Spencer Michaelis

After a three-week hiatus, due to the draft and travel, we are back with another installment of minor league observations. This week, we cover one of my favorite swings in the system, another teenage pitcher in Carolina, and then an 18-year-old hitter on the Mudcats who was off to a slow start but appears to be figuring some things out. All statistics are season-long unless otherwise noted Josh Adamczewski - 2B - Carolina Mudcats: 164 PA, 115 wRC+, 19.5 K%, 12.8 BB%, 5 HR (no ACL rehab stats included) Adamczewski has been a personal favorite since the moment I saw a video of his swing post-draft. The 15th-round selection was signed away from a Ball State commitment for only $252,500, a deal the Brewers have to feel quite good about at the moment. He spent most of last season in the Arizona Complex League before a strong finish in Carolina to close out the year. He got off to a tremendous start this season and appeared to be on the fast track to High A before he was sidelined for two months with a back injury. Adamczewski is back with the Mudcats and picked up right where he left off. I was a big fan of Adamczewski’s swing out of high school, but it has only continued to improve since then, including some changes that Chris Clegg of Dynasty Dugout pointed out early in the season. While he was off to a great start pre-injury, his return has been even better. In his first 12 games back in Carolina, Adamczewski is posting a 210 wRC+ and a 1.124 OPS, while walking the same number of times as he’s struck out (seven times). He has shown his ability to hit with power to all fields, hitting a home run to right center on Wednesday, and then one to left-center on Friday. Adamczewski’s bat is unquestionably advanced for his age. His swing has some shades of Corey Seager, and the results have mirrored his tremendous offensive process to this point. With a couple of his fellow middle infielders being promoted to High A before him, I’m guessing that the organization would like to see him remain with the Mudcats for a little longer as he continues to work back from his injury. I also can’t help but wonder if they’d like to see more consistency defensively at second base. Perhaps they even have plans to try him at a position or two that aren’t second base, where he has spent his entire pro career to this point. Either way, he deserves an opportunity to see High A soon, as Single-A pitching is proving to be no match for his bat. Tyler Renz - RHP - ACL Brewers and Carolina Mudcats: 57.2 IP, 3.43 ERA, 4.68 FIP, 21.3 K%, 8.2 BB% The Brewers selected Renz in the 18th round of the 2024 draft, likely in part as insurance in case they couldn’t sign Chris Levonas. As a 17-year-old who was still four months from turning 18, Renz was seen as a prospect data-driven organizations would like, but it was also likely to make him pretty expensive. Thus, Renz signed for a hefty $852,500 bonus, the second-highest bonus ever given to an 18th-rounder. He has spent the vast majority of this season in the Arizona Complex League, but he made his full-season debut this past Tuesday, which gave me an opportunity to watch an entire outing, rather than just highlights. Renz has reportedly been up to 96 MPH on his four-seam fastball, though it sounds as though that was in a bullpen setting. In this outing, he was sitting 89-91 MPH early, before dropping a few in the 87-88 range later on. The fastball plays up well above his velocity, due to decent extension, but mainly the excellent carry and shape the pitch has. He did a good job of locating at the top of the zone, especially early in his outing on Tuesday. Despite all of that, the velocity will need to improve over time if he is to reach his immense ceiling. The ceiling is there because of the pitch mix he possesses beyond the fastball. He mixes in a solid-looking cutter, as well as a slider and curveball combination that used to blend together in high school but have now become two very different pitches. Renz has also added a changeup that appears to be a splitter variation, rather than the circle-change he was attempting to throw before the draft. Renz was cruising through his first two innings, only allowing one baserunner via a walk, and striking out four. The velocity started to dip a bit in the third inning, and the command eluded him more consistently as he walked two in the inning. When he came back out for his fourth inning, he had started to wear down and walked two more, as well as throwing a wild pitch. Some poor umpiring cost him one of the walks, as well as finishing the game, as he made way for Anfernny Reyes to retire the final batter of the Mudcats game. All in all, though, you could see the talent Renz possesses. Moving forward, building stamina will undoubtedly play a significant role in his overall improvement, as well as adding some velocity. Much of the improvement for both of those is likely via physical gains, as he has a lot of room to add good mass to his body. Renz will only turn 19 at the end of November and has a long way to go in his career, but already showing signs of a good starting pitcher’s repertoire and projectability in his frame is a great starting point. José Anderson - OF - ACL Brewers and Carolina Mudcats: 226 PA, 73wRC+, 30.1 K%, 8.8 BB%, 3 HR (Carolina stats only) Along with Luis Pena and Jesus Made, Anderson was the third player from the 2024 international signing class to really explode onto the scene in the Dominican Summer League. He began the season in the Arizona Complex League, but after hitting three home runs in 10 games and posting a 200 wRC+, he was quickly pushed to Single A. It has been a struggle to this point, though there have been some signs of progress over the past month or so. I’m going to start with the glove before getting into some of the offensive improvements, though. With Braylon Payne out again due to injury, Anderson spent most of this week manning center field for the Mudcats. There are some inconsistencies to his play out there, but there are also a ton of tools and a high ceiling out there. He showed off the potential on Saturday, when he made a tremendous diving catch in left-center field to take away extra bases. He has a cannon of an arm in the outfield, but his true defensive ability has looked questionable at times. His jumps have looked much better over the course of the season, and the routes seem to be improving as well. Anderson’s glove coming around to potentially being an above-average or better tool for him would be a significant development, but obviously, questions about his offensive profile remain. His 30% strikeout rate is too high, and his 36.5% whiff rate is even more concerning. However, I felt better about his approach watching him in July, and looking at the numbers, he did make some improvements in both regards. His strikeout rate is at 25.3% since July 1st, and his whiff rate is down to 32.7%. Again, neither of those is a good number, but they are much closer to playable than the numbers he was posting before this past month. It should be noted, however, that the power he was showing pre-July has also largely dissipated, as evidenced by the .096 ISO since then, with only six doubles and one triple. There may have been an over-adjustment to work on the bat-to-ball skills that came at the cost of his ability to drive the ball. While it’s not an ideal scenario, I believe that for a player of his age, such over-adjustments are completely fine, as he still has a lot of time to find a balance. If Anderson can find that middle ground between driving the ball while limiting strikeouts and whiffs to a reasonable degree, and combine that with his improving defense, he could put himself squarely back into prospect talks. While I’m sure his start to full-season ball has not been what he envisioned, he still has shown that he has a lot of talent and seems to be working to improve on his weaknesses. I’m not exactly sure where things go from here, but I do know that it will still be fascinating to follow. That’s all I’ve got for this week; let us know what you think in the replies! View full article

