Joseph Zarr

The Bucks just held the Hornets to 26 first half points. Not a typo. How bad was Griffin? He was really bad.

I meant Clarke and Slaton. LOL. Early morning coffee post. If any one of those two gets injured what would the Packers actually have? That's my only point. Neither Wyatt; Brooks; or Wooden can pretend to stop the run inside. Hence the Jonathan Ford remarks. It may not be a 'need' but Big Bodies always seem to be coveted <insert Ted Thompson remarks of 'The good Lord only made so many of them...' here>

Same opinion from our very own Matthew Trueblood.

Gutey's first Combine Presser:

Trenches always need investments. I still see needing another BIG body to throw in the mix with Clark and Wyatt as essential. IF one of those two goes down they currently have nobody on the actual roster who can fill that run stuffing need inside with a 4-3 alignment. Perhaps, Jonathan Ford is viewed more positively or took bigger steps in 2023? Either way, I see it as a pretty big need. All this being said, I see Kristian Boyd as possibly this year's Karl Brooks. A guy who may be overlooked because of small school competition, but he was being absolutely raved about at the Shrine Bowl.

Boy, that article reminds me once again: All too often there just aren't manners or etiquette in politics and business. There's a lot to unpack in that article. In the end, the true 'travesty' of Five County Stadium was perhaps its original scope (?) being too broad - which, oddly, was filled with an implicitly stated dream of cross-county representation and participation. It's nice to see their community moving forward regardless with the vision of a community-centric stadium 'district' offering their growing community opportunities to enjoy a feature in their town. As to the shareholders in the community of Wilson, it certainly isn't a good look when the higher-ups allegedly shut down communication with a centuries old plus baseball institution in the Wilson Tobs. Can we not in the very least communicate clearly and directly in 2024? Granted, this is only told from the Tobs perspective so this may not be the case. Hopefully, their fandom and popularity continue (I imagine it will) even with the arrival of the Mudcats. Hopefully, the ongoing relationship at Five County stadium and in Zebulon can remain amicable over the next couple of season.

<fist pump gifs here>

Scoreless innings from Smith and Yeager? 2 K for Smithy, to boot. <Chef's Kiss gif>

With the awesomeness pumping out with these reports, I'd like to announce Brewer Fanatic writers working the beat all season long! (/blue font) In all seriousness@Matthew Truebloodthese are fantastic!

I know some people may disagree with me here but I personally just feel Houser had regressed. He had some unfortunate injuries he dealt with in recent years and he never recaptured any consistent version of his one-time assured 4-5 starter role. His patented sinker wasn't near the pitch it once was either - again, my opinion. In Junis, in the very least, you know you have a guy who can always fall back to a steady and meaningful bullpen role. In Houser, again my own opinion, you just didn't know what you had or what version you were getting game in and game out. I think it's quite understandable they went a different route and picked up an intriguing pitching prospect along the way.

So great was Hoby's growth as a hurler in 2024, the great Bryce Harper was scared to take nary a single swing! Ravens were heard bickering high above in the shadows of the stadium lights. Children were miraculously hushed throughout their seats in awe of the up-and-coming Milner. A Legend was born that day. The songs are still sung, to this very day, in taverns across the Wisconsin pine barrens and down into the driftless region. "Long live, Milner! Long live our Champion!"

Perhaps the biggest Brewers off-season get right here. Grab a beer, folks. We got an Ace.

Justis Mosqueda and Tyler Brooke of Acme Packing just did their early LB deep dive (seems pertinent given the brief exchange above). It seems to also back up what I've been intuiting and seeing in the greater draftspeak space: no clear generational talents. No first round grades at this time. BUT, Texas A & M's Edgerrin Cooper and UNC's Cedric Gray seem to be the early consensus 1-2 punch. Brief write-up with link to full podcast discussion HERE

The timing in terms of starting arguably the roughest remaining schedule in the League with a five game road trip and a new HC and lead assistants. Yeah, that part was awfully tough. BUT, I think we know it absolutely had to be done amd any later than that and the team loses the precious time needed to at least try to make a serious post season run while allowing the changes a chance to find their foothold. Credit to Horst for acknowledging the clear overmatched HC and mistake hire and moving on when he did. It is clear Horst and ownership knows this window is quite small and their roster filled with older (and only getting older) vets. They backed up the rhetoric and acquisition action. These past two games were very encouraging. Lotta season left.

Sixers had just beaten the Cavs and the Bucks absolutely trounced them in their house today. Team is back to playing really solid rotational defense - no doubt the immediate benefit of a Joerger on the staff. Dame efforting quite well on that end. Pat and Bobby starting to look like their old selves. Vibes suddenly much better. You love to see it.

