Spencer Michaelis

Jack and Spencer are back to talk Brewers! The guys break down the Cubs series and 75% of the Rockies series (curse you, MLB schedule makers). They discuss Joel Payamps’ struggles, the grand slam binge, Colin Rea’s continued excellence, the Aaron Civale trade, and much 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/ View full article

On Wednesday, the Brewers acquired starting pitcher Aaron CIvale from the Tampa Bay Rays. In return, they sent shortstop prospect Gregory Barrios to the Rays. Who is Barrios? Who else (and what else) might this move affect within the organization? Image courtesy of © Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK What are the Rays getting in Gregory Barrios? Signed in the same international free-agent class as Jackson Chourio, Barrios received the second-highest bonus ($1 million) in that class, behind only Chourio. Known for his glovework, he’s in the midst of an offensive breakout in 2024. After a slow start in the Dominican Summer League his first season, he stepped it up in 2022 and was a league-average hitter in the Arizona Complex League. Unfortunately, he followed that up with a 69 wRC+ in Low-A Carolina last season. While the results in Carolina were poor, Barrios did flash some of the tools you hope to see from young hitters. Despite a low walk rate, Barrios showed solid plate discipline and a good approach at the plate. He also demonstrated very strong bat-to-ball abilities, striking out at only a 13.5% clip. On top of that, he stole 32 bases. The approach is likely the reason the Brewers chose to be aggressive with his assignment in 2024, moving him up to High-A despite the lackluster results in 2023. Still only 20 years old this season, Barrios has proved that he was worthy of that assignment. At the time of the trade, Barrios was slashing .325/.367/.429 for a 125 wRC+. He has flashed some gap-to-gap power, with 17 doubles and two triples, while only striking out 9.4% of the time. Barrios does this with a short, compact swing that allows him to get the bat to inside pitches extremely consistently. Last year, he had some issues covering the outer third of the plate, for that same reason. In 2024, he’s shown a better ability to get to those outside pitches, while improving the batted-ball profile for a player with limited power as well. He has taken his 42% fly-ball rate and cut it to 31%. He’s improved his line drive rate from 20% to 26% as well. With his limited game power and athleticism, line drives and hard-hit ground balls will do him a lot better than fly balls, and that’s shown in the results. Barrios’ improved bat is important, because his defensive abilities are truly impressive. There is zero doubt that he is a shortstop moving forward. He can make some extraordinary plays that not many 20-year-olds would make, while also handling the routine plays with ease. The bat is going to need to continue to get better, but if it does, the Rays could have a solid prospect on their hands. Ripple Effect?s Barrios’ exit has opened up a spot on the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers roster--one that could be filled by 19-year-old prospect Cooper Pratt. Pratt has recently been named a Top 100 prospect by MLB Pipeline, as well as being named the lone Brewers representative at the Futures Game next weekend. His 144 wRC+ and strong defensive performance point to a player who is ready for the next challenge, and this trade clears the way for that to happen if the Brewers choose to go that route. Pratt is the player who could benefit the most directly, but the reason the Brewers were willing to part with a prospect like Barrios (outside of the obvious need for a starting pitcher and a chance to buy low on Civale), is the overall depth they have in the middle infield throughout their system. At the lower levels of full-season ball, alone, the Brewers have Pratt, Daniel Guilarte (in Low-A, ranked the team's #19 Prospect by MLB Pipeline), Jadher Areinamo (High-A, #21), and Filippo Di Turi (Low-A, #29), all of whom have spent a good amount of time at shortstop this season. If you look even further down the chain, the Brewers have three prospects generating a lot of hype in the Dominican Summer League as well. Jorge Quintana (#18 prospect), Luis Pena and Jesus Made are all playing a lot of shortstop thus far, and all three have a chance to stick at the position. Josh Adamczewski has also fared well in his first month of pro ball at the Arizona Complex level, posting a 146 wRC+. The depth is a bit less exciting at the upper levels, as Eric Brown Jr has struggled mightily at the plate in his first season at the Double-A level. Ethan Murray’s play has taken a step back in 2024 as well, and Freddy Zamora appears to be more organizational depth than a true prospect at this point. Still, all three of those players have prospect pedigree, and still have time to turn things around--especially in Brown’s case. Beyond all the players already in the organization, the Brewers also tend to draft at least one shortstop in every draft class, so there’s a good chance there will be another name added to this pool in a couple of weeks. More to Come? Does this change anything in regard to the Brewers potentially making more moves in the coming weeks? Outside of the fact that Barrios is no longer an available trade chip, this should not impact the Brewers' ability to continue to add to their major-league roster. As discussed above, the Brewers could afford to trade even more middle infield prospects, if that is what it takes. The organization likely won’t rank as highly in the upcoming prospect rankings, due to the graduations of players like Jackson Chourio and Joey Ortiz, but their depth stands out in comparison to a lot of other organizations at pretty much every position outside of catcher. Barrios could turn out to be a good player, but the Brewers have a lot of guys in a similar spot to him in terms of age and ability, and all at the same position. It’s unlikely that they were openly shopping Barrios, or any of the other names listed above, but the depth likely helped put the organization at ease when they did agree to the deal, and that same logic could be applied to most potential trades moving forward in July. What are your thoughts on Barrios? Are there any other names that stand out as potential movers in a deal this month? View full article

