Ro Mueller

- Brewers signed C Brian Navarreto, plugging high minors catching depth gap caused by recent David Fry trade Navaretto, a Puerto Rican born in 1994, was a 6th round pick of the Twins in 2013 out of Arlington Country Day High School (FL). He reached AA in 2017 and spent 6.5 seasons in total with Minnesota, with season OPS’ ranging from .550 to .684. Traded to the Yankees mid-2019, he then spent 2020-2021 with the Marlins, even getting 5 MLB PAs (with 2 hits!) in 2020 (likely from Covid roster decimation). 2021 was a relative bright spot for his bat, as he posted a .681 OPS in 211 PAs across AA and AAA, including 9 homers. Clearly, Mr. Navaretto is a Defense-First catcher, with caught stealing rates of 33% (2021), 29% (2019), 39% (2018), 54% (2017), 52% (2016), 56% (2015), 59% (2014) and 34% (2013).

- Brewers traded C David Fry to Cleveland (to complete Nov 2021 J.C. Mejia trade) Fry, a Texan born in 1995, was a 7th round selection out of Northwestern State University (LA) in 2018. He’s hit and apparently caught well at every level – 2018 Helena .969 OPS, 40% caught stealing; 2019 Wisconsin .773 OPS, 42% caught stealing; 2021 Biloxi-Nashville .797 OPS, 35% caught stealing. He even played in the Arizona Fall League in 2019 (.835 OPS, 24% caught stealing). Given the premium value which the Brewers typically place on catchers, I wonder if they feel like Mr. Fry has reached his ceiling and isn’t quite worth the 40-man roster spot that he’ll be expecting with one more decent season. Well, his pursuit now moves to the Cleveland organization and we wish him luck in his quest!

American Family Fields of Phoenix will be open to the public starting Sunday, March 13 from 9am.

Welcome Brock, congrats on the purchase. Thank you to Brian as well. Let’s all celebrate by winning the World Series this year.

Thanks to Mass Haas' post of Adam McCalvy's article, we can see the MILB Spring Training plan quite clearly: - Wednesday, February 23 - "Build-Up Camp" commences for more than 50 mostly young players (e.g. Frelick, Small, H. Perez, Quero, T. Black, Gray, Kelly, Zamora, Warren, R. Smith, Henderson, Jordan, Vire, Moore, Clarke, Murray, Raabe, Nicasia, Peters, Avina, etc.) - Saturday, March 5 - MILB pitchers and catchers report for physicals - Sunday, March 6 - First formal work-out for MILB pitchers and catchers - Friday, March 11 - MILB Position players report for physicals - Saturday, March 12 - First full-squad MILB work-outs - Saturday, March 19 - First MILB Spring Training games - Tuesday, April 5 - Opening Day for AAA Nashville - Friday, April 8 - Opening Day for AA Biloxi, High-A Wisconsin, Low-A Carolina https://www.mlb.com/brewers/news/brewers-minor-league-camp-preview

If he kills the shift or expands the playoffs to 14 or more teams, I'll not think of him fondly. If he agrees to let most players hit full scale free agency before age 29, I'll give him solid kudos for that. If he cuts each team's combined MILB state-wide rosters below 180 players, I'll be quite disappointed on that count. If he puts in robo-strike zones, that'd be a win for me. No need for mistakes when it's already such a tough battle between pitchers and hitters.

- RHP Wade Beasley is listed as Voluntarily Retired on milb.com https://www.milb.com/player/wade-beasley-681406 A 24th-round pick at age 18 out of Horatio Arkansas (Home School) High School, he originally signed for $257,500, the 7th highest paid by the Brewers in that 2018 draft class. However, injuries stopped him early and often, as he only recorded 8.2 innings over 3 seasons (plus Covid year) - 5 games in 2018, 1 in 2021. To his credit, he made it back to throw 5 pitches in AZL ball this year, facing one batter. I hope for his sake that that was actually the goal this year: make it back, then retire. Still just 22 years old, the Best is certainly ahead of him. Good luck Wade!

