Harold Hutchison

To paraphrase a line from the movie “Draft Day,” we’re living in a very different world than we were in March. Back then, the system appeared to be shallow at third base, albeit with the option for some players to move over from shortstop, along with solid options at the MLB level in Luis Urias and Brian Anderson. So, how have things changed? Let’s take a look. Image courtesy of © Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports Nashville Sounds A season-long slump following a hamstring injury has Luis Urias now playing third part-time in Nashville (where he also appears at second base), which has seen Abraham Toro become the team’s primary third baseman. Andruw Monasterio’s promotion to Milwaukee came after he saw limited action at third with the Sounds, but also meant that Cam Devanney has seen much more playing time at shortstop. Patrick Dorrian has primarily played third, and has shown power, but also a lot of strikeouts. Biloxi Shuckers Zavier Warren spent a lot more time at first base than third this season, and he’s also been in a season-long slump, at least in terms of batting average. That said, the real game-changer has been the massive breakout of Tyler Black, who was already a pure hitter, but who is now flashing serious speed (40+ stolen bases) and power (12 HR as of July 15). This is arguably the biggest 2023 breakout in the Brewers farm system. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Ben Metzinger and Eduardo Garcia have split the vast majority of the starts at third base for Wisconsin. Metzinger’s delivered some solid OBP skills and some pop, while Garcia’s primary calling card has been defense, but his OBP skills have gone up a level. Carolina Mudcats Luke Adams has been the primary third baseman for the Mudcats in 2023, and he’s looking like a Three True Outcomes bat with some serious speed. Jadher Areinamo has shown the ability to hit for average for the Mudcats, while Jheremy Vargas is demonstrating a mix of OBP skills and speed. Daniel Guilarte, who has shown himself to be capable of hitting for average, drawing walks, and stealing bases, also saw time at third. ACL Brewers Nev Serrano has put up the most starts so far for the ACL Brewers, but the real story may be how draftees Brock Wilken and Mike Boeve split time for the rookie-league team. Juan Baez has also seen time at third base for the ACL Brewers, and he’s putting up some monster numbers. DSL Brewers 1 Gery Holguin has been the primary third baseman for the first of the two teams the Brewers have in the Dominican Summer League, and he’s flashing some real offensive punch. Luiyin Alastre has also spent significant time at the hot corner, demonstrating excellent plate discipline (13 BB to 11 K in 78 AB as of July 15) and speed – but can it overcome a .783 fielding percentage? DSL Brewers 2 Luis Lameda and Demetrio Nadal have split time at the hot corner for the second DSL Brewers squad, but that tandem is proving to be second to none. Nadal has posted a 1.015 OPS as of July 15, adding 12 stolen bases to that total. The switch-hitting Lameda has posted a .387 OBP and walked more than he struck out. Overview Black’s move, and the pickups of Wilken and Boere in the draft have now given the Brewers incredible depth at the hot corner in their system. That said, some of those who don’t get the spotlight, particularly Devanney, Adams, and Nadal, also could be very credible options down the road. View full article

Of those listed, Canha is probably my pick: Multi-positional versatility (OF/3B/1B), great OBP skills make him a very valuable bench asset at worst. Candelario would be a nice pick-up for the corner IF spots as well, and might be a good extension candidate.

If the Crew can't work out an extension, I'd offer the Angels: OF/IF/DH Keston Hiura, LHP Ethan Small, OF Jace Avina, RHP Justin Jarvis, SS Freddy Zamora, OF Hendry Mendez, and C Matthew Wood Angels send the Crew Ohtani, and IFs Cristian Garcia and Felix Morrobel.

I have to admit, I'm not a fan of drafting players the team can't sign. Pratt is giving me visions of drafting Nomar and not closing the deal. Who could have been signed with that $$? Ditto with the prep arms in the latter sections, unless they're going all in for the quality.

