Spencer Michaelis

Jack and Spencer catch up with the Brewers after the Royals series and analyze the current roster. Jack and Spencer react to a challenging road trip, vouch for more playing time for Joey Ortiz, address concerns with Sal Frelick, 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

We close out our Minor League Player of the Month series with our top five Relief Pitchers for the month of April. The Brewers minor league pitching was extremely impressive on the starting side of things, but the relievers may have had an even more impressive month collectively. Image courtesy of Neal Hock, Carolina Mudcats The qualifications for making this list were a minimum of seven innings pitched, and all appearances had to be made out of the bullpen. We begin with quite a few honorable mentions: HONORABLE MENTIONS LHP - Rob Zastryzny - Nashville Sounds - 10 G, 10.1 IP, 3-0, 1.74 ERA, 1.06 FIP, 0.39 WHIP, 3 H, 1 BB, 15 K Zastryzny deserved to be on this list due to his performance, but as a 32 year old, he was left off. Apologies for the ageism, Rob. LHP - Adam Seminaris - Biloxi Shuckers - 5 G, 14.2 IP, 0-0, 1.84 ERA, 2.03 FIP, 1.02 WHIP, 10 H, 5 BB, 17 K, 1 SV Acquired as part of the Hunter Renfroe deal prior to the 2023 offseason, Seminaris got off to a bad start in Biloxi last season. He began to put it together before hitting the IL for an extended period of time. He got off to a fantastic start in April, narrowly missing the top 5. RHP - Nick Merkel - Biloxi Shuckers - 7 G, 11.1 IP, 2-2, 1.59 ERA, 2.09 FIP, 0.88 WHIP, 8 H, 2 BB, 10 K Merkel was last June’s Reliever of the Month and you can learn more about the 6’7 man nicknamed “Large Mammal” within that article. RHP - Kaleb Bowman - Biloxi Shuckers - 6 G, 7.0 IP, 2-2, 1.29 ERA, 2.18 FIP, 1.29 WHIP, 6 H, 3 BB, 10 K Bowman was signed out of Independent ball prior to the 2023 season and performed well at High-A in 2023. Per Tru-Media, his 43.3% whiff rate was in the 97th percentile for Double-A pitchers with at least seven innings thrown in April. TOP FIVE RELIEF PITCHERS FOR APRIL #5 RHP - Enoli Paredes - Nashville Sounds - 11 G, 13.0 IP, 1-0, 1.38 ERA, 1.60 FIP, 1.00 WHIP, 8 H , 5 BB, 21 K, 2 SV. Unranked by all publications The 28-year-old Paredes was signed as a minor-league free agent this past offseason by the Brewers. After his performance in April, he looks like he could be an option for the major league club soon. Paredes is largely a two-pitch pitcher. He threw his four-seam fastball around 48% of the time in April, and his slider about 42% of the time. The four seamer only gets around 13 inches of Induced Vertical Break, but it comes in at a -4.2 degree Vertical Approach Angle, allowing it to play pretty well at the top of the zone. The pitch averages around 94.6 MPH, and has been up to 96. He was able to generate a whiff rate of 40.6% on the four seam in April. His other main pitch, the slider, generated a whiff rate of 37%. This is the pitch he commands best and per Tru-Media, he actually used it more often than the fastball when the count was even, or he was behind in the count. Paredes also mixes in a rare sinker, though it doesn’t have very good characteristics and there is probably a reason he uses it under 10% of the time. It can be used to help keep hitters guessing just a bit more at the plate though, and that seems to be how he deployed it in April. After his performance in April, and considering the number of arms the Brewers have already cycled through in MLB, Paredes looks like he could be an option for the major league club soon. #4 RHP - Yerlin Rodriguez - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 8 G, 8.0 IP, 1-0, 1.08 ERA, 4.56 FIP, 0.84 WHIP, 2 H, 9 BB, 12 K, 4 SV. Signed as part of the Brewers 2019 international signing class, Rodriguez was one of the breakout arms in 2023. He finished the campaign with a 4.00 ERA, but his stuff took a big step forward. One of the largest fastball increases in all of baseball from 2022, Yerlin went from averaging 92.1 in 2022 to averaging 96.5 MPH in 2023, per Baseball America. His fastball regularly sits in the mid-upper 90’s now and has touched 99. He did post some triple digit fastballs in 2023, so he has that in the tank. It works well up in the zone, though he also seems to throw a fastball with a bit more sink at times. His slider is a wipeout offering that has reached 3000 RPM’s a number of times and sits in the mid-80’s. Rodriguez also mixes in a cutter in the 90 MPH range that he seems to command as well as any of his pitches. There were reports that he was working on a splitter this offseason, though he has not appeared to break that out in games yet. It’s a somewhat similar profile to that of Abner Uribe, though he doesn’t quite have the ability to reach 102+ like Uribe. Unfortunately for Rodriguez, he has had similar issues with throwing strikes to those that Uribe has battled throughout his career. In April Rodriguez was unable to curb the control issues and issued nine walks in his 8 1/3 innings. The good news was that hitters weren’t able to do anything whenever Rodriguez was in, or around, the zone. His 44.6% whiff rate placed him in the 97th percentile for High-A pitchers with at least seven innings, per Tru-Media. His 58.3% ground ball rate was also in the 88th percentile. While the walks piled up, he did only allow two hits, which helped him avoid giving up any runs for the month. As his 4.56 FIP suggests, Rodriguez will need to improve upon those walk numbers moving forward if he wants to continue to see this type of success in the ERA column. Rodriguez has the stuff to advance quickly through the system, but command will be the tool that ends up deciding where he goes and how fast he goes there. #3 LHP - Russell Smith - Biloxi Shuckers - 5 G, 8.1 IP, 0-0, 2.16 ERA, 0.44 FIP, 0.96 WHIP, 6 H , 2 BB, 15 K Unranked by all publications Smith was the Brewers third selection in the 2021 draft, and had unfortunately gotten off to a pretty tough start in pro ball. Drafted as a starter, Smith made the transition to the bullpen in 2023, and that seems to have been the correct call. He finished this