Who is our CF of the future?

[adambr2]

It's funny how things work out. Back up just a few months, and CF looked like an organizational black hole. Broxton looked like a DFA candidate, Liriano never made it to the regular season, and Flores had no business in the lineup at all.

 

Now fast forward a few months, Broxton has broken out in a big way, we drafted Ray, traded for Brinson, and now all of the sudden not only is CF a potential major strength, it looks really deep, too. And this is without even mentioning Phillips to this point, and adding that I think we mostly all agree Santana doesn't belong in CF.

 

Another thing I think we can mostly all agree on is that Keon Broxton should be our opening day and everyday centefielder in 2017. If he is even close to the guy he was in the 2nd half this year and has indeed emerged as a 20 HR 50 SB .800 OPS guy, he is a tremendously valuable centerfielder, especially with his defense, which by all accounts has earned very positive reviews.

 

With that said, Brinson is looking like a mid 2017 arrival, and part of his floor is because of his great defense. It's a good 'problem' to have, but assuming we get enough offensively from both to build around both of them, who gets center and who ends up in a corner spot?

[TheCrew07]

With that said, Brinson is looking like a mid 2017 arrival, and part of his floor is because of his great defense. It's a good 'problem' to have, but assuming we get enough offensively from both to build around both of them, who gets center and who ends up in a corner spot?

 

The player who's the best defensively I would imagine.

[3and2Fastball]

I would think Broxton is the guy if he can continue to hit. I remain somewhat confused as to the Corey Ray pick, considering Broxton and then the trade for Brinson. Granted, at the time Broxton wasn't hitting yet and Brinson hadn't been traded for yet.

 

I would hope that the focus will be on the acquisition of pitching as we move into the 2017 phase of the rebuild. Having said that, I think Stearns is extremely impressive so far.

[mrn1ceguy]

Broxton should be given the CF to start 2017 (assuming there are no lingering affects from the broken wrist). If Brinson continues to soar through winter and the start of next year, he'll be promoted and likely force Broxton & Santana to fight over RF (assuming Braun is here). Then by 2018 if Braun is still here, Phillips and/or Cordell should be ready to go. That will probably push one of the previous 5 players (Broxton, Santan, Braun, Phillips, Cordell) to 1B , two get to fight over the corner OF spots and the rest are traded/benched/flamed out. Ray and Clark (and maybe Harrison & Demi) are reinforcements for 2019 and beyond in case of injury/regression/bust otherwise they can be traded away for other players/prospects.

 

In short, once Brinson is ready (and assuming he meets his projections), I imagine he will have the CF position for at least the next 5 years, if not 8-10 and everyone else fights over the corner OF positions, 1B or are traded.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I remain somewhat confused as to the Corey Ray pick

 

Basically the top player left on Stearns' 2016 Amateur Draft Board after picks #1-4 were made was Corey Ray, so Stearns drafted him. That should hopefully clear up any confusion.

 

Regarding the 2017 phase of the rebuild, I would hope it would continue to be acquiring the best talent available, regardless of supposed position needs throughout the system. In baseball, foregoing better talent in order to try and fill organizational roster holes shouldn't happen unless a team is "going for it", and even then it should only be done at the major league level via trade or free agency.

 

And another point - if a player is a good or even adequate defensive CF, he'll almost certainly be a plus defender at a corner OF position...the only question would be whether their bat is good enough to play LF or RF everyday. Stockpiling talented prospects who play CF has a minimal chance of backfiring compared to piling up guys who only play LF, C, or basically any other position than SS, IMO.

[Roderick]

I remain somewhat confused as to the Corey Ray pick, considering Broxton and then the trade for Brinson. Granted, at the time Broxton wasn't hitting yet and Brinson hadn't been traded for yet.

.

 

Even if the Brewers knew what Broxton would do and knew they were going to be trading for Brinson, I don't think that should change much on the draft pick. Either you like Ray or you don't.

 

The probability is still that Ray is two years behind Brinson. Neither have seen major league pitching yet, I wouldn't assume both will make it. If they do, there is always two other outfield positions to fill. And finding trades to move outfielders is probably a little easier than any other positional trades to accomplish.

[MrTPlush]

I would think Broxton is the guy if he can continue to hit. I remain somewhat confused as to the Corey Ray pick, considering Broxton and then the trade for Brinson. Granted, at the time Broxton wasn't hitting yet and Brinson hadn't been traded for yet.

