Spencer Michaelis

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

This is super important, and I didn't include it because of what the question was asking, but I agree in saying I don't think Rodriguez needs to get to the mid-90's to be an MLB pitcher either. The fastball has really good characteristics on it and will likely always play better than his velocity would make you think.

As for this question, it's honestly hard to say in terms of the gains from 18-25. There are a lot of factors that go into it. A pitcher that's mostly maxed out physically might struggle to add velocity, but if they have iffy mechanics, they could add velocity through sharpening up the delivery. For Rodriguez, I do think there's room to grow into some more strength at 6'2, 175. Mechanically he might have the cleanest delivery in the system, but he could likely get a bit better in terms of rotational speed. So a bit more of that and he could add a couple of ticks. 95 doesn't seem out of reach, but it's certainly not a guarantee. The Brewers could also find that the impeccable command isn't worth messing with any of his mechanics and rely on physical development to try to add that velocity more than anything else.

Idk about the "expert" label, but I appreciate it haha. I'd be happy to answer some questions in here, but I may actually toss some into the podcast as well if I think they'd be fun conversational questions! If anyone has a question they'd specifically like me to answer just @ me on here and I'll try to get to them.

Janek is such a ridiculous athlete for a catcher, I'd definitely have no complaints with that one. I am weary of Brecht, though I do agree that if anyone will be able maximize him, the Brewers are near the top of the list of teams that can. Wouldn't hate the pick, because even without a ton of positive growth he could probably fall into a decent pen role.

Yep, I read the BA article and figured he'd be one to watch, but my goodness this is a ridiculous start.

Jose Anderson 3-5 with 2 doubles and a homer... Quite the start for him as well. Already 3 bombs and that 1.553 OPS will play.