past season with a 1.40 ERA over his final 19.1 innings, and carried that strong production into April of 2024. Smith’s velocity sat in the 91-93 range as a starter. Given his 6’7, 255 pound frame that was always a bit of a surprise. Since his move to the bullpen, that velocity has climbed more into the 95 MPH range with consistency. His huge frame allows for him to get down the mound, and generate a good amount of extension, though his stride isn’t quite as big as you might expect from someone his height. Smith’s changeup has been his best secondary since he was drafted, and that continues to be the case. However, his slider has transformed since his move to the bullpen. The shape is more of a slurve than a true slider, and it is now an above average pitch as well. Per Tru-Media, Smith struck Double-A hitters out at a 45.5% clip In April, which placed him in the 97th percentile for pitchers throwing seven or more innings at the level. His 37.1% whiff rate was good for the 85th percentile, and his strikeout to walk ratio of 7.5 was good for the 93rd percentile. His final outing of the month was his worst, and it brought his ERA up, but his ability to strike hitters out, avoid walks and avoid the home run ball gave him the best FIP of any Brewers reliever in April. Smith is going to be Rule 5 eligible this offseason, meaning the Brewers will have to decide if he’s worth protecting and putting on the 40 man roster. If he continues this type of production, he will be somebody that they push to Nashville to get a better idea of how close he is. #2 RHP - Craig Yoho - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 8 G, 8.0 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.94 FIP, 0.62 WHIP, 3 H , 2 BB, 16 K, 3 SV. Unranked by all publications The Brewers 8th round selection in the 2023 draft out of Indiana, Yoho is the only one of these arms that appears to already be slotted into a relief role in the future. At one time a position player in college, he transitioned to a two-way role for a couple of seasons, but after battling quite a few injuries, he finished his college career as a pitcher-only. He and Yerlin Rodriguez have been splitting the closer role in Appleton so far in 2024, and the results have been quite good. Yoho may not throw as hard as most elite relievers, only sitting in the 91-93 range with his fastball, but his pitch mix is as impressive as any pitcher in the system. He throws his fastball with nearly 20 inches of arm side run, a changeup that appears to be very similar to the Devin Williams “Airbender”, as well as a curveball and a cutter. You can read more about the pitch mix in this article from April 22nd. Yoho used his four pitches to keep hitters off balance all month. Per Tru-Media he racked up a whiff rate of 46%, which placed him in the 98th percentile among High-A pitchers with seven or more innings. Under those same qualifications, Yoho was in the 100th percentile for called strike rate, coming in at 47.6%. He was freezing hitters and landing his pitches in the zone as often as anybody, and when they did swing, there was not much contact. That is a good place to be as a pitcher, and that’s not to mention that when hitters did make contact, it was on the ground 63.6% of the time, which also placed him in the 94th percentile. Hitters were simply hopeless against Yoho in April. Yoho is 24 years old, and is clearly a step above his competition. This past offseason, Baseball America actually tagged him as a potential fast mover, who could impact the Brewers major league bullpen at some point this year. If that is going to happen, he likely needs to move to Double-A soon. Even if they don’t plan for him to move quite that fast, Double-A would present a better challenge for him. #1 RHP - K.C. Hunt - Carolina Mudcats - 5 G, 11.1 IP, 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.33 FIP, 0.62 WHIP, 5 H , 2 BB, 18 K Unranked by all publications Hunt beat out a number of very qualified candidates for the number one spot this month. Signed as an Undrafted Free Agent following last year's draft, Hunt has gotten himself off to a fantastic start in pro ball. In 4 1/3 innings with the Arizona Complex League Brewers at the end of 2023, Hunt did give up a few runs, but followed that up with a scoreless April to begin 2024. Hunt’s high-spin fastball sits in the 92-94 range and works well at the top of the zone, though he also does a good job of hitting the low and outside corner with the pitch. He has a four pitch mix though, and the secondaries are all strong as well. His curveball stands out more than the rest, a true hammer of a pitch that he throws in the 76-78 range. He gets a lot of his chases with the pitch, but is also comfortable landing it for strikes. His slider is a sharper and shorter offering that sits in the 83-84 range and has been a good swing and miss pitch for him as well. Hunt also uses a changeup that is thrown a bit harder than the slider and shows flashes of being a good option, particularly against left-handed hitters. He is not afraid to use any of the pitches against righties or lefties. Hunt’s April was highlighted by his outing on April 17th, going three scoreless and hitless innings while striking out four. He only allowed one baserunner in that outing, by way of a walk (one of only two walks he allowed the entire month). Hunt’s 40.9% strikeout rate put him in the 93rd percentile for pitchers with at least seven innings pitched in Low-A. His walk rate of 4.5% was in the 92nd percentile, making him one of only six pitchers to rank in the 90th percentile or higher in both of those categories. Hunt limited walks, racked up strikeouts and only allowed five hits, none of which were of the extra base variety. Hunt has been utterly dominant at Low-A. Given his advanced age, it seems that he should be pushed to High-A, and perhaps will even have a chance to follow the Shane Smith path of 2023, making it to Double-A by the end of the season. Thanks for following along with this three part series on the Brewers minor league system. Let us know your thoughts below! Did we miss anybody? View full article

