Thornburg optioned; Wooten recalled

[JohnBriggs12]

I get optioning Thornburg. He hasn't been sharp at all.

 

Wooten gets the nod over Knebel? Wooten should fit right in with that 7.11 ERA and 3 HR allowed in 6 1/3 innings.

[MrTPlush]

Long man...Thornburg likely optioned after throwing all those innings last night. Need a long man for this sad sad team.

[monty57]

I know Thornburg has looked bad this year, but so has almost every Brewer. He did look very good at the MLB level prior to this year, so hopefully he gets into the rotation in AAA, pitches well and the next time he comes up it will be as a starter. If he can cut it as an adequate MLB starter, it will help the Brewers a lot over the next few seasons, as they'll lose Lohse (either via trade or as a free agent) and it would probably be a good idea to shop Garza to see what value he has. With limited SP depth, Thornburg has much more value to the team if he can start.

 

As to the reliever selected, at this point I don't really care too much. Maybe they're trying to save time on Knebel, who looks talented, or maybe they're trying to see if Wooten is worth a spot on the roster going forward, or if he should be jettisoned. Heck, maybe they realize the ship is sinking and are trying to see if anyone can build up their trade value. Right now, they could bring up a young Mariano Rivera and it wouldn't turn this into a playoff season, so might as well look to the future as much as possible... hopefully that's what they're doing.

[jerichoholicninja]

Probably had more to do with who was available than who it actually was. Maybe Wooten hasn't pitched in a couple days where as Knebel, Perez, etc. has thrown back to back days.

[reillymcshane]

I wouldn't be surprised if Knebel is being kept in the minors another month or so to prevent him from qualifying for a full season of eligibility. He appeared in 8 games last season - but I'm not sure how many days he was on the roster. If you brought him up now - and kept him in Milwaukee all season - he probably would have a full year of service. Waiting a few more weeks or will probably prevent that.

[TooLiveBrew]

I know Thornburg has looked bad this year, but so has almost every Brewer. He did look very good at the MLB level prior to this year, so hopefully he gets into the rotation in AAA, pitches well and the next time he comes up it will be as a starter. If he can cut it as an adequate MLB starter, it will help the Brewers a lot over the next few seasons, as they'll lose Lohse (either via trade or as a free agent) and it would probably be a good idea to shop Garza to see what value he has. With limited SP depth, Thornburg has much more value to the team if he can start.

It's kind of arguing the details, but I don't agree that he's looked very good prior to this year. He reminds me a lot of post-elbow-injury Dave Bush -- not big velo on his FB, ok offspeed stuff, and heavily reliant on his control. When he's not really sharp, he's pretty hittable imo.

[patrickgpe]

the entire staff in CS is struggling, there isn't a good option to call up, so Robbie is as good as anyone else.

[Outlander]

I wouldn't be surprised if Knebel is being kept in the minors another month or so to prevent him from qualifying for a full season of eligibility. He appeared in 8 games last season - but I'm not sure how many days he was on the roster. If you brought him up now - and kept him in Milwaukee all season - he probably would have a full year of service. Waiting a few more weeks or will probably prevent that.

He has 29 days of service so certainly possible. Wouldn't have to wait too much longer though. Maybe he is the next man up after Wooten.

 

In regards to Wooten I am not going to make too much of his stats. It is kind of silly there is even a AAA team in Colorado if the Rockies don't want to be there. All of these pitcher's home stats will be inflated.

[DocLuna7]

This move should fix the glitch.

[brewcrewdue80]

Or, how about working Thornburg as a Starting Pitcher. With the intent to maybe replace Fiers and/or maybe prepare to trade a starter by June.

 

Wooten, I've liked. Groundball RP. think perfect guy to put in after a failed Lefty/lefty matchup with righty coming up. We'll see if I'm right vs the fresh vs tired need response.

[JohnBriggs12]

Or, how about working Thornburg as a Starting Pitcher. With the intent to maybe replace Fiers and/or maybe prepare to trade a starter by June.

 

Wooten, I've liked. Groundball RP. think perfect guy to put in after a failed Lefty/lefty matchup with righty coming up. We'll see if I'm right vs the fresh vs tired need response.

 

Yes, Thornburg should be starting in AAA. It's the guys at AA, specifically Hall and Wagner, that are making a case for a look later this year though. The guy they had on last night, forget his name, but I believe his title was "player development administrator" (and who on here wouldn't love that job!), said something very revealing last night to the extent that he pays close attention to how guys do in AA because, "if a guy performs well in AA, then he can likely compete in the big leagues now". Why would he say that if they weren't at least open to fast tracking guys in a year when all heck has broken loose at the top?

[reillymcshane]

Or, how about working Thornburg as a Starting Pitcher. With the intent to maybe replace Fiers and/or maybe prepare to trade a starter by June.

 

Wooten, I've liked. Groundball RP. think perfect guy to put in after a failed Lefty/lefty matchup with righty coming up. We'll see if I'm right vs the fresh vs tired need response.

Thornburg is joining the starting rotation at AAA.

 

http://m.brewers.mlb.com/news/article/119814952/brewers-option-tyler-thornburg-recall-rob-wooten-from-triple-a

[torts]

Ive never likd Thorny as a RP, get him stretched back out and be that 6th/7th SP this season with Junngmann.

[monty57]

It's kind of arguing the details, but I don't agree that he's looked very good prior to this year.

 

Everything's relative. What I'm used to right now is the 2015 Brewers, so compared to that pre-injury Thornburg was very good :-)

 

Seriously, I think you are correct, but that would make him a capable back-of-the rotation starter, which is still much more valuable than the "long man" role he's been stuck in.

 

Or, how about working Thornburg as a Starting Pitcher. With the intent to maybe replace Fiers and/or maybe prepare to trade a starter by June.

 

Just as a depth move, it makes sense. Even before the horrendous start, one of the biggest concerns for the Brewers was the lack of rotation depth. I wonder if this was the plan from the start: get through the rotation a couple of times to make sure they're stretched out and a "long man" is less necessary, and then send Thornburg to the AAA rotation. It may have been a harder sell if the Brewers were winning and Thornburg looked sharp, but I thought he should be in the AAA rotation from the get-go so he was ready to go in case of an injury to an MLB starter.

[bork]

It's the guys at AA, specifically Hall and Wagner, that are making a case for a look later this year though. The guy they had on last night, forget his name, but I believe his title was "player development administrator" (and who on here wouldn't love that job!), said something very revealing last night to the extent that he pays close attention to how guys do in AA because, "if a guy performs well in AA, then he can likely compete in the big leagues now". Why would he say that if they weren't at least open to fast tracking guys in a year when all heck has broken loose at the top?

 

And with the Coors Field effect in AAA, how many top guys are going to stay in AA and maybe jump to the majors to avoid getting screwed up in AAA?