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@Joseph Zarr that was awesome. Thank you so much. I’m really excited about the lower levels again. Can’t wait to see who breaks out this year in Appleton and Zebulon.

Any scouting info or videos of Ryan Birchard's debut

Logan Henderson is on the IL, right? And will probably join Wisconsin once healthy I would presume.

Wow. I sorely missed this. Activity at all levels of the minors, and so many players to watch. thank you JospehZarr and damuelle for the play by play summaries again. So looking forward to this minor league season!! Go baby brewers everywhere

Does anyone know what the color codes are for those lineups? I thought maybe L/R, but there are 4 colors (black, red, blue and the 3/15 one had green)

This comes down to assets. If the team wants to maximize the asset valuation, they keep haase and then see how the Haase/Sanchez back up roles shape up (Sanchez I can see being more of a DH/C and maybe 1B unless they keep Bauers). Bauers is the other consideration. If he makes the team, then I don't think Haase does. And vice versa since neither helps in OF or in the non-1B IF mix.

Does Monasterio have options. I do feel that the team may rotate players around to get them all the ABs. Like if Ortiz is struggling but needs AB send him to AAA. Use Monasterio as a swing man for the IF. Or if Frelick really entrenches himself at 3B. If not, then they need to get creative with the OF.

Yeah it’s the production vs potential debate in prospect analysis. If you love potential you rank Y. Rodriguez very high based upon his stats and pedigree (highly touted IFA) and just like Gilbert Lara and Larry Ernesto that is very fair to do. If you like production more then you rank guys like Clarke among others higher because of what they have done against higher level pitching. It is easiest for guys like Chourio, Black and Quero when you have both. After that it’s your own scale. Thats what makes this so cool - we see everyone else’s barometer for prospects.

I was confused by that too. I believe the draft will stay in July. As far as the title, I'm guessing it's like the "January discussion of 2025 draft" but I may be wrong

Jackson ChourioTyler BlackJeferson QueroJacob MisiorowskiRobert GasserBrock WilkenCooper PrattCarlos F RodriguezLuis LaraDL HallYophery RodriguezJoey OrtizMike BoeveEric Brown JrEric BitontiJosh KnothLuke AdamsJorge QuintanaLogan HendersonJuan Baez

Isn't it a 1-year deal? If I read that wrong, then ignore the rest. But if it's a one year roster spot for this player, and the deal is spared over two, then I'm even less enthused - as it is still a $7M commitment for one year of service, or did I miss something? In that event, the yes 2.5% of payroll this year is great, but 2.5% of next year payroll for someone not on the team isn't great. I mean, I am just thinking in house options or NRI options could be close in value to the team and financially better since he is not a significant upgrade, and I'd rather they add an extra $7M (or more) to the payroll next year (or the following year) to add a key piece, not just a guy who can fill innings.

How is $7M either low risk or a good value when that is about 5% (3-6%) of team payroll for a swing starter or reliever. An improvement over Colin Rea, yes. Not much above in house options. I’d rather they use cash for a 1-2 year option like Hoskins who may significantly improve the rotation. Now I’m not sure who is out there, but no loving $7M for a team that sees $8-10 million as a major obstacle, and anything above $10M as a luxury. I am hopeful I’m wrong. Just don’t see the money adding up to the value of the player.

