First Base

[Crash2303]

As much as we have a great logjam happening in the OF, we have a similar situation at first base. Both Thames & Aguilar are hitting well at the MLB level and Cooper is hitting at an other worldly level at AAA. a latent benefit of the Braun & Thames injuries is that it gave Aguilar a chance and he has done the most with it. but now that Braun & Thames are back and Brinson is kicking down the door- there will be less of a chance for Aguilar to play. This might be the best time to deal one of our first basemen.

 

FIRST BASEMEN

since Cooper's ascension has come out of nowhere (to people outside of brewerfan) with little track record for his power, add in PCL & Colorado Springs and it doesn't seem like the type of prospect who usually brings back a ton.

 

i think GMs would be wary about trading for Thames unless he can turn around his performance over the last two months into something a little more trustworthy. if he does- a team friendly contract and ability to play corners makes him more attractive. but, also more attractive to us- especially with his branding/fan fav status.

 

Aguilar might be the best asset to trade at this point. although he would be an extremely awesome bench bat to have if we stay in the playoff chase- would his pinch hit duties and spot starts be worth what we could get back in return? he's not some journeyman AAAA player....at least not yet. he has shown nothing but success in the minors, but was blocked for three years in AAA and is still reasonably young at 26. if we could package him to bring back a young, controlled dominant reliever or some pitching prospects- i say pull the trigger.

 

AVAILABLE TEAMS

Yankees have been reported looking for at first baseman and i would have to think the Rangers and Mariners, not too far from the wild card could potentially be looking as well. Napoli & Valencia are not performing well and both teams could use a boost at that position. unfortunately both are also RH so not sure how much interest they would have in Aguilar.

[Greenleaf1]

I'm hesitant to give up Aguilar given Thames's continued struggles and the fact that even in limited playtime Aguilar looks pretty great (and has been brought in as a defensive replacement too). Given the fact that Thames's deal is pretty cheap by big league standards, if his massive troubles continue, I could see Aguilar getting a lot more playtime as the season progresses, especially if we continue to compete for the division.

 

I have no problem with dealing Cooper though. We'd have to protect him on the 40-man this fall and he doesn't figure to get any playing time with us this year unless either Aguilar or Thames goes on the DL for an extended period of time (and even then, Cooper will maybe get a start a week). His AAA performance would make him an intriguing 2nd or 3rd piece to a bigger deadline deal though, and we wouldn't really be losing all that much since it's likely that Thames/Aguilar both figure to be better than Cooper over the long term anyways.

 

Having a solid major league bench is one of the advantages of having so much depth in our organization. If we trade away our bench, that's going to do some damage to our ability to win games down the stretch as the wear and tear of a full season takes a toll on our starters. Aguilar is cheap and controllable for years and has already shown that he has an ability to do very well off the bench or in the starting lineup. There's evidence to suggest he'd make an above average regular if given regular playing time, I'd be hesitant to get rid of him without getting a really nice return (bigger than Jason Rogers. His success, like Rogers', is limited at this point, but he's doing what Rogers did with a much better power tool and probably better defensively).

 

So, in short, I wouldn't trade Aguilar unless blown away by the offer (as in at least a very good and controllable bullpen piece or a top prospect), but Cooper is the textbook definition of dealing from a place of organizational depth, and it looks like the best time to sell high on him.

[monty57]

I doubt we'll trade Aguilar, but if we feel the need to add pitching, he and Villar could be guys who are available to trade. They're more likely to be available than any of our top prospects.

[A Swing and A Drive]

Can't image their is much of a market for Aguilar. He doesn't have enough of a track record to warrant much of a return really.

[MrTPlush]

Can't image their is much of a market for Aguilar. He doesn't have enough of a track record to warrant much of a return really.

 

Pretty much a spitting image of Jason Rogers. Maybe you could get a similar deal.

[Humans Need Water]

Can't image their is much of a market for Aguilar. He doesn't have enough of a track record to warrant much of a return really.

 

Pretty much a spitting image of Jason Rogers. Maybe you could get a similar deal.

Aguilar is a much better hitter than Rogers. Mechanically, approach wise, performance, etc across the board he's better. No idea what the market is for someone like Aguilar but he can be a contributor whereas Rogers most likely never will be.

[BrewCrewBlueDevil]

Trade Thames for whatever you can get, call up Cooper and bump Broxton to the two spot or lead off. If Broxton can not handle the top of the order, move on in the off season.

[MrTPlush]

Can't image their is much of a market for Aguilar. He doesn't have enough of a track record to warrant much of a return really.

 

Pretty much a spitting image of Jason Rogers. Maybe you could get a similar deal.

Aguilar is a much better hitter than Rogers. Mechanically, approach wise, performance, etc across the board he's better. No idea what the market is for someone like Aguilar but he can be a contributor whereas Rogers most likely never will be.

 

You have to find a team that views Aguilar as at the very least potentially a starter. That is why Rogers got us a decent return because of 150 ABs. If you can't find a team that wants Aguilar to start I just don't know if he can really garner that much. The Pirates were desperate for anything with a pulse and under the age of 30 that could play 1B.

[Lathund]

I love Eric Thames. His story, his beard, those forearms. Everything. But with that being said I would rather trade Thames than Aguilar. Aguilar is younger, he's a more well-rounded hitter, and despite both those things I think we'd get more from Thames in a trade.

 

That being said, I'm not necessarily advocating trading either of them. Unless the offer is too good to refuse, but that really goes without saying.

[jerichoholicninja]

Aguilar was waiver wire fodder a few months ago. 150 PA aren't going to change that too much.

