Spencer Michaelis

June 12th, as they attempt to get through the Super 2 Deadline is my guess.

In my opinion, it will be first base long term. He's made legitimate improvements this year on the defensive side of the ball, so I'm not ready to rule out third or second, but I think that would be in more of a Ben Zobrist role where he's rotating around and getting different guys days off. I actually think he's best suited in the outfield, but given the current depth of outfield talent in the upper levels, I can't imagine the team wants to move him out there yet, and are hoping he can prove to be at least somewhat capable in the infield. In a pinch, I think he could handle short in an MLB game. I'm guessing they wouldn't want it happening regularly though. I think he's at his best at third base. If I had to guess which current AAA catcher the Brewers are highest on, I'd bet they're higher on Brian Navarreto than Henry. Navarreto is a fantastic defender and I think the Brewers value that in the backup catcher more than the bat. I always liked Henry though, I had him higher than Feliciano on most of my lists. Turns out both of them might just be AAAA types. Henry's decent defense and baseball acumen will give him a chance if the bat plays enough. That said, I wouldn't be shocked if he's the backup catcher to start 2024 though, with Quero knocking on the door to take his spot.

I tried to give as much info as I could in the July Relief Pitcher of the Month article Smith came in at #2 that month 🙂

We conclude our August awards series by looking at which relievers in the Brewers organization had solid months of August. author-tracker.gifauthor-tracker.gif Image courtesy of Wisconsin Timber Rattlers We close out our MiLB Player of the Month series with our top five Relief Pitchers for the month of August. It wasn’t the most dominating month from the system’s relief group, but a few stood out from the pack. Beginning with a couple of honorable mentions. HONORABLE MENTIONS RHP - J.B. Bukauskas - Nashville Sounds - 9 G, 10.1 IP, 1-0, 1.74 ERA, 2.71 FIP, 1.06 WHIP, 8 H , 3 BB, 9 K LHP - Clayton Andrews - Nashville Sounds - 8 G, 9.0 IP, 0-0, 2.00 ERA, 2.14 FIP, 1.11 WHIP, 7 H , 3 BB, 11 K TOP FOUR RELIEF PITCHERS FOR AUGUST #4 LHP - Ethan Small - Nashville Sounds - 9 G, 10.1 IP, 1-0, 1.74 ERA, 2.91 FIP, 0.88 WHIP, 9 H , 0 BB, 10 K, 1 SV Unranked by all publications The Brewers first round selection in 2019, everyone knows what the deal is with Small at this point. If he can command his pitches on any given day he will have success. His fastball is a good pitch in terms of its characteristics, and his changeup is a great pitch. The issue is that he doesn’t often command his pitches, and he has been unable to develop a consistent breaking ball to use as a third offering, though his slider has shown some signs of life this year. While command has been an issue for Small, he showed some great signs in August, not allowing a free pass of any kind. 10 strikeouts to zero walks is about as good as it gets. Small has also had some issues with the home run ball in the past and he was able to limit the gopher ball to only one this past month. Small is an extremely smart guy with an understanding of what works best for him. It’s not fair to expect Small to completely eliminate free passes moving forward, but hopefully August was a sign of things to come, in terms of his control and he is able to provide the Brewers with some help in the future. #3 RHP - Cam Robinson - Biloxi Shuckers - 11 G, 13.1 IP, 1-0, 0.67 ERA, 3.61 FIP, 1.05 WHIP, 8 H , 6 BB, 9 K, 6 SV. The Brewers 23rd round selection in the 2017 draft, Robinson blew up last season moving all the way up from High-A Wisconsin to Triple-A Nashville, forcing his way onto all of the prospects lists along the way. He performed so well that the Brewers added him to their 40 man roster in order to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. Unfortunately 2023 has not gone very well for Robinson, and he has not only been DFA’d off of the 40 man roster, he is actually back at Double-A. In 2022, Robinson was showing a cutter up to 96 and using his slider and curveball, all to great success. In 2023, his cutter has been sitting closer to 92-93 and he has struggled to command his offspeed offerings, as well as the cutter itself. The good news is that in August he did a much better job of being in the zone consistently and his results followed suit. While Robinson wasn’t striking batters out at the same clip as he became accustomed to in 2022, he was limiting baserunners. His WHIP through July of this season was a staggering 2.31, but he was able to keep it to 1.05 in August. While he had walked 8.7 per nine through July, he was able to keep that number to 4.05 in August. His month was highlighted by a 1-2-3 inning to record a save on August 3rd, in which he struck out two of the three he faced. Despite the dip in velocity, Robinson’s stuff hasn’t stepped back all that much. If he can regain his command he could still have a future at the big league level. #2 RHP - Thyago Vieira - Nashville Sounds - 9 G, 9.0 IP, 1-0, 1.00 ERA, 2.25 FIP, 0.78 WHIP, 3 H , 4 BB, 15 K, 4 SV. Unranked by all publications A minor league signing this past offseason, Vieira is a player with MLB experience as a member of the Mariners, as well as the White Sox. He had spent the last few seasons in Japan before returning stateside. A Future’s Game participant in 2017, Vieira is equipped with a fastball that reaches triple digits, and a wipeout slider to go with it. In the past his command was, to put it nicely, lacking. So far in 2023, he is only walking 2.3 batters per nine innings