CheeseheadInQC

Some of these had either advanced stats better than their ERA or limited innings because of injury or promotion, but I think Vallecillo, Patricio Aquino and Daniel Corniel are worthy of mention as well. I worry what his injury is, but Aquino was basically 2021 Alexander Cornielle.

Some of these had either advanced stats better than their ERA or limited innings because of injury or promotion, but I think Vallecillo, Patricio Aquino and Daniel Corniel are worthy of mention as well. I worry what his injury is, but Aquino was basically 2021 Alexander Cornielle.

There are a lot of worthy honorable mentions, but if you read hitter as position player, Gregory Barrios probably should be in the group right after those three. He didn’t hit for much power but got on base at a .360 clip and had one of the best fielding percentages of any middle infielder in the system as an 18-year-old.

There are a lot of worthy honorable mentions, but if you read hitter as position player, Gregory Barrios probably should be in the group right after those three. He didn’t hit for much power but got on base at a .360 clip and had one of the best fielding percentages of any middle infielder in the system as an 18-year-old.

Author's note: Because of ease of sorting for the various categories, I used Baseball Reference for team ages and Fangraphs for age season the individual players were in. Also, 2006 is used as a cutoff date for some of the items because that is how far back Fangraphs’ database goes. It is no secret that this year’s Carolina Mudcats squad has been young, filled with teens who came through the DSL pipeline — the kind of roster where, especially on offense, guys who can legally drink are the exception, not the rule. But did you know it might be historically young? The average Carolina batter is 19.8 years old, the youngest across all of low-A. The average Carolina pitcher is 21.0 years old, tied for the second youngest across low-A this year. When you combine those you have the youngest low-A team across all of baseball since at least 2010. The question is, is this the result of changes from within the organization or simply part of a trend in the aftermath of the contraction of a level of rookie ball and pushing back the date of the draft. The answer: Both The Brewers side Since 2006, a total of 10 guys in their 18-year-old seasons have played in low-A for the Brewers. Only two of those — Orlando Arcia and Mario Feliciano — came before 2021, and half have been this year alone. The biggest change, of course, has come from the Brewers’ Latin American signings, both in the quality of their play and the Brewers’ willingness to push them up the ladder. Between 2006 and 2019, I believe only five of the Brewers’ Latin American signings reached A-ball before their age-20 season, and only in the cases of Arcia and Pablo Abreu did it really feel deserved. The Brewers kind of had to move Gilbert Lara up eventually if only because of how much they paid him upon signing, and Milwaukee thought so much of Edgar Trejo and Luis Ramirez that both were released before the following season and never played in affiliate ball again. This year alone you have had Jackson Chourio, Jeferson Quero, Hendry Mendez, Luis Castillo, Jadher Areinamo, Eduardo Garcia, Hedbert Perez, Jheremy Vargas, Jesus Garcia, Yujanyer Herrera, Arielbi Gonzalez, Jeison Pena and Alexander Vallecillo. While the elimination of the one level of rookie ball might have sped their arrival up a bit, there is far more going on here than that. The summer 2019 and winter 2021 signing classes have been, simply put, the deepest in at least recent team history, pushing the average age down even as the number of high school players the team has drafted has declined. The league That’s not to say, of course, that they aren’t following a league-wide trend, at least on the hitting side. Between 2015 and 2019, the average age of a low-A hitter fluctuated between 21.4 and 21.6 years old. In 2022 it is 21.0. Similarly seven low-A teams have their hitters averaging 20.5 years old or younger in 2022, the same number as in the five years from 2015 and 2019 combined. Also, three of those came from one franchise: the 2017-19 Fort Wayne Tin Caps, a Padres affiliate during the time they were building their vaunted minor league system that has almost all been traded away. (Side note: the 2018 Tin Caps, which included current Brewers prospect Esteury Ruiz, is the only one since at least 2010 in which the hitters were younger than the Mudcats, checking in at 19.7 years old.) While there has been little if any perceptible leaguewide change in the ages as far as pitching goes, the hitting changes have been enough where the Down East Wood Ducks (Rangers) and Visalia Rawhide (Diamondbacks) rank just behind the Mudcats, with all three likely among the four youngest low-A teams since 2010. The future The question then becomes, is this sustainable for Milwaukee? In the short term, the answer appears to be yes. The longer term future, however, is hazier. To start with, not only do the Brewers have the youngest low-A team, but their their two ACL teams are part of what is basically a three-way tie with the Pirates’ FCL squad for the youngest complex league team. The following players who will be below the drinking age seem likely to spend some time with the Mudcats next season, not even considering the current DSL guys who could earn late-season promotions: 19: Castillo, Areinamo, Herrera, Luke Adams, Dylan O’Rae, Daniel Guilarte, Gregory Barrios, Miguel Briceno 20: Perez, Avina, Vargas, Vallecillo, Gonzalez, Garcia, Tayden Hall, Satchell Norman, Quinton Low, Patricio Aquino, Brailin Rodriguez, Jose Caballero Beyond that, it is going to depend on their continued ability to sign and develop players from Latin America. It is going to be difficult to top those two classes, and the most recent one seems, at first glance, to be a little on the weaker side compared to 2021 and 2019. Hopefully they can at least come close, however, because the more of those guys who are good enough to push their way up the pipeline early, the healthier it is for the system as a whole.