Somewhat surprisingly, second base has been in flux for the Brewers this season, and the same has been true for them down on the farm. When we previewed the position, a lot of talent was noted. That remains the case, but the picture has been shaken up a bit since last we painted it. Image courtesy of © Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports Brice Turang, Owen Miller, Andruw Monasterio, and Luis Urias split a lot of the playing time at the MLB level. Turang, Monasterio, and Urias all have spent time in Triple A. But the wealth of talent extends further down the system. Let’s take a look. Nashville Sounds The primary second baseman for Nashville has been one-time Olympian Eddy Alvarez, who has played well enough to warrant consideration for a 40-man roster spot, with an .867 OPS and some serious speed on the basepaths (16-for-18 in steals). Noah Campbell, Josh Van Meter, Abraham Toro, Keston Hiura, Urias, and Cam Devanney also have put in time at second in Nashville, and any of them could contribute for the MLB team over the short term. Biloxi Shuckers In the spring, it looked like the Shuckers would have a logjam at second between Felix Valerio, Ethan Murray, and Tyler Black. That isn’t so much the case, mostly because Black moved to the hot corner, but Valerio and Murray have been decent at second base, with 2020 second-round pick Freddy Zamora also seeing time there. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Robert Moore has followed up his dominating turn in Brisbane with a solid season. He's one of only seven Timber Rattlers to have a batting average above .230. He’s also led the team in walks and doubles, while tying with two other players for second in homers. Jose Acosta and Eric Brown also have seen time at second in Appleton. Carolina Mudcats While Jadher Areinamo has been the primary second basemen for the Mudcats, posting a .266 batting average, Gregory Barrios, Jheremy Vargas, and Daniel Guilarte have also seen time at second, with Guilarte demonstrating amazing OBP skills. Most of these players are also flashing speed on the basepaths, with Barrios and Guilarte tied for second on the Mudcats with 16 steals each (as of July 4). ACL Brewers Dylan O’Rae and Jonatan Guzman have split the playing time at second base, with O’Rae showing incredible OBP skills (.478) and speed (14 steals in 14 tries as of July 4), putting him at the top of the pack among the ACL squad at the position. Guzman, Miguel Briceno, Nev Serrano, Jose Caballero, and Juan Baez also have seen time at second in 2023. DSL Brewers One While Jhon Benscome has seen the most playing time at second base, Joan Gutierrez, Luivin Alastre, and Kevin Ereu have also seen action at the keystone. The latter three are all flashing OBP skills, with Alastra adding the ability to hit for average to the mix. DSL Brewers Two The second Brewers DSL squad has multiple standouts at second base. Roderick Flores, Filippo Di Turi, Pedro Ibarguen, and Luis Lameda are all posting OBPs above .400 as of July 4. Each of them has also spent time at other positions, whether it’s the outfield, third base, or shortstop. Overview To say the Brewers have a wealth of options is putting it mildly. If anything, the realities of roster space mean some of these players will likely make it MLB, but on another team’s roster, hopefully as the result of a trade to bolster the Crew elsewhere. View full article

Historically, some of the best players in Brewers history have been at first base: Prince Fielder, Richie Sexson, and Cecil Cooper all come to mind. Could the Brewers have someone from down on the farm reach similarly iconic status while manning first base? Image courtesy of © Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK Right now, Rowdy Tellez handles first base against right-handed pitching for the Brewers, while Owen Miller has become the top option against southpaws at the MLB level. Luke Voit and Jon Singleton have both been sent packing. So, how does first base look down on the farm? Nashville Sounds With Singleton’s departure, Keston Hiura is now manning first base, while also seeing time in left field and at second base. At various times, Noah Campbell, Abraham Toro, Mike Brousseau, and Patrick Dorrian have also played first in Music City. With a .996 OPS in Nashville, Hiura is making a case for at least a shot to make the Crew in 2024. Biloxi Shuckers Wes Clarke, who also is seeing plenty of time behind the plate, is splitting time with Zavier Warren at first base in Biloxi Warren’s struggled at the plate, but has flashed versatility, seeing action at third base, second base, and shortstop this season. Clarke, though, looks like a legitimate three-true-outcome bat. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Ernesto Martinez has been the primary first baseman for the T-Rats, and has recovered somewhat from injuries and a slump in April and May, posting a .907 OPS over the last 28 days as of July 2. In 2021, he showed some ability to play the outfield as well. Alex Hall and Ben Metzinger have also seen time at first for the Timber Rattlers. Carolina Mudcats The Mudcats have spit first base between Jesus Chirinos, who has been mired in a season-long slump that saw him demoted from Wisconsin, Jesus Parra, Luke Adams, Tayden Hall, and Jheremy Vargas. Quinton Low, who saw action at first in the ACL in 2022, has primarily been a designated hitter when he has not taken the mound. ACL Brewers Johan Barrios and Yeison Perez have primarily handled first base for the lone Arizona Complex League team. With the crowd at catcher, don’t be surprised if Edgardo Ordonez and Satchell Norman also see time there eventually, as both have potent bats that need to be in the lineup. DSL Brewers One Gery Holguin, Tyler Rodriguez, Yannic Walther, Jhon Bencosme, and Brayan Oroporeza have all spent time at first for the first of two Brewers affiliates in the Dominican Summer League. Most of these players have seen action at other positions, notably Holguin (third base), Bencosme (second base), Walther (catcher), and Rodriguez (left field). DSL Brewers Two The second of the two Brewers DSL affiliates have seen four players split time at first base: Smarlin Espinal, Roman La Torre, Estefano Lozano, and Danny Puerta. None of them have particularly broken away as the primary starter, and all have split time between first base and another position. Overview Unlike catcher, the Brewers have some real questions at first base. The departures of Voit and Singleton have left the Brewers without a lot of significant options at first, in the short or the long term. Martinez is finally heating up, but his history of injuries and age will raise concerns, and he needs a massive breakout. Hiura has struggled for the most part at the MLB level. Adams and Low both have flashed offensive potential, but they are years away from MLB. The Crew may end up either extending Tellez or moving Christian Yelich to first for short-to-medium-term stability. For the long term, drafting Nolan Schanuel may be the answer for the Crew. View full article

