Austin Tatious

Based on how Murphy reacts to Ortiz I can speculate he is not happy with him. I think he tolerates him. He’s got a low WAR and the data shows he’s average defensively. I’ve defended him in the past that his struggles are not indicative of his ability but the numbers don’t lie.

Jesus MadeLuis PenaCooper PrattJeferson QueroLogan HendersonMarco DingesAndrew FischerBraylon PayneRobert GasserBrock WilkenBishop LetsonLuke AdamsBlake BurkeColeman CrowLuis LaraTyson HardinBrady EbelEric BitontiBrett WichrowskiJadher Areinamo

One of my all time favorite brewers and I’m at 50 years of fandom.

Collins and Durbin are key aspects of our surge along with a couple of the pitching developments like Priester. All of these things show you an organization that knows what they’re doing.

Fun draft. I’m not going to pretend to have any insight beyond reading up on profiles but the approach they have followed is very familiar as far I’m concerned. I love the first four picks. Fischer can flat out hit with pop but without sacrificing a hit tool which is what I like to look at when I’m trying to project guys up the ladder. If the hit tool isn’t there in college, I’d have my doubts the way I feel about accuracy from a college QB. In any event, Fischer is advanced and it will be nice to have a young addition to the middle of the lineup in due time as anticipated. I’ve got a good feeling about Thompson. He’s got that quality lefty feel who knows how to pitch. Maybe he can be a future Quintana. He’s not huge but may not need to be. As an anticipated floor he can be a set up reliever but I am hoping mid- to back of the rotation. Picks 11-14 fascinate me in particular. How many of those can we pull? That’s top of mind for me. If anyone knows how to navigate that, it’s the Brewers. Imagine if we can get 3-4 of them. The heart of this thing to me are the first four picks and then 11-14, not that I’m meaning to exclude anyone. It’s so nice to have 100% confidence in the scouting and drafting team including Tod Johnson, Ginger Poulson and company. We can just sit back and look at who signs as opposed to questioning the criteria and analysis.

I was hoping for an advanced, middle of the order bat for a corner outfield spot. He’s got the bat profile that is exciting but I just don’t know if he’s got the mobility for the OF. He’s supposedly got the arm for it, though.

Honestly if Hardin ends up being some semblance of the next Woodruff, I won’t be shocked. There are similarities in the progression, college background, arm, etc. Either way, I couldn’t possibly be happier with our insights and strategies with the draft. I am a long time poster and I used to be highly critical of the drafting process for a long stretch. Now, it’s as good as it gets. Same thing with the international market and player development (labs, academies, etc). When Stearns left, I was nervous we’d have some brain drain but I give Mark tremendous credit for building a sustainable infrastructure. As an owner I think he’s learned a lot and I like how he deploys resources. We’ve made a lot of changes the past 10-12 years compared to his early years. In a good way.

I don’t know if it’s a senior at the Levonas spot but I’m sure we can rest assured that they work out a number with whoever it is ahead of time.

I like Sears. Lot of people complaining about Sears’ size but my comp if we get lucky is Fred VanVleet. Regarding Marković, he looks long, agile, and skilled. A true 4. I can’t comment much beyond that. Feels like he could go either way. Hopefully he’s got the drive and motor to get there in time.

I don’t think there’s any compelling reason to trade Peralta. Regarding corner infield, I’m on board with waiting for our prospects for a real solution. If we can trade for a stopgap, then fine, but I am not looking to deal impact prospects to do so.

Interesting that Marco grades as a 70 in terms of arm. I’ve only seen clips here and there so I’m not qualified to comment, but he looks very athletic with how he moves around back there. Good agility and quickness from what I can see.

No worries but makes me feel better about being fairly close to Spencer’s. You guys are so good you could grade the rest of us.

I feel like Spencer, Joseph and Bieder are the answer key and I check my work against them.

