The Five Things Organization-Wide You Want To See In 2014

[TooLiveBrew]

The one thing I want to see from the organization is to recognize where they stand, talent-wise. I think the Brewers have 9 or 10 players that would typically start for a serious WS contender. That's a long way to go to contend.

[MNBrew]

The one thing I want to see from the organization is to recognize where they stand, talent-wise. I think the Brewers have 9 or 10 players that would typically start for a serious WS contender. That's a long way to go to contend.

So many people here keep saying that over the past year. But where's the perspective on this?

 

Realistically, I think we all know they're not just going to outright announce that their overall talent level isn't as good that of many other teams, both at the MLB level & in the minors, and that they're not succeeding at the draft/develop game as well as many other teams are, either. Yet I think they sure as heck know that, and they know that far better than we do. They also know it would be PR foolishness to advertise that even once, let alone repeatedly, regardless of how many people on this board seem to want to hear them say that out loud.

 

Here's my take: They know the boat they're in but they're also still trying to make the best of what they have. While addressing/improving both of these angles simultaneously is essential, each is NOT mutually exclusive of the other:

 

- They're trying to improve the talent level -- quality & quantity -- across the whole organization. That takes time. Delmonico & Smith are a nice start. Other teams don't just give away prospects. Rome wasn't built in a day.

- They're still trying to develop who they currently have the best they possibly can. Several of those guys will be solid major leaguers even if they're not the rare-gem/"blue chip" types (Fielder/Weeks/Braun/Gallardo caliber prospects or at least as those guys were at the outset).

[TooLiveBrew]

The one thing I want to see from the organization is to recognize where they stand, talent-wise. I think the Brewers have 9 or 10 players that would typically start for a serious WS contender. That's a long way to go to contend.

So many people here keep saying that over the past year. But where's the perspective on this?

The perspective, to me, is that their 25-man really looks like it's less than 50% of the way to seriously contending. I get that you don't have to have 100% of your positions as strengths, but the Brewers (imo) aren't close.

[Warning Track Power]

WTP: #2&4

2. A determination of whether our organizational philosophy of pitching is flawed. The Brewers history is littered with solid hitters with Braun & Fielder, Jenkins, Sexson & Burnitz, Cirillo, Jaha & Vaughn, Yount, Molitor & Cooper. However, the history of pitching has been exceptionally atrocious. Either we are truly unlucky as an organization by having the same issues through the Melvin, Taylor, Bando, etc... eras or our scouting department is and has been full of terrible talent evaluators. Either way, this requires significant attention.

4. The return of Yovani Gallardo, the continued development of Wily Peralta and the ascension of Tyler Thornburg and Jimmy Nelson. If the Brewers have any designs on contending in the near future with their core of Braun, Lucroy, Gomez & Segura, then they will need above average pitching. Given the relative lack of impact pitching in the system, the Brewers best hope is Yovani returning to pre-2013 Yo, Peralta ascending into an above average #3 in 2014 and Thornburg and Nelson developing into mid rotation arms by the end of 2014. If at the beginning of 2015, the Brewers can call Yo & Peralta legitimate #2s and Thornburg & Nelson average #3s, the Brewers immediate and long term future will be bright.

 

If #4 happens then wouldn't #2 be moot? That would be 4 SPs brought in to the Starting rotation that we drafted/signed.

I would say yes and no to this.

 

Yes, because having Yo, Peralta, Thornburg and Nelson all become legitimate #2s or #3s would show some progress in the Brewers ability to develop pitching prospects to the Major League level, even if it is the only 4 in DM's tenure.

 

I would say no because the problem still remains with the Brewers identification of projectable pitching talent in the high rounds of the draft. Go back to the beginning of this century and our list of first round or supplemental round pitchers include:

2001: Mike Jones

2004: Mark Rogers

2006: Jeremy Jeffress

2008: Jake Odorizzi

2008: Evan Frederickson

2009: Eric Arnett

2009: Kyle Heckathorn

2010: Dylan Covey

2011: Taylor Jungmann

2011: Jed Bradley

I understand that Jeffress and Odorizzi brought Greinke which brought Segura, but 2 out of 10 in the first or supplemental round is not good. While the jury is still out on Jungmann and Bradley, it sure does appear that our scouting department missed the boat on those guys.

 

My point is that our economic standing in baseball truly requires us to draft and develop and that is something that has traditionally been all hitting and no pitching, which are not mutually exclusive. We can do well at both and will have to in order to sustain any type of success that isn't fleeting.

[MNBrew]

The one thing I want to see from the organization is to recognize where they stand, talent-wise. I think the Brewers have 9 or 10 players that would typically start for a serious WS contender. That's a long way to go to contend.

So many people here keep saying that over the past year. But where's the perspective on this?

The perspective, to me, is that their 25-man really looks like it's less than 50% of the way to seriously contending. I get that you don't have to have 100% of your positions as strengths, but the Brewers (imo) aren't close.

The part in bold is what I was referring to. I agree that if the underlined supposition is correct, then WS contention likely is quite the long shot.

[TooLiveBrew]

The one thing I want to see from the organization is to recognize where they stand, talent-wise. I think the Brewers have 9 or 10 players that would typically start for a serious WS contender. That's a long way to go to contend.

The part in bold is what I was referring to. I agree that if the underlined supposition is correct, then WS contention likely is quite the long shot.

That perspective -- that the fans have to be coerced about the potency of the team or have the wool pulled over their eyes -- is what I would argue has gotten the club into this mess. It's appeared in recent seasons that the club is fooling itself about the state of the team too, & not just the fans.

 

When a club is run to appease its fanbase, it typically leads to bad times. Since the Brewers unfortunately don't have the luxury($) to contend for the WS without going through cycles of tearing it down & building back up again, I wish the organization would be run like a baseball operation first (as opposed to a straight-up business venture). The obvious focus has been on what the current or next season's ticket sales will be, & imo has been a big part of leading the club down.

[brewtank34]

1. Move up on this list. http://conorglassey.com/big-leaguers-drafted-1996-2013/

2. Steal some of the Cardinal's mojo, way of thinking, mission statement. Whatever the Cardinals are doing. Do that!

3. Beat the stinking Cardinals as much as possible.

4. Draft/Develop more contact type hitters other than just power guys. Scooter is a good sign. More of that.

5. RRR must learn how to manage a BP better.