and that will be huge for him moving forward. Vieira throws his four seam and his two seam fastball in the 97-98 MPH range, he uses the four seam up in the zone more and the two seam down more often. The four seam has generated a higher ground ball rate, interestingly. His slider is his go-to out pitch. It’s a very sharp breaking pitch. Not a huge sweeper, but late moving and sharp. He is getting whiffs on 43% of the swings against it this season. Vieira’s best outing of the month came on the 24th when he went 1-2-3 with three strikeouts to close out a game and record one of his four saves on the month. Once again a minor league free agent this offseason, it would not be a huge surprise to see the Brewers add him to the 40 man roster to keep him in the system. That is, assuming he doesn’t get added before the end of the season, which is looking less and less likely. #1 RHP - Tanner Shears - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 9 G, 9.2 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 4.84 FIP, 1.45 WHIP, 3 H , 11 BB, 13 K, 2 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 but 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’ stuff is pretty ridiculous to watch. It’s so nasty that catchers have been struggling to catch his pitches, even when they’re in the zone and I feel quite confident that he would have fewer walks if there was an automatic strike zone in place. That said, the walks are a real concern and they are killing his FIP. Despite the FIP being as high as it is, Shears earned the number one spot this month. This is in part due to a bit of a down month across the system, but also because he refuses to let these walks hurt him. Despite walking over ten per nine, he did not allow a single earned run in August. Only allowing three hits and striking out over 12 per nine went a long way toward helping him wiggle into and out of trouble all month. In August Shears had his best appearance on August 8th. He went 1 1/3 hitless innings that night, striking out three and only allowing one walk. Shears is 24 years old, and the command issues are pretty legitimate, but he has the type of stuff you find in MLB relievers. His range of outcomes is very big, but there’s a possibility that Shears could see time in the MLB bullpen as early as next season. His command will need to improve for that to happen, though some help from his catchers would go a long way as well. 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

Our series of August awards continues this morning with a look at the top starting pitcher performances in the Brewers minor leagues. Image courtesy of Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The starting pitching wasn’t as exciting as it’s been in prior months, but there were some big performances from some of the top pitching prospects in the system. We will take a look at the top five starters in the month of August, but first we begin with our lone honorable mention. Honorable Mention RHP - Carlos F Rodriguez - Biloxi Shuckers - 4 G, 4 GS, 20.0 IP, 1-2, 3.15 ERA, 4.01 FIP, 1.00 WHIP, 12 H , 8 BB, 19 K. If you’d like to read more about Rodriguez, he has made a number of these lists in the past. Including taking the overall top spot in the July article. TOP FIVE STARTING PITCHERS OF APRIL #5 RHP - Yorman Galindez - ACL Brewers & Carolina Mudcats - 4 G, 2 GS, 22.0 IP, 3-0, 2.45 ERA, 4.95 FIP, 1.18 WHIP, 15 H , 11 BB, 18 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 20 now. His promotion to Carolina was most likely based more on his pure stuff than his production early on, and he rewarded the Brewers by getting off to a strong start at the full season level. Galindez comes at hitters with what appears to be mainly a two pitch mix. His fastball sits in the low 90’s and has touched 94. 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 seems comfortable throwing it in any count and can land it for strikes or use it as his out pitch to generate chases. In August, Galindez did have some struggles with the free pass, but his overall surface numbers ended up being quite strong and his stuff is worthy of a mention. His lack of a third pitch that he can trust means that he will likely move to the bullpen long term, but for now they will likely continue to stretch him out and attempt to add to his repertoire. If he can, he could see his stock rise quite a bit, as the curveball is a legitimate plus pitch for him. https://x.com/brewerspd/status/1680962130135367681?s=46&t=SKmvvOvpW97ZHJEZeJBiMg #4 LHP - Brian Fitzpatrick - Carolina Mudcats - 5 G, 3 GS, 18.2 IP, 0-0, 1.93 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 1.07 WHIP, 12 H , 8 BB, 15 K. Unranked by all publications Fitzpatrick was the Brewers 10th round selection in 2022 out of Rutgers. A lefty who had put up decent numbers his senior year of college, but really showed some potential in the Cape Cod League where he threw 19 scoreless innings with a 19 to 2 K:BB ratio. Despite an imposing 6’7 frame, Fitzpatrick is more of a finesse pitcher than a flamethrower. He throws his fastball in the 89-92 range, though he can get up a little higher than that at times; it also appears to have some cut action on it at times. His slider has been better in pro ball and is a really good swing and miss pitch against lefties. He has done a better job of using it against right handed hitters as well in pro ball, but his go-to secondary against righties is his changeup, which might be his best pitch. He is able to kill the spin on the changeup and it generates a lot of his swings and misses. Fitzpatrick is more of a “pitch to contact” type of pitcher, and that held true in August as he