Spencer Michaelis

He's played almost every day... Which is really the point with him. I feel like the extra innings game the other day was a perfect example of what he allows them to do. He pinch hit, then went to right field for an inning or two. Then they ran Perkins for Santana, because they knew Canha could go play first, which he did in the 10th. His first 23 PA's as a Brewer haven't been an upgrade offensively, but his .725 OPS with the Mets would (unfortunately) be a pretty big upgrade over what we've had at DH and RF outside of Frelick, and frankly even first base outside of Santana. There's plenty of logic behind the move in my opinion. Just going to need him to provide similar output to what he gave the Mets.

Appreciate you reading! The Brewers have done a good job filling their lower levels with a lot of intriguing arms. They won't all work out, but it gives them a bunch of lottery tickets and the odds are they'll find a few MLB arms in that group!

Yesterday, Brewer Fanatic named our choices for minor-league position player and starting pitcher of the month. Today, we conclude the monthly series by looking at the top relievers in the system in July. We close out our Brewers Minor League Player of the Month series with our Top 5 Relief Pitchers for the month of July. While June was a dominant month for the relievers in the system, July was a bit of a step back, though there were still five that stood out above the rest, as well as a couple honorable mentions. HONORABLE MENTIONS RHP - Gerson Calzadilla - ACL Brewers - 7 G, 16.1 IP, 2-0, 1.65 ERA, 4.87 FIP, 1.16 WHIP, 13 H , 6 BB, 20 K RHP - Jeferson Figueroa - Carolina Mudcats - 6 G, 12.0 IP, 0-0, 1.50 ERA, 4.76 FIP, 1.17 WHIP, 8 H , 6 BB, 12 K. TOP FIVE RELIEF PITCHERS FOR JULY #5 RHP - Yerlin Rodriguez - Carolina Mudcats - 8 G, 10.2 IP, 0-0, 2.53 ERA, 2.55 FIP, 1.13 WHIP, 9 H , 3 BB, 12 K, 6 SV Unranked by all publications Signed as part of the Brewers 2019 international signing class, Rodriguez is in possession of some of the highest velo readings in the Brewers system this year. His fastball regularly sits in the upper 90’s and has been touching triple digits with relative regularity too. 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. It’s a very similar profile to that of Abner Uribe, though he doesn’t quite have the ability to reach 102+ like Uribe was during his time in Carolina. Unfortunately for Rodriguez, he also has similar issues with throwing strikes to those that Uribe battled throughout his minor-league career. Rodriguez made some big strides in terms of limiting walks in July. He only walked three in his 10 2/3 innings pitched. He was given the closer role for the Mudcats early on, and he rewarded them with an organizational-high six saves on the month. His month was highlighted by his July 20th outing against the White Sox affiliate, Kannapolis Cannonballers. That night, he recorded a save while allowing one hit, but striking out the side around that hit. His first save on July 7th included a web gem of his own, as well as him touching triple digits. Take a look at the video below. Rodriguez just turned 21, but he has been in the organization for a while now and is getting close to his Rule 5 date. Considering his raw stuff, he will likely be pushed next season to see how he handles the assignments. This year though, it seems safe to assume he will remain in the closer role for Carolina and continue to work on commanding his pitches. #4 RHP - Tanner Shears - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 9 G, 9.1 IP, 1-0, 1.93 ERA, 4.76 FIP, 0.97 WHIP, 6 H , 7 BB, 14 K, 3 SV Unranked by all publications An independent league signing by the Brewers this past offseason, Shears has continued to work through some command issues all season. He has really good stuff. His splitter is a borderline elite pitch that completely kills spin and sits around 83-86. His fastball has arm side run, but sits mid-90's and touches higher. It does a great job riding up in the zone and plays well with the big splitter. He also mixes in a slider as a solid third pitch that gets some sweep in the mid-80's as well. Shears struck out a lot of batters in May, but also walked a lot and gave up his fair share of hits too. The results were a little fluky as the FIP indicates, but with his pure stuff, he can get himself into and out of danger. In July, Shears had his best appearance on July 4th. He went 2 1/3 scoreless innings that night, striking out four and only allowing one baserunner. Shears then recorded his first save as a Timber Rattler later in the week with a dominant 1-2-3 inning that featured two punch outs. Shears is 24 years old, and the command issues are pretty legitimate, but he has the type of stuff you find in MLB relievers. He will likely be pushed relatively quickly. Similar to Yerlin Rodriguez, if Shears can hone in the strike zone a bit more consistently there could be a future high leverage arm here. #3 RHP - Jesus Rivero - Carolina Mudcats - 4 G, 13.0 IP, 0-0, 1.38 ERA, 3.45 FIP, 1.00 WHIP, 4 H , 9 BB, 18 K, 3 SV. Unranked by all publications RIvero was a member of the Brewers’ 2021 International signing class. He possesses some of the best pure stuff in the Brewers minor league system. He uses a fastball, slider, changeup, and what appears to be a sinker as his primary mix. Fastball readings have been few and far between on broadcasts, but the few that have been announced have been in the 94-95 range. He likely has reached back for a bit extra as well. The