Episode 5 of The Brewer Fanatic Podcast featuring Jack Stern and Spencer Michaelis. Jack and Spencer break down a homestand filled with controversial umpiring, Abner Uribe’s future after his demotion to Triple-A, and more. They also preview the upcoming series against the Cubs. You can subscribe to the Brewer Fanatic Podcast below: 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

We continue our Minor League Player of the Month series with our top five Starting Pitchers for the month of April. A very impressive showing from the Brewers affiliates. Image courtesy of Joshua Sumrall, Biloxi Shuckers To begin with a small disclaimer, the Mudcats complicated the choices by having a lot of “tandem” starts. This led to a number of pitchers with starter innings, but with very few, if any, starts. Because of this a very scientific cutoff of 13 IP was set in order to be eligible for the list. We begin with a few honorable mentions, who may have made the list in a different month. Honorable Mentions RHP - Tobias Myers - Nashville Sounds - 4 G, 3 GS, 16.2 IP, 2-1, 1.62 ERA, 3.87 FIP, 1.08 WHIP, 11 H , 7 BB, 22 K. RHP - TJ Shook - Biloxi Shuckers - 4 G, 4 GS, 18.2 IP, 1-2, 2.89 ERA, 2.56 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, 15 H , 7 BB, 25 K. RHP - Manuel Rodriguez - Carolina Mudcats - 4 G, 4 GS, 20.0 IP, 1-2, 3.15 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 0.95 WHIP, 15 H , 2 BB, 18 K. TOP 5 STARTING PITCHERS FOR APRIL #5 RHP - Brett Wichrowski - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 4 G, 4 GS, 14.2 IP, 0-1, 2.45 ERA, 2.43 FIP, 1.09 WHIP, 13 H, 3 BB, 21 K. Unranked by all publications The Brewers 13th round selection in last year's draft, Wichrowski has been one of the hottest names in prospect circles since he showed up in Arizona for spring training. Drafted out of Bryant University, Wichrowski was splitting time between starting and relieving in college. This is a pitcher that any organization could have drafted and signed for his $100,000 signing bonus less than a year ago, Wichrowski is now viewed as a potential Top 10 prospect in a loaded Brewers system. Previously sitting in the 91-93 MPH range with his fastball (topping out at 96), Wichrowski showed up this spring and was sitting 96-98 and got up to 101 with his fastball. Being that those were shorter stints, that velocity hasn’t quite held up in Appleton, where he is sitting more in the 94-96 range, though he has still touched 98. He is mixing in two different fastballs, with a four seamer and a sinker both in his repertoire. Beyond his velocity improvements, his already solid slider in college has become an absolute weapon. This is a plus-plus offering with a ton of sharp, sweeping movement. Much like his fastball though, he seems to throw two different versions of the slider. One being the sharp sweeper that is thrown in the upper 70’s for the most part. The other one has a bit of a cutter shape to it, or a shorter slider. The shorter one comes in around 85. He also mixes in a changeup that he seems to add and subtract velocity from as well. The most noticeable part of Wichrowski’s game is that he’s a pitcher, he’s not a “thrower”. He adds and subtracts velocity, he mixes the shapes and the planes on his pitches, and he did all of those things in April, while showing tremendous command at the same time. He did struggle a bit with the extra base hit in April, allowing six doubles and a home run, and that will be something to monitor. Outside of that, Wichrowski struck hitters out at a 33.9% rate and walked them at a 4.8% rate. Those placed him in the 85th and 88th percentile respectively, per Tru-Media, amongst High-A starters with at least 13 innings in April. Wichrowski was rewarded for his strong month plus, going back to spring training as well, with a promotion to Double-A Biloxi. The 13th rounder only needed 14 1/3 professional innings to make it to Double-A. The Brewers may have found the best value in the entire draft with his selection. #4 RHP - Tyler Woessner - Biloxi Shuckers - 4 G, 4 GS, 20.1 IP, 0-1, 2.66 ERA, 1.92 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, 20 H , 4 BB, 29 K. The Brewers sixth round selection in the 2022 draft, Woessner was quite a bit older than the average JUCO arm when he was drafted. He had a solid, if unspectacular season in Appleton in 2023, posting an ERA of 4.02. He arrived at spring training showing off an increase in his velocity, and the Brewers saw enough to start him in Double-A. He rewarded them with a fantastic start to the season. Woessner throws the kitchen sink at hitters, though he does it with multiple above average offerings. His two fastballs have been sitting in the 94-96 MPH range, and he has been able to hold that into the sixth inning and as his pitch count climbs up to 70-80 pitches. He had touched 99 in spring, but that was in a shorter stint. He throws both a riding four seamer up in the zone, as well as a sinker that he uses more often down in the zone. His breaking balls are his best offerings presently, with two different slider shapes (a sweeper and a shorter slider) both generating a lot of swing and miss. His curveball is a knuckle-curve and has also been a good putaway pitch for him. Woessner also mixes in a changeup that shows pretty good depth at times. It’s a six pitch mix, and it gave Double-A hitters fits in April. Courtesy of Tru-Media, Woessner finished the month in the 93rd percentile for whiff rate at 37.3%, as well as strikeout rate at 34.5%. His ability to get swing and miss was a welcome sight, as that was one area of his game that was somewhat in question coming into the year. Not only did he get a lot of swing and miss but he did it without having any control issues to go with it, as evidenced by only handing out four walks. His Strikeout-to-Walk ratio of 7.25 was in the 91st percentile for Double-A starters in April. Woessner was promoted to Nashville on April 30th, and looks like an arm that could potentially impact the Brewers MLB roster at some point if he continues to produce anything close to what he showed in April. #3 RHP - Yujanyer Herrera - Carolina Mudcats - 4 G, 0 GS, 17.0 IP, 3-0, 2.12 ERA, 1.64 FIP, 0.94 WHIP, 10 H, 6 BB, 27 K. Unranked by all publications Herrera was signed as part of the 2019 international signing class. When he was promoted to Carolina during the 2022 season, Herrera was only 18. This aggressive promotion, mixed with some preliminary knowledge of his pitch mix, had Herrera checking a lot of boxes for a potential breakout. Unfortunately, he followed the promotion with command struggles and quite a bit of loud contact allowed. Thus, he headed into the 2024 season without much attention. Despite the fact that he hasn’t actually made a start, In April, Herrera