Spencer Michaelis

Speaking of Francys Romero, he reports the Brewers signed RHP Alejandro Bustamante as part of their 2024-25 International pool as well, which is interesting because that international pool closed yesterday I believe. May just be a matter of announcing it, as the paperwork appeared to be done by 12/5 at least based on the post. 18-year-old out of Cuba, the post notes he has a chance to start and has a four pitch mix with his slider standing out: CH 84-85 SL 83-84 SINK 89-90 FB 91-93 Francys Romero (@francysromerofr) • Instagram photos and videos WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM 743 likes, 51 comments - francysromerofr on December 5, 2025: "El pitcher derecho cubano 🇨🇺 Alejandro Bustamante firmó oficialmente con...

Couple notes on this. According to Francys Romero's Substack, at the end of October the Brewers had about $407,000 left in their 2025 bonus pool for international players. My guess is that these two and Jesus Vasquez all got actual bonuses of some sort. Likely nothing crazy, but they had some money to spend. Here is Bello's Instagram (quick glance shows him following Red Sox pitcher Bryan Bello as one of the few he follows, wonder if there's any relation...) And Duarte's Instagram Neither of their pages show video or anything regarding their stuff unfortunately.

I had decent experiences the last few years, especially in the hoodie/sweatshirt department. This year the selection was pretty brutal. I bought one hat and a souvenir baseball. The discounts seem to get smaller every year now too.

Was actually just coming here to post about this after listening myself lol. Very good stuff, Heard similarly about Mills' bat at the workout from a source post-draft, but the defense stuff was news to me. Loved hearing about Dubanewicz's bulldog type of attitude, think that can go a very long way as a pitcher, assuming you have the requisite decent or better stuff, which he does.

Also, the Southern League was a much different hitting environment in 2022. League average OPS in the Southern League in 2022 was .752, but it was only .660 in 2025. Frelick's OPS was .844, but his wRC+ was 121 as a 22-year-old in Biloxi. Lara's OPS was .712 but his wRC+ was 116 as a 20-year-old.

It's a little tough to look at MLB's draft this way, due to the signing bonus portion of things. Benge got $540K more than Payne did and Yesavage got $720K more. All else being equal, that's basically the difference between signing Tyler Renz and not signing him. Now, I also preferred those two--and some others--to Payne at the time (see tweet below), so I get it, but I do think it's always a lot harder to play this game with the MLB draft, compared to the NFL or NBA one. All that said, I also do like Payne quite a bit as a prospect and I think saying he has to be a star for it not to be a miss is a bit of hyperbole.

Yep they can, assuming the rules are the same in the new CBA like you said.

As expected, in my opinion, nobody else will be protected, per Adam McCalvy:

Image courtesy of Brian Fitzpatrick The Rule 5 Draft is on December 10th, but the deadline to protect players from the draft is November 18th. Unlike recent offseasons, there are no surefire additions for the Brewers, and there may not even be any coin-flip options. There are three pitchers and one position player who can at least make a case, though. The four players with cases are among the 31 eligible players to be selected this year. The complete list is available in our forums, along with a more detailed explanation of what makes a player eligible for selection in the draft. Brewers fans are well aware of the dangers of leaving a player unprotected, as they witnessed one of their prospects become the number one selection in last year's draft, and proceeded to watch the previously mentioned Shane Smith pitch his way to an All-Star appearance, or at least a "White Sox need an All-Star" appearance, in his debut season. Following the addition of Coleman Crow to the 40-man roster last week, keeping him from minor league free agency, the Brewers currently have 38 of the 40 spots filled. Thus, they could add two players to the roster without any additional moves, but the question is whether they will feel the need to do so with any of the 31 eligible players. None of these four players has as strong a case as Smith or Chad Patrick had in 2024, but they do all have a case. Pitchers: LHP Brian Fitzpatrick The Brewers used their tenth-round selection on Brian Fitzpatrick in 2022, drafting him out of Rutgers. Having spent time in a starter's role and a relief role in the past, all of Fitzpatrick's appearances in 2025 were out of the bullpen, though many were of the multi-inning variety. After returning to High-A to begin the season, Fitzpatrick was quickly pushed to Double-A in 2025. In 34 ⅔ innings, he posted an impressive 1.82 ERA, to go along with a 2.99 FIP. He struck out 28.6% of batters in Biloxi, and only walked 7.5% of them. He was promoted again to Triple-A, where his first outing was a significant struggle, as he allowed six earned runs in one inning. However, in the final 17 ⅔ innings of his season that followed, he had a 4.08 ERA and a 3.78 FIP. His numbers aren't what land him on this list, though. It's his repertoire and his build that are most intriguing. A true five-pitch pitcher, Fitzpatrick can keep hitters on their toes, especially in shorter stints. He throws a two-seam fastball and a four-seam fastball in the 92-94 MPH range, reaching back for 95 at times. This was a velocity jump for him from having sat 90-92 in the past. He also mixes in a short slider in the mid-80s and a bigger sweeper in the upper-70s. His best pitch is his 82-84 MPH changeup, which he averages around 17 inches of run on. Standing 6'7" and generating about the same amount of extension from the left side, Fitzpatrick has qualities that are likely to be intriguing to big league organizations. Will it be enough to protect him? Likely not, but there is enough here not to rule it out. Likelihood of protection: 15% RHP Will Childers Childers is a legacy of the Brewers, as his father, Matt, was a Brewers draft pick in 1997 and debuted for the Brewers in 2002. Will was an undrafted signing after the 2022 draft after attending the University of Georgia, where he spent the majority of his time injured after a strong freshman season. He didn't appear in his first professional games until June of 2023 as he continued to rehab. After 38 ⅔ innings of 2.33 ERA and 3.08 FIP pitching in Double-A, Childers didn't see the same success in Triple-A. His 4.50 ERA looks respectable, but the 6.07 FIP tells a different story. You don't have to look much further than three of the more important stats to see why FIP is low on him. His strikeout rate went from 30.9% in Biloxi to 18.4% in Nashville. His walk rate went up from an already high 11.2% to 15.8% after the promotion. Beyond that, he also allowed an unsavory 1.38 home runs per nine innings, nearly double the 0.70 number he had posted in Biloxi. Like Fitzpatrick, Childers has a deep repertoire for a reliever, and like Fitzpatrick, it's not his results that warrant him a look. His main fastball is a four-seam, which tends toward the "cut/carry" profile, thrown in the 95-97 MPH range and reaching 99. His sinker is a dead-zone shape thrown in a similar velocity band, though the movement appears to be late, helping the pitch play better than the overall shape would suggest. He throws a cutter in the upper 80s, but it can blend into a shorter slider at times. It's a pitch that could use some sharpening, but it shows signs of being above average. Childers also throws a curveball in the 82-84 MPH range, with sharp, downward bite. Based