CheeseheadInQC

Looking back, it appears there is a disagreement between different reports on if Robertson’s contract is guaranteed.

I don’t think anyone on the bubble has a full guaranteed deal. Some would require a small portion of their contract (including, I believe, the two you mentioned). I was wondering about opt-outs for the NRIs. Shaw’s has been publicized and I would think Boxberger might have one, but I don’t know about any of the others.

I thought because he was out of options, the Brewers would give Black every opportunity to earn a spot given his potential. However, he has pretty much exclusively been pitching after the other team has replaced all of its starters. Seems as if he is decidedly on the outside looking in.

If they do only keep 13 pitchers, I could see it coming down to Vogelbach vs. Fisher for the final spot.

The DFA limbo will buy them a bit of time and then you will probably just have one of the guys who isn’t going to be at the alternate site told to take a couple weeks off before coming back. So long as it isn’t handled egregiously poorly I can’t imagine it is a big deal.

Yeah, just came to post about this kid's video that was tweeted out today. What can those in the know tell us about Abner Uribe? Honestly, this is the first I've heard of the kid, but 99! There was this article that listed him as one of the standouts at instructs.

Yeah, just came to post about this kid's video that was tweeted out today. What can those in the know tell us about Abner Uribe? Honestly, this is the first I've heard of the kid, but 99! There was this article that listed him as one of the standouts at instructs.

if the minor leaguer is lucky enough to make the roster at the alternate training site, he will be earning pay. do keep in mind that the brewers will be operating a second wave of spring training in april, so some guys who may have been destined for the nashville roster may get time there. but, under normal rules, players aren't paid during spring training. This might vary, but I thought I read that the alternate site was likely to be roughly the size and composition of the AAA roster since it doesn't really do any good to take the lower-level prospects there for a month instead of working out with their future teams in Arizona.

if the minor leaguer is lucky enough to make the roster at the alternate training site, he will be earning pay. do keep in mind that the brewers will be operating a second wave of spring training in april, so some guys who may have been destined for the nashville roster may get time there. but, under normal rules, players aren't paid during spring training. This might vary, but I thought I read that the alternate site was likely to be roughly the size and composition of the AAA roster since it doesn't really do any good to take the lower-level prospects there for a month instead of working out with their future teams in Arizona.

It seems like, once you get past Hader, Williams, Suter and Peralta/Houser that the last four spots should come down to, unless I am forgetting someone, Rasmussen, Topa, Yardley, Black and Boxberger. Given the oddities of this year, though, I could see them wanting another long reliever, either Lauer or possibly Brown. It feels as if they are going to want more of a conventional short-inning lefty at some point, but I don't know that I see that happening right away. Perdomo, Hardy, Andrews and QTC are all options, but if none of them take hold of the job by late August, I wonder if Ashby gets the Corbin Burnes treatment and spends a month in the big league bullpen before moving back to being a starter next season.

It seems like, once you get past Hader, Williams, Suter and Peralta/Houser that the last four spots should come down to, unless I am forgetting someone, Rasmussen, Topa, Yardley, Black and Boxberger. Given the oddities of this year, though, I could see them wanting another long reliever, either Lauer or possibly Brown. It feels as if they are going to want more of a conventional short-inning lefty at some point, but I don't know that I see that happening right away. Perdomo, Hardy, Andrews and QTC are all options, but if none of them take hold of the job by late August, I wonder if Ashby gets the Corbin Burnes treatment and spends a month in the big league bullpen before moving back to being a starter next season.

The Padres made a lot of big trades without giving up much from their top tier of prospects but in doing so almost emptied out their second tier. The top 5 is still really impressive, but any significant prospect-based package almost has to be headlined by one of those five at this point.

Rasmussen was more “starter” than starter in the minors. He went more than three innings four times and never more than 4 1/3. It felt like he was starting because it was easier to control his workload post-surgery starting than the up-and-down nature of bullpen work.

You're really faulting them for not reporting an injury the Brewers hadn't released that appears to have happened before the start of camp on maybe the 45th guy they'd probably be checking on in a year when they have significantly less access than normal to the point where even if they hadn't seen someone working out personally it might not have meant anything? And I say that as someone who I believe has File ranked slightly above average on the prospect poll.

McKinney and Fisher are probably an either/or proposition at this point barring injuries as well. Enough of the guys vying for bench spots are out of options that it seems like File’s spot probably won’t be needed if Shaw and one of the NRI pitchers make the team.

I'm not ready to write off Arcia. If the gains he showed last year in plate discipline and other metrics (career highs in exit velocity, hard hit rate, line drive percentage, etc.) are sustainable, he has a chance to be a decent contributor, whatever the role. The guy was probably brought up a season early out of necessity. It isn't out of the realm of possibility that he becomes a passable middle infield bat.

