Spencer Michaelis

This is definitely an overreaction considering I've just been watching him for a few innings, but at the same time I can't believe how impressive Moises Salazar looks behind the plate. He has defensive tools that will give you a big-league career even if you can't hit much, and he's a 16-year-old switch-hitting catcher with legitimate offensive tools too.

Orioles Orange vs Brewers Gold stream for those interested :)

Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Bishop Letson (11th round), Tyson Hardin (12th), Luke Adams (12th), and Josh Adamczewski (15th) are the most highly-touted post-10th round picks in the Milwaukee Brewers' vaunted farm system right now. However, as the club's 16th-round selection in 2024, Jayden Dubanewicz is looking to put himself in their company with his strong start to 2026. Dubanewicz's signing came as a bit of a surprise, as he'd already moved into his dorm at the University of Florida by the time the Brewers picked him. The $665,000 signing bonus likely played a big role in convincing him, and it's looking like a smart investment for the Brewers. At 6-foot-3, Dubanewicz still has significant physical projection left, with plenty of room to continue adding strength to his frame. However, he already looks to be bigger than his listed 160 pounds this season. He got off to a late start this season, after leaving a minor-league spring training game with a minor injury. He didn't ramp back up until mid-April, but made his first start for the newly minted Wilson Warbirds (Low-A) on May 13. After sitting 92-94 mph last season, Dubanewicz has operated more consistently around 95 mph early this year and has touched 97.8. The velocity jump has also come with improved fastball characteristics, as he has reached up to 20 inches of induced vertical break on some of his four-seamers. With nearly seven feet of extension, the pitch has the potential to become a legitimate weapon for him if he can get the movement a bit more consistently in that 18-20 IVB range. Because Dubanewicz made a couple of appearances in the Arizona Complex League as part of his rehab, we can compare his 2025 velocity, spin, and movement to where they are early in 2026, courtesy of Pitch Profiler. A few things pop out immediately on that chart. First of all, Dubanewicz's arm angle has gone from 34° overall (39° on his four-seam) to 49° overall and 53° on his four-seam. It's easy to see the difference in the pictures below (2026 on the left; 2025 on the right). A higher arm angle does usually coincide with more IVB, and Dubanewicz has gone from an average of 15.2" to 17.8". Neither of those are out of the ordinary for their arm slot, though, so the bigger jumps to pay attention to are in his extension and velocity. He has made some other changes to his delivery as well, including making his glove tap at the top of his leg lift much smaller, and also sitting back into his back leg a bit better. He stays a bit taller up top as well, helping him rotate more efficiently. iq0ml8.mp4 In the 67 pitches that were tracked in 2025, Dubanewicz's max velocity was 94.7 MPH, and he averaged 93 MPH. In his 2026 appearance, he threw six pitches harder than that, including the aforementioned 97.8 MPH pitch, averaging 95. With the MLB average for release extension being 6.3 feet, Dubanewicz already generated slightly above-average extension last season at 6.65 feet, but it has jumped to 7.01 feet this year. The thought is that one foot of extension above average adds about 1.7 MPH to the perceived velocity of a pitch. This means that Dubanewicz's 2-MPH jump in velocity is a bit closer to a 3 MPH jump in perceived velocity. Typically, guys also achieve less extension when they work from a higher arm angle, so his extension increasing this way despite raising his slot bespeaks a player getting down the mound much, much better than in the past. Something else that appears to have improved from 2025 to 2026 is the spin rate. The RPMs are up on all of the pitches you would want them to be up on, and he's actually killing spin on the changeup a bit better, as well. He also appears to be separating the slider and curveball shapes a bit better. There's not a cluster on the 2026 side of the above graphic, like there was in 2025. It should be noted that while the velocity was in the 94-97 range early in his start on Wednesday, it had dropped down to 92-95 in the third inning. As he continues to build up, showing that he can hold that velocity later in starts will be important for Dubanewicz. All three secondaries show flashes of being average or better offerings, with the breaking balls being used mainly against righties and the changeup being used mainly against lefties. The shapes of all three pitches should allow them all to be used in a platoon-neutral manner, though, which gives him a particularly deep mix. He's still using his "sinker" in Low-A games, but it was not used during his time in the ACL, so there's no data to look at there. It plays more like a two-seamer than a true sinker, as it's used more for its run than its sink. That's truer than ever from the higher slot. These changes and improvements have led to a very strong start to his season, including his two ACL appearances and three starts with Wilson. His 42% whiff rate would be in the 98th percentile for qualified pitchers at the Low-A level—though he is, of course, not currently close to qualified, due to his late start. ERA FIP IP G GS HR/9 K% BB% K-BB% Whiff% WHIP BABIP LD% GB% FB% IFFB% 1.98 3.24 13.2 5 4 0.0 30.91% 12.73% 18.18% 42.0% 1.39 0.400 20.7% 41.4% 37.9% 36.4% If there is one thing to keep an eye on, it's the walks. He only walked 5.6% of batters faced last season, but he is currently at 12.7% early this year. It's too small a sample to draw any real conclusions from right now, especially because four of his seven walks came on Wednesday, in a game that began in a weather delay and was dealing with intermittent rain throughout the early innings. Still, it's something to track moving forward. Dubanewicz turned 20 in early March and has a long developmental road ahead of him. If he can continue to add strength and see the velocity bump up even further, this is the type of arm that could start to push its way toward top-10 prospect consideration in the system. It's too early in the season to project that, but he has that type of talent and (given the strides he's already made) seems to have the work ethic to get there. View full article

