Spencer Michaelis

I'm just super confused by some of you. He didn't have good production? He had an OPS over 1.000... He hit against the Power 5 competition he saw. He has pop, hasn't shown up in game a ton, but it's there. Exit velo's up to 113, consistently over 95. People complain about Brewers whiffing and chasing, this guy never does, but puts barrels on balls too. He can stick at short defensively and be a top of the order threat.

I think that’s where the issue with adjusting every field would be tough, and also there’d still be around a 20 year gap of players who’ve been training that way from 13 years on. I just think that’d make it super hard to implement safely and reasonably.

This is an interesting question. As a D3 pitching coach who has started learning more and more about the science behind pitching and how the human body works in that regard, I would be extremely hesitant to take the mound away, or even lower it much further than it already is. I think the arm injuries would go up dramatically from where they already are. There's a reason pitchers throw their "flat grounds" from only about 45-50 feet away at about 70-80%. I don't think pitcher's fastballs would be effected too much, but changeups with heavy pronation (see: Devin Williams) or breaking balls would put a lot more strain on the elbow and shoulder without that slope, as pitcher's would have to create a different tilt with their body to make it work. I absolutely do think that it would improve the offensive outputs around the game to do so though. Probably by a lot. I just think that the cost of losing pitchers to injury is too high. One other note is that, any time you mess with the mound in general (lowering, moving it back, etc), you're going to have to make a big change to a lot of parks around the world. You can't have high schoolers and colleges pitching on mounds and then once they get to pro ball, the mound is gone or 3 feet further back. They've trained most of their lives in a certain set of parameters. So that would mean everyone around the country/world having to make adjustments to their mound as well, which can be a tough (and somewhat expensive) thing to do.

RHP Cam Robinson has been promoted to AA Biloxi. He broke the news on the T Rats postgame podcast today. Well deserved!

FWIW, Cam Robinson is literally my 31st prospect. I just didn't extend this list beyond 30 haha. I do like him a lot. If he wasn't already being pigeon-holed into a pen role, he'd probably be higher on my list. If he keeps the production up at AA, then I'll move him up anyway, because there's still a ton of value in a good reliever.

Jackson Chourio OF Joey Wiemer OF Sal Frelick OF Jeferson Quero C Antoine Kelly LHP Ethan Small LHP Brice Turang SS Garrett Mitchell OF Tyler Black 2B Hedbert Perez OF Eduardo Garcia SS Logan Henderson RHP Hendry Mendez OF Felix Valerio UTIL Luis Lara OF Joe Gray Jr OF Tristan Peters OF Victor Castaneda RHP TJ Shook RHP Stiven Cruz RHP Abner Uribe RHP Carlos Rodriguez RHP Brandon Knarr LHP Tristen Lutz OF Freddy Zamora SS Zavier Warren CIF Carlos Rodriguez OF Mario Feliciano C Darrien Miller C Russell Smith LHP

Any time the Brewers PD account tweets about somebody who hasn’t had great numbers, I take notice. They tweeted this one out for Yeison last year. Nice to see some results early on this year!

A semi random note. It appears the Brewers are going to let Quinton Low make a real attempt at the two-way life, which is really fun: Game 1 for the ACL Brewers Blue squad (Monday): Batted third in the order, playing First Base, 1-4 w/ 1 BB, 2 R scored. Game 2 (yesterday): 2 IP, 0 H, 3 BB, 3 K’s

Personally, I'm very much looking forward to seeing what Quinton Low and Jace Avina do. Low got a taste of the complex league last year and did quite well in 20 some AB's. Daniel Guilarte, Gregory Barrios are two international signings who were ranked by a couple outlets. Both will be 18 for the whole season. Luis Medina was a pretty big name when he signed in the Hedbert Perez/Jeferson Quero class, but has struggled a bit so far. On the pitching side, a personal favorite of mine is Yujanyer Herrera, though he definitely will need to cut down on his walks. He's flashed a nasty changeup in some video I've seen and velo in the 90-93 range. Yorman Galindez was described as a "strike thrower" with a fastball up to 94 and feel for a curveball. He was signed in the latest international class, but is 19 years old. Caden Vire was another of the high school picks in the later rounds last year with a super projectable body and arm. Hoping he's put on some good weight in the last year and can get off to a good start in pro ball! There are more, but those are the ones that stood out to me at first glance.

Brewers PD tweeted some video of a bunch of Chourio swings from his first month of full season ball. Can really see how advanced the bat control is. He gets the barrel to a ton of different pitches, in a bunch of different locations here.

Chourio basically has 40 or 45 grades on his arm across the board. Yelich’s prospect grades are hard to find, but Pipeline had him at 30 in 2013 and they’re usually, what I’d consider, generous with their arm strength grades. I’ve seen a few throws from Chourio, it looks like a pretty clean release (he was signed as a shortstop after all). I’d say an average arm is about right for him.