Fouled a ball off his knee, stayed in and took the walk but could barely (actually) walk. Didn’t even go to first base after taking ball 4…hobbled to the dugout instead

Image courtesy of © Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images (Abdiel Mendoza) This was a strong month for relievers in the Brewers system, with quite a few making a strong case. Beginning with a few honorable mentions: HONORABLE MENTIONS RHP - Craig Yoho - Nashville Sounds - 7 G, 5.1 IP, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.86 FIP, 0.38 WHIP, 2 H, 0 BB, 7 K, 1 SV RHP - Jhosep Ospino - DSL Brewers Blue - 6 G, 10.2 IP, 0-1, 2.53 ERA, 1.78 FIP, 0.94 WHIP, 7 H, 3 BB, 18 K, 1 SV RHP - Blake Holub - Nashville Sounds - 7 G, 8.2 IP, 0-0, 1.17 ERA, 4.85 FIP, 1.57 WHIP, 5 H, 7 BB, 8 K TOP FIVE RELIEF PITCHERS FOR JULY #5 RHP - Justin Yeager - Biloxi Shuckers and Nashville Sounds - 9 G, 8.2 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.51 FIP, 0.58 WHIP, 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K Unranked by all publications The third piece that the Brewers received in the infamous Esteury Ruiz for William Contreras and Joel Payamps trade, Yeager, was drafted in the 33rd round by the Braves in 2019. His mid-90s fastball plays extremely well when he gets it up in the zone, due to an Induced Vertical Break that will get up to 20 inches. Yeager’s cutter has more of a short slider shape and sits in the 84-87 range with a lot of late bite to it. Both pitches have the ability to be above average or better, but they can play down at times due to his lack of commanding them to the areas of the zone where they play their best. Now that he’s in Triple-A, we do have access to public Statcast data, and TJ Stats does a great job laying it out in an easy-to-read way. In July, Yeager was promoted to Triple A for his final four appearances and threw five scoreless innings while striking out four. Yeager finished the month on a high note by receiving his first win at the Triple-A level, after throwing one inning, allowing one hit, striking out one, and allowing an unearned run. Now in his third season with the Brewers organization, and after a strong 2024, Yeager is on the edges of MLB. While the bullpen is a pretty crowded situation for the Brewers already, Elvis Peguero and Bryan Hudson being designated for assignment recently upped his odds of making his MLB debut in 2025, at least a little. #4 RHP - Bryan Rivera - Carolina Mudcats - 5 G, 11 IP, 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.99 FIP, 0.91 WHIP, 6 H, 4 BB, 9 K Unranked by all publications Signed out of Nicaragua in 2022, the Brewers moved Rivera to Single A quickly last season, despite uninspiring results in the Complex League. Now in his first full season at the level, Rivera has struggled for much of the season. July was a different story. Rivera has a four pitch mix, including a four-seam and a two-seam variation of the fastball. The fastball sits in the 92-94 MPH range and touches 96. He throws a slider in the 82-83 range, and at times will drop it as low as 78-79. He’s comfortable throwing at any time. Rivera also mixes in a mid-80’s changeup that shows flashes of being an above average pitch with quite a bit of fade on it. A pitch he uses mostly against left-handed hitters. In July, Rivera posted an impressive whiff rate of 36%. He didn’t turn those whiffs into strikeouts as often as one might expect, but he did have hitters off balance all month. As is usually the case for Rivera, he was a multi-inning reliever multiple times over the course of the month, including a four inning appearance on July 27th, in which he did not allow any runs and struck out two batters. Rivera is only 20 years old. Struggles are normal for a player his age in full season ball, and he shows plenty of signs of having the stuff to perform at this level. Consistency and confidence will likely be key for him as he works through a tough season, hopefully July is a sign of things to come for him. #3 LHP - Mark Manfredi - Biloxi Shuckers - 8 G, 11.1 IP, 0-0, 1.59 ERA, 2.82 FIP, 0.79 WHIP, 5 H , 4 BB, 11 K Unranked by all publications The Brewers used their ninth-round pick in 2023 on this Dayton University left-hander. Manfredi was assigned to High-A Wisconsin in 2024, where he got off to a strong start but struggled with command down the stretch of the season. He did strike out 95 batters in 76 innings and showed flashes of brilliance in his long-relief role. His time in the Arizona Fall League did not go well, with the command issues catching up to him against higher-level offensive competition. He walked 13 in 5 1/3 inings and posted a 13.50 ERA in