Joseph Zarr

Don't know where to put this but the Brewers Dominican Training Academy is nearing completion:

RHP Moises Gomez has been activated by the ACL Brewers Blue. It would appear the talented hurler is officially coming out of his brief affiliated retirement.

For a complete list of all the International Signings on Day 1 of the signing period (officially signed on 1/15/2023) please visit this page: Brewers Busy on Day 1 of 2023 International Free Agent Signing Period

I'm seeing a subtle trend in this class of players. Subtle. But, it's there.

Closing this loop (for now): Sparks was officially assigned to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers to start his affiliated season.

All the best to Josh and his family. I am going to miss his vet presence and savvy immensely in Nashville. He always came across extremely down-to-Earth and faith-driven in interviews. Given this, I expect great things for his life - professional and extracurricular - after he puts that mitt and those cleats in their permanent locker. Here's to you, Mr. Lindblom. Stand tall, Sir. Your pitching mix was a joy to watch and I wish you all the best moving forward. Let us all remember: Josh was the chosen one had those Sounds made it to the Championship game. That is how I will remember him. I have no doubt he would have excelled in that spot and risen to the occasion.

Another hard-throwing reliever into the mix with a Minor League deal (as noted by @Ron Robinsons Beard HERE - for greater conversation please visit that thread): Brazilian born Thyago Vieira signed ** Updated to Add: Vieira has officially been assigned to the Nashville Sounds to start his 2023 affiliated season.

Agreed. Thanks for posting. I am going to update the Transactions thread as well.

Closing the loop from RHP Trevor Kelley's outright assignment to Nashville: - Kelly cleared waivers and rejected the assignment and has opted to test the Minor League free agency waters. More in depth coverage of Kelley's ongoing efforts to find success at the MLB level HERE

This is a very cool development for current and former Milkmen players. A realistic ability to turn an eye toward the coaching ranks.

Following up here: VanMeter was officially assigned to the Nashville Sounds. I would also like to quickly add, when your team acquires a player nicknamed 'Meat Sauce', regardless of results, it is cause for celebration.

Thank you both @damuelle and @Smichaelis9 for bringing this back on radar and keeping us current. I personally am always intrigued by the inevitable pool of $10-15K bonus signings. The Crew appears to have been hitting on some intriguing prospects here. Or maybe I have a sever case of Mogollon syndrome??

More importantly, perhaps, my good friends: Hernandez impressed pretty much everyone in 2022. He won the California League 'Pitcher of the Year' honors. This is a heck of a lottery ticket if they can harness more command: Full Write-Up Here **NOTE: There is a clip of above-mentioned deadly slider as a strikeout pitch. One word: nasty.** Hernandez Blurb:

Let's go 2023! <Coughs...auditorium is quiet> RHP Joseph Hernandez (acquired in RHP Justin Topa to Seattle trade) was assigned to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. * Hernandez had a heck of a year in Low-A Modesto for the Mariners org in 2023: 116 2/3 IP / 21 HB / 54 BB / 143 K / .193 BAA / 1.14 WHIP / 3.39 ERA w 9-5 overall...that's enough to be excited about what might be jumping into the T-Rats staff

Thank you both for your tireless coverage. I need to go do push-ups and get back into recap shape! Go Bandits!

Claudio signed to a ML deal. Wade Miley signed to a 1-year MLB deal. Plenty of options to battle for the Mike Zagurski and Boone Logan roles now that Trevor Kelley is surely an afterthought. What a day!

Man, I have always truly admired his name. I am so stoked to hear it and watch him on a regular basis! I'm excite. Minor League nerds unite!

I love the smell of prospect discourse in the morning, it smells of Victory. I'm going to simply play the game of 'Seven Prospects with Something to Prove' - knowing full well, my personal opinion is: every prospect has things to prove - to themselves and their organizations - every season. Love being along for their rides! (1) Freddy Zamora: What exactly was that performance pre-injury? What was 2021 in relation to 2022's extremely rough pre-injury performance? Lots to look forward to in 2023. (2) Felix Valerio: Can he convert his contact rate into more productivity? Given his defensive limitations, he really 'needs' to develop and maximize that very capable bat. And, man, when he is on point he really can rake. (3) Carlos Rodriguez (OF): Man, he was crushing it in High-A. He really seemed to turn a corner of consistency and then, boom, just like that the injury. Can he find that form again and keep growing? (4) Wes Clarke: I realllllly loved Clarke's season as a whole. His bat really evolved. His family support is awesome. He will take over the Thomas Dillard role in Biloxi now that Dillard was released (sigh). He plays a competent 1B/DH/spot fill C. Can he take another step? (5) TJ Shook: A dominant start to his High-A season led to a deserving promotion to the Southern League where he saw mixed results. Can he start this year like he began 2022? I would say his season as a whole was open-ended. Can he continue to develop the movement of his pitches? He has the size, the frame, and all the ability. I am hoping for big things. (6) Nick Bennett: Was there a pitcher in the system who teased signs of dominance more than Bennett in the Southern League muggy air? He has an interesting delivery and truly dominates in spells. Can we get more Big League consistency? (7) Joe Gray Jr.: Beloved in the clubhouse. An awesome personality and persona. Incredibly athletic but down-to-Earth. Can he move beyond the weird purported eye issues and fine-tune his approach at the plate? We know he can thrive in the OF. We have yet to see a consistent means of production and true threat at the plate. Honorable Mentions: Je'Von Ward, Ernesto Martinez, Max Lazar, Israel Puello, Ryne Moore, Darrien Miller

I'm going to out my proclivity for the 1970's here: When I first heard Hall was headed back home to play ball, all I could hear was this Hall and Oates song I would say, Mr. Hall might opine: "It feels quite good to be back home playing."

I already found myself in significant disagreement over the 18-38 rankings via Fangraphs. I feel in mid-season form?!

Welcome New Year! Hope rings eternal in my heart: New prospects, new rosters, off-seasons spent improving crafts, New momentums and obstacles, some improbable wins, surely some inevitable or unfortunate losses. As I've grown older with a much grayer beard, I have come to recognize: it is truly ALL about the journey. The season never really ends. It just changes. Thanks for making this website so awesome. It's a pleasure to share in the experience.

And we have a new round of releases in the Brewers DSL realm: INF Arnys Rodriguez RHP Jairo Castillo INF Richard Rojas RHP Braudin Ciprian INF Erick Reyes OF Manuel Vargas OF Mendy Ferreira RHP Stanley Encarnacion We wish these young men the best of luck in their journeys from here.

Former Milwaukee Brewer and Nashville Sound, C Mario Feliciano, will take his services to the Tigers organization. Surely, they will advantageously use his final option year to gauge his fit. Here's a more in-depth write-up from Curt published on MLB Trade Rumors.

More in depth write-up HERE

Indeed. I wrote several of those Link Reports and watched the games. In the batter's box, he was absolutely not comfortable nor healthy. He couldn't get anything on the ball and his ability to drive it had severely been impacted. Deep into his 'slump', it was very apparent he was very frustrated. It was a true credit to him how he responded and became an even better version than we had seen at any level in Nashville.