Ro Mueller

After starting the Round Robin phase 6-0, Eduardo Garcia’s Cardenales’ team has dropped 3 straight. They’ll be in a dog fight with Bravos and Aguilas del Zulia (Jackson Chourio’s club, if he’s made available to play) over the final 7 games to qualify for the championship. In Puerto Rico, Justin Yeager collected yet another save in a 5-4 victory for Indios to even their semifinal series 1-1 against Criollos. Ramon Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs as Senadores took Game 1 of their semifinal against Cangrejeros, though they were shutout in Game 2. And in the Dominican Republic, Sam McWilliams retired all 4 batters he faced for Aguilas Cibaenas on Wednesday, though they fell 2-1 to drop to an abysmal 1-6 record in Round Robin play.

Got some love for Cooper Pratt (defense) and Jacob Misiorowski (future closer) here, along with mentions of Jesus Made and Braylon Payne, and nostalgia for Jackson Chourio and Prince Fielder.

O Canada: Local MLB prospects Dylan O'Rae and Adam Hall preparing for spring training:

Eduardo Garcia blasted his 4th homer of the Winter League campaign, but Cardenales lost the game late. They still lead the Round Robin phase in Venezuela through 7 of 16 games.

Jake Bauers, Tyler Black, Ernesto Martinez Jr., Wes Clarke… Guessing this ultimately results in an early Bauers opt-out, but let’s see…

Eduardo Garcia’s Cardenales squad has been tearing through the 5-team Round Robin phase in Venezuela, racing out to a 6-0 record with 10 games remaining. The top two teams will qualify for the best-of-7 championship series. Over in Puerto Rico, Justin Yeager’s club clinched first place in the regular season and will start their best-of-7 semifinal on Tuesday. Ramon Rodriguez’s team took 3rd place in the regular season and will play in the other semifinal. Here are stats of Brewers’ players still active in Winter Ball: Venezuela: INF Eduardo Garcia - Cardenales de Lara - .991 OPS in 23 PAs with a HR, 4 RBIs and 1 SB in 6 Round Robin games; after a 1.215 OPS in 30 PAs in the league’s regular season Dominican League: RHP Sam McWilliams (3 games) - Aguilas Cibaenas - 1.2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K RHP Deivi Garcia (1 game) - Tigres del Licey - 0.2 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 0 K Puerto Rico: RHP Justin Yeager - Indios de Mayaguez - 1.90 ERA, 23.2 IP, 16 H, 10 BB, 27 K, 11 Saves C Ramon Rodriguez - Senadores de San Juan - .776 OPS in 77 PAs, 3 RBIs, 1 SB C Victor Torres - Senadores de San Juan - .000 OPS in 6 PAs, 1 RBI

Brewers RHP Sam McWilliams joined Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican Republic, facing 3 batters in a regular season game on December 21 (single, BB, sac bunt) and another 2 batters in a round robin game today (sac fly, fly out).

Thanks. I’m not suggesting he’s in the league of Bregman, Bohm or Suarez, but these characteristics seemed reasonable to me: - 16 HR in 518 ABs - Average EV of 89.4 - Overall arm of 85.0 (Savant) - Right-handed hitter - xwOBA of .313 - 41 BB / 121 K

Vierling seems to check a number of boxes reasonably well.

As Andruw Monasterio’s Venezuelan club missed out on the Round Robin round, there are only 4-5 Brewers still active in Winter Ball, but Eduardo Garcia, Justin Yeager and Ramon Rodriguez are each playing prominent roles: Venezuela: INF Eduardo Garcia - Cardenales de Lara - 5-for-10 with a HR, 2 RBIs and SB in 3 Round Robin games, after a 1.215 OPS in 30 PAs in the league’s regular season Dominican League: RHP Deivi Garcia (one appearance on December 26) - Tigres del Licey - 0.2 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 0 K OF Bladimir Restituyo - Aguilas Cibaenas - last played December 17th. It remains to be seen whether Restituyo will play in the Round Robin round, which commences on January 2 Puerto Rico: RHP Justin Yeager - Indios de Mayaguez - 2.18 ERA, 20.2 IP, 13 H, 9 BB, 25 K, league-leading 11 Saves C Ramon Rodriguez - Senadores de San Juan - .763 OPS in 75 PAs, 3 RBIs, 1 SB

Trailing 4-3 with 2 outs in the top of the 9th inning with Eduardo Garcia due up, Cardenales brought in old friend Hernan Perez to pinch hit and he came through in a BIG way:

Here's another key hit from Eduardo Garcia, a solo homer to push Cardenales' lead to 3-1:

RHP Deivi Garcia has joined Tigres del Licey in the Dominican Republic, starting and facing 6 batters (0.2 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 0 K) in his 2024 Winter League debut:

Eduardo Garcia continues to produce, this time with a 4-for-4 game in Cardenales’ 11-7 victory over Tigres in the first game of the 5-team Round Robin round. Garcia played shortstop, smacked a double, stole a base and had a single turn into a little league homer.

