Brewers (Woodruff) vs Rays (McClanahan): 3/31/26, 6:40pm

[RobertCrawley]

7 minutes ago, wiguy94 said:

I was definitely expecting McClanahan to look a lot rougher than that. Really impressive stuff from him having not pitched in an MLB game since 8/2/23.

Agreed. We beat a good pitcher today.

[Jim French Stepstool]

36 minutes ago, willie key said:

Hopefully this abs will weed out the really bad umpires but in the long run it’s not good for the game to embarrass them daily especially on balls and strikes that might be centimeters.    In my opinion.    
 

 

I don't know if umps are being embarrassed all that much on ball & strike calls. At least they shouldn't feel that way cuz like you said, we're talking centimeters on most of these challenges.

 

But it's a whole other thing when you're calling runners out on a dropped ball because of a transfer, when there's no reason to transfer because it would've been the 3rd out and HE NEVER TRIED TO TRANSFER THE BALL, ANYWAY. Just a couple of very, very odd calls.

[nate82]

6 minutes ago, Underachiever said:

I guess we are arguing philosophy vs outcome. Mitchell was wrong, therefore, bad challenge. That was my point 

Still not a bad challenge.  You can fail at a challenge and it still be a good challenge.  The only way that would have been a bad challenge is if it split the middle of the plate in the strike zone.  It was a borderline pitch and therefore it was a good challenge regardless of the outcome.  

[Jopal78]

19 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

They need to find out about Mitchell, one way or the other. The idea of him getting ABs in AAA is a sound one, but only five games in it isn't going to happen just yet. He probably has until Chourio is ready, as speculated earlier.

I do think sending him up vs a LHP w/the outcome in doubt, like yesterday, is a bad idea.

He’s already in his arbitration years, what’s the point in sending him to AAA to work on his game. It’s not like he is some young uber prospect. He’s a toolsy guy who never put it together, MLB is littered with them 

[csbysam]

Rays play good ball. Woodys location is always so on point. Great win to battle back. 

[liveforoctober]

5 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

He’s already in his arbitration years, what’s the point in sending him to AAA to work on his game. It’s not like he is some young uber prospect. He’s a toolsy guy who never put it together, MLB is littered with them 

Matos would be a guy maybe who is toolsy who has never put it together. Mitchell has just never been healthy. I think there is a difference.

BRef has him at 3.6 career WAR in ~400 career at bats. He has yet to play a full season of games in his career. Giving up on him now would be a Red Sox thing to do.

At worst he is a great defensive outfielder with some power and speed. Great 4th outfielder to have. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

32 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

He’s already in his arbitration years, what’s the point in sending him to AAA to work on his game. It’s not like he is some young uber prospect. He’s a toolsy guy who never put it together, MLB is littered with them 

So if they reach the point where the 26-man roster would be better if it doesn't include Mitchell you think he should just be released?

[Jopal78]

1 hour ago, liveforoctober said:

Matos would be a guy maybe who is toolsy who has never put it together. Mitchell has just never been healthy. I think there is a difference.

BRef has him at 3.6 career WAR in ~400 career at bats. He has yet to play a full season of games in his career. Giving up on him now would be a Red Sox thing to do.

At worst he is a great defensive outfielder with some power and speed. Great 4th outfielder to have. 

I didn’t say give up on him or release him. But more importantly these are his “peak” seasons physically. In that case what is to be gained by optioning him  to the minor leagues?

I think the fact he has been injured as much as he has allows folks to lose sight of the fact he is going to be 28 before the season is over and will be heading into his penultimate season of team control. He’s kind of a finished product at this point: toolsy with speed and power (as reflected by the metrics) but with Hiura-esque swing and miss issues. 

[liveforoctober]

1 hour ago, Jopal78 said:

He’s kind of a finished product at this point

Would you say Cooper Pratt is a finished product offensively?

[Tedaldtada]

Pitch Value Rankings per Baseball Savant through last night's games:

• Grant Anderson deserves some shine on his name for his early season performance. His pitches are working well
• Woodruff doesn't need 98 for his 4-Seam to eat up hitters
• Miz is a beast. Three extremely effective pitches.
• I would expect much better final season metrics on Woodruff's Sinker, Megill's 4-Seam, Sproat's Sweeper, Harrison's Kick Change-Up, and hopefully also Sproat's Cutter. All have been effective previously or have shown some quality characteristics that simply need polish

[Tedaldtada]

Brandon Woodruff certainly can still be effective; he's proven that by now. But I couldn't help but be jealous of where Shane McClanahan is at with his comeback. Different circumstances, etc. etc. He looks like a TOR playoff caliber arm to me.

