Spencer Michaelis

The MLB Draft has now come and gone. The Brewers employed a bit of a different strategy in this draft than we have become accustomed to. We will take a look at each pick and then finish with a short wrap-up. Today, let's look at the first two days of the draft, rounds 1-10. Image courtesy of © Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports Day 1 Selections Round 1, Pick 18 overall Brock Wilken, 3B Wake Forest Wilken may possess the most raw power of any player in this draft class, hitting multiple balls over 115 MPH this past season. It’s a relatively flat swing, which should allow him to have a decent enough hit tool, though he will likely never hit for a high average. While Wilken’s strikeout numbers aren’t in a great spot, you would think he was striking out at a 30% rate with how some evaluators have talked about it. In reality, it was closer to 18%, and he cut down on his whiff rate and chase rate in 2023. If there’s any cause for concern, it probably lies more with the Brewers' track record of developing these power-over-hit profiles. Defensively, scouts are split on whether he can handle third base. He certainly has the arm for it, but the actions and movements do look a bit slow. The Brewers haven’t been shy to play slow movers at third base before, though, and his hands seem to be decent enough to handle it. Despite the concerns about the fit within the organization and their ability to develop him, Wilken is pretty well developed already, and he will likely be able to move through the organization relatively quickly. Editor's Note: If you're not following Spencer Michaelis on Twitter for Brewers prospect and draft news, you should be. Round CB-A, Pick 33 overall Josh Knoth, RHP Patchogue Medford HS Knoth might have the highest ceiling of the Brewers' day one selections. His profile was extremely enticing, even when he only threw his fastball in the 90-93 range (T95) last summer. This spring, however, he was up to 98 and sitting more in the 94-95 range. The fastball has good life at the top of the zone and pairs extremely well with what might be the best secondary offering in the entire system the moment Knoth signs. That offering being his hammer curveball. It’s a 3000 RPM pitch with late bite and a ton of movement. He has a smooth delivery that appears to be easily repeatable. Still only 17, Knoth’s upside on the mound might be second only to Jacob Misiorowski in the Brewers system. Round 2, Pick 54 overall Mike Boeve, 3B/2B Nebraska-Omaha Boeve was a personal favorite of mine throughout the entire draft process and also felt like a profile the Brewers would be partial to. At the time of the selection, it seemed a little weird to double up at third base, but it’s important to note that Boeve can also handle second base. Worrying about having too many players at one position is an exercise in futility on draft night. Get as much talent as you can in the organization, and things will work themselves out later on. There are a lot of similarities to Tyler Black with Boeve. The swing is pretty similar, and Black also was seen as much more hit-over power when he was drafted in 2021. This might be a swing that the Brewers feel good about tinkering with, having seen the results as Black tapped into more power. Boeve absolutely has it in him, posting a number of exit velocities over 110 this past season. Day 2 Selections Round 3, Pick 87 overall Eric Bitonti, 3B Aquinas HS If you liked the Wilken pick, especially the power that comes with it, then you should also be very excited about the Bitonti pick. Equipped with some of the biggest raw power in the high school class, Bitonti has a sweet-looking left-handed swing. Like Knoth, he’s young, even for a high schooler, as he won’t turn 18 until mid-November. Despite being a pretty good athlete for his size, it’s unlikely he will be able to stick at shortstop. In fact, the Brewers are already planning to have him start at third base. He should be a very strong defender at the hot corner, and he certainly has the arm to handle it as well. The question for Bitonti will come with his hit tool. He does have some holes in his swing presently, and he has struggled with making solid contact on breaking balls. His issues with breaking balls seem to be more aligned with his feel to hit them, as he doesn’t chase them much. This is a good sign. It means he likely just needs to get more comfortable with his bat path against spinners rather than learning how to recognize them entirely. He crushed fastballs in the prep circuit and should have no issues handling professional velocity. There’s big-time, middle-of-the-order upside with Bitonti. Brewers fans will just need to remember to be patient. Round 4, Pick 119 overall Jason Woodward, RHP Florida Gulf Coast Woodward is a bit of a mystery, and he was likely drafted in part to save money for some of the other selections. But that doesn’t mean he’s a throw-away pick. Though he missed most of the 2023 season with Tommy John, he was very solid in his three healthy starts. He finished his short season with a 1.32 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 13.2 innings. His fastball is normally around 91-94, but he can get up to 96 at times. The fastball is said to have a lot of ride and plays very well up in the zone. His best secondary is a changeup that is considered a plus pitch. He generates a lot of late movement with it. Woodward will be out for most of the next calendar year while he rehabs. We will most likely see him for the first time in the Complex League next summer, around this time of the year. Round 5, Pick 155 overall Ryan Birchard, RHP Niagara County CC Like Boeve, Birchard was a player that I was a big fan of during the process and another that just felt like he would end up a Brewer. He has fantastic pitch characteristics on all three of his main pitches and was a Junior College arm. Everyone who follows the Brewers drafts knows how much they love those Juco arms. His fastball can reach up to 98 and sits in the 94-96 range with good carry. He was using a slider and changeup as his secondary pitches in the fall, but once he had made it through his season and into the draft league, he seemed to have scrapped the changeup in favor of a curveball. The slider and curveball have different shapes and are in different velocity bands. He should be just fine without the changeup. Some think he will end up in the bullpen long-term, but I personally do believe he can make it as a starter with his three-pitch mix. If he ends up falling back to a bullpen role, it could be a high-leverage type of arm and role. Round 6, Pick 182 overall Cooper Pratt, SS Magnolia Heights HS When the Brewers made this choice, I actually jumped up out of my seat. By this point in the draft, I was actually thinking they were already running low on slot bonus money to spend. Frankly, I had written off Pratt as a possibility long before this sixth-round selection. Assuming they do sign him, this is probably the biggest steal of the entire draft. At 6’5, many scouts believe he will be able to stick at shortstop. Based on the little video of his defense available, I am inclined to agree. For a player his size, he moves extremely well on the dirt, and his arm is quick enough to handle short as well. Offensively he is currently hit over power, but considering his frame, there is a lot of room to grow in the power department. Even if the power never does develop, there is a lot to like in his profile. Baseball America says, “Over a 668-pitch sample, Pratt has just a 12% overall miss rate and 17% chase rate. On pitches in the zone, his miss rate falls to just 6%.” Those are fantastic numbers for a player his age. He has a bit of a leg kick but an extremely smooth-looking swing that allows him to hit with some authority to all fields. It would not shock me if, later on down the road, Pratt ended up being the best player the Brewers selected in this draft class. The upside is similar to that of Gunnar Henderson. Round 7, Pick 212 overall Tate Kuehner, LHP Louisville Kuehner was one of Louisville’s most important relievers this year. He throws from a tough lefty angle. His fastball was 92–95 this year with a good amount of run. The fastball works up, as well as down in the zone. His breaking ball is a pretty nasty pitch. However, he did struggle to command it over the last few seasons. There is potential for Kuehner to be a really solid pen guy—an interesting pickup for what will likely be a well-under-slot senior signing. Round 8, Pick 242 overall Craig Yoho, RHP Indiana Another pitcher that I was tracking as a potential Brewers pick. He seemed like an arm that an analytical front office would love, and the Brewers have been great with a profile like his. Yoho is relatively new to pitching full-time, as he was a two-way early in his college career. He’s been hurt a number of times, and despite being 23 years old, he somehow has three (!) years of eligibility left and was committed to transfer to Arkansas next year. It sounds as though he will sign, though, and I find that to be pretty exciting. According to Baseball America, “Yoho’s high-70s changeup has a ton of late fade and tumble, is an effective pitch against both right and left-handed hitters, and had an impressive 61% miss rate. His sweeping slider had a 56% miss rate, while his curveball has big time depth and a 62% miss rate.” While Yoho was used as a reliever at Indiana, and that was the plan at Arkansas as well. I’m not entirely convinced he shouldn’t be given a shot at starting in pro ball. He definitely has a starter's repertoire. It will likely come down to durability and whether the Brewers believe he can handle a starter's workload. Yoho is an older pick, but a four-pitch pitcher with this kind of stuff and solid command to go with it is not commonly available in the 8th round. Round 9, Pick 272 overall Mark Manfredi, LHP Dayton Manfredi wasn’t one on my radar before the draft, but he does show some intriguing traits. Namely, his release point, which is coming from a sidearm slot. This helps his fastball play up a bit above the low 90s velocity that he brings. Manfredi also uses a slider, curveball, and changeup alongside the fastball to help keep hitters off balance. The slider is probably the best of the three, but none stand out as better than a bit above average. This is another senior sign who has shown some signs of development as he worked with Tread Athletics over the last few months. There may be more in the tank yet, and the Brewers do well with funky delivery types like Manfredi. Round 10, Pick 302 overall Morris Austin, RHP Houston Christian U There is next to no information available on Austin. I was able to find a tweet showing trackman velocity for him, where he touched 97.5 MPH, but nothing on his secondary pitches or anything beyond that. He had a 7.00 ERA this past season. However, that was in a pretty small sample, and outside of one complete blow-up where he gave up five earned runs in 0.1 innings pitched, his ERA would have been under 2.00, and he did strike out 13 per nine. The Brewers likely saw something they liked in his pitch data and an opportunity for another under-slot signing. Wrap Up and Opinions When the Brewers drafted Wilken in the first round, I was admittedly a little down on the pick. Chase Davis was on the board, and he was my dream selection (side note: screw the Cardinals). However, as the rest of the draft played out, I felt much better about it. I expect him to sign for a decent amount under slot value, which should play a big role in signing Cooper Pratt, along with the other high school selections made in the first two days, such as Josh Knoth and Eric Bitonti. As I mentioned in their write-ups, Mike Boeve and Ryan Birchard were two of my personal favorites in this draft class. I am guessing Boeve will be another under-slot signing. Birchard appears to be prepared to sign, but I have no idea if he will be over, under, or exactly at slot for his bonus. The college players selected in rounds 4, 7, 8, 9, and 10 will likely all come in under slot, if not significantly under slot. Yoho is potentially the one exception to that, as he does have quite a bit of eligibility left. Though at 23, it seems unlikely he can raise his draft stock much at an even older age. Now, here’s to clean medicals for all and no negative surprises! View full article