There is also a high likelihood that both Carlos Rodriguezes will be in Biloxi next year, so that won’t be confusing at all ?.

There is also a high likelihood that both Carlos Rodriguezes will be in Biloxi next year, so that won’t be confusing at all ?.

Maybe a little because I am guessing you had a few teams not protect borderline guys they might have in the past, gambling that it wouldn’t happen (not completely convinced Brewers didn’t use this strategy). I still think the bigger effect, though, is the COVID year delayed development for the guys eligible this year. That will lead to more guys eligible and perhaps more close calls. A couple of years ago the Brewers pretty much protected every healthy prospect in the triple-A phase. No way that can happen this year.

Maybe a little because I am guessing you had a few teams not protect borderline guys they might have in the past, gambling that it wouldn’t happen (not completely convinced Brewers didn’t use this strategy). I still think the bigger effect, though, is the COVID year delayed development for the guys eligible this year. That will lead to more guys eligible and perhaps more close calls. A couple of years ago the Brewers pretty much protected every healthy prospect in the triple-A phase. No way that can happen this year.

It is tough to give much perspective to rankings because I don’t have more than a cursory knowledge about any of the systems other than the Brewers and to a lesser extent the Royals with the River Bandits being in town. I do think, though, this is the best the Brewers system has been in recent years. Looking ahead to next season, there are going to be very few spots in the full season starting lineups that aren’t filled by at least moderately intriguing prospects. Partly this is because of probably the two deepest international signing classes in recent team history. I don’t know if that level of success is sustainable, and the most recent DSL class, while it has its bright spots, doesn’t look to be quite at the same level. They have to keep having some success there, though. Also, since they invest more in position players, they need to keep having pitching breakthroughs with mid-to-later round picks and lower dollar signings. More years where you have low-A trios like Rodriguez, Cruz and Cornielle break out will make the current trajectory much more sustainable.

Robinson’s stuff has long been seen as plus. Honestly, he spent three years at Rookie ball never posting an ERA below 5. If he didn’t have plus stuff he wouldn’t have survived the COVID purge. It was just a matter of putting it all together, which he has. Guys with huge fastballs also tend to get picked. Despite the injury, I think there is a better chance Uribe is taken in the top three picks than that he goes undrafted if he isn’t added.

Robinson’s stuff has long been seen as plus. Honestly, he spent three years at Rookie ball never posting an ERA below 5. If he didn’t have plus stuff he wouldn’t have survived the COVID purge. It was just a matter of putting it all together, which he has. Guys with huge fastballs also tend to get picked. Despite the injury, I think there is a better chance Uribe is taken in the top three picks than that he goes undrafted if he isn’t added.