Milwaukee Brewers signed free agent RHP Manuel Davila to a minor league contract.

Not sure where else to put this, but it seems like Peña is on his way back to Appleton from this person who is currently at the ACL Brewers game tonight

This seems like good news on Luis Peña from a source who is at the ACL Brewers game tonight

If anyone’s interested in watching the ACL game tonight

Not on the main (Statcast) field against the Cubs today (apparently there’s a HS game on it lol) but a little birdie told me there were EV’s of 109 on the double and 112 on the single for Antunez’s two hits so far tonight.

I suppose that could be tied to the slugging, but I'm not sure I get how that would be connected to walks going up significantly as well? If you're encouraging more in-zone attacking vs trying to get chase, I'd think walks would be going down or at least holding pretty steady. My educated guess is that we're going to find out the baseballs are slicker, with less drag this year.

I've heard Baseball America is working on an article of some sort on this that should be out soon. It definitely feels like something has changed with walks and homers both up quite a bit across the board for non-AAA levels (the one level that they use MLB baseballs)

I am coming away from this extremely impressed with Frontado. This was an awesome AB from him. Covered all different areas of the zone, laid off of some well-placed breaking balls, hit a foul ball at 101 MPH, and then was able to reach out and poke one 93 MPH for an RBI single. hw52ne.mp4

I am the sicko. Here's a nice turn from Frontado and Rodriguez with a quasi-shift on. Very fluid looking for a couple of teenagers on the same side of the infield. Frontado, Rodrigeuz DP Turn.mp4

For the truest sickos... Here's a live link to the Brewers Blue DSL extended spring game against the Cubs DSL team and the lineup the Brewers are running out to start this one, which includes two of their top three signing bonuses from this past class in Jose Rodriguez and Diego Frontado.

Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Brewers' farm system continues to impress despite several big-time graduations over the last few years. Some trades have brought new names in, and one of them is currently helping the big-league team out of the bullpen, which led to our lone brand-new addition to the list. You can find the full list here! #17 LHP Shane Drohan Milwaukee acquired Drohan in the Caleb Durbin trade after spending most of his time in the Red Sox organization, as well as a spring with the White Sox. Injuries have impacted much of his professional career, including a 2024 Rule 5 stint with Chicago that resulted in his return to Boston. When healthy, however, he features a polished, deep pitch mix that seems scalable between the bullpen and the rotation. In Nashville, Drohan was being stretched out as a starter, and he made his MLB debut against Boston as a starter as well. After being sent down, he made one more start in Nashville before injury forced Drohan back up to the big-league club. Since then, he's pitched exclusively out of the bullpen, both in single-inning and multi-inning roles. His fastball typically sits 92-94 MPH as a starter and plays effectively enough to support the rest of the arsenal, though the secondary pitches are the foundation of the profile. Since moving into the bullpen role with the Brewers' big-league team, the fastball has averaged 95.3 MPH, and he has touched 97 at times. He also mixes in a cutter in the low-90s, and a sinker thrown about a tick slower than his four-seam. They both are best used against left-handed hitters, but the cutter can work as a bridge pitch for him against righties as well. The slider is Drohan's best pitch and his primary swing-and-miss weapon. Since his move to the bullpen, the pitch has averaged 86 MPH, with a spin rate of nearly 2900, and a 33.3% whiff rate. He also mixes in a solid curveball in the 78-80 MPH range, also spinning around 2900 RPM as a reliever, and also with a 33.3% whiff rate against it. His changeup has always been a reliable option against right-handed hitters with roughly 8-10 MPH of separation off the fastball. However, he seems to have switched to a splitter lately, as the spin rate has gone from ~1500 to ~990 on average. Drohan's command showed improvement in 2025, and since his move to the bullpen, he's only walked 3.2% of batters he's faced. There is still legitimate rotation upside if he can stay healthy enough, though the arsenal and bat-missing ability are showing that they can translate very well in the bullpen right now. Drohan appears firmly entrenched in the Brewers' future pitching plans right now, though the role beyond 2026 is still up for debate. Biggest Risers #6 OF Luis Lara -- Up five spots from #11 Lara has shown some improvements in the power department, already nearly doubling his career high of four home runs, with seven at the time of this article. There is some reason to doubt the power output as of this moment, playing in some of the bandbox ballparks Nashville plays at and posting a wOBA of .409, compared to an xwOBA of .313. Despite that, there does still appear to be real growth in the power department as well, as evidenced by his 109 MPH max exit velocity. His 13.9% whiff rate is elite, and he’s limited strikeouts extremely well, while walking at a high rate as well. Lara is 15 of 18 on stolen base attempts, and he’s a plus defender who could be elite in center field at the big league level. Lara looks like a player who will make his MLB debut at some point this season. #16 Coleman Crow -- Previously Not Ranked (#19 in 2025) Crow made his big-league debut in April and immediately put his ability to spin the ball on display. His spin rates rank among the highest in MLB on all of his offerings. The breaking balls are his best pitches, but his cutter has made nice strides from where it was in 2025 and is now a strong offering for him. Neither his four-seam nor sinker is a great pitch on its own, but they work well with the cutter to create enough hesitation for batters to struggle to square them up regularly. Crow is a big-league arm that is waiting for his chance in Triple-A right now. Much like the next guy on this list had to do in 2025. #3 RHP Logan Henderson -- Up three spots from #6 Henderson worked his way up to number three by significantly improving what has always been the biggest question mark in his game, his glove-side secondaries, this offseason. His slider is now thrown more like a slurve, and it has played pretty well in MLB games so far. The cutter has been inconsistent, but as a “bridge pitch,” it has fared pretty well against right-handed batters. Henderson has the look of a pitcher who may have graduated from this list next time the voting takes place, because he appears to have grabbed hold of a rotation spot, with Chad Patrick moving into more of a bullpen role. #9 OF Josh Adamczewski -- Up three spots from #12 Adamczewski has been destroying Midwest League pitching this season. After a slow start at the level in a small sample to close out the 2025 season, Adamczewski has returned with a vengeance. He’s currently posting a .992 OPS and a 150 wRC+. He has already surpassed his career high in home runs with seven (previously five in 2025), and he’s also kept his strikeout rate under 20%. His move to left field has also gone well, showing instincts that are better than expected, given his relative inexperience out there. Having just been added to Baseball America’s Top 100 this week, Adamczewski could continue his climb up this list over the course of this season. He could also continue his climb through the system, as a Double-A call-up feels like it can’t be too far away if he keeps up this production for much longer. #13 OF Braylon Payne -- Up three spots from #16 Payne got off to a really hot start this season. He’s cooled off a bit over the last couple of weeks, but has still settled into an .863 OPS and a 118 wRC+ for the Timber Rattlers. His season has been highlighted by his ability to tap into even more raw power, both in terms of his exit velocities and his ability to hit the ball in the air. His PullAir% of 20.0% is in the 85th percentile for High-A hitters. One of his home runs left the bat at 115 MPH earlier this season. He’s also a plus-plus runner, though his 8/11 success rate on stolen bases leaves something to be desired. The defense has taken a step forward in center, where his athleticism is always on display. The reads and jumps still need some work, but they are better than in 2025. Payne has the tools to be a power and speed threat, though he will still need to curb his whiffs (33.2%) and limit his strikeouts (27.4%) as much as possible. Biggest Fallers #18 3B Brock Wilken -- Down three spots from #15 Wilken got off to a very slow start in 2026, though he is currently in the midst of a 28-game on-base streak. During that stretch, he is posting a 118 wRC+ and has walked almost as much as he has struck out. The overall numbers are far less encouraging, though, as evidenced by his 77 wRC+ and his 28.5% strikeout rate. We will likely find out which version of Wilken is closest to the real version over the next couple of months. #11 RHP Bishop Letson -- Down two spots from #9 Letson has gotten off to a tough start in Double-A this season. The walks have skyrocketed this season, rising from 7.5% in 2025 to 15.7% in 2026. The ERA is at 6.75, and the FIP is over 6 as well. The strikeouts are down nearly 10% as well. All that said, Letson’s stuff looks to be in a similar spot to where it was in the past, even getting the velocity up a bit higher than in the past. Letson’s drop is likely due more to the players below him forcing their way up the list, but he will need to rein in the command moving forward and limit walks at a much higher level to reach his full potential. Thank you to all of you who voted! View full article

