Austin Tatious

To me, as of now, Rea has earned a post season start. The nice thing is we could have any starter on a short leash with the quality of the pen. I think Montas is on the playoff roster too. There’s still six weeks to see how the pitchers hold up and maybe somebody gets on a roll. Civale’s last start was encouraging. You can have an extra starter sitting in the pen to soak up innings if any game gets away too.

Bukauskas is another guy I like a lot. Unfortunately for him, he was on a rehab assignment and took a line drive on his arm. I don’t know if he can get healthy in time this year. This is a player with a very good pedigree coming out of UNC and seems to have started figuring it out. Maybe he starts fresh in 2025 and hopefully he can be a factor.

I think we can all agree that Chourio is exceeding expectations as a 20 year old phenom. You can’t put that kind of expectation on any other prospect, regarding a fast track or in general. Yophery Rodriguez may not be another Chourio but he’s showing signs of being a future major leaguer. But, man, Luis Pena and Jesus Made have been electric. We can all agree that the pitching at that level is no bueno. But if one or both of these guys end up fast tracking and producing, that would not be out of the realm of possibility. Sure, of course they could end up being stymied at any level of promotion but they sure look the part of being the next phenoms. We have a contingent of fans who like to bag on Attanasio for not spending money. Speaking only for myself, I’m very happy with how he’s expending resources on player procurement, development, analytics, etc. That aspect, to me, is why we have emerged as one of the top organizations in baseball. There’s a ton of rebuilding going on this year, yet we are up by 10 games in our division with a host of injuries to boot. The organization is superb at investing in analytics, drafting, player development, the pitching lab, uncovering gems in LA, etc. They’ve zigged when others have zagged and taken advantage of inefficiencies. They built up great connections in Venezuela that have yielded organization-altering results. We’ve got a state of the art facility in the Dominican coming online. Look at all the bullpen arms they’ve secured from other organizations and then gotten them to flourish. Everyone reveres the Dodgers yet we snuck Hudson out of there. It’s not just him. It’s a ton of guys. Does anyone want to argue that that is a fluke or coincidence? Of course not. The fact that the organization has not skipped a beat despite the losses of Counsell and Stearns demonstrates that this is an organizational victory. While I credit those two for helping with the initial vision, it’s not about one or two people. I am much happier with these organizational investments than I’d be squandering money on mediocrities like Looper, Suppan, et al. I think Mark has learned from those mis-fires and he’s pivoted. He’s allocating resources differently and it’s led to this franchise being one of the best organizations in baseball.

Brock Wilken vs Luke Adams. Might be interesting to see who gets a more workable hit tool first. Wilken does have a rocket arm and I’m not sure whether Adams really ends up at third as first might be more realistic. This is worth watching.

I haven’t seen much discussion on him so I thought I’d throw his name out there. This is a 6’7 southpaw who is putting up very nice numbers at double A. He had really taken a step forward, at least statistically. This young man was a high pick, 2nd round, 51st overall. He sure looks like a potential lefty bullpen arm as soon as next year. He needs to be put on the 40 man to keep him around, but he seems to have rebuilt some value. I’d give that consideration, all things considered.

Nice piece, Spencer. Wanted to add I got around to listening to your Cream City podcast reviewing the draft. You and Gunner did an excellent job. I listened to all of your analysis and liked how you broke down each player. I recommend it to all who follow the Brewers’ draft and system.

Jacob MisiorowskiJeferson QueroCooper PrattRobert GasserTyler BlackMike BoeveBrock WilkenYophery RodriguezLogan HendersonBishop LetsonBlake BurkeBryce MeccageEric BitontiBraylon PayneLuis PenaJosh KnothLuke AdamsK.C. HuntLuis LaraJesus Made

Balakay!

Joseph thanks for the write up on Black’s defense. Sounds like he got some good jumps. Regarding the arm, if it’s adequate in left, we might have something. The reason I asked in another thread is whether he is another outfielder potentially for our long term planning. Speaking for myself, out of the young OF, the two guys I’m locked in on are Chourio and Mitchell. If Black can play left then that’s interesting. The one guy I could see moving, if Black is for real in left, is Frelick. Frelick has nice potential as a top of the order type of bat and he’s credible as an outfielder. I like him. But Black’s emergence could create a redundancy that allows for a trade from strength.

Bishop Letson. If he would have gone to college he’s tracking like he would be a first round pick.

Joseph, what have you seen with Tyler Black as an outfielder? Tracking the ball, arm strength, etc. I know they’ve been running him in center but even if he goes to LF, that would be a plus IMO.

Yes, please!

I like the move. I don’t think this was a typical deadline move to fill a deadline need, but rather taking the opportunity to access a controllable live arm.

