half) rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth. There were two outs and none on base. Wisconsin starter Jorge Lopez hit Janelfry Zorilla. Taylor Ard followed with a single to put runners on first and second. Tyler Marlette was next and he singled to left to drive in Zorilla to tie the game. Those were the only runs the starting pitchers would give up on the evening. Lopez tossed six innings, struck out six, and allowed four hits. Clinton starter Tyler Pike struck out six, walked one, and allowed two hits over seven innings. The LumberKings took the lead in the bottom of the seventh against reliever Taylor Mangum. Gabby Guerrero started the inning with a single. Tim Lopes singled on a hit-and-run to send Guerrero around to third. Martin Peguero drove in Guerrero with a sacrifice fly to left field. Clinton added to their lead in the bottom of the eighth. Dario Pizzano doubled to start the inning and moved to third on a ground out. The Rattlers brought the infield in, but a slow chopper up the middle off the bat of Ard left only a play to first. The ground out by Ard drove in Pizzano for a 3-1 lead. On Thursday, the Timber Rattlers trailed 2-1 heading to the top of the ninth and scored three runs to take a 4-2 lead on the way to an eventual 5-4 win in eleven innings. Wisconsin (30-43, 1-7) tried to repeat the feat in the ninth on Friday. Taylor singled to start the frame, but was erased on a fielder's choice when Victor Roache sent a grounder to third and the LumberKings could only get the force out at second. Then, Mike Garza's sinking line drive got in for a hit and bounced away off the leg of Zorilla. That put the tying runs at second and third with one out. But, Clinton escaped as Mark Bordanaro got a strikeout and a ground out to preserve the win for the LumberKings. The Timber Rattlers return home to begin a five game series with the Kane County Cougars. Game one is Saturday night with Preston Gainey (3-5, 6.85) scheduled to get the starting assignment for the Timber Rattlers. Felix Pena (2-2, 3.04) is set to start for the Midwest League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Game time at Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium is 6:35pm. Get your gate Saturday night as Cher-Make presents Ultimate Tailgate Night with plenty of tips and fun surrounding one of the area's most popular pastimes. Plus, the first 1,000 fans to attend this game will receive a cooler bag from Cher-Make. It's also a Fly Away Saturday, which means one lucky fan will win airfare for two from Funjet Vacations and Fox World Travel at this game. Stick around after the game for a FOX 11 fireworks display! If you can't make it out to the game, there are several ways to catch the action. My NEW32's Sports Showdown will televise the game beginning with their pregame show at 6:00pm. The radio broadcast is available on AM1280, WNAM and timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:15pm. The game will also be available to subscribers of MiLB.TV. WP: Tyler Pike (5-3) LP: Taylor Mangum (1-4) SAVE: Mark Bordonaro (2) TIME: 2:09 Wisconsin Boxscore My goodness Jorge Lopez can spin some gems when his mechanics are on... 6IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, and 6SO? I'll take that every friggen time out. I went up to my parents place to watch the Hellweg vs Cole match-up with my pops(what a bummer BTW) so I didn't get to listen to the game. I did sneak away to check in over iHeartRadio which just happened to be in the 6th and Chris said that Jorge was bringing big velocity in every inning but the 4th when he gave up the run. He referred to a pitch as "only 91", then laughed a little bit at himself at which point my phone started buffering again and I lost the game. At some point national media folks are going to start getting as excited about Tyrone Taylor as we are, another 2-4 effort as the DH. I understand that he's not going to make the hot sheet without insane HR numbers for a week but he should at least make a BA daily prospect recap or MiLB feature don't you think? Oh yea, he only had the only multi hit game for the T-Rats tonight. Wisconsin Recap The fake rally. Wisconsin Top of the 9th Tyrone Taylor singles on a ground ball to shortstop Ketel Marte. Victor Roache grounds into a force out, third baseman Martin Peguero to second baseman Tim Lopes. Tyrone Taylor out at 2nd. Victor Roache to 1st. Mike Garza singles on a line drive to center fielder Janelfry Zorrilla. Victor Roache to 3rd. Mike Garza advances to 2nd, on a fielding error by center fielder Janelfry Zorrilla. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-runner Alfredo Rodriguez replaces Mike Garza. Adam Giacalone strikes out swinging. Parker Berberet grounds out, third baseman Martin Peguero to first baseman Taylor Ard.