It is possible that this is Pratt insurance in some ways. Because if for some reason they aren't able to sign him, yes they lose $309k in slot money, but they most likely have saved at least a million for him. Leaving them at least $700k to work with for the post 10 signings. I hope they feel like they're able to sign a few of these guys either way though. I really like Adamczewski's swing.

Or... they will use 3 of their first 4 on high schoolers lol. Edit: 4 of the first 5

Small Day 2 wrap-up Guys they took that were on my list yesterday: Eric Bitonti - This is a high risk, high reward type of pick, but the power could be double-plus and he is going to be a strong defender at third base. Ryan Birchard - One of my favorite Juco arms, can get close to triple digits with a nasty sweeping curve. I think he can be a starter. Though he may need to separate that sweeping curve into two different offerings (in the draft league he may already have done this, so that's a great sign). Two guys that almost made my list yesterday Cooper Pratt - He would have made my list, I honestly thought he wasn't sign-able, so getting him in the 6th is crazy. He's a legit defender who I think will stick at short, which is pretty impressive at his height. The bat will likely lean toward hit over power, but there will be some pop in there. At his size, that could certainly develop more later on too. Craig Yoho - I actually originally had him on the list, but I cut him and a few others out because it felt like it was getting too long. I think he has three above average to plus secondary pitches in his changeup, slider and curveball. His fastball has good characteristics too, just not huge velocity. Pretty new to pitching full time, this one could be a huge steal in my opinion. Some Day 3 guys I would like to see them go after: I'm assuming that the Brewers do not have much, if any, money to go over the $125k bonus in rounds 11-20. So not listing any high schoolers, though they will likely take at least 1 or 2. Pitchers (First 4 are holdovers from my Day 2 list) RHP Sam Knowlton - South Alabama RHP Carson Hobbs - Samford RHP Drew Conover - Rutgers RHP Chris Kean - Louisiana Monroe RHP Tyler Bradt - Eastern Carolina RHP Mathias LaCombe - Cochise (JUCO) RHP Ben Petschke - Samford RHP Hayden Durke - Rice RHP Khristian Curtis - Arizona State RHP Terry Busse - Georgia Tech RHP Brett Banks - UNC Wilmington LHP Anthony Imhoff - Pima (JUCO) RHP Breck Eichelberger - Abilene Christian (TX) RHP Ethan Bell - St Louis RHP Noah Ruen - Tyler (JUCO) RHP Zane Morehouse - Texas LHP Bryson Hammer - Dallas Baptist RHP Colson Lawrence - South Alabama RHP Logan Evans - Pittsburgh Position Players 1B/3B Hunter Fitz-Gerald - Old Dominion OF/C Jared Dickey - Tennessee OF Carter Trice - North Carolina State SS Jared Sprague-Lott - Richmond C Garret Guillemette - Texas 1B Anthony Calarco - Northeastern 3B Brian Kalmer - Gonzaga OF Jackson Gray - Kentucky OF Drew Brutcher - South Florida OF Landon Wallace - West Virginia OF Jace Grady - Dallas Baptist OF Grayson Tatrow - Abilene Christian SS Reiss Calvin - Ventura (JUCO) SS Sam Antonacci - Heartland (JUCO)

Looks like a Cape Cod guy. Did pretty well in only 3 starts. 11.1 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 in 13 IP. Originally at Sinclair Community College.

Birchard made the list I posted earlier. Really, really like this pick. Huge ceiling.

I was putting my thoughts on Twitter yesterday, but I'll summarize where I landed by the end of it. I like Wilken the player more than I like the fit with the Brewers PD. I worry about them being able to improve a players hit tool / K-Rate. But there's a Pete Alonso type of bat in there, and he might even be able to stick at third. The upside is legit. Knoth is my favorite pick from Day 1. I loved his profile when I thought he only threw 90-93 (T95), but I learned after the pick that he was up to 98 and sitting more in the 94-95 range over the last few months. The curve is probably already the best secondary offering in the system (assuming that he signs). At 17, his upside on the mound might be second only to Misiorowski, in the Brewers system. Love his delivery, think it's very repeatable and I just love an athletic delivery like his. Boeve was on my shortlist for the third pick. I know it seems a little weird to double up on third base, but Boeve can handle second base as well. I see a lot of Tyler Black similarities with Boeve. He was a favorite of mine the whole draft process. Had a feeling the Brewers would like the profile too. As for today... Some personal favorites that I'd love to see as part of the haul today: NCAA Pitchers RHP Alejandro Rosario - Miami RHP Teddy McGraw - Wake Forest RHP Brody Hopkins - Winthrop RHP Zach Fruit - Troy RHP Drew Conover - Rutgers LHP Christian Oppor - Gulf Coast State College (JUCO) RHP Sam Knowlton - South Alabama RHP Carson Hobbs - Samford RHP Chris Kean - Louisiana Monroe LHP Hunter Owen - Vanderbilt RHP Cam Minacci - Wake Forest LHP Kyle Carr - Palomar (Calif.) (JUCO) RHP Ryan Birchard - Niagara (JUCO) NCAA Position Players OF Jack Hurley (I'm honestly shocked he hasn't been picked yet) - Virginia Tech OF Jace Bohrofen - Arkansas OF Spencer Nivens - Missouri State OF Travis Honeyman - Boston College OF Cam Fischer - UNC-Charlotte OF Zach Levenson - Miami OF Avery Owusu-Asiedu - Southern Illinois OF Alberto Rios - Stanford 1B Garret Forrester - Oregon State SS John Peck - Pepperdine High School (assuming they have enough bonus money) C Zion Rose SS Antonio Anderson RHP Justin Lee SS Trent Caraway SS Eric Bitonti RHP Steven Echavarria RHP Joey Volchko

I have said it a few times, but barring an insane fall for somebody, Davis is my favorite realistic prospect for the Brewers.

I do a very similar thing haha. Young is seriously fantastic. I'm actually hoping he ends up doing Brewers games in the future. You're right that the Brewers have a really solid announcer group down in the minors in general. The away games can be a rough listen sometimes.

Yeah, Rivero was one that I'd heard had insane stuff through the grapevine. I didn't have a chance to watch last night, did they give any velocity readings on the fastballs? That's one thing I've been hoping to find out about.

I am with you. It's part of why I love keeping my own list and staying so up to date with the system. I don't think it's necessarily the publications fault, I just have a hard time believing a staff of 1-4 people can truly keep up with all 30 systems. The Top 100's are usually pretty accurate, in my opinion, but the individual team rankings I think tend to lag behind.

