True Blue Brew Crew

If someone here says "No, there's not much hope", will that opinion matter to you more than the Brewers clear opinion that they believe he'll develop quite a bit as a hitter? Because they sure as hell didn't give him that contract without that belief

The gap in defense between the two is far greater than the gap in what they both bring to the offensive side. Look no further than Hamilton's big gaffe on that double play ball in the 1st on Sunday that Ortiz turns with his eyes closed. Two unearned runs and a 3-0 deficit right out of the gate. Much like last year with Vinny Capra, Murphy's fondness for a player who outplayed their talent level in spring training has resulted in someone getting far too much playing time. The solution is to take the elite defense from Ortiz until he can be permanently replaced. Hamilton is a great end of bench piece. He's playing way too much and not just due to injuries.

Putting the person you replied to on ignore has made my experience here far more enjoyable. That is the way

I don't even think the Brewers would be making that big of a sacrifice to keep the next closest wave of talent off the 40 man this year. Of all the guys not currently on the 40 man already, only Jett is knocking on the door of the majors. All the Brewers would be doing would be taking one year off from aggressive advancement. The names I see being mentioned as potential candidates to make MLB debuts in 26 who aren't already on the 40 man are: Jett, Made, Pratt, Wilken, Fischer, Lara, Burke, Pena, and Adams to varied levels of mention. The only one who would be controversial if not added this year would be Jett. Everyone else could easily be kept off the 40 man through all of 26 without an uproar. Everyone else hasn't even played in AAA yet. And given the circumstances, a full year in AAA is not some big ask

Do you mean 2026 playoffs? I think the Brewers have positioned themselves well with the current 40 man roster with plenty of depth and talent for '26. When a 27 season gets played, this issue would be behind them and their best coming talent will have been able to keep playing and developing during minor league play with full 6 years of service time still intact

I think ALL of these are too optimistic. Not because they're out of line with how the Brewers operate as most of these are fair and well thought out assessments under normal circumstances. But because 2026 is anything but normal circumstances, I think this is going to be a very different year when it comes to 40 man roster adds. There's massive risk adding anyone who plays a big role in your future on the 40 man this year. From not being able to play during a lockout in 2027 to potentially losing service time for nothing. I think the Brewers slow roll advancement this year Now perhaps the Brewers don't quite take 40 man add avoidance to the extreme that I think they will. But I see so many not at all accounting for the potential lockout and how that hurts young 40 man players. Not only are there major downsides that can be avoided by holding back 40 man adds, there very well might be major developmental advantages to be had for the teams that hold back players that reverberate well beyond the return to action post lockout. I can't imagine a smart small market team like the Brewers not being anything but very interested in gaining that edge.

I think the Brewers avoid adding any blue chip prospects to the 40 man roster like the plague this year. Thus my bold prediction is that Jett Williams does not make an appearance in the majors this season. Not due to performance, just preference to keep him (and others) off the 40 man roster if at all possible. Picture this scenario: Half or more of the 2027 season, perhaps all of it is lost to lockout. As part of the agreement to end the lockout, the players union negotiates that all members of the 40 man roster accrue a full year of service time. Add also that 40 man roster members have no place to play during the lockout. There's no way the Brewers wanna risk that scenario with any of their better prospects if they can avoid it. If they're guarding against that scenario, it would mean no Jett, Made, Pena, Pratt, Wilken, Burke, Fischer, Adams, Letson, Wichrowski, etc added to the 40 man in 2026. A guy like Rengifo and his extensive positional flexibility helps in this case. Quero is on the 40 man so I think we definitely see him this year. As are pitchers Sproat, Harrison, Crow, and Drohan among pitchers who haven't appeared with the Brewers yet but are on the 40 man. Here's the pool of 40 man IF: Turang, Ortiz, Rengifo, Black, Hamilton, Vaughn, Bauers And OF: Chourio, Frelick, Yelich, Perkins, Mitchell, Lockridge, Berroa, Baddoo I think the Brewers do everything in their power short of massive injuries to work from the current 40 man in 2026 And even with a massive amount of injuries I think we'll see DFA's and the replacements from a pool of minor league free agents instead of prospect 40 man adds

Perhaps not, though it's still arguable given the youthful talent across the roster and the plenty of remaining room for many of these guys to see more ascension. What matters most to me though is that the Brewers are clearly better going into 2026 than they were going into 2025. Does anyone even remember the name of the guy the Brewers were forced to start for the home opener? Now look at the absolute wealth of young, very high pedigree rotation arms the Brewers have at their disposal. In the span of about 14 months, the Brewers have turned one year of Freddy Peralta and a scrappy, pint sized infielder the Yankees had no use for into a top 50 infielder, and two major league ready top 100 pedigree starting arms. That's elite asset management. It's somewhat stunning that some here are pouting about this when we should all be in awe of it

This strikes me as I can't believe we can get Harrison for Durbin so even though it creates an immediate puzzle to solve at 3B, we can't pass this up. I think Jett is the starting 3B come opening day with Made, Pratt, Pena, and Fisher in mind as soon as next season. Remember at this time last year there were all kinds of doubts Durbin could play 3rd. And Williams is considered a better more versatile defender (with a better bat to boot) than Caleb. So I'm not all that worried about surviving a year with Jett a 3B if it means getting a potential top of or near top of rotation lefty with 5 years of control. I have zero doubt that the Brewers have a plan to unlock to best of Harrison which is near Ace pedigree. Basically a too good to pass up type deal

I mean this really says it all. Unless MLB starts determining wins and losses by number of balls that clear the fence on the fly, it really doesn't matter how many homers the Brewers hit if they keep ranking near the top of the sport in what actually counts - scoring runs.

I think there are a lot of clues that Ashby is going to be THE left hand starter in the rotation at the outset or at least be a lefty who makes a lot of appearances as an opener

Only the perpetually pessimistic thankfully. The organization and scouting community still very clearly hold him in high regard. Another factor it seems many have forgotten about is the effect of the southern league and its tendency to humble many future major leaguers on their first go around. I, along with many others, expect a strong year from Pratt in '26

Jett is the closest SS in their system to the majors and they need to know if he can handle the spot in the event of an injury to Ortiz. I don't think there's any more to read into than that. Later in 2026 there's every bit of chance that Pratt or potentially even Made become the next man up at the position while Jett still holds the on deck spot at 2nd or CF

It's not simply talking up two players they happened to get. Many teams were in on Peralta and these were THE 2 players they felt strongest about from multiple offers received. There's no other conclusion to draw other than genuine excitement and belief in the players they CHOSE amongst many choices. Logic dictates that this is one of those situations where your natural pessimism misses the mark. Given the fact they worked this for months until they were able to pick the offer they felt strongest about from many, renders your skepticism of their genuine excitement ill placed. They're obviously excited about Jett and Sproat as proven by the circumstances of the acquisition. This wasn't a "take what you can get" proposition

I'm still expecting Jordan Montgomery to be signed cheap and hopefully be in a position to cover some innings by mid season