Brock Beauchamp

Adam McCalvy of MLB.com dropped a great rundown with General Manager Matt Arnold that covers a variety of topics. The Brewers, despite acquiring Jake Bauers earlier in the offseason, still (rightly) feel they need corner infield help. Carlos Santana was mentioned specifically as an option. Santana, one of last year's successful trade deadline acquisitions, posted a .773 OPS with the Brewers down the stretch and helped push their beleaguered offense back into the postseason. Arnold also mentioned that prospect Tyler Black has a legitimate shot to make the Opening Day roster, probably as a third baseman. Other interesting tidbits mentioned were updates on Aaron Ashby and the fact that the team is not considering Christian Yelich as an option at first base.

This is an excerpt from the 2024 Brewer Fanatic Offseason Handbook, you can find a link to download the entirety of Week Three of the handbook at the bottom of the article. This publication is funded by Brewer Fanatic Caretakers and full entries are available exclusively to Caretakers. During the publish period of the handbook, we are offering 25% off all Caretaker packages using the coupon code HANDBOOK. To become a supporter of Brewer Fanatic, click here. Another perk of Caretaking is ad-free browsing across all of Brewer Fanatic. In 2023, Sal Frelick, Andruw Monasterio, Abner Uribe, Joey Wiemer, and Brice Turang played significant roles for the Brewers. Monasterio ultimately emerged as Brewer Fanatic’s Top Rookie of 2023 by a slim margin. Who are the rookies who could step up in 2024? Let’s look at them and dive them into tiers. Rookies Likely To Be On The Opening Day 2024 Roster Tyler Black, 3B .284/.417/.517 with 25 doubles, 18 home runs, 73 RBI, 88 walks, 100 strikeouts in 450 at-bats between AA Biloxi and AAA Nashville Black moved to third base for 2023 and dominated at the plate in both stops. Long seen as a pure hitter, he struggled to stay healthy in 2022. The health came in 2023, and he proceeded to post double-digit doubles, triples, homers, and steals, making a strong case to be the front-runner to start at third base on Opening Day for the Brewers. The Crew certainly needs some help at third base – Brian Anderson cooled off and was eventually designated for assignment after a hot start, Luis Urias never got back on track after an Opening Day 2023 hamstring injury, and Monasterio ended up needing to cover second base because of Turang’s struggles at the plate. Black could easily slot into the #2 hole behind Frelick. Robert Gasser, LHP 9-1, 3.79 ERA, 123 hits, 50 walks, 166 strikeouts, 12 home runs in 135 1/3 innings pitched over 26 games (25 starts) at AAA Nashville The Josh Hader trade that some think sank the Brewers in 2022 but which aided the team’s 2023 NL Central Division championship may help the team again in 2024, this time in the form of Gasser, who was arguably Nashville’s ace last season. The Brewers will need some rotation help due to Brandon Woodruff’s extended absence in 2024, and Gasser could provide that help at a bargain price. Top Prospects Who Could Reach Milwaukee In 2024 Jackson Chourio, OF .283/.338/.467 with 26 doubles, 22 home runs, 91 RBI, 43 walks, 104 strikeouts in 531 at-bats between AA Biloxi and AAA Nashville Chourio rocketed to AA in 2022 and more than held his own at that level at age 19 in 2023. The Brewers have a lot of young, talented outfielders, including Frelick, Wiemer, Chris Roller, Blake Perkins, and Garrett Mitchell. Still, Chourio could easily force his way to Milwaukee at some point in 2024 due to either injury or struggles at the plate by the other players. Still, Chourio is very young, and the Brewers will likely be inclined to wait to call Chourio up unless they feel they have no choice...

MLB Trade Rumors released a lengthy piece about the Corbin Burnes situation and outlined several potential suitors for the Brewers starter. While much of the piece deals with the usual suspects (the Dodgers), there are some intriguing ideas here. One that stuck out to me was the Blue Jays, who are currently determining what to do with struggling starter Alek Manoah. While a straight Manoah-for-Burnes feels like insanity, if the Blue Jays are particularly down on the big righty, they might be willing to juice the offer with him. Of course, all of this depends on how the Brewers view Manoah internally. The 25-year-old was extraordinary in 2021 and 2022, posting a 2.60 ERA. Inversely, 2023 was equally disastrous as he posted a 5.87 ERA. Anyway, click the link above to see the entire list of teams.

