The Brewers Top 10 Prospects: After the First Two Rounds of the Draft

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View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney

The finals are here! It's been chalk up to this point, but now we have the two best prep pitchers in the draft class going head-to-head.

Jason Groome: A hard throwing lefty with a group of plus pitches and control Groome is regularly ranked as the best prospect in the class and by all accounts, should be available when the Brewers pick on Thursday.

Riley Pint: The top prospect heading into the year, Pint has fallen off a bit due to concerns about his mechanics. He struggles to consistently throw strikes, but who cares when you're throwing 102 MPH and already have 3 average or better pitches before you've graduated high school?

Vote below and let's see if the prospect the Brewer make on Thursday is the pick the fans want!

The finals are here! View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney.

— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 7, 2016

View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney

The View From Bernie's Chalet Brewers' Draft Twitter Poll Tourney is moving into round two! All of the favorites won, with the closest race being between Kyle Lewis and Mickey Moniak, but none of the winners had less than 70% of the vote.

Round two sees Jason Groome against Kyle Lewis and Riley Pint against Delvin Perez. Groome is regularly ranked as this draft's best prospect. A high school left-handed pitcher with huge potential, he has ace written all over him if he can put his skills together. I've seen complaints that his control is lacking for the value some teams are placing on him. Kyle Lewis is a potential major league center fielder ranked as having five average or better tools. Many scouts rank his power ability fairly high and say he has a chance to hit for a pretty high average to go with it, along with decent speed on the bases.

On the other side of the bracket, we see two of the draft's most exciting prospects. Riley Pint is a high school right-handed pitcher who reportedly hit 102 mph with his fastball early in the year. Pint's pitches are already regarded as plus or better, and he shows an advanced changeup for his age, however scouts worry about his aggressive throwing motion. They believe it will make it very hard for the talented prep-star to ever consistently throw strikes. Then there's Delvin Perez, one of the prospects most frequently linked to the Brewers in mock drafts. Perez is one of the youngest players in the draft and has a gigantic ceiling to go with no negotiating leverage, which could pay huge dividends when the Brewers are trying to draft high-stock players in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. A slick fielding shortstop out of Puerto Rico, Perez has the chance to develop a well-above average hit tool and even a little bit of pop. It's pretty fun to imagine partnering him at maxed potential alongside current top prospect Orlando Arcia.

So here's the bracket. The voting will be open for two days, and the Twitter polls can be found below. Let's see if the Brewers fanbase can get this pick right!

View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney: Round 2

— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 5, 2016

View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney: Round 2 #Fight

— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 5, 2016

Don't Trade Braun, Ever (One Homer's Thoughts)

 After Brad wrote that piece a few weeks ago on how the Brewers should trade Braun now and Lucroy later, I felt inclined to share my thoughts on why I don't want the Brewers to ever trade Ryan Braun. Now I'm not saying I don't think it won't happen. It's a possibility. But as a die hard Brewers fan and die hard fan of Ryan Braun, deep down inside I don't ever want to see him wearing another teams uniform.

I am fully aware that it might be best for the club to trade Braun. And if a trade is made and the Brewers get a really good prospect haul in return and don't have to pay any of Ryan's salary for the duration of his contract then I would be fine with it. But selfishly I want Ryan Braun to be a Brewer for his entire career. I think it would be awesome to see him follow suit with guys like Yount, Ripken, Gwynn, Brett and Jones and spend his whole career in one teams uniform. It certainly is a rare sight in today's game of baseball. And we probably won't see too many more going forward.

The biggest reasons I personally don't want to see him traded are simple. First, I'm obviously a huge fan of Braun and he has brought me so much joy over the past 10 years and so many memorable moments that I would like that to continue. The second reason I'd like the Brewers to keep Braun ties into the first. I think he can be a big contributor still on the next Brewers teams that compete and go to the postseason. I know, I know. Braun has had some injury issues/concerns over the past four seasons. The thumb, the back, the wrist, etc. While he misses games here and there, he has still only been on the DL once in his career (2013). If he stays healthy and they manage his games played as they have done so far in 2016, he has a chance to still be very productive.

He is 32 now and will be 37 when his contract expires (including the option year in 2021). Why can't he still be a very productive bat in the last three years of that deal (19'-21') when the Brewers figure to be a contender again? David Ortiz is still productive at 40 years old. Only way he isn't in my opinion is if it's a health issue. And that really can't be predicted one way or the other. I also bet they have him move to 1B sometime in 2018 or 2019 if not sooner to make room for another young talented OF and to put him in a better position to stay healthy. And "IF" he is healthy, why wouldn't he still play and more specifically hit at a high level?

