Playing Catch

Yeah, it's probable that the Brewers would have to give up MLB assets, which they wouldn't want to do. You are right that if it's prospects for prospects, Misiorowski for Basallo would be the template to add/subtract to. I think the O's will find a way to keep Rutschman. But I think he'll slowly morph into a 1st baseman over the course of the next 4 or 5 seasons. At that point, you've got Basallo and Rutschman sharing two positions. That's the dream for them.

Probably should merge it with the game thread.

I may be mistaken, but I believe wOBA presumes all hitters have the same baserunning value?

The Brewers use a lot of situational hitting -- bunting, contact plays, etc. Based on my flawed anecdotal observations, even Contreras and Hoskins have been looking for RBI by going the other way, even if it means softer contact. The elevation doesn't bother me as much as their collective passivity (5th lowest Zone Swing %, 3rd lowest Swing%), which routinely puts them in two-strike counts. They are 5th in the league in OBA in 2-strike counts, which mitigates the passivity slightly, but being so selective, they are struggling to do damage on good pitches, ranking dead-last in barrel rate, and 3rd lowest in average exit velocity. With that said, 2-strike counts are often deep counts, increasing the likelihood of a walk. Also, their lineup is littered with guys whose games are built on making contact and running. Perhaps the organization and the dugout staff are simply coaching players to play to their individual strengths rather than trying to elevate. If that is accurate, the low launch-angles could be a criticism better aimed at roster construction. To be fair, though, I'm a launch-angle denier. I'm a big believer in hitting the ball hard, regardless of launch angle. Some players' swings/strengths/weaknesses are better served by learning to hit a variety of pitches in a variety of locations and counts, rather than gearing their swings for launch angle.

I was just going to add to the Coby Mayo thread, but I thought, what the heck... Blocked by Rutschman at catcher. Fangraphs seems to think he's a big-league catcher come 2026/2027, where he's a good thrower and athletic receiver, but that he needs more reps, especially with blocking. As a left-handed hitting first baseman, he's close to being ready right now. Obviously, he would require a big return, but perhaps the two teams would consider trading from areas of respective strength... Baltimore's depth of middle-of-the-order hitters, and the Brewers depth of run prevention. Brewers get Basallo Orioles get Quero AND Orioles get combination of Civale and Carlos Rodriguez, or Perkins and Mears, or Luis Lara/young pitcher. Basallo's ceiling may make him untouchable from Baltimore's perspective, and unlike Quero, isn't yet on the 40-man. He may be too good to be able to acquire without hurting the Brewers' 26-man too much. I was fascinated by Tyler Soderstrom a couple of years ago, and Basallo reminds me a lot of Soderstrom.

Haha, yes. This is a good reminder! It's still fun to speculate, though, as to how this season's race will shape up. In recent seasons, I've felt pretty confident in the Brewers having winning, playoff-level baseball. That hasn't changed. I think the Brewers are good. My concern is that we see a National League that is just so tough at the top, that we see an outlier for most wins for a non-playoff team. I looked back over the last handful of seasons, and unless I missed something, the best record for a non-playoff team was the 2019 Cleveland team at 93 wins. Could a 95-win team miss the playoffs? My point is, the only avenue I see to the playoffs this season is a division title, because very few of us think the Brewers could get to 95.

Yesterday's game really shows the gulf between Misiorowski's floor and ceiling, which makes him such a tricky player to project, because when he's on, and with that changeup, he's Jacob DeGrom. In my recollection, when Burnes/Woody/Peralta started their big-league careers as relievers, it was later in the season, and was after they had really established their chops as starters in AAA. In addition, ALL of those three needed to learn to trust their stuff in the zone. Misiorowski just needs a ton of reps on his full repertoire to rein in his mechanics and control. Patience, patience, patience.

I presume the changeup was the pitch with which he ended the 4th? I've watched his strikeout clip over and over again, but THAT pitch was the one I was most curious about. Whoa.

Yeah, I guess. I always figured that for teenagers, athleticism/tools trump present value when projecting a future defensive home. I always read those question marks as simply being a reflection of the development risk associated with any prospect. I suppose he may just look that raw defensively, with poor instincts/hands. Perhaps I misjudge how much better a player can get defensively with reps.