ball explodes out of his hand. It seems to have some of the Brandon Woodruff characteristics on it, where it’s a “heavy” pitch that can still be thrown up in the zone. The slider has been his go to put-away pitch in two-strike counts for both lefties and righties. In fact, throwing it to the back foot of lefties has probably been more effective than throwing it away from righties. His changeup has a very big drop in velocity, down to the low 80’s. His command in general is not where you’d want it to be, but the changeup in particular has been a struggle for him so far. As mentioned above, command has been a bit of a concern for Rivero so far and the walk numbers in July certainly show that. However, five of his nine walks came in his first four innings of the month. He walked, a much more respectable, four batters in his final nine innings. The strikeout numbers were there all month, as he struck out at least a batter per inning in all four of his appearances. His best outing of the month came on July 27th when he pitched the final four innings of the game. He only allowed two baserunners, one on a hit by pitch and the other on a walk, but he struck out seven and recorded his third save of the month. Rivero’s stuff is going to start drawing more attention now that he is in full-season ball. He will need to rein in the command to at least a respectable number of free passes, but this is one of the more talented arms in all of minor league baseball. His stays at each level may not be all that long. #2 RHP - Shane Smith - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 7 G, 12.2 IP, 1-0, 0.71 ERA, 3.24 FIP, 0.63 WHIP, 4 H , 4 BB, 14 K, 2 SV Unranked by all publications Smith was a member of the undrafted class following the 2021 draft, signed out of Wake Forest, where he had been their closer in 2020. Unfortunately for Smith he was in the midst of Tommy John rehab during the draft, which played a big role in him not being selected. Prior to this 2023 season, he had only thrown three professional innings at the complex level. Armed with a mid-90’s fastball and a sharp curveball that he often goes to as his “out’ pitch, Smith also mixes in a cutter that shows good shape and life as well. He may also be mixing in a slider, but it’s very possible that those are just cutters that are generating a bit more movement than average. He has had a very strong season overall, and his July was a continuation of that. As he has all season, Smith was often used multiple innings at a time, Smith not only used his three-pitch mix to rack up more than a strikeout per inning, but also to keep the baseball off the barrel of his opponents. Having allowed three home runs in the first two months, Smith did not allow a single extra base hit in June. In July, Smith allowed one home run, but that was the only extra base hit he gave up. He was once again using his curveball when he was in strikeout counts and it continues to perform very well for him in those situations. His cutter is the pitch to contact pitch and he does a good job keeping it off of barrels. Smith’s month was highlighted by his July 15th outing against the Cardinals High-A affiliate. That Friday night, he threw two perfect innings and was able to punch out three. That was probably his best appearance but you really could have picked any of his seven appearances. He never allowed more than one hit, nor did he ever allow more than two baserunners total. After his very successful June, Smith was promoted to High-A Wisconsin and he just kept on trucking in July. He may have a chance to touch Double-A this year. #1 RHP - Sam Gardner - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 6 G, 14.1 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 0.58 WHIP, 5 H , 2 BB, 14 K, 1 SV Unranked by all publications Gardner graduated from Murray State in 2021, and after going undrafted, he signed with the Gateway Grizzlies of the Frontier League. The Brewers purchased his contract from the Grizzlies in early June and after a slow start in his first few appearances, he has been unhittable for a month and a half now. Gardner throws a low 90’s fastball that will get up to 94 at times and 95 once or twice. The fastball works well at the top of the zone. He plays off of that fastball with a curveball that sits in the high 70’s and he can both land it for strikes as well as throw it out of the zone to get hitters to chase. It’s his put-away pitch, and might even be his primary pitch. It’s probably around a 50-50 split in terms of usage. At times the fastball will show more run on it than usual, unable to tell if that’s on purpose or if it just happens from time to time. Gardner’s best appearance of the month came on July 23rd against Dayton, a Reds affiliate. In that appearance he threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out four. He didn’t have any free passes and only allowed two baserunners overall, both on ground ball singles. Gardner limited hard contact all month, and in that appearance the only ball that left the bat with anything on it was one of the ground ball singles. At 26 years old, Gardner should probably be getting a chance to see Double-A this year and see him in a more age-appropriate environment. For now all he can do is dominate High-A and he certainly did that in July. Thanks for following along with this three part series on the Brewers minor league system. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments. We hope you learn something new each time around! View full article