I’m not sure if this has been posted before or whether Drake Mann and Prospects Worldwide are really worth posting, but it’s still nice to see that they ranked 4 Brewers among the top 6 hitters in the 2021 Arizona Complex League: C Jeferson Quero, OF Hedbert Perez, OF Hendry Mendez, SS Eduardo Garcia. https://prospectsworldwide.com/2021/12/17/2021-top-20-arizona-complex-league-hitters/amp/ New Carolina Mudcat manager Victor Estevez (just promoted from the DSL) should have a fun time managing this quartet in Low-A this year.

Let's hope the upper level catchers stay healthy (MLB: Narvaez, Severino; AAA: Sullivan, Feliciano) and then one of these AA guys finds his offense in 2022: - Jason Lopez - 1998 - .640 OPS in 200 PAs at mostly AA in 2021 - .286 BABIP - threw out 36% of basestealers - Jakson Reetz - 1996 - .620 OPS in 302 PAs at mostly AA in 2021 - .256 BABIP - threw out 24% of basestealers - Brent Diaz - 1996 - .636 OPS in 210 PAs at mostly AA in 2021 - .303 BABIP - threw out 27% of basestealers The Jason Lopez signing has a nice little ripple effect in my projected minor league placements: - Jason Lopez to catch in AA, pairing with Jakson Reetz and Brent Diaz - Nick Kahle repeats a season as High-A catcher, after a .565 OPS last season, pairing with Darrien Miller and Alex Hall - Zavier Warren High-A starting third baseman, since he only caught 3 of his final 39 games last year - Freddy Zamora AA starting shortstop, making the leap after just 92 PAs in High-A

33 international players signed. 15 from Venezuela, 15 from Dominican Republic, 3 from Nicaragua. 17 position players, 16 pitchers. 16 born in 2005, 11 in 2004, 3 in 2003, 2 in 2002, 1 in 2000. The oldest 8 players on the list are all pitchers.

These posts are informative and help us deal with the lockout-induced lull. We really appreciate it. Thank you.

Now 18 players in Winter Ball (adding 17-year old Jackson Chourio to the mix), with Small, Mejia and Otero continuing to impress, along with Webb, Walters and Olguin: LHP Ethan Small – Dominican Republic – Leones del Escogido – 1.80 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 7.7 K/9 in 20.0 innings over 5 starts C Brett Sullivan – Dominican Republic – Leones del Escogido –.273/.360/.364 in 50 PAs INF Pablo Reyes – Dominican Republic – Tigres del Licey – .000/.125/.000 in 8 PAs RHP Miguel Sanchez – Dominican Republic – Toros del Este – 4.15 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, 12.5 K/9 in 4.1 innings over 7 relief appearances RHP J.C. Mejia – Dominican Republic – Tigres del Licey – 1.29 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 12.2 K/9 in 14.0 innings over 12 relief appearances LHP Andy Otero – Dominican Republic – Estrellas de Oriente – 2.22 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 7.3 K/9 in 28.1 innings over 6 starts *** RHP Jesus Castillo – Venezuela – Bravos de Margarita – 4.62 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 2.5 K/9 in 25.1 innings over 6 starts RHP Arnaldo Hernandez – Venezuela – Tiburones de La Guaira – 7.07 ERA, 1.93 WHIP, 6.4 K/9 in 14.0 innings over 13 relief appearances and 1 start OF Jesus Lujano – Venezuela – Tiburones de La Guaira – .261/.320/.348 in 25 PAs RHP Harold Chirino – Venezuela – Caribes de Anzoategui – 11.25 ERA, 1.88 WHIP, 6.8 K/9 in 8.0 innings over 9 relief appearances INF Antonio Pinero – Venezuela – Leones de Caracas – .091/.286/.091 in 17 PAs OF/2B Jackson Chourio - Venezuela - Aguilas del Zulia - .125/.176/.489 in 17 PAs C Jose Sibrian – Venezuela – Cardenales de Lara – 1 game, no PAs *** RHP Braden Webb – Puerto Rico – Indios de Mayaguez – 3.05 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 12.6 K/9 in 20.2 innings over 6 relief appearances and 2 starts RHP Nash Walters – Puerto Rico – Indios de Mayaguez – 2.84 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 12.8 K/9 in 6.1 innings over 8 relief appearances *** RHP Fernando Olguin – Mexico – Tomateros de Culiacan – 1.50 ERA, 100 WHIP, 8.3 K/9 in 12.0 innings over 12 relief appearances RHP Mario Perez – Mexico – Yaquis de Obregon – 27.00 ERA, 3.00 WHIP, 0.0 K/9 in 0.2 innings in one relief appearance RHP Ramon Carrasco – Mexico – Naranjeros de Hermosillo – 4.91 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 7.4 K/9 in 3.2 innings over 3 relief appearances