This quote caught my eyes... "The biggest knock on Peña’s profile is his lack of fielding ability. He’s had five starts at shortstop this year and made four errors. He’s not a shortstop long term, but cleaning up his actions and fielding ability will be a point of emphasis as he advances." This was the first I've heard that he's not a shortstop.

It looks like he could play a capable SS, along with his superb defense at 3rd. Could give Bauers some competition as well(?) I mean, Fangraphs has him as a 20 hit tool... yikes. That has to be an error, correct? He probably would complement Durbin better than Capra.

Can never have enough pitching... or so I've been told.

If a guy's radial range at third is one-step (3 feet?) quicker than other 3rd basemen, and they are keeping more balls in the infield instead of the outfield, they are saving bases. They are probably making bang-bang throws to first. The 3rd baseman with one-step (3 feet?) lesser range may not reach the ball down the line, or the swinging bunt in front of them, to even attempt a throw to 1st. Accuracy of throws also matters. On the prospective 5-4-3 double-play last night, Durbin DID hit Turang perfectly. I agree with your thought that 3rd base is a reactive position where arm strength benefits the defense, but I'm skeptical that range isn't a significant factor in the quality of the defense. "Range" just means something a little different at 3rd than at short, or 2nd.

Anyone else see a lot of Freddie Freeman in Bitonti?

I'm not disagreeing with you, but am curious if you've read/heard anything about this?

I think it depends on his range, which is a lot harder for me to sense when I watch. Maybe even the great Arenado can't charge that ball as effectively(?)

I love how there is broad consensus that the Brewers will win today before the game starts, and that consensus collapses dramatically here after an inning or two.

I think bringing up Durbin immediately puts Ortiz on the hotseat later this season or next season as all the prospects have one more season under their belts and he'll have had plenty of opportunities to prove his MLB worth.

He played on some really bad teams, but had a really nice career.

From a front office perspective, I think this move says a lot more about Dunn/Capra than Durbin. I think I would've liked to see the platoon for maybe another week or two before making this move. Not because I feel strongly about giving guys a chance, as much as because I have a hard time believing the platoon could be THAT bad. But this move probably gives them a long look at the internal options before turning to the trade market. Similar to how the Priester move was probably discussed at length throughout the offseason, if Durbin falls on his face, and there is a summer drought on the farm (Boeve, Wilken, Pratt), the Brewers will shore up that position via trade. From a fan's perspective, I am really excited to see Durbin the Turbine (I also like, "Durbo") play. Last night was so fun to watch, with the fans so involved. It really makes me wonder how cool it would be if all the fans cheered during other at-bats. I like the personalized, "Let's go [Jackson]!" or "Let's go [Hoskins]!" I guess I like to hear it when fans seem to have a personal investment in how the AB goes. I think all of us had dreams of a lineup with Chipper Jones playing 3rd base for this team, but based on the options available, having another tough, pesky out with enough power to punish mistakes isn't the worst thing. From a poster's perspective, I've read bits and pieces here about Durbin's 3rd base defense, and I think that I may have even contributed to this idea that he's not good at 3rd. Are there any scouting reports that confirm these suspicions? I think we've read that he's a much better defender at 2nd, but have we read specifically about his defense at 3rd? We know his arm is probably a 40, 45, but does he have quick actions/internal clock that can make up for that? I thought he looked fine there last night, although his arm probably cost them a couple of outs at first. One on the ball he had to charge from deep, and on the effort at a double play that only secured the out at second*. *edit to correct

Yeah. I was being cheeky. To be fair to evaluators, there's no shortage of guys that mimic Maddux in the minors.

I can't remember ever being this optimistic about MLB outcomes for an A-ball team.

Just not enough Manuel Rodriguez talk around this place. 16 IP - 19 K - 4 BB. How quickly will this youngster (19 until August) gain recognition beyond these threads if his stuff takes a step forward?

He's 25 until November. He wouldn't be the first Top 100-type prospect that came up as a high-floor defender/ballplayer, and developed into an above average bat. Now, obviously, he wouldn't be the first one to fade into the background as a platoon-only, utility guy, either, but all-stars gotta come from somewhere. Why not Turang?

IIRC, he credits his own maturation into a professional. Like, he simply decided to start taking things more seriously, and to listen to his coaches/try to improve. Or am I imagining that interview?