his time there. Manfredi’s velocity was down a couple of ticks in the AFL, and it’s possible he was just exhausted from his first full season of professional baseball. Despite his struggles, the Brewers still assigned him to Double-A Biloxi to start 2025. Manfredi is working mostly around his fastball, which is sitting in the 93-96 MPH range and topping out at 97. His upper-80s changeup has been a big weapon for him as well, especially against right-handed hitters. He rounds out his repertoire with a slider in the mid-80s that he uses mainly in matchups with lefties, but has started using more often to hitters from the right side as well. Manfredi’s July was highlighted by continuing to keep his walk rate in the single digits, walking 8.9% of the batters he faced, which is much better than his season long rate of 15.4%. Three of his four walks actually came in one outing, only walking one person in the other seven appearances. Manfredi’s command is going to continue to be a linchpin for his success, but when he is in and around the zone regularly, there is not a lot of hard contact and quite a few missed bats as well. Despite a slow start, his season-long numbers are now down to a 2.81 ERA, with a 3.31 FIP. He will be a candidate for Nashville’s bullpen to begin 2026, if not earlier. #2 RHP - Kaleb Bowman - Biloxi Shuckers - 9 G, 10.2 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.80 FIP, 0.94 WHIP, 5 H, 3 BB, 8 K, 1 SV Unranked by all publications Bowman was signed out of Independent ball prior to the 2023 season and performed well at High A in 2023, followed that up with a solid performance in Double A in 2024 and after a slow start, and dealing with injury early in 2025, Bowman has been fantastic over his last 16 appearances. Including a scoreless month of July. Bowman is equipped with a sinker that sits in the 92-93 range, and can get up to 95 MPH. The pitch can get up to 20 inches of run on it, but sits more in the 16-inch range. It is thrown from a low release height and a bit of a funky delivery. He will also throw a four-seam in the 93-94 range, touching 96, which plays up a bit better than the metrics might suggest, due to his arm angle. Rounding out the three fastball mix, Bowman also mixes in an upper-80s cutter that he’s comfortable throwing to either handed hitter. He mixes in a short slider, as well as a more often used sweeper, the sweeper being thrown in the upper-70s, while the slider is more in the 83-85 MPH range. He didn’t allow a run in July, and while his strikeout rate of 22.9% and whiff rate of 20.9% were both around average for the level, he limited hard contact extremely well, and did a solid job of limiting the free passes as well. He finished the month with a save in his final outing, going two innings, allowing two baserunners and striking out one. Bowman has seen his velocity climb a couple of miles per hour this season, and has an interesting five pitch mix. At 28, he is old for the level, but with his stuff ticking up, he’s a name to keep an eye on moving forward. #1 RHP - Abdiel Mendoza - Biloxi Shuckers - 7 G, 14.1 IP, 2-0, 0.63 ERA, 1.50 FIP, 0.63 WHIP, 8 H, 1 BB, 15 K Unranked by all publications The Brewers signed the 26-year-old Mendoza as a minor league free agent this past offseason, after he spent 2024 in the Blue Jays organization. The right-hander has been in Double A for the entire 2025 season, and after some struggles early on, had a very strong July. Mendoza’s two-seam fastball sits in the 92-94 MPH range and can get up to around 19 inches of run on the pitch. He throws an 86-88 MPH cutter, as well as a lower-80s slider that has been one of his best pitches for generating whiffs. Mendoza also adds a changeup in the mid-80s that has been a solid weapon for him against left-handed hitters. He rounds out the repertoire with his upper-70s curveball that can blend with the slider shape at times, but when it’s going well has more depth than the slider does. It’s a true five pitch mix out of the bullpen. In July, Mendoza continued to build upon a strong June. He did a great job limiting free passes, only walking one batter and hitting one other. He struck out over 28.8% of batters he faced, and he was able to generate whiffs on 28% of swings. Mendoza worked more than one inning in all but one of his appearances, and worked three innings twice. His best outing of the month came on July 18th, when he struck out five over three scoreless innings, only allowing two baserunners, both via singles. Thanks for following along with this three-part series on the Brewers' minor league system. Let us know your thoughts below! Did we miss anybody? View full article