I made the mistake of venturing to the MLB side of things instead of sticking in the minor league side, but boy this is a fun one... I'm gonna go ahead and 3000% guarantee that the pitching coach (and others) spends over an hour (minimum) doing exactly this every single game. Miley went one inning too far today, but... didn't give up a run in that inning? Winker is on the IL. Cutting him opens up zero roster spots. Yes, blaming the journeyman infielder who has brought a ton of value to the team since being here and arguably been the teams third best hitter since coming up, that seems like the correct direction to go. Also, comparing throwing from the outfield to throwing on the infield (on the move) is absolutely hilarious nonsense. Absolutely not. I'm going to leave a lot of the other stuff alone, because I get why fans are upset after today's game, but I genuinely don't think I agree with a single statement you made in this entire three paragraph rant other than that I also like Willy's adjustment at the plate and that it was a brutal way to lose a game. I am also certain that this team would have at least 10 more losses if they were managed the way you are saying they should be.

After reviewing the top hitters in the Brewers farm system yesterday, today we start to look at the pitchers, specifically the starting pitchers. There weren't as many options, but the quality in this list is impressive. Image courtesy of Biloxi Shuckers While the offense had a bevy of hitters to choose from for their article, the starting pitcher options were a bit more limited this month. We will take a look at the top four starters in the month of July, but first we begin with our lone honorable mention. Honorable Mention LHP - Anthony Flores - DSL Brewers 2 - 4 G, 4 GS, 18.2 IP, 1-0, 1.93 ERA, 2.80 FIP, 0.91 WHIP, 10 H , 7 BB, 24 K. TOP FOUR STARTING PITCHERS OF JULY #4 RHP - Enniel Cortez - DSL Brewers 1 - 4 G, 2 GS, 15.0 IP, 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.42 FIP, 0.73 WHIP, 8 H , 3 BB, 17 K. Unranked by all publications Signed by the Brewers in this past international signing class, Cortez has posted some eye opening numbers in his short professional career. Through his first two months his ERA is 1.34 and he’s striking out nearly eight times as many batters as he’s walking. He has touched 94 MPH as a 17 year old, though it’s safe to assume he sits more in the 89-91 range regularly. His curveball seems to be his best secondary presently, though he does also have some feel for a changeup. It could be a strong three pitch mix, though his fastball velocity likely doesn’t have too much more room for development as he is pretty filled out for somebody his age. His delivery is pretty smooth, and the delivery and stuff both look somewhat similar to Yovani Gallardo at first glance. In July, Cortez did not allow a single earned run, and he only allowed one unearned run. He limited baserunners at a very high level and struck out over ten per nine innings while keeping walks to a minimum and avoiding the hit by pitch entirely as well. His best appearance was probably his final one in July when he went five complete innings and struck out six batters. Dominican Summer League results are always hard to get a read on, but Cortez is hitting all the thresholds you’d be hoping for. He limits free passes, he strikes batters out and he’s avoiding giving up runs extremely well. He could be one we see in Carolina at some point next season. #3 RHP - Alexander Cornielle - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 4 G, 3 GS, 17.1 IP, 0-0, 2.08 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 1.10 WHIP, 12 H, 7 BB, 19 K. Unranked by all publications Cornielle was signed by the Brewers in the 2019 International signing class and has moved quickly through the system, making it all the way to High-A last season. He has spent all of 2023 with the Timber Rattlers, though he did not get off to a very good start and he lost a lot of the prospect helium that he had created with his performance last year. He seemed to figure some things out this past month. Cornielle’s profile resembles that of Freddy Peralta’s. He doesn’t throw the hardest, sitting mainly in the low-90’s, but he still shows an ability to get a lot of swing and miss, particularly with elevated fastballs. The fastball shape does differ from Peralta’s, Cornielle gets a decent amount of run on his fastball while Freddy’s primary fastball is a bit straighter. Cornielle seems to generate good extension which helps him replicate the “disappearing fastball” that Freddy is known for. This month, Cornielle looked a lot more like the guy we saw last season. He had struggled to strike batters out this year, but he was able to punch out over ten per nine in July. He did a decent job limiting walks as well, though he will need to continue to improve in that regard. His longest (and best) outing of the month was actually the one time he came out of the bullpen. On the 27th, Cornielle came on in relief and tossed five innings with zero earned runs, striking out seven and only allowing two hits to go along with one walk. Hopefully he will be able to carry that outing and a strong month overall into a big finish the last two months of the season. Though Cornielle has been pushed at times during his career, it seems unlikely that he will be advancing beyond High-A this year. A strong finish could allow him to begin in Double-A next season though. #2 RHP - Logan Henderson - Carolina Mudcats - 5 G, 5 GS, 25.0 IP, 2-0, 2.16 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 0.68 WHIP, 11 H, 6 BB, 32 K. Both the number two and the number one pitchers on this month’s list were Junior College selections in the 2021 draft. Henderson was the Brewers fourth round selection that year, out of McLennan Community College in Texas. He was committed to Texas A&M at that point but chose to sign with the Brewers. His first year and a half after signing he was extremely injury plagued. He had only thrown 15.2 professional innings before this season. He’s had good results the majority of this season, but he was being built up and his lack of innings kept him off of the previous Pitcher of the Month lists. Equipped with a low 90’s fastball coming out of McLennan, he has raised his average velocity to a little closer to 93 and has even reached 97 MPH a few times. The fastball plays well up in the zone due to high spin and high spin efficiency. He spins his slider at near 3000 RPM’s but at times it seems that he loses the angle/tilt on the pitch and it doesn’t actually move much. His best pitch though, is his changeup. You would be hard pressed to find a better changeup in the Brewers system. There are some airbender qualities to it when he’s got it going. Much like with Devin Williams, the changeup allows his fastball to play up above the velocity readings. He used all three pitches in unison during the month of July to have his most productive month in professional baseball. Henderson threw 25 innings this month and went five or more innings in four of his five starts. The other outing was four innings and then he went six innings once as well. That was the first time in his pro career that he worked into the sixth inning. He posted strikeout totals of eight, two, eight, six and 8 in his five starts. The six inning start was his best of the month as he struck out six and only allowed two walks and two hits with one earned run. Henderson appears to have reached the threshold where the organization is comfortable letting him pitch deep into games. That would seem to be a good sign that he’s ready for High-A Wisconsin. Perhaps his next start will be as a Timber Rattler. #1 RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez - Biloxi Shuckers - 4 G, 4 GS, 18.1 IP, 2-1, 0.98 ERA, 3.00 FIP, 0.93 WHIP, 10 H , 7 BB, 24 K. Rodriguez has now made this list in three out of four months, for a little more background on him, check out April’s article when he earned the third spot on the list. The Brewer Fanatic #9 prospect had his first down month of 2023 and missed out on the June edition of this article, but he bounced back in a big way in July. Only making four starts, Rodriguez appeared to be on a bit more of a pitch limit this month. Despite that, he had three really strong starts and another that he battled through 3 1/3 innings and didn’t end up allowing any runs. Despite the Southern League going away from the pre-tacked baseballs, Rodriguez’s fastball continued to ride well up in the zone and his changeup was still a plus pitch against lefties. The slider was still his go-to secondary against righties, and he seemed to mix in his slower, loopy curve more this month to keep hitters off balance. He also appeared to be mixing in a sinker more often this month when he had runners on, likely trying to induce more ground balls. Having that sinker in his back pocket could be very helpful for him moving forward. It helped him generate his Rodriguez continues to be overlooked by national publications, and it continues to be confusing. He doesn’t have plus stuff, but he has above average pitches across the board in a 4-5 pitch mix. As mentioned earlier, they may be beginning to limit his pitches and innings the rest of the season, but a promotion to Triple-A is likely still not out of the question. He’s proven more than capable of handling his current level. Please share your opinions! Who should have made it that didn’t? Who made it, but should not have? View full article

In my viewings, I actually have been thinking the 90-91 pitches might be cutters/sinkers. He seems to mix both in from time to time.

