Joseph Zarr

It's amazing how universal giving multiple batters free passes negatively impacts an inning. Those infield batted balls were damaging because Wallace walked all those guys. He started it with a basic groundout and then put three men on base and then walked in the tying run. Every level. Everywhere. If you can't control your stuff your journey is going to have many bumps in the road. It was the same for the Saguaros in their 6-run 7th: walks, walks, walks. This just in: pitching is hard!

Fair enough. I mean, you have to fill out and add some body to 'What to Work On' (😅) and you have some in person looks and this is a fun thing to discuss regardless of where we disagree. There was a guy (best said in East Coast accent) this season making a point about Chourio and his jumps and how they were a question mark and, at the time and to this day, it felt like a major reach - almost like we have to find flaws in the players. I am not saying you are doing this here, btw, but when I read that from this guy (again, 'this guy' is best said in an East Coast accent) I found myself thinking: "I've watched nearly every single game of his since he's played Low-A. Have I thought his defense was overrated at times? Yes, absolutely - especially his affiliated Freshman year when I personally felt Wiemer and Crow-Armstrong were more deserving of a Minor League gold glove. BUT, the thing is he's actually continued to get better building off a very good base. Not one single time did I watch a Chourio game and think: Geee, he really needs to improve those reads it's negatively impacting this game." 😅 Anywho, this is a long-winded way of saying: having watched nearly all of Lara's games in 2023, I never once came away thinking any of his current defensive skills were anything other than quite simply put the best outfielder on that grass (and this with Avina and Nicasia at the corners - very good defensive players). But, to your point, let's hope as he ages he just keeps getting better and everything gets even smoother. Given the coach in you, I'll trust that part of your eyes and defer.

Two more 60-Day IL Activations: - RHP Jhoan Cruz was activated off the 60-Day IL by the Carolina Mudcats - RHP Domingo Mejia was activated off the 60-Day IL by the ACL Brewers

I would opine his defense in CF is better than advertised. Really good jumps. Elite speed. Really good range. I saw very little to concern myself with in terms of balls hit at him - his judgments were quite solid; the reads very quick; the jumps instant; and he more often than not made the extremely difficult play look smooth and routine. He made, arguably, the catch of the year tracking a ball to straightaway CF and making the insanely difficult laid out in full straight at the wall grab (can't find the highlight, naturally). It was incredible. His jumps to every direction are more than adequate. He also has a surprisingly very good arm - definitely rips. This was, for me, perhaps the most surprisingly impressive part of his game. He pretty much has a cannon. There just isn't much to gripe about on the defensive side of the ball. This is one of the more exciting prospects in the system given the entirety of what we're witnessing. Here's some defensive examples of get off that are actually available and demonstrate what I'm talking about: Straight over the head? No problems Anyhow, on a nightly basis we Mudcats viewers were extremely spoiled by the defensive web gems we saw routinely up the middle - from Sibrian at the backstop to Areinamo anywhere in the middle infield to from Lara in CF. Three defensive savants.

Yeah, this is fairly shocking - the timing and the suddenness. Not an ideal scenario a week before the regular season starts! Ugh.

It turned into a 6 run lead-taking 7th for Surprise. They cling to an 8-7 lead in the bottom of the 9th. EBJ was brought on as a pinch runner in the top of the frame after a lead-off double. He was gunned down at home on a failed double steal attempt. The Saguaros will look to close it out.

Top of the 7th, Surprise trailing 7-2, they walked the bases full. No outs. Wes Clarke to the dish. He works the count 2-2. He takes a ball low and outside. The count is full. He walks in a run. 7-3 the Saguaros trail. Still juiced. Nobody down. No other Brewers are in the lineup tonight, unfortunately.

The Clarke man cometh: 4th dinger. 1-1 game headed to the bottom of the 2nd as Surprise left the bases dripping.

Lastly, this isn't necessarily on you @damuelle - the Bandits botched the info in their own press release. BUT, it is actually 'Michael O'Neal'. He is no longer a 'Brewers Development Coach' in title in the org. He was a Development Coach with Wisconsin and Carolina - in 2021 and 2020, respectively. He was a generically titled 'Coach' for the Shuckers in 2022. This past 2023 season, he was the Pitching Coach for the Carolina Mudcats. It was a full circle season for O'Neal as he pitched for the Mudcats in 2016. This will be his second assignment in 2023 - his fourth season with the Brewers organization.