The glass half full is that the team has had the most sustained success since 2017 that the organization has every had. Most of the 90 win seasons have come since 2008, and several in the past few years. And 2 playoffs in the 1980s, none in the 1990s, and only in the 2000s. The franchise was 2 wins away from WS in 2011, and 1 win away in 2018. And the team has made the playoffs in every year but 1 since 2018. The glass half empty is that the financials of baseball will not allow the Brewers to truly compete with LA, NY and even places like Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta who can afford to take risks and make mistakes. The Brewers cannot take those financial risks without potentially sabotaging seasons as a result. In addition the high water mark was really 2011 (that team was truly loaded). Also one will argue that the playoff appearances are due to expanded playoffs (particularly in 2020), and the win totals is only due to the poor division they play in that pad the numbers. Somewhere between the two is where the truth is. Just like this trade. It is not awful and simply "giving away" our star pitcher. Nor can we state that this was a great return. It was a so-so return, with a trade off of obtaining more MLB ready players with less ceiling, and the market probably dictated that the return for a player about the enter a walk year is not equal for the value of that player. I don't love it, but I can live with it. Just like the team this year, I will follow them, but expectations are much lower now. The end it on a high note attempt: The Brewers are set up to have another potential run with Chourio, Frelick, Contreras as the likely cornerstone players (like Braun, Fielder, Weeks, Hart) and likely another few more key pieces among a very deep prospect pool where not a specific player needs to succeed, but likely one of several will succeed. If all works out it may not be decades before another serious run, but hopefully just a few years. (fingers crossed)

He is still an ace. Not all aces have Cy Young years every season. I mean not since like Greg Maddux in the 1990s with Randy Johnson among others. That was a different era. Now you have 2-3 year runs like Burnes had (2020-mid 2022) and then sustained success, and may have another 1-2 year run again. An Ace is guy who when pitches the team expects to win, and the team expects a "quality start" (which is an awful definition) as the minimum for that pitcher. I think that is Burnes. He is alongside Bieber, Cole, Gallen as examples. All would be aces but all have had OK years (ERA+ in the 95-115 range) at some times as well. So Corbin was "down" the last two year more because we all dreamed on him building upon his 2020-2021 years, but sustaining that high was unrealistic. Now the real question is can you be successful without an "Ace" or can the team develop another ace.

If the Brewers kept Burnes all year - we would have gotten a comp pick. Getting the comp pick a year early, but losing a season of Burnes for Hall/ortiz. That's really the trade off. Don't know if the trade deadline value is higher - could have a more desperate team, but then only paying for a few months. Burnes was leaving in 2024 just not sure what month. Time will tell. Could be a good value, or could be a waste of a season.

OK a first round pick, and Orioles top 10 rated prospect (#7 on BA, #9 on BP, #6 on MLB), a MLB ready and previously rated top 5-10 prospect in Orioles in 2022/2023. Yeah an OK haul. I was hoping for more, but I assume other teams did not want to pay more for a 1 year rental (albeit a Cy Young worthy one year rental). Not sure the trade deadline would get the team more assets as the desperation of trade deadline vs 2-3 month rental is a debate. But I would have hoped for one of the 5 Orioles in the top 100. Ortiz must be in the 100-150 range, putting him on par with Lara/Wilken I would assume. Burnes won a Cy Young, and threw the second no hitter. Sadly the Burnes/Woodruff years (2020-2023) were somewhat wasted due to lack of hitting production. Which now the team is focusing on. 2024 will be a retool year, and if productive like 2017, maybe a bigger offseason next year. Adames will be moved - maybe during the season if his production picks up. Maybe they can extend Devin, otherwise he will be the next.

Frelick, Mitchell Wiemer, and Chourio all have the speed and defensive ability to handle center. Who has a stronger arm? Long term that is who could go to RF. It could be Wiemer if his bat improves. But otherwise Chourio or Frelick. I would think Frelick or Mitchell man CF for a bit as Chourio adjusts to MLB level. And then Chourio takes over CF at some point, and ultimately Yelich will have a LF/DH role, to give less stress on his back I would think Yelich is more behind being everyday LF, as I bet he enjoys playing outfield. DH has to be very hard since you sit and only get up to hit, so mentally a different approach to the game then being in the field on a regular basis.

Yeah. Even 3-5 “first” round selections is great to have the picks, but the money associated would allow a lot of creativity and allow to try to go after a tougher to sign picks. ‘This year, only 4 picks in the top 100, is nice, but not likely as much a haul as last year. But with building success in international market, and hopefully earning more picks to keep the prospect pipeline going. Definitely exciting.