We are past the trade deadline. The Brewers made some moves. We named our Brewers Hitter and Pitcher of the Month of July, so now it's time to starting handing out some minor-league hardware. We start with an article that should have all Brewers fans excited. July was the month of the hitter in the Brewers system. Brewers affiliates finished the month with 19 qualified hitters that had an OPS over .900 and an incredible 13 hitters with OPS’ over 1.000, including some of the higher ranked prospects in the system. We will look at the top six hitters for the month, as well as a pretty long list of honorable mentions. Honorable Mention 1B/3B Abraham Toro - Nashville Sounds - 27 H, .386/.443/.770 (1.143 OPS), 179 wRC+, with 11 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 15 R, 16 RBI, 6 BB, 15 K. C Jeferson Quero - Biloxi Shuckers - 19 H, .364/.500/.500 (1.000 OPS), 176 wRC+, with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 6 R, 11 RBI, 14 BB, 10 K, 1 SB Quero keeps hitting, though he did go down with an injury to his hand after only 12 games this month. Read more about Quero in the article on May's Hitter of the Month. 1B Ernesto Martinez - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 26 H, .366/.429/.573 (1.002 OPS), 182 wRC+, with 2 doubles, 5 home runs, 13 R, 12 RBI, 12 BB, 12 K, 5 SB, 2 CS C Jose Sibrian - Carolina Mudcats - 23 H, .338/.408/.632 (1.040 OPS), 189 wRC+, with 8 doubles, 4 home runs, 16 R, 23 RBI, 3 BB, 10 K OF Jace Avina - Carolina Mudcats - 19 H, .306/.368/.613 (.981 OPS), 170 wRC+, with 5 doubles, 1 triple, 4 home runs, 15 R, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 19 K, 3SB OF Demetrio Nadal - Dominican Summer League - 17 H, .395/.526/.581 (1.108 OPS), 198 wRC+, with 1 triple, 2 home runs, 10 R, 10 RBI, 8 BB, 7 K, 14 SB, 3 CS THE TOP SIX JULY HITTERS #6 IF Juan Baez - ACL Brewers - 27 H, .361/.397/.625 (1.022 OPS), 140 wRC+, with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs, 12 R, 22 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K, 4 SB Unranked by all publications As mentioned in the June version of this article, Baez was signed in the 2022 international class. After a pretty mediocre showing in the DSL, he was given a surprising assignment to the Arizona Complex League as a 17 year old (he turned 18 in late June). Equipped with a big leg kick and a smooth upper half, Baez has plus feel for contact at the plate. Along with his offensive abilities, he is said to have plus speed and to play a very solid middle infield. Baez had 26 hits in the month, compared to 27 last month, but the big difference between June and July was the extra base pop he showed. In only nine more at-bats than June, he had 11 extra base hits, compared to the six he posted the month prior. Showing home run power would be a big development for him, as it would raise his ceiling quite a bit and he flashed the ability three times in July. One month isn’t necessarily a sign of things to come, but it’s nice to know that he has the ability to run into a few. As was the case in June, his inability to draw walks is the biggest concern. He did triple his walk total from June, but when that is only going from one to three, it isn’t quite as exciting as it sounds at first. His improvement in the power department is a welcome sign though, and if he continues to hit like he did in his first two months, it would not be a surprise if the Brewers reward/challenge him with a Low-A promotion later in the season. Not bad for an 18 year old who struggled in the DSL just last season. #5 1B Jesus Chirinos - Carolina Mudcats - 15 H, .417/.567/.604 (1.171 OPS), 229 wRC+, with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 12 R, 11 RBI, 17 BB, 16 K, 1 SB Unranked by all publications It feels like Chirinos has been in the Brewers system for a long time, and he has been. He was signed as a 16 year old in 2018. Which means, despite this being his sixth year in the organization, he actually only turned 22 years old this past week. After some struggles at the High-A level to start this season, Chirinos returned to Low-A Carolina and has been tearing the cover off of the ball. Especially in July. Chirinos is a large human being, and he possesses quite a bit of raw power, but he has struggled to get to it in games at times. He is not fleet of foot, and his defense can be a little underwhelming at first base. He does however tend to hit the ball hard when he makes contact. In July, he had the best month of his career in that regard. He walked more often than he struck out and he posted a batting average over .400 for the month. He hit his first two homers of the year at Low-A, his third and fourth overall, on back to back days against the White Sox affiliate Kannapolis Cannonballers. Overall, he looked to be putting it all together on the offensive side of the ball, even stealing a base for the sixth time in his six year career. Chirinos likely doesn’t have much more to prove at Low-A, but High-A also has a logjam at first base with the one of our honorable mentions on this list currently holding down that spot in Ernesto Martinez. Martinez may also be due for a bump to Double-A as a 24 year old, so that could open the door for Chirinos. #4 2B/OF Isaac Collins - Biloxi Shuckers - 26 H, .356/.449/.616 (1.066 OPS), 177 wRC+, with 4 doubles, 5 home runs, 18 R, 16 RBI, 13 BB, 10 K, 7 SB, 1 CS Unranked by all publications The former Rockies ninth round pick in 2019, Collins was selected by the Brewers in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft this past winter, in what is looking to be a shrewd move by the club. Collins is a better infielder than outfielder, but he has shown an ability to play some left field. He’s a good athlete and more reps will likely help his development out there. Only 25 years old, Collins shows some similarities to Andruw Monasterio. A player the Brewers signed as MiLB free agent in the 2022 offseason and is now contributing more than anyone would have imagined to the MLB club. Collins had been showing a lot of the characteristics you look for in a hitter, even prior to July. He had a positive walk to strikeout ratio and he rarely swings and misses, posting a very impressive 6% swinging strike rate. However, before launching five home runs in July, Collins had only six extra base hits the entire season, all of them being doubles. If he has discovered a power stroke, he’s going to be someone to watch as a potential utility option. He once again had more walks than strikeouts in July and he was seven for eight on stolen base attempts. It’s more likely an end of the order profile than a top of the order profile, but being able to get on base at the bottom of the order is an extremely valuable tool to bring to the table. Collins’ best game of the month came on July 8th, when he went 3-4 with two home runs and two walks as well against a solid Marlins affiliate. That was his first of three games with three hits, and one of nine multi-hit games overall. A player with positional versatility and a bat that seems to be rounding into form, Collins should not be completely overlooked as a potential future contributor. Collins did reach Triple-A for a few game stretch earlier this year and while it will likely depend on who else gets promoted there over the next month, he could be in line to see another opportunity up there soon. #3 2B/SS Dylan O’Rae - ACL Brewers - 26 H, .441/.558/.525 (1.084 OPS), 181 wRC+, with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 21 R, 12 RBI, 16 BB, 14 K, 10 SB, 1 CS The Brewers selected O’Rae with their third round pick in 2022, to the surprise of pretty much everyone. Unranked on all of the major publications at draft time, the MLB Pipeline guys struggled to find information on him. The Brewers clearly dug deep for the pick, and the early returns have been very good. O’Rae is