sveumrules

Evan McKendry with a nice bounce back outing surrendering one run over five innings (84 pitches) with 3 H | 1 BB | 5 K.

Brewer Hicklen’s 14th bomb of the year ties the score at 1 to 1 for Nashville in the top of five.

Aquino goes 1-2-3 in the sixth with another K added to the ledger.

Carolina falls 3 to 2 bottom of eleven. Dikember Sanchez followed Manuel Rodriguez with two scoreless frames of 1 H | 1 BB work before Morris Austin finally succumbed to the Manfred Mann after two scoreless of his own including a 10th inning strand job. Cooper Pratt went 1 for 2 with two pair (walks and stolen bags), while Reece Walling went 2 for 5 with a double and Fillipo Di Turi walked twice.

Wisco pouring it on up 10 to 0 through five. In addition to the aforementioned Luke Adams bomb Gregory Barrios is 3 for 3, Matthew Wood is 2 for 2 with a walk, Tayden Hall drove in a pair and Eduarqui Fernandez is 2 for 3. Bullpen game going five hitless scoreless so far with Mark Manfredi (1.2 IP | 3 BB | 2 K), Tyler Wehrle (1.1 IP | 2 K) and Patricio Aquino (2 IP | 1 K) mowing em down.

Good stuff, Davy. Enjoy your writing over at FG so was a nice surprise to see you here at BF today. Not sure if you are taking requests perchance, but something that caught my eye recently was that the Brewers and Guardians have the slowest average fastball velocities in MLB. Was curious how much of that might be intentionally seeking out pitchers with unique release points and/or movement profiles versus how much was the simple economics of velocity being expensive…but had no idea where to even really begin in trying to get there.

Yeah, Cornielle was in the last spot on the first page of the leaderboard I was pulling from and I just missed him... Alexander Cornielle | A+ | 22yo 61.0 IP | 3.10 ERA | 3.91 FIP 20.2 K% | 9.3 BB% | 0.44 HR9 Wichrowski has good scouting reports but the results just aren't there yet (4.47 ERA | 4.88 FIP). Manfredi (4.04 ERA | 4.53 FIP) should probably have better results as a 24yo in A+. Letson has the scouting reports and a nice 3.23 ERA, but the peripherals were just lagging too far behind (4.82 FIP) for him to meet the rough cutoffs I set when putting together the list. Patrick was kind of the same deal where his 2.89 ERA in the environs of the International League is impressive and makes him an interesting depth option for the big league club, but the peripherals (4.23 FIP) had him just outside where I arbitrarily drew the line for inclusion.