In episode 13 of the Brewer Fanatic Podcast, Spencer and Jack talk about the Brewers rotation and look forward to the Cubs coming to American Family Field. The guys recap the rest of the Brewers West Coast trip and a sweep of the Rangers at home, break down the recent pitching performances of Carlos Rodriguez, Tobias Myers, and Dallas Keuchel, 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/ View full article

The Keuchel addition is interesting, in that I think it makes it less likely they go after one of the Quintana/Stripling types, though if Keuchel doesn’t work out at all, they still might. But I could see him performing similar to those two, and without giving up anything but cash, hard to complain.

I'd be pretty thrilled with the first two picks. Short of Schmidt or Mayfield getting to 34, Oakie is probably my favorite realistic HS arm that could be there.

The Brewers are dealing with an inordinate number of injuries, as well as an ace who’s not quite performing up to the expectations laid upon him. They have continued piecing it together internally, but could an external addition be the next step? Image courtesy of © Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports Jake McKibbin covered some of the players whom the Brewers could pursue (and who would be under control for multiple seasons) here, but what are the team's options in terms of shorter-term fixes? Let’s take a look at the different tiers of possible rental options, and throw out some potential offers to get the job done for each of them. The Big Fish This tier contains the bigger names: the starters who are having good seasons, and the ones who will likely be in the highest demand at the deadline. Luis Severino - Mets If you have been following the Mets this season, you know that Severino looks less likely to be dealt at the current moment than he did even one week prior. The Mets have been red-hot, and are now only two games under .500 after winning nine of their last 11. For this article, we are going to assume that they cool off a bit and decide to sell at the deadline. If they do, Luis Severino will be in high demand around the league. While his strikeout numbers are not where they once were, Severino is having a really strong season for the Mets. He made some changes to his repertoire this past offseason, and they are paying off to the tune of a 3.52 ERA. The biggest change that Severino made was to his fastball usage. Formerly employing primarily a four-seamer and a cutter, he introduced the sinker in 2022 but only used it at a 1% clip; he only upped that to 2.8% in 2023. In 2024, he is throwing it 23.7% of the time. This has lowered his fastball usage from what was 45% in 2023 to 36.7% in 2024. His groundball rate has risen 43.3% to 52.9% this year, and that has helped him tremendously. The sinker is a solid pitch, though it’s nothing special. What it has really done is allowed his four-seamer to play up a bit more than it had recently. With hitters seeing it less often, the expected slugging percentage on it has plunged, from .587 to .341 in the past year. The other major change he made was adding a sweeper, instead of strictly throwing a more traditional slider. The sweeper has 14.3 inches of horizontal movement, whereas the slider has 7.3 inches of it. Separating those two has not only helped the slider perform better, but the sweeper is arguably his best pitch this year. It has generated a 36.5% whiff rate and hitters are only slugging .167 against it. Severino won’t be cheap, by any means, but he also shouldn’t cost you any “top of the board” prospects. The Offer: RHP Bradley Blalock, INF Juan Baez and C Matthew Wood for Severino Jack Flaherty - Tigers The Tigers are currently six games back of a Wild Card spot, and appear to be on their way to being sellers at the deadline. Much like Severino, Flaherty is in the midst of a really strong season, after signing a one-year, “prove-it” deal with Detroit this offseason. In fact, Flaherty is having an even better season than Severino, currently sporting a 3.01 ERA with a strikeout to walk ratio of 9.1 for the season. He's actually underperforming on the surface, when compared to his FIP of 2.63 and his xERA of 2.68. Flaherty has mostly been a three-pitch pitcher this year, throwing his four-seam fastball 44.8% of the time, his slider 31.1% of the time, and his knuckle curve 18.6% of the time. He'll also mix in a rare changeup or sinker, but both have usage rates under 4%. In terms of four-seam fastballs, Flaherty’s whiff rate of 27.1% is well above average. His whiff rates of 41.3% and 41.7% on the slider and knuckle-curve are elite. That slider whiff