small in stature, standing only 5’7 and is listed at 160 pounds, but he appears to have bulked up this offseason and that weight may no longer be accurate. It isn’t out of the realm of possibilities that he has gotten taller either, as he’s still a teenager. Even if the growth spurt never hits, O’Rae has the potential to be a top of the order hitter, as well as handle the middle infield defensively. He possesses an elite eye at the plate and very good bat to ball skills with a 22% walk rate and only an 11% swinging strike rate to go with his 14% strikeout rate. All elite numbers for anybody, but especially for a teenager in his first real taste of pro ball. O’Rae drew a ton of walks in the month of June, but in July he combined the walks with 26 hits, including four extra base hits. His best game of the month came on July 27th when he went 3-3 with two walks and a stolen base. That was one of three games with three hits, and one of nine total multi-hit games. The extra base hit power is currently close to non-existent, and many of his extra base hits, presently, will likely come due to his speed stretching singles into doubles. However, he is carrying a very strong 27% line drive rate, so if he continues to add strength and impact as one would expect him to as a 19 year old, he might be able to become more of a pure doubles hitter with enough pop to hit a few home runs. O’Rae will also likely be able to steal quite a few bases, which helps negate some of the extra base hit pop he is currently lacking. Carrying a .514 OBP through two months is pretty incredible, and that ability to get on base could give O’Rae a chance to see Low-A Carolina in his first full season of professional baseball. Much like the next player on this list, the Brewers scouting department should be applauded for the depths they have gone to in order to find talent. #2 3B/1B Luke Adams - Carolina Mudcats - 18 H, .321/.513/.518 (1.031 OPS), 194 wRC+, with 5 doubles, 2 home runs, 15 R, 11 RBI, 19 BB, 17 K, 8 SB, 2 CS Adams continues to put up really strong numbers as a 19 year old in Low-A. For a bit more information on him as a player, check out April’s Hitter of the Month article. As for what he was able to do in July, it was more of the same from Adams, who has been mentioned in all of these articles outside of May. The on-base machine lived up to that moniker in July, reaching base in over half of his plate appearances, and walking more than he struck out. His funky swing mechanics make his plate discipline and bat to ball skills hard to believe, but he continues to pull it off. In fact, his 7.9% SwStr% is fifth among all qualified Brewers minor league hitters, of which there are 43 hitters who fit that description. In July, Adams had seven extra base hits, including two home runs. He hit the ball over 108 MPH at least eight times and he broke 110 MPH a few times as well. 19 year olds do not tend to put up those types of exit velocities, especially with wood bats. The raw power is up there with anybody in the system, and his batted ball profile has continued to improve as the season has progressed. He is cutting down on infield pop-ups and turning those into more fly balls, which allows that raw power to translate more to games. If Adams had made it to Michigan State instead of signing, this may have been a guy who was generating first round buzz in a couple of years. This is a huge win for the Brewers scouting department. Tyler Black is a Top 100 prospect by most publications, and Adams is putting up similar plate discipline numbers to what Black did in Carolina two years ago. Adams is two years younger than Black was then, and he’s showing a lot more power than Black did. First round pick Brock Wilken will likely end up in High-A Appleton soon, which may make an Adams promotion to High-A difficult, logistically. But his play may end up forcing the Brewers hand anyway. #1 OF Jackson Chourio - Biloxi Shuckers - 33 H, .388/.447/.718 (1.165 OPS), 200 wRC+, with 6 doubles, 2 Triples, 6 home runs, 24 R, 20 RBI, 8 BB, 10 K, 9 SB, 1 CS Chourio is probably the most well known Brewers prospect to come through the system over the last decade and a half. A top five prospect by basically every national outlet, Chourio flew through the system in 2022 as an 18 year old. He destroyed Low-A Carolina, took care of business at High-A Wisconsin and then got a short cup of coffee in Double-A to end the season. When the 2023 season began, he was sent to Double-A once again. He has been the youngest player at that level all season. Even now he is over four months younger than the next youngest (recently promoted Jackson Holliday). The “five tool prospect” moniker is thrown around more often than it should be in prospect circles, but in the case of Chourio, it’s an apt description. Chourio has both the hit tool and the power that can make someone one of the better hitters in all of MLB. He has 70 grade speed and he knows how to use it on the bases, as well as in the field. That speed helps him in center field where his routes are closer to average than elite, but his jumps have improved this season. He is still learning the position, but he has shown huge strides this season and has the potential to be a plus defender in center field in the future. The one tool that might be lacking more than the others is his arm. However, it has been noted that due to some past elbow issues, he’s been instructed to only air it out on special occasions. When he does actually attempt to put a lot behind his throws, it appears to be at least an average arm, potentially above average. Chourio’s statline through June was certainly nothing to scoff at for a 19 year old at this level, he was on pace for a 20/40 season after all, but his 89 wRC+ didn’t exactly look the part of a top five prospect in baseball. That all changed in July. After the month he put together, Chourio’s season-long wRC+ is up to 115. Raising that number nearly 30 points at this point in the season is not easy to do, but a 1.165 OPS over a full month isn’t exactly common either. His breakout does appear to coincide with the dismissal of the pre-tacked baseballs that the Southern League had been using this season. However, he was showing signs of putting it all together even before that change. The change likely expedited the progress he was already making. If you tuned into a Biloxi Shuckers game in July, you likely saw Chourio reach base. The only time he didn’t reach base at least once was on the 4th of July. He was only held hitless in three games all month. Chourio matched his career high for hits in a month with 33, though he did that in only 19 games due to the All-Star break. Of the 19 games he played in, he had more than one hit in 12 of them. 14 of his 33 hits went for extra base hits, including six home runs. He also stole nine bases in ten attempts. Meaning even when he didn’t hit an extra base hit, he often turned a walk or single into a double on the bases. It was an utterly dominant month from him at the plate and likely re-cemented him as an elite prospect in the eyes of most national publications. Chourio has been pushed extremely aggressively so far in his young career. A promotion to Triple-A may be in store after the trade deadline, and if he continues to hit at that level, it’s hard to rule out a September call-up to Milwaukee for the final push. Waiting until that point would also allow Chourio to maintain his rookie eligibility for 2024, which the Brewers will likely want to do for a number of reasons. The possibility of gaining a draft pick if Chourio wins Rookie of the Year in 2024 being one of them. Please feel free to agree or disagree with the rankings. Putting them in order was quite difficult. Age and prospect standing were the deciding factors when settling some of the closer calls. Let us know what you think! View full article