Did you make it to a T-Rats game or watch any of the games on television where you had the opportunity to observe Coulter's work behind the plate? Or are you basing your opinion simply on, "sometimes scouts are wrong"? I've watched him catch at least 8 games and he's awful, like he doesn't belong at the position at all, and if he made the most progress of any player in the off-season as Matt Erickson said, then there's very little hope, because he still has so far to go. The sooner they move him the better.

Prospect Hot Sheet Chat with Jim Shonerd

Sorry about doubling up MH, I had my post started and then got side tracked by work stuff. I started it before yours but didn't finish it until much after, and never saw your original.

Quite a few divisional mentions, unfortunately our own Drew Gagnon is mentioned in the one section no one wants to be in. Just a reminder that for hitters the Hot Sheet is as much about HRs as it is about being "hot", just like pitchers need Ks to make the list so Tyrone Taylor doesn't have much of a chance. Prospect Hot Sheet: Kyle Crick Jumps From DL To No. 1 IN THE TEAM PHOTO Paul Blackburn, rhp, Cubs: When the Cubs drafted Blackburn in the supplemental first round last year, they knew he had better feel than the average high school arm. That has been apparent in his first three starts at short-season Boise. The 19-year-old has walked two while striking out 20 and has yet to allow an earned run. He was 0-1, 0.00 this week with 12 strikeouts in 10 innings. Phillip Ervin, cf, Reds: The 27th overall pick in the draft made an immediate impact after joining Rookie-level Billings late last week. The Samford product homered in his third pro game and hit .391 (9-for-23) with two homers and six RBIs on the week. Tyler Glasnow, rhp, Pirates: The Pirates loved Glasnow’s projectability coming out of high school in 2011, and he’s making their $600,000 investment look good thus far. The 19-year-old has a 2.44 ERA in 15 low Class A starts, and he leads the SAL in strikeouts (98) and opponent average (.149). In two starts this week, he struck out 13 over nine scoreless innings and gave up just six hits. NOT HOT Drew Gagnon, rhp, Brewers: Gagnon got a promotion to Double-A Huntsville after a cascade of pitching promotions higher up in the system created a need. Considering he was 3-4, 5.16 at high Class A Brevard County, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he has found the Southern League even tougher. Gagnon, 23, didn’t get out of the first inning in his lone start this week, giving up six hits and four runs, and is allowing more than a run an inning in his four Double-A starts. Ismael Guillon, lhp, Reds: For much of his career, Bret Saberhagen was an ace in odd-numbered years and league average in even-numbered years. Guillon has flipped Saberhagen’s script. He burst onto the scene with an excellent 2010 season, only to watch it fall apart in 2011. He recovered in 2012, but his 2013 season has been even worse than 2011. He retired just two of the nine batters he faced this week, walking three and giving up four hits in 2/3 of an inning.

An undisclosed physical issue... again why aren't pre-draft physicals for the top 300 players mandatory? Krook Won’t Sign With Marlins

Pirates ‘Prep’ For The Future With Both First-Round Picks

The first article is the list with video, the second is the subscriber piece with the scouting reports. Of the 30, only 1 linked to the Brewers... which is a positive development compared to this point last year. The Cubs are linked to bunch of players including the top 2. July 2 Top 30 International Prospects List Top 30 International Prospects For July 2