It's the first of the month and a day off and maybe a little past midseason for most of the affiliates, but thought now might be a good time to check in on a few things across the system. Pitchers this time... Craig Yoho | A+/AA | 24yo 31.1 IP | 1.15 ERA | 0.88 FIP 48.8 K% | 8.1 BB% | 0.00 HR9 Sam Gardner | AA | 27yo 23.1 IP | 3.09 ERA | 1.89 FIP 38.2 K% | 7.9 BB% | 0.39 HR9 Logan Henderson | A+/AA | 22yo 33.0 IP | 1.36 ERA | 1.95 FIP 39.8 K% | 4.9 BB% | 0.55 HR9 KC Hunt | A/A+ | 23yo 48.0 IP | 2.44 ERA | 2.12 FIP 38.1 K% | 5.3 BB% | 0.56 HR9 Kevin Herget | AAA | 33yo 26.1 IP | 3.08 ERA | 2.35 FIP 30.1 K% | 5.8 BB% | 0.34 HR9 Russell Smith | AA | 25yo 21.1 IP | 3.38 ERA | 2.37 FIP 29.3 K% | 10.9 BB% | 0.00 HR9 Shane Smith | AA | 24yo 53.0 IP | 3.06 ERA | 2.45 FIP 31.8 K% | 7.0 BB% | 0.51 HR9 Yujanyer Herrera | A/A+ | 20yo 58.0 IP | 3.10 ERA | 2.75 FIP 27.6 K% | 8.2 BB% | 0.16 HR9 Chase Costello | A+ | 24yo 28.0 IP | 3.21 ERA | 2.99 FIP 28.3 K% | 9.7 BB% | 0.32 HR9 Yorman Galindez | A | 21yo 40.1 IP | 2.45 ERA | 3.07 FIP 38.3 K% | 14.4 BB% | 0.45 HR9 Rob Zastryzny | AAA | 32yo 28.1 IP | 3.18 ERA | 3.07 FIP 34.2 K% | 7.2 BB% | 0.95 HR9 Tate Kuehner | A+ | 23yo 50.0 IP | 2.88 ERA | 3.19 FIP 29.5 K% | 11.4 BB% | 0.36 HR9 Aaron Rund | A+ | 25yo 32.0 IP | 1.41 ERA | 3.34 FIP 21.4 K% | 11.1 BB% | 0.00 HR9 Sam Carlson | AA | 25yo 26.2 IP | 2.70 ERA | 3.39 FIP 21.2 K% | 8.8 BB% | 0.34 HR9 Josh Knoth | A | 18yo 50.2 IP | 3.37 ERA | 3.43 FIP 28.7 K% | 14.4 BB% | 0.18 HR9 Dikember Sanchez | ACL/A | 20yo 21.1 IP | 2.95 ERA | 3.53 FIP 363.3 K% | 9.9 BB% | 0.42 HR9 Bo Bowman | AA | 27yo 38.1 IP | 2.35 ERA | 3.53 FIP 22.4 K% | 5.3 BB% | 0.70 HR9 Melvin Hernandez | ACL | 17yo 32.0 IP | 3.94 ERA | 4.10 FIP 24.0 K% | 8.9 BB% | 0.00 HR9 Manuel Rodriguez | A | 18yo 65.2 IP | 3.43 ERA | 4.12 FIP 19.6 K% | 2.3 BB% | 1.10 HR9 Jacob Misiorowski | AA | 22yo 60.1 IP | 3.58 ERA | 4.46 FIP 29.4 K% | 14.0 BB% | 1.04 HR9 Argenis Aparicio | DSL | 18yo 19.0 IP | 2.84 ERA | 3.07 FIP 24.7 K% | 7.4 BB% | 0.00 HR9 Wenderlyn King | DSL | 18yo 17.2 IP | 1.53 ERA | 3.21 FIP 28.0 K% | 1.3 BB% | 0.00 HR9 Hayden Robinson | ACL | 18yo 18.2 IP | 2.41 ERA | 3.23 FIP 36.8 K% | 9.2BB% | 0.00 HR9