That goes for @Mass Haasand @Joseph Zarr as well. Fantastic stuff every single time. I feel like I keep up with the system quite well, but these articles almost always catch something that I didn't notice or highlight someone or something I had brushed past.

Harold Chirino was looking like a guy that might help the MLB bullpen this year before his injury. He's one they will likely consider adding to the 40.

I like Noah Campbell as a potential utility type player, but some of the reasoning here is... interesting. A player being able to be an emergency catcher is really not worth anything. Him throwing garbage time clean-up innings on the mound is also pretty irrelevant to his value as a player. The on base skills and having some thump in his bat, while limiting strikeouts is definitely what makes him interesting. His defense is pretty mediocre all over the field though, so playing all of those spots doesn't mean too much other than it gives him a lot of ways to fill in as needed. I can't imagine he's ever a defensive replacement for anybody. He has a prototypical utility player profile, and that's very nice to have on the roster, but if a team came to Matt Arnold and offered almost any league average MLB hitter for him, the Brewers should probably take that deal.

Looks like 7-10 have signed. Leaves the Brewers quite a bit to work with still. It'd be fun if they can add a chunk of the 11-20 guys!

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/minor-league-park-factors-2022/ If you have a Baseball America subscription, here's a very good article on park factors for the minors, from last season.

I think it was Ryan, though I can't remember what he said. I have mainly seen between $2-2.5 million for both. There were rumors that Bitonti was asking for $3 million at one point, but my guess would be right around $2 million apiece.

