Brewer Fanatic Podcast Call for Questions Tonight (7/30)

[Spencer Michaelis]

If you've got questions for this week's episode, please drop them below! This will be our last episode before the trade deadline on Monday.

[wibadgers23]

Are we talking enough about Blake Burke and what he's doing in AA? MLB Pipeline has him ranked just 18th on our top 30. Is he being severely underrated or does it just speak to the overall depth of our system? I see him as our 1B of the future so hoping he does not get traded in the next few days.

[JoeyWiemerTruther]

Give me a trade candidate for a starter, reliever, and a bat you want to trade for and name the trade package that you would send back for all 3

[crash13]

Not a pressing question, but I think relevant for assessing who the Brewers may give up prospect wise at the deadline. Given Fisher's interview and some of the stats we have been seeing is there something about the Brewer's hitting development we should take into account when grading our prospects?

Fisher talks about the team's measure of success being different than simply box score watching and seeing strikeouts. Given this and a recent Jake McKibbin tweet about the whiff rates at Biloxi (Ragsdale, Burke, and Fisher), is there something to be said about a development approach/priority being preached that should be taken into account?

[ErnieRilesBrianGiles]

Are we talking enough about Eric Bitonti and the fine season he's having in high A? With the number of 3b/1b in the system, would he be a valuable trade chip at the deadline?

[wibadgers23]

Who are your top three favorite international prospects who either played primarily in the DSL or ACL League this year (started the year in either league)? So a guy like Frias who eventually moved onto Wilson would count.

[Brian]

3 hours ago, Spencer Michaelis said:

If you've got questions for this week's episode, please drop them below! This will be our last episode before the trade deadline on Monday.

Aaron Ashby: He pitches ONE or less innings and his ERA the past month is 6.75 and walks at least one batter every time he is call upon. Trade bait? 

[Devinep]

If the Brewers don’t get another 3B option, what are the chances Luke Adams gets a shot there in the stretch run?

[Devinep]

How would you go about adding more power to the lineup for the rest of the season? There isn’t an obvious spot in the lineup that doesn’t either have a solid player there already or have a prospect coming soon 

[DonBarclay]

I’ve seen a lot of stuff about prospect outcomes, specifically call backs to prior brewers top 10 guys that have been moved. All of those were in significantly weaker brewers farm systems. Do you have any data on prior years top systems that might compare better to this years brewers version, and the hit rates on those?  

[gregmag]

Let’s head to head to head to head Adams, Bitonti, Burke, and Fischer. One of these guys is likely the Brewers’ 1b of the future, and it may be a very near future with Bauers likely gone and Vaughn late in arby. Which one (or more) are you betting on and holding onto? I know you’re up for trading Fischer, especially if some team (cough, Angels) overvalues his shiny production. But which of these guys do you want for the Brewers?

If Braylon Payne can control his strikeouts, he’s a potential star. How do we assess his likelihood of doing that? On one hand, his K rate this year is just as bad as last year, about 30%. On the other hand, he has held that rate constant while improving dramatically this year, especially in the power department, and he’s only 19. What does knowledge about past prospects with similar profiles tell us about whether he can fix the big hole in his game?

[Stealofhome]

6 hours ago, gregmag said:

If Braylon Payne can control his strikeouts, he’s a potential star. How do we assess his likelihood of doing that? On one hand, his K rate this year is just as bad as last year, about 30%. On the other hand, he has held that rate constant while improving dramatically this year, especially in the power department, and he’s only 19. What does knowledge about past prospects with similar profiles tell us about whether he can fix the big hole in his game?

Honestly his strikeouts aren't too concerning at this point, since he's so young for the level and the Midwest League average strikeout rate is already over 23%. Adjusted for age and sample size, he's actually right around league average. But if he keeps a 30% strikeout rate into the Majors, he's probably going to struggle. A couple of players to compare: Chad Hermansen vs. Danny Tartabull to see the range of possibilities if K-rate stays too high in the majors. Also Cody Bellinger struck out 28% of the time in A+ as a 19-year-old. 
https://www.prospectwavelength.com/player?dataset=hitter&id=815520

As for Adams, Bitonti, Burke, Fischer, Adams holds up as the only RHB and has the best strikeout rate/OBP, and is performing already at AAA. Burke seems a tick ahead Bitonti on both K and BB rate with similar power. Fischer's power is so impressive he feels like someone you have to hold onto. 

[wallus]

Here's one you probably don't expect.

The Brewers are doing well with the draft and International market. What will it take for them to do well to acquire players from Japan/players that get posted?