I like Jansen as an addition. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he's an above average hitter for the final two months, and the Brewers fix some of the framing issues that @Jake McKibbin talked about under Jack's article. I've also been wondering if the fact that the Rays usually have their catchers give middle/middle targets means their catchers are reaching for pretty much any pitch that's on the corners and potentially causing some framing issues. Combine that with Jake's point that he has moved to a one-knee stance he potentially isn't very comfortable with, I wonder if it might be a quicker fix than it appears at first glance. I won't get into it too much, but there were other reasons (outside of the valid swing/approach concerns) that the Brewers were lower on Areinamo as well. I would've been very surprised if he'd still been in the organization after the deadline, he was the prospect I expected them to move more than any other.

Oh same lol. Just mean it in the context of the draft as a whole

Here's what I can say on the unused money... It was offered to all of the unsigned HS guys and they all declined. In fact, I hear that Lauridsen turned down an offer for closer to $1.5 mil at some point throughout the process. Pretty wild, but hey, what can you do? In the end they're kids who apparently really wanted to go to college unless they got insane money thrown at them.

Was curious so went through the old NDFA’s going back to 2020. If their name is in bold, they’re still in the org. Added notes for guys who got traded or picked in Rule 5 (ok, only one of those). 2020: Drew Smith, 2B, Grand Canyon Noah Campbell, 2B, South Carolina Brandon Knarr, LHP, Tampa Jason Munsch, LHP, Concordia (Neb.) Evan Reifert, RHP, Central Missouri (traded to TB for 3B Mike Brosseau) TJ Shook, RHP, South Carolina (traded to NYM for LHP Tyler Jay) 2021: Jakob Brustoski, LHP, Texas Tech Shane Smith, RHP, Wake Forest (drafted by CWS w/ 1st pick of most recent Rule 5 Draft) Trevor Tietz, RHP, Jefferson (Mo.) CC 2022: Logan Adams, RHP, North Carolina State Jonathan Beymer, RHP, Campbell Ryan Brady, RHP, Brigham Young (Part of trade to KCR for RHP Taylor Clarke) Will Childers, RHP, Georgia Nick Merkel, RHP, Central Methodist (Mo.) Reece Walling, OF, Prairie (Wash.) HS Tyler Wehrle, RHP, Tiffin (Ohio) 2023: KC Hunt, RHP, Mississippi State Isaiah Jackson, RHP, Heartland (Ill.) JC Alejandro Rodriguez, C/INF, Florida Gulf Coast Bayden Root, RHP, Oklahoma State Blake Whiting, RHP, Utah Harrison Durow, RHP, Trinity (TX) 2024: Jadyn Fielder, INF, Almonte Springs, Fla. (TNXL Academy) Miles Langhorne, RHP, Charlotte Jake Seppings, RHP, Brown Tanner Gillis, RHP, Northern Kentucky Jack Hostetler, RHP, Whitman College (D3) Garrett Hodges, RHP, Charlotte