We conclude our monthly Brewers award by looking at the best minor league relief pitchers in June. Image courtesy of Neal Hock, Carolina Mudcats We close out our MiLB Player of the Month series with our top seven Relief Pitchers for the month of June. This list was filled with viable candidates and was very tough to narrow down to even seven. After a bit of a down month in May, the reliever group was pretty dominant in June throughout the system. We will begin with a couple of honorable mentions. HONORABLE MENTIONS RHP - Abner Uribe - Biloxi Shuckers and Nashville Sounds - 9 G, 8.2 IP, 1-1, 2.08 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 1.04 WHIP, 3 H , 6 BB, 17 K. Uribe was featured in the May version of this article and had another very solid month, including a promotion to Triple-A. Most months he likely would have made the top group, but there were a lot of top of the line performances in June. RHP - Miguel Guerrero - Carolina Mudcats - 4 G, 11.1 IP, 1-0, 1.59 ERA, 2.35 FIP, 0.88 WHIP, 8 H , 2 BB, 12 K Guerrero was signed in 2020 as a 19 year old. He has now spent parts of the last three seasons in Carolina. Last season he got off to a great start there and received a promotion to High-A. Unfortunately he struggled mightily there and ended up back in Carolina to start this season. His fastball is in the mid-90s and has some sink to it. He also throws a slider. If you’re projecting best case scenario down the line, there is some Elvis Peguero to Guerrero’s profile, though his slider does not have the same type of velocity. As of 7/4, he is on his way back up to Wisconsin where he will be hoping for better results his second time around. RHP - Jeferson Figueroa - Carolina Mudcats - 5 G, 9.1 IP, 0-0, 1.93 ERA, 4.32 FIP, 0.88 WHIP, 8 H , 2 BB, 12 K Figueroa was the Brewers 32nd round pick in 2019 (the last draft that expanded beyond round 20). He was a high schooler out of Florida. Currently showing a fastball with life at the top of the zone and touching 96-97 at times, he also throws a wipeout slider. His command could use work, but June was a step in the right direction for him. He is another that could end up in Wisconsin soon. TOP SIX RELIEF PITCHERS FOR JUNE #6 RHP - Ryan Brady - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 7 G, 20.0 IP, 2-0, 1.35 ERA, 3.26 FIP, 0.75 WHIP, 13 H , 2 BB, 16 K, 1 SV. Unranked by all publications Brady snuck into the April Relief Pitcher of the Month rankings as well. Much of the next portion is pulled from that article, as there hasn’t been any change to his repertoire since then. Brady was an undrafted free agent pickup by the Brewers, following the 2022 draft. Though he’s already 24 years old, and thus a bit of an older High-A player, his results have been great and his repertoire has the looks of a legitimate reliever. A fastball that sits in the 93-96 range, with great life at the top of the zone, pairs extremely well with his sharp slider and his slower, yet powerful curve. Brady has lightning fast arm speed, but a very relaxed delivery where he is not leaking any of his power. It should allow him to maintain very very strong command, which he showed in May with only two walks and three hit by pitches. He also showed off his athleticism on the mound a few times, including on an incredible double play in extra innings. Brady’s June was filled with strong outings, as he went three or more innings in six of his seven appearances. However his longest outing of the month was also, arguably, his best. On June 30th, Brady went four scoreless innings, only allowing two hits and striking out four batters. This was the last day of the month, meaning it was obviously his last outing of the month, but as it turns out it will also be his last outing at High-A. Brady was rewarded with a promotion to Double-A Biloxi earlier this week. The BYU product may not have been drafted in the 20 round draft last summer, but he’s just another example of the depths the Brewers will go to in order to find good arms. If you’re an undrafted or independent ball pitcher and the Brewers approach you, it would seem wise to join an organization that gives the type of opportunity the Brewers give to these types. They don’t care what your background is, they just want pitchers who can get the job done. Brady could be one of the next, in a pretty long line, of overlooked prospects to prove that point. #5 LHP - Clayton Andrews - Nashville Sounds - 8 G, 10.0 IP, 2-0, 0.90 ERA, 3.08 FIP, 1.20 WHIP, 5 H , 7 BB, 13 K Unranked by all publications Andrews was featured in the April version of this article as well, and the next portion will pull from that a decent amount. Drafted in the 17th round in 2018, Andrews stands in at only 5’6, and if we’re being honest, that might be a bit generous. Despite his stature, his ride through the minor leagues has been an exhilarating one. In 2019, he was not only pitching, but also playing center field and racking up a batting average hovering around .300. After COVID he did get a few more plate appearances in 2021, but would undergo Tommy John surgery shortly thereafter. He returned from TJS last season, no longer playing the field, and also to mixed results on the mound. He was striking out nearly two batters per inning. Unfortunately he was also walking close to a batter an inning and had an ERA over nine. This year he came into a spring training game and immediately caught a lot of people’s attention when he touched 96 MPH and sat in the 94-95 range. For a left handed pitcher, that type of velocity will always create some intrigue. When that left handed pitcher is 5’6? It creates a lot of intrigue. After seeing a bit of a down turn in results. Andrews returned to the type of surface level results we saw in April, though the command was far from perfect. In June, Andrews was walking over six batters per nine, which is not an ideal place to be. He also threw two wild pitches and was generally a little all over the place. He was also, however, striking out over 11 per nine and keeping the ball on the ground really well. His best outing of the month was on June 6th, when he went 2.1 innings, striking out four and only allowing two baserunners with one walk and one hit allowed. Andrews’ month was rewarded with a promotion to the major leagues, which was an incredible accomplishment for someone who was a 17th round pick and the height that Andrews is. Not to mention his recent Tommy John surgery. While his debut did not go very well, his second appearance went much better and showed a lot more of what he’s capable of. Hopefully he will continue to be given chances. The fact he was not immediately demoted following his blowup appearance is a good sign that the organization believes in him. #4 LHP - Darrell Thompson - Nashville Sounds - 9 G, 10.1 IP, 1-0, 1.74 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 0.97 WHIP, 6 H , 4 BB, 15 K Unranked by all publications Signed this past offseason, Thompson’s organization debut went as well as one could imagine. He began in Double-A Biloxi and finished April in second place in that month's version of this article. Having been signed away from the Schaumburg Boomers, Thompson came to the Brewers throwing a 4-seam fastball at 92-94, as well as a changeup and a slurve. He is now mixing in a cut fastball in the upper 80’s and a “sweeper” and the slurve is a bit more of a true curve. In June Thompson worked parts of multiple innings three times, but only completed two full innings once. That outing, coming on June 22nd, was likely his best of the month. He only allowed one hit and he struck out four in those two innings pitched, and he did it against a very talented lineup in Baltimore’s Triple-A affiliate, Norfolk. Thompson was moved quickly from Double-A to Triple-A after such a good start. It did take him some time to get settled in at the new level, as his command faltered and he finished May with a 9.45 ERA at the Triple-A level. It’s hard to say whether this adjustment period was due to leaving the pre-tacked Southern League baseballs behind, simply getting used to a higher level, or perhaps a combination of the two; but once he figured things out at the start of June he was right back to dominating and once again appears to be close to making an impact at the MLB level. #3 LHP - Luis Amaya - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and Biloxi Shuckers - 8 G, 15.1 IP, 2-1, 0.59 ERA, 2.88 FIP, 0.78 WHIP, 7 H , 5 BB, 12 K, 1 SV. Unranked by all publications Amaya was signed as a minor league free agent this offseason after he was released by the White Sox organization. His fastball only sits in the upper 80’s, sometimes touching 90, but it is commanded really well and he is able to use it to sneak up on hitters using deception. Despite this Amaya’s start in the Brewers organization has gone extremely well, spearheaded by strong command and his curveball, which is a plus pitch. He uses deception to keep the contact soft and the curve is his go to when he is attempting a strikeout. In June, Amaya only allowed one run, which came in his first appearance, on the first day of the month. His next seven appearances he was able to keep the teams he was facing off of the board entirely. His best outing was probably his last of the month, which was also his first appearance at Double-A. He only threw one inning, but he struck out the side. He did allow one walk in the midst of the strikeouts, but it was a great start to his time in Double-A. Amaya is never going to blow anybody away with his pure stuff, but as discussed a number of times in this article, the Brewers don’t care how you get outs. They only care that you are, in fact, getting outs. So far, Amaya is doing exactly that. #2 RHP - Max Lazar - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 6 G, 14.0 IP, 2-0, 1.35 ERA, 2.32 FIP, 0.75 WHIP, 13 H , 2 BB, 16 K, 1 SV. Unranked by all publications Lazar was selected in the 11th round of the 2017 draft. Before COVID hit, he was seen as an up and coming starting pitcher prospect in the organization. Unfortunately COVID threw a small wrench in those plans, and then a torn UCL threw a much bigger wrench into those plans. Prior to Tommy John surgery and as a starter, Lazar’s fastball only sat in the 88-90 range, dipping as low as 86 at times. He was getting by on deception and with a very good changeup. When he returned from the surgery in 2022, Lazar was moved to the bullpen in a multi-inning role. Now in 2023, his fastball is sitting in the 92-95 range and spinning at 2500+ RPM. Coming from an extremely over the top slot that is somewhat reminiscent of Oliver Drake, it gets a ton of ride and plays very well at the top of the zone. With the jump in velocity it has turned into a much bigger swing and miss pitch for him. His changeup is still his best secondary, but his breaking ball has improved as well. It may not be as a starter anymore, but Lazar has been regaining some of his prospect luster in 2023, June only added to that. In June, Lazar went two or more innings in all five appearances, including three appearances with three or more innings pitched. His best outing was actually a two inning outing on June 18th, where he retired all six batters he faced, including three punch outs. Lazar’s performance in June was rewarded with a promotion to Double-A Biloxi where he will look to continue to re-make a name for himself in the organization. #1 RHP - Shane Smith - Carolina Mudcats - 6 G, 12.0 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.10 FIP, 0.58 WHIP, 5 H , 2 BB, 14 K, 1 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. His entire time at Low-A was very successful, but during June in particular he took it up a notch, as shown in his numbers for the month. Often being 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. Eliminating the home run ball, and the extra base hits, entirely were a huge reason for his successful month. As mentioned earlier, he used the curveball when he was in strikeout counts and it was very successful for him. The cutter is the pitch that did the best job of avoiding solid contact, breaking a few bats and coming close on a number of others. Smith’s month was highlighted by his June 16th outing in Augusta. That Friday night he threw three scoreless and hitless innings against the GreenJackets. His only base runner came on a walk. In that outing he struck out five batters and picked up his only save on the month. After his hugely successful month, Smith was promoted to High-A Wisconsin where he has gotten himself off to a good start through his first three innings. Like with Ryan Brady, the Brewers may have found another good one in the undrafted ranks with Smith. Given his advanced age and the fact he faced a lot of good competition at Wake Forest, he may be a fast mover if he continues to perform. 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