Six intriguing MILB signings, which others have noted: - 31-year old North Carolinian RHH 1B Tyler White was a 33rd round pick of the Astros in 2013 from Western Carolina University. He made his MLB debut in April 2016 and posted a .725 OPS across 859 PAs over 4 seasons with the Astros and Dodgers. Outrighted in February 2020, he tried his luck in Korea and promptly broke a finger, then a hand, playing only 9 games. He spent 2021 in AAA for the Blue Jays, where he posted .292/.424/.900 in 443 PAs, with a terrific 80 walks vs. 73 Ks. He had similar BB/K numbers from 2013-2015 and part of 2018, so perhaps he’s returned to his old approach. Tyler elected free agency in November 2021. - 24-year old Venezuelan RHP Moises Gomez was signed by the Twins in April 2014, putting up quality numbers every year except 2017. After a 2019 season of 2.91 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 13.3 K/9 in 52.2 innings in Low-A and High-A and a 2020 Covid wipe-out, he elected free agency in November 2020 and signed with the Mariners. Terrific in AA in 2021 (1.23 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 7.7 K/9 in 29.1 innings), he ran into trouble in AAA (5.94 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 9.7 K/9 in 16.2 innings). I’m guessing Moises elected free agency after the season. He's made just 13 starts in 142 MILB games. - 30-year old Californian LHH 1B Jonathan Singleton was an 8th round pick of the Phillies in 2009 from Millikan HS. He made his MLB debut with the Astros in June 2014, delivering a .621 OPS in 420 PAs over 2 seasons. Outrighted in November 2016, he spent 2017 in AA (.205/.376/.397 in 500 PAs, with 107 walks and 132 Ks). He was suspended in January 2018 after failing a 3rd drug test. Missing 3 seasons, Jonathan resurfaced in the Mexican League in 2021, posting the best OPS in the league: .321/.503/.693 in 189 PAs, with 51 walks and 50 Ks. - 24-year old New Yorker RHH LF Garrett Whitley was a 1st round pick (13th overall) of the Rays in 2015 from Niskayuna HS. He slashed .229/.338/.444 in 347 PAs in AA and AAA in 2021 (.880 OPS in AA, .570 OPS in AAA), boosted by 34 extra base hits. This was quite similar to his 2019 season in High-A: .226/.339/.412 in 439 PAs, boosted by 42 extra base hits. Garrett elected free agency in November 2021. - 25-year old Venezuelan RHP Arnaldo Hernandez was signed by the Royals in September 2012. He was solid every season except 2016, registering an interesting 3.55 ERA, 1.10 WHIP but only 5.6 K/9 in 58.1 AAA innings in 2018, then being selected for 40-man roster in November 2018. Arnaldo’s 2019 season was unkind (6.39 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 5.5 K/9 in 105.2 AAA innings, though was fine in 23.0 AA innings) and he was outrighted in November 2019. After a blank Covid season, he elected free agency in November 2020. Arnaldo started 2021 in Mexico, got shelled and released after 9.2 innings, subsequently rebounding with 14.0 decent innings in the independent Atlantic League. A starter through 2019, in this 2021 season Arnaldo principally pitched in relief. He’s presently playing and struggling in the Venezuelan Winter League. - 25-year old Nebraskan RHH C Jakson Reetz was a 3rd round pick of the Nationals in 2014 from Norris HS. He made his MLB debut in July 2021, got 2 PAs (double, flyout), was outrighted in September and elected free agency in November. Jakson spent most of 2021 in AA, putting up a slash of .189/.297/.317 in 300 PAs across AA and AAA. He threw out 17 of 72 potential base stealers this season (24%).

