TheCrew07

Diaz has been moved to primarily 2B for the t-rats, just sayin... That's not entirely true, he played SS 11 times in July, including the last 3 games in a row. His arm certainly leaves question whether or not he'll stick at SS long-term, but there isn't a single Rattler besides McDowell who's just played 1 position all year, and I like that the Brewers are making positional diversification a priority. There's much more going on with the T-Rats than moving Isan to his potential MLB position, Erickson is mostly trying to figure out how to get ABs and defensive experience for everyone. It's as much about getting Aviles reps as a SS as it is Diaz reps at 2B.

I wouldn't say that Touki has regressed, he still doesn't have FB control, let alone FB command, he needed to end up with Giants like Beede did, they've done very well control projects.

You know with everyone linking the MLB pipeline top 30 prospects all the time it sure would be nice if BA would move that content from their handbook to the web... but then I guess there's not a reason to buy the hand book. I actually didn't buy it this year, you can't link to it so it's difficult to use it as source material. I agree the pitching depth is exciting, now we just need more top of the rotation candidates and things will look pretty good. Ortiz is the only pitcher I'd put into that category today, we have some pitchers with potential but we don't have anyone of Gallardo quality yet where there's no doubt he's going to be above average. I'm chasing 2s and pretty much all I see are 3s... and poor Taylor Williams isn't getting much love from anyone anymore... outta sight, outta mind.

Rain postpones Shuckers and Suns Monday Doubleheader scheduled for Tuesday at 4:05 pm CT in Jacksonville Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/9/2/6/193048926/cuts/8_1_Jville_j12c6b05_v2cxjqh6.jpg

You sure do enjoy getting a rise out of people.

Rattlers Beat Peoria 3-1 Diaz, Drossner, Griep hold Chiefs to one run By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Wisconsin Boxscore This is a good day as the Brewers acquired more talent and the Rattlers ended their 3 game skid. Miguel Diaz was once again bitten by the HR, but it was a solo shot, and the only run he allowed. The walks were way down which was awesome, but the strike outs were too. I mentioned in mid July that his arm slot was all over the place so he's definitely still a major work in progress, but I confess that I have a man crush on him. For whatever reason Jake Drossner has pitched better all year in relief, I have no rational explanation for it as his FB command isn't any better in relief, but it was a very nice bounce back outing for Jake. Once again his secondary stuff is very good, the only thing holding Drossner back is his FB command which suggests that if he makes it he'll be a reliever. No Rattler had a multi hit game but after homering yesterday David Denson dropped a double, it's been a while since he had back to back days with an XBH, unless I made a mistake you have to go all the way back to 5/14 and 5/15 for the last occurrence. Isan Diaz started the year on a defensive tear and then gradually started trying to be too fancy or rather always try to make the fantastic play. He didn't have an error until his 13th game, and only had 2 in the first month, but then things got out of control in May and June, though he's settled back in now committing just 5 errors in July. His error today bumped his total 27 on the year, and of those errors more than half are in the bad decision category as he's an excellent fielder. On the plus side Isan's 1-3 day with a BB pushed his AVE up to .270 and he's firmly back in the BB lead with 48 on the season, Denson is sitting at 45, and then 3rd place is all the way down to Troy Strokes with just 28. Trent Clark has also been a BB machine with 22 in 114 ABs. Wisconsin Recap

This was well said, I wish I could post succinct thoughts in the same manner but my mind just keeps moving from one idea to the next.

Simply because he was awful.

