Milwaukee Lands Three Top 5 Prospects Via Trades

  Another trade deadline has passed and this year proved to be a great one.  The last 45 minutes consisted of big time trades that also involved Jonathon Lucroy and Jeremy Jeffress being dealt to the Rangers for two of their Top 5 Prospects in #2 prospect Luis Ortiz (SP) and #3 Lewis Brinson (CF).  Earlier this afternoon the Brewers traded Will Smith to San Fran for their #1 prospect Phil Bickford (SP) and Andrew Susac (C).  That is a pretty decent days work that now has Milwaukee having 8 prospects in MLB's Top 100 Prospect Ranking.

Biloxi Update

Biloxi has the best record (17-7) in Milwaukee's farm system at this point; they are in 1st place in their division and have the best record in the Southern League (AA).  Brett "Maverick" Phillips has 2 home runs and leads the club in that department (tied with two others).  His batting average is down to .250 on the season with a .388 slugging pct and .355 on-base percentage.  Despite all of this, he has 14 runs batted in and leads the team in this category. I for one can't wait until he arrives in Milwaukee in September, when expanded rosters are announced.  This top 5 prospect for the Brewers will continue to develop and hone in on becoming the CF of the future.

A little concerning is how Jacob Nottingham has been hitting at the plate.  His batting average has dropped to .169 and struck out 18 times in 65 plate appearances.  It's still early, so lets hope that our future Catcher can start to get it going.  Nottingham was the center piece of the Khris Davis/Athletics trade.

Victor Roache is having a strong start to the season with a .281 BA and a team leading 7 doubles, which is good for 3rd best in the league.

Josh Hader has been absolutely killing it on the bump for the Shuckers.  The starting 22-year-old LHP has the 2nd best ERA in the Southern League (AA) and has yet to collect a decision in his 5 starts.  Hader has struck out 32 hitters in only 23 innings pitched, which ranks him 3rd in the league.  Best of all is that he's only issued 9 free passes.  Hader was acquired in the Carlos Gomez/Astros deal last summer.

Another starting pitcher to collect impressive numbers so far in the season is Jorge Ortega (0-1).  This 22-year-old RHP has a 1.19 ERA over 4 starts and 22.2 innings pitched.  Despite his strike outs standing at 9 and giving up 22 hits, he has been able to keep the ball in the park (1 HR given up).  

Starting pitchers that have been struggling is Adrian Houser (1-2) with a 7.20 ERA over 20 IP and Jeb Bradley, the former first round draft pick for the Brewers in 2011 has a horrific 12.86 ERA in only 7 IP.

With the ass-kicking that the Brewers received last night, now is the best time to take a look back on the farm and see how David Stearns' trade pieces that he received are doing.  I am only including those currently in the minors.


Carlos Gomez Trade

Brett Phillips 
Our future center fielder is hitting .308 in 7 games so far on the season (7 for 26 at the plate).  Maverick has only collected 1 home run to date in 2016, but the season is only 2 weeks old.  He has dinged 3 doubles however and walked 3 times.

Josh Hader 
The third piece to the puzzle after Domingo Santana & Brett Phillips is off to a relatively good start to the season; in 2 starts he has yet to get a decision but has tallied a 1.00 ERA in 9 innings of work.  Most impressive is his 12 punch outs while limiting mistakes to 1 HR and 3 walks.

Adrian Houser
Houser is the other pitcher that Stearns received in the deal and did not throw well in his first and only start to date in the 2016 season.  Houser was lit up for 10 earned runs in the 6 innings he lasted but did strike out 5 hitters. I am confident he will pull himself together.

Jason Rogers Trade

Trey Supak
Has not played yet in 2016.

Gerardo Parra Trade

Zach Davies 
The RHP has already notched 2 starts but no decisions with a 2.00 ERA over 9 innings pitched for AAA-Colorado Springs.  His workload has obviously been held back because the Brewers knew they would be summoning him to the Bigs once Garza went out with a pulled vag. Best of all is that Davies whiffed 11 batters and only walked 2.  He will hopefully be ready to go for his start Sunday in the Burgh versus the Pirates.

Aramis Ramirez Trade

Yhonathon Barrios, who was obtained in the Aramis Ramirez trade, is still on the disabled list for Biloxi.  He is their closer and would've competed for a roster spot had he not gone down with a 'serious shoulder injury'.  I have not heard if it will require surgery.

Jean Segura Trade

Isan Diaz was the kings ransom in the Segura trade, although Chase Anderson has been literally perfect.  Diaz is 8 for 24 so far in Appleton for the T-Rats and hitting a whopping .333 with 1 home run, 4 doubles and 8 runs batted in (along with 4 walks).  I anticipate Diaz getting up to Biloxi before the season ends.  This 19 year old is one exciting short stop that will hopefully be converted to 2B in order to expedite his ascent and not be blocked by Orlando Arcia.

Oh...and just for shits and laughs, Jonathon Lucroy's kid brother David is playing in Rookie League Ball for the Brewers down in Arizona where his BA is .200.