biedergb

Dang it. Yes I do. Let’s go with ryan Birchard - moves to bullpen and can zoom up.

i'm guessing Biloxi had a different starter today? or was the trade after he pitched??

I guess good for KC Hunt, as he will get a chance to pitch. Brewers will have so many young near MLB ready pitchers that Hunt and others will get lost in the mix. But dangit, Shane Smith and KC Hunt as undrafted signees were so much fun to watch in '23 (and '22 for Smith as well). Now both are gone.

Did I miss any updates on Cornell, Tobias and Timmerman here?

Ugh. No 😩 I knew about Flores. But was hoping Rudy would be healthy and hoping Griffin Tobias was not serious but I’m guessing he had a serious elbow injury at the end of last year? I don’t recall hearing or seeing anything on him but may have missed it. And Corniel, Smith and Timber an still being out stinks.

OK, there is a race on to see who is the better prospect names "Braylon".... Mr. Owens and Mr. Payne, you know your assignments. ;)

I think he can keep starting, more innings and experience will help him even if he goes to the bullpen. But I agree he does scream future late inning reliever with a potentially high velo arsenal.

I don't know if that is known yet. He was a starter prior and there were reports that if he played in MIL it would be in the pen to limit his innings and utilize his CB/FB combo more. If in the minors he will see his innings built up as a starter for sure and still is a future starter prospect, but you can only have so many of those, although these days you need 7-12 SP.

That is so cool. I mean bittersweet. Still upset that they didn’t protect him - yup therapy is helping but still can’t let go yet lol - but what a cool story as an non-drafted FA and the Brewers took him on and helped develop him, and then he is a rule 5 draft pick and now an opening day starter. And yeah yeah opening day starter is not what it used to mean decades ago, but still that’s awesome for that young man. I think it was Seth who did what 2 interviews with Shane, and he came across as a humble, hardworking kid who seemed so grateful for the chance to prove himself in the minors and get a chance to make the bigs. So good job Shane, and congrats. He is probably completely unaware of the cohort of fans he still has here at BF.net

Did we have EV and swing data back in 2019-2021? I see the comparisons to Turang, and to be fair the numbers have been similar with the exception of the age 20 of Turang was wiped out. But bot had some doubles, decent average, a few HR, fine walk rates and lower K rates. Pratt seems to have gone from prospect darling last year when there was headline grabbers like could he make the team out of spring training, and then he has a very average season in AA, but it’s his swing decision and EV that seem to hold him back here. Otherwise he looks and plays like a big leaguer and if he is a .700 OPS guy with great defense and does the little things he is valuable big leaguer which is very much worthy of a top 10 ranking. The depth the Breewrs have and the elite talent of Made, Peña and emergence of Dinges and solid first season of Fischer have grabbed the top prospect attention, while Pratt could be in that group if his game power does develop ever. If not his floor is a good MLB SS like Ortiz was last year, which is still a good floor.

I have said in many game threads if Bitonti could fix the hole in his swing he will be a huge prospect. When he makes contact it is often loud and hard and often very far. But in 2 seasons so far that hole is there. Striking out is one things, but just missing in zone and being fooled easily by breaking pitches has been his hold up. Let’s hope he can find a way with practice, coaching and experience.

He could be Jett Williams light, which itself is hard to imagine lol. I keep forgetting about O'Rae - he's got that speed and was a sparkplug on offense in 2022 and early 2023. Probably has to move to CF or play 2B in a crowded prospect field. My pick to click can be KC Hunt, after a down year, and I see him moving to a bullpen role and he could become a great 7th/8th inning guy with his offspeed stuff and the velo could notch up a bit in shorter roles. Again thinking of a guy with lower expectations who could pop back on the prospect map.

Line of the day!

Patrick to me is a key to the season. If he steps up and remains in the rotation I think the brewers have a great year, and if he’s healthy and productive I think he leads the team in IP, because of his bulldog approach. Woodruff will have his innings ramped up, Miz is prone to struggle innings and will also have innings and pitch count monitored. That leaves Priester and Patrick as the main holdovers from last year, and if they remain healthy and in form good things will happen, if not a lot of young guys can get an opportunity to start but that is more volatile. Floor for Patrick is likely 7th/8th inning guy, but I am hoping for a #3 starter who bulldogs his way through the year.

Well after a little delay I got through finishing the Biloxi and then went straight into the the Nashville review. Wow, just want to once again say how thankful I am that you guys did this. Amazing work @Joseph Zarrand @Spencer Michaelis. How lucky we are to have this site, and the incredible resources and insights. From the two of you diehard minor league analysts, to the dozens of die hard minor league fans who post here on a regular basis, to the whole staff at BF.net Joseph and Spencer - what a tour de force and an amazing labor of love. Thank you both so much!! Thanks for making this offseason so much more fun. So excited for this upcoming season!