I understand where you are coming from but I completely disagree, actually it's about a quantity of quality prospects. I've beat on the Overbay trade so many times but I'll use it as an example again. At the time of the trade so many people including myself thought we cleaned up because the Brewers got 2 first round picks and 1 second round pick, but the players were actually nothing special: A back of the rotation pitcher, a never was pitcher, and a 4th outfielder. It was amazing how quickly my opinion of that trade turned completely around as I realized the MLB draft at that time wasn't about talent as much as it was signability. The scouting reports were so underwhelming I was wondering why the Brewers didn't target Marcum or McGowan who were much better prospects, and Marcum was similarly close to MLB as Bush. It was a classic Melvin "mlb piece" trade, and the more I read and learned, the more I despised those quantity deals, and they have become the antitheses of my organization building philosophy. You can have 20 Darren Fords in your organization but none of them will ever be Lorenzo Cain, 4 and 5 tool talents are pretty rare and those players simply are not physically gifted enough to reach those heights. Prospects do absolutely fail, as do many flash in the pan MLB players, so the trick is to mitigate the risk with multiple impact prospects, an organization like Milwaukee can't throw them away buying short term solutions because the Brewers don't possess the financial resources to plug the holes left behind with talented Free Agents. Instead of having 1 or 2 pitchers that could be top of the rotation types we need to have 5 or 6 because surely some fail and/or get injured, and we need to continually develop our own top of the rotation pitching. The problem with the Brewers is that there's only ever been 1 stud pitching prospect at a time so when they get hurt or flame out, there's nothing left. Melvin blamed Rogers and Jones' injuries for the reason the Brewers had a bad rotation, but it was actually the lack of projectable arms which was the issue. The Brewers have never been good enough developing pitching to be able to count on such limited numbers of true prospects. We need 5-6 legitimate top of the rotation starting pitchers scattered through the minors at any given time and we aren't there yet, even after today. If you have 10 Dave Bush type pitchers in your organization you can probably field a full rotation or close to it out of that 10 by the time they reach MLB, but that rotation isn't going to win you a championship nor is that group filthy enough to provide shut down relievers. If Hader and Bickford fail as starters we're almost assured of quality relievers, in relief Bush type pitchers are nothing more than cannon fodder middle relief. The Brewers have a ton of CF depth now which I think is awesome, I would love to have a similarly athletic outfield as the Pirates currently do. I get people want true corner outfields but I've been chasing pitching and more dynamic athletes for a long time and now we have a GM with a similar philosophy. I care less about HRs than I do about run prevention, get on a base and good things will happen.

Lewis Brinson has been dealing with a shoulder issue all year, which gives me pause, but I really like him. In July he played just his 2nd full month of games so far this season. [pre]Split G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS Total 80 341 317 49 75 15 6 11 41 13 4 19 66 .237 .282 .426 .708 Last 7 days 6 23 23 3 8 2 0 0 2 1 1 0 6 .348 .348 .435 .783 Last 28 days 25 116 112 16 30 5 2 4 10 3 1 4 26 .268 .293 .455 .748 Last 90 days 60 261 243 35 54 10 4 9 32 9 2 16 56 .222 .269 .407 .677 Home 42 172 160 28 40 7 5 9 24 8 1 10 28 .250 .298 .525 .823 Away 38 169 157 21 35 8 1 2 17 5 3 9 38 .223 .266 .325 .591 vs RHP as RHB 77 282 263 60 11 5 9 34 16 56 .228 .274 .411 .685 vs LHP as RHB 31 59 54 15 4 1 2 7 3 10 .278 .322 .500 .822 April 17 68 62 11 16 5 1 1 8 4 2 3 9 .258 .309 .419 .728 May 26 113 104 14 21 3 2 4 14 3 1 8 20 .202 .259 .385 .644 June 8 29 26 5 5 1 1 2 8 1 0 2 9 .192 .241 .538 .780 July 29 131 125 19 33 6 2 4 11 5 1 6 28 .264 .298 .440 .738 2 outs RISP 38 47 42 10 3 1 2 14 5 10 .238 .319 .500 .819 vs. Younger Pitchers 9 19 19 4 1 0 0 1 0 4 .211 .211 .263 .474 vs. Older Pitchers 76 322 298 71 14 6 11 40 19 62 .238 .287 .436 .723[/pre] Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table Generated 8/1/2016. Luis Ortiz was a pitcher I liked very much in 2014, he had an injury concern that was kept quiet so he started falling down draft boards. Prior to that I liked him as much Grant Holmes in that draft, but with the injury known, but no information regarding what or why it it was hard to keep him at the top of the draft. It's kind of interesting that all of the pitchers I liked from that draft outside of Freeland have been traded already... Newcomb, Holmes, and Ortiz.

2 things. 1. It's impossible to have too many pitching prospects. 2. Bickford is currently a 2 pitch guy and on the fence between starter and reliever. It's not like we just landed a pitcher the caliber of Jeff Hoffman at the 2015 deadline, he's a tweener with potential, he's more of a RH Josh Hader circa 2015 than a legit top of the rotation starter right now. That being said this is an excellent trade for a reliever.