rate places him ninth in baseball among qualified pitchers, and the knuckle-curve whiff rate is fourth among all curveballs. As you can see below, despite a lot of his fastballs being in the hitting zone, the life of the pitch and the threat of the two breakers has allowed him to be on the attack with the fastball. Worrying less about pinpoint control has helped him cut down the walks. Flaherty will probably cost quite a bit to acquire. He will have numerous suitors, and an argument could very easily be made against making the below trade, but this is probably close to what it would cost to make the move. The Offer: OF Luis Lara, RHP Tyler Woessner and INF Filippo Di Turi for Flaherty Nathan Eovaldi - Rangers The Rangers don’t seem like a team that should be selling at the deadline, but at the time this article is being written, they’re five games out of the Wild Card and 7.5 back in their division. Eovaldi has a vesting option for 2025 that has a chance to hit. He needs to get to 156 innings pitched this season for the option to vest. He currently sits at 60, so if he remains healthy, he would have an outside chance. For the purpose of this article, however, we will assume that the pick-up would be in a rental capacity for the Brewers. Back in 2018, there were some rumors connecting the Brewers and Eovaldi, but nothing very substantial. Eventually, he was traded to the Red Sox instead, and he ended up pitching really well down the stretch, helping the Red Sox win the World Series. If he’s available, he’s another high ceiling possibility for the Brewers. Currently posting an ERA of 3.14 and a FIP of 3.67, Eovaldi would slot into the top two pitchers in the rotation upon arrival. His four-seam fastball sits in the mid-90s and generates an impressive number of ground balls. Half the balls in play against it are grounders, which ranks in the 96th percentile for four-seam fastballs. The shape is more in line with a two-seamer, it gets a lot of run on the pitch and has more sink than ride. Because of this, it actually plays better at the bottom of the zone than at the top, though he has been able to generate grounders with it in all quadrants of the zone. His best secondary is an upper-80s splitter that he throws nearly a third of the time, generating a 40% whiff rate against it (per TruMedia), as well as a 61% ground-ball rate. He also throws an upper-70s curveball (15% of the time) that gets whiffs at a strong 35% rate, while really limiting the hard contact against it more than any other pitch he throws. The rest of his repertoire consists of a cutter and a slider. The cutter is used about 10% of the time and sits in the low 90s. The slider is only used once in a while, and it has not performed well when he does break it out. Eovaldi has a deep repertoire, strong results and the potential to possibly be around for a year and a half if he surpasses his innings threshold this year. He won’t be cheap. Because they likely plan to compete next year, the Rangers may consider players who could help them in MLB right away, as well. The Offer: RHP Bradley Blalock, INF Juan Baez and RHP Elvis Peguero + a PTBNL or Cash depending on if the option vests or not Mid-Tier Rentals These are pitchers who aren’t quite having the seasons of Severino, Flaherty and Eovaldi, but who would still be considered upgrades over the available starters the Brewers currently have. Yusei Kikuchi - Blue Jays Kikuchi could probably have a case made for him to be placed in the “Big Fish” tier. He has the upside to be one of the better pitchers in this article. At one point considered a pretty big disappointment after signing with the Mariners, he had a pretty decent final season in Seattle and was able to turn that into a three-year deal with the Blue Jays. This is the final year of that deal, and the Blue Jays are six games back in the Wild Card race right now, making him a potential mover, and one who would likely generate quite a bit of interest throughout the league. At this time sporting a 3.65 ERA, Kikuchi ranks in the 63rd percentile in whiff rate, which doesn’t stand out as anything special, but if you dig in a bit further, he has done it in a very interesting way. His four-seam fastball gets whiffs at a 26.3% rate, which (per TruMedia) ranks in the 76th percentile for pitchers who have thrown at least 100 fastballs in 2024. His changeup whiff rate of 35.8% is in the 72nd percentile. The pitches that have tanked the overall whiff rate are his breaking balls. His curveball only ranks in the 22nd percentile at 25.5%, and his slider is in the 21st percentile at 25.9%. Breaking balls tend to be big swing-and-miss pitches, but