[danzig6767]

I love Eric Thames. His story, his beard, those forearms. Everything. But with that being said I would rather trade Thames than Aguilar. Aguilar is younger, he's a more well-rounded hitter, and despite both those things I think we'd get more from Thames in a trade.

 

That being said, I'm not necessarily advocating trading either of them. Unless the offer is too good to refuse, but that really goes without saying.

I'm with you in not wanting to trade either.

 

Both are cheap and intrigue me. Thames home run power and great walk rate are important things you want, but currently he's striking out at to high of a clip. He is in his first season back in the majors vs Korea, so it shouldn't be a surprise that it's a mixed bag as he and pitchers adjust, leading to big swings in performance.

 

As for Aguilar, he's played so well offensively and defensively even without consistent playing time and will be dirt cheap for years, that trading him barring an offer silly to refuse, i want to keep him around. For now at least, i think Aguilar deserves more playing time, especially given struggles by Thames.

 

Cooper

 

.805 OPS on the road

 

1.258 OPS in Colorado

[liveforoctober]

So at minimum I think Aguilar needs to get every start against a lefty. The difference in splits between him and Thames against LHP are too great, even if the sample size is only a few months. But aside from that it should almost be a 50/50 split, at least until Aguilar cools down a bit. Every time he makes contact it is a rocket somewhere.

[Austin Tatious]

Aguilar looks like he has a nice hit tool to me. He can hit for average and power. He comes through in the clutch. He moves pretty well on D.

 

The sample size is an issue. As pitchers adjust to him, will he counter. Going through the league a second and third time can be challenging. What I like though is that he's a versatile hitter. He's going to be less susceptible to weaknesses that can be exploited than, say, a dead pull hitter or a guy who can't recognize offspeed pitches.

 

Don't rule out that he ends up better than Thames and turns out to be a real find.

[OnTheBlack]

Can't image their is much of a market for Aguilar. He doesn't have enough of a track record to warrant much of a return really.

 

Pretty much a spitting image of Jason Rogers. Maybe you could get a similar deal.

Aguilar is a much better hitter than Rogers. Mechanically, approach wise, performance, etc across the board he's better. No idea what the market is for someone like Aguilar but he can be a contributor whereas Rogers most likely never will be.

 

 

I totally agree. His numbers should be taken with a grain of salt at this point, but just from watching him...he has such a easy, smooth swing and can get on top of fastballs in the mid 90's fairly easily and without looking I would guess his exit velocity would be pretty high.

 

I don't think there is as much reason for concern with Thames as others. I think pitchers have just adjusted and while he has had some problems with strike outs, he keeps getting his walks and hitting for power.

 

As for Aguilar coming in as a defensive replacement, I haven't noticed that. I think it's been more of a double switch where he just stays in at 1st, but I think Thames is easily the better defensive 1st basemen. Aguilar has good hands, but can't really move. At the end of the day though he reminds me a bit of Abreu from the CWS. But given his age and service time there really isn't much need to make any decisions right now. I don't think you're getting fair value for either him or Thames given Thames recent dip.

 

As far as Cooper....I don't think there would be any interest in him unless it was just a trade of two veteran minor leaguers or something like that. I doubt he brings anything of value back.

[OnTheBlack]

Trade Thames for whatever you can get, call up Cooper and bump Broxton to the two spot or lead off. If Broxton can not handle the top of the order, move on in the off season.

 

 

You make it sound like we'd be lucky to just dump Thames for...well...like you said, whatever we can get. There's no real reason to think Cooper is going to do anything and Thames has a OPS of .900 and is signed to an extremely team friendly deal.

 

You want a #2 hitter, Thames is your guy. Even during his struggles he gets on base. And yeah, June was a real bad month for him, but his .169 BABIP sure didn't help much. I'd be all for trading Thames, but only if it brought back enough in return..and I really doubt it's going to given his up and down return to the states.

[JohnBriggs12]

Trade Thames for whatever you can get, call up Cooper and bump Broxton to the two spot or lead off. If Broxton can not handle the top of the order, move on in the off season.

 

 

You make it sound like we'd be lucky to just dump Thames for...well...like you said, whatever we can get. There's no real reason to think Cooper is going to do anything and Thames has a OPS of .900 and is signed to an extremely team friendly deal.

 

You want a #2 hitter, Thames is your guy. Even during his struggles he gets on base. And yeah, June was a real bad month for him, but his .169 BABIP sure didn't help much. I'd be all for trading Thames, but only if it brought back enough in return..and I really doubt it's going to given his up and down return to the states.

 

Until we see Cooper at the major league level, you're right we don't know what we have though his relatively low strikeout rate indicates he might be able to make the jump. But we do know Aguilar has been a lot better than Thames since May 1st. As for number 2 hitter, Thames OBP in June was .267. Besides, isn't it time for Arcia to be moved up to number 2? His OBP in June was .370. Arcia is a budding star, not a number 8 hitter even on a good team. It's great that Thames is a left handed presence in the lineup, but when he's not hitting it really doesn't matter does it?

[dlk9s]

Look, regardless of their numbers, contracts, whatever, I don't think you can go wrong with a Cooper at first base for the Brewers.

[LouisEly]

Thames so far has had one bad month - June. His OPS for May was almost .800 (.791, and his OBP was .375 that month). July is off to a pretty good start - .333 avg, .500 OBP, .833 SLG, 1.333 OPS (nano-sample).

 

One bad month does not make a year, and does not make a career. Baseball is streaky. If the Brewers put Thames on the market now there would be no shortage of teams offering prospects for him.