He did have a game with some really bad batted ball luck, yeah. He also had some pretty good batted ball luck in a couple of his better starts too, so I think it evened out overall.

Appreciate it! I’d say this month was definitely a down month for starters around the system. Gasser had a very solid month, but I’m not sure he even finishes top 2 in April or May with his output.

There were several starting pitchers who had real solid months during June. It was a tough call at the top, so be sure to leave comments below to let us know if we made the right choice for Brewers minor league starting pitcher of the month. Image courtesy of Casey Gower/Nashville Sounds We went through the top hitters for the month yesterday, today we will be taking a look at the four starting pitchers who had the best June themselves. Beginning with three honorable mentions. Honorable Mention RHP - Ranwell Smith - DSL Brewers 2 - 3 G, 3 GS, 13.1 IP, 0-1, 1.35 ERA, 2.83 FIP, 1.35 WHIP, 13 H, 5 BB, 17 K. Smith was part of the Brewers 2022 signing class and got little to no fanfare, there is no information on his stuff or his velocity, but the start to the season is hard to ignore. RHP - Janson Junk - Nashville Sounds - 5 G, 5 GS, 29.1 IP, 3-0, 2.76 ERA, 4.70 FIP, 1.02 WHIP, 24 H , 6 BB, 15 K. Junk does not have much in the way of strikeout stuff, but he has had great results pitching to contact in AAA. LHP - Thomas Pannone - Nashville Sounds - 4 G, 4 GS, 24.2 IP, 2-1, 1.82 ERA, 3.21 FIP, 0.85 WHIP, 17 H , 4 BB, 25 K. Pannone was DFA’d after his first MLB appearance for the Brewers, but he had a fantastic June and earned the promotion before falling victim to an unfortunate roster situation. TOP FOUR STARTING PITCHERS OF APRIL #4 RHP - Eric Prado - DSL Brewers 1 4 G, 2 GS, 13.1 IP, 0-1, 1.35 ERA, 3.21 FIP, 0.60 WHIP, 5 H , 3 BB, 13 K. Unranked by all publications Signed by the Brewers in this past international signing class, Prado is one of the rare pitchers to receive a six figure bonus from the Brewers. Out of Mexico, he is already up to 94 MPH at 17 years old. An extremely over the slot delivery creates a lot of ride on his fastball, characterized as “elite carry” by Baseball America. He also mixes in a big, loopy curveball, as well as a changeup with a lot of horizontal movement. In his first four games of professional baseball, he showed ability to limit baserunners at an elite level and he struck out about a batter an inning. His best appearance was on June 22nd, when he tossed five scoreless innings and he only allowed one hit and struck out five. BrewersPD provided us our first look at Prado, including video of that June 22nd outing. If Prado continues to put up results like he did in his first month of pro ball, he may be due for a trip stateside before the end of the year. That isn’t a common occurrence, but if the organization likes him enough to give him $130k, then he isn’t a common international pitcher either. The Brewers are aggressive with promotions and they clearly like him. You never know. #3 RHP - Jacob Misiorowski - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 4 G, 4 GS, 15.2 IP, 1-0, 1.15 ERA, 3.19 FIP, 1.15 WHIP, 9 H, 9 BB, 20 K Misiorowski made the May edition of these awards and this next portion is pulled directly from that article, as nothing changed in his repertoire in June. In terms of pure ceiling, the Brewers' second-round selection in last year's draft has one of the highest in all of baseball. Misiorowski is a freak athlete on the mound, with long levers and a fastball that regularly touches triple digits. He also throws a wicked slider in the upper 80’s and a curveball that is more in the mid-80s. His changeup has been used more sparingly, and he struggles to throw it for strikes, but it has shown flashes as well. There is potential for three elite pitches, and a solid fourth pitch. The concern has been, and will continue to be, with his command. Misiorowski’s lankiness, and long levers make it hard to sync up his mechanics repeatedly, and his stuff is so nasty it can also become tough to command pitches that move as much as his do. In June Misiorowski’s command issues did show up a bit more than they did in May. It did not affect his bottom line, as he still posted a fantastic 1.15 ERA, but the peripheral numbers were not as good as they had been in May. His walk rate was 13%, which was equal to 5.2 per nine innings. His strikeout rate is down a bit at High-A as well, though 11.5 per nine is nothing to scoff at. Misiorowski’s best start of the month was his first, which was also his first at the High-A level. He went 5 1/3 innings, only allowed one hit and one walk while striking out seven. Something that has been very noticeable is that Misiorowski’s velocity has been holding deeper into games, at least pitch count wise. Hitting 99 MPH on pitch number 81 the other day. In Carolina that velocity had dropped down to the mid-90’s once he was beyond 60-70 pitches. Which is a huge deal for anyone hoping to continue his role as a starter and not end up having to move to the bullpen in the future. Misiorowski has started to struggle with command a bit more and is likely starting to find a bit more of a challenge than he was given by the Low-A hitters. Despite that, he still was able to land himself on this list with his ability to avoid giving up a string of hits. It seems likely that he will spend the remainder of the season in Appleton, perhaps being given a cup of coffee in Biloxi for the last week or two, similar to Jackson Chourio in 2022. #2 RHP - Patricio Aquino - Carolina Mudcats 5 G, 5 GS, 20.0 IP, 0-2, 1.80 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 1.05 WHIP, 12 H, 9 BB, 19 K Unranked by all publications Aquino was part of the Brewers 2021 international signing class. He signed for $16k and has moved very quickly, already reaching full season ball and pitching to great success. Aquino’s fastball is in the 92-94 range, but he can reach back for 95 or 96 at times as well. At only 20 years old, he may still develop a bit more velocity as he continues to mature. His best pitch is his slider, which he throws on two different planes. He may be considering it as a slider and a curveball, though the slider version is more of a “slurve”. The breaking balls spin in the 2600 RPM range and generate a lot of whiffs, but is also the pitch he lands for strikes the best. He mixes in a changeup from time to time as well, but it lags behind the other offerings by quite a bit and unless it makes big strides, it will likely be scrapped somewhere along the line. His results prior to this season were not all that exciting on the surface, but his stuff and his peripherals showed a much higher ceiling than the numbers would seem to point to. In 2023 and especially in June, the numbers have caught up to everything else. Aquino used his fastball and breaking ball mix to keep hitters off balance all month, but his best outing was on June 15th where he went 4 1/3 hitless innings pitched and he struck out seven. The only baserunner he allowed was one walk. Outside of one hiccup of a start the next time out on the 21st, where his command faltered and he walked four batters and hit another, he may have taken the top spot on this month’s rankings. Aquino has the stuff to be promoted, and the results have followed as well. He may find himself in Appleton sooner rather than later. #1 Robert Gasser LHP - Nashville Sounds 4 G, 4 GS, 25.1 IP, 2-0, 2.84 ERA, 3.18 FIP, 0.95 WHIP, 20 H, 4 BB, 27 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. As a Padres 2021 draft pick, Gasser was in the midst of his first full season when the trade happened in 2022. He finished his Padres career at the High-A level, having thrown 90.1 innings for the Fort Wayne TinCaps. The Brewers decided that was plenty of experience at that level and assigned him to Double-A Biloxi to begin his Brewers career. Four starts later Gasser, and his 2.21 ERA and 11.5 strikeouts per nine, were headed to Triple-A Nashville. This is where he would finish the 2022 campaign and where he has begun 2023. Having never walked more than 2.79 batters per nine with the Padres organization, Gasser had raised that number to 3.54 in his four Biloxi starts. Once he reached Triple-A that number had jumped up to 5.47 in 2022. In April of 2023 he had the exact same number at 5.5 per nine. His numbers in May did show some improvement, as he brought that number down to 4.16 per nine. While that isn’t where you would want the number to be, it was a sign of progress and something he would hope to continue to improve upon. When June rolled around, Gasser suddenly got back to the high level command that made him such an attractive piece for the Brewers last summer. Over the course of his four starts in June, Gasser only walked four batters in 25 1/3 innings, which is equal to 1.4 per nine. Unsurprisingly this was also his best month at the Triple-A level, pitching to the tune of a 2.84 ERA and striking out over a batter per inning. While he didn’t have the lowest ERA in the system, he had the full package working for him in June. His strikeout to walk ratio was a fantastic 6.75 and he worked at least six innings in all four of his starts. Gasser appears to be ready for a shot at the MLB level. Whether the Brewers can find a suitable role for him or not, that’s the main question. Barring a collapse in his production, it seems likely we will see him at some point over the next few months. Please share your opinions! Who should have made it that didn’t? Who made it, but should not have? View full article