only struck out around seven per nine innings. What he did really well was limit hits and especially extra base hits. He only allowed four doubles in August, no triples and also no home runs. While his eight walks are a bit high, it’s still hard to allow big innings when you limit the offense to singles. Fitzpatrick’s best outing of the month came on August 16th when he went four hitless and scoreless innings while only walking one batter. He struck out five in that outing as well. The White Sox affiliate was really struggling to square him up and he had all three of his pitches working very well that evening. At 23 years old, Fitzpatrick will likely see High-A next year as he continues to adjust to pro ball. A bit of a bump in his velocity would go a long way, but there are the makings of an interesting long reliever or swing starter if he can continue to rein in his command. #3 RHP - Logan Henderson - Carolina Mudcats - 4 G, 4 GS, 22.0 IP, 1-1, 2.86 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 1.05 WHIP, 17 H, 6 BB, 29 K. Henderson was the Brewers fourth round selection in 2021, 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 2/3 professional innings before this season. He’s had good results the majority of this season, but his innings have continued to rise and he has now placed in the top three on both the July and August 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 tossed 22 innings this month in only four starts for an average of 5 ½ per start and went five or more innings in all four of his starts. He posted strikeout totals of 9, 8, 5 and 7 in his four starts. His nine strikeout game matched a career high (though he just surpassed it in his first start of September). This was his first start of the month of August and also happened to be his best start of the month. He went six innings and only allowed one earned run to go along with those nine strikeouts. He also completely avoided the free pass, with no walks and no hit by pitches. Henderson’s efforts would seem to have been good enough to reward him with a promotion to High-A Wisconsin by now, so one has to wonder if the Brewers are keeping him in Carolina to help with their playoff push and get him valuable experience as the ace of a team in a playoff hunt. Even if he doesn’t see High-A this year, it would not be a complete shock to see him begin 2024 with the Biloxi team, as he will be rule 5 eligible following next season’s completion and is pretty advanced for either of the Single A levels. #2 Robert Gasser LHP - Nashville Sounds - 4 G, 4 GS, 24.0 IP, 4-0, 2.63 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 0.96 WHIP, 18 H, 5 BB, 33 K. Gasser was acquired as part of the prospect return in the infamous Josh Hader trade with San Diego. He throws four above-average pitches in his fastball, slider, changeup, and cutter. The regular fastball probably being the worst of the four, closest to average. His slider is best described as a sweeper, and is a pitch he can throw in any count or situation. His changeup is a bit firmer than you would want, but it has good action and is a good counter to right-handed hitters. He mixed his cutter in more with the Brewers than he had with the Padres, and while it wasn’t always perfect, it showed some flashes of being a really good pitch for missing barrels and as another counter to right-handed hitters. He did not throw many curves for the Brewers, and that will likely continue as it lags behind his other offerings. After struggling with his command early on this season (you can read more about those struggles in the June version of this article, in which he took home the number one spot), Gasser has really locked in his command the last few months and his results have backed that up. In August, Gasser had a ridiculous 6.6 K:BB ratio and struck out over 12 batters per nine. He went exactly six innings in all four of his starts and had two starts with ten strikeouts in each. While he didn’t have any bad starts in the month, his best was definitely on August 4th, when he threw six innings of shutout ball and struck out ten. He only allowed two hits, though it was his worst outing in terms of walks with three free passes allowed. Gasser is ready for a shot at the MLB level. Unfortunately for him, the circumstances may not allow that to happen this year, but he is most likely going to have a chance to win a rotation spot with the big league club in spring next year. #1 RHP Cameron Wagoner - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 5 G, 4 GS, 26.1 IP, 4-0, 1.37 ERA, 3.19 FIP, 0.95 WHIP, 16 H , 9 BB, 27 K. Unranked by all publications The Brewers 11th round selection in the 2022 draft, Wagoner opened some eyes with his short stint in the Arizona League, as well as a couple of appearances in Low-A Carolina last season. Getting his fastball up to 97 MPH and flashing a nasty slider in the mid-upper 80’s as well. Due to academic ineligibility, Wagoner had not pitched his senior season at Eastern Michigan, and the early returns were looking like the Brewers may have found a major steal. He was sent to the Australian Winter League with a number of other Brewers farmhands, where he didn’t quite have the same results as he had in his pro debut. His ERA came out a solid 3.46, but he walked four per nine and only struck out 8 per nine. Unfortunately those walk issues and the lack of strikeouts followed Wagoner into the 2023 season. In 2022 Wagoner had seemed to be throwing mainly a four seam fastball that was able to blow by hitters at the top of the zone with his mid-90’s heat. In 2023 Wagoner has been throwing a lot of sinkers, which he sat more in the 92-93 range