Yeah other than that, pretty measured ranking - probably a little more of production and level over prediction and ceiling in some, but good job David - I would call him out with an @, but there are 2 Dave Gasper's listed (??)

I had that as my first weekend leader board in polymarket - lol Nice to see Wilken show some power in his first weekend of big league camp. Team falling far behind in the Cactus League championship race. Gotta get some wins.

😢 Mr Cornielle is not part of the organization anymore.

Wilken - wow that's crazy. The interview he had with Rosiak a few days ago, he made it sound like he's doing well. This kid is snake-bitten. I will root for him, but he is starting to feel like a Garret Mitchell in that he has the abilities, but as they say "A player's best ability is his availability". Garabito - yikes. I would assume that happened after he was signed. Berroa - maybe too many fist pumps on his outfield catches this winter 😉. Seriously hope he gets better.

There is no singular solution to this problem, as all of them have pros and cons to them. Salary cap and players cry foul and dodgers, Yankees etc lose their edge. Plus it would likely come with players wanting pay day much earlier - like what NFL and NHl did - earlier free agency periods. A floor only does so much. A soft cap is in place with the luxury cap. for a fan like me -just allowing your team the chance to lock up a player or two long term is all I can ask for - and designate “franchise player” tags or nba style maximum of “max contracts” could help so one team can’t sign all players to Shohei deals. but a lot comes from forcing owners to pay, and allowing more of the mlb revenue to flow to all teams. Yes the dodgers and Yankees are the draws of the league but those owners have to realize with brewers, twins, rays, Indians you don’t have as much of interest in baseball as a whole. It’s not the New York Baseball League or California Baseball League. Plus if teams bow out, players are hurt with contraction, and they probably want expansion, so that would open the door to more shared revenue from a league side, and then force owners to pay a certain amount and incentive teams to lock of some of their stars. Baseball was the sport in the 1960s- through 1990s and my favorite era was the 1980s. Back then any team realistically could win, and you knew the players and expected them to be there for years. That benefits everyone so a lot of compromises and some incentives to all parties could happen. Sadly a band aid will be agreed on and kick the can down the road again.

not a great signing, but given the circumstances (yes self-inflicted by trading all 3 IF), we had to get someone, and likely need a bridge to mid year at best, or all 2026 at work, and he can do that. Depth is now: 1b - Vaughn/Bauers platoon 2b - Turang 3b - Rengifo/Hamilton platoon (weakest spot by far) ss - Ortiz lf - Chourio Cf - Perkins/Mitchell rf - Frelick c - Contreras DH - Yelich c/1b/DH - Sanchez OF - Lockridge Which will push Jett Williams, Jefferson Quero likely to AAA with Wilken, Pratt, Adams or Burke, Lara; and AA will feature Fischer, Made and Burke (or Adams) along with Dinges. But that depth chart will look very different after the All Star break most likely

OK, somehow I thought this was his last year of arbitration elgibility. So he either plays under that option next year, or goes the arbitration route and FA after 2027 season?

but again, he theoretically *could* come back next year on that option, or at least be tradeable? Or would they likely let him walk, and give him a QO?

Bingo, nice call on the 9.5M. Now - it is reported as a Team option only - and that has a good chance of being picked up assuming he has a good year, correct? And he could still be traded next off season with that option in place, correct?

For the ETAs, @jay87shot I am sure those are reasonable ETAs based upon prospect status, BUT 1. development is not linear, so some like Made, Pena could take longer, and Pratt could stall out or have another breakout year, Then the injury issue which is so infuriating also is still there 2. The Brewers have also been very cognizant of service time and 40 man spots - like when Miz was pushing for a bullpen role in 2024 - which may still have happened if they didn't get forced to add Carlos Rodriguez and have him struggle earlier in the year. Similar to Chourio in 2023. So I do think a lot of the younger guys AA or lower will not see MLB action this year barring something crazy happening. But those expected to be in AAA to start have a good chance of a June (or later) call up and that seems to be more the front office MO of post Memorial Day and then July promotions. But I would say Jett and Quero are most likely to see MLB time this year, with Quero timeline having been altered now with McGuire and Sanchez signings, and Jett's now more open. Wilken, Pratt and one of Adams/Burke will join Lara in AAA to start so expect 1-2 of these guys to hopefully force the hand and get a June-August call up. Made/Pena/Fischer/Dinges are all likely 2027 or later. Even if Made follows Chourio path that would be a 2027 debut, and that is still a rarity for a 19/20 year old to debut in the MLB. But in 2027-2029 there will be a lot of prospects to fill these roles with most of the core still here (sans Contreras and Megill who are FAs after the next 2 seasons), and Woodruff and Vaughn are gone after this season and not part of the future "core".