appeared to be on a mission to regain that attention. He used his four pitch mix of fastball, changeup, slider and curveball to largely dominate his competition. You can read more about the pitch mix itself in this article from April 22nd. The ability to generate a lot of swings and misses showed up as a theme for most of the pitchers on this list and Herrera was no exception. Herrera used his mid 90’s fastball and array of breaking balls and changeups to generate a 41.8% whiff rate for the month, placing him in the 92nd percentile for Low-A pitchers who threw at least 13 innings (per Tru-Media). His strikeout rate of 42.2% placed him in the 96th percentile. When he wasn’t missing bats, Herrera was also able to keep the ball in the ballpark, only allowing three extra base hits, none of which left the yard. Herrera’s month was highlighted by a nine strikeout performance in only four innings on April 12th. He only allowed one baserunner, which came by way of a base hit. After such an impressive month, the Brewers have once again made an aggressive promotion with Herrera, bumping him up a level to High-A where he will make his next appearance for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. #2 RHP - Yorman Galindez - Carolina Mudcats - 4 G, 4 GS, 13.0 IP, 0-0, 2.08 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 1.00 WHIP, 13 H, 7 BB, 24 K. Unranked by all publications Signed by the Brewers in the 2022 international signing class out of Venezuela, Galindez was 19 at the time of his signing and is 21 now. After being aggressively promoted to Carolina last season, he seems to have made a leap in 2024. While his fastball previously sat in the low 90’s and touched 94, it has been sitting in the 94-95 range in this season. It appears to have some run on it, but it still plays well at the top of the zone. His best pitch though, is his hammer of a curveball. He appears to be comfortable throwing it in any count. He can land it for strikes or use it as his out pitch to generate whiffs out of the zone. However, the pitch that might have helped him make the leap more than anything else, is his slider. Previously a distant third offering for him, the slider seems to be coming into its own as a really strong third pitch. The pitch has sweep, and the improvement it has seen has really helped Galindez attack east and west, rather than only being able to go north and south as he had in the past. Galindez continues the trend of pitchers on this list who generated a lot of whiffs. According to Tru-Media, Galindez’s strikeout rate of 45.3% ranked in the 97th percentile for Low-A starters (minimum of 13 innings pitched) in April, and his whiff rate of 47% was also in the 97th percentile. He was generating swings and misses at a ridiculous level. While seven walks in 13 innings is a bit too high, Galindez didn’t let the walks become a bigger issue because he only allowed six total hits, two of which were extra base hits. The combination of swing and miss to go along with his ground ball rate of 61.9%, which was in the 92nd percentile, placed him in some pretty impressive company. Aside from Galindez, only Quinn Matthews and George Klassen ranked in the 90th percentile or better in both whiff rate and ground ball rate for Low-A pitchers. Both Matthews and Klassen are seen as two of the fastest rising pitching prospects in baseball and both of them are at least one year older than Galindez. Galindez’s strong start and the fact that he did have some experience in Low-A prior to this season, make him another potential candidate for an early promotion to Appleton. #1 RHP - Bradley Blalock - Biloxi Shuckers - 4 G, 4 GS, 20.0 IP, 3-1, 1.35 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 0.85 WHIP, 17 H, 5 BB, 15 K. Blalock was acquired from the Red Sox in a one-for-one trade of Luis Urias at the 2023 trade deadline. A 32nd round selection of the Sox in 2019, Blalock has risen through the ranks, despite having Tommy John surgery in 2022. When he returned from the surgery his stuff had taken a step forward, and despite the fact Blalock was only able to make four starts for the Brewers High-A affiliate after being acquired, the organization thought highly enough of him to protect him from the Rule 5 draft this offseason by adding him to the 40 man roster. If his April is any indication, they made the correct choice. Blalock is pitching above High-A for the first time in his career, and based on his performance he has been up to the challenge. He began the year on a 17 inning scoreless streak, generating loads of weak contact and some swing and miss as well. April finished on a lower note for him, going only three innings with three earned runs allowed in his final start, but this still kept his ERA at an impressive 1.35 for the month. Blalock’s best pitch is his fastball. His fastball is sitting in the 94-96 range this season, while at times generating an otherworldly 23 inches of induced vertical break and tends to sit more in the 20 inch range. A reminder that anything over 18 inches is considered an outlier in terms of the amount of ride he is getting. His over-the-top delivery could admittedly take some of the effectiveness away from that extremely high IVB, but at the same time his delivery helps his two breaking balls play up a bit as it allows him to hide the ball a bit longer than most pitchers. Throwing both a slider and a curveball, you can seemingly flip a coin to figure out which one will be better on any given night. Both show flashes of being above average pitches, but he has seemed to struggle to get both of them going at the same time, in the same game. He also mixes in a changeup which he commands really well, though the shape of the pitch leaves something to be desired. Blalock’s generally strong command helps all four of his pitches play up, and his 6.7% walk rate in April was well above average for the Double-A level. Blalock did lack the punch-outs the other pitchers on this list were able to amass, with only a 20% strikeout rate. This seemingly can be attributed to hitters going to the plate and just trying to get the ball in play against him. Hitters were consistently off balance and he was able to cause a lot of mistimed swings. There was very little hard contact allowed. Strikeouts may not be a huge part of his game moving forward, but with his combination of pure stuff and strong command, it does seem likely that they will increase over time. Already on the 40 man, Blalock could be a candidate for a Triple-A promotion in the near future, especially as the Brewers and Sounds continue to cycle through pitchers, leaving Nashville short-handed at times. Please share your opinions! Who should have made it that didn’t? Who made it, but should not have? View full article