In the meantime I am sure we will continue to read tweets and articles from reporters giving us the latest Braun trade rumors. And when reading those rumors, remember he only has a handful of clubs that he can be traded to without having to agree to said trade. And players usually put those clauses in contracts for a reason. They want to stay where they are at. 

View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney

It’s the first ever View From Bernie’s Chalet Brewers’ Draft Twitter Poll Tourney! Ok, maybe the name needs a little work.

Below is a bracket and four Twitter polls. Vote in each contest to determine the prospect you want the Brewers to draft next Thursday. It’s for fun and to determine which prospect the fans want most. Hell, maybe we’ll get it right and the fans can brag about their success and then be disappointed in 5 years when the prospect is bussing tables at a bar!

Twitter poll tourney! Which prospect would you rather draft?

— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 3, 2016

Twitter poll tourney! Which prospect would you rather draft? Bracket 2

— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 3, 2016

Bracket 3!

— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 3, 2016

Bracket 4

— Brad (@BrewCrewBlue) June 3, 2016

Trade Braun Now, Lucroy Later

We all know that Jonathan Lucroy likely won’t be a Brewer for much longer, and now the most successful -- and controversial -- Brewer in a long time is entering the rumor mill in Ryan Braun.

Braun is having his most successful season since the 2012 redemption season. Through 33 games he’s slashing an astounding .376/.439/.600, numbers that could justify any team taking on the remaining $90 million or so of his contract.

There has been some debate about whether or not Braun and Lucroy should be traded in the same year. This got me thinking, if they only traded only one of those players this year, would it be more beneficial to trade Braun or Lucroy? I think the answer needs to be Braun and here’s why:

1. He’s Injury Prone

Ok, Braun hasn’t missed a huge percentage of the season since 2013 when he was suspended and injured, he will be on the field if he can be. There is one thing to note about his injuries over the last few years though, they cause a significant drop in his production. Through nagging muscle spasms and thumb injuries he went from a career OPS of .943 to .825. His number are already likely unsustainable throughout the year even if he’s returned to pre-2013 form and is only getting older and more susceptible each passing minute.

2. He May Never Hold More Value Again

According to his performance from 2013-2015, Braun’s current performance is a stroke of luck. He’s carrying a fairly large price tag -- although small by most other modern MLB contracts -- and a negative perception due to his PED suspension and everything that came with it. The thing is, if he’s performing anywhere close to what he is now by the trading deadline, no one’s going to care. Any team that can get an MVP at his current cost will take all of those bad things, but if we see that production drop off he will go back to being nearly untradeable unless we see another astronomical spike.

On the other hand, Lucroy will only lose some value barring injury. Aside from last year and other freak incidents, Luc doesn’t come with those nagging injury concerns and has been a very consistent performer over the last few years. As long as he continues that straight line projection, he will still hold significant value in the offseason even if teams aren’t getting that extra half-year. You absolutely will lose value but Luc’s value isn’t nearly as volatile as Braun’s is and if I’m wagering a huge amount of prospects on who is most likely to maintain their stock, Luc is the safer bet.

3. If He Goes I Want to Just Rip the Bandaid Off

I am far from a Braun apologist. He made it hard for me to put blind faith and true fandom into athletes. It was a valuable lesson most adults should learn, players can hurt you but the logo and team will always -- in most cases -- be there. However, something inside of me still cheers hard for Braun. He is a huge part of some of the most significant Brewer moments of my life time. I’ll never forget his huge home runs in 2007, 2008 and 2011. He is a part of my number one most cherished Brewers memory, CC Sabathia’s complete game victory over the Cubs. I don’t want to spend every season wondering if he’s gone or not, so rip off the bandaid and send him packing. I can watch Lucroy go, I’ve been campaigning for it longer than most fans and as much as I’ve liked him he is more Cecil Cooper than Robin Yount in terms of my personal feelings.

How do you feel about it? Do you want both Braun and Lucroy to be traded this season? Do you want one to be traded or the other? Or do you want them both to hang around? Weigh in on my Twitter poll.

By the trading deadline, I hope the Brewers...

— Brew Crew Blue (@BrewCrewBlue) May 13, 2016

 -Brad

#FireCraigCounsell

When the Brewers hired David Stearns, it was a sign of hitting the reset button. Milwaukee was ready to turn the page as the last chapter or its glory faded and the ashes stopped smoking. Yet, when they hit reset on the franchise, they gave him power to make about 2 dozen roster moves but demanded he hold onto a piece of old: Craig Counsell.