It's the first of the month and a day off and maybe a little past midseason for most of the affiliates, but thought now might be a good time to check in on a few things across the system. So here's a little around the horn... CATCHER Jeferson Quero's injury was a blow right off the bat, have to wait and see how he looks next spring. Darrien Miller (136 wRC+| 38 BB | 39 K) and Matthew Wood (118 wRC+ | 29 BB | 25 K) are both having solid seasons at the plate with nice BB/K ratios, though neither hits for much power (.094 and .110 ISOs, respectively) or has had much success limiting the running game (18.3 and 23.6 CS%, repsectively). David Garcia has also been solid at the plate (117 wRC+ | 29 BB | 34 K) and does have a shinier 34.6 CS%, but he is also a year older than Wood/Miller and still in Carolina. Edgardo Ordonez has shown some thump in Arizona (119 wRC+ | 7 HR) but might not be long for catcher with 66 SB / 7 CS (9.6 CS%) in only 190 innings this year. FIRST BASE Tyler Black has pretty much been doing Tyler Black things at Nashville with a 120 wRC+ and 11 SB / 2 CS. Ernesto Martinez Jr. has come up with some big hits and even played some CF again for Biloxi, but his current 108 wRC+ at age 25 probably has the arrow pointing more toward org soldier than fringe prospect. Tayden Hall dominated Carolina (192 wRC+), but is still trying to figure out Wisco (68 wRC+). Former big bonus recipient Johan Barrios has shown some occasional signs of life in Arizona with a 112 wRC+ in the early going. SECOND BASE Dylan O'Rae put up a 120 wRC+ and 33 SB / 5 CS at Wisco earning a bump to Biloxi where his slap dash run like crazy skillset should see its first considerable challenge. Jadher Areinamo has played more second (32 GS) than short (20 GS) and has ridden his .305 batting average and paltry 11.9 K% to a 121 wRC+ with 25 SB / 6 CS at Wisco. Fillipo Di Turi was playing mostly SS in Arizona (153 wRC+ in 106 PA), but has switched to primarily 2B in deference to Cooper Pratt after his promotion to Carolina (85 wRC+ in 87 PA). 2023 15th rounder Josh Adamczewski might be next in line for promotion with a 162 wRC+ and more walks than strikeouts over his first 66 PA in Arizona. THIRD BASE Mike Boeve obliterated Wisco (255 wRC+) and has settled in nicely at Biloxi with a 121 wRC+. Brock Wilken took a fastball to the face, but has started to come around a little bit with a 144 wRC+ over 99 PA since June 6th versus an 87 wRC+ over his first 144 PA of the season. Luke Adams keeps doing Luke Adams things with a 142 wRC+ | 48 BB | 55 K and 18 SB / 8 CS at Wisco. Juan Baez was also doing Juan Baez things at Carolina (123 wRC+ | 12 BB | 12 SO | 7 SB / 9 CS) before getting injured. Eric Bitonti has been making a big noise (154 wRC+ | 6 HR) in Arizona, have to imagine he is Carolina bound in short order. SHORTSTOP Eric Brown Jr. has been injured and bad (51 wRC+) when healthy, probably needs a big second half more than any other Brewers prospect at this point. Gregory Barrios has put up a 116 wRC+ for Wisco in his age 20 season with a minuscule 9.3 K%, though an even more minuscule 5.3 BB%. Cooper Pratt has raked to the tune of a 142 wRC+ with 17 SB / 2 CS at age 19 for Carolina. OUTFIELD Brewer Hicklen (138 wRC+) and Isaac Collins (134 wRC+) are putting up big numbers as non-40 man depth for Nashville. Carlos Rodriguez (126 wRC+) has had a resurgent season in Biloxi with Noah Campbell (146 wRC+) also answering the call primarily from LF. Luis Lara has underwhelmed with only a 78 wRC+ in Wisco, but is also still only 19 playing against competition over three years older on average so there's still plenty of time there. Yophery Rodriguez (120 wRC+) has mostly held his own as an 18 year old with an aggressive placement straight to Carolina while minor league free agent Yhoswar Garcia has been a pleasant surprise with a 122 wRC+ and 38 SB / 6 CS.

Rockies always have drastic home road splits. Four gamer at Coors is no joke no matter how big of a joke the Rockies are in general. Obviously a sweep would be great but I’d be fine getting out of there with a split. 2024 H: 16-24 (.400) A: 12-30 (.286) 2023: H: 37-44 (.477) A: 22-59 (.272) 2022 H: 41-40 (.506) A: 27-54 (.333) 2021 H: 48-33 (.593) A: 26-54 (.325)

I think Mass is just commenting here on the dwindling state of 1B throughout baseball. Guys like Pujols and Cabrera that recently retired are both easy first ballot HOF guys. Votto is a little more borderline for some, and Freeman/Goldy will likely end up closer to him than Pujols or Cabrera when all is said and done. Olson put up 29 WAR over ages 23-29, he’s gonna need to top that from age thirty onward to get in the HOF discussion. A guy like Vlad Jr. who was supposed to be the next big thing has been more good to this point (131 career OPS+) than at that HOF kind of level for 1B that starts around a 140 OPS+ minimum. Recent high draft picks like Andrew Vaughn (#3 in 2019) or Spencer Torkelson (#1 in 2020) have bombed out completely. The highest ranked 1B prospects in the upper minors are Tyler Black or Kyle Manzardo, nice players for sure but not necessarily in that big time 1B masher mold. Maybe Coby Mayo ends up at 1B, he’s a little closer to the classic archetype anyway. From 2002-08 MLB average at 1B was around a 115 wRC+…in 2009 it peaked at 120 wRC+…from 2010-16 it was around a 113 wRC+ before hitting the recent high water mark of a 117 wRC+ in 2017…from 2018 to 23 it was around a 110 wRC+ before dipping down to a 105 wRC+ so far this year.