Yesterday we handed out some proverbial hardware to the Brewer Fanatic Hitter and Pitcher of the Month for June. Today, we will be begin looking at our minor league awards, starting with the Hitter of the Month. Image courtesy of Mike Krebs, Biloxi Shuckers June was an exciting month for prospect followers, as some of the higher ranked prospects had breakout months at the plate. We will look at the top five hitters for the month, as well as a few honorable mentions. Honorable Mentions C/DH Alex Jackson - Nashville Sounds - 19 H, .442/.546/.930 (1.476 OPS), 251 wRC+, with 3 doubles, 6 home runs, 17 R, 13 RBI, 8 BB, 8 K. Jackson may have had the best month of any hitter in the system. However, he didn’t have enough PA’s to be a “qualified” hitter and is no longer a prospect, so he finds himself in the honorable mention section. He has some of the biggest raw power in all of baseball with a max exit velocity of 114.4 and a 90th percentile EV of 107.7. He has proven that he can hit at the AAA level and it will be interesting if the Brewers end up giving him a shot this year as a jolt to the lineup. 3B/1B Luke Adams - Carolina Mudcats - 19 H, .274/.436/.425 (.861 OPS), 155 wRC+, with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 15 R, 7 RBI, 19 BB, 22 K, 6 SB, 3 CS Adams continues to put up really strong numbers as a 19 year old in Low-A. For more on him, check out April’s Hitter of the Month article. C Jeferson Quero - Biloxi Shuckers - 19 H, .297/.418/.438 (.855 OPS), 137 wRC+, with 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 6 R, 11 RBI, 14 BB, 10 K, 1 SB Quero keeps hitting, this month doing it in a totally different way than April and May. He raised his season long walk rate to over 10% and lowered his K rate to under 20%. Check out more on Quero in the article on May's Hitter of the Month. THE TOP FIVE MAY HITTERS #5 IF Juan Baez - ACL Brewers - 27 H, .429/.431/.540 (.971 OPS), 141 wRC+, with 5 doubles, 1 triple 14 R, 13 RBI, 1 BB, 10 K, 8 SB, 1 CS Unranked by all publications 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). In his first month, he showed why the Brewers were so aggressive with him. Baez has plus feel for contact, is said to have plus speed and to play a very solid middle infield. One thing Baez is going to have to work on is his patience at the plate. He drew his first (and only) walk of the season in the second to last game he played in June, but the bat to ball skills did all of the heavy lifting on his way to an extremely successful month. Baez had 27 hits on the month and his .429 batting average was the highest for all qualified hitters in the Brewers system. He also showed some gap to gap power by hitting five doubles, as well as a triple. He is not thought to have much game power at the moment, but does have a good frame and might be able to develop it over time. If you’re a player who is lacking in power, you want to have a high line drive rate, and Baez is carrying a 19% rate so far. Not an elite number, but certainly a solid one. He has a middle of the field approach as well. Line drives that are hit up the middle are rarely going to end in outs. Along with his ability to generate hits, Baez also uses his plus speed to steal bases, going 9 for 10 on attempts in June. The only real knock on his month will be the walk rate. In order to be a top of the order bat as he moves through the ranks of the organization, Baez will need to draw walks a bit more often. Everything else in his profile points to a player Brewers fans will want to follow. If he continues to hit like he did in June, it would not be a surprise if the Brewers reward/challenge him with a Low-A promotion later in the season. #4 OF Yophery Rodriguez - DSL Brewers 1 - 27 H, .286/.465/.476 (.941 OPS), 148 wRC+, with 4 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs, 17 R, 15 RBI, 21 BB, 14 K, 7 SB, 4 CS. The Brewers handed Rodriguez their biggest signing bonus in the 2023 international class, giving him $1.5 million to join the system. All reports on him point to a hitter with great bat to ball skills and plate discipline. Defensively scouts believe he has the instincts, jumps and routes to stay in center field, but the speed is closer to average and that could cause him to move to a corner eventually. Equipped with the very good bat to ball skills and plate discipline, Rodriguez has a good hit tool in general. He has a flat swing path, one that does currently prevent him from getting to some of his big raw power, but also allows him to make consistent contact. Adding a bit of loft to the swing might eventually be necessary, as his 58% ground ball rate is rather high. Despite that, the ground ball rate was not an issue for Rodriguez in June as he got off to a fantastic start in his professional career. High walk rates aren’t that uncommon in the DSL, take a peek at a few DSL box scores if you have any doubts about that, but a 24% walk rate is still incredibly high for a calendar month. Strikeouts are also quite common in the DSL, but Rodriguez kept his strikeout rate to a meager 15% in June. Showing off both the bat to ball and the plate discipline skills that scouts were raving about post-signing. While the ground ball rate was high, he did a good job of making his elevated batted balls count, hitting two home runs, along with four doubles and a triple. On the bases he was 7-for-11 on stolen base attempts, a sign that the average speed grades may be onto something. Outside of the stolen bases, the rest of the offensive output in June was very encouraging and it will be interesting to see how he carries it into the coming months. If Rodriguez does continue to hit like he did in his first month, he might be on the Luis Lara and Jackson Chourio path to making his full season debut in his second professional season. #3 OF Luis Lara - Carolina Mudcats - 22 H, .339/.434/.446 (.880 OPS), 157 wRC+, with 4 doubles, 1 home run, 16 R, 5 RBI, 11 BB, 10 K, 7 SB, 3 CS The Brewer Fanatic #11 prospect, Lara was one of the bigger signings for the Brewers in last year’s international free-agent class. After getting off to a scalding hot start in the DSL, he slowed down dramatically for a few weeks before a strong finish. Lara’s 2022 stats did not end up being super exciting, but a 12% K-Rate and 9% BB-Rate were great signs for a player his age. Lara has the potential for a plus hit tool, potentially even elite. Scouts have said he