I would also vote to go to 30 as the MLB lists do. Those last five spots are too compressed IMO

I submitted mine but I couldn’t find a way to enter KC Hunt. I would have included him.

To me, Chris Livingston looks like a young guy who can get into the rotation but he’s got to get the chance. I love how he plays. Competitive, sticks his nose in there, plays team ball. He can rebound. Tough kid. He brings an edge that we are always looking for. I get that he’s young but we can use him and start working him towards getting experience.

Very random thoughts on the draft FWIW: 1. I like the emphasis on young pitching. I see it as a numbers game. In the international market, for what it’s worth, most of our top signees have tended to be position players and this is a good way to balance it with young pitchers. 2. With Letson, Knoth and others last year, we just added a bunch of more young pitchers. Let’s hope we sign most. The numbers game may allow for us to have a few bubble up and become major leaguers. 3. I trust Tod incredibly. As everyone knows, he’s an analytics guy who literally came from the tech world. His 2023 draft was masterfully handled with the way he maneuvered the money to get lots of high upside guys. How many actually make it remains to be seen but you’ve got to love at least a half dozen guys coming out of the draft. 4. Regarding Payne, I see it as coming down to his hit tool. As a high schooler, we will have to wait and see. Admittedly, I put zero research on him before the draft like I did with other guys, but I’m in a trust Tod mode. 5. I happened to see Corey Ray play at Louisville and I don’t see the comp to Payne. Ray obviously had a poor hit tool and wasn’t even a true center fielder. He was the one guy in the top ten I really didn’t want. That draft ended up being a colossal failure overall but we never gave ourselves a chance. After having a really bad year on the field, you’d like to reward yourselves with a promising draft pick and the organization didn’t do that. With Payne, our analysis is better now. If his hit tool comes around, maybe he’s a Vince Coleman leadoff guy who wreaks havoc. If not, there’s at least a thoughtful process at work. 6. This isn’t like prior drafting regimes. The late Bruce Seid and Ray weren’t at Tod’s level as scouting directors. Doug did some good things but he’d come to the media and talk all about our “projectable” tall starting pitcher draftees. Jungmann, Bradley, Eric Arnett. Beyond them, how about Coulter and Kodi. Lot of first round picks squandered with an overly simplistic methodology. The way our analytic leadership handles it now, they are looking at data such as spin rates, movements along planes etc. That gives me more confidence. 7. It’s not like the draft in football. The pick number is really about the money attached to the slot. You have to look at the draft holistically and see how the whole class looks. The Brewers famously played the numbers game last year. It might not be the case every year, right. If you love your organizational depth you may not be worried. But right now they are obviously adding numbers on younger pitching. 8. The evaluation process is more complicated in baseball. The difference between college or high school versus the majors might as well be different sports. If you can hit pitching at a lower level, it is hard to project because you’re looking at far different pitching. Lots of guys can mash up to even AAA and that’s it. 9. I liked the Burke pick. I didn’t get the negativity. Good power, good leader and he’s not a strikeout machine. I’d say he’s got a chance and I’m happy we went after that profile. If anything, I don’t think we’ve done it enough. Coming into the draft his comp reminded me a bit of AJ Reed who came to the Astros also out of the SEC, from Kentucky. He faltered at the major league level so hopefully Burke fares better.

Can’t say I know anything about Payne but if he’s got a superior hit tool, it could work. I think they wanted to add prospects on the younger side since we have so many young MLBers to space it out. I liked Benge but maybe all he is a Hunter Renfroe who was drafted around the same area if memory serves. I am a huge Tod Johnson fan. This is a guy who gives us an edge after a decade of lackluster drafting. The way he played it in 2023 gives him a lot of credibility for the strategy right now. I hope we do well here next since this will finalize the Burnes package. I hope we get a top prospect to enhance that trade when we look back on it.

If it’s someone with a bit of control, I would look at various deals including one or two of Frelick, Wiemer, Black, C Rod, maybe Wilken. Not dealing Hendu, Mis, Quero, Mitchell, Boeve. Pratt is untouchable If it’s a rental, the list of no-gos expands.

His shoulder is obviously not back up to strength yet. Can’t judge him based on his shoulder not being there yet. We will know a lot more this time next year.

I will be surprised if the Brewers move on from Bauers any time soon. Yes, his hit tool is atrocious but Murphy and management seem to like him more than the fan base does. He brings position versatility and run production. The amount of playing time he gets tells you how much Murphy likes him.

Better hit tool and far more athleticism. He can make things happen on the basepaths.

Agree. Still need to tighten the command.

Have they announced whether Blalock will start?

Man, Trevor Rogers has really fallen off a cliff. He seemed to be promising at one point.