In today's MILB Rule 5 Draft, the Brewers brought RHP Caleb Boushley back to his roots (from the Padres), while losing Catcher Kekai Rios to the Dodgers. - 28-year old Caleb Boushley was born in Hortonville and attended UW-La Crosse before being drafted in the 33rd round of the 2017 draft by the Padres. After a rocky 2017 debut principally in Arizona Rookie Ball, he put up decent numbers in 2018 (mainly Low-A) and 2019 (at High-A): combined 3.23 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 9.0 K/9 in 175.1 innings, including 11 starts and 53 relief appearances. In 2021, he made the leap to AA (35.2 innings) and AAA (80.0 innings), not surprisingly stumbling a bit: 5.21 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 8.5 K/9 across 23 starts and 1 relief appearance. - 24-year old Hawaiian Kekai Rios was a 28th round draft pick in 2018 from the University of Hawaii. He had a .986 OPS in 60 PAs in Arizona Rookie Ball before plummeting to a .511 OPS in 109 PAs at Low-A Wisconsin in 2019. But in 2021, he contributed a solid .766 OPS in 144 PAs at High-A Wisconsin, though struggled in brief time at AA Biloxi (combined .711 OPS this year). It's worth noting that he also threw out 23 of 57 base stealers (40%), well above the 19% and 12% he'd achieved in 2019 and 2018, respectively. Good luck to Kekai Rios and Welcome Home to Caleb Boushley!

On December 1st, the Brewers traded SS David Hamilton and 3B Alex Binelas to Boston as part of the Jackie Bradley Jr. - Hunter Renfroe trade. - 24-year old Texan David Hamilton was an 8th round pick in 2019 from the University of Texas. An injury prevented a 2019 debut in the Brewers' system, then Covid pushed him to independent ball for "Team Texas" of the Constellation Energy League in 2020. Finally debuting at High-A Wisconsin in 2021, he posted a solid .773 OPS in 309 PAs with 41 stolen bases (vs. 6 caught stealing) before being promoted to AA Biloxi, where he put up a .736 OPS in 150 PAs with 11 stolen bases (vs. 3 caught stealing). In all, he started 87 games at shortstop and 13 at second base this season. Hamilton also recently saw time in the Arizona Fall League, delivering a .916 OPS in 53 PAs with 4 stolen bases (vs. 2 caught stealing). 21-year old Wisconsinite Alex Binelas was a 3rd round pick in 2021 from the University of Louisville. Quickly acclimating to the minor leagues, he posted a .973 OPS in 159 PAs this year, principally at Low-A Carolina, including 9 home runs. He made 26 starts at third base and 4 starts at first base whilst a Brewer minor leaguer. Good luck young men!

The MILB Rule 5 draft is today. In the first round, we drafted Caleb Boushley - RHP Padres. And we lost Catcher Kekai Rios to the Dodgers. https://www.mlb.com/news/2021-rule-5-draft-minor-league-phase?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage

You're probably right, which would mean we can open up 2-4 more slots from my list depending on whether the team coordinated with A. Monasterio and H. Harris to sign their contracts post-November 19th.

