Spencer Michaelis

Baseball is back! The guys recap injury updates from the first day of spring training, break down the signing of Tyler Alexander, and react to the Brewers avoiding arbitration with William Contreras. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View full article

Yep lol. Here's the article snoogans is referring to. It's pretty insane seeing the comparison to all of the big DSL performers over the last 3-4 years.

Payne gives me some Carl Crawford vibes. This was a bit before my time (Crawford was drafted the year after I was born), but from what I can find, the report on Crawford when he was drafted was that he had a lot of raw skill, strength and athleticism, but the strength hadn't translated to in game power yet, the athleticism was still a WIP in terms of being functional on defense (Payne is likely ahead of him in that regard, but he does need refinement as an outfielder), and the skill hadn't always shown up in performance against the best competition in HS. A lot of that lines up with what we know about Payne. I also have been saying Payne is kind of like a HS version of Garrett Mitchell since the draft. I think there are plenty of comparable traits between those two as well.

I would imagine Pena has a very real shot, but it is important to note that there are a lot of infielders who will be deserving of an opportunity in the lower levels. I think Made and Pena are good friends, but I don’t think they’re necessarily a package deal in terms of moving up together.

I hear you, but I think it should be noted that the Baseball America guys agreed that Made would be a pretty easy 1-1 choice in next year's draft if he had this type of underlying data on the HS circuit. What Made did in 2024 is just so far out of the ordinary. Gilbert Lara had a .600 OPS as a 17 year old in rookie ball. He signed for a lot of money, but reports back then were that the Brewers pretty immediately regretted it once he showed up to the team. They knew right away that it was a bad investment. I fully understand the hesitancy, but I'm not sure I'd use Lara as a reason for it.

I would expect him to start there yeah. It would be a pretty major upset if he doesn't.

If you're religious, Jesus made water turn to wine. If you're a Brewers fan, Jesús Made can't even drink wine until mid-2028. In fact, that's true whether you're a Brewers fan or not. Yet, he's already on the path to potential superstardom. Image courtesy of © Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images Jesus Made signed with the Brewers organization for $950,000 on Jan. 15, 2023. He did so with the usual, limited fanfare that most international signings receive. He was notable enough to be talked about positively by Baseball America and was ranked 22nd in the class by MLB Pipeline. However, aside from a few people seeing his name and humorously pointing out how an American might pronounce it, he did not receive much attention last offseason. Fast-forward one year, and Jesús Made is no longer only notable for his name and some interesting tools. He has become the talk of the prospecting world. Geoff Pontes of BA and many other evaluators have spoken extremely highly of him. Pontes has said that he believes Made is a future number-one prospect on multiple occasions. For now, he is "only" a consensus top-100 prospect on every site, and is in the top 50 for many of them. So, what changed in the last year? What has he done to make this incredible ascension in the prospect rankings, before even dashing his foot upon a pebble in a professional batter's box in the United States? Start with Made’s production in the Dominican Summer League, on its own. His 169 wRC+ placed him eighth in the entire league, and he was the youngest player in the top eight. He had an OPS over 1.000 and stole 28 bases along the way, while only being caught four times. While the production is impressive, there have been many successful DSL seasons in the past by players who never amounted to anything meaningful at the MLB level. So what makes Made different? It’s the way he produced these numbers that has most scouts and evaluators salivating. Twitter user @Upper_Beck provided a graphic in his tweet comparing Made’s 2024 season to Mariners prospect Lazaro Montes’s 2022, another big-time DSL performance (162 wRC+). Posting a 90th-percentile exit velocity of 103.9 MPH would have been above-average for a major-league player, and the Brewers farmhand did it as a 17-year-old. Montes, known mainly for having big-time, 60-grade power, posted a 90th-percentile exit velocity two MPH lower than Made’s. Montes showed a lack of feel for the strike zone and a lack of bat-to-ball ability in the DSL, and he still has been flying up prospect lists. On the other hand, Made showed an incredible eye at the plate and elite bat-to-ball skills, all while hitting the ball with authority. Chris Clegg, of Dynasty Dugout, tweeted a comparison of his own, to another 2022 DSL season. Player A is Made and Player B is a consensus top-50 prospect, Josue De Paula in the Dodgers organization. De Paula started with fantastic swing decisions and bat-to-ball ability and grew into his power over time. Made starts with a baseline of all of these tools. Made’s combination of power and speed would have brought him much positive attention, regardless of anything else. However, combining those two surface skills with an elite whiff rate and 15% chase rate, all while walking more often than he struck out, has had evaluators wondering just how good he can be on the offensive side of the ball. The underlying data Made posted in 2024 is just about as good as anyone has seen for someone his age, at his level. Made's swing is explosive, featuring his fast hands and a lot of bat speed. He shows an ability to cover all areas of the zone, as well. If there’s one area of concern in the swing, it is the pre-swing hand movement, which is noticeable in the video above. It’s far from the most movement in the Brewers system (*glances toward Jadher Areinamo, about to throw his lasso*), but if he’s unable to repeat the motion consistently, it has the potential to cause timing issues. While the video above only shows him from the left side, he shows a lot of promise from both sides of the plate, though he also has the extra hand movement from both sides. What’s that? Oh yeah, I may have forgotten to mention that Made’s a switch-hitter, too. Most have only seen him from the left side, because he faced very few left-handed pitchers in the DSL, only amassing 32 total plate appearances against them. Despite that, some evaluators believe he has more power from the right side than from the left. Made’s ground ball rate was relatively high at nearly 50%, and it’s likely that this is at least partially correlated with that high amount of hand movement. Brewers fans know how some slight timing issues can cause high ground ball rates, namely with a player like Christian Yelich. The fact that we have to pick that many nits to find a couple of relatively minor flaws within Made’s offensive profile, though, says enough on its own. There are supposed to be much bigger hurdles to clear for guys who are 17 and haven't played in the States. Defensively, there’s a lot less to look at when it comes to DSL players. We do know that Made is listed as a shortstop, and evaluators think he has the type of athleticism, range, and arm strength that would allow him to stay there. However, fans should expect him to move around the diamond a bit in 2025. He should grade out above average at second or third base, where his skillset should play up at each spot. It would be a relatively large upset if he is unable to stick in the infield dirt, but with his speed and athleticism, scouts believe he would do good work in center field, too. Beyond the diamond, Made is said to have a tremendous work ethic. Since signing, he has already added good weight to his body but still maintained his athleticism. He has room to continue to add to his frame, which should only help him as he continues to develop more power over time. He has a good head on his shoulders and, to this point, is doing a great job handling all the attention he has received. Made has shot up prospect rankings before playing an inning of Stateside professional baseball, mainly because he appears to be a player: A player who produced some of the best underlying data that the baseball world has seen from a seventeen-year-old in the DSL; a player who posted top-of-the-line traditional, counting stats on top of that; a player who scouts believe will either be a solid shortstop or an above-average defender at a different infield position; a player who lacks any glaring weaknesses. Made is a player who, regardless of age or level, is one of the most talented all-around prospects in baseball. View full article