for Kikuchi, they act a bit differently. For Kikuchi, his breaking balls generate a lot of grounders. His slider gets grounders at a 54.3% rate, which places him in the 85th percentile in baseball. The curveball generates them at a 47.8% clip, and that places him in the 69th percentile in that regard. It’s a bit of a different profile, but Kikuchi has two pitches that he can get a lot of swing-and-miss with, and two that get a lot of grounders, but fewer swings and misses. The changeup does however do a really good job of both of those things, with a 60% ground ball rate. If the Brewers were to acquire Kikuchi, they might have him use the changeup more often than he currently does. The Offer: RHP Jesus Rivero, LHP Russell Smith and INF Daniel Guilarte for Kikuchi Andrew Heaney - Rangers Another Rangers arm, Heaney is not having as strong a season as Eovaldi, nor should he cost as much to acquire. Of the names listed so far, Heaney’s 4.21 ERA would rank the lowest. He would, however, still be a solid addition to the Brewers rotation. Heaney throws from a pretty low slot, which helps him throw his fastball at a -4.14 degree Vertical Approach Angle (VAA). This really helps the pitch play up in the zone. When he throws to the upper third of the zone, his whiff rate on the four seam is 28.8%. When he throws it in the zone, in the middle or lower thirds, it only has an 11% whiff rate. The good news is that he’s well aware of this, and does a good job keeping the pitch at, or above the top of the zone for the most part. Heaney’s slider generates whiffs at a very strong 36.7% and is often the secondary pitch he goes to when he is looking for a strikeout. His changeup is one that he locates really well, consistently putting it low and away to righty hitters. It’s more of a weak contact pitch than a pitch that he uses to try to get hitters to swing and miss. He used to throw a curveball as his main secondary, but he has only thrown it 3% of the time this year. The upside isn’t as high as some of the other names on this list, but Heaney could be a definite rotation solidifier for a team that could use some stability in that role. The Offer: 3B Oliver Dunn and RHP Yerlin Rodriguez for Heaney Inning Eaters These are the arms that wouldn’t thrill anyone, but can be expected to help get through the season by being available and willing/able to give you 5-6 innings pretty much every outing and could play above their abilities with the Brewers defensive unit playing behind them. Jose Quintana - Mets Quintana would certainly fall under the “less exciting” umbrella, compared to the names above, but he could fit well into the Brewers run prevention system. He does come with a similar caveat to Luis Severino, which is that we don’t know if the Mets will actually be selling or not. It has not been a strong season for Quintana, but he does a decent job of staying in the strike zone, and has been average or better in walk rate every year of his career outside of 2019 and 2021. He will throw strikes, and he gets ground balls at a 46% clip, which puts him in the 65th percentile this season. This wouldn’t be an exciting pick up, but it would give the Brewers an experienced arm who could sufficiently eat innings for the team. The Offer: OF Carlos D. Rodriguez for Quintana Ross Stripling - A’s A similar option to Quintana, but this time on a team that definitely will not be competing this year, Stripling could be a good fit for the Brewers as well Like quintana, Stripling usually does a good job limiting walks. This year he ranks in the 90th percentile, walking only 4.8% of hitters he faces. He also has done a good job of limiting barrels. With only a 4.4% barrel rate against him. He does this by generating an above average amount of chases. Those chases lead to a lot of soft contact, though he does not miss many bats, even when they do go fishing outside of the zone. Much like Quintana, you would be buying Stripling with the idea that his ERA is inflated due to some bad luck, and due to having a much worse defense behind him in Oakland than the one he would have in Milwaukee. As well as for the inning eating factor. The Offer: UTIL Noah Campbell for Stripling Wrap-Up Most Brewers fans are expecting a starter to be added, and for good reason. As much fun as a Garrett Crochet would be, those types of moves are not often in the Brewers plans. It seems more likely that they will go the route of filling the rotation with a steady presence by picking up a rental or two. Do any of these names stand out to you? What do you think of the offers laid out for these players? Too much? Not enough? Let us know! View full article

