Milwaukee Brewers: Creating A Trade Package For Marcus Stroman

The Milwaukee Brewers are in need of starting pitching as we approach the July 31 trade deadline. However, that will cost a premium in this market.

In a seller’s market with so many potential buyers and so few potential sellers, the price tags are going to go up. For the Milwaukee Brewers, that’s not the best news. Now that Keston Hiura has graduated from prospect status, the Brewers have one of the worst ranked farm systems in baseball.

The Brewers think a lot higher of their prospects than those in the media do, but while there are solid prospects down on the Brewers farm, there isn’t much in the way of blue-chip, sure thing prospects.

That will make it difficult to acquire the frontline starting pitcher that the team needs at the deadline this year, but it’s not impossible.

Going After Marcus Stroman

There are plenty of reasons for the Milwaukee Brewers to get Marcus Stroman from the Blue Jays, which we go over in detail here.

Stroman would be a great fit for Milwaukee and rumor has it that the Crew is interested in him and have been making calls to Toronto about him. Should a trade package come together, what could it look like?

It’s going to take at least three, maybe four prospects to land Stroman. Given the amount of teams also involved in Stroman’s market and the level of their farm systems, the Brewers will have a lot to compete with.

Projected Trade Package For Marcus Stroman

Here’s what I’d project it would cost the Milwaukee Brewers to acquire Marcus Stroman from the Toronto Blue Jays.

Corey Ray is the headlining prospect for Stroman. The former first round pick has played well when healthy and, even though that hasn’t happened much this year, he’s shown some great flashes. He was healthy in 2018 and raked in Double-A, earning the Crew’s Minor League Player Of The Year last year.

The Blue Jays will need outfielders as their infielders are mostly set for the future with second generation big leaguers Vlad Guerrero, Jr, Cavan Biggio, and Bo Bichette. A headliner like Ray makes sense since he is closer to the big leagues.

Trey Supak is the headlining pitching prospect in this trade. He’s been dominant for a few years now in the minors as he’s continued to develop. This year, Supak has a 2.20 ERA in 20 starts at Double-A Biloxi. He had a 2.48 ERA last year in 25 starts split between High-A and Double-A. Given Zack Brown‘s regression this year, the Blue Jays will likely push for Supak instead.

Marcos Diplan has been a seemingly slow developing prospect that the Brewers have had for a while, but he’s still just 22 years old. Diplan is no longer thought of as a starter, since his control issues have continued, but he’s succeeded out of the bullpen for Double-A Biloxi this year and still has a high ceiling. He could reach it with a change of scenery.

Mario Feliciano is a solid hitting catcher that should have some power as he develops, which has shown up in 2019. Feliciano has 15 home runs so far this year. The Blue Jays are likely going to want some more insurance at the catcher position as Danny Jansen has regressed this year with the bat.

I think a trade package like this should be enough to land Marcus Stroman in a Milwaukee Brewers uniform. Some may argue that four Top 30 prospects is too much for a year and a half of Stroman, but given how far down the Brewers system is viewed by those outside the organization and the amount of competition for Stroman, it’s going to cost a bit more to get him.

If David Stearns offers up this package to Toronto, he should be able to acquire Stroman. Will he offer up this package? Only time will tell.