TheCrew07

Why do we have to get MLB ready players? I'd go down to A ball to get superior physical talent in the hopes that they develop.

Lots of information on a ColbyJack pre-draft favorite Nick Howard who was taken by Reds before the Brewers 2nd selection came back around. Old friend Frank Kremblas (now with the Pirates organization) also gets a mention. Kremblas was far and away my favorite MiLB manager in the Brewer system prior to Matt Erickson. AFL Caps Exhilarating Season For Howard October 21, 2014 by Bill Mitchell

I thought this pace stuff was long overdue so I hope it catches hold in some form and they start working it into MiLB at the very least. Pace-Of-Play Initiatives Get Mixed Reviews In AFL October 21, 2014 by Alexis Brudnicki

Think this quote is absolutely spot on and is by far my biggest gripe with out how most fans and baseball people treat inexperienced players: I say give them the room to grow instead of the constant benchings or getting sent back to AAA to dominate inferior competition. Every player is going to have a unique learning curve and not hitting or pitching well right away doesn't make a player any less "ready" than he was 3 weeks ago when everyone wanted him up to help.

Subscriber content. 2015 Draft: No Clear No. 1, But College Arms Dominate October 20, 2014 by Clint Longenecker

My point is that selectivity is more important than taking pitches. Generally more selective hitters will have better ratios as you pointed out, however many guys are just physically gifted enough that they can do whatever they want and have success regardless like a young Ryan Braun who could put decent swings on bad pitches. People confuse or use selectivity and taking pitches interchangeably, as if they are synonymous, but they are 2 very different ideas. Rickie Weeks is a hitter who is patient to a fault, often letting the best pitch to hit in an AB go past without offering, I think he could have come much closer to his ceiling if he had been more concerned with hitting his pitch rather than being a lead-off hitter. I'm all for a patient selective approach and my point is simply that offering at a pitch early in the count isn't a mistake if it is truly a good pitch to hit, even if the outcome wasn't what was desired. I certainly don't want to extend Ramirez, I never wanted him in the first place... his first year was much better than I expected but these last 2 seasons have been basically what I thought we were signing at the time. I admit that I haven't really been into any significant Brewer FA acquisition as I didn't see any of those signings addressing the core issues with this franchise, so I've never had the faith that other posters on this site have had. I don't think it matters which player you have at 3B, I don't believe this team is capable of a WS appearance as currently constructed. I'd love to be proven wrong but I've been extremely skeptical of this approach going all the way back to my original posts on the subject in 2008.

Having an incredibly strong bullpen is great during the regular season but you can't pitch them every day. In these short playoff series the bullpens can absolutely tilt the outcome, STL did that in their most recent WS victory run... If your bullpen is that dominant you can dump a struggling starter early and roll right through your best relievers because you always have an off day looming. That's just not something that can be done during the 162 game schedule... maybe late in the year at crunch time, but not early, as there wouldn't be anyone left to pitch at the end of the season. I don't buy the argument that the best pitchers get better later in games as their stuff starts to fade some due to fatigue, they might be in the batter's heads which is difficult to quantify, but I'd like to see some evidence to backup that claim. Generally getting into the bullpen as quick as possible is a good thing, but it is true that depending on the team you may face stiffer competition out of the bullpen than the rotation. Again I say that taking pitches for the sake of taking pitches is dumb. Batters need to be selective about what pitches they choose to attack but if a pitcher grooves a first pitch FB I'd rather the hitter attack that pitch, it's likely the best pitch to hit he's going to see during his AB. To take that pitch to arbitrarily fall behind in the count and end up chasing something out of the zone for weak contact or a strike out doesn't make sense to me. I don't care when that FB comes during the AB, the batter should always swing at a hitter's pitch unless it's an obvious take situation.

I have a huge problem with the questionnaire, why are they asking us what to do? Even though it's likely a window dressing PR move this kind of shoots down the theory that the Brewers have had a long-term strategy all along doesn't it? Let's just keep patching season to season shall we?