Rattlers snap losing streak with style Wisconsin rallies in ninth and eleventh to beat Clinton 5-4 By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers CLINTON, IA - The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers ended their seven game losing streak with a 5-4 eleven inning win over the Clinton LumberKings Thursday night at Ashford University Field. Michael Reed drove in the go ahead run in the top of the eleventh inning, but there were enough twists and turns in the final two innings to make a writer of fiction blush. Clinton (38-38 overall, 5-2 second half) took a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning. Jabari Henry reached on an error to start the frame. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and third on a ground out. Janelfry Zorilla bounced a single through the center of the diamond to drive in Henry with the first run of the game. Wisconsin (30-42, 1-6) tied the game in the top of the third. Alfredo Rodriguez and Tyler Roberts drew walks to lead off the inning. A one out fly ball to right by Michael Reed got Rodriguez to third. Orlando Arcia knocked in Rodriguez with a single to left-center to make it 1-1. The starting pitchers didn't allow anything else. Rattlers starter Tyler Wagner pitched around two walks and six hits over six innings. He only allowed that unearned run in the first. Scott DeCecco allowed just two hits in six innings and struck out four while walking two. Jordy Lara broke the 1-1 tie with a home run on the first pitch thrown by Rattlers reliever Martin Viramontes in the bottom of the seventh inning. Lara has six home runs this season and three have come against the Timber Rattlers. Michael Reed singled with two outs in the top of the eighth and moved to second on a passed ball. Arcia hit a hard shot on a 3-1 pitch, but it was right at the third baseman who made a clean pick and an accurate throw to first base for the final out of the inning. Clinton had a chance to add on to their lead against Viramontes in the bottom of the eighth. Dario Pizzano started the inning with a triple, but Viramontes worked around that with two strikeouts and a fly ball to right. The Rattlers tied the game on the first batter of the top of the ninth, but not without controversy. Tyrone Taylor hit a high line drive on an 0-2 pitch from Richard Vargas down the left field line. The ball appeared to leave the yard in fair territory for a game tying home run. The plate umpire initially called it a foul ball, but after discussion with the base umpire the ball was ruled a fair ball and a game-tying home run. Clinton manager Eddie Menchaca was ejected for arguing after the call was changed. The next two Timber Rattlers struck out, but Wisconsin would load the bases on two out singles by Adam Giacalone and Alfredo Rodriguez. A walk to Tyler Roberts loaded the bases. Chris McFarland lined a single to center to score pinch runner Adrian Williams and Rodriguez for a 4-2 lead. Viramontes walked the leadoff batter in the bottom of the ninth. He got the first out on a popout to short. Then, Henry sent a grounder to short. The Rattlers got the force at second, but Henry barely beat the throw to first for what would have been a game ending double play and the game continued. Ketel Marte was next and he lined a ball right back at Viramontes on the mound. Viramontes could not handle the line drive cleanly, but still had time to get the out at first. He picked the ball up off the mound and tossed underhanded to first base. But, the toss was too high for Max Walla and the ball rolled to the tarp along the fence line. Henry scored all the way from first and Marte wound up on third. Dario Pizzano singled through the left side of the infield to drive in Marte with the run that sent the game to extra innings. Wisconsin regained the lead in the top of the eleventh. Roberts and McFarland each singled with one out to put runners at the corners. Reed singled through the right side of the infield to drive in Roberts with the go ahead run. Jono Armold, who worked through a dicey tenth inning, pitched a 1-2-3 eleventh to nail down a hard earned win for the Timber Rattlers. Taylor's home run, his sixth of the season, extended his hitting streak to eleven games. That is the longest hitting streak by a Wisconsin player this season. Game