with. It has had a propensity to flatten out early on and was getting hit quite well. He still uses the four seam as well, which sits around 92-95. His slider has been in the low to mid-80’s and he also uses a pretty good looking curveball that sits in the mid 70’s but has been as low as 72 MPH at times. It’s hard to tell if he’s mixing in an upper 80’s changeup or if those are just sinkers that are coming out a bit softer, but he may be using a five pitch mix if they are changeups. The repertoire seems too good for him to have been hit as well as he has all season, so one has to wonder if the pitch mix was causing some of the problems. Prior to August, Wagoner had a 7.53 ERA on the season. He had fallen victim to the “big inning” in almost all of his starts, and the ERA was representative of that issue. He avoided the big inning in August and the ERA followed suit. Wagoner allowed exactly one run in all of his appearances, though in his August 30th start the run was unearned. He also struck out at least five hitters in all of his appearances. Including in his 3 2/3 innings out of the bullpen in his lone appearance that wasn’t a start. One thing Wagoner has done a good job of all season is limiting the home run ball and that continued, as he only allowed one home run in August. You could pick any of his outings as his best this month, but he started his month off on a very high note on August 2nd. In that start he threw 6 2/3 IP with seven strikeouts, only one walk and only one earned run. It set the tone for what will hopefully be a month we can look back on and say, “that was when Wagoner figured it all out”. If Wagoner has a strong September, it’s possible he will start the 2024 season in Biloxi, but a return to High-A could also be beneficial. Hopefully this month will be used as a jumping off point for a pitcher who clearly has the talent and the repertoire to be successful. Please share your opinions! Who should have made it that didn’t? Who made it, but should not have? View full article

As we continue to look back at the top performers in the Brewers organization during August, today we discuss the best hitters of the month. Image courtesy of Mike Krebs, Biloxi Shuckers While July was a fantastic month for the Brewers top prospects, August’s top performances came from some of the lesser-known names, and those that are scrapping for a Major League spot. We will take a look at a couple of honorable mentions for the month, as well as our top five hitters for August. Honorable Mentions UTIL Cam Devanney - Nashville Sounds - 24 H, .333/.400/.569 (.969 OPS), 140 wRC+, with 6 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 12 R, 14 RBI, 8 BB, 12 K. IF Pedro Ibarguen - DSL Brewers 2 - 15 H, .341/.436/.659 (1.096.OPS), 172 wRC+, with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 12 R, 14 RBI, 7 BB, 5 K, 2 SB, 3 CS THE TOP FIVE AUGUST HITTERS #5 1B Keston Hiura - Nashville Sounds - 26 H, .344/.400/.622 (1.022 OPS), 148 wRC+, with 4 doubles, 7 home runs, 12 R, 24 RBI, 5 BB, 25 K Unranked by all publications Unfortunately for Keston Hiura, it seems very unlikely that he will be donning a Brewers uniform in 2023, for a myriad of reasons that aren’t important to this particular article. To his credit, he just continues to hit at the Triple-A level. He still isn’t walking much, and the strikeouts are about where they were last year at the Triple-A level, but the production is consistent and very strong. In August Hiura posted a .344 batting average and showed off the power we have all seen from him at the major league level, hitting seven home runs on his way to driving in 24. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Barring a horrific bout with bad injury luck at the major league level, Hiura will likely continue to grind away in Triple-A the rest of the season. The Brewers have him under minor league control for one more season, so expect to see him back next year as well, in what will truly be his last shot to show the club what they’re looking to see from him. #4 2B Jadher Areinamo - Carolina Mudcats - 33 H, .359/.388/.544 (.931 OPS), 159 wRC+, with 14 doubles, 1 home run, 15 R, 14 RBI, 4 BB, 16 K, 4 SB, 2 CS A member of the Brewers 2021 International signing class, Areinamo will be 19 years old until the end of November. Equipped with really strong bat to ball skills, Areinamo is much more of a hit over power type player at the moment. He does not draw many walks, but he is also only striking out at a 12% rate for the season. Many of the players possessing the bat to ball skills that Areinamo has are heavy ground ball hitters. Areinamo has a very reasonable ground ball rate of 39%. Instead, he hits the ball on a line pretty often, checking in at a strong 24.6% rate on the season. In August Areinamo tapped into a bit more power than in other months. Not in the form of home runs, but in the form of 14 doubles. The next highest double total for the month amongst all the players in the Brewers system was eight, so Areinamo nearly lapped the field in that stat. While his above average speed hasn’t quite shown up in huge stolen base numbers for the season (though 13 for 18 is a decent success rate) he does use it in order to turn singles into doubles and to go from first to third or second to home. While his bat landed him on this list for the month of August, Areinamo’s glove will likely be his calling card as he climbs the ranks, while he could use some polish at times he shows a lot of the traits that elite defenders do. He also loves to add some flash to his highlights defensively and is a joy to watch every time he’s out there. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Areinamo will be 20 years old for all of next season. He probably deserves to start 2024 in High-A, but with the amount of prospects that could potentially end up at that level, it will be interesting to see if there’s enough room in the middle infield to make that happen. #3 1B Jesus Chirinos - Carolina Mudcats - 22 H, .319/.484/.565 (1.049 OPS), 195 wRC+, with 5 doubles, 4 Home Runs, 11 R, 9 RBI, 19 BB, 15 K Unranked by all publications Signed as a 16 year old in 2018, Chirinos has been in the Brewers organization for quite some time. Which means, despite this being his sixth year in the organization, he actually only turned 22 years old in July and is basically playing at the league average age for Low-A. 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. He really went off in July and August was a continuation of that. 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 and he has been making more and more contact lately. Chirinos followed up his two homer month of July with a four home run month in August, which matched his total before the month. With his bat carrying the profile, tapping into his power more consistently is going to be important for him moving forward, and the last couple of months are a step in the right direction. Chirinos’ month was highlighted by his August 23 appearance when he had three hits in three at bats, including a home run. He also drew two walks, reaching base in all five of his plate appearances. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Chirinos likely doesn’t have much more to prove at Low-A, but despite the promotion of Ernesto Martinez Jr to Double-A, the Timber Rattlers are still pretty full in their infield and have used a number of players at first base. While Chirinos has likely earned another shot at that level, he may not get it in 2023. #2 OF Jace Avina - Carolina Mudcats - 24 H, .333/.484/.611 (1.095 OPS), 204 wRC+, with 8 doubles, 4 home runs, 15 R, 15 RBI, 16 BB, 20 K, 1 SB, 2 CS Unranked by all publications Drafted in the 14th round of the 2021 draft out of Spanish Springs in Nevada, Avina has had a great start to his professional career. Including forcing his way to full season ball last season as a young 19 year old. Equipped with a smooth looking swing and very quick hands, Avina packs a punch you might not expect from any player that just turned 20 years old in June. Especially someone who is 5’11 and weighs around 180 pounds. Defensively, Avina can handle any outfield spot with his strong arm and he uses his consistently good jumps and routes to cover for what is a bit less speed than most center fielders. That lack of speed, mixed with the depth of the system in center field, will likely keep Avina on a corner, but he can handle center if needed. Avina put all of his tools on display in August, showing his extra base hit power, as well as making some outstanding plays in the outfield. At the plate he had 12 extra base hits, including 4 home runs. His strikeout rate has always been a bit of a concern, as it was 35% his first two seasons. In August he limited his strikeout rate to 21.5%, which brought him down to 30.1% for the full season. That isn’t a great number overall, though it’s important to note that over the last three months it is at a very reasonable 25.9%. It seems to have taken him some time to get used to the full season level, but after adjusting he has been doing very well at the plate and August may have been the pinnacle. Defensively he made a number of good plays, but nothing tops the play shown below where he robbed a potential walk-off home run, even after a bobble. Avina had skyrocketed up prospect lists last season, but after struggling with strikeouts and a tough start to begin this season in general, he fell off of all of the main lists. Given that he has started to lower the strikeout rate and is now carrying a 132 wRC+ for the season, while being younger than the league average, he is likely putting himself squarely back into the conversation for all of those lists. Assuming he continues to finish strong, it wouldn’t be a complete shock to see Avina get a cup of coffee at High-A to end the season. #1 C/1B Wes Clarke - Biloxi Shuckers - 25 H, .284/.442/.659 (1.101 OPS), 185 wRC+, with 6 doubles, 9 home runs, 20 R, 20 RBI, 22 BB, 30 K, 1 SB, 1 CS Unranked by all publications Similar to Avina, Clarke was not an early round selection. The Brewers 10th round selection in 2021, Clarke has done nothing but hit since entering the system. Disregarding his 8 plate appearances in complex ball, he has never posted a wRC+ lower than 115 at any level as he has moved up the ladder. Known for having huge raw power, Clarke was originally drafted as a catcher. Despite making 28 starts at catcher in 2023, he is very unlikely to stick there. His most likely landing spot in the longer term will be first base where he has pretty good hands, but limited range. Wherever he ends up playing in the field, his bat is going to be the driving factor toward playing time and toward a potential MLB roster spot in the future. While Clarke was drafted as a known power commodity, he had not been getting to it in games as much as you might expect. Through his first 508 career plate appearances, Clarke had hit 19 home runs which is a home run every 26.7 PA’s. Certainly nothing to scoff at, but also not as many as you might expect from someone who is said to have 70 grade raw power. That has improved in 2023 where he has hit a home run every 19.7 PA’s and especially in his extraordinary August when he hit a home run every 12.6 PA’s. That 70 grade raw power showed up quite a bit, as the homers he hit were not wall scrapers and included a 115 MPH exit velocity, which is higher than any player on the Major League roster has hit this season. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== While Clarke hit the most home runs of any Brewers minor leaguer this past month, and did it at a very impressive rate, it was more than just his power that landed him the number one spot. Always willing to take his walks, Clarke was able to post an on base percentage of .442, largely thanks to free passes. As has been brought up with some of the past winners (namely Luke Adams), Clarke will have to be able to walk the narrow path between patient and passive. 30 strikeouts in the month is a pretty high mark, and while his bat to ball skills aren’t the best, he seems to take a lot of hittable strikes as well. Finding that right balance between attacking pitches to hit, and still being patient, is a battle that every hitter faces. Those that can strike that balance with regularity are often the ones that will be able to stick at the Major League level. Only 23 years old, Clarke is age appropriate for the Double-A level. It wouldn’t be too big of a surprise to see him finish the year in Triple-A, but if not, he’s very likely to begin the 2024 season there. If one were to speculate, he could be a candidate for the Arizona Fall League as well. Though the Brewers will have a lot of interesting candidates this season. Regardless, Clarke’s consistent production offensively is very hard to overlook, and he could be a bit of a sleeper candidate to impact the Brewers MLB roster next year. View full article

I wish I could tell you what the logic was, but all I can come up with is he feels like it creates rhythm for him. I'm hoping he can find a different way to create that rhythm lol.

Joey Wiemer has always had a, shall we say, “interesting” setup, approach and swing at the plate. How can he fix his issues? Jason Wang wrote about Wiemer’s current issues last Friday. Now that we’ve established some of the problems with his swing, how can Wiemer’s swing be fixed? Surely, it will take a huge overhaul, right? At least for now, the solution may not be as complicated as you would think. Before diving into that, we need to note that a swing change (beyond some minor tweaks) for a hitter is a big deal, especially when it is done at the Major League level and in the middle of a season. Coaches do not take it lightly, and players do not want to do it prematurely. Joey Wiemer is a contributor to a Major League Baseball club that is competing for a playoff spot. He flew through the minor league system over the last two seasons. Wiemer’s swing did not hold him back during that ascension, and there is risk involved in going away from the swing that brought him to this level. This is not to say that Wiemer shouldn’t be open to and willing to change but to point out some of the potential reasons we haven’t seen any major changes implemented, at least to this point. As Jason pointed out in his article last week, Wiemer’s hands move quite a bit more than most hitters. You’d be hard-pressed to find anybody in baseball who moves their hands as much as Wiemer does during his load. Going from above his head to his shoulders, almost all the way down to his waist, and then back up to his shoulders. While a number of concerns could be raised from this excessive hand movement, the common denominator in almost all of those concerns is that this many moving parts make it extremely hard for Wiemer to be in the correct “launch position” at the correct time. When they begin to move to the ball, the launch position is where a hitter wants, or more accurately, needs to be. Hitters want to be consistent with their launch position because any inconsistency with it is going to, in turn, cause inconsistency in the hitter's timing. Because of the movement with Wiemer’s hands, he rarely “fires” from the ideal spot and struggles to be on time. The Fix The question then becomes, how can the Brewers and Wiemer fix this issue? I believe that the fix is much more straightforward than it may appear. I believe most of Wiemer’s issues can be solved by putting him into a metaphorical time machine and sending him back to August and September of 2022 when he was playing for the Brewers Triple-A affiliate, the Nashville Sounds. Using one of the videos Jason posted in his article, we can see where Wiemer may have gone wrong at the MLB level and why his hand movement could be causing it. The first screenshot shows where Wiemer is at as the pitch is being released. The second shows him close to his true “launch position.” Consider that the amount of time a player has to react to a 90 MPH fastball is 0.4 seconds. However, the human brain and eye will take around 0.25 seconds to process what they see. This means a hitter has around 0.15 seconds to react and decide. Now, consider that Wiemer is not in the correct launch position until the ball is nearly halfway to the plate. Because of this, he has to begin “firing” his hands the moment he gets to that position. It leaves him with no time to react and essentially forces him to sell out for a fastball if he wants to be on time for it. Now, with those screenshots in mind, take a look at the video below. This is a full at-bat of Wiemer’s while he was in Triple-A last season, and when you watch it, keep an eye out for a few different things in both his setup and his load. First, you will likely notice the setup seems a lot simpler. He stands at the plate with his back leg already pre-set into his load. His bat is resting flatly on his shoulder. When he begins his load, the furthest his bat tilt gets is about 80 degrees, which