I was watching live this time! He looks very good right now. May or may not be featured in a certain relief pitcher of the month article in the next day or two 🙂

Some more Kay-Lan Nicasia video dropped yesterday

Episode 4 of the Brewer Fanatic Podcast talks about last week in Brewers baseball and looks forward to the upcoming Yankees series at home. Jack and Spencer review a successful 5-2 road trip against the Cardinals and Pirates, rate Pat Murphy as a manager, and evaluate some minor leaguers who could impact the Brewers later in the season. View full article

Update: he is gross. The curve is an especially nasty pitch. That’s a plus pitch. Fastball definitely seems to get really good ride. Slider seems to be left arm side a lot but when he gets it glove side, that thing is sharp too. I agree @Joseph Zarrhe will likely move quickly. Mississippi State fans seem convinced he was being screwed up by their old pitching coach, so probably some untapped potential the Brewers are helping him tap into.

He caught my eye with some of the offseason video that came out, I haven’t had a chance to watch him yet but I’m stuck on a bus the next hour and a half so might as well check some of his outings out haha

The Brewers have a lot of positional talent in the minor leagues, with 20 of their top 30 being hitters on MLB Pipeline’s rankings. Beyond those 20 though, there is a lot of talent waiting to crack those types of lists, as well. Let's look at three hitters who might not get the attention of some of the bigger names, but who have gotten off to fast starts and have tools to go with the early production. Image courtesy of © Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK Gregory Barrios Signed in the same international signing class as Jackson Chourio, Barrios received the second-highest bonus ($1 million) in that class, behind only Chourio. Known for his glovework, he has started to show signs 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 are hoping 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. He also 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 shown that the Brewers made the correct decision. Through his first 13 games, Barrios is posting an OPS of 1.027 and a wRC+ of 184. While keeping his strikeout rate at 17%, he has been able to tap into a bit more power. He has already posted 8 doubles, which means he’s one-third of the way to his extra-base hit output of 2023 (24 total) in only one-ninth as many plate appearances. Barrios has 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 also taking his 40% fly ball rate and cutting that down to 20%. He’s improved his line drive rate from 20% to 35%. With his limited game power and athleticism, line drives and hard-hit ground balls will do him a lot better than fly balls will. Barrios will likely continue to get stronger, and hopefully, that will allow him to tap into a bit more power, but this will always be a contact-driven profile. He has the glove and the stick to be an everyday shortstop if he can continue to improve his plate coverage and keep hitting the ball on a line. Barrios was named this past week's Player of the Week for the Midwest League. The Brewers Player Development account provided us with some video from the week, where you can see all of the tools on display. He shows his ability to get his hands to inside pitches, as well as the newfound ability to take them where they're pitched as well. Tayden Hall Hall was the Brewers' ninth-round selection in 2022 out of a Junior College (State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota), and signed for slot value. Son of former MLB catcher Toby Hall, Tayden was drafted as a backstop, but he has settled into an everyday first base role at the pro level. Equipped with one of the most impressive approaches in the Brewers system, Hall makes fantastic swing decisions and has above-average contact skills, as well. Walking at a 24% clip in 2024 so far, he rarely expands the zone. On the other hand, he can get a bit too patient at times and will put himself in two-strike counts by taking hittable pitches. The good news is that he’s also very comfortable in those spots, as shown by his 18% strikeout rate in 2023, and his even lower 14.8% rate so far in 2024. Hall was drafted with a very interesting setup (similar to the way Tony Batista used to do it), with the entire front of his body facing the pitcher. He has since closed himself off and has a much more generic stance these days. His current stance would seem more likely to help him get to some power than his original one. Power is the one tool that Hall is currently lacking in his offensive toolbox. He has yet to homer in professional baseball (though he did hit five in Australia this past winter), and hasn’t had many extra-base hits, in general. He is off to a stronger start in that regard in 2024, already with three doubles and a triple. Hall’s build would lead you to believe that he will eventually find some in-game power. He also hits the ball pretty hard on average, which means that while he is currently sporting a 54% ground ball rate with a 15% fly ball rate, if he can elevate more often, the power may begin to show up. While the pop continues to develop, Hall shows an impressive ability to hit to all fields. In 2024, he is pulling the ball more (which is something that could help him tap into his power), but he is also hitting the ball the opposite way at a strong 30% clip. He is hitting line drives on 30% of his batted balls, which are the batted balls most likely to end in hits. Hall plays a fine first base, and has very good hands due to his catching background. He’s a good enough athlete with a decent arm; he could probably handle a corner outfield spot if needed. It feels like everything will come down to Hall’s ability to drive the ball, and as mentioned earlier, despite the lack of home runs, he has been hitting the ball hard this season, currently posting a hard-hit rate of around 60%. His approach and his bat path give him a solid floor; the power will decide whether he reaches his ceiling. Kay-Lan Nicasia Nicasia might be the least known of the three on this list. The Brewers' 16th-round selection in 2021, some may have never heard his name before right now. If the start of the 2024 season is any indication, it’s one you’re going to want to get to know. Nicasia is a switch-hitter who has an explosive but smooth-looking swing from the left side. His right-handed swing seems to lack some of the same juice, and it will be interesting to see if the Brewers eventually just have him stay on the left side. This is a player who looked better visually than his results would lead you to believe. His 30% strikeout rate was not indicative of the type of approach he showed, nor was his .212 batting average. While his 97 wRC+ wasn’t much worse than league-average, it also felt lower than what he was showing on a nightly basis. Nicasia showed really strong pitch recognition skills in 2023. He didn’t go outside of the zone all that often, as shown by his 13.7% walk rate. He did, however, have some issues with his ability to put the bat on the ball, which contributed to that high strikeout rate. In 2024, his strikeout rate is down to a much more reasonable 23.6% rate. Keeping it in the 25% range is something Nicasia is capable of, and would be a great sign for him moving forward. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 176 pounds, Nicasia seems to carry that weight well and looks a bit stronger than what he’s listed at. While he only hit six home runs in 2023, Nicasia has shown an ability to drive the ball, particularly from the left side. He has already gone deep three times in April (all from the left side), and seems to be tapping into that power more consistently so far. His hit tool is closer to average than to plus, but Nicasia isn’t up there selling out for power. He uses the middle of the field well, and is capable of going the other way with pitches on the outer third. The outer third is likely the area pitchers will want to attack the most, as he can have issues with offspeed away. Drafted as a shortstop, Nicasia is a strong defender in the outfield, and he has an above-average arm as well. He did spend a little time at second base this season for the Mudcats, but that was out of necessity. He appears to be pretty locked into an outfield role moving forward. His speed allows his defense to play up out there, and also shows up on the bases, where he was 27 of 34 in 2023 and is four for four in 2024. At 22 years old, Nicasia is a player the Brewers may want to push to High-A to see if this progress is legitimate. So far, the results seem to be more in line with what somebody would expect if you watch him every night. He is far from a sure thing, but a few more solid months of production could start to get him some attention, because the tools are certainly there already. The Brewers haven’t had as many standout performances from their top prospects as they were probably hoping for. Much of this can be attributed to the injury issues they have had to deal with so far, seeing players like Jeferson Quero, Brock Wilken, Cooper Pratt and more sidelined for extended periods already, There are a lot of lesser-known players who have gotten off to very strong starts, though, and this trio is among them. View full article

New Yoho video just dropped with some extra pitches compared to what was in the article!