The Brewers stayed hot coming out of the All-Star break, sweeping the Dodgers (again) and winning a three-game series in Seattle. Jack and Spencer break down the action, along with a preview of the trade deadline. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View full article

Jesus MadeLuis PenaJeferson QueroCooper PrattBraylon PayneMarco DingesLogan HendersonRobert GasserBishop LetsonAndrew FischerBrock WilkenTyson HardinBryce MeccageLuke AdamsColeman CrowJosh AdamczewskiCraig YohoBrailyn AntunezEthan DorchiesFrank Cairone In Seattle currently, so not much time to add context. I love the Cairone pick though so I snuck him in at 20. Ebel isn't far off, Thompson is likely around 30, but there are a ton of years he would've easily been T20 for me. Just ridiculous depth. Probably close to 20 names I look at as reasonable options for the last few spots.

Jesus MadeLuis PenaJeferson QueroCooper PrattBraylon PayneMarco DingesLogan HendersonRobert GasserBishop LetsonAndrew FischerBrock WilkenTyson HardinBryce MeccageLuke AdamsColeman CrowJosh AdamczewskiCraig YohoBrailyn AntunezEthan DorchiesFrank Cairone In Seattle currently, so not much time to add context. I love the Cairone pick though so I snuck him in at 20. Ebel isn't far off, Thompson is likely around 30, but there are a ton of years he would've easily been T20 for me. Just ridiculous depth. Probably close to 20 names I look at as reasonable options for the last few spots.

I love the Cairone pick and the reasons why are laid out really well here

Jake's got a great spreadsheet going, but since I am psychotic about these things, I will also be keeping track of signings in a spreadsheet. Feel free to follow along there if you're interested. Link to the sheet is in the tweet below.

18th rounder Rylan Mills confirmed he will be signing with the Brewers

RHP Caleb Nieman from Central Arizona JC

Spencer and Jack recap the Brewers' selections in the 2025 MLB Draft, a hot finish to the first half, and the reaction around the league to Jacob Misiorowski making and pitching in the All-Star Game. Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-brewer-fanatic-podcast/id1740648724 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5CY8mWsQayqjDXqw9OT2Td iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-brewer-fanatic-podcast-166534588/ Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/ommzz627 Watch On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@brewerfanatic View full article

No surprise here, and no bonus info, but still some confirmation on 8th rounder Hayden Vucinovich

Another one here. Conrad posted the following line as a true freshman in JuCo 55IP, 57K, 21BB, 2.44 ERA, 1.41 WHIP

Was able to get my hands on some data for Perry. Fastball: averages 90 MPH, 18.5" IVB with a ton of extension at 7.1 ft, release height averaging a bit under 6 feet. Curve: averages 75 MPH, -9.32 IVB, -10.5 HB, 2400 RPM Slider/cutter: averages 84 MPH, 4 IVB, -7 HB, 2400 RPM Changeup: averages 82 MPH, 11.2 IVB, 12.3 HB, 1560 RPM

Sounds like 17th round Luke Roupe is going to be signing. Bonus details not yet clear.

Spoke to a source, who prefers to stay anonymous, about Halterman. At the plate: He's got a twitchy, whippy swing, but it can get too big and he can be susceptible to swing and miss in the zone and some chase, especially when the pitcher is able to change eye levels well. There could also be some timing issues as he’s got a big leg kick in his move to the ball. But he hits the ball incredibly hard and it’s to the pull side basically every time and in the air more often than not. In the field: Will most likely be an undersized but very athletic 3rd baseman. He’s upper 80’s to low 90’s on the bump so he’s got the arm. He could also work in at second or center. He also caught some, but would need a lot of work receiving. He uses his athleticism well in blocking and on throw downs. (Spencer Note: I had another source tell me that they believe he could catch, but they wonder if the frame would allow it) Halterman was also described as a great teammate and person with a big time work ethic. He did not spend much time at showcases, and this was his first season of high-level high school ball, so it's believed he's still pretty raw.

Looks like the Orioles have one in the fold this year. Looking at last year's list, the Orioles and Blue Jays each signed one as well. Possible I missed a few while taking a quick glance, but it's definitely not very common.