2024 Spring Training Game Thread

[Oxy]

3 hours ago, markedman5 said:

Jeff Levering “ the question with Chourio is do you start him in Triple A or do you start him in the majors and start the proverbial clock so,to speak”

Somebody tell Jeff the clock is no longer relevant to Jackson Chourio…….smh

if he isn’t ready they certainly could start him in Nashville but it won’t be because of the “ clock”.

Yikes...that's poor form.  Either he forgot/didn't know that they signed him long term or he has no idea what it means when people talk about "starting the clock" for young players.  I'm not sure which is worse.  One probably shouldn't use commonly said phrases if one has no idea what they mean.

[RedStickBrew]

1 hour ago, Brewcrew82 said:

One of my predictions for this season is that he'll be the primary 3rd baseman by the end of the season. 

 

If he is crushing the ball in the minors for half the season, there is no reason to keep him down. Arnold said last year they liked his D at third too

[Jim French Stepstool]

5 hours ago, RedStickBrew said:

 

If he is crushing the ball in the minors for half the season, there is no reason to keep him down. Arnold said last year they liked his D at third too

That's been my #1 question re Wilkin---will he stay at 3B? He obviously profiles as someone that can move to the other corner if needed. But like you said, all the comments so far from the brass is that he's looked good at third. All the better.

Anyone know if Frelick had any plays come his way while he was in there?

[Jim French Stepstool]

7 hours ago, RedStickBrew said:

I keep wondering if Black isn’t going to get introduced to an outfielders glove soon. We will see how he performs this spring and where he ends up starting the season I guess. 

Don't know if I'm reading the right tea leaves but if Black finds a defensive niche here I think it'll be on the right side of the infield.

[brewmann04]

Clarke taking on the catching Role full time 

[RedStickBrew]

8 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Anyone know if Frelick had any plays come his way while he was in there?

He had a couple chances. There is a video posted in the Frelick thread where he discusses his day in the field

[Brewcrew82]

 

[RobertCrawley]

Looks like Abner was touched up a little today.

[Scooterfletcher]

I think Clarke can be exactly Gary Sanchez.

[sveumrules]

1 hour ago, Scooterfletcher said:

I think Clarke can be exactly Gary Sanchez.

Wes Clarke at AA: 4 CS / 35 SB = 10.3 CS%

Gary Sanchez at AA: 68 CS / 110 SB = 38.2 CS%

Gary Sanchez in MLB: 98 CS / 257 SB = 27.6 CS%

Clarke’s biggest impediment to potentially catching at the MLB level is he hasn’t been able to throw any one out two levels down in AA.

The one tool Sanchez has always had in his tool box behind the plate is a strong arm.

That’s a pretty notable difference.

[Harold Hutchison]

5 hours ago, sveumrules said:

Wes Clarke at AA: 4 CS / 35 SB = 10.3 CS%

Gary Sanchez at AA: 68 CS / 110 SB = 38.2 CS%

Gary Sanchez in MLB: 98 CS / 257 SB = 27.6 CS%

Clarke’s biggest impediment to potentially catching at the MLB level is he hasn’t been able to throw any one out two levels down in AA.

The one tool Sanchez has always had in his tool box behind the plate is a strong arm.

That’s a pretty notable difference.

It is. But we've seen the Brewers coaching staff take catchers who had defensive issues and turn them into at least solid defenders behind the plate before with both Narvaez and Contreras.

It's premature to write Clarke off as a potential catcher. With Nola's release and Haase being out of options (I bet he'd be claimed after a DFA), that would leave Brian Navarreto as Quero's backup in Nashville. So I wouldn't be surprised to see Clarke get another 20+ starts behind the plate for the Sounds.

[Harold Hutchison]

Interestingly enough, Ernesto Martinez saw some action and had a nice day at the plate, too.

[RedStickBrew]

1 hour ago, clancyphile said:

It is. But we've seen the Brewers coaching staff take catchers who had defensive issues and turn them into at least solid defenders behind the plate before with both Narvaez and Contreras.

It's premature to write Clarke off as a potential catcher. With Nola's release and Haase being out of options (I bet he'd be claimed after a DFA), that would leave Brian Navarreto as Quero's backup in Nashville. So I wouldn't be surprised to see Clarke get another 20+ starts behind the plate for the Sounds.

The Brewers “catching lab” has done wonders with improving pitch framing. Grandal and Caratini especially saw vast improvement in framing under the Brewer system. 
 

Can you provide an example where the catching lab improved arm strength?  That is the glaring “defensive issue” Clarke is dealing with.  I can’t think of a case where they took a catcher with that defensive issue and improved it. 
 

Again, I love Wes Clarke and believe he is a major league player. He can catch in an emergency situation of course. I just don’t see him being able to be a primary backup catcher. 

[sveumrules]

1 hour ago, clancyphile said:

It is. But we've seen the Brewers coaching staff take catchers who had defensive issues and turn them into at least solid defenders behind the plate before with both Narvaez and Contreras.