should be able to stay in center field defensively, and FanGraphs has given him a 60-grade arm. The power is probably the biggest question mark for Lara, but despite his diminutive stature, Lara has shown flashes of raw power and even some in-game power from both sides of the plate. Both of his home runs in 2023 are from the right side however. All of the tools are there for Lara, but perhaps the biggest source of excitement should be based on the Brewers willingness to move him as aggressively as they have. So far, he is on a very similar timeline to Jackson Chourio. Not to say that he will ever be the same level of prospect as Chourio (that will likely depend on the power development), but it is hard to ignore that level of belief from any organization in an 18 year old. Lara has handled it all extremely well so far and his second month of full season ball gave a good look at everything he can do. Lara’s OPS of .880 was 12th in the entire Carolina League for the month. Only one other player in the top 15 was younger than 20 years old (fellow Brewers prospect Luke Adams). He tapped into a little more extra base hit power in his second month, with five total, including his second home run. Lara has plus speed, but thus far in his professional career he’s been a mediocre base stealer. He is at 14 of 21 on the season, including 7/10 in June, which is not a great ratio. However, those jumps may improve over time as he gets more and more accustomed to professional pitchers. The carrying tool will be his hit tool. His bat to ball skills and his swing decisions, along with ridiculous bat speed are what helped him to a .339 average in June and will be what carry him through the ranks of the minor leagues. Due to the previously mentioned hit tool, Lara is a prime candidate to move quickly through the system, despite his age. In fact, it would not be a surprise to see him reach High-A soon, especially if he continues to put up results like he did in June. #2 IF Cam Devanney - Nashville Sounds - 24 H, .303/.365/.636 (1.001 OPS), 139 wRC+, with 8 doubles, 1 Triple, 4 home runs, 12 R, 13 RBI, 6 BB, 6 K, 2 SB, 2 CS Unranked by all publications The Brewers selected Devanney with the 463rd pick in the 2019 draft. Not many 15th rounders last as long as he has, but he’s earned it every step of the way. Outside of one poor season in 2021, Devanney has carried a wRC+ of over 110 at every level of his professional journey. While he did finish June at a 95 wRC+ for the 2023 season, he is definitely trending upward, as his number for the month was 139. Devanney plays solid defense at every infield position and has a pretty decent throwing arm to go with it. He is the epitome of a solid baseball player. In June, his bat was more than just “solid” as he posted an OPS of 1.001. Devanney is not known for being a free swinger, but he did not draw many walks in June. His bat to ball skills are very good though, so while the walks were not high, the strikeouts were equally limited at six apiece. Along with his ability to put the ball in play, Devanney also showed some pop in his bat last month with 13 extra base hits, including four home runs. He has a max exit velocity of 108 MPH this year and a 90th percentile exit velocity of 103.4 MPH, neither are elite numbers but they are signs of a bat that is capable of playing at the MLB level. Devanney’s steady bat, and ability to play average or better defense all over the infield gives him a path to the majors as a utility man. As a near major league ready player, he will be one to watch for Rule 5 protection this next offseason. He may be one to keep an eye on in trade talks at the deadline as well. #1 2B/3B Tyler Black - Biloxi Shuckers - 24 H, .347/.449/.653 (1.103 OPS), 192 wRC+, with 5 doubles, 3 Triples, 4 home runs, 19 R, 13 RBI, 10 BB, 15 K, 16 SB, 1 CS The Brewers Competitive Balance Round A selection in 2021, Black has broken out in a major way this season. After some tough injury luck in his first full season last year, Black has been able to stay on the field so far this year and the results are getting to a point where it’s hard to believe he’s still in Double-A Biloxi. Not only is he carrying a .941 OPS and 155 wRC+ into the second half of the season, but Black is showing off a different skill set that nobody could have seen coming. An elite ability to steal bases. Now up to 40 steals on the season, Black is putting up these numbers with what most would consider good, but not great, speed. His baserunning instincts are borderline elite however and that is what is helping him to this ridiculous stolen base clip, including successfully stealing 16 of 17 in June. In June, Black built upon what was already a very good start over the first two months. Black has begun to tap into his raw power quite a bit more this season. He hit four home runs this month, which matched his total for all of 2022, and brought his total in 2023 up to eleven. Black has raised his 90th percentile exit velocity by around four MPH and raised his fly ball rate to over 40%. This improvement in batted ball profile is not common for a college draft pick. Both he and the Brewers have clearly worked hard and done a good job with his development. The current offensive profile is that of an MLB hitter. One that could be very good at the highest level. Along with the power and the baserunning, Black has also shown elite plate discipline and an extremely patient approach at the plate. He has maintained a walk rate of 18% this season and while it was lower in June, it was still a very respectable 11%. Black also has an on base skill that often goes overlooked. He gets hit by a lot of pitches. He is not afraid to hang in on an inside pitch and wear it to get himself on base. He was hit four times in June which brought his total to ten for the season. Tyler Black is far from a perfect player. His defense is a definite work in progress. He has developed a bit more swing and miss to his game, though it comes with the trade-off of the added power. What Black is, is a baseball player. He’s a fantastic hitter, he plays with a lot of fire and energy, and he clearly works his tail off to get better. His progress since being drafted has been rapid and he has put himself in a position, not only to be promoted to Triple-A, but he is likely on the edge of the major leagues at this point as well. 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