I believe PECOTA had the Brewers pegged for 79 wins last year. Maybe this goes against my affinity for nerdy baseball things, but projections have always been one of those things I just don't really care about. I respect all the good, hard work that has been put into them, but there are just always going to be so many things that a projection system can't account for. They can at least lead to some good discussion though, especially at a slower point in the offseason.

As we approach pitchers and catchers reporting in only two weeks. Jack and Spencer talk about the 2024 rotation and a recent signing. Jack and Spencer discuss the Elvin Rodriguez signing, how the Brewers maximized deception throughout their starting rotation last season, Garrett Mitchell doing offseason work at Driveline Baseball, and more. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View full article

Didn't like my wording the first time, so deleted it and re-uploaded, but now see that it was already posted here lol. My bad Jim!

Spencer and Joseph complete their run through the Brewers minor-league system with the Nashville Sounds. Spencer and Joseph answer a lot of overarching questions about the Brewers system, recap the Nashville Sounds season, tier the position players and pitchers, as well as answer more of your listener questions! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View full article

Jack and Spencer mourn the loss of the voice of the Brewers. Jack and Spencer pay tribute to Bob Uecker after his passing, break down why the Brewers are taking William Contreras to an arbitration hearing, and review the 2025 international signing class. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View full article

https://www.jsonline.com/story/sports/mlb/brewers/2024/12/02/brewers-2025-international-signing-class-players-to-know/76549655007/ There's the article. Leander Matos and Frankller Mayora were both listed, but the article was updated, and they're now expected to sign in the 2026 class. Imagine that may be what happened with some of the guys I had found as well.

It's possible they'd still have a decent chunk honestly. Completely guessing here, but Barrios and Frias would seem like $250k-ish signings to me. Aguayo likely in the $100-150k range. That would still only put them around $6.5 mil. Not sure how many of the remaining would fall into the >$50k pool, and anyone $10k or less doesn't count toward the pool at all. I'd imagine they're at least exploring making a trade with *some* of the pool money. I'd imagine most of the in-season signings get closer to $10k. Interestingly, there are a decent chunk of names that I had found throughout the year that didn't sign. Some of the players that were in Curt Hogg's article from December also didn't sign. Not really sure what to make of that.

I had been thinking this too but... Just based on the bonuses I've been able to find: - Fenelon ($1.3 mil) - Acosta ($1.1 mil) - Antunez ($1 mil) - Chavez ($480k) - Payano ($400k) - Sharlinson De La Rosa ($400k) - Eryks Rivero ($300k) - Leonard Rijo ($225k) - Yeury Ramirez ($210k) - Francis Sosa ($200k) - Enrique Velasquez ($100k) - Diustin Mayorquin ($100k) - Jefer Lista ($40k) - Cristian Montilla ($35k) That's $5.89 million and doesn't include 15 of the players still, including Frias, Barrios and Aguayo who were noteworthy enough to get written up by Baseball America. I guess I wouldn't be shocked if they're closer to their pool than I was originally thinking. I bet they do have some left over, but they also like to keep some open to be able to bring in some other players throughout the year. Still wouldn't totally shock me if they have enough to make a deal with one of the Roki suitors, just maybe not as much as I was expecting before doing the math.

Definitely not very. There are usually a few, but they often have already pitched in the DSL. He was over 12 years younger than the league average lol.

BA has additional scouting reports for some of the non-T100 Bonus Board guys in this article. One new name, that hadn't been brought up anywhere that I can find, is RHP Luis Aguayo out of Mexico. He was pitching in their winter league as a 16 year old (turned 17 in late November of 2024) and struck out more than a batter per inning, though with a WHIP of nearly 2. He's up to 94, according to the article, and has the potential for a plus changeup.

Fangraphs' (Eric Longenhagen) rankings were released. Kenny Fenelon at 23 with a 40 FV, Christopher Acosta at 48 with a 35+ FV. Brief write-ups on both are available on "The Board"

Some extra video of Antunez from Curt Hogg, that got buried a bit, because he was locked out of Twitter at the time, and only ever posted it on BlueSky. I've said it in here before, but I think he's the prize in this class. The other two big bonuses definitely have fun profiles, but Antunez just looks like a dude in every video I see.

Had the same thought. Wonder if there are a chunk of $250k-ish players. I was able to track down around 30 names, and that's just off social media digging, so I'm definitely assuming it'll be a pretty big class. Pitchers tend to be the ones that are harder to find pre-signing and often very cheap.