four of the series is set for Friday night. Jorge Lopez (3-6, 6.46) is the scheduled starting pitcher for the Timber Rattlers. Clinton has Tyler Pike (4-3, 2.91) as their scheduled starter. Game time is 7:00pm. Tune in on AM1280, WNAM or timberrattlers.com starting with the Miller Lite Pregame Show at 6:40pm. HOME RUNS: WIS: Tyrone Taylor (6th, 0 on in 9th inning off Richard Vargas, 0 out) CLN: Jordy Lara (6th, 0 on in 7th inning off Martin Viramontes, 0 out) WP: Jono Armold (2-1) LP: David Holman (1-4) TIME: 3:53 ATTN: 1,439 Wisconsin Boxscore Tyler Wagner with just 1 SO in another otherwise stellar start, the low strike out total struck me as a trend so I looked back and sure enough, he hasn't had more than 3 SOs in his last 3 outings. Martin Viramontes remains one of the more interesting yet enigmatic pitchers in the system, as Chris covered in the game story his own error on an underhanded toss did him in today. Johnathan Armold just continues his steady pitching. Michael Reed, Tyrone Taylor, Tyler Robers, and Chris McFarland all had multi-hit games. Victor Roache had a tough game with 3 SOs. Wisconsin Recap Covered above, but the highs and lows of the 9th inning. Wisconsin Top of the 9th Pitching Change: Richard Vargas replaces Oliver Garcia. Tyrone Taylor homers (6) on a fly ball to left field. Clinton LumberKings Manager Eddie Menchaca ejected by HP umpire Nate Tomlinson. Victor Roache strikes out swinging. Mike Garza strikes out swinging. Adam Giacalone singles on a ground ball to center fielder Janelfry Zorrilla. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-runner Adrian Williams replaces Adam Giacalone. Alfredo Rodriguez singles on a ground ball to left fielder Dario Pizzano. Adrian Williams to 2nd. Tyler Roberts walks. Adrian Williams to 3rd. Alfredo Rodriguez to 2nd. Christopher McFarland singles on a line drive to center fielder Janelfry Zorrilla. Adrian Williams scores. Alfredo Rodriguez scores. Tyler Roberts to 2nd. Michael Reed walks. Tyler Roberts to 3rd. Christopher McFarland to 2nd. Pitching Change: David Holman replaces Richard Vargas. Orlando Arcia flies out to right fielder Gabriel Guerrero. Clinton Bottom of the 9th Defensive Substitution: Max Walla replaces Adrian Williams, batting 6th, playing first base. Gabriel Guerrero walks. Martin Peguero pops out to shortstop Orlando Arcia. Jabari Henry grounds into a force out, shortstop Orlando Arcia to second baseman Christopher McFarland. Gabriel Guerrero out at 2nd. Jabari Henry to 1st. Ketel Marte reaches on a throwing error by pitcher Martin Viramontes. Jabari Henry scores. Ketel Marte to 3rd. Dario Pizzano singles on a ground ball to shortstop Orlando Arcia. Ketel Marte scores. Janelfry Zorrilla pops out to second baseman Christopher McFarland. Armold's 10th. The Clinton bench didn't like the call with Guerrero getting tossed. Since Clinton substituted the DH into RF they lost that position, had the game continued a pitcher would have actually had to bat in low A, something that doesn't happen often. Clinton Bottom of the 10th Pitching Change: Jonathan Armold replaces Martin Viramontes. Taylor Ard singles on a ground ball to third baseman Alfredo Rodriguez. Marcus Littlewood out on a sacrifice bunt, catcher Tyler Roberts to first baseman Max Walla. Taylor Ard to 2nd. Jonathan Armold intentionally walks Jordy Lara. Gabriel Guerrero grounds into a double play, second baseman Christopher McFarland to shortstop Orlando Arcia to first baseman Max Walla. Jordy Lara out at 2nd. The winning rally! Wisconsin Top of the 11th Clinton LumberKings right fielder Gabriel Guerrero ejected by 1B umpire Clint Vondrak. Jabari Henry remains in the game as the right fielder. Pitcher David Holman enters the batting order, batting 8th, right fielder Gabriel Guerrero leaves the game. Alfredo Rodriguez flies out to center fielder Janelfry Zorrilla. Tyler Roberts singles on a line drive to center fielder Janelfry Zorrilla. Christopher McFarland singles on a line drive to right fielder Jabari Henry. Tyler Roberts to 3rd. Michael Reed singles on a ground ball to right fielder Jabari Henry. Tyler Roberts scores. Christopher McFarland to 2nd. Orlando Arcia strikes out swinging. Tyrone Taylor grounds into a force out, third baseman Jordy Lara to second baseman Ketel Marte. Michael Reed out at 2nd.