Charlie Greene and staff were able to coach up Narvaez, Contreras and Caratini on framing…

Narvaez
16-19: -22.3 FRM
20-22: +20.2 FRM

Contreras
20-22: -6.3 FRM
2023: +14.4 FRM

Caratini
17-21: -5.0 FRM
22-23: +10.1 FRM

Their CS% didn’t see quite the same level of improvement…

Narvaez
16-19: 52/251 = 20.7 CS%
20-22: 47/218 = 21.6 CS%

Contreras
20-22: 16/71 = 22.5 CS%
2023: 16/93 = 17.2 CS%

Caratini
17-21: 30/142 = 21.1 CS%
22-23: 22/106 = 20.8 CS%

[RedStickBrew]

4 minutes ago, sveumrules said:

 

Charlie Greene and staff were able to coach up Narvaez, Contreras and Caratini on framing…

Narvaez
16-19: -22.3 FRM
20-22: +20.2 FRM

Contreras
20-22: -6.3 FRM
2023: +14.4 FRM

Caratini
17-21: -5.0 FRM
22-23: +10.1 FRM

Their CS% didn’t see quite the same level of improvement…

Narvaez
16-19: 52/251 = 20.7 CS%
20-22: 47/218 = 21.6 CS%

Contreras
20-22: 16/71 = 22.5 CS%
2023: 16/93 = 17.2 CS%

Caratini
17-21: 30/142 = 21.1 CS%
22-23: 22/106 = 20.8 CS%

The improvement in framing is nothing short of miraculous. Wow, thanks for posting that

[Underachiever]

9 hours ago, RobertCrawley said:

Looks like Abner was touched up a little today.

Of course I didn't see the game, but at least he wasn't wild. Silver lining? In fact, he gave up two doubles and a single to four hitters on only 8 pitches, so he was in the strike zone. Look at his pitch location. Belt high, middle of the plate on all three of the hits he gave up. Even Mike McCarthy thinks he'll get that cleaned up.

[Ignitor 4ever]

With Clarke, is there any chance he can play first?  You can't do much about arm strength.  You either have it or you don't.  Yes, some things can be done, but not a whole lot to my knowledge.  He seems to profile as a typical big-bat first baseman though.  If he can play adequate defense at first, perhaps that is his spot in the bigs.

[RedStickBrew]

1 minute ago, Ignitor 4ever said:

With Clarke, is there any chance he can play first?  You can't do much about arm strength.  You either have it or you don't.  Yes, some things can be done, but not a whole lot to my knowledge.  He seems to profile as a typical big-bat first baseman though.  If he can play adequate defense at first, perhaps that is his spot in the bigs.

Yes. He is already good at first base. He’s still learning the position but his footwork looks good and he can pick it. He’s just doesn’t have great range. 

[sveumrules]

The comp for Wes Clarke is Garrett Cooper with the ability to emergency catch.

Its not a perfect comp since they are different builds and Cooper’s profile is more hit over power with a 107 AVG+ vs a 100 ISO+ since becoming a regular in 2019 whereas Clarke is 3TO slugger profile.

But bottom line is Wes will need to be able to walk and power his way to at least a 110 wRC+ (Cooper’s career mark, Branyan is 111 career for a more 3TO look) to have any shot of sticking around MLB in any meaningful capacity.

[Madhawk23]

Clearly, the Brewers coaching staff must see something in Clarke behind the plate that have them intrigued enough to keep getting him looks at that position this spring.  Otherwise, I'm not sure why they wouldn't just call him a 1B/DH and be done with it?  The kid clearly has some legit pop with the bat, so it does make you wonder why they don't just let him settle in at 1B where he probably doesn't have to think as much about his defense each and every day?  Again, that tells me that they must see something that nobody else is seeing right now about his potential as a catcher.  

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

14 minutes ago, Madhawk23 said:

Clearly, the Brewers coaching staff must see something in Clarke behind the plate that have them intrigued enough to keep getting him looks at that position this spring.  Otherwise, I'm not sure why they wouldn't just call him a 1B/DH and be done with it?  The kid clearly has some legit pop with the bat, so it does make you wonder why they don't just let him settle in at 1B where he probably doesn't have to think as much about his defense each and every day?  Again, that tells me that they must see something that nobody else is seeing right now about his potential as a catcher.  

This team has always valued versatility. It isn't hurting anything to keep giving Clarke reps in Spring Training and in minor league games. If he doesn't show improvement, they can always move him to 1B on a full-time basis later on.

Also, if he does show that he can catch on a satisfactory basis, it makes his trade value that much higher.

[RedStickBrew]

1 hour ago, Madhawk23 said:

Clearly, the Brewers coaching staff must see something in Clarke behind the plate that have them intrigued enough to keep getting him looks at that position this spring.  Otherwise, I'm not sure why they wouldn't just call him a 1B/DH and be done with it?  The kid clearly has some legit pop with the bat, so it does make you wonder why they don't just let him settle in at 1B where he probably doesn't have to think as much about his defense each and every day?  Again, that tells me that they must see something that nobody else is seeing right now about his potential as a catcher.  

The way I see it is MLB teams need bodies at catcher during Spring Training. There are games most days, split squad games some days and simulated games many days. I don’t want Contreras and Sanchez logging huge numbers of innings before the regular season so I assume it’s all hands on deck with organizational catchers.

Wes is a capable receiver behind the plate and there is a chance he can improve in throwing out runners, no doubt. But it’s quite a reach to assume he can be a viable MLB option based on his current trajectory IMO. 

[Pugger]

I have been unable to watch and/or listen to any of the first few ST games down here in FL.  All I see is final scores.  To those of you who have been able to see the guys play how do they look?  Other than Freddy should we be concerned about the rotation?  I hope the MLB Network shows a game or 2 of ours this spring.

[markedman5]

 

[SeaBass]

1 hour ago, Pugger said:

I have been unable to watch and/or listen to any of the first few ST games down here in FL.  All I see is final scores.  To those of you who have been able to see the guys play how do they look?  Other than Freddy should we be concerned about the rotation?  I hope the MLB Network shows a game or 2 of ours this spring.

Today's and tomorrow's game will be televised by Bally Sports. Even if you can't watch I'm guessing highlights will be posted to YouTube within an hour or so once the game ends.

Non-televised games likely won't have highlights. I'm unaware if opposing teams will have a TV broadcast on days that the Brewers do not have a TV broadcast so I suppose it's not impossible there could be highlights on days where Bally's doesn't have one.