One thing I noticed when making the list for the poll was that it seems as if the because of the canceled minor league and the sparse information on a lot of the prospects there are an excess of intriguing unknowns, either guys with only a half a year of affiliated ball or one who lost a chance at a bounceback season last year. I got bored and decided to toss together a lineup and pitching staff of sleepers (I didn't use anyone on MILB.com's top 30 list from the end of last year, nor anyone with MLB experience or who was at the alternate site last season). C: Jhonnys Cabrera: The strikeout rate is concerning, but he is a catcher who posted an almost .800 OPS as a 16 to 17-year-old. That has to count for something. 1B: Chad Spanberger: Got some run last year in the abbreviated spring training. Seems the likeliest to break out at a rather sparse position. 2B: Cam Devanney: Had a strong first season and was the lowest drafted of the position players invited to instructs last season. The Brewers are treating him like a better prospect than his draft position indicates so I will, too. SS: David Hamilton: Such an obvious pick, I almost didn't take him. Probably would have been called up to the alternate site at some point if he hadn't been playing Indy League ball (and excelling at that). 3B: Branlyn Jaraba: Big-bonus prospect missed chance for bounce back and got overshadowed Parra at what it sounds like his best position. Physical tools that led to the big bonus are still there, though. OF: Je'Von Ward: Did just enough in 2019 to make me think there is still a chance he unlocks his potential Arbert Cipion: Third athletic top-10 round high school outfielder from the 2018 draft. Bounced back from disastrous first season. Andre Nnebe: Sometimes a light goes on performance-wise once a guy gets to the pros. Seems to happen more often with pitchers, but Nnebe was an upside college guy who has been a strong performer in both rookie and indy ball since being drafted. Could be another Zach Clark, but there is a reason Clark was so intriguing. SP: Israel Puello: My favorite of the guys acquired in the Phelps trade. Led the DSL in K-rate and was near the top in several other categories as well. Victor Castaneda: Sounds like he will move to the rotation after a successful first full season ball and AFL stint. Reese Olson: The 2019 results weren't always great, but the Brewers thought enough of him to start him A ball his first full season after high school. Michele Vassalotti: Tailed off a bit at the end down under, but strong start coupled with praise from instructs has me hopeful. Alexis Ramirez: Has been talk about his upside before, but the instructs report makes it sound like he might be putting it all together RP: QTC: The MLB spring training invite makes me think the Brewers believe he is back to being the guy who looked to be on the verge of challenging for a roster spot. Scott Sunitsch: I know he has been a starter, but the extreme splits scream reliever and it wouldn't shock me if the Brewers make the transition this year. If he can become even halfway competent against upper level righties, could easily find his way to the big leagues. Abner Uribe: More instruct report optimism Jake Cousins: Older prospect, but put up video game type stats in 2019 at lower levels and earned a big league spring training invite. Braden Webb: Bounceback candidate. Has the stuff but can he harness it? Brady Schanuel: Could be cut before opening day, could end up striking out 12/9 at AA by season's end. If you're talking minor league relievers, give me the high variance upside. Zach Vennaro: Strong in a small sample size in Indy ball, and assuming it isn't injury rehab related, his early invite to spring training is impressive. Evan Reifert: Only undrafted free agent to get an instructs invite. In the absence of stats, I go with the tea leaves.

Or they might just be chasing value of any type. Turner and Pederson who they were linked to are bat-first players. If Bradley joins Wong in being the big offseason additions, it might just mean those were the guys who signed on the dotted line.

Yep. There were a couple of really interesting literary TV adaptations that came out last year. Plus, one of my favorite shows of the year was adapted from a series of TV ads for a soon-to-be defunct network. The reboots and superhero shows get a lot of attention, but there are plenty of other things on from all sorts of different sources. Plus, the streaming services have made it easier to watch shows from other countries as well. Also, I thought Season 2 of The Wire was a success despite that character. It might have been its fourth best season, but that would still make it the best season of most other shows.

I've got Rasmussen over Wahl, but other than that I've got the same. I think they give Black at least a month unless he looks really bad in camp. That last spot could go in a number of different directions, though. One darkhorse that wouldn't shock me: Zack Brown

One of the underrated downsides to no DH is I worry Arcia’s approach will regress once he’s hitting in front of the pitcher again. I cringe a little seeing him in the eight spot.

Ever since the Wong signing, I've thought this made too much sense not to happen. Good fit, good price.

That is why I doubt Candelario gets dealt. It makes no sense for the Tigers to trade him for less than the value if you assume last season was a real breakout. But it doesn’t make sense for any team to pay that price given his previous history and the abbreviated nature of last season.

The splits while appearing positive is based on 25 total hits. His best batting split is when a man is on 1st. A high EV who beats the ball in to ground with a 1b covering. Probably explains this along with higher babip from that side. But on flip side maybe looking at the low BABIP vs RHs as bad luck. His triples are vs LHs another aid on that OPS vs them when so few hits. Looking back at his minor league stats he seems to have fairly even splits on average. At minimum he seems to hit lefties better than most left-handed hitters of his caliber.

If we're going to be playing Urias a lot at third, bringing Anderson back makes even more sense. I wish Gyorko was a lefty. I think he's a better hitter than Shaw at this point, but bringing Shaw back might be the best roster construction if we're adding a third baseman.