The two Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month articles have had some scouting information on Jimenez 🙂 Basically a low-90's fastball and also mixes a sinker/2 seam at similar velo. Curveball and slider, though I think technically he would call it two different curveballs. Both are above average offerings. Also mixes in a changeup that has come a long way and is a nice fourth offering now. If he can add a little velocity he could really pop. Otherwise he has the potential to be a swingman/back end starter due to really solid command, that could be plus as he continues to develop.

PREACH I would be happy to take Davis in the top 10, if I had a top 10 pick. He's my favorite at 18 right now, barring some huge drop from somebody else.

Who were the top bullpen arms in the Brewers minor leagues in May? Click into the article below and find out. Image courtesy of Neal Hock, Carolina Mudcats We close out our MiLB Player of the Month series with our top five Relief Pitchers for the month of May. This list was the most difficult of the group. There weren’t as many dominant performances by the relievers as there were in April, but a group of five did stand out above the rest. We will begin with a couple of honorable mentions. HONORABLE MENTIONS RHP - Tanner Shears - Carolina Mudcats - 6 G, 9.0 IP, 0-1, 1.00 ERA, 4.42 FIP, 1.78 WHIP, 9 H , 7 BB, 14 K. An Independent league signing by the Brewers, Shears has been working through some command issues but has filthy stuff. His splitter is a borderline elite pitch that completely kills spin at 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 flukey, but with his pure stuff, he can get himself into and out of danger. LHP - Ethan Small - Nashville Sounds - 4 G, 9.0 IP, 0-1, 1.00 ERA, 2.94 FIP, 1.22 WHIP, 4 H , 7 BB, 13 K. The good news for Small is that his MLB stats do not count for this list, as he was much more successful in Triple-A. Most 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 and his changeup is a great pitch. The issue is that he doesn’t often command his pitches, and his third pitch is still very much developing. Small is a smart guy with an understanding of what works best for him. Hopefully he can reign in his command and become a successful major league reliever. TOP FIVE RELIEF PITCHERS FOR APRIL #5 RHP - TJ Shook - Biloxi Shuckers - 4 G, 15.0 IP, 0-1, 1.80 ERA, 2.98 FIP, 0.93 WHIP, 11 H, 3 BB, 20 K. Unranked by all publications TJ Shook was an Undrafted Free Agent following the 2020 MLB Draft. Having only five rounds due to COVID killed his chances of getting drafted, but he was a high priority UDFA for the organization. Shook throws one of the best changeups in the Brewers system, at times it will look like one of the best changeups in baseball. While his changeup is his best pitch, he is able to run his fastball up into the mid-90’s and it often will play well up in the zone, though it does flatten out at times which is when he gets into trouble. Shook also mixes in a slider that is short and sharp, at times appearing to be more of a cutter movement than a slider. Velocity wise the slider is in the 85-87 range for the most part. Shook didn’t have the greatest April, but wasted no time turning his season around once the calendar flipped. In his first outing in May, Shook worked four innings out of the bullpen and struck out seven, only allowing one run. He followed that up with two scoreless appearances (in terms of earned runs), including six strikeouts in three innings on the 20th. It is important to note that while his ERA looks really good, he did end up allowing eight runs in May, though only three were earned. While his defense clearly did not help him out, he also seemed to be unable to pick them up either. Based on his usage this month, it is possible the Brewers and Shuckers are still working to stretch him out as a starter, as all of his appearances did last at least three innings. Likely not one that will be moving from Biloxi this year, consistency is going to be key for him. He does a decent job limiting walks, but his in zone command can use work. If he puts it together, Shook does have the stuff to find a role as a major league pitcher in the future. #4 RHP - Zach Vennaro - Biloxi Shuckers - 9 G, 10.2 IP, 1-1, 1.69 ERA, 2.74 FIP, 1.03 WHIP, 5 H , 6 BB, 15 K, 1 SV. Vennaro is a bit older than the average prospect, and his first few years in the Brewers system didn’t produce the greatest numbers on the surface. However, he does possess a very interesting arm. Previously sitting more in the 93-96 range with his fastball, Vennaro now stays around 95-98. He comes at hitters with a lower arm slot and a funky delivery while his fastball runs in on the hands of right handed hitters. He also throws a slider that gets a ton of swing and misses from right handed hitters. The main concern with Vennaro is that he has heavy platoon splits. In some ways, the numbers so far in 2023 are hard to believe. Right handed hitters are hitting .173 against Vennaro with no walks and ten strikeouts. Lefties are hitting .273 against him with ten walks to only seven strikeouts. In many ways, there are a lot of Jake Cousins similarities with Vennaro. Cousins has also struggled with the opposite side hitters, both can be dominant when facing right handers. In May, Vennaro was able to work around his platoon issues, as well as a pretty high walk rate, by striking out nearly 13 batters per nine innings. He was also able to keep the ball on the ground, helping him eliminate some of his free passes by way of the double play. With the way his pitches work, this type of pitching will be the key to success for Vennaro getting right handed hitters out. Despite his ability to get through the month without much success against left handed hitters, he could really use a counter against them moving forward. Developing a changeup is something that would go a long way toward lessening the huge gap in his platoon splits. Peter Strzelecki is a great example to show how this works. Vennaro has already touched Triple-A in 2022, but he will need to continue to show improvement in order to get back there this year. His pure stuff is that of a major league reliever and the Brewers are a great organization to help him attempt to figure out some of the shortcomings. #3 RHP - Brannon Jordan - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 9 G, 12.1 IP, 1-0, 0.73 ERA, 3.68 FIP, 0.65 WHIP, 4 H , 4 BB, 11 K, 1 SV. Unranked by all publications The Brewers ninth round selection in the 2021 draft, Jordan was seen as a relatively high floor type of pitcher who was likely to end up in the bullpen due to some command concerns. His fastball mainly sits in the 91-93 range and can get up to 95 at times. It plays very well in the zone and sometimes above the zone, due to it possessing a good amount of ride. His best pitch is his slider, which he throws in the mid-80’s. His slider has sharp movement that causes a lot of uncomfortable swings from his opponents and is his go-to pitch in strikeout situations. He throws a slower breaking ball as well, that has more of a 12-6 movement to it, used more as a “get me over” offering. He will also mix in a changeup at times that shows decent depth, but hasn’t been a super effective pitch for him and is used sparingly. In May, Jordan was able to keep teams off the board by limiting walks and limiting hits. If you look at Jordan’s FIP, it looks a bit out of place with the others on this list. The reason it’s higher is mainly just because he wasn’t missing a ton of bats, in the way you might expect a high leverage reliever to, he struck out just under one batter per inning. Instead he got his results by missing barrels and generating weak contact. While it does cause a pitcher to be more reliant on his defense, pitching to contact can still be a very effective way to get through an outing. He used that ability to carry him to his very strong results in May. At 24 years old, Jordan is likely going to see time in Biloxi at some point this year. That will be when we see the best The jump from High-A to Double-A is often said to be the toughest jump to make. #2 RHP - Thyago Vieira - Nashville Sounds - 7 G, 9.2 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.94 FIP, 0.62 WHIP, 4 H , 2 BB, 12 K, 1 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 Futures 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 only threw two innings in April, as he joined the Sounds roster in the last week of the month. Once May began he started to get higher leverage opportunities and make regular appearances. Throwing his four seam and his two seam fastball at an average of 97.8 MPH, he uses the four seam up in the zone more and the two seam down more often. Both have generated ground balls at a 50% 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 over half of the swings against it this season, and it was a huge part of his success in May, as shown in the video package the BrewersPD account put out recently. Vieira is not on the 40 man roster, but his performance is trending toward warranting a look in the major league bullpen, especially if his command continues to continue down the path it is on so far in 2023. #1 RHP - Nick Merkel - Carolina Mudcats - 6 G, 14.2 IP, 0-0, 1.84 ERA, 0.96 FIP, 0.89 WHIP, 12 H , 1 BB, 22 K, 1 SV Unranked by all publications Merkel is another member of the Brewers long list of independent ball signings, signed this past offseason after playing one year for the Missoula Paddleheads, following the conclusion of his college career at NAIA Central Methodist University. Standing at 6’7 and weighing in at 255 pounds, Merkel is an intimidating figure on the mound. Despite his size, he isn’t a flamethrower by any means, though not a soft tosser either. He tends to sit around 93-95 with his fastball that rides well up in the zone and gets on hitters due to the extension Merkel generates with his tall frame. Merkel also mixes in what appear to be two different breaking balls. One is more slurve-like, which seems to be used as a slider, and one is more of a 12/6 breaking ball. He mixes in a changeup as well, though it lags behind the breaking balls and doesn’t appear to be a pitch he goes to very often. Throughout the month Merkel did a fantastic job of playing his high fastball and his 12/6 curveball off of each other. He would use the high fastball to set up the batter for a breaking ball down, or out of the zone and vice versa. It was the main plan of attack, and the stats would seem to indicate that it worked quite well. Not only was the plan a good one, the execution was near perfect. Only one walk to 22 strikeouts is quite the feat, especially for someone as tall as Merkel is. Being repetitive with one’s delivery gets more difficult at that height, as the long limbs can be tough to sync up, but he appeared to be very consistent in his motion. Not only did Merkel perform well, but he also was used in longer outings, often going three or more innings, meaning he was seeing parts of the lineup multiple times and hitters were getting more than one look at his stuff, but still could not square anything up. As a 24 year old, the Brewer may look to move him to High-A soon to give him a more age appropriate challenge. If his command continues to be as good as it was in May, he could be a fast mover. He possesses a lot of the traits that the Brewers like in their middle relievers. Thanks for following along with this three part series on the Brewers minor league system. The plan is to run these every month. Repeat winners may not have as much detail each month, but we hope you learn something new each time around! View full article