He had an .800+ OPS a little over a month ago. The scouting reports have been fine. I'm not worried. Most of those positive scouting reports were from people who were basing their analysis on his improved power stroke and walk rate while ignoring the rest. There's really no excusing away his season to this point. While it's true he floated around an .800 OPS most of May and June the "+" was like .805-.817, which is much different than floating from say .820-.850. He's been down .100 OPS most of the season and he's heading in wrong the direction. A .223/.323/.401 line with a .724 OPS isn't what anyone was expecting from him, in fact we're approaching a .200 reduction in OPS from his previous 2 seasons which should give anyone a pause, if we had been polled prior to the season most us would have called that a disaster. He hasn't hit this bad since his first 2 years in pro ball, hopefully he figures out a way to combine what he did in the previous 2 seasons with his improved walk and HR rates this year and meet in the middle some place for 2017. I don't think it's fair to say he's fine because he's still talented and has improved power and "patience", when he's not been more patient just because his walk is improved as his contact rate is declining and his strike out rate is spiking. There's no evidence of improved "selectivity" at the plate, just a hitter who's a bit lost and struggling to find any footing. At least with Phillips he'll always provide excellent defense. MH posted the mid-season updates from Sickels who wrote the most even handed report at this moment:

Peoria Knocks Rattlers 5-2 Chiefs break 2-2 tie with three runs in seventh inning By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Wisconsin Boxscore Jordan Yamamoto has struggled here of late, actually it's been ever since he started gaining some traction with the fans. Much like Angel Ventura in AA, Jordan gave up all 5 runs via 2 long balls. David Denson (3-4,2B) had the only multi hit effort in this game for the T-Rats, Wisconsin Recap

Neither did K-Rod.

Shuckers drop opener in Jacksonville, 5-3, Sunday Dustin DeMuth goes 4-for-5 and scored three runs in the loss Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/2/2/4/192931224/cuts/26908689561_4ec4eacc38_o_wr3agmoe_3em8td0i.jpg Javier Betancourt went 2-for-4 with an RBI on Sunday. He's hit in 12 of his last 13 games. (Jason Clark) Biloxi Boxscore Angel Ventura only gave up 2 hits, but they were both HRs, the walks and homers doomed him. Brooks Hall also gave up a HR so all of Jacksonville's runs were scored via the HR. Dustin DeMuth exploded in his 5th game going 4-5 with a 2B, he bumped his AVE to .333 in Biloxi and instantly became the owner of the team's highest BA this side of Woodruff. Javier Betancourt is hitting .393 over his last 10 games. Biloxi Recap

People have been using some weird statistical comparisons in this thread. First, all of the AAA stats completely neglected total PA to provide any type of context. Then above why compare 3B which aren't indicative of anything, especially when Gallo doesn't run well and most 3B are the result of defensive positioning or misplays? If you want to compare XBHs why not use 2B and HRs like everyone who talks about prospects does? I suspect it's because Brinson actually has more and it didn't suit the narrative being pushed. Even so the base comparison is invalid because Gallo is a corner infielder and Brinson is a CF so any comparisons should be made to other players along those positioning lines. Unless the expectation is that all CFs will hit like Mike Trout? Brinson has also been dealing with a shoulder issue which is somewhat scary as they are career enders for baseball players which has limited his effectiveness. If the expectation is that every stud prospect will never have a down year it's unrealistic, only the absolute best super prospects perform at that level and even they will bomb out on occasion. There's just been very little context provided beyond the Gallo to Branyan comparison which I feel is probably the most valid possible, and I was never a Branyan supporter or lover of 3TO. I was amused by the support for him on this site, but never shared in it, nor the 3TO fascination. It doesn't matter how much power you have if you aren't able to consistently put the bat on the ball, power doesn't translate without contact. For Gallo to hit enough HRs to be valuable he has to be able to put in the ball play enough to hit for a reasonable MLB average, unless we're going to project him to have the best HR rate of all time? It's nearly impossible to hit 40 HRs hitting less than .220.