is a pretty common occurrence with hitters around the league, and his hands remain around chest high or above. In 2023, he is at times getting to nearly 180 degrees with that tilt, and as was mentioned earlier, his hands will often drop to his beltline or below. When he actually gets to the point where he needs to make his decision to either take or pull the trigger on a swing, you will notice that with all of those previously mentioned factors working in his favor, Wiemer gets himself into his launch position when the ball is much closer to the release than in the screenshot shown earlier. Because of that, he is able to attack pitches that he likes, and it is easier for him to adjust to pitches that he can’t do much with. Using the video above, these are screenshots from Wiemer at the same points in his swing as the one from the Pirates video that was used earlier. At first glance, there isn’t a huge difference, and the difference in camera angles is not making it any easier. The only somewhat noticeable difference is that he was able to get to that ever-important launch position with the ball a bit further away from home plate. Those few feet can make all the difference for a hitter and their timing or adjustability. Not only is Wiemer’s timing causing him to have to sell out for the fastball in 2023, and still struggling to be consistently on time for the heater, but selling out for the fastball takes all of that previously mentioned adjustability out of his swing, and makes it very tough to make solid contact against any offspeed pitches. Having to start their swing earlier also makes it extremely difficult for a hitter to abort their swing and keep their hands back enough to avoid going after a breaking ball out of the zone. As Jason pointed out last week, Wiemer’s numbers against breaking balls show this very clearly, as he is swinging and missing close to 40% of the time. Run Value BA wOBA Whiff% K% Slider -8 .160 .221 37.4 28.3 Curveball -4 .217 .240 46.5 43.8 Sweeper -5 .083 .144 34.0 32.0 Wiemer is an elite athlete, and because of this, he still gets the barrel to the ball with more regularity than you might expect. Unfortunately, as someone like Christian Yelich has demonstrated many times over the last few years, poor timing trumps solid contact the majority of the time. A player who is late on their swing is unlikely to be catching the ball out in front and thus will struggle to create lift. As we have seen with Wiemer, his ground ball rate has largely coincided with his success, or lack thereof, so far in 2023. Wiemer’s best month of the season thus far came in June, when he posted a very strong wOBA of .360 over the course of the month. He also posted a season-low 35% ground ball rate in June. Wiemer is unlikely to completely overhaul his swing and suddenly become a mild-mannered gentleman in the box. His swing will most likely always have a bit of a “caveman swinging a club” aggressiveness to it, and there will always be swing-and-miss to his game. However, a return to the setup and load that he used in Nashville would go a long way toward limiting his hand movement, allowing him to get to his launch position more consistently, and that would allow him to not only be on time more often but also leave him some room for adjustability. We should never expect Wiemer’s swing to be one that coaches will teach to kids or one that kids will want to emulate. The good news is that you don’t win style points in baseball. Hunter Pence has been somebody that Wiemer was compared to while he was coming up through the system. Pence had a fantastic career despite his very interesting hitting mechanics. In the end, a swing has to work for the hitter. There is no cookie-cutter way to build a swing. There are certain non-negotiables, though, and being able to be on time is the biggest non-negotiable out there. Along with the timing aspect of things, one piece that probably isn’t talked about enough with young players, in general, is that there will be an adjustment period for them at the Major League level. Then, once they adjust, the pitchers will adjust to them, and the young hitters will have to undergo another adjustment period. Wiemer is likely more susceptible to longer adjustment periods due to all the moving parts discussed in this article and Jason’s article. It should also be noted that, despite it not being the most appealing swing in the world, there are plenty of good qualities with Wiemer’s swing as well. His bat path is actually in a pretty good place, and as long as he gets moving on time, his bat stays in the zone for a long time. His stride isn’t simple, but he is pretty consistent with it and does a decent job limiting his head movement during his stride. To go along with those qualities in his mechanics, he definitely has the bat speed and the power to be a solid hitter in the majors. If he can get back to a slightly simpler load and get through these adjustment periods, the bat could develop into a consistent threat with his elite defense and speed. Wiemer’s ceiling is as high as anybody's if the bat does come around. View full article