While the Milwaukee Brewers have been praised for their pitching development in recent years, their highly-rated farm system is currently being carried by the position players--at least on the surface. Image courtesy of © Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports At the moment, MLB Pipeline has 20 position players in the Brewers' Top 30, compared to only 10 pitchers. If you dig a bit deeper, there are quite a few interesting arms that don’t find their names on those lists. We are going to look at three names that fans will want to keep an eye on this season. Jesus Rivero Signed out of Venezuela as part of the 2021 international signing class, Rivero spent that first season entirely in the Dominican Summer League. After 30 innings in the Arizona Complex League in 2022, Rivero began his 2023 campaign back in Arizona. This time, he only spent three games there, in which he struck out 19 and walked only one batter over 11 1/3 innings. He was promoted to Low-A Carolina at the end of June and finished the season there. In 2024, he is back in Carolina and showing some signs of continued development. Rivero has elite fastball characteristics, despite only sitting in the low 90s the majority of the time. The general shape of the pitch doesn’t stand out as special, either, generating around 16” of Induced Vertical Break (IVB), and 10” horizontally. However, Rivero throws from a low arm slot, and that slot helps him generate an elite Vertical Approach Angle (VAA) of -4 degrees on the fastball. VAA is a term, and measurement, that has only been around for a few years now. It measures the degree of variation from parallel to the ground at which the ball is traveling as it enters the zone. The average four-seam fastball in MLB the last couple of years has been right around -5 degrees. While the difference of only one degree may not seem all that noteworthy, it is a much bigger difference than it appears on the surface. Batters have trained the majority of their lives against fastballs that come in around the average VAA. They are used to the ball following a somewhat predictable downward drop based on gravity, speed, and spin. Connecting with any pitch requires a split-second decision, which means they have to rely on the law of averages for how pitches move. That’s why outliers in either direction are valued so highly. Outliers play tricks on the eyes. A -4 degree fastball is much flatter than what most hitters are used to, and it will often cause them to swing under the ball. Freddy Peralta’s “invisible fastball” averaged a -3.89 VAA in 2023. Check out the league's performance on four-seamers last year, split by VAA, to get a sense of the effect. Vertical Approach Angle P wOBA Swing% Whiff% InZoneWhiff% InPlay% Foul% Chase% CompLoc% -8 to <-7 degrees 413 0.579 14.80% 23.00% 13.30% 47.50% 29.50% 8.70% 68.30% -7 to <-6 degrees 2849 0.432 26.90% 10.20% 8.20% 51.20% 38.60% 8.70% 89.40% -6 to <-5 degrees 8591 0.344 49.40% 12.80% 12.30% 44.30% 42.90% 18.40% 95.20% -5 to <-4 degrees 11225 0.298 59.70% 22.40% 21.30% 31.90% 45.60% 31.30% 94.40% -4 to <-3 degrees 5481 0.29 42.10% 37.90% 32.80% 18.70% 43.50% 27.20% 79.80% -3 to <-2 degrees 1142 0.427 14.70% 47.60% 36.40% 13.10% 39.30% 12.30% 37.90% Flat fastballs earn whiffs and stifle overall offense. Rivero has one. He is more than a one-pitch pitcher though. He also throws a curveball, slider, cutter and changeup. All of these grade out as close to average, or better, with the slider currently being the best of them. It is a starter's repertoire, and he knows how to use his fastball to help the other offerings play up as well. Rivero showed off all five pitches in his last outing, as you can see below, thanks to the Brewers Player Development account on Twitter. Rivero has been used as a bulk innings reliever in Carolina the majority of the time. However, the pitch counts and innings pitched still point to a pitcher they would like to have start in the future. At only 20 years old, Rivero will be a name to follow this season. Yujanyer Herrera Herrera is a perfect example of the importance of exercising patience when it comes to prospects--especially those who are young for their level. Though he made it to Carolina during the 2022 season, Herrera was only 18 at that time. This aggressive promotion, mixed with some preliminary knowledge of his pitch mix, had Herrera checking a lot of boxes for a potential breakout. Unfortunately, he followed the promotion with command struggles and quite a bit of loud opponent contact. Thus, he headed into the 2024 season without much attention. Through his first three outings this year, Herrera has done his best to get some of that attention back, highlighted by his second appearance, wherein he went four innings, allowing only one hit, while punching out nine. In that outing, he racked up an insane whiff rate of 53%. For