I assume the list of players eligible for selection in the AAA portion of the Rule 5 Draft scheduled for December 9th has grown, given recent signings (e.g. Monasterio) and apparent player retentions (e.g. Westbrook). I also think that we may have omitted a few from the original list, unless I'm misunderstanding eligibility rules (e.g. Luis Silva, Alberis Ferrer, Oswel Leones, Junior Montero, Christian Tripp, Nate Peden, Justin Miller, Zach Mort, Robbie Baker). So I count 71 eligible players, of which we can protect 38. And here's my guess which nobody requested to hear and which nobody will ever be able to verify against the actual 38-man list (which is not published): Protect: D. Fry, W. Wilson, M. Mathias, J. Westbrook, A. Monasterio, D. Dahl, K. Rios, K. Howell, T. Lutz, A. Hall, E. Martinez, C. Rodriguez, J. Chirinos, D. Castillo, T. Kelley, L. Barker, J. Alexander, T. Jankins, L. Perdomo, H. Harris, P. Strzelecki, J. Hintzen, Z. Brown, R. Hitt, C. Andrews, A. Otero, C. Luna, N. Zavolas, J. Bullock, M. Lazar, V. Castaneda, L. Erceg, H. Chirino, C. Robinson, B. Murphy, M. Vassalotti, J. Geraldo, I. Puello. Don't Protect: D. Peterson, J. Davis, B. Diaz, J. Lujano, L. Castillo, A. Pinero, Y. Coca, C. McClanahan, J. Ward, P. Abreu, J. Sibrian, A. Ferrer, O. Leones, L. Silva, L. Ernesto, J. Lindblom, R. Brothers, C. Sadzeck, M. Hardy, C. Sierra, N. Walters, B. Webb, J. Matulovich, S. Sunitsch, Z. Mort, R. Baker, B. Schanuel, C. Lemons, J. Montero, C. Tripp, N. Peden, J. Miller, K. Morales.

You sure he is still in our system? I thought his minor deal was just for rest of 2021 season. I would think Dahl is a free agent as well. Not sure if he'd be able to get a major league contract at this point of his career so I could see him signing with somebody soon (assuming he is an FA). Based on the lack of announcements or updates to their player pages or MILB team rosters, we're thinking that David Dahl and a few other guys (Jamie Westbrook, Dustin Peterson, Luis Perdomo, Carlos Luna, Andy Otero) are sticking around, though we lost others (e.g. Matt Lipka, Mitch Longo). If true, then Dahl and Corey Ray can battle it out for the 5th MLB outfield spot in spring training and we can dream of great things for Dahl from there. Mass Haas had posted on this about a week ago:

One player who may be quietly hopeful about about the JBJ trade is David Dahl. The LHH OF was an all-star in 2019 and is still only 27, so he’ll be pining for a shot to be our 5th outfielder. Of course, we’ll probably trade for Ben Gamel or something.

Sometimes the benefit of drafting well is that you have decent chips to trade. This trade makes the MLB club better, which is the over-arching goal. And it doesn’t increase payroll, so we’ve room to make more moves. Hamilton (2019 8th round - $400k bonus) and Binelas (2021 3rd round - $700k bonus) performing equal to or better than their original draft status made this trade possible, along with Boston being familiar with JBJ of course. In the minors, I think that this will free up more infield time for OF Korry Howell (assuming he’s not taken in Rule 5 Draft) and C Zavier Warren, relieving some of the apparent outfield and catching glut in the mid-levels.

Thanks for this. I feel like we should also give some love to Mitch Longo, Darrien Miller, Weston Wilson, David Hamilton (they DID give honorable mention), Carlos Luna and Evan Reifert. Fun season!