on his struggles in Triple-A and his injury history, he seems unlikely to be protected, but his pure stuff and the impressive showing in Double-A do give him a fighter's chance. Likelihood of protection: 10% RHP Blake Holub Holub was acquired from the Tigers for Mark Canha following the 2023 season. There are similarities to Childers with Holub. His walk rate in Triple-A was 16.8%, and he has a cut/carry fastball, though Holub's has a lot more true cut, and is even classified as a cutter. Holub struggled in his first taste of Triple-A in 2024 as well. His overall numbers in 2025 were strong. He had a 3.70 ERA and a 3.54 FIP, brought along by a 29.1 whiff-rate and striking out 28.6% of batters faced. The walk rate was a problem for him, but the contact quality was weak, which, when combined with his ability to generate swing and miss, helped him limit runs. Along with his interesting cutter, which he throws in the 93-95 MPH range and can reach 97 with, Holub throws his slider around 43% of the time. Sitting around 85 MPH, the slider generates a lot of ground balls and has good depth to it. He rounds out his repertoire with a very rare splitter. Holub is already 27 years old, and he is a relief-only pitcher at this point. The Brewers are unlikely to protect a player like Holub, but he is someone that a team could view as an option to fill a relief role right away, with a little upside if they can help him limit the walks a bit more, and perhaps are willing to let him lean on the splitter a bit more often. Likelihood of protection: 10% Position Players Catcher: Matt Wood -- FanGraphs #43 prospect A fourth-round pick out of Penn State in 2022, Wood got off to a solid, if unspectacular, start in High-A this season. He was promoted to Double-A in late May, and that's when he began to really make his case. His wRC+ improved from 103 in 116 plate appearances (as well as 100 in 379 plate appearances in 2024) to an impressive 134 with Biloxi in 245 plate appearances. He hit a career-high six home runs as well. However, the biggest reason he now has an outside chance at protection was the strides he made behind the plate. According to Baseball Prospectus, Wood went from -2.3 Catching Defense Added in 2023 to an improved 2.7 in 2024, but he jumped all the way up to 6.5 in 2025. After throwing out 20.4% of stolen base attempts in parts of three seasons in High-A, Wood threw out 27.2% of runners in Double-A. He also showed improvement in blocking and receiving. Position players are naturally less likely to be selected in the Rule 5 Draft, as they are a bit harder to hide in the big leagues for a full season, but a team that is looking for a backup catcher could see Wood as a player on the upswing that would be worth a flier. Likelihood of protection: 10% Other Names of Note RHP Yerlin Rodriguez Rodriguez is not going to be protected; his walk rate has been over 20% each of the last two seasons in High-A, but his stuff warrants mention. He has been up to 101 MPH in his minor league career, and his slider can be a wipeout pitch for him at times. If a team is willing to take a shot on his stuff, the Brewers will likely let them take that chance. RHP Nick Merkel Merkel has shown a wide repertoire out of the bullpen. Mixing six pitches with all three fastball variations, two breaking balls, and a changeup. He combines that with seven feet of extension and decent command. His velocity is only in the low-90s, but a FIP of 2.94 and a bunch of average or better pitches will garner some interest. Of the players in this category, he may be the most likely to be selected, but given that he never got the call to Triple-A in 2025, he seems unlikely to be protected. UTIL Ethan Murray Murray is the lone position player in this section, mainly due to his Double-A performance. The former fifth-round pick posted a very strong 146 wRC+ with Biloxi, but his performance did not carry over to Triple-A, where his wRC+ was 44 in 114 plate appearances. While his average exit velocity of 89.7 MPH was above average, he lacked top-end power. Outside of making decent swing decisions, the rest of the peripheral stats were all well below average. He's a serviceable shortstop defensively and above-average at second base, capable of helping at third and in left field as well. He's unlikely to be selected and almost certainly won't be protected. It would have to be considered an upset if anyone is protected by the Brewers this season, barring an outside acquisition, along the lines of the Oliver Dunn trade two offseasons ago. If they do protect anyone, they have to come from this group. Is there anyone we missed? Should anyone be protected from this group? Let us know! View full article