Jacob MisiorowskiJesus MadeLuis PenaJeferson QueroCooper PrattLogan HendersonRobert GasserBishop LetsonBraylon PayneMarco DingesBrock WilkenBlake BurkeLuke AdamsMike BoeveEric BitontiBryce MeccageJosh AdamczewskiColeman CrowTyson HardinLuis Lara

Great to see Pratt coming on!

Great stuff as usual Spencer. Cant get enough of content like this. The other thing with Adams is he historically could swipe a good amount of bags. It’s quite freaky for his Paul Bunyon type physique. Quero’s arm drop off has to be disappointing for the young man. If he still has a 55-60 arm, that’s still really nice but has to be hurtful for him to no longer be an 80. I am glad we are reluctant to trade off prospects. You have a guy like Adams who wasn’t at the top of our list and a lesser organization may have dealt him. We’ve been wise to let it play out with him and many others. He’s only 21 now so he’s got a good chance to be in the show at a fairly young age. 23 ish.

Sounds like a karate chop.

Catcher is such a grueling and unforgiving position that I’d treat the position closer to a job sharing situation. Suppose Quero and Dinges keep emerging. I would develop them both and not trade either. One catcher would catch no more than four times per week. The other would get the rest. You’d keep them fresher longer but also extend quality years. You’d get one starting 105-110 games and the other the rest. DH and other possibilities could get both plenty of ABs but without grinding them down.

Need Durbin here because Ortiz is on deck. Puts extra pressure on Durbin.

Our drafting and foreign signings have been so good lately (knock on wood) that any type of picks at the top wouldn’t surprise me. I don’t think anyone had Payne pegged last year. If I had an inclination, it would be to grab one of the college corner outfielders with an advanced bat in the first and then come back with an electric arm or two in the Mis, Meccage type mode. We’ve got some electric talent at the lower levels already but maybe the one thing I wouldn’t mind getting is an advanced corner OF with extra base pop but a good hit tool. The kid from Wake seems to fit. The kid from Texas A and M is highly regarded but he seems to have holes in his swing at 6’6. But you could get an Aaron Judge type, you never know. I’d love to see a consistent middle of the order OF who isn’t far away.

Some of our guys are leveling off or having ups and downs. One guy who is pretty consistent is Burke. Very sweet stroke. But man you’d like to see him lose weight. He’s very flabby at a young age and that’s not good for the long run in terms of injuries etc.

There are some quality prospects at lower levels too. Tyson Hardin, Meccage, Bishop Letson and some others look like they’ve got very good potential. I’d probably put all three in my top 20.

I would love Josh Smith or one of the other Ranger 3B types. Someone like that could get you a couple of years while prospects percolate up the system. It might take a couple of quality prospects in the Wichrowski, Black, Lara zone. But this is a huge need. Prospect over-valuation in baseball is as bad as draft picks in the NFL. The football teams act like 4th or 5th round picks are gold nuggets and then most of them barely contribute. Brewers traded packages for Yelich and others and essentially gave up nil. The left side of the infield is a problem and can hurt again next year and the Brewers have been too cautious upgrading. Perfection is the enemy of competent. You can nitpick any player who is a good target. Meanwhile, we’ve seen ineptitude. I am happy to see Durbin come alive. He’s very likable and can be a sparkplug. But he is a second baseman masquerading at third base. I’ve posted several times that I think Ortiz is way better than he’s shown but the past couple of months are just factual on what he’s capable of, and this has been ongoing since the last part of last year. Smith-Turang-Durbin would be far more logical, going 3b, Ss, 2b with Ortiz in a utility role after resetting at Nashville so he can calm down and get some coaching. Sure, you can nitpick everything I said. Here is a problem with this guy, etc. That’s not the analysis. The question is can we do better than we have, and have a bridge organizationally as we wait on some of our prospects (who will also need development time at the MLB level too).

If Priester emerges as a solid back end starter for several years, the trade for him will be vindicated.