 

Yah it is easy to look in hindsight at that pick. If one could go back I wouldn't be surprised if they went another route. You can't really pass up on a player like Brinson though just because you drafted Ray or vice versa. A very athletic OF with elite hitters at all three positions would be something wouldn't it though? Maybe Broxton gets traded for pitching eventually. There is a lot of time for guys to produce and be traded or for guys to just not develop. Long ways from it ever being a problem though I hope it will be someday.

[And That]

I remain somewhat confused as to the Corey Ray pick

He was #1 on the Brewers' board.

[FVBrewerFan]

Hate to be overly simplistic, but the players will determine who is the CF of the future. In fact, it could change over the years. They won't necessarily have the same guy there for 5 years+.

 

Way too many unforeseen things can and will happen. Injuries, poor performance, someone is better than the current CF, etc. I think they would like Brinson to be that guy. If he can do it all on defense and at the plate, there's your man. Broxton has shown signs he can do it. But over the course of several seasons? Then there's Ray, Phillips, and others who are in the mix.

 

It's not a problem, it's a great situation to have. Chances are not all these guys will be great players, or even average MLB players. And with the guys in A ball, like Clark, they may not even make it at all. If lightning strikes and they're all really good, fabulous. You now have your corner OFs and 4th OF taken care of for years. Plus the potential to trade someone for a position of need.

 

These things work themselves out. Similar to when everyone was concerned with all the SS we had a year or two ago.

[JohnBriggs12]

Got to believe that at some point in the next 1-3 years, they are going to be in position to add pitching at the deadline or ready to deal for it in the winter and they'll tap into their surplus in CF to get it.

[tmwiese55]

With years and years of being a poor defensive team I would think their plan is that all these CF types will spread out and cover all 3 spots and they'll have a good defensive outfield. As of now we've spent most of this year playing guys like Kirk and Flores so it's nothing to worry about just yet. If Broxton keeps it up and Brinson keeps killing it and comes up next year you deal with it then. A spot could easily be opened with a Braun trade and if not I'm hoping Santana is putting in some time at 1B in case of a Carter trade at the deadline. That would free up another spot. Long story, it'll sort it all out over time. There won't be a a potential backlog for several years.

 

[sarcasm]Now, most importantly, how would Khris Davis fit in if he was still here?[/sarcasm]

[3and2Fastball]

Regarding the 2017 phase of the rebuild, I would hope it would continue to be acquiring the best talent available, regardless of supposed position needs throughout the system.

 

I believe strongly in the saying "you can never have too much pitching". Pitchers are so unpredictable and in general the position is injury prone, therefore I would love to see the Brewers stockpile as much pitching as possible.

 

I apologize for going off topic.

 

Brinson projects as a potential star but Broxton is really impressive defensively and hit really well for awhile there

[3and2Fastball]

Got to believe that at some point in the next 1-3 years, they are going to be in position to add pitching at the deadline or ready to deal for it in the winter and they'll tap into their surplus in CF to get it.

 

Usually deadline acquisitions are short term rentals. The Brewers need tons of pitching talent that they can control for 5-6 years, in order to have a shot at sustained contention. I do agree that a surplus of capable CF's can give them trade chips moving forwards

[tmwiese55]

If more than 3 pan out to be above average OFs we'll have a good problem on our hands. Chances are that just won't be the case. Some will get hurt, some won't perform. That will sort most of it out along with the first batch (Santana, Broxton, etc) moving towards FA as the next batch are arriving.

[reillymcshane]

I also want to add that having a CFer end up in RF or LF isn't necessarily a bad thing. I feel like Milwaukee has neglected defense at times, and I would love to see how our OFs turn out and how they improve our team from a defensive standpoint.

 

Phillips, Brinson, Broxton, Ray, Clark - those are some athletic OFs who's bats will (hopefully) play at any OF position.

[danzig6767]

I remain somewhat confused as to the Corey Ray pick, considering Broxton and then the trade for Brinson. Granted, at the time Broxton wasn't hitting yet and Brinson hadn't been traded for yet.

.

Even if the Brewers knew what Broxton would do and knew they were going to be trading for Brinson, I don't think that should change much on the draft pick. Either you like Ray or you don't.

