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Not long ago the Brewers and the Astros pulled off the biggest blockbuster deal in recent memory for the Milwaukee club sending SUPERSTAR Carlos Gomez and Flamethrower Mike Fiers to Houston. It's often been lamented how unwilling Mark Attanasio is to go into a full rebuild mode. He turn that expectation on it inside out. And it appears he and Doug Melvin are far from finished.
The first report that the Brewers were looking to trade Gerardo Parra came from fellow SB Nation blog Lookout Landing:
Also hearing Gerardo Parra going from Milwaukee to Baltimore for Zach Davies.
— Lookout Landing (@LookoutLanding) July 30, 2015
As yet no real confirmation has been forthcoming but there was this tweet from Adam McCalvy:
#Brewers still working to trade Gerardo Parra, too. They would just piece together CF if they can pull off a deal.
— Adam McCalvy (@AdamMcCalvy) July 31, 2015
Some time later came this tweet from Tom Haudricourt:
#Brewers Doug Melvin said trading Gomez didn't preclude trading Parra. I understand Orioles have interest. Stay tuned.
— Tom (@Haudricourt) July 31, 2015
Shortly thereafter came this tweet from Fox Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal:
Sources: #Orioles talking to #Brewers about Parra. Earlier, @LookoutLanding mentioned that RHP Zach Davies could go to MIL.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2015
These are similar to a report I saw last night on Twitter (sorry I can't find it now) that suggested the Brewers were looking to move Parra even though the Mets trade for Carlos Gomez was still a thing.
But then things got really interesting:
Regarding #Orioles, Parra: Doubtful that offer of Davies would be enough. #Brewers setting high price on Parra; top 10 in NL in BA, SLG.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 31, 2015
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Zach Davies is a 22 year old 6'0'' right-handed pitching prospect drafted in the 26th round of the 2011 draft.. FanGraphs ranked him 4th on the Orioles prospect list. They grade him as follows:
Fastball - 45/50, Curveball - 45/50, Changeup - 55/60, Command - 50/55
Those are present/future grades on the 20-80 scouting scale. A 50 grade is major league average (not a bad thing by any means). A 40 is below average, 45 is fringe average, 55 is above average, and 60 is plus.
His fastball reportedly sits 88-91 and can reach 94. In some ways this feels like a similar profile to Marco Estrada or even Mike Fiers. I mean that as a compliment. Kiley McDaniel wrote he got Mike Leake comps and has a high floor with a 3/4 SP ceiling.
Zach Davies has spent all this season in AAA. He's thrown 95.1 innings with a 20.2 K%, 8.1 BB%, .237 BAA, 1.24 WHIP, 0.38 HR/9, 54.0 GB%, 3.02 ERA, and 3.09 FIP.
Davies also ranked among the 45+ prospects in FanGraphs Top 200. They were ranked in no particular order and ranged from 143-200.
It's exciting enough to get Zach Davies for Gerardo Parra. The possibility that they could get him and more is mouthwatering. Of course, we've seen how easily it is for these sorts of things to fall apart. Though not everyone is like the Mets.
For now let's curb our enthusiasm about this deal until it's official as we've seen how quickly things can go south. But it's okay to get a little excited. I am.