Jesus MadeLuis PenaJett WilliamsLogan HendersonCooper PrattJeferson QueroAndrew FischerBraylon PayneLuis LaraBishop LetsonTyson HardinJosh AdamczewskiMarco DingesBlake BurkeLuke AdamsJD ThompsonColeman CrowEthan DorchiesShane DrohanBryce Meccage

Antunez and Frias (likely going off Brewers internal data) have weighed in, and... It has not helped clarify anything 😂

My final "verdict" is that the Statcast at Goodyear probably isn't reliable. However, odds are those five batted balls were still all smoked. I had a source confirm Frias had popped 115 MPH on internal data 3 or 4 times in spring, so you can't totally rule out 117, but I would guess it was a bit lower. I know Antunez had broken 110 multiple times as well, so I'm guessing his were also a bit lower (but still very well hit). Had some other people confirm a lot of Reds prospects and players had their highest EV's ever at Goodyear in spring too, so it just seems to be hot somehow.

Looks like it yeah. There were a few ACL teams playing yesterday though. Maybe make-up games or something.

It's not a perfect science because you're relying on a timely camera flip that didn't mess with anything, but I grabbed a few of them a couple weeks ago, and the flip looked very good from what I could tell, so they should be pretty accurate. Every time I've checked this year, they have been in the 1.85-2.05 range. Haven't seen anything higher than 2.05. He double-clutched one early in the season because he didn't have a grip so I wouldn't count that one. It's not an elite arm like it once was, but I'd say it's moving back into the above-average category personally.

Indeed it was!

Handelfry remains blazing hot