Hell I'd definitely do it, I wanted to ship Ramirez their way last season. Would Melvin realistically do it without a legit 3B though? The whole "creating a hole" theory that he's repeatedly said he doesn't see the sense in? The internal options would be Green/Francisco until one of Seager/Neuhaus is ready? I'd be okay with that to go after pitching and pickup another position player of need. They could sign a stop gap 3B for a couple of years as well. Here's the potential 3B FA list for 2014 from Cots. Generally I'm okay signing value position players in FA, but not middling starting pitchers. (* – player whose current contract includes 2014 option.) Wilson Betemit * Eric Chavez Mark DeRosa Mike Fontenot Jerry Hairston Jr. Brandon Inge Placido Polanco Mark Reynolds Juan Uribe Kevin Youkilis Michael Young Betemit would probably be the guy I would target assuming a Ramirez trade, I can't see Baltimore allowing Betemit's option to vest with Machado killing it at 3B and Hardy signed through next year. They also have Schoop who will be ready to take over for Hardy in 2015, another SS behind him in Marin. If Betemit could be a league average hitter for a 2 years on a reasonable FA contract I'd be interested.

So more drama now in the top of the 11th. Arica foul tips a ball, but the catcher doesn't hang on. The umpire calls out Arcia thinking it was swinging strike. However McFarland had moved up to 3rd on the called strike out, but for some reason he was forced to move back to 2nd? If they call it a foul tip Arcia is still batting with 2 strikes and McFarland should be back at 2nd. However since they called it a strike out, McFarland has every right to be standing on 3rd. Not the best game for this umpiring crew. By the way, that was the second missed foul tip in the inning.

I've been thinking something that I forgot to add, but a pretty conservative scenario would leave the Brewers with the 4th best rotation in our own division by next year. If you add Cole and Taillon to the Pirates rotation talent wise I think they are better than the Brewers. I know they've outperformed the Brewers this year but I have hard time believing Burnett, Rodriguez, and Liriano will keep performing at the level they have. For some reason I have an irrational hatred of Rodriguez. I don't think it's really even debatable that the Reds and Cards are already more talented (and younger). The Cards average rotation age is up there right now but they can move away from Wainwright (31) and Westbrook (35) to Wacha and Martinez for 2014 if they want.

The problem with the Dodgers is that they blew out both of their best pitching prospects last season. Allen Webster is now with Boston and Nathan Eovaldi with the Marlins, I would have loved either of those guys, though Eovaldi would have been my first choice. Looking at their system and a Ramirez/K-Rod package... well the a fore mentioned Zach Lee/Ross Stripling and Corey Seager, would be my choice. Neither pitcher is a top of the rotation starter today, but there's potential for Lee and rotation full of 3s is better than what we have now. Here's the scouting reporting on Stripling from this winter: Stripling's 2013: [pre]Year Age Tm Lg Lev ERA IP BB SO WHIP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB 2013 23 2 Teams 2 Lgs AA-A+ 2.85 75.2 17 77 1.137 8.2 0.4 2.0 9.2 4.53 2013 23 RanchoCucamonga CALL A+ 2.94 33.2 11 34 1.040 6.4 0.3 2.9 9.1 3.09 2013 23 Chattanooga SOUL AA 2.79 42.0 6 43 1.214 9.6 0.4 1.3 9.2 7.17 2 Seasons 2.33 112.0 23 114 1.054 7.6 0.2 1.8 9.2 4.96[/pre] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 6/27/2013. Here's the scouting report on Seager: Here's Seager's career thus far: [pre]Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB 2B 3B HR SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS 2012 18 Ogden PION Rk LAD 46 202 175 9 2 8 8 2 21 33 .309 .383 .520 .903 2013 19 GreatLakes MIDW A LAD 43 175 159 6 3 7 7 2 13 36 .296 .354 .503 .857 2 Seasons 89 377 334 15 5 15 15 4 34 69 .302 .370 .512 .882[/pre] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 6/27/2013. However my question would be why the Dodgers would make more trades as they are in last place? Last year they came out and ran their mouths and made some bad trades that haven't really helped move them forward. Would they really do it again? A healthy Ramirez would solidify 3B for them and their bullpen is a mess, so if they are willing to deal I'd actually send enough relievers along to get all 3 players instead of just one of Lee or Stripling. I just don't see them being overly aggressive again. I sure would love to suddenly have a couple of legit 3B in Neuhaus (AZ) and I would move Seager (WI) there as well after having nothing at 3B prior to the season and of course adding a couple of more big arms in the upper minors. I just have trouble believing the Dodgers would do it.