Just Baseball's Top 100 was released yesterday, always good work, five Brewers represented in this one. Top 100 MLB Prospects for 2025 (November Update)

What have we seen from these three players to earn themselves a spot in the Fall Stars Game? Acknowledging that there is definite small-sample noise built into the results to this point, have they shown anything new, or anything that changes their future projections? OF Josh Adamczewski: 14 G, 74 PA, .283/.405/.550 (.955 OPS), 4 Doubles, 4 HR, 15 K, 12 BB, 1 Sac Fly, 4 SB, 1 CS Adamczewski has had one of the more visually appealing swings in the system since he was drafted as a 15th-round pick in 2023. An adjustment that Adamczewski made to his hands this past offseason helped him elevate the ball more consistently, which has been a big part of his success in the Fall League to this point. After only hitting six home runs in 308 regular-season plate appearances this year, Adamczewski has hit four in only 57 plate appearances in the AFL. His 90th percentile exit velocity of 106.5 MPH puts him in the 78th percentile for the league, and his barrel rate of 14% is in the 85th percentile. He is making consistently hard contact, and he’s pulling it in the air at a solid clip as well, as his 11.4% Pull Air% is in the 72nd percentile for the AFL. Adamczewski’s whiff rate of 34% is undoubtedly higher than you would hope to see, but that has been coming down over the course of the fall. In fact, five of his 15 strikeouts occurred in his first two games. He is making fantastic swing decisions, only chasing 15.5% of pitches and swinging at 72.4% of pitches in the zone, both of which are well above average. Playing mainly left field as he works outfield into his defensive repertoire, Adamczewski has shown some athleticism, though he is unsurprisingly raw in his routes and jumps out there. His bat will always be his calling card, but showing he can handle left field defensively would go a long way toward clearing his path to the big leagues. UTIL Dylan O’Rae: 8 G, 28 PA, .302/.388/.395 (.783 OPS), 4 Doubles, 15 K, 5 BB, 1 HBP, 6 SB, 1 CS The Brewers' 2022 third-round pick missed all of 2025 due to injury, so this is the first official action he has seen in over a year, and he has re-acquitted himself well. Known as a speedster—he stole 62 bases between High-A and Double-A in 2024—O'Rae has registered six steals in seven attempts so far in the fall. His speed has also helped him stretch a couple of singles into doubles, which will be important for him as he moves forward, with power being a clear hole in his profile. O'Rae is small in stature, standing only 5'7" and listed at 160 pounds post-draft, though he appears to have bulked up since then, and that weight is most likely no longer accurate. Even with some added bulk, O'Rae has struggled to impact the baseball with much authority. This has held true early in his AFL stint, with a fourth percentile max exit velocity of 104.2 MPH. However, his average exit velocity of 87.1 MPH, placing him in the 21st percentile, is more palatable when you factor in how often he's been elevating the ball at ideal launch angles, currently in the 95th percentile for "launch angle sweet spot %" in the AFL. After a slow start in terms of making contact, he's been getting the bat to the ball more consistently over the last couple of weeks, allowing him to put his speed and athleticism on display. O'Rae has spent some time in the outfield in the past, but he has played all 13 of his AFL games at second base, where he has consistently projected as an above-average defender with a below-average arm. His versatility could prove helpful as he progresses through the Brewers' system. A Brandon Lockridge-type profile is likely what you are hoping for, but with added infield versatility. For now, seeing him on the field and performing well is a big-time positive after missing the 2025 regular season. He will likely return to Double-A in 2026. LHP Jesús Broca: 4 G, 1 GS, 9 IP, 15 K:5 BB, 1 HBP, 2 ER, 2.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP Broca caught our attention near the end of the season, due in part to a velocity jump he made as the season progressed. At 19 years old, Broca was signed by the Brewers out of Mexico in 2023 and will be Rule 5-eligible in 2026. He performed well in High-A after an early-season promotion and even finished his season in Double-A. He has carried over his regular-season success to the AFL, where he is striking out 39.5% of the hitters he has faced, recording 15 strikeouts in just nine innings. Broca's delivery was already helping the velocity play up a bit above what the gun was reading, as he hides the ball well, and his release point appeared to be tough to pick up. Therefore, a jump from 89-91 to sitting 92-94 MPH, and touching up to 96 MPH this year, is even more encouraging. He uses both a sinker and a four-seam. The sinker helps him generate ground balls at a high level, and the four-seam is used more as a put-away pitch above the zone. In the AFL, batters have only managed a .103 xwOBA against the sinker. The four-seam has not seen similar success in the limited sample, with a 1.125 xwOBA against it. The sinker is a solid pitch, but Broca's best offerings are his secondaries. His slider has generated a 41% whiff rate in the fall league, a substantial number on its own, especially impressive given it's his most often-used pitch and he is throwing it in the zone 56% of the time. His changeup has also generated a 33.3% whiff rate, though the contact against it has been a bit loud at times. Broca is only 22 years old and has already made his way up to Double-A and is following it up with a strong AFL stint, earning a well-deserved nod to the Fall Stars Game. He is worthy of some attention heading into 2026, especially if they attempt to stretch him out as a starter. What are your thoughts on the players representing the Brewers in the Fall Stars Game? Did Luke Adams deserve a nod? Let us know! View full article

It's Brewers prospect list day at Baseball Prospectus (Believe you need a subscription) 2026 Prospects: Milwaukee Brewers Top Prospects | Baseball Prospectus

Made a quick reel of his defensive highlights from this season. Definitely doesn’t include all his incredible plays and he makes the difficult look routine often as well.

It appears DSL coach Aritz Garcia will be moving on from the organization as well. His Instagram post is below, in which he says, “I’ve made the choice to return home, to give my loved ones the quality time they truly deserve and to help develop the game of baseball in Spain and across Europe.” Aritz Garcia (@capitan_ag) • Instagram photos and videos WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM 418 likes, 21 comments - capitan_ag on October 12, 2025: "My time with the Milwaukee Brewers has come to an end. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work...