Chourio is actually at #99 on the new BA rankings! I’m a little surprised by their lack of Wiemer love as well, but they’re the high group on Chourio, so I guess I will cut them some slack ?

1 Joey Wiemer OF 2 Sal Frelick OF 3 Jackson Chourio OF 4 Ethan Small LHP 5 Brice Turang SS 6 Jeferson Quero C 7 Garrett Mitchell OF 8 Antoine Kelly LHP 9 Tyler Black 2B 10 Hedbert Perez OF 11 Hendry Mendez OF 12 Felix Valerio UTIL 13 Eduardo Garcia SS 14 Logan Henderson RHP 15 Freddy Zamora SS 16 Zavier Warren C/CIF 17 Joe Gray Jr OF 18 Victor Castaneda RHP 19 Stiven Cruz RHP 20 Tristan Peters OF

On top of the jump within the Brewers rankings, Chourio snuck into the top 100 at #99!

Will Sammon with the update on Rex:

# Player Pos 1 Aaron Ashby LHP 2 Joey Wiemer OF 3 Sal Frelick OF 4 Hedbert Perez OF 5 Garrett Mitchell OF 6 Brice Turang SS 7 Jeferson Quero C 8 Ethan Small LHP 9 Jackson Chourio SS/OF 10 Tyler Black 2B 11 Eduardo Garcia SS 12 Logan Henderson RHP 13 Hendry Mendez OF 14 Felix Valerio 2B 15 Freddy Zamora SS 16 Antoine Kelly LHP 17 Zavier Warren C/CIF 18 Abner Uribe RHP 19 Joe Gray Jr OF 20 Korry Howell OF/SS 21 Victor Castaneda RHP 22 Johan Barrios SS 23 Darrien Miller C 24 Mario Feliciano C 25 Quinton Low 1B/RHP 26 Russell Smith LHP 27 Hayden Cantrelle SS 28 Jhonny Severino SS 29 Caden Vire LHP 30 Jheremy Vargas SS 31 Max Lazar RHP 32 Stiven Cruz RHP 33 Carlos Rodriguez (P) RHP 34 Taylor Floyd RHP 35 Luis Medina OF 36 Dylan File RHP 37 Thomas Dillard 1B 38 Ernesto Martinez 1B 39 Justin Bullock RHP 40 Luis Lara OF 41 Alexis Ramirez RHP 42 James Meeker RHP 43 Carlos Rodriguez (OF) OF 44 Micah Bello OF 45 Tristen Lutz OF 46 Weston Wilson UTIL 47 Hobie Harris RHP 48 Corey Ray OF 49 Miguel Segura RHP 50 Jolon Lun RHP 51 Cam Robinson RHP 52 Ashton McGee INF 53 Carlos Luna RHP 54 Clayton Andrews LHP 55 Luke Barker RHP 56 Yujanyer Herrera RHP 57 Alec Bettinger RHP 58 Jesus Parra 3B 59 Eduarqui Fernandez 1B/OF 60 Lucas Erceg RHP 61 Andy Otero LHP 62 Justin Jarvis RHP 63 Israel Puello RHP 64 Pablo Abreu OF 65 Zack Brown RHP 66 Angel Perdomo LHP 67 Tristan Peters OF 68 Je'Von Ward OF 69 Jace Avina OF 70 Alexander Cornielle RHP 71 Gregory Barrios SS 72 Zach Vennaro RHP 73 Harold Chirino RHP 74 Brannon Jordan RHP 75 Miguel Guerrero RHP 76 Jesus Lujano OF 77 Jamie Westbrook IF 78 Edwin Jimenez RHP 79 Brendan Murphy LHP 80 Jesus Chirinos 1B 81 Ethan Murray SS 82 Daniel Castillo 2B 83 Patricio Aquino RHP 84 Brailin Rodriguez RHP 85 Alexander Perez SS 86 Justin Topa RHP 87 Noah Zavolas RHP 88 Michelle Vassalotti RHP 89 Michael Perdomo RHP 90 Albreris Ferrer INF 91 Daniel Guilarte SS 92 Fernando Olguin RHP 93 Wes Clarke C/1B 94 Noah Campbell 2B 95 Alex Hall C 96 Reidy Mercado OF 97 Brandon Knarr LHP 98 Brandon Ramey RHP 99 Manuel Vargas OF 100 Juan Geraldo RHP 101 Jose Sibrian C 102 Jefferson Figueroa RHP 103 Trevor Tietz RHP 104 Branlyn Jaraba 3B 105 Nick Kahle C 106 Kay-Lan Nicasia SS 107 Antonio Pinero SS 108 Nick Bennett LHP 109 Zack Raabe 2B 110 JT Hintzen RHP 111 Gabe Holt 2B 112 TJ Shook RHP 113 Chad McClanahan 1B/3B 114 Andre Nnebe OF 115 Yeison Coca SS 116 Jhoan Cruz RHP 117 LG Castillo OF 118 Jesus Castillo RHP 119 Carlos Roa 2B/SS 120 Nash Walters RHP 121 Joey Matulovich RHP 122 Ryne Moore RHP

Notice: Joey Wiemer update and reflecting on 2021 and bringing it into this season… https://www.mlb.com/brewers/video/ethan-small-on-his-progression cough cough I already have that linked in the minor league media thread. This thread is on winter ball. You guys might want to get tested for COVID, seems like you both have some issues with coughing.