The ongoing 'Who are these Bucks, really?' continued with an extremely impressive win at Minnesota this past Thursday. Can they string together back-to-back impressive victories? They head to Philadelphia today. They've certainly shown wildly inconsistent habits all season long. They've had some really poor performances against teams you'd think they'd cakewalk over. BUT, one thing is also certain: they can hang with the best teams any night if they're motivated and playing remotely close to their potential. In other words, still very much a serious contender. Still very much a candidate to get bounced in the first or second round. 😂

I don't know why we are discussing Acosta and Valerio ahead of 2B/LF Isaac Collins who is also consistently left off Top 20-30 lists. I think it's clear he automatically slots quite a bit ahead of each young man given his 2023 season where he essentially almost entirely bumped Valerio from playing time alongside that 2023 three man Biloxi platoon with Zamora and Murray (who, touched on in my blog, were very steady). Given the Shuckers current roster construction, Collins is likely primarily a LF'er tho I would casually opine his best position is still 2B. I place him in that pool right at the heart of the mix with Zamora, Murray, and Dorrian for proximity to an unexpected utility call-up down the line. As to Dorrian, this is a very big year for him (and the Brewers, to an extent) as this is his 7th year in Minor League ball - he'll be headed toward FA if things don't materialize. This is also a 7th year scenario for Acosta but, as much as I enjoy him in the lineup, his playing time is very consistently spotty at best. He fills in admirably when an unexpected injury pops up, but, he appears to be more a clubhouse and team morale guy within the organization. I personally think he might be headed toward a future on the coaching side of things but who am I to say? In this exercise, I imagine you've already considered Areinamo as a Top 30 candidate, consistently, amongst rankings. As to ACL and DSl 'under-the-radar' guys, Nadal is certainly one of many to keep an eye on. Well have to see how the DSL/ACL/Low-A promotions work out. We have to remember, in addition to the 165 man roster limits among prospects in 2024, we are also going to witness the ACL season pushed up. Teams will collectively avoid that brutal late summer SW heat but this will also provide an unknown impact across MiLB with the draft happening immediately after the season's end.

He's just a total stud. One of my favorite players in the entire system. I saw this potential in 2022. The rate at which he has improved and the consistency of how he shows up knowing and executing who he is is absolutely phenomenal. He is a fantastic player. We're lucky to have him.

Just remember, folks, the Brewers hitting coordinator stated (Brento del Chiaro, for those that don't know) 'on record' this past fall: Wes Clarke is a Big League player. The Brewers know what they have here. Another nugget that arose in that same interview? INF Ethan Murray is poised to surprise like INF Andruw Monasterio. And, well, both sentiments are very very true. There is so much solid depth and meaningful depth well beyond the Top 20's. Lotta solid Brewers prospects are slept on.

Scheduled Packers Visits: (As of Friday 2/22) Cam Johnson, WR - Northwestern Justin Blazed, DL - UW Platteville Rayshad Williams, DB - Texas Tech (@ Hula Bowl via Ryan Fowler) Akeem Dent, DB - FSU Winston Reid, LB - Weber State AJ Woods, DB - Pitt T'vondre Sweat, DL - Texas Spencer Rattler, QB - South Carolina Joe Milton, QB - Tennessee Max Melton, DB - Rutgers James Cahoon, QB - Bridgewater State Myles Murphy, DL - UNC John Rhys Plumlee, QB - UCF Patrick Paul, OT - Houston Doug Nester, OL - West Virginia Curtis Jacobs, LB - Penn State Steele Chambers, LB - Ohio State MJ Devonshire, DB - Pittsburgh Aidan Robbins, RB - BYU Donovan Jennings, OL - FLorida (@ Shrine Bowl via Justin Melo) Edgerrin Cooper, LB Texas A & M (2.29) Combine and more... Javon Bullard, S - Georgia...had an official visit with the Packers at the Combine (via MJ Hurley) Deiyantei Powell-Woods, OL - Central Michigan (via Ryan Fowler) Evan Williams, S - Oregon (via MJ Hurley) Kamren Kinchens, S/DB - Miami (via MJ Hurley) Michael Pratt, QB - Tulane (via MJ Hurley) (3.21) Top 30 Visits et al Updated Khristian Boyd (stoked about this One) Jarrian Jones, CB - Florida State (also stoked about this one😅)

2022 Sounds bullpen Ace and then Brewers fans' proverbial whipping boy, RHP Trevor Kelley has signed a Minor League deal with the Seattle Mariners: Here's hoping he gets another Big League opportunity and can finally find that elusive translation and success!

Hafleys first presser today. Boy, it sure seems like we got a good one. He has been fantastic. Just fantastic. If anyone is interested, the recorded presser 'should' be here:

Blue Font GIF

I have to say, this was one of the more hilarious/entertaining Bucks All Star breaks in quite some time. Doc certainly doesn't espouse the role of a HC who stays out of the news cycle. Pat Bev stirring the JJ Redick pot. 😅 Good times.