It’s completely unfair to ask any GM to take the franchise in a truly new direction when forcing them to hold onto a manager installed by the old regime. But Mark Attanasio made it perfectly clear when starting his search for a new GM, do not mess with Craig Counsell.

It’s another chapter in Mark A’s book of mistakes, forcing the signing of Lohse, bringing back K-Rod over and over again, hiring Ken Macha, the camo-shirt that was up for vote during free t-shirt Friday voting. You can’t start over and tell the GM that he needs to hold onto this old manager.

Not only is this being forced on Stearns, but Counsell is the face of that crumbling regime. He was on the roster for most of Doug Melvin’s glory period as GM, then when he retired decided to become Melvin’s pet project. Don’t you think it’s likely that there will be some loyalty to Melvin and a resistance to Stearns new age thinking?

On top of that connection to the ways of old, Counsell also has no success as manager. He’s 61-76 after managing the Brewers team for most of the year last year. This was mostly the same team that was in first place for a majority of the 2014 season!

The other fear is the affect he could have on players. Counsell was never that successful as a player and had one of the worst batting stances in baseball history. What happens when he tries to get players to experiment with extending batting stances that but their swing in danger?

Counsell needs to go and the team needs to start anew. I think the best move the Brewers could make is to fire Counsell and try to work Tony LaRussa from the Diamondbacks.

-Brad

Opening Day 25 Man Roster Prediction

 I know that these 25 man roster prediction's during Spring Training can be as useful as a mock draft, but I enjoy doing them. So here goes the 2016 version.

Catchers (2): Jonathan Lucroy, Martin Maldonado

Infielders (6): Chris Carter, Scooter Gennett, Jonathan Villar, Aaron Hill, Colin Walsh, Yadiel Rivera

Outfielders (4): Ryan Braun, Domingo Santana, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Rymer Liriano

Utility (1): Ramon Flores (OF/1B)

Starting Pitchers (5): Jimmy Nelson, Wily Peralta, Matt Garza, Taylor Jungmann, Chase Anderson

Relief Pitchers (7): Jeremy Jeffress, Will Smith, Corey Knebel, Michael Blazek, Tyler Thornburg, Sean Nolin, Zack Jones

I really want Keon Broxton to make the club, but the fact that he has options and Nieuwenhuis doesn't hurts his chances. In the bullpen I went with waiver pickup Nolin and Rule 5 pick Jones for the final two bullpen spots. Could see either or both of Franklin Morales and Ariel Pena get those spots as well. My final infield spot came down to Middlebrooks, Cecchini and Rivera. Cecchini has options so it was easy to send him down. Middlebrooks has no options so it's hard to let him go, but they need someone to backup Villar at SS. Rivera is really the only guy. Don't think Walsh or Hill could do it. So Rivera gets last spot mostly due to his being able to man SS, but he can also play 2B and 3B and has had a nice spring. Ramon Flores will serve as a backup at all three OF spots and can play 1B on days they want to sit Chris Carter. Hard choices all the way around for the club as they have a tremendous amount of depth, versatility and players performing well this spring. But in the end, this is how I see the Opening Day 25 man, but feel it will be very different as the year progresses due to injuries, trades and performances.

The View From Bernie’s Chalet’s Top 10 Prospects

1.       Orlando Arcia

This one is obvious. If you didn’t know Arcia was going to be number one on every single list, you probably just woke up today and decided to be a Brewers fan. If that’s the case, welcome. This is the only Brewers baseball blog, and there are no other blogs covering Brewers baseball. Please permanently lock your browser to this page and never leave.

2.       Brett Phillips

Again, this comes as little-to-no surprise for Brewers fans. Since getting Phillips in the Gomez/Fiers trade, he has been consistently ranked as the Brewers’ second-best prospect. While it was a little disappointing to see his power drop when brought into Biloxi, Phillips still has plenty of great attributes. He’s a great defender, has a good hit tool and some speed.

3.       Jorge Lopez

A pretty common third in the Brewers farm system rankings, Lopez finally burst onto the scene after an awesome season with Biloxi. I think the most impressive part of Lopez is his constant progress on the mound while still moving up the ranks in terms of level of competition.