- The ACL Brewers activated RHP Jared Albir off their 60-Day IL

Happily insane

Lastly, a heads up: We will start seeing the Brewers and Royals affiliated players announcements starting the middle of next week it would appear:

That post won't begin until January of 2024, @damuelle. So, it would appear Nilsson will remain very much involved this season as he aids the transition (and potentially beyond?). I know you hyperlinked this article below but the key point is in this birdy whistle: he'll be a bench coach this fall/winter and stay as Director of Baseball Ops with Brisbane:

You misunderstand my obsession. 😅 I would personally be interested in only this component of the Minor Leagues - ie giving depth and representation to players who are so often overlooked. The top prospects and MLB players already get all that publicity and hype.

Dykstra misses the boat here, imho. Smith's real focus (in the AFL, at least) is continuing to develop and advance his slider. The cutter has taken a little bit of a back seat. Previous to affiliated ball, his goal was to become a starting pitcher. To that end, he used a change up to keep hitters from both sides of the plate 'honest' when he came aboard. Which brings me to: it would be a high quality deep dive question if someone would ask him "So, in the past you've used a cutter sprinkled in to keep hitters off your rising heater. It seems you have shaped that pitch now into an off-speed slider. What's the plan for the cutter moving forward?"

If I'm not mistaken, he successfully swiped his 6th SB last night. He's an absolute problem on the basepaths. It's really key to remember here: EBJ swiped all those bags in 41 less games than Brewers leader Tyler Black. Pretty wild. If you do some basic extrapolating math, it's fair to presume that's a 60 steal full season.

Hard not to be thrilled we just plopped in a Pratt to the system via a 6th round selection. What an incredible lottery ticket. I would have to think he'll start in Low-A Carolina given the influx of DSL players likely coming stateside. And, from my seats in the upper deck, the likely promotions of Guilarte and Areinamo.

We really missed out on Roc Riggio. That is a straight up HOF name. Would have paired quite nicely with 'Lamar Sparks'.

Here's a behind-the-plate look at Alcántara's game winner: Oppo thunder...

Ugh. That's rough. I watched Hernandez's first inning of work and it was classic 2023 Hernandez so I shut the game off 😅. I see it got worse. He really took an unfortunate step back this season or was simply shown how his stuff plays at a higher level of competition. I continue to point to: he has too many moving parts in his arm slot/release point tool kit. He has legitimately three different arm slots and, hence, different release packages. It leads to walks, HBP, WP's and then all too many hittable pitches. In other words, he finds himself with too many men on base. It's a strange pitcher-type fetish I see the Brewers having on the fringes. For example, both RHP's Israel Puello and Ryne Moore have been released. Both of these young men had very very similar moving pitches with comparable release points and arm actions. Hernandez currently has an uphill battle on his hands and will really need to evolve his approach if he wants to last within the organization and advance. Let's hope it happens!

Last year's participants for those interested: C Alex Hall (good bye, my sweet Prince - may your smooth lefty stroke land elsewhere and flourish) RHP Cameron Wagoner INF Robert Moore LHP Justin King RHP Max Lazar RHP James Meeker RHP Brannon Jordan

Right. It was an extremely brief passing comment he made to Chris and Kyle in a post-game pod (there was another player down there with him - may have been Vargas? I can't recall off hand). My main point is: we don't know what was injured and how serious it is. We likely won't until next season when it is discussed etc. And my overarching point is I left 2023 with many more questions than answers. Hopefully, 2024 answers those in a big and exciting way.

Until we actually know what happened toward the end of his 2023 High-A season - Boeve was pulled and then sent down to the Arizona Instructional after his last appearance 8/30 - it's hard to make any solid judgments here. There was no actual designation there publicly - no IL no 'Development List'. I have stated on more than one occasion: I don't know what was going on but as his High-A time progressed, his contact weakened and he was topping dribblers and hitting to low exit velo frequently. We all got excited at the ACL output but it's an elite college bat hitting ACL pitchers. It was a bonus he didn't scuffle whatsoever, obviously, but that bat didn't translate in the Midwest League for any meaningful stretch of time. He looks uncomfortable and range restricted at 2B - with the addendum this is his first legitimate action there after playing strictly 3B at Omaha. It was a classic Brewer bat-to-ball spray contact hitter draft selection - and, he certainly may tap into power there and did so in spurts this past summer- but there are many more question marks than answers with Boeve at present. Like @Smichaelis9and @jay87shotI had him ranked much lower and very easily could have slotted him in the 20-30 range in a pseudo 'prove it' 2024.

Surprise @ Mesa will be Live Streaming tonight for those interested. LHP Adam Seminaris will get the starting nod looking to build off what was potentially his best outing as a Minor League pitcher his last trip to the hill. As game time approaches (9:30 EST) check out the AFL main page for live game feeds. HERE. The Saguaros, winners of 5 straight, are a mere 1/2 GB of League leaders Peoria. They will also be live streaming tonight at Glendale.