Jackson Chourio Came out of the struggles early on, maybe even stronger than any time in his dominant 2022. Future superstar. Jeferson Quero Nothing much has changed since he was injured most of July. I have always been a huge Quero fan, and this year has cemented him as a top 50 (minimally) prospect in all of baseball. Sal Frelick Just an unbelievable start to his MLB career. His defense and arm always felt underrated by the prospect teams and he sure has showed that. The hit tool is legit, though I'm not expecting the power output to continue at nearly this pace. Jacob Misiorowski The command concerns have reared their ugly head in AA. That's to be expected. I love that they're challenging him. He's adjusted better the last couple of starts and the strikeout numbers are still great. After an adjustment period, I still expect big things. Tyler Black Finally in AAA, the bat is legit. The glove is looking closer to being *ok* at a few spots. It'll be a bat first profile that I still won't rule out seeing this season. Luis Lara His bat has slowed a bit. Not shocking, as he's likely never played this many games. His glove has remained elite though. It's a plus glove in center, and I don't worry about the bat as he continues to mature and get stronger. Eric Brown Jr He's still hurt, but I'm still a huge fan of his. I am anticipating a breakout similar to Black's this year, as long as he stays healthy. I'd expect him to go to the AZ Fall League like Black did, and use that as a jumping off point. Robert Gasser He's ready for big league innings. He's been very solid in a ridiculous AAA hitting environment. Cooper Pratt My favorite pick of the draft, there is a chance he could be special, and even if all of it doesn't come together, he has so many different abilities, it gives him a lot of potential paths to the big leagues. Carlos F Rodriguez Still dominating AA, probably ready for AAA but likely hitting an innings limit for the season. Maybe a cup of coffee in AAA for his last couple starts. Brock Wilken Already growing on me. Think his approach borders on passive (rather than patient), but whiffs likely won't be as big an issue as you'd expect with his huge power. Still not sure I see him sticking at 3B long term. Josh Knoth Nothing's changed since July. Hoping we get at least one appearance in the ACL, but if not, it's still the second best pure stuff in the system behind Misiorowski. Mike Boeve I loved Boeve in the draft, and he certainly isn't doing anything to deter that! I knew there was more power in there, but even I wasn't expecting 112 MPH exit velos on homers already. I want to see the glove and how he handles defensive spots, but hard not to be excited by his start. Luke Adams I really like Luke Adams. He would've been an easy top 10 guy in the system most years. He also borders on passive at times, but the ability to make hard contact and avoid whiffs at his age and already in full season ball is legit. He's a ridiculous athlete for his size. I think we're talking about a guy who would be getting future first round buzz if he made it to Michigan State. Eric Bitonti Absolutely huge power from a guy who is still 17. His swing and miss will be something to watch, but I don't think it'll be as bad as you might expect. Abner Uribe Throws triple digits with movement and a great slider too. Likely the Brewers future closer. Logan Henderson Huge Henderson fan. Fastball velo has improved this year and it's the best changeup in the system. Hope to see him moved up to Appleton to make a few starts this season. Daniel Guilarte Just a really good glove and bat to ball skills. Heady player in the field and on the bases. Needs to tap into a little more power by elevating more, but all the tools are there. Yophery Rodriguez Ridiculous 1.4 BB/K ratio in the DSL. Big power, and the batted ball profile has improved over the course of the season. Could see a Lara/Chourio type breakout next year, especially if he skips the ACL like they did. Bradley Blalock Still pretty surprised the Brewers got someone this interesting for Urias. This is a guy with a plus fastball and breaking ball and another solid breaking ball. Rule 5 eligible and I imagine he will be protected. Hoping to see him in AA this year. I still can't believe how well the Brewers did in this past draft. Just an unbelievable haul, and the fact all of them are off to good starts isn't hurting the hype. The system is in the best place it's been since the Weeks/Fielder/Hardy/Hart days. Depth is there, high end talent is there. It's a top 10 farm in the league, if not closer to top 5. Just for fun, here's the rest of my current Top 50: 21. Hendry Mendez OF 22. Patricio Aquino RHP 23. Dylan O'Rae INF/OF 24. Matthew Wood C 25. Juan Baez INF 26. Tyler Woessner RHP 27. Ryan Birchard RHP 28. Robert Moore 2B 29. Tayden Hall C 30. Will Rudy RHP 31. Evan McKendry RHP 32. Blake Perkins OF 33. Filippo Di Turi SS 34. Alexander Cornielle RHP 35. Jace Avina OF 36. Kevin Ereu SS 37. Freddy Zamora SS 38. Quinton Low RHP/1B 39. Jesus Rivero RHP 40. Stiven Cruz RHP 41. Edwin Jimenez RHP 42. Jadher Areinamo 3B 43. Luis Castillo OF 44. Gregory Barrios SS 45. Satchell Norman C 46. Clayton Andrews LHP 47. Noah Campbell UTIL 48. Bishop Letson RHP 49. Josh Adamczewski SS 50. Craig Yoho RHP

I agree with this. I think showing him how much work he still has to do to be ready for the big leagues is very helpful. And if he would've happened to continue dominating? Then they may have kept pushing him. Hard to see any negatives that come from this. If he loses his confidence because of this stint, it probably was never going to work out anyway. In general, I'm a huge fan of pushing players quickly and challenging them. I think it's a big part of what has made the Braves successful with their development. You learn more about players through failure than you do from them dominating, in my opinion. Chourio battling for a couple months before dominating has me even more excited about his future than if he'd just continued to perform.

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

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

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.