[willie key]

9 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

I don't know if umps are being embarrassed all that much on ball & strike calls. At least they shouldn't feel that way cuz like you said, we're talking centimeters on most of these challenges.

 

But it's a whole other thing when you're calling runners out on a dropped ball because of a transfer, when there's no reason to transfer because it would've been the 3rd out and HE NEVER TRIED TO TRANSFER THE BALL, ANYWAY. Just a couple of very, very odd calls.

I agree.   I’m more talking about the balls and strikes.    A lot of these umpires are pretty good.   

[willie key]

14 minutes ago, Tedaldtada said:

Brandon Woodruff certainly can still be effective; he's proven that by now. But I couldn't help but be jealous of where Shane McClanahan is at with his comeback. Different circumstances, etc. etc. He looks like a TOR playoff caliber arm to me.

I would be surprised if woodruff is even pitching by the end of year

this is the last year we are paying him right?

[Team Canada]

Well, as of right now. He accepted the QO. Presumably the Brewers will not look to re-sign him, but you never know.

[Jopal78]

8 hours ago, liveforoctober said:

Would you say Cooper Pratt is a finished product offensively?

What’s the relevance? Pratt is 21 years old and was in high school 3 years ago. Garret Mitchell is 27 and turned pro 6 years ago after 3 years of college ball at UCLA.

[Jopal78]

2 hours ago, Tedaldtada said:

Brandon Woodruff certainly can still be effective; he's proven that by now. But I couldn't help but be jealous of where Shane McClanahan is at with his comeback. Different circumstances, etc. etc. He looks like a TOR playoff caliber arm to me.

Woodruff had a capsular tear an injury that is often the beginning to the end of careers; Jimmy Nelson, Johan Santana, Mark Prior etc.  That he’s back and getting outs with diminished velocity speaks to his skill as a pitcher and the effort he put into his recovery which is a lot less certain than those recovering from the much more predictable Tommy John surgery. 
 

Given his effort, and ability to learn to pitch without overwhelming stuff, I hope the Brewers keep him around for as long as he’s willing, because those are the exact kind of traits you want to rub off on all their young arms.

[liveforoctober]

59 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

What’s the relevance? Pratt is 21 years old and was in high school 3 years ago. Garret Mitchell is 27 and turned pro 6 years ago after 3 years of college ball at UCLA.

Because if we are counting Milb and MLB as professional at bats ... they have roughly the same number of at bats in their careers. If Mitchell doesn't get regular at bats to start this year ... Pratt will have more professional at bats than Mitchell in about a month. 

Mitchell has just over 1000 pro at bats. For reference, Sal Frelick was drafted a year AFTER Mitchell and has 2,400. I still wouldn't say Sal is a completed offensive player.

I'm just saying to call Garrett Mitchell a finished product right now is a bit dismissive.

[Jopal78]

54 minutes ago, liveforoctober said:

Because if we are counting Milb and MLB as professional at bats ... they have roughly the same number of at bats in their careers. If Mitchell doesn't get regular at bats to start this year ... Pratt will have more professional at bats than Mitchell in about a month. 

Mitchell has just over 1000 pro at bats. For reference, Sal Frelick was drafted a year AFTER Mitchell and has 2,400. I still wouldn't say Sal is a completed offensive player.

I'm just saying to call Garrett Mitchell a finished product right now is a bit dismissive.

Ha! When will he be a finished product then? When he’s 30?, 31? after he reaches free agency? Sheesh. 
 

Injuries damaged his career, no doubt about it. Tough break for him and the Brewers. However already turning 28 this season, and in his arbitration years, Mitchell is in no way shape or form any sort of prospect with things yet to learn in the minor leagues. Viewed from that context he absolutely is what he is at this point. 
 

That being said, the bar is set quite low offensively in CF. Play the guy who was a first round pick and may still have some upside. Who knows, maybe they’ll get lucky and he’ll cut his K rate down to something close to 25% and they’ll have a serviceable player for a couple years. 

[liveforoctober]

6 minutes ago, Jopal78 said:

Ha! When will he be a finished product then? When he’s 30?, 31? after he reaches free agency? Sheesh. 
 

Injuries damaged his career, no doubt about it. Tough break for him and the Brewers. However already turning 28 this season, and in his arbitration years, Mitchell is in no way shape or form any sort of prospect with things yet to learn in the minor leagues. Viewed from that context he absolutely is what he is at this point. 