To think that Gallo will hit .240 in MLB is quite a stretch, it may take years to get there if he does at all, let's not pretend that he'll be that good out of the gate. He was the premier power prospect in baseball but I think he's overvalued in the way that most TX prospects are, because the organization's minor league development is so highly thought of. I've not in favor of Gallo headlining at this time.

A Cubs trade would have to be more pitching orientated which on the surface seems fine as I want to build around pitching anyway, but the problem is that I don't like their pitching. Dylan Cease is their highest upside arm but his control is fairly poor at this point and for those that don't read the draft or MiLB forum any control project gives me pause as the Brewers just haven't had success turning any pitcher of that type into a front line starter. The Cubs best position prospects are: C Willson Contreras (AAA) - I like him, he's a bit of project behind the plate, but is toolsy 2B Ian Happ (AA) - Drafted last year, converted back to 2B from the OF, I wish I knew where he ultimately slots defensively, but his bat will play. OF Eloy Jimenez ® - Every scouting site says he has the most raw power in the system, no one is quite sure how well he will hit long term, seems ticketed for RF if he makes it. 3B Jeimer Candelario (AAA) - I know he plays a position of need but I don't like him as a 3B as I don't like his power, athleticism, or defense at the position. Nor do I like him as an OF because he runs poorly. I only see the Brewers pulling 1 of the 4, I'd prefer Contreras or Happ after their earlier trades. That leaves a 2nd impact prospect to be one of the pitchers. After Cease: RHP Dylan Underwood (22) - Another big arm with control issues and the added benefit of being oft injured, not someone I'm interested in. RHP Oscar De La Cruz (21) - 2nd tier velocity wise, a decent curve, developing change, he'd be a nice 3rd piece but without 2 plus pitches he's not a headliner. RHP Trevor Clifton (21) - 2nd tier velocity, nothing special off speed though he's making progress, likely a 3 best case. LHP Bryan Hudson (19) - Average to 2nd tier velocity as his mechanics are a work in progress, curveball could be plus plus, developing change, another pitcher with huge control issues. RHP Jose Albertos (17) - 2nd tier velocity, a nice change, and developing slider but developed forearm trouble after his 1 and only appearance in 2016 and looks ticketed for TJ. I'd take Hudson and/or Albertos as throw ins, but I have no idea how to construct a deal from the Cubs farm system that I would actually like.

Very late to the the party here, and I'm only through page 4 or 5 of the thread right now but I wanted to weigh in. I made a couple of posts about Triston McKenzie prior to and during the 2015 draft, he's the guy I actually want the most. I've been enamored with him for a long time and like all pitchers I wanted prior to any draft I've been following his minor league career. I don't have issue an with Mejia at all, but if we're trading a premium talent like Lucroy he's the type of young pitcher I'd be hoping to get back in that deal, he's not good enough yet to be a headliner, but I'd want him included the package. If we do indeed trade Will Smith for him in a separate deal I will be thrilled.

Ninth inning comeback falls short in loss to BayBears Jorge Lopez strikes out five and walks five over five innings in MGM Park return Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/1/8/2/192760182/cuts/8S1A2501_30g7wgwb_zc8huv0m.JPG Jorge Lopez made his first start since an outing with Colorado Springs on July 17. (M.K. Krebs) Biloxi Boxscore Unfortunately Jorge Lopez' first start since the demotion was nothing to write home about it, maybe he can slowly turn it around and find some success the same way Jungmann has since his return from AZ. With the help of the 9th inning barrage the Shuckers actually broke the double digit hit barrier, the highest batting average it today's starting line-up was just .244... With the Garrett Cooper promotion it's pretty bleak from an offensive prospective which is a shame given the actual prospect talent on this club. Biloxi Recap

Rattlers drop 1-0 decision in Peoria By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Wisconsin Boxscore Awesomely effective pitching for the Rattlers wasn't enough. Troy Stokes (2-4,2B) continues his upward swing and was joined by Lucas Erceg (2-4,2B) putting up multi hit efforts for the Rattlers. The Wisconsin offense had base runners most of the game but didn't collect more than 1 hit in any particular inning and didn't record a single walk, so they weren't able to push any runs across. Cards' opposing starting pitcher Dailyn Martinez has some skill, but hasn't exactly dominated with Peoria this season. Wisconsin Recap