Interesting. See if he can sustain last year's success. The EV doesn't signal enough pop though, in my opinion.

It sounds like we’re better off trading for Ramon Urias… But I guess Moncada’s got the solid arm and switch hits, so he’d be the guy from this group.

The Winter League regular seasons are wrapping up, with top teams qualifying for Round Robin rounds. Jackson Chourio played 6 games for playoff-bound Aguilas, but will not participate. Hopefully Eduardo Garcia gets some further playing time with Cardenales. Over in Puerto Rico, Justin Yeager now has 8 saves for Indios. Winter League Stats to Date (for active or recently-active players): Venezuela: OF Jackson Chourio - Aguilas del Zulia - .944 in 22 PAs, 3 RBIs INF Andruw Monasterio - Caribes de Anzoategui (didn’t qualify for Round Robin) - .823 OPS in 190 PAs, 21 RBIs, 7 SBs OF Hedbert Perez (never returned from US visa processing) - Tiburones de la Guaira (lost play-in game, so didn’t qualify for Round Robin) - .858 OPS in 88 PAs, 10 RBIs, 2 SBs INF Eduardo Garcia - Cardenales de Lara – 1.215 OPS in 30 PAs, 11 RBIs, 2 SBs Dominican League: OF Bladimir Restituyo - Aguilas Cibaenas - .353 OPS in 18 PAs Puerto Rico: RHP Justin Yeager - Indios de Mayaguez - 17.2 IP, 4 R, 11 H, 7 BB, 20 K, 8 Saves C Ramon Rodriguez - Senadores de San Juan - .743 OPS in 58 PAs, 3 RBIs, 1 SB C Victor Torres - Senadores de San Juan - .000 OPS in 4 PAs, 1 RBI