The biggest complaint about Lopez is his control. He has the tendency to walk a few. Last year that didn’t affect his performance much because he had an awesome 81.8% strand rate. It won’t be a big surprise to see Lopez take a step back in the minors this year. He’ll likely be starting at AAA Colorado Springs where the ball has the tendency to fly out of the park, which normally doesn’t work well with letting players on for free.

If the Brewers get into trouble with the rotation, he’s one of two or three candidates to come up, so expect to watch him pitch in Miller Park in 2016. Most scouts peg him as a good number three with two potential.

4.       Trent Clark

Clark is a consensus top 5 prospect for the Brewers and a consensus top 100 prospect in baseball. The kid stormed into the league after being the Crew’s first round pick. In 55 games with two rookie ball clubs, Clark hit .309/.424/.430 with 25 SB in 33 attempts.

Lots of scouts peg him as a left fielder. He doesn’t have the strongest arm, and he’s projected to lose some of his plus speed as he matures. That doesn’t matter since he’s a very smart base runner, has good defensive instincts and is a whiz with the bat at just 18. Don’t forget about his 80 neck. Clark is going to be a very exciting prospect to watch over the next few years and could move quickly through the Brewers farm. Just how exciting depends on if he can learn to add some loft to his swing to add power to his hit tool.

5.       Josh Hader

This big lefty was part of the huge return in the Gomez/Fiers trade. Hader has similar concerns as Lopez but also comes with worries about his arm angle. I choose not to put too much thought into that since we have seen odd arm angles work out pretty well in the majors as of late, even if they do have a much larger chance of failure. Hader is one of the few Brewers’ starting pitching prospects that really shows a knack for striking out opposing batters. At AA Biloxi, Hader had an 11 K/9.

There is little worry that Hader will make an impact at the MLB level, the question is the role. If he can’t get his walk issues under control and continue developing a third pitch, he will likely have to settle for a role in the pen.

6.       Gilbert Lara

Lara is the most interesting prospect Milwaukee has, in my humble opinion. He reportedly has humongous power and shows an advanced feel for hitting at his age (18 with one year of pro-ball under his belt), but after a fast start last year, came crashing down in a bad way. Many scouts reported that Lara looked tired towards the end of the season, which makes sense considering he’s probably getting in more work than he’s used to with fewer breaks. If he can put everything together, Lara can be a huge difference maker one day for the Brewers (which you can say that for almost any prospect ever). I’m anxious to see what happens this year, especially if the Brewers will challenge him with a full year of baseball and if he drops off in the second half.

7.       Cody Ponce

If you’re on Brewers Twitter, you likely have heard a lot about Cody Ponce. The man was somewhat of an unknown coming out of a Division II college but really impressed in his pro debut. In just 46 IP for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Ponce had a 2.15 ERA, only allowed 1.8 BB/9 and allowed .02 HR/9. All of those are great signs for future success. It will be interesting to see how quickly Ponce can move through the organization. He’s a collegiate arm that shows a pretty good feel for pitching. He’ll likely start at Brevard County, a pitcher friendly environment, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s up at Biloxi in 2-3 months.

8.       Devin Williams

Williams is another big potential prospect. He continues to develop command and shows good feel for all three of his pitches, with room to grow and add velocity. The biggest thing he needs to work on his command, but considering what he’s already shown, it won’t be hard to imagine him in the Brewers’ rotation. Because of age, the Brewers continue to move Williams slow, and he’ll likely get his first shot at starting for most of the year this year. Brevard County should help the numbers continue to develop, and I could see him being brought up to help in Biloxi at the end of the year.

9.       Monte Harrison

Harrison didn’t handle the aggressive promotion to Single-A very well to start the year. He had trouble making contact against more advanced pitchers than he’s used to seeing and his baserunning didn’t stand out like it did in his pro debut. Then the second half came, and he improved his stats at Wisconsin but was brought back down to rookie ball where he really shined before getting injured. Harrison is one of those prospects who projects to do everything well. He has shown decent pop, great ability on the bases and has all the tools to be a plus defender. His second showing at Wisconsin should go better, and he has big potential to make an impact at the highest level. I expect the Brewers will hold him at one level this year, but if he takes off after this, Harrison could really speed through the system.

10. Jacob Nottingham

This pick might be more about fascination with the new guy than anything else. Nottingham was just added in the Khris Davis deal. No one’s really sure he’ll stick at catcher but most experts believe he’ll hit. The kid has slightly above average hit and power tools. If he sticks at catcher, and can piece together some semblance of a defense behind the plate, he’ll big a huge get for the Brewers’ future.