He is a solid top 5 round draft selection. Can hit well and could be a productive MLB player. Not what you hope as a 2nd rounder, but factor in the fact that his selection and signing helped land Bitonti and Pratt, this makes a lot of sense. Would not have expected him to fall past 3rd/4th round in draft so using his pick on Pratt and trying to get or equal value later may not have yielded the same results. hopefully a Tyler Black (lite) draft pick with solid hit, later emerging power and ability to find some place to field on the diamond.

Great interview. It’s always interesting to see how guys get to where they are, but this is such a unique path. Injured for his two seasons in college that bracketed the Covid 2020 shutdown season. yeah his arm was low mileage. But coming off 2 injuries and only 11 IP, had to think a scout liked something in his arsenal to take a flier. And he is still young. Hopefully he has a healthy season, and continues on his momentum from last year. Does anyone have a scouting report on his pitches? Or a link to an article?

While the pitching depths have been a little depleted, and restocking started the past 1-2 years. They do have some waves of pitching prospects, with three high end prospects near the top (Misio, CRod, Gasser), and then some arms in the A level that are a mix of non drafted players and international signees. Then in the draft a few College/JuCo arms, and some high schoolers. I see Knoth and Letson (HS picks) going very slow. Build up arm strength, and get the consistency etc worked on. Then see if the others (Woodward, Birchard) can move up quickly, and probably restock some arms in this years draft again.

What a great interview with Brenton Del Chiaro. His passion, positivity is amazing, and the way he can communicate how he embraces both the old school (mechanism and production) and the new school (chase rates, exit velo) of the coaching/evaluation/development side was so interesting to hear. He seems to have a very clear, consistent message. He sounds like a great communicator if you hear him speak, and you can clearly get what he is trying to say. "You be you" approach will be interesting to watch. For those who didn't watch the interview, the organization is essentially not messing with hitting mechanics (don't know if that applies to pitching since Brenton did not discuss that side). The argument is that players are successful to that point for a reason, and if you change it you can mess with the success. So don't make a change unless you know you can revert back is what he preached. And he also empowers the players to make changes on their own, rather than talk them into (or force them into) changes. Could be a big boon to the system, or could be a big flop. Time will tell, but the lack of great development of hitters over the past decade or so speaks to the need for organizational change. Oh yeah and the insights into some players like Joey Wiemer, Jackson Chourio, and even Luis Lara was pretty cool to hear. I am even more hopeful for these guys after hearing what he had to say.

I agree that the ownership has invested into the team and yes the casual fan won't see this, only the fact we won't pay Hader or Burnes, and can't sign Hoskins etc. And I absolutely agree, that this is the type of things the small market team NEEDS to do to stay competitive. Draft well, invest into international signings, and develop the young talent. That will make millions in return on investment by keeping the costs associated with fielding a better team down. But, in the short term view while they did spend in 2018-2019 (and spend big by historical standards), the big league team has plateaued in terms of MLB player investment, while the big spenders have just lapped the small market teams. That is not Mark A to fix, but they do get a lot more money from revenue sharing and if the team is truly competitive in the next year or two with a young cheaper core, they will absolutely have to put some of that money into FA signings or re-signing their own talent.

Agree. Ranking lists are pure speculation. Some lists also want to stand out, as they can't all be the same. And results have been erratic in the past. Have a guy that most believe is top 10 overall is great, but some have faded in the past, some succeeded. For example, the 2018 MLB top 100 had Ohtani, Acuna and Vlad Jr. Then Eloy and Gleyber who are good but maybe not top 10. Then Victor Robles, Forrest Whitley and Nick Senzel, while Burnes was 69 and Woodruff was 96. Of note Bauers, Bukaskas and Jahmai Jones were also on the top 100 list. I think I am more concerned about how Chourio does in the bigs. If he can hold his own and improve, I'm super happy. If he becomes an all-star level CF, then I'm ecstatic.

That would be interesting. I do like how the Rangel signing with the Brewers is known as Kobe - maybe to distinguish himself from the other?? They are both listed as from Venezuela, so that is possible.