Brewers Get: SP Max Scherzer Mets Get: OF Hedbert Perez LHP Russell Smith IF Eduardo Garcia Brewers Get: 1B CJ Cron LHP Brent Suter Rockies Get: OF Hendry Mendez RHP Janson Junk

Tellez was trying to play through an injury - which probably explains his power outage. Hopefully he's learned NOT to try to suffer in silence, but to tell someone.

In the short time since his promotion to the Brewers, Sal Frelick has been amazing. That said, perhaps there is room to use him better than he is being used now, and make the Brewers a better team overall in the process. Image courtesy of © Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports In his brief MLB tenure, Sal Frelick has batted sixth once, and cleanup twice in the three games he has played as of the morning of July 25. With his outstanding hit tool and speed, that just doesn’t make sense. It’s time to push him a little, and for the Brewers to tinker with the lineup a bit. The big move should be to have Frelick batting leadoff. Yes, Christian Yelich has done well in that spot for the Brewers in 2022 and 2023, but Frelick’s offensive skill set (as demonstrated through his pro career) screams LEADOFF HITTER. Similar Players To Frelick Batted Leadoff First, let’s go back to the players that Frelick seemed to evoke based on his minor-league career. The comparisons were rather lofty: One was Ichiro Suziki, a surefire Hall of Famer who collected 3,089 hits in MLB after he notched 1,278 in Japan. Suzuki also offered lots of speed, stealing as many as 56 bases in a season, as he usually batted leadoff for the Mariners, Yankees, and Marlins in his career. The other primary comparison was none other than Brewers legend Paul Molitor, who also mostly hit leadoff for the Crew. Like Frelick, Molitor hit for average, drew walks, and stole a lot of bases. Other players we compared Frelick to, like Lorenzo Cain and Nori Aoki, also spent a lot of time in the leadoff slot for the Crew, and both were very similar to Frelick in being able to hit for average and steal bases. The fact is, when you look at Frelick’s excellent hit-for-average tool, his speed, and his ability to draw walks, Frelick is just the guy you want leading off, especially if Yelich looks reasonably likely to hit close to 30 home runs a season again. Yelich Gets More RBIs Yelich and his apparent offensive resurgence in 2023 makes the other part of the case for Frelick in the leadoff spot. If Frelick leads off, with Willy Adames and/or William Contreras batting second, it is quite likely Yelich will come to the plate with runners on base. Yelich hitting home runs is nice, but wouldn’t it be nicer if the home runs came with runners on base? This is more about making the most of Yelich’s skills as well. Given that the Brewers have had some collective struggles scoring runs (four of the players in the July 25 lineup had an OPS+ below 100, and Andruw Monasterio’s OPS+ was at 100 on the dot, while Frelick and Jahmai Jones have very small sample sizes), if Yelich is going to have plate appearances, it is best for them to come with runners on base, so that the Brewers can score more runs. Yes, Yelich has done well in the leadoff spot, and the adage of not fixing what isn’t broken is generally wise, but in this case, the Brewers offense has been broken for a bit. Moving Frelick to leadoff may be just the spark that is needed to improve the offense. View full article

Wisconsin's team-wide slump has obscured Miller - and it also has hit Wood some - but those two are really good fits for American Family Field. Quero gets a lot of attention, but Miller and Wood are no slouches in terms of prospect status, even if Miller is probably destined to move to 1B/OF and be an occasional catcher like Dave Nilsson did.