Here are well wishes for 11 Brewers’ farmhands released over the past two months: 21-year old RHP Gerson Calzadilla signed from Venezuela in May 2021, dominating hitters for three seasons and winning the Arizona League Complex Pitcher of the Year in 2023 (amongst 17 teams) before an August 2023 injury derailed his solid trajectory. Calzadilla delivered a 2.80 ERA in 45 DSL innings and 2.66 ERA in 84.2 ACL innings (before the injury), although he averaged just 7.6 K/9 in those periods. He started 16 of 24 games in 2021-22 before shifting to long relief work in 2023. Promoted to Low-A Carolina in August 2023, he was injured the same month, then pitched just 11 innings in 2024. We hope Gerson has made a full physical recovery and wish him luck in his next opportunity. 20-year old RHP Esmir Suarez signed from the Dominican Republic in July 2022, delivering an excellent 2023 campaign in the DSL: 2.80 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 7.9 K/9 in 35.1 innings (10 games, 8 starts). The starts, solid stats and respectable 31 K / 12 BB ratio all indicated a likely promotion to the Arizona Complex League in 2024, but he instead spent the season on the injured list. We wish Esmir best of luck in whatever comes next on his road. 20-year old OF Ramon Moreno signed from the Dominican Republic in July 2022, debuting in the DSL in 2023 with a respectable .730 OPS in 158 PAs, including 10 extra-base hits (2 HRs) and 14 stolen bases. Promoted stateside to the ACL in May 2024, he delivered a .701 OPS in 106 PAs (helped by a .442 BABIP) with 7 extra-base hits and 12 stolen bases. 221 of Moreno’s 535.2 career innings were in center field. Perhaps his proven speed will enable Ramon to latch onto another minor league contract. We wish him well. 20-year old OF/LHP Idalberto Santiesteban signed from Cuba in November 2022, producing a respectable .662 OPS in 101 DSL PAs with 21 stolen bases principally as a corner outfielder in 2023. The 2024 DSL campaign saw Santiesteban handle split duties, including 10 games as a pitcher (2.89 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 5.8 K/9 in 9.1 IP) and 27 games as a position player (.501 OPS in 64 PAs with 3 SBs). Hopefully Idalberto’s versatility will pay off for him elsewhere. 19-year old RHP Ranwell Smith signed from Nicaragua in June 2022, starting 10 of 20 games over his first two DSL seasons, with an encouraging second year: 4.34 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 9.9 K/9 in 37.1 innings. Shifted exclusively to bullpen work in the DSL in 2024, Smith produced a 2.25 ERA in 20 innings, accompanied by a 1.70 WHIP and 5.9 K/9. Good luck to Ranwell wherever his path takes him. 19-year old C/1B Ludwin Tejada signed from the Dominican Republic in June 2022, showing promise in 2022 and 2023 but never getting the promotion stateside. His .719 OPS in 70 DSL PAs in 2022 was accompanied by a 27% caught stealing ratio, followed up by a .522 OPS in 62 DSL PAs in 2023 with a 44% caught stealing ratio. Unfortunately, his 2024 DSL caught stealing ratio fell to 13% and his OPS stayed down at .607 (in 42 PAs). Best of luck to Ludwin in his next career opportunity. 20-year old OF Fabricio Valera signed from Venezuela in June 2022, making 26 outfield starts over two seasons in the Dominican Summer League. He produced a .553 OPS in 2022 (57 PAs) and .634 OPS in 2023 (73 PAs) with one extra-base hit and three stolen bases, but had an encouraging 32 walks vs. 26 Ks. He spent the 2024 season on the injured list and we hope he’s made a full recovery. Good luck Fabricio! 20-year old 1B/C Estefano Lozano signed from Columbia in August 2022, playing 74 innings at first base and 30 innings at catcher over two DSL seasons. He managed a .408 OPS in 2022 (13 PAs) and .675 OPS in 2023 (46 PAs) before missing the 2024 season due to injury. We hope he’s healthy and wish Estefano success in his next endeavor. RHP Justin Caceres signed from Nicaragua in June 2022, delivering a 6.97 ERA with 25 Ks in 31 DSL innings that year. His 2023 season went a bit better, highlighted by a 3.81 ERA with 26 Ks in 28.1 innings, though with a 1.80 WHIP. Unfortunately, Caceres spent the entire 2024 season on the injured list. We hope that Justin is healthy again and wish him luck in his next opportunity. 18-year old RHP Francisco Guevara signed from Venezuela in July 2023, immediately going on the injured list before debuting in the DSL in June 2024. An extremely rough start saw the first 10 batters reach base against him before results started to improve. All-in-all, Guevara faced 61 batters, allowing only 6 hits along with 20 walks, 6 HBPs and 6 strikeouts for a 13.06 ERA. Good luck to Francisco in his next opportunity. 18-year old OF Jeremy George signed from Panama in January 2024, playing in 19 DSL games this year and producing a .427 OPS in 53 PAs with 1 home run, 1 RBI and 3 stolen bases. He mainly played right field and we wish Jeremy well in his next opportunity.

Can we just make it up ourselves?: - Carlos Santana - Mark Canha - Ha-Seong Kim - Donovan Solano

Low teens for me

INF Eduardo Garcia's first plate appearance in 2 weeks went well:

I think it’s difficult to read what’s available on the market at the moment:

"Rafael Álvarez, advisor to the management of the Águilas del Zulia, spoke about possible reinforcements for the Round Robin and the possibility of Jackson Chourio playing in the next round":

Jackson Chourio has been the story of the last week, exciting fans since joining Aguilas. Will the Brewers allow him to also participate in some playoff games? Winter League Stats to Date (for active or recently-active players): Venezuela: OF Jackson Chourio - Aguilas del Zulia - 1.089 in 18 PAs, 3 RBIs INF Andruw Monasterio - Caribes de Anzoategui - .819 OPS in 180 PAs, 19 RBIs, 7 SBs OF Hedbert Perez (not played since 12/6 – renewing US work visa) - Tiburones de la Guaira - .858 OPS in 88 PAs, 10 RBIs, 2 SBs INF Eduardo Garcia (not played since 12/5) - Cardenales de Lara – 1.201 OPS in 19 PAs, 5 RBIs Dominican League: OF Bladimir Restituyo - Aguilas Cibaenas - .250 OPS in 17 PAs Puerto Rico: RHP Justin Yeager - Indios de Mayaguez - 14.2 IP, 4 R, 10 H, 7 BB, 19 K, 7 Saves C Ramon Rodriguez - Senadores de San Juan - .693 OPS in 41 PAs, 1 RBI, 1 SB C Victor Torres - Senadores de San Juan - .000 OPS in 4 PAs, 1 RBI Mexico: LHP Jesus Broca (not played since 11/30) - Algodoneros de Guasave – 12.2 IP, 6 R (4 ER), 10 H, 10 BB, 10 Ks