The Brewers were rumored to be dealing Corey Hart at the trading deadline. Not only did the Brewers keep him…..they signed him to a three year contract extension. Hart has played in 95 games for the Brewers this year and he is 105 of 363 (.289 avg, .905 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 23 homers, 75 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Hart is on pace to set new career highs in runs scored (86), homers (24) and RBIs (91) if he finishes strongly. The Brewers were smart to lock up Hart for a few more years as they challenged him this spring and he has responded big time.

40-year old lefty swinging outfielder Jim Edmonds is looking like he will retire after this season. At least he will be going out on his own terms as he didn’t play in 2009 as no one signed him as a free agent. He signed a minor league deal with the Brewers over the winter and earned a spot on the team in spring training. It has proved to be a good signing for the Brewers as Edmonds has played pretty well for them this year. Edmonds has played in 64 games this year for the Brewers and he is 56 of 196 (.286 avg, .845 OPS) with 34 runs scored, 7 homers, 19 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. If the Brewers continue to fall much further out of the playoff race in August then they might consider trading him to a contender.

The Brewers are sending OF Ryan Braun, righty starting pitcher Yovani Gallardo and OF Corey Hart to the All-Star Game. Ryan Braun has been elected to the All-Star Team by the fans so he will be starting. He has played in 80 games for the Brewers this season and he is 96 of 325 (.295 avg, .825 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 11 homers, 51 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. This will be the third time Braun has played in the mid-summer classic. 24-year old Yovanni Gallardo might miss his first All-Star Game as he was injured in yesterday’s game. Gallardo has started 18 games for the Brewers so far this season and he is 8-4 with a 2.58 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He has only given up 93 hits in 111 2/3 innings this season while whiffing 122 batters showing how nasty he has been. Gallardo’s only weakness is his control as he has walked 48 batters so far this year. Corey Hart has played in 74 games for the Brewers this season and he is 79 of 276 (.286 avg, .922 OPS) with 42 runs scored, 19 homers, 61 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. This will be Hart’s 2nd All-Star appearance which isn’t bad seeing how he was platooning with Jim Edmonds when the 2010 season started.

24-year old righty swinging catcher Jonathan Lucroy has won the starting job at catcher for the Brewers. He has played in 11 games for the Brewers so far this season and he is 15 of 44 (.341 avg, .705 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 2 stolen bases. Lucroy was the Brewers’ #5 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America so I think it’s a good move for them to go with him behind the plate. 27-year old lefty swinging George Kottaras will serve as Lucroy’s backup. He has played in 34 games this season for the Brewers and he is 22 of 102 (.216 avg, .822 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 5 homers and 16 RBIs. Kottaras has shown a pretty good eye at the plate so far this season as he has walked 27 times while whiffing 22 times. The Brewers hope that Lucroy will be able to handle the starting job the rest of the way in 2010.

27-year old righty swinging 2B Rickie Weeks has been solid this year for the Brewers. He has played in 63 games for the Brewers this year and he is 68 of 263 (.259 avg, .791 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 10 homers, 34 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Weeks has whiffed 75 times already this season but he has always been a free swinger. I don’t see the Brewers trying to change Weeks’ batting style at this point in his career but I’m sure that they are praying that he can stay healthy this year.