Contreras (thru May 15) 196 PA of 359/434/553 Contreras (since May 17) 160 PA of 211/250/309 Brewers (thru May 15) 26 W - 17 L (.605 W%) Brewers (since May 17) 23 W - 16 L (.590 W%) Really speaks to the depth of the team/organization that they’ve able to play at a 95-96 win pace with their “best” player hitting like their worst.

Frelick’s at +2.0 BsR on FanGraphs, 23rd among 226 players with at least 200 PAs. I’m not sure his true talent level is much higher than Top 10% in MLB. Might be a case where he seems less impressive by the eye test because he’s on the same team with guys like Turang (+4.7 | 3rd), Yelich (+4.1 | 6th), and Perkins (+2.3 | 16th). Chourio’s got him beat on raw sprint speed too, though he’s only managed +1.2 BsR to this point. Partly due to stealing efficiency (10/2 for Sal vs 8/3 for Jackson) and partly due to opportunity (91 times on base for Sal vs 61 times on base for Jackson).

I’ll add a fourth…resiliency. Brewers have had five losing streaks of three games so far. Not only have they managed to nip those losing streaks in the Bud after three games, they’ve also bounced back strong after each one… 10-3 (0-3) 7-2 (0-3) 3-0 (0-3) 16-9 (0-3) 8-4 (0-3) 5-0 and counting.

Either him or Hudson (0.84 ERA | NL best +2.65 WPA) should be there to represent the pen.

Thought they’d maybe have him catch Tobias tomorrow since they were both in Nashville this year, but checking the game logs it looks like Haase was only behind the dish for two of Myers AAA innings.

What team (that Yelich will waive his NTC for) has an extra #1 or #2 pitcher they'd trade to pay Christian $123.5M over the next four and a half years?

So what you’re saying is you can’t back up your own claims? Others have to find the supporting documentation to support your stance? Sounds like you’re just making stuff up at this point.

Blake Holub goes 1-2-3 in the ninth (strikeout, two ground outs) to pick up his sixth save of the season in the 3-2 Shuckers victory.

Eric Martinez single, Johan Barrios HBP, Antony Gomez single, (throwing error by Mairoshendrick Martinus), Josh Adamczewski double, and an Eric Bitonti bomb added up to five runs for the Zona Crew who now lead 6-3 heading to bottom of five.

Can’t drop a pitcher for a hitter, need 13 of each.

Craig Yoho struck out the last batter top of seven and two more top of eight as the Shuckers head to the bottom half holding a 3-2 lead.

Or maybe not after all? I swear they had him listed as entering the game in the play log, but when I checked back to see how the inning went he has disappeared from the box. Strange things afoot in the friscalating dusk light of the AZ desert. Either way, Zona Crew picked up their first run of the game with Pedro Ibarguen & Eric Martinez walking, a Tyler Rodriguez single loading the bases and an Antony Gomez ground out scoring Pedro. Currently trailing 3-1 after three innings.

Yerlin Rodriguez goes single, sac bunt, strikeout, fly out to pick up his sixth save of the season preserving the 3-2 Wisco win.

Aidan Maldonado had a nice outing in the 5-4 Carolina loss going two scoreless with 1 H | 3 K. Miguel Briceno (two doubles, stolen base) and Satchell Norman (double, walk, stolen base) showed off some thump and some speed while Yhoswar Garcia stole his 34th and 35th bags of the year.