Carlos F. Rodriguez is reportedly on his way to Milwaukee, to make his MLB debut on Tuesday night. While he is known for throwing the "kitchen sink" at hitters, there is more to dream on than you might expect your average junkballer to offer. Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Carlos Rodriguez was selected by the Brewers in the sixth round of the 2021 MLB Draft, out of Florida Southwestern State Junior College. That means you can include him on the growing list of juco pitchers who have succeeded (or are showing signs of future success) in the Brewers system. Rodríguez is a six-pitch pitcher who throws the kitchen sink at hitters and keeps them off-balance. This profile isn’t always the most exciting for fans, but Rodríguez is more than “just a junkballer”. A number of his pitches come in as pretty solid offerings. The Repertoire To begin, Rodríguez throws three different “fastballs”: a four-seamer, a sinker and a cutter. The four-seamer is a riding fastball that plays above what the movement metrics would indicate, due to a low release point that gives it a Vertical Approach Angle (VAA) of -4.4. It sits in the 90-93 MPH range and can get up to 95 or so on occasion. His sinker averages 15 inches of run; he gets the majority of his ground balls with it. The sinker sits in a similar velocity band to the four-seam, while his cutter is a bit slower, coming in around 87-88 most days. He often uses it to keep the ball off the barrel, but in Triple-A, the cutter has started to miss more bats than it did in the past as well. As is true for Bryse Wilson and some other recent Brewers hurlers, it bends toward the breaking ball end of the spectrum on which cutters exist, but has fastball-like power. To go along with the three heaters, Rodríguez also throws three different offspeed pitches: a changeup, a slider, and a curveball. The change is often graded as his best pitch out of the six. Usually thrown in the 83-86 MPH range, it’s his go-to swing-and-miss pitch against lefties, and he can generate ground balls with it, as well. His command of it can come and go, and when it isn't there, he does sometimes allow some loud contact. When it is on, though, it can carry him through a start. You could also make a case for the slider as his best pitch. With its velocity usually hovering around 80 MPH, it shows flashes of being another big-time swing-and-miss pitch, but (again) with some inconsistencies in command that can be costly, the results he has had show a lot of variance. That has changed in 2024, and we will get into just how successful the slider has been for him recently, a bit later. His curveball has mostly been used to “steal a strike,” by landing a slow one in the zone. Coming in with both sweep and drop, when he’s throwing it as a swing-and-miss pitch, the velocity is usually around 73-75 MPH. When he wants to land it for a strike, he has dropped as low as the 60s at times. It isn’t a great pitch on its own, but he can use it to help all his other offerings play up, and it does give a hitter more velocity bands to worry about. 2024 Performance at Triple-A Having made one start at Triple-A in 2023, Rodríguez returned to the level to begin 2024 and got off to a very rough start, causing a lot of his season-long numbers to look pretty rough. Through April, he had posted an ERA of 8.13 in 27 2/3 innings pitched. He had a strikeout rate of 19.7% and a walk rate that was only slightly lower, at 15.2%. His WHIP was hovering up close to two hitters reaching base per inning, at 1.81. While he certainly didn’t get off to the start that fans were hoping for, given his prospect status, it’s hard to imagine there was much panic coming from the Brewers' side at that time. They likely knew that there was a chance Rodríguez would need to go through an adjustment period at this level. After all, he did come into the season as the fifth-youngest pitcher in all of Triple-A. Whether the organization was worried at that time or not, since the calendar flipped to May, Rodríguez has done everything he can to put any concerns there may have been to rest. In that span, Rodríguez has posted a 2.83 ERA in 35 innings pitched. His WHIP is nearly an entire point lower than before May 1, down to 0.89. His strikeout rate is up to 29.2%, and his walk rate is down to 6.6%. Per TruMedia, over that same period, among pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched in Triple-A, his ERA places him in the 87th percentile and his WHIP is in the 98th percentile. The strikeout rate he has posted is in the 95th percentile, and his 28.2% whiff rate is in the 82nd percentile, while his walk rate is also in the 82nd percentile. It’s also important to note that, of the 127 Triple-A pitchers who qualified for this list, Rodríguez was the second-youngest. After being rewarded with International League Pitcher of the Month in May, Rodríguez’s first start in June picked up right where he left off, as he carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He eventually lost it on an infield hit and was immediately pulled from what would be his final Triple-A outing prior to making his MLB debut. His final line in that one was 5 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 7 K and 2 BB. Potential Pitfalls Early On and How the Brewers Could Look to Proactively Solve Them Rodríguez has still shown a propensity for allowing homers, even during the post-April renaissance. He allowed five homers in those 35 frames, which comes out to 1.29 per nine innings. As someone who has largely been a fly-ball pitcher in the minors, this will likely always be part of his profile. However, the Brewers may be able to help. One way the team may try to help him reduce his vulnerability to home runs is to have him increase his sinker usage (while lowering the four-seam usage) in hopes of trying to keep the ball on the ground a bit more. Over these past six starts, the ground-ball rate on his sinker has been 53.3%, while the four-seamer's has been 23.8%. The Brewers have also already employed that strategy once this year, when they increased Robert Gasser’s sinker usage upon his promotion to the big leagues. While it has been a pretty small sample, Gasser's ground-ball rate of 43% in MLB is 6% higher than it was in Triple-A this season, and 11% higher than the number he had in a full season with Nashville in 2023. As the chart below lays out, the four-seam fastball is the one of the three fastballs Rodríguez throws that has had the most damage done against it, by a pretty wide margin. While those are the season-long stats, the only pitch Rodríguez had any issues with in the past six starts is his curveball. On balls in play, hitters had an xwOBA (Expected Weighted On-Base Average) of .503 against that pitch. However, it also generated a whiff rate of 43% in that time. It seems that if he can keep it down in the zone, the pitch works fine. But it loses its shape the more he leaves it up, and the generally slow nature of the curve gives hitters some extra time to adjust to a mistake. His slider, on the other hand, generated a 42% whiff rate, while also limiting hard contact extremely well. The xwOBA against the slider is only .103, meaning there's next to no damage being done against the pitch. This is another pitch he could probably use more often than he has for most of 2024, and it would not be a surprise to see the Brewers go in that direction. The changeup got fewer whiffs than you would expect a changeup to, but it continued the trend of avoiding much hard contact and was the only pitch with a higher ground-ball rate than the sinker during that span, coming in at 55.7%. All of the fastballs were above-average in terms of xwOBA, and the cutter’s whiff rate of 31.6% was well above average for that pitch type. Going with a heavier usage rate on the sinker and cutter combination (while lowering that four-seam usage) could prove to be beneficial for Rodríguez, even beyond the increase in ground balls. Sneaking four-seamers past hitters at the top of the zone (or above it) becomes a lot easier if the hitters haven't been seeing the four-seam over 30% of the time. Wrap-Up To put a bow on what fans can expect to see from Rodríguez, first, remember that his season-long stats do not tell the full story and that he has shown a lot more of the qualities that make him a top prospect in the Brewers system of late. Beyond that, you can expect to see a very deep repertoire, with six solid offerings. You can probably expect to see him get burned by the home run ball at times, but also to see some swing-and-miss and a lot of fly ball outs if he keeps the same pitch mix he has had in Triple-A. It's worked well for Wilson, for instance. You could see an increase in grounders if the Brewers take a similar approach to the one they took with Robert Gasser. We should be clear, though, in saying that Rodríguez is unlikely to ever be a top-of-the-rotation arm, at least without a sudden increase in his velocity. What he could be, instead, is a Colin Rea-type of pitcher who can go out and consistently give the Brewers a chance to win the game the day he starts. While that may not be the most exciting profile, it’s a very valuable one for almost any rotation--especially when that profile is attached to a 22-year-old who is under team control for the next six to seven years (minimally), and who also has more room left to develop than a pitcher like Rea does. What are you hoping to see from Rodríguez in his debut? Do you expect him to stick around, or do you think he will spend more time in Nashville after this start, even if it goes well? Let us know in the comments! View full article