I think there are going to be a lot of Valerio types left unprotected this year. The COVID year backed up a lot of players’ progress making more eligible players more years away from the majors. Turang and Robinson are arguably MLB ready and Uribe throws 102-mph fastballs. Those are easier to roster than a promising player who should probably start the year in AA and ideally would probably be a second-base only guy. Outside of the top three, I think Castaneda has the best chance of getting picked both because more pitchers typically get chosen and because I know I have read some thoughts that his stuff would play better in relief, the role he would have in the big leagues at this point.

I think there are going to be a lot of Valerio types left unprotected this year. The COVID year backed up a lot of players’ progress making more eligible players more years away from the majors. Turang and Robinson are arguably MLB ready and Uribe throws 102-mph fastballs. Those are easier to roster than a promising player who should probably start the year in AA and ideally would probably be a second-base only guy. Outside of the top three, I think Castaneda has the best chance of getting picked both because more pitchers typically get chosen and because I know I have read some thoughts that his stuff would play better in relief, the role he would have in the big leagues at this point.

Yah, at this point with Robinson's promotion I can't see him not being kept. Andrews is kind of a sleeper, but between his size and the fact he hasn't pitched much since 2019, I don't know if he gets picked, especially this year when the missing COVID year is probably leading to a backlog of guys eligible.

Yah, at this point with Robinson's promotion I can't see him not being kept. Andrews is kind of a sleeper, but between his size and the fact he hasn't pitched much since 2019, I don't know if he gets picked, especially this year when the missing COVID year is probably leading to a backlog of guys eligible.

Between the stuff in that video and his stats, I wonder if Cam Robinson is a good comp in that patience will be required, but in a few years you could be looking at a pretty good prospect.

Between the stuff in that video and his stats, I wonder if Cam Robinson is a good comp in that patience will be required, but in a few years you could be looking at a pretty good prospect.

Not standing in White's way if he had a potential path to the big leagues, outside of potentially helping a playoff rival given the restorative powers the Braves seem to have for some hitters, makes sense for both sides. He was probably behind Singleton as the break glass in case of emergency guy at first and this frees up the DH at-bats to use among the four outfielders and the catching duo at Nashville.

Not standing in White's way if he had a potential path to the big leagues, outside of potentially helping a playoff rival given the restorative powers the Braves seem to have for some hitters, makes sense for both sides. He was probably behind Singleton as the break glass in case of emergency guy at first and this frees up the DH at-bats to use among the four outfielders and the catching duo at Nashville.

Good read on this group. There are a lot of the guys on this list I imagine the Brewers would like to bring back, the question is will the feeling be mutual. There will definitely be space at Nashville given the number of players here and how stingy the Brewers usually are with AAA promotions for non-top prospects. The top possible 40-man adds would probably be Erceg for the upside; Walters, who advanced stats place as the best pitcher at Biloxi this season; and the recently resurgent Brown. With needing 3-5 spots to protect Rule 5 guys and possibly reserve an eventual spot for Frelick, I don’t know if it is in the cards. Regardless, it is nice to see Walters putting himself back on the prospect track even if it doesn’t end up benefiting Milwaukee. So many injuries slowed things down there. This probably won’t be a popular opinion, but I think a reunion with Ray next year makes sense for the Brewers more than it does for Ray. Even if Frelick and Ruiz make the roster out of spring training, if the Brewers are confident in the readiness of Mitchell, going with a Ray or Whitley type might be more advantageous than using the spots alongside Mitchell, Wiemer and likely Lutz for high-floor, lower ceiling guys.

A little late to the party. I like the series, but I just want to say, I have seen Brantley called a throw-in a couple of places lately, and that simply isn’t the case. PTBNL does not necessarily mean throw-in. He was the No. 2 piece in the deal. He was a PTBNL because how the Brewers did determined how good that No. 2 piece would be.