 

The probability is still that Ray is two years behind Brinson. Neither have seen major league pitching yet, I wouldn't assume both will make it. If they do, there is always two other outfield positions to fill. And finding trades to move outfielders is probably a little easier than any other positional trades to accomplish.

Plus, if hypothetically Brinson or Broxton already has CF locked down and is a better defender there than Ray when he's ready to come to the majors, but Ray can be say an .800 plus OPS hitter, having another athletic outfielder who is above average defensively in LF or RF wouldn't be a bad thing. Defense saves runs just as offense produces them.

 

As others have mentioned, a surplus of good players at one position opens up trade opportunities at some point.

[brewmann04]

I totally agree JohnBriggs they got a bunch of OF and IF prospects and will end up adding Pitching when they are ready to rebuild.

[JohnBriggs12]

I totally agree JohnBriggs they got a bunch of OF and IF prospects and will end up adding Pitching when they are ready to rebuild.

 

It's no different now than it was in 2008 and 2011. Brewers can't buy quality FA starting pitching. They need to either build it from within or trade for it. When the time is right, they should have the pieces to get it and hopefully without completely depleting the system.

[MrTPlush]

If the Brewers can fill the majority of their holes internally the payroll space will be there to sign a major free agent if they want to. I could see it being done if Stearns plans on constantly replenishing the farm and not extending too many players. If we opt to extend our players then payroll space will shrink fairly quickly. Don't underrate our odds of signing a major free agent. When we start getting into a window of competing and payroll is rock bottom the money will be there.

[paul253]

either build it from within or trade for it. When the time is right, they should have the pieces to get it and hopefully without completely depleting the system.

 

It would be nice for once if they could actually develop their own pitching instead of trading away the farm to get it. No matter how you look at it, trading for quality pitching will gut your system and it's usually for a very short term gain. If we wanted to go after a Chris Sale for instance we'd probably have to give up at least four of our top prospects. It could be doable but then again you need more than Sale to win. So now you have to give up even more top prospects to get another decent pitcher. That guts your system even further. Last years team and this years team is what happens when you gut your system too much.

 

I get the whole "best player available" argument but at some point you have to address pitching. The acquisitions of Hader, Ortiz and Bickford has been a wonderful start. But we need more, much more. Next years draft is strong with pitching at the top. If we take yet another outfielder I'll be furious. Being able to develop your own pitching solves so many problems, especially for a small market team. I'm a little annoyed we waited until last trade deadline to start thinking about it (thanks Melvin).

[MrTPlush]

Wait what did Melvin do? Pretty sure we drafted quite a bit of pitching in the early rounds under him. As best he could with where he always picked. Then when he finally got to trade a good player he got a Top 50 prospect pitcher.

 

They have done a fantastic job adding pitching over the last two years. It isn't enough though...of course. We aren't done yet. You can't just devote to pitching you have to get bats. I think they have done a great job balancing the two.

[brewmann04]

I don't think they will have to gut the system maybe still make some trades for top Minor league arms instead of the Chris Sale Type.

I even be happy if we can acquire two potential #2 type starters.

[adambr2]

I don't think they will have to gut the system maybe still make some trades for top Minor league arms instead of the Chris Sale Type.

I even be happy if we can acquire two potential #2 type starters.

 

We have. Ortiz and Bickford. And Hader.

[FVBrewerFan]

Just too early to tell how the SP will shake out. Of course, you can never have enough.

 

The only way I see them acquiring a true top tier SP is via a Braun trade. Sure, at some point if they have too many OF, they can trade Santana or Broxton, even Brinson. But I don't see getting a top tier SP back for that. You would have to package several prospects, and Stearns isn't going to do that, and shouldn't.

 

When the time is right, they can sign a Wolf or Marcum type. There's always a lot of angst about those type of pitchers, but some of them were productive for a couple years. If the contract is reasonable in amount and length, nothing wrong with a signing like that. Key is they would have to be a #3 or #4 type of guy.

 

As always, they still need to find the top 2 or 3. Step one is to see if Hader, Woodruff, or Ortiz can be one or two of those. This will really determine how quickly the rebuild will take.

[adambr2]

The one thing I don't want to see us do again is purge our farm. Situationally, there will still be opportunities that come up, like last year with Villar. But as a general rule I hope we become more conservative about trading our prospects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mod note: Deleted double post