Jackson Chourio I absolutely love Jeferson Quero and have been saying it for a couple years, but the upside for Chourio is still leaps and bounds above him. Chourio is on pace for a 20/40 season in AA as a 19 year old. I know some of the stats don't look great, but I'm expecting the true breakout to happen soon here. Especially now that the Southern League is back to the normal baseballs.Jeferson Quero As I mentioned, I absolutely love Quero. Pretty much any time the last 10 years outside of the current time, he'd be my top prospect and it wouldn't be much of a debate.Jacob Misiorowski Misiorowski passes Frelick for me in this update. I just think there's an insane upside with him. Like, best pitcher in baseball upside. The risk is still huge at this stage, so he isn't quite top 2 for me. I think the fastball, slider and curve can all be elite pitches.Sal Frelick Frelick has struggled this year, there's no way around it. I still think there's a leadoff hitter here and I wonder if the thumb isn't still bothering him a bit. Last night (7/16) he had 4 hard hit balls, including 2 sweet spots, so hopefully that will be the start of a hot streak.Tyler Black I have no clue how Black isn't in AAA yet. He is on pace for nearly a 20/80 season. The glove is still concerning and I think he most likely ends up at 1B still, but I'll say the defense is better than in the past and he seems to be a guy who works very hard to get better. I won't entirely rule out third or second working out, just for that reason.Luis Lara A 129 wRC+ as an 18 year old, Lara is just a pure hitter. He plays a fantastic center field and has some raw power that you wouldn't expect from his frame. There's a ton of upside here.Cooper Pratt Pratt has the highest ceiling of the Brewers picks in my opinion. Legit first round talent in the sixth round. I think he can stick at short and like many others, I see a lot of Gunnar Henderson in him.Eric Brown Jr I still really strongly believe in EBJ. If he stays healthy, I think he's the starting SS once Willy is gone, or at least shortly after that. Staying healthy is going to be the most important thing. Outside of April, he was having a fantastic couple of months, until his latest freak injury.Carlos F Rodriguez I really like Rodriguez. I'm not sure what else he needs to do to get national attention. It's a 4 pitch mix that all can play. Command can falter at times, but he has strikeout stuff and showed well in the WBC against a bunch of MLB hitters. I think he's in Milwaukee some time next season.Josh Knoth Fastball up to 98 as a 17 year old, sitting mid-90's. 3000 RPM curve and slider combo. Just a really fun arm. Highest pitcher ceiling behind Misiorowski for sure.Brock Wilken I've made my thoughts on Wilken pretty known. I think it ended up being a very solid pick once the rest of the draft played out. There is a Pete Alonso type bat in there as a semi-realistic outcome.Robert Gasser He's ready for the majors. Not sure the Brewers have a clear opening for him any time soon, but he is ready to pitch MLB innings. He's been really good for a month and a half or so now.Luke Adams Adams is one of my favorites. The swing is not pretty, but it gets the job done. Super advanced eye at the plate. Incredible athlete for his size. Can legitimately handle third base in my opinion. Needs to cut down the infield pop-ups a bit. If he turns those into regular fly balls or line drives, he's got a huge ceiling.Mike Boeve One of my favorites in the draft. I think there's a real upside of a Tyler Black type hitter. You won't get the same SB production as with Black, but I think Boeve is much more likely to be able to handle third or second base defensively. Eric Bitonti Absolutely huge power for a high schooler, did struggle with breaking balls a bit. Not in recognition, but just in squaring them up. Chased a surprisingly low amount in the summer circuit. Will move to third base. Could quickly move up my list if he shows an ability to handle spin.Justin Jarvis Jarvis' test will come in Nashville as he gets used to the non-tacky ball and better competition. The fastball always had really good characteristics, so I don't think the tacky ball helped him as much as others. The velo jump was legit and the splitter is a great pitch. He's got the potential to be a major league starter.Daniel Guilarte One of my favorite defensive players to watch. He can really pick it, has good range and a strong arm. It reminds me of Eduardo Garcia, but with a legitimate approach at the plate. He needs to start elevating more and preferably pulling the ball more, but if the bat is even average he will have a MLB career ahead of him.Abner Uribe We got a small taste of what he has before the All Star break. It's a legit triple digit fastball and the slider is a really good pitch. Probably the best of his three, as he commands it much better and more regularly than his fastball/sinker.Logan Henderson By far the best changeup in the system, it has some airbender qualities. Fastball plays well up and the slider gets really high spin numbers, though it looks to me like it could use some adjusting on it's axis. It seems like, at times, he gets around it too much and causes it to just spin but not get the movement you'd be hoping for.Hendry Mendez If Mendez hits the ball in the air without losing his contact skills, he will shoot back up my rankings. When he hits the ball in the air and not on the infield dirt, it very often turns into extra base hits. Solid defender as well. The batted ball profile just really needs to improve. Yophery Rodriguez would be 21. I rarely put DSL players that high, but I think they may have something here. He may end up following the Lara/Chourio route and skipping the ACL next year for Carolina. Juan Baez probably would sneak in pre-draft, but got bumped by the 5 draftees. The contact skills are ridiculous. Hoping he can learn to draw a few more walks as he moves through the system. Patricio Aquino also may have made my list before the draft guys got added. He's got a legit starters repertoire and is showing really well in Carolina having only turned 20 a couple months ago.

I think EBJ's arm is a lot stronger than the pre-draft reports indicated. I'd put it as above average and more than capable of handling short. He also gets rid of it very quickly which helps it play up even further. Brown was actually my number one choice for the Brewers pick last year, so I obviously am a bit biased. But I think there's a legit starting shortstop in there. He's got to get healthy and hopefully start avoiding these freak injuries he's had. If you exclude his awful start in April (his first real action with his new stance/load), he was slashing .316/.404/.421 and only 26 K's with 18 BB's. Also was 19/21 on SB attempts in that time (27/30 overall). The defense is legit, and like I said, I think the arm is plenty good to handle short too.

This, 100%. It's obviously a lot easier to look back and say "they should have taken ________" when, in reality, the selection they made was what allowed them to put the rest of their plan into motion. Now, if Davis is a monster and Wilken doesn't do well and none of the high schoolers do well, then it would obviously look bad. Personally, I still think it was a good process overall, whether it works out 5-10 years down the line or not. But it's still a results based business in the end.

Or not!

I think some of the bigger names will likely sign on Friday when they are back at home. They like to have the biggest bonus players sign at American Family Field, meet with media and take some BP with the team (if they're hitters obviously). And then Wilken will definitely do an interview with whoever the commentary team is on Friday, as well.

Thanks! Was my first pod, and it was a ton of fun. Ryan and Jaymes made it very easy.

Appreciate it! Thanks for reading!

