Brewers (Sproat) vs Rockies (Feltner): 6/5/26, 7:40pm

[LouisEly]

30 minutes ago, Samurai Bucky said:

We were at the game and my son-in-law actually “saw“ it pop. If you do some searching on YouTube, you will see similar videos. He described it like his elbow, went the wrong way.  

You going tonight?  I'll be there, sitting right next to the dugout, 2nd row.

Meeting some other Wisconsinites at Swanky's before the game.

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

Fair enough.  The great thing about a message board is being able to debate/discuss during the downtime between games.

2 years from now, Sproat could be a Burnes level starter (which would be amazing for the Brewers) or he could be out of baseball completely.  I guess time will tell.

i think it’s fair to both be excited by his potential (for some) but be frustrated with his (thus far) poor performance.

 

[liveforoctober]

1 hour ago, TwinsBrewersWorldSeries said:

for those who think Sproat is our next star, what exactly do you seen in his performance that makes you think that? Do you have any data that shows that someone can get rocked for their first 10 starts and then becomes solid?

Guys with a good tool bag will always be given a longer leash. Sproat's issues thus far have seemed to be control and sequencing far more than having hittable pitches. As others have mentioned I wish he could have two months in AAA or shorter exposure opportunities out of the pen but we are in a bit of a bind so he is getting a crash course at the highest level. As long as he is mentally strong he should be fine long term, it's getting through the short term for both he and us that is the roller coaster.

 

[adambr2]

38 minutes ago, cragi said:

Burnes put up a -2.2 WAR at about the same age Sproat is now, putting up a -.6 at about the 1/3 point of his first year in this org. He also doenst have the advantage of workign with the staff year after year but is being pressed to learn on the job and the team needs to use him because of the injuries.  

Given that, I think its reasonable to trust our eyes with the pitch movement and velocity, combined with his age. Patrick has been given the flexibility to work his issues out in the pen more carefully, but he has 2 years in age and several in the org on Sproat.

So, whether or not Sproat has a meaningful turnaround yet this year, im going to trust my eyes and that the staff has a reason to like him.

Nothing would make me happier than revisiting this in a year and having to say “wow, was I ever wrong about Sproat.”

[Samurai Bucky]

31 minutes ago, LouisEly said:

You going tonight?  I'll be there, sitting right next to the dugout, 2nd row.

Meeting some other Wisconsinites at Swanky's before the game.

I think we are skipping tonight but will be there tomorrow.  Gotta get the bobble!

we were in row 21 last night behind the Brewers dugout.  May need to make Swanky’s run…

[Underachiever]

3 hours ago, TwinsBrewersWorldSeries said:

 

for those who think Sproat is our next star, what exactly do you seen in his performance that makes you think that? Do you have any data that shows that someone can get rocked for their first 10 starts and then becomes solid?

 

Smoltz had a 5.43 ERA and a WHIP of 1.7 in his first 12 starts. And I’m not sure people are calling Sproat the next star, but you can see he’s got talent. Whether he becomes Manny Parra, John Smoltz, or something in between, will remain to be seen. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, liveforoctober said:

Guys with a good tool bag will always be given a longer leash. Sproat's issues thus far have seemed to be control and sequencing far more than having hittable pitches. As others have mentioned I wish he could have two months in AAA or shorter exposure opportunities out of the pen but we are in a bit of a bind so he is getting a crash course at the highest level. As long as he is mentally strong he should be fine long term, it's getting through the short term for both he and us that is the roller coaster.

 

That's what surprised me yesterday. Not that he struggled; we've all seen that. But he was hit pretty hard. One thing that should NEVER happen to him is the 0-2 RBI base hit he allowed to a guy like Julien.

Clearly with a bit more good fortune health-wise on the pitching staff he's starting in Nashville. There's much worse things for a young pitcher than to be learning on-the-job with Hook & Henderson nearby, but if we can get a replication of what Gasser did this week & someone else follows suit maybe a refresh in AAA would help him. And of course fingers crossed re Woodruff.

[HarryDoyle]

2 hours ago, StearnsFTW said:

No one is forced to read it, but it's hilarious.

 

Relentless mopery.

 

I don't know about that. I find it hard to believe anyone here has exposed themselves to a blind person.

[wiguy94]

2 hours ago, cragi said:

Burnes put up a -2.2 WAR at about the same age Sproat is now, putting up a -.6 at about the 1/3 point of his first year in this org. He also doenst have the advantage of workign with the staff year after year but is being pressed to learn on the job and the team needs to use him because of the injuries.  

Given that, I think its reasonable to trust our eyes with the pitch movement and velocity, combined with his age. Patrick has been given the flexibility to work his issues out in the pen more carefully, but he has 2 years in age and several in the org on Sproat.

So, whether or not Sproat has a meaningful turnaround yet this year, im going to trust my eyes and that the staff has a reason to like him.

I’ve seen people try to make this comp but I honestly don’t think it’s a good comp at all. 2019 Burnes had a huge HR problem but outside of the HR issues there was a lot to like with his very strong K-BB numbers. His xFIP was like 3.37 that year. If he could eliminate his HR issue he was going to take off. He ditched the FB for a cutter and it happened. Sproat doesn’t have any obvious changes in that regard and his stuff isn’t that good. He throws hard but his ability to spin the ball with velo is well below average which leads to mediocre shapes on his fastballs. He also has serious command issues. I think people really overrate how good his stuff actually is. The curveball and sweeper are great but the fastballs are all average at best from a stuff perspective. 

[LouisEly]

1 hour ago, Samurai Bucky said:

I think we are skipping tonight but will be there tomorrow.  Gotta get the bobble!

we were in row 21 last night behind the Brewers dugout.  May need to make Swanky’s run…

Make sure you're in the shade tomorrow.  Gonna be balls hot.