Holy biscuits, Tyrone Taylor just got robbed of a HR, Mehring can't believe it, I hope his call is in the highlights and this get changed. The home plate umpire called it foul but everyone else thought it was fair including the left fielder. Erickson is livid... Wait, the call just got changed after an umpire discussion and it's a game tying HR in the top of the 9th! edit. I may have jumped the gun, still being debated on the field. edit2. after 3 minutes of dicussion it is a HR, the opposing manager is kicked out, and the opposing fans are booing up a storm.!

I certainly am being optimistic, I just think Morris is an ascending player. As to your second point, depending on where he falls he's probably outside the top 10. Currently an .820 would be 11th, just in front of Anthony Rizzo at .816 and behind Freddie Freeman/ Adrian Gonzalez at .825. Looking at the 1B leader board sorted by OPS on fangraphs we're experiencing a changing of the guard 1B wise. Are guys like Ryan Howard going to be truly elite players at age 34 in 2014? or Adrian Gonzalez at 32? Where does Pujols stack up at 34 in 2014? I have to believe he's still capable of a mid .850s OPS, but maybe time has passed him by as well. I'd take Morris over most of the guys below Rizzo in that list and definitely everyone from Brandon Belt on down. The only guy with significant talent in that bottom 3rd is Eric Hosmer, I would have never guessed he'd still be struggling to put up a .700 OPS in his 3rd full season. I honestly have hard time qualifying my affection for Morris, maybe it's just as simple as he's come so far already? I think at worst he's a .750ish OPS guy. That's not great, but it's a pretty reasonable floor, and I'll take it.

Chris just said that part 3 (Saturday) will come at the end of Ben's trip, we'll have to keep an eye out.

Both halves of the blog post now here. Tailgating and Toilet Paper in Wisconsin On the Road: Just Another Friday Night in Appleton, Wisconsin

So you'd only trade Segura for a much more expensive, much more injury prone, and much older player at the same position? Don't get me wrong, if I could choose between both players as 23 year olds I take Tulo hands down, but Tulo is 28 and as it turned out has trouble staying on the field. He's only played more than 145 (chosen because that's 90% of a season) games twice and came close 1 other time. I really like Tulo as player but there no way I take any proven star at the SS position over Segura -- his production relative to his cost makes him untradable. My core pieces would be Braun, Segura, and Lucroy, though I'd listen on Lucroy if the offer was good enough. Those are the guys I would build around. After watching Gallardo pitch 90-91 with his FB last night and given his contract situation, he's no longer someone I would even be looking to pickup the options on if the Brewers had any kind legitimate pitching behind him. I was hoping his velocity would gradually creep back up but the only 92 I saw was up and out of the zone. It's been about a month since I last saw him pitch, he just looks... well very ordinary now.