Three Wild Pitches, Brewers' Edition (Lucroy Trade(s), Reshaped Bullpen, September Callups)
1) THE LUCROY-JEFFRESS TRADE WAS INCREDIBLY ONE-SIDED
Unless minor league pitcher Tayler Scott becomes the next Clayton Kershaw, I feel that it is safe to say that the Brewers won the trade with Texas a year ago. When the Brewers traded Jeremy Jeffress and Jonathan Lucroy to the Rangers last July (after that thankfully nixed Lucroy deal to Cleveland), it seemed like a pretty fair deal. The Rangers had a shot at a World Series appearance, and the Brewers got two top 100 prospects (Lewis Brinson and Luis Ortiz) and a third player in Ryan Cordell (who turned into reliever Anthony Swarzak).
However, Lucroy and Jeffress weren't enough to even get the Rangers into the ALCS, and this season the complete domination of Houston in the AL West put the Rangers out of the picture early. Compounded with the struggles of Lucroy and Jeffress, both have been traded again: Lucroy to Colorado for a PTBNL, and Jeffress back to Milwaukee for Tayler Scott. Essentially, we traded Texas Jonathan Lucroy and Tayler Scott for Anthony Swarzak, Lewis Brinson and Luis Ortiz, and Texas gave up Lucroy for a PTBNL. Like the Thornburg for Shaw/Dubon trade, this was incredibly one-sided favoring the Brewers. Good job on this one, David Stearns.
2) WE NEED TO RE-ESTABLISH THE BULLPEN ORDER
Right now, the Brewers have "10" relievers on the active roster with the addition of Jeffress, so some sorting out needs to be done. Paolo Espino is one, and he likely will get a spot-start or two in the rotation and then be sent down when Chase Anderson or Matt Garza returns (or Junior Guerra). Wei-Chung Wang is another, and although he's been great at Triple-A, carrying nine relievers isn't a good thing until September. So, the Brewers need to re-organize the bullpen, especially the back end, if they intend on contending with the Cubs for the division.
Here's how it should look:
Winning/tied games
-CL-Corey Knebel
-8th-Anthony Swarzak
-7th-Josh Hader
-6th-Jacob Barnes
-Alternate for 6th, 7th & 8th-Jared Hughes
Games that we are within 3 runs
-Last inning-Jared Hughes
-2nd to last-Carlos Torres
-3rd to last-Barnes/Swarzak/Hader
-Jeffress and Oliver Drake will be used in situational roles until they prove they can handle bigger responsibility
I don't know about you, but Barnes and Torres don't belong in the 7th inning and later in games we are up. They have blown the most games excluding Drake (and players sent down/cut) but they are still good enough to keep us close when there is no pressure. Hughes has been good lately, so he should be the last man out to ensure that the lead doesn't grow.
On the winning side, Josh Hader has earned a spot in the late-innings in those situations. He's been excellent, and I would have put him in the 8th if not for the addition of Swarzak. Swarzak is in the 8th because we acquired him for that role, so for now he stays in the 8th. Knebel is not going anywhere from closing games.
As far as Jeffress' role goes, I hope he can find a way to that spot I have occupied by Jared Hughes. He needs to go back to his pre-trade ways (to Texas) in order to accomplish that, but at this point he's a high-reward, low-risk acquisition.
3) SEPTEMBER CALL-UP CANDIDATES
This will mostly depend on the Brewers' success next month. If we prove to be a contender late in the season, all that will likely happen is we will get a third catcher, two more relievers, an infielder and an outfielder. If this recent trend continues, however, expect to see a lot of young talent. Also, the success of Colorado Springs' team might play a role, as Brewers' management in the past has not called up players on teams playing for a championship at the minor league level. Here are some candidates.
OF Keon Broxton
OF Brett Phillips*
INF Ivan DeJesus
INF Yadiel Rivera
INF Mauricio Dubon*
C Jett Bandy/Stephen Vogt
SP-Taylor Jungmann, Junior Guerra, Brandon Woodruff*, Paolo Espino
BP-Michael Blazek, Tyler Cravy, Jeanmar Gomez, Rob Scahill, Tyler Webb, Wei-Chung Wang
DOUBLE-A
P-Adrian Houser, Jorge Lopez, Luis Ortiz*, Aaron Wilkerson
OF-Michael Reed
So bascially the entire Sky Sox roster is eligible in my opinion, mainly because they have all played very well so far. Espino and Wang are currently on the roster, but will likely be sent down before September. Also, the duo of Jett Bandy and Stephen Vogt will be in the big leagues, regardless of who is in Triple-A August 31st.
Only four top 30 prospects are in this group, which says that a lot of them are still a ways away. Top pitching prospect Luis Ortiz would also be a stretch to bring up so fast, but getting him an inning or two would probably be a good idea.
Not all of these guys will join the big league club in September, but if I had to pick the five most likely (excluding Bandy/Espino/Vogt/Wang) it would be Keon Broxton, Brett Phillips, Brandon Woodruff, Junior Guerra and Tyler Webb.