With the MLB season half-over, it may be a good time to see how things are going down on the farm. We will start by revisiting the catchers, and the Crew still is boasting a lot of depth behind the duo of William Contreras and Victor Caratini, who have been superb all season. Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports Nashville Sounds The three-headed monster of Alex Jackson, Payton Henry, and Brian Navarreto are not just holding down catcher in Nashville; each has also seen at least nine games at DH. Henry and Jackson are also proving to be solid with the bat. With this wealth of short-term options, Caratini’s pending free agency means he will likely head elsewhere after 2023, but the Brewers could benefit from good continuity with Henry and Jackson as solid secondary catchers familiar with the Triple-A pitching staff. Biloxi Shuckers Jeferson Quero has been delivering the power, and his OBP skills have improved as well (21 walks in 189 ABs in 2023, compared to 30 in 367 last year). Add to that superb defense at age 20, and he will likely be in Nashville to start 2024. There is no rush--he is only 20 years old--but he could bump Contreras to DH. Otherwise, the Crew could flip Contreras for a haul around the 2024-2025 offseason, or just keep both behind the plate, utilize them at DH or first base for partial days off, and keep them both more fresh. That said, Wes Clarke has also been superb as the backup catcher, and has also held down first base when called upon. Nick Kahle and Jason Lopez have also chipped in behind the plate. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Darrien Miller is rebounding from an early-season slump, providing doubles and walks galore. The offense usually has been there for the 2019 ninth-round pick, but the question is really about his defensive home. Miller’s situation got more complicated when Matthew Wood was promoted to Wisconsin, after posting dominant numbers with the Mudcats. Wood has also flashed OBP skills, but the power he had in Carolina seems to have stayed there. Alex Hall has become the third catcher, who also sees time in left field and first base and delivers OBP and power from both sides of the plate. Carolina Mudcats With Wood’s promotion, Blayberg Diaz and Jose Sibrian have held down the catching duties in Zebulon. Sibrian has flashed OBP skills and power, while Diaz has done better at hitting for average. Jhonnys Cabrera and Tayden Hall have also chipped in as backstops at times. Arizona Complex League Brewers The Brewers went from two ACL teams to one in 2023, and they may be regretting that decision when it comes to finding playing time for the five catchers on their regular roster (not to mention Tayden Hall, on rehab). Satchell Norman and Edgardo Ordonez are the top two, and both have very potent bats – but each has only seven starts at catcher as of July 1. Dominican Summer League Brewers 1 Yannic Walther and Brayan Oropeza are the primary backstops, and both are hitting well. Both have also seen some time at first base, and Walther has a game as DH, while Oropeza took the mound once. Dominican Summer League Brewers 2 Eric Martinez is the primary catcher for the second DSL squad in the Brewers system, and is flashing OBP skills and power so far. Estebano Lozano, Freider Rojas, and Roman LaTorre have backed Martinez up. Overview The Brewers have almost too many good prospects at catcher, especially in the ACL and DSL. Already, in the ACL, two superb catchers are seeing too little playing time, and there are three catchers in the DSL who will compete for playing time. Higher up the ladder, Quero, Miller, Clarke, and Wood look to have bright futures in MLB, although Miller’s will more likely be as a DH, first baseman, or corner outfielder. Henry and Jackson could both contribute as well. View full article

Hard to see the Brewers passing on Schanuel, even if he is a LF/1B type. His bat looks like an amazing fit for American Family Field.

He's my pick for #18 overall. The bat and plate discipline alone are positives. As a corner OF/1B, he is not their usual defensive type, but the offense in this case is a must-have.

For Conteras, the answer to that question is: Jeferson Quero. It may be that Contreras gets flipped for a package when he hits arbitration, especially if one of Wood/Miller also moves up fast. Plus, Payton Henry and Alex Jackson are hitting well at Nashville.

If the draft goes like this, I'd be hoping for Schanuel at 18 and Whitman at 33, if only because they could move through the system faster. Schanuel not only has a superb bat, but he's probably much better defensively at first than Tellez.