Because of my job (despite working in sports) and where I live (the epicenter of MLB blackout bizarreness), I get to actually watch very little baseball. It is one of the reasons I post mainly in the minor league forum, because a far smaller number get to see those with regularity. Following the sport I grew up obsessed with simply from box scores and statistics has given me an eye for oddities. The Brewers' best ACL hitter? When you look at the Brewers' ACL squads, among players with at least 50 plate appearances, the top three in wRC+ are Jace Avina, Jadher Areinamo and Luis Castillo. All obvious, all promoted. So who does that leave atop the leaderboard of current Brewers ACL players? A catcher with a .205 average and two extra-base hits on the season. Those who have noticed my mild obsession with his stat line can probably guess this is a Jhonnys Cabrera entry, and there is one thing that Jhonnys Cabrera has done consistently this year, and that is walk. His stat line has probably gotten less interesting in recent weeks, despite still putting the ball in play in fewer than half his plate appearances, he is no longer flirting with coupling a .500 on base percentage with a .100 batting average. That is to be expected. Even in the ACL that wasn't sustainable. And it is probably a good thing for Jhonnys' prospects as well. A .500 OBP sounds great, but until you show the ability to consistently put the ball in play, no one is going to see how it can translate moving up the ladder. The case of the disappearing line drives One of the things I've touted when discussing Jadher Areinamo's stat line is that he has shown a combination of patience (>10% walk rate), contact skills (<15% strikeout rate) and at least some power (>.1) that is fairly rare. Indeed, only 10 players across the complex leagues hit all three marks. Areinamo, however, is not the only Brewer in the ACL on that list. And you'd never guess who it is. For the second time in as many items, an ACL catcher features prominently. This time, however, it is Blayberg Diaz, who despite a 12.3% walk rate and three home runs under his belt this season has an OPS of only .593, largely thanks to a .169 BABIP. There might well be some bad luck in there, but I think I found another culprit. Blayberg Diaz, at least this year's version, does not hit line drives. Diaz's 5.6% line drive rate makes him the only player in the Brewer system below 9% on this stat. The thing is, this is new for Diaz. When he posted a far more respectable .770 OPS in the complex league last year, he was above 17% for a line drive rate. That might not be stellar, but it is a lot better than 5.6. The stats make it tough to justify giving him a full-season gig next year, especially with the JUCO kids likely taking two catching spots in Carolina, but at the same time, some of his underlying numbers make me wonder if he ends up becoming one of those catchers where the offense (at least, good enough for a catcher offense) just suddenly seems to click in out of nowhere. Martin Maldonado didn't look like he'd hit enough to stick around long even at AAA until he was in his final season before minor league free agency. This is why I like that the Brewers have the two ACL teams and why I hope they continue it. When the kids are that young and still in the process of becoming who they will be as ballplayers, having that extra roster spot or playing time could pay dividends down the road. No Small issue Want to know the difference between Ethan Small's stellar, from an ERA perspective at least, April versus the rest of his season thus far? In April, Small was a master at maneuvering his way out of self-created jams. The rest of the season, not so much. Small's ERA in innings in which he walked a hitter was 0.00 in April. In the months since, it is almost 9.00. Hopefully those walks start coming down so even if the ERA stays the same, the number of innings it applies to will be less.

The Padres were doing all sorts of finagling to get under the luxury tax. I can't see how they avoid it next year, but they were bound and determined to stay under it this year. If the Brewers wanted this deal done, they were going to help. Lamet didn't use any of the value in the Hader deal. We couldn't have gotten some prospect instead of him. If you are making a baseball decision rather than a PR one, Lamet should have been evaluated just like everyone else. They did that and didn't think he was worth a roster spot.

Suter has been pretty good the last two months, Lamet gave up more runs than innings pitched when he was with the Padres earlier in the season. His minor league results were good, but so were a bunch of the AAA guys the Brewers have called up this year. If the Brewers thought his woes earlier in the season were more indicative of who he was at this point, him vs. Suter would be a pretty easy call.