LumberKings score three in ninth to walkoff Wisconsin Rattlers fall 4-3 at Clinton in another heart-breaker By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Wisconsin Boxscore Wisconsin Recap Clinton Bottom of the 9th Chris Mariscal singles on a line drive to right fielder Troy Stokes. Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Gus Craig replaces Arturo Nieto. Gus Craig singles on a line drive to right fielder Troy Stokes. Chris Mariscal to 2nd. Ricky Eusebio hits a sacrifice bunt. Throwing error by pitcher Trey Supak. Chris Mariscal scores. Gus Craig to 3rd. Ricky Eusebio to 2nd. Trey Supak intentionally walks Luis Liberato. Rayder Ascanio doubles (11) on a line drive to center fielder Trent Clark. Gus Craig scores. Ricky Eusebio scores. Luis Liberato to 3rd.

Sorry I had a golf outing this afternoon and another tomorrow AM so I don't have time for analysis and/or commentary. Woodruff shines again, but Shuckers fall to BayBears, 1-0 Loss forces series' rubber match on Saturday night Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/2/5/8/192559258/cuts/2Q5A8993_fpwg0h8r_yvvyghii.JPG Brandon Woodruff has struck out 29 batters over his previous three starts, 41% of batters faced. (Michael Krebs) Biloxi Boxscore Biloxi Recap

Ramirez, Wang lead Shuckers to 2-1 win over BayBears Wei-Chung Wang improved to 6-5 with his seventh quality start on Thursday Biloxi Shuckers http://www.milb.com/assets/images/3/9/4/192364394/cuts/Ramirez_pose_nnvuhwki_y0mgr1rv.jpg Nick Ramirez hit his 11th homer of the season in the bottom of the second inning Thursday night. (Michael Krebs) Biloxi Boxscore This is becoming almost comical... how few hits can Biloxi collect and still win a ball game? Today's answer was 3 because Wei-Chung Wang was fantastic. I hope people read the article which MH linked regarding the Biloxi pitching, I believe that was yesterday. As I alluded to earlier this season when Wang nibbles around (think Manny Parra) he gets himself into trouble, Hook has been pushing Wang to stay aggressive and dictate to the hitters... and it's been working of late. HRs are going to happen and I would like more SOs but the rest of his line was fantastic as he got through 6 complete on 86 pitches. Stephen Kohlscheen worked a scoreless 9th for save but he gave up a hit, which is only notable because he's gotten in a habit of striking out the side. Nick Ramirez (1-2,HR,BB) pushed his AVE over .200 for the first time since July 12th, he's been slightly above or below that line since the end of June. His high water mark was .292 on 5/2, and it was a fairly steady decline from there to .200.

Clark Is Clutch in Rattlers Win Wisconsin centerfielder drives in both runs of 2-1 win at Clinton By Chris Mehring / Wisconsin Timber Rattler Wisconsin Boxscore The pitching was outstanding in this one as Jack Brown, Nate Griep, and Corbin Burnes combined to give up 7 hits, 1 run (Griep), 1 walk, and 9 strike outs. On the offensive side of things the Rattlers managed just 6 hits so Troy Stokes (2-3,2B,BB), Trent Clark (2-4), and Isan Diaz (2-4) collected all of them. Stokes is now hitting .357 over his last ten while Isan is hitting .474 over that same span. The defense was rather shoddy with 3 errors committed but Clark did get an OF assist at first on the sacrifice which scored the run against Griep. Wisconsin Recap Not something you see every day... Wisconsin Top of the 6th Juan Ortiz pops out to shortstop Rayder Ascanio. Troy Stokes Jr. singles on a line drive to center fielder Ricky Eusebio. With Trent Clark batting, Troy Stokes Jr. steals (15) 2nd base. Trent Clark singles on a line drive to left fielder Luis Liberato. Troy Stokes Jr. scores. Trent Clark to 2nd on the throw. Max McDowell hit into a fielder's choice double play, shortstop Rayder Ascanio to third baseman Logan Taylor to second baseman Chris Mariscal to first baseman Dalton Kelly. Trent Clark out at 3rd. Max McDowell out at 1st.