I actually wanted Yoho stretched when he was drafted, but yeah doesn’t seem to be happening. Which is understandable with his injury history and how quickly he’s moving in his current role. I think baseball is more likely to stay similar to how it is now, but maybe even more extreme. The absolute best pitchers making legitimate starts and going deep. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see more piggy-backing over the next few years. I think most relievers are going to learn how to be multi-inning pitchers moving forward. Especially with the minor league roster limits. Most of the relievers I thought might be able to transition to starting already have. Hunt, Smith, Manfredi, Kuehner were all guys who had the repertoire to do it and now they are. Aidan Maldonado is a reliever I think could do it.

Yeah, I obviously think Yujanyer is a pretty fun arm, but the 97 is a rare occurrence. I'd probably describe him as throwing 93-95. Obviously that's somewhat a case of semantics, but I do think if you're describing a pitcher, you probably want to use his average velocity. Or you can say "he's been up to 97" or something. It's a small thing and really not too big of a deal, but I do think it can be a little misleading to describe a guy who's touched 97 as "throwing 97". FTR, even though nobody asked, I'm not sure I'd make that Fedde trade if I had it in front of me, though I would consider it. I don't think I'd have much interest at all in the Anderson deal. I don't hate the idea of Anderson on this team, having the Brewers defense behind him. But I'd only do it if it stays relatively cheap in terms of the prospect capital.

Not sure if this is a Gameday error, or what... But outfielder Idalberto Santiesteban pitched the sixth inning of a tie game? He allowed two runs on two hits and two walks, but he's been hitting all year, so perhaps they're trying him on the mound in a two-way role right now? Very interesting... When he signed, there was a report that he had thrown 96 MPH from the outfield, so there must be some arm talent there.

Jack and Spencer talk Brewers (and Snoop) in the latest Brewer Fanatic Podcast! Jack and Spencer discuss the Reds series and the Angels series, how the defense has carried the team of late, Snoop Dogg, Tyler Black’s role, and much 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/ View full article

Jesus Made with his third HR to lead off DSL Uno's game today. OPS of 1.243 now.

Not only a great name, but from what I've heard, a name we should keep an eye on once he gets into some games. Brewers have liked what they've seen from him after signing. One video I was able to find on him:

I think the Brewers can wait a bit on the JuCo guys this year, but Arvidson is definitely one I would watch. Conner Ware is another JuCo guy I'd keep an eye on, though he might not be super cheap to sign (committed to LSU). Mack Estrada is another one I find interesting. I am a pretty big Eagen fan. Also like Luke Sinnard from Indiana as a mid-round arm. But the guy I think I'm higher on than almost anyone is Nate Knowles of William & Mary. I think he's a perfect Brewers fit. Low 90's Fastball with ride, upper-80's cutter that plays well up in the zone, upper-70's curve has a ton of sweep and a changeup that could use some development but that's pretty far behind the others. Command of the two fastballs is really, really solid. Curve comes and goes in that regard, but when it's on he can dominate.

You cut it right before Luke took his helmet off and then proceeded to headbutt O'Rae who was very much wearing his helmet still 😂. His fiery and excitable attitude is infectious, I love watching him play.

Jorge Quintana (recipient of the largest bonus in this years international class) with his first professional home run! He hasn’t gotten off to as strong a start as many of his fellow signees from January, but worth noting that he has an even 5:5 K:BB ratio on the season. Something I like to pay a lot of attention to for the DSL guys.

But what if I want to combine those two options into one word? (Kidding, thank you, I actually knew that and still did it lol)

As the rest of the National League Central jockeys for position just under .500, the Brewers keep beating the teams they should beat. Jack and Spencer discuss the Brewers 4-2 week against the Tigers and Blue Jays, William Contreras’ recent struggles, Carlos Rodriguez’s debut, potential outfield logjams, Jacob Misiorowski’s future, and much 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/ View full article

Not to go unnoticed, Luis Pena with a ho-hum 2-3 including a double and 2 more steals. Now sitting at 15/15 on stolen bases through 7 games lol. More walks than strikeouts on the year so far. Insane starts for a lot of these guys...

Recently discovered that some of the DSL kids have TikTok's that they post video on. Not much of a TikTok guy, but now I'm using it to try to find video of some of them lol. Wenderlyn has posted some video on his. Appears to be fastball, slider, changeup.

My goodness... Jose Anderson just hit his fourth homer of the season. 2-3 with a BB and a K so far today. OPS sitting at a reasonable 1.672