BA started posting a ton of draft information last week but I didn't get back here with time to link it until today which worked out well because the NL central is being highlighted. All of the Brewer information is at the bottom of the post, all of the team articles also have a video attached This is the draft report card index. 2014 Draft Report Cards: Reviewing The Draft Classes October 20, 2014 by Staff Report More 2014 Draft retrospective coverage here. 2014 Draft Report Cards: CBA Notes And Spending Trends October 17, 2014 by Clint Longenecker This is a pretty awesome article. Draft Report Cards: Five Years In, Angels, Cardinals Earn Top Grades October 17, 2014 by John Manuel Subscriber content. 2014 Draft Report Card: Chicago Cubs October 20, 2014 by John Manuel Subscriber content. 2014 Draft Report Card: Pittsburgh Pirates October 20, 2014 by John Manuel Subscriber content. 2014 Draft Report Card: Cincinnati Reds October 20, 2014 by John Manuel Subscriber content. 2014 Draft Report Card: St. Louis Cardinals John Manuel -Monday, October 20, 2014 Subscriber content. 2014 Draft Report Card: Milwaukee Brewers October 20, 2014 by John Manuel Here are some lesser known tidbits from the article.

Interesting read for subscribers... I hope we can get this feature on a Brewers' prospect some day. Scout’s View: Cubs SS Addison Russell October 16, 2014 by Therron Brockish

Cubs' Kris Bryant heads off the PCL list followed by Javier Baez at #3, Arismendy Alcantara at #10, and Kyle Hendricks at #17. The Cardinals are also well represented with Oscar Taveras #4, Stephen Piscotty #13, and Tim Looney #15. The lone Brewer representative was Jimmy Nelson who was the 8th ranked prospect in the league. 2014 Pacific Coast League Top 20 Scouting Reports October 15, 2014 by Vince Lara-Cinisomo

Gregory Polanco of the Pirates tops this list at #1. Pittsburgh RHP Casey Sadler checks in at #11 and RHP Nick Kingham also makes this list at #20 (he was on the EL list as well). 2014 International League Top 20 Scouting Reports October 15, 2014 by Everett Merrill

It's more a case of the rich getting richer... I don't blame him for doing what's best for his family at all. I just don't want the Dodgers to have a guy who I consider to be one of the best in the business.

Yep just saw that...makes me sad.

The Pirates are the only divisional opponent with a team in this league. Elias Diaz of the Pirates hits this list at #10, Willy Garcia at #17, and Nick Kingham closes out the list at #20. 2014 Eastern League Top 20 Prospects With Scouting Reports October 14, 2014 by Josh Norris

Cubs' prospects Kris Bryant and Addison Russell are 1 & 2 followed by CJ Edwards at 5 and Albert Almora at 18. Reds' Robert Stephenson at 4, Michael Lorenzen at 12, and Ben Lively at 20. No Brewer prospects from Huntsville on this list which shouldn't be surprising given this wasn't a prospect laden team. 2014 Southern League Top 20 Prospects With Scouting Reports October 13, 2014 by Matt Eddy

I was always a fan of Escobar, as such that HR made me very happy.

Arizona Senior Fall Classic: Kahaloa Stands Out October 10, 2014 by Clint Longenecker

Yes the Brewers could move up if any of the teams in front of them decide to forfeit their 1st round pick, the draft order won't be finalized until next summer.

He's not a MLB catcher, he wasn't good enough to catch all of the games in A ball on team who didn't have a stand out defensive catcher. They tried him at 3rd but apparently he's done the best in RF. I'm okay with RF, it's better than just arbitrarily sticking him at 1B. His arm is too good to waste at 1B unless he's not able to be competent defender at a different position. I would also much rather the Brewers quit bringing up defensively deficient prospects to MLB, I wanted to move Coulter after last season but I'm happy with him getting 2 years in the OF in the minors before a possible call-up. The more experience he gets, hopefully the better he will perform.

Lefty Holmberg projects as back-of-rotation starter for Reds Bernie Pleskoff

Albert Almora of the Cubs and our own Tyrone Taylor make the A+ list. Intriguing Johnny Davis makes the A list and the Playmaker section. Getting Defensive: Center Field Prospects Worth Loving For Their Gloves October 8, 2014 by Matt Eddy

The Brewers have the 16th pick, right? Covered here and here.

Subscriber content. Taillon Takes Steps Toward Return October 7, 2014 by John Perrotto

Jesse Winkler and Ben Lively of the Reds check in at #12 and #16 respectively on this list. 2014 California League Top 20 Prospects With Scouting Reports October 7, 2014 by Jim Shonerd