Thank you Mass Haas for the transaction news and note of appreciation, however unfortunate the cuts may be. Three of these were mild surprises to me, though obviously the team knows best. - 23-year old Puerto Rican RHH Gabriel Garcia was a 14th round pick in the 2016 draft from Broward College (FL). He posted great seasons in 2016 (AZL) and 2017 (Helena), a down 2018 (Low-A) and a respectable 2019 (Low-A), before somewhat aggressively spending over half of 2021 in AA. First 4 seasons: .238/.354/.402 in 1,154 PAs, bolstered by 97 extra-base hits. This year split between High-A and AA: .217/.295/.372 in 234 PAs. Third base and first base accounted for 97.3% of his innings in the field in 2021. - 26-year old Ilinoisan LHH Chad Spanberger was acquired from the Blue Jays for Chase Anderson in November 2019, having been previously drafted by the Rockies (2017 – 6th round) and traded to Toronto in 2018. His 2017-2019 numbers looked solid from High-Rookie to AA: .274/.340/.501 in 1,259 PAs, including 59 homers. His sole year in the Brewer system was a tale of two extreme halves (nearly entirely at AA Biloxi): .564 OPS through 168 miserable PAs, then a .779 OPS over his last 172 PAs, for a combined slash of .202/.285/.387. This year, he spent 58% of his time in RF, 32% at 1B, 10% in LF. - 27-year old Floridian LHP Cody Beckman was a 30th round pick in the 2017 draft from N.C. State. His 2017 and first half-2018 numbers looked good through AZL, Helena and Low-A Wisconsin: 3.03 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 9.6 K/9 in 59.1 innings. But things got shaky in High-A and AA from late 2018 through 2021: 5.15 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 9.6 K/9 in 129.1 innings, including a 6.36 ERA and 1.71 WHIP this year in Biloxi. - 25-year old Dominican RHP Freisis Adames was signed in December 2015 and put up four consecutive seasons of sub-4.00 ERA, sub-1.25 WHIP in the DSL (2 years), AZL and Low-A, accumulating a combined 3.50 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 8.7 K/9 in 228.2 innings. A bit old for High-A Wisconsin in 2021, the Brewers gave him a shot there anyway, but this ended up being his most difficult campaign: 5.57 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 8.2 K/9 in 82.1 innings. - 23-year old Arizonan RHP Keegan McCarville was a 36th round pick in the 2019 draft from Santa Clara. After a fabulous 2019 debut in the AZL, the Covid washout of 2020 and a 2021 injury limited any chance to build on his early success. AZL 2019 numbers: 1.72 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 11.3 K/9 in 36.2 innings (all in relief). After missing May and June 2021 with injury, he pitched principally at Low-A Carolina, registering a 7.71 ERA, 1.76 WHIP, 10.0 K/9 in 23.1 innings in 2021 (again all in relief). We wish all five gentlemen good luck and fortune in their upcoming endeavors.

Holy mackerel, I got one right. We’ve traded for J.C. Mejia. Time to play the lotto. I should mention that MadThinker88 had also mentioned J.C. Mejia earlier up the thread as part of the Guardians’ roster crunch.

Guardians Trade J.C. Mejia To Brewers “The Brewers have acquired right-hander J.C. Mejia from the Guardians in exchange for a player to be named later or cash, the teams announced.” 25-year old RHP Mejia was signed by Cleveland from the Dominican Republic in November 2013, spent 3 seasons in the Dominican Summer League and 3 seasons in the low minors (Rk, A-, A, A+) before making the big leap to AAA/MLB in 2021. He was solid in the 3 low-minor seasons: 3.00 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 10.0 K/9 in 168.0 innings (24 starts in 47 games). Of course, he then struggled mightily at AAA/MLB in 2021: 7.81 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 8.6 K/9 in 77.2 innings (17 starts in 27 games). He is likely out of options, unless MLB reinstates one based on a 2019 injury that caused him to miss about 75% of that season. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/11/guardians-trade-j-c-mejia-brewers.html