Today we continue to recognize the top performers in the Brewers farm system during the month of May by looking at the top starting pitchers. There were several strong options for the top spot but Will Rudy ended the month with a great start to make the choice rather easy. Image courtesy of Neal Hock, Carolina Mudcats We continue our Minor League Player of the Month series with our Top 6 Starting Pitchers for the month of May. To begin with a small disclaimer, the Mudcats once again complicated the choices by having a lot of “tandem” starts, which led to a number of pitchers with starter innings, but only one or two starts. Because of this we have made the cutoff 15 IP, and at least one game started, in order to be eligible for the list. Honorable Mention LHP - Adam Seminaris - Biloxi Shuckers - 3 G, 3 GS, 16.0 IP, 1-1, 3.38 ERA, 2.55 FIP, 1.13 WHIP, 12 H , 6 BB, 17 K. One of the three pitchers acquired in the Hunter Renfroe trade, Seminaris had a really forgettable April before turning the page to May. He struck out more than a batter per inning and kept his walks to a minimum. Unfortunately he was injured during his third start of the month and wasn’t able to continue building off his recent success. Hopefully once he returns he will be able to pick up where he left off. TOP 6 PITCHERS OF APRIL #6 RHP - Justin Jarvis - Biloxi Shuckers - 5 G, 5 GS, 26.2 IP, 3-1, 3.37 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 1.42 WHIP, 28 H , 10 BB, 31 K. Brewer Fanatics newly-ranked number 12 prospect, Jarvis didn’t quite match his dominant April, in which he took home the number 1 spot in these rankings. He did, however, still have a very solid showing, and seemed to prove that April was not a fluke. Jarvis’ stuff did not regress in May, still sitting in the mid-90’s with his fastball and showing the same three secondaries that made him successful in April. His command did take a bit of a step back however, and this was where the results likely faltered a bit in comparison to last month. Still striking out over ten batters per nine innings, his walk numbers weren’t all that bad. The command issues showed more in terms of his in-zone command, as Jarvis was leaving pitches over the heart of the plate a bit more often, which led to some harder contact against him. Jarvis’ month was highlighted by his May 18th outing, in which he went six innings, only allowed two earned runs and struck out nine batters. May was another step in the right direction for Jarvis, who is in a very important year of his development. #5 RHP - Carlos F. Rodriguez - Biloxi Shuckers - 5 G, 5 GS, 27.2 IP, 2-1, 3.25 ERA, 3.48 FIP, 0.98 WHIP, 17 H , 10 BB, 37 K. Rodriguez is another pitcher that has made this list for a second time in as many opportunities. The Brewer Fanatic number six prospect, much like Jarvis, had a really solid May even if the surface numbers took a bit of a step back from what he put up in April. Rodriguez was hit a bit harder in May, but was still able to strike out over 12 batters per nine innings. His fastball continued to ride well up in the zone and his changeup was a plus pitch this month against lefties. The slider was his go-to secondary against righties, and he generated plenty of swing and miss with that as well. Rodriguez’s month-long numbers were dragged down by one outing in mid-May where he walked four and gave up six runs (four of which were earned) in three innings. Without that outing, his May would have been just as elite as his April. While he did have one of his worst outings in quite some time in May, Rodriguez’s best start of his career may have been his most recent, as he went a complete seven innings for the first time. In that outing he struck out 11 and walked zero. He allowed a two-run home run to the second batter of the game and then settled in and was dominant for the remainder of his start. Rodriguez has pitched well enough where the Brewers are likely considering a promotion to Triple-A, where he would be one of the youngest players at the level. This is a name that the larger publications likely need to take more note of, as the results just keep rolling in, and his stuff backs up the results. #4 RHP - Jacob Misiorowski - Carolina Mudcats - 6 G, 6 GS, 22.0 IP, 1-1, 3.27 ERA, 2.08 FIP, 0.82 WHIP, 7 H , 11 BB, 38 K. In terms of pure ceiling, the Brewers' second-round selection in last year's draft has one of the highest in all of baseball. Misiorowski is a freak athlete on the mound, with long levers and a fastball that regularly touches triple digits. He also throws a wicked slider in the upper 80’s and a curveball that is more in the mid-80s. His changeup has been used more sparingly, and he struggles to throw it for strikes, but it has shown flashes as well. There is potential for three elite pitches, and a solid fourth pitch. The concern has been, and will continue to be, with his command. Misiorowski’s lankiness, and long levers make it hard to sync up his mechanics repeatedly, and his stuff is so nasty it can also become tough to command pitches that move as much as his do. Despite the command concerns, May wasn’t a bad month in terms of walks for Misiorowski, only walking four batters per nine innings. While not a great number by any means, somebody with his strikeout stuff will be just fine if he holds that number through his career. The concern many will note is that he got a lot of chases from Low-A hitters on pitches that may not have been all that competitive, and upper level hitters would have been able to lay off with ease. It will be something to monitor as he begins his ascension up the minor league ladder. Only allowing six hits in the month, Misiorowski was punching tickets left and right as he struck out over 16 batters per nine innings. While his ERA for the month may not blow you away, his peripherals were that of an absolutely elite pitcher. Misiorowski’s best outing of the month was, without a doubt, his May 25th start. That evening he went five innings for the first time in his pro career, struck out nine batters and did not allow a hit. The lone baserunner he allowed came by way of a hit by pitch. It was a dominant performance that showed just how high the ceiling is for. Misiorowski is dominating the Carolina league, but the Brewers are still likely to keep him there for a bit longer, as he continues to iron out some of the mechanical inconsistencies and build himself up in terms of his pitch count. A promotion to Wisconsin looks very likely within the next month or so though and if you are in the Appleton area, that’s a guy you’re going to want to go take a look at in person. #3 LHP - Nate Peterson - Carolina Mudcats - 4 G, 1 GS, 18.0 IP, 3-0, 1.50 ERA, 2.21 FIP, 0.72 WHIP, 9 H, 4 BB, 23 K. Unranked by all publications The Brewers eighth round pick in last year's draft out of the University of Illinois-Chicago was used in a piggy back role, but was clearly being stretched as a starter, never going fewer than four innings in any of his outings. The report on Peterson coming out of college was that he had a really good looking changeup at times, but it wasn’t consistent and two different breaking balls showed some flashes, but needed to add movement. His fastball had decent carry, but would get flat at times and sitting only around 90-92, touching 94, would get hit around when it did flatten out. So far in Carolina, the fastball has seemed to hold the carry a lot better, and it has been getting on hitters, causing some uncomfortable swings. Velocity readings have been hard to come by during his Carolina outings, but given the uncomfortable swings it’s fair to wonder if he has bumped his fastball up closer to 93-94 more regularly. His changeup has shown more consistency than in college and has been a really good out pitch for him against right handed hitters, though his breaking ball could still use more improvement. He has fared equally well against both righties and lefties so far though, which is always a good sign that the changeup is playing well. Peterson has shown tremendous command, and that shows in his miniscule walk rate for the month, as well as the amount of soft contact he has been generating. For a guy who didn’t have scouts very excited in college, Peterson has shown some unexpected flashes so far. The Brewers track record of finding diamonds in the rough makes it hard not to be a bit excited by what Peterson has shown. At his more advanced age of 23, a promotion to Wisconsin is likely in the cards relatively soon. That will be a bit of a better test for him, but these results are exciting nonetheless. #2 RHP - Edwin Jimenez - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers - 6 G, 2 GS, 24.1 IP, 2-1, 1.85 ERA, 3.21 FIP, 0.74 WHIP, 14 H, 4 BB, 28 K. Unranked by all publications Jimenez is the third player to make this list in both April and May. Much like in April, Jimenez technically only started a couple of games, but he is still being stretched out as a starter. The 2018 international signee Jimenez had always had a curveball with good traits; a good shape and sharp break and a changeup that showed flashes. However, the fastball had lagged behind in the past. In April his velocity was up into the low 90’s with more consistency and the fastball was commanded better than in the past, and that carried right on into May. If April was going to be Jimenez’s breakout month, as we speculated, then he was going to need to prove that he could build off of it. So far, so good, as he was actually even better in May. Jimenez made the jump to High-A right as the month began, and hit the ground running. Thanks in part to what has appeared to be a more consistent changeup. His changeup is in the 84-85 MPH range, and has sharp and late break. It has splitter movement, though he doesn’t seem to have a true splitter grip. He only allowed one earned run in his first four outings with the Timber Rattlers, spanning 13 1/3 innings. He struck out 19 in that stretch, and only walked three. His final two outings were five and six innings, respectively. He gave up two earned runs in each of those appearances, all of which came due to the home run ball (two solo, and one two-run home run). His strikeouts were down a bit in those last two outings, punching out nine in 11 innings, but he still did a great job locating his pitches and keeping hitters uncomfortable. As noted in the April edition of this list, Jimenez will be Rule 5 eligible this offseason, which means his organizational timer is ticking and the team will likely continue to be aggressive with his promotions. At the rate he is going, a move to Biloxi later in the season does not appear to be out of the question. #1 RHP - Will Rudy - Carolina Mudcats - 5 G, 5 GS, 24.1 IP, 3-0, 0.74 ERA, FIP, 0.95 WHIP, 17 H, 6 BB, 25 K. Unranked by all publications The Brewers fifth round selection in last year's MLB Draft out of Cal Poly Pomona does not currently appear on any of the major prospect lists. Though if his May is any sign of things to come, that will not hold true for much longer. Rudy is a converted shortstop who is still relatively new to pitching and is likely only scratching the surface of what he is capable of, which makes his first month in pro ball even more exciting. A very good athlete with a clean and smooth delivery and an arm action that appears to be very repeatable; Rudy has shown above average, if not plus, command already in Carolina. His fastball sits 90-92 mph with armside run and he seems to be able to throw it up in the zone, as well as down in the zone. With his frame and his relative inexperience on the mound, he should continue to add velocity and will likely get himself into the mid-90’s in the future. He throws a slider that is above average and flashes plus as times, and he also throws a changeup that is a decent third offering and helps keep hitters off balance. Rudy has the repertoire to stick as a starter and he showed it off in May to the tune of a 0.74 ERA. To highlight the type of month Rudy had, his worst start was a 4 1/3 IP outing where he gave up one earned run. That outing was also his first start of the season and of his professional career. His next time out was a five-inning outing where he allowed one earned run. He then finished his stellar month with three straight outings of five innings and he did not allow a run in any of those final three starts. Not only did Rudy strike out more than a batter an inning and limit walks to 2.22 per nine, he also only allowed two extra base hits in May, both of which were doubles. Hitters were struggling to generate contact in general, but hard contact was almost non-existent against Rudy. Rudy’s professional career could not have gotten off to much of a better start than it did in May. If similar results keep rolling in, the Brewers might need to look into pushing Rudy aggressively to High-A Wisconsin in short order. Please share your opinions! Who should have made it that didn’t? Who made it, but should not have? View full article