I take it that you aren't real high on Keith's evaluation of prospects? Just curious how everyone here feels about all of these prospect evaluators? Are there some that you think more highly of than others? I noticed that Law only had one Cubs prospects in his recent Top 100 - Brennan Davis. So, I was pleasantly surprised that we had two guys in his list, while the Cubs only had one. Just dropping in to say I really like Prospects Live’s work. I subscribe to their Patreon because imo they put the most effort and work, outside of maybe Fangraphs, into their lists. Even if you don’t pay, they have a lot of solid content for free too and all their contributors are active on Twitter.

Baseball America updated their big board today Barrios dropped one to #20 overall, but a new Brewers addition to the top 25 was SS Jhonny Severino from the Dominican Republic, who checked in at 23. He’s more offensive oriented with an ability to work counts. They also said he likely moves off of short. They do think he could handle third with his arm strength though. BA came out with their top 50 today, ahead of the signing period opening next week. Barrios and Severino remained in the same spots at 20 and 23. However, there was a new addition at #38. Luis Lara is an outfielder described as “a center fielder who covers a lot of ground with plus-plus speed and a strong arm”. He was only 5’6” at the start of the scouting process but is up to 5’9” now. He is said to have a “short stroke from both sides of the plate”, “good rhythm and timing” with an ability to “sting the ball” more than one would expect at his size.

Severino is listed on the Brewers 40 Man at MLB.com. Apparently he will be wearing number 28, Prince Pedro. A smart way to get a jump on turning him into a better “Fielder” behind the dish . I’ll show myself out.

That is very intriguing... small sample disclaimers apply, but that is a very fascinating BA/OBP combo working out to a .440 SLG if the .818 is OPS. That is actually his SLG. His OPS is 1.197 at AmFam. Highest of any park he’s played at.

I feel like we’re filling out our AAA roster earlier than last year: - 28-year old RHP Trevor Kelley was drafted by the Red Sox in 2015 and was consistently solid in the minors from 2016-2019. He made his MLB debut in July 2019 (8.1 innings in MLB that year), spent 2020 with the Phillies (3.1 innings in MLB) and 2021 with the Braves (AAA Gwinnett: 1.52 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 10.0 K/9 in 41.1 innings, though somehow not promoted to MLB this year). - 28-year old RHP Jason Alexander was undrafted, but joined the Angels in 2017. In 2018/2019, his numbers across AA/AAA were 5.77 ERA, 1.57 WHIP and 7.6 K/9 in 168.5 innings. Released in June 2020, he signed with the Marlins in April 2021. Injured for 3 months this year, he only threw 17.2 innings in 6 games in AA/AAA in 2021, posting a 1.57 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 10.5 K/9. - 29-year old OF Jonathan Davis was drafted by the Blue Jays in 2013, made his MLB debut in September 2018, claimed by the Yankees in August 2021, DFA’d and outrighted in September 2021. He’s only posted a .520 OPS in 259 PAs in MLB, though with 11 stolen bases (vs. 2 caught stealing). In AAA, he’s put up a .772 OPS in 640 PAs across 3 seasons with 25 stolen bases (vs. 7 caught stealing), but that includes 352 PAs during the juiced ball 2019-AAA season. In 2021, his MLB OPS was .425 (103 PAs) and his AAA OPS was .704 (86 PAs). Looks like Alexander was at Menlo College at the same time as Lucas Erceg. The head coach of Menlo at that time was Jake McKinley, who’s currently the director of player development initiatives for the Brewers. This feels like an interesting pickup. Wonder if he figured something out with the Marlins last season with his slider, which was described as “slurvy” when he was coming out of college.

David Hamilton appears to have been assigned to the Rafters today, as he's in the lineup and batting 7th. As of this post he was 1-3 with an RBI single and a SB.

He is on a massive heater. It's at the point where I'm surprised he doesn't get an extra-base hit. It's likely not going to happen right away next season, but I'm starting to wonder if Wiemer is going to be the eventual replacement for Avi Garcia. The way things are shaping up, Wiemer will likely start at Biloxi net season, if not make the jump to Nashville. I do think Avi and Wiemer have very similar profiles. Big raw power, questions whether they can/could get to it in games. Really big dudes who can run much faster than you’d think, can both play center in a pinch. Really good arms in right field and solid defenders out there. Definitely wouldn’t surprise me if, by 2023, Wiemer was in that role.

Joey Wiemer hit another HR today... 11 with the T-Rats now in 28 games. A cool 1.173 OPS in High-A. Not too shabby...