The MLB Draft has now come and gone and the Brewers employed a bit of a different strategy in this draft than we have become accustomed to. Today, let’s finish up by looking at day three of the draft, picks 11-20. Image courtesy of © Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK Day 3 Selections Round 11, Pick 332 overall Bishop Letson, RHP Floyd Central HS This is where the Brewers draft really started to surprise me. Teams don’t usually use an 11th-round selection on a guy they deem 100% unsignable for them. This leads me to believe that the Brewers see a chance to sign him away from his Purdue commitment. Where would the money come from, you ask? That is a fantastic question and one I will be interested to have answered myself. Letson has a fastball in the low-90s that pairs well with a tight slider and a solid changeup. His command is very strong for a high school pitcher, while his stuff is a bit closer to average currently. The good news is that he’s a very projectable arm, and the stuff should improve quite a bit as he matures. I’m not sure of the odds the Brewers have in terms of being able to sign Letson, but I hope they are able to. Editor's Note: If you're not following Spencer Michaelis on Twitter for Brewers prospect and draft news, you should be. Round 12, Pick 362 overall Bjorn Johnson, LHP Floyd Central HS Another high school pick was not what I was expecting in round 12, but it would be the second of seven high school selections the Brewers made on day three. Johnson has a fastball in the low-90s that he has held deep into his outings. He also mixes in a slider and a changeup; the changeup is probably the better of the two offerings at this moment. Strong command was a theme with each of the first two picks on day three. Johnson may be another tough sign, depending on the type of bonus pool the Brewers actually have left over. Round 13, Pick 392 overall Brett Wichrowski, RHP Bryant A starter and a reliever at Bryant, I imagine he will be primarily out of the bullpen in the Brewers system. He sat in the 93-96 range on his fastball, but he moves well on the mound, and I bet he will add a bit more to that once he is in pro ball. His slider is an above-average pitch as well. Command issues and the lack of a third pitch are why he likely will have to be a full-time pro ball reliever. It seems likely that he will sign. Round 14, Pick 422 overall Hayden Robinson, RHP Berwick HS Robinson is another HS prospect; this one committed to Nicholls State. He has a fastball in the upper 80s and low 90s range but with a lot of projectability left. His slider spins in the 2700 RPM range and has sharp, late-breaking movement. He also mixes in a changeup that is a fringe-average pitch. Nicholls State is likely very hopeful he will make it to campus, but I have to wonder if that’s a school that he may be willing to pass on in order to take his shot in pro ball. Round 15, Pick 452 overall Josh Adamczewski, SS Lake Central HS A position player? In this economy? Adamczewski broke a string of eight straight pitchers selected in this class. Equipped with a sweet looking left-handed swing, this may be my favorite selection from Day 3 and is one I really hope they can sign. A Ball State commit from a Midwest state in Indiana, he seems like a player who has been overlooked a bit. Not too dissimilar to Luke Adams in last year's draft. As someone who viewed Adams as a top-10 prospect in the organization (prior to the draft), I would not be against adding another exciting prospect to the pipeline. Round 16, Pick 482 overall Josh Timmerman, RHP Ohio State Timmerman was originally at Wabash Valley College in Illinois, which is where the Brewers drafted Antoine Kelly out. Timmerman is up to 95 on his fastball, with 17 inches of induced vertical break, meaning it should play well up in the zone. He also has a sweeper, cutter, and changeup. The sweeper is a good pitch that spins at 1700 RPMs. He uses the cutter to keep the ball off the barrel, especially against left-handed hitters. The changeup is more of a work in progress. He is most likely a reliever in pro ball, but he’s been stretched out, so starting isn’t out of the question. While he is a college selection, he is also a young draft-eligible guy who won’t turn 21 for a few more weeks. The age factor is important to consider, as he may be willing to return to college and try to improve his draft stock for next season. Round 17, Pick 512 overall Jacob Gholston, RHP Flower Mound HS Gholston has already made it pretty clear that he will not be signing and will honor his Oklahoma commitment. He has a huge ceiling, and this pick was likely made just to show that they’re interested and to be able to talk to him over the next couple of weeks. Round 18, Pick 542 overall Dylan Watts, RHP Tacoma CC Auburn must recruit the Pacific Northwest pretty well. Like Bjorn Johnson, Watts is an Auburn commit from Tacoma Community College. Used mainly out of the bullpen at Tacoma, he will likely be a reliever at Auburn as well. Based on a small amount of video and data I found, he has a quick arm and a loose delivery. The only velocity readings available came from 2022, but he was a low-90s arm at that time with a low-80s slider that is probably his best pitch. My guess is that he winds up attending Auburn, but it’s a pretty interesting relief profile if the Brewers can sign him. Round 19, Pick 572 overall Isaac Morton, RHP Spring Lake Park HS Morton is a Minnesota Blizzard product, one of the best travel organizations in the Midwest. Up to 97 on his fastball with a curveball and slider, Morton’s commitment to Texas A&M is likely pretty strong and seems to be an unlikely sign. Round 20, Pick 602 overall Justin Chambers, LHP Basha HS Chambers is an Arizona State commit. He is in the upper 80’s and touching 90 with his fastball. He also mixes in a big, loopy curveball, a slider, and a solid changeup. Chambers is coming off of Tommy John surgery, and maybe that will entice him to take a chance in pro ball, where he will have access to rehab facilities that he may not have in college. Otherwise, though, this feels similar to Morton and Gholston; he seems unlikely to sign. Wrap Up and Opinions I have no idea what the plan is for the seven high school players they selected on day three. It’s definitely possible that they took some of them as Carter Pratt insurance. While the Brewers would lose the 6th round bonus slot of $309.9k, they were likely saving at least one million for Pratt, if not closer to $1.5 million. Meaning they would then have at least $700k to try to go after all the other high schoolers. If Pratt is a done deal, I will be extremely interested to see if they actually have enough money for any of the high school guys on day three. It would be nice to see them lock up a couple, as they have been doing well with those profiles the last couple of years. Players like Quinton Low, Jace Avina, Kay-Lan Nicasia, and Luke Adams all fit that bill and have shown some pretty fun flashes at Carolina this year. They loaded up on pitchers, using 16 of 21 picks on them, and depending on how many they sign, that may cause a chain reaction in the system, as they will not have room for all of those new arms on top of the ones already in the organization. We may see an influx of pitchers released over the next few weeks. Overall, while day three was a bit confusing and surprising to me, this was probably my favorite draft the Brewers have had in quite some time. Assuming they sign Pratt, they ended up with five players I viewed as Top 50-60 in the class as well as Birchard, who was a top 100 or so guy in my eyes. With the MLB draft, only time will truly tell how they did, but at first glance, the Brewers should be very happy with their class. Now, here’s to clean medicals for all and no negative surprises! View full article