the season, his whiff rate is hovering right around 40% overall. He is keeping hitters off-balance with his starter's pitch mix, throwing four different pitches. Herrera’s fastball sits in the 93-95 range and has reached up to 97. He can use it up in the zone, or run it in on the hands of right-handers at times. Metrics have been hard to come by for the pitch, but it seems to have a decent shape to it, with the previously mentioned mid-90s velocity. The changeup has been Herrera’s best secondary since he signed, and that still appears to be the case. It has late fade and tumble and is his best swing-and-miss pitch against left-handed hitters, though he isn’t afraid to use it against righties, either. His slider was his go-to strikeout pitch against righties in the past, and that seems to be the case again this year. While it has an inconsistent shape at times, it generates quite a bit of sweep at its best. He will likely continue to work on consistency, but the slider shows flashes of being an above-average pitch. Herrera’s curveball is the pitch that seems to have made the biggest strides so far this season, showing more consistent command, and a sharper shape. Previously a pitch he liked to drop in for strikes more than anything else, it has shown an ability to get more swing and miss in 2024. Herrera is being used very similarly to Rivero so far. He’s pitched out of the bullpen, but his pitch count and inning load are those of a starter. The Brewers seem to want to give him the chance to stay stretched out and potentially start down the road. If the first three games of 2024 are any indication, he is going to have a chance to do just that. Craig Yoho The Brewers' eighth-round selection in the 2023 draft out of Indiana, Yoho is the only one of these arms that appears to already be slotted into a relief role in the future. Once a position player in college, he transitioned to a two-way role for a couple of seasons, but after battling quite a few injuries, he finished his college career exclusively working off the mound. Yoho does not possess the velocity that we have all come to expect out of a high-leverage reliever. You will not see him in the upper 90s. His fastball is a strong offering, currently sitting in the 91-93 range with huge arm-side run. Carrying his profile, though, are his secondaries. Instead of throwing heat, the pitcher named “Yoho” looks like he’s throwing pitches attached to a “yo-yo.” Comparing a changeup to Devin Williams’s “Airbender” is not something you can (or should) do very often. Yoho is throwing a changeup in the 78-81 MPH range that is very similar to that of the “Airbender.” In reality, given the movement they generate, both of them should probably classify their pitches as screwballs. Whatever you want to call it, it looks like a special pitch and it would be hard to grade it as anything less than a plus offering. Devin Williams has struggled to find a third pitch that moves to the glove side. An inability to throw a breaking ball is not uncommon for someone who has such comfort with pronating while throwing. Yoho, however, does not have this issue whatsoever. His curveball is another borderline plus pitch, sitting in the 74-76 MPH range, with spin rates of up to 3,000 RPM. The spin and the axis he throws it on help him generate a ton of sharp movement, both vertically and horizontally. Yoho also threw a sweeper in college, but does not appear to be using it in pro ball thus far. Despite scrapping the sweeper, he may still have another wrinkle in his repertoire. As Curt Hogg showed in this tweet, Yoho looks to be mixing in a cutter (or perhaps a shorter slider) in the 86-88 range. It’s early right now, but the early returns on the pitch are very interesting. The cutter could pair very well with the run he gets on his primary fastball, and it would also give Yoho a pitch that changes speeds a bit differently than his other secondaries. Yoho is the type of pitcher who could work out as a starting pitcher with the repertoire he has. The Brewers likely determined that his injury history would make starting difficult over the long haul. While that dream seems to be in the rearview, this is the type of pitcher who could move through the system very quickly now that he is locked into a relief role. A 2025 MLB debut should not be ruled out for Yoho. There were a number of pitchers who could have been featured in this article. Brett Wichrowski, Tyler Woessner, Manuel Rodriguez, Bishop Letson, and others were all worthy of consideration. The pitching depth is proving to be a lot better than what prospect lists would lead you to believe. While there may not be a Brandon Woodruff/Corbin Burnes/Peralta trio coming through the system, there are a lot of talented arms who will give the Brewers quite a few shots at forming a strong stable of pitchers for years to come. View full article