At his end of year press conference, Arnold said he feels really, really good about him being on the big league roster to start next year. I think they're prepping for Quero to be the backup next year. He'll be down to his final option year (though if needed, they'd likely be able to get a fourth due to the injury issues), and I think they believe he's ready, or at least will be after a (hopefully) full offseason of health. The way Murph talked him up in spring last year was different than the way he usually discusses young players too. I have a feeling he will actually use Quero if he's on the roster. A decent amount more than Haase and Jansen played this past season. I won't rule out the idea of adding a catcher, but assuming Quero does stay healthy, I'm guessing they go the route of minor league deal or split deal for a catcher like they did with Haase/Nola a couple years ago.

Added the others I could find to this list (bolded/underlined), but only two of them have actually played in games so far and a few of them could be MiLB free agents soon. Always fun to look through these rosters and see all the former Brewers and Brewers farmhands. From Pedro Severino and JC Mejia (sensing a theme) to Fernando Olguin, Jose Chavez and Jose Sibrian.

In the midst of watching this insane Game 3 of the WS, I found a new player that's likely to sign, and I think this could be a fun one... LHP Alexander Mercedes is apparently already sitting 92-94 according to the below IG post and with a build that would seem to indicate the potential for a decent amount more coming down the line. @deporteadiariord056 • Instagram reel WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM Álex Álvarez, el joven pitcher del Milwaukee Brewers, está generando expectativas con su rendimiento en el campo. Su velocidad y control de la pelota son impresionantes, lo que lo... Believe this is his personal Instagram, but it's private

I have a tough time believing Justin Yeager would be valued more highly than Coleman Crow, unless Crow’s injury is much, much worse than we think. Even beyond the potential value a quality starter brings in comparison to a middle reliever, anything close to Yeager’s 20.2 K% to 16.7 BB% ratio in AAA is incredibly tough to make work at the big league level. Yeager is someone I’m sure they’d like to keep in the organization, but frankly, he’s not someone I’d see any need to use a 40-man spot on. Certainly not in lieu of McGee or Rob Z, both of whom have shown better MLB traits.

Some notes on the three pitchers to throw yesterday... LHP Anthony Flores: The "changeups" are actually his sinker, and he flashed one as low as 0 IVB and as much as 20" of run. It was inconsistent on the three he threw, but there is a pretty fun pitch in there if he can find it consistently. Spins the hell out of the curveball at over 3,200 RPM and has a lot of spin on his pitches in general. He needs a velo jump of at least a couple ticks, but there's a fun baseline here. RHP Michael Fowler: Fowler was up to 96.8 and showed signs of a very interesting cut/carry fastball shape, though the amount of carry he generated on the pitch was a little inconsistent, as was the spin rate, which is a bit low for a four-seam. The curve is a big breaker, with above-average spin, I just wonder if they'll attempt to bridge the gap between the two at all, either by adding a truer cutter or short slider, or by trying to shorten up the curve and have him throw it harder (think Trevor Megill). RHP Edwin Jimenez: First game back from TJS, so will be interesting to follow moving forward, but the fastball velo and shapes are pretty meh, especially from his high release point. He did mix a couple 4FB with over 20" of IVB, though even those aren't anything too special from his release height. The slider isn't an awful shape, but the spin is quite low. Changeup is a pretty good-looking pitch.

It appears that LHP Nate Peterson is on the Surprise roster now, not sure if anyone had seen that yet?

Figured it might be worth starting a topic on notes or tidbits that come out during the MiLB "offseason" here as we get into Instructional League play, and the AFL begins soon. If I hear anything, I might drop some notes myself. I'll start with a couple articles from this morning: Eric Longenhagen wrote about a few Brewers in his "A Week of Instructional League Scouting Notes" article (JD Thompson, Jarrette Bonet and Kevin Garcia) Chris Clegg wrote about Luke Adams as a "bat who could increase stock" in the AFL, while previewing the Surprise Saguaros roster Both should be free to read.

It appears Fanatic officially has bots in the comments. Does this mean we’ve made it? Some are saying…

Rickey Moneys is also at 19 on the list. He’s been my favorite so far based on my research and the limited video out there, so I’m excited to see him that high already on Pipeline.