He may never be a finished product if he can't play, but after hearing you say that I don't think that is what you are meaning anymore. I think you are just saying he is running out of time, which is a whole different discussion and one that I would be more apt to agree with.

[Jopal78]

9 minutes ago, liveforoctober said:

He may never be a finished product if he can't play, but after hearing you say that I don't think that is what you are meaning anymore. I think you are just saying he is running out of time, which is a whole different discussion and one that I would be more apt to agree with.

I think I would say his game is his game at this point (27+ years old, 6 years pro experience and 4+ years service time). The swing and miss in his game isn’t likely to be corrected with more experience against minor league pitching. 
 

And yes he is running out of time. Had he been an unheralded draft pick instead of a first round bonus baby they likely would have cut him loose already due to his inability to stay healthy. 

[LaprilOne]

14 hours ago, edfunderburk said:

Upon further reflection, Woodruff had a great first start. And he was efficient (5 innings on 67 pitches). Other than the two solo HRs allowed, he was excellent tonight. 

Guess you don't want to send him to Nashville?

[Fear The Chorizo]

I'd rather have Mitchell starting in center while Chourio is on the IL than Perkins - and frankly I'd rather have Lockridge starting there against a lefty than Perkins, too.  Probably why Perkins started the year in AAA and not Mitchell.  Burning Perkins' option upfront for the year sets the stage for a rotating cluster of 4th/5th OFs once Chourio does come back in a few weeks - and honestly the Brewers may have been thinking to use Perkins' option instead of burning one for Mitchell at the start of the year assuming Mitchell is more likely to get injured and go on the IL than Perkins.

Of those 3, I'd say Mitchell still has the best offensive upside should he stay healthy and get regular MLB at bats.  I don't think anyone views him as a developmental prospect anymore as much as he's been an injury-plagued enigma who could still be a late bloomer if health cooperates.  He's capable of a few monster 30/30 seasons with great plate discipline and GG caliber defense in center field even with high strikeout totals. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, liveforoctober said:

Because if we are counting Milb and MLB as professional at bats ... they have roughly the same number of at bats in their careers. If Mitchell doesn't get regular at bats to start this year ... Pratt will have more professional at bats than Mitchell in about a month. 

 

 

Didn't get the point you were trying to make comparing him to Pratt, until now. That's actually quite relevant & speaks well to the "incomplete" Mitchell should be getting on his report card. Still, it'll all be sawdust if he doesn't figure out the swing-and-miss issues.

[liveforoctober]

35 minutes ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Didn't get the point you were trying to make comparing him to Pratt, until now. That's actually quite relevant & speaks well to the "incomplete" Mitchell should be getting on his report card. Still, it'll all be sawdust if he doesn't figure out the swing-and-miss issues.

Yeah, I don't mind the criticisms of the player for his warts but calling him a finished product is a wild take. Luis Lara has like 400 more professional plate appearances than Mitchell does. Luke Adams has over a hundred more. Brock Wilken has the same amount. Cooper Pratt will have the same amount soon.

He just hasn't gotten game reps like his peers have.

There is another former Brewers farmhand who is playing for the Nationals right now who came up with Mitchell and is just now getting to 2000 career plate appearances. Just had a historic start to the season at the plate. We ran him out of town years ago when he "couldn't figure it out" when he was just crossing ~1000 plate appearances.

[Fear The Chorizo]

4 minutes ago, liveforoctober said:

Yeah, I don't mind the criticisms of the player for his warts but calling him a finished product is a wild take. Luis Lara has like 400 more professional plate appearances than Mitchell does. Luke Adams has over a hundred more. Brock Wilken has the same amount. Cooper Pratt will have the same amount soon.

He just hasn't gotten game reps like his peers have.

There is another former Brewer's farmhand who is playing for the Nationals right now who came up with Mitchell and is just now getting to 2000 career plate appearances. Just had a historic start to the season at the plate. We ran him out of town years ago when he "couldn't figure it out" when he was just crossing ~1000 plate appearances.

I think there are quite a few "late bloomer" type players scattered across MLB who were impacted by sporadic development time early in their pro careers due to COVID (no minor league season in 2020 and a severely hampered instructional period between 2020-2021) - both collegiate and high school draftees.

Wiemer fits that bill moreso than Mitchell because I think Mitchell's is more injury-related.  But Mitchell got drafted in 2020 after an abbreviated collegiate season, followed by no organized instructionals/minor league development until a delayed start in 2021.