Boy do I have a tweet for you! Tweeted this last night:

Catch up with the latest in the Milwaukee Brewers with the Brewer Fanatic Podcast! Image courtesy of Brock Beauchamp Jack and Spencer wrap up the most recent week of games, mixing in listener questions throughout. They discuss what has gone wrong with DL Hall, as well as the potential "fix." They also talk about Pat Murphy's bullpen management thus far and why it may be cause for some concern. Spencer gives a rundown on some of the impressive performances from the minor league side so far, and they wrap up with some injury updates and a quick preview of the upcoming series with the Cardinals. View full article

I was given a shot clock! They’ll definitely get some love soon haha. I think I may have been a year early on the Herrera breakout, and then I jumped off the bandwagon too early last July. He looks fantastic.

Episode 2 of the Brewer Fanatic Podcast, co-hosted by Jack Stern and Spencer Michaelis. Jack and Spencer discuss the series against the Mariners, as well as the one against the Reds. They talk about how the Brewers will stabilize their pitching staff, whether the offensive output is sustainable, and they also shine a light on a couple of under-appreciated position players. Jack and Spencer also review the first week of minor league play and cover some of the standouts in the farm system, on both sides of the ball, thus far. You can subscribe to the Brewer Fanatic Podcast below: 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/ Don't see your favorite podcast app listed? Comment below and we'll get it added! View full article