This is an excerpt from the 2024 Brewer Fanatic Offseason Handbook, you can find a link to download the entirety of Week Three of the handbook at the bottom of the article. This publication is funded by Brewer Fanatic Caretakers and full entries are available exclusively to Caretakers. During the publish period of the handbook, we are offering 25% off all Caretaker packages using the coupon code HANDBOOK. To become a supporter of Brewer Fanatic, click here. Another perk of Caretaking is ad-free browsing across all of Brewer Fanatic. Joey Wiemer Wiemer burst onto the scene with a 64” frame and á wacky swing, making his debut on April 1st after just missing out on the Opening Day roster. Ranked as the team’s third-best prospect and the 90th overall by MLB Pipeline, Wiemer came with some noticeable prospect hype. His first two months were paltry at best, with a .678 OPS in April and a .497 OPS in May. He found his groove in June, slashing .233/.337/.512 across 101 plate appearances, but he couldn’t hold onto that magic. He closed out the campaign with a .505 OPS in August and a .438 OPS in September. While Wiemer was included on the Brewers’ postseason roster, he did not have a plate appearance in the Wild Card Series. A noisy swing was the main culprit, fueling exceptionally high whiff (33.6%, 9th percentile) and strikeout (28.3%, 17th percentile) rates. He also struggled immensely with hitting breaking balls, accumulating a run value of -11 against sliders, the pitch he saw most frequently. He also accumulated a -4 run value against the curveball and sweeper. When he did make contact, he struggled to achieve a valuable launch angle, finding the sweet spot at an alarmingly low rate (28.9%, 6th percentile). On the bright side, Wiemer had two great qualities: defense and hustle. His sprint speed was in the top 11% of the league, and that (combined with his excellent arm strength (89.3 mph, 81st percentile)) allowed him to be an exceptional defender in center field. He accumulated 7 Outs Above Average and 5 Defensive Runs Saved. Whether Wiemer improves next year depends on whether he can kick existing bad habits. If he can use this offseason to correct his swing and approach at a place like Driveline, he might have a chance to be one of the most well-rounded outfielders in MLB. If nothing changes, he might struggle to find consistent playing time on the Brewers, a team stacked high with outfield talent. Sure, he’s a defensive asset, but based on how Milwaukee performed at the plate last year (.704 OPS, 23rd in MLB), they’ll trade a few outs on balls in play for significantly more production at the plate any day of the week. Abner Uribe Uribe was one of the most electric pitchers on Milwaukee’s staff, and for a squad that included the likes of Brandon Woodruff, Corbin Burnes, Devin Williams, and Freddy Peralta, that’s saying a lot. With a lethal sinker that averaged 99.4 mph and a slider that averaged 89.4 mph, he posted an ERA of 1.76 and a WHIP of 1.17 over 30 2/3 innings pitched. His slider became an especially effective weapon, boasting outlandish strikeout and whiff rates of 62.1% and 58.1%. Opposing batters averaged just .080 against it, and the xBA (expected batting average) was even lower, at a measly .028. These excellent metrics can be attributed to the unreal amount of movement on the pitch. With 32.2 inches of vertical drop and 8.6 inches of horizontal break, and given the sheer velocity of the fastball off which the pitch plays, it’s no wonder it often leaves hitters dazed and confused. He struggled a little with control, posting a 15.7% walk rate and a somewhat low chase rate at just 24.2%. He was also known to give up some hard contact, with 43.3 percent of opponents’ batted balls leaving the bat at 95 miles per hour or more. His Statcast xERA (expected earned run average) was 3.53, significantly higher than the 1.76 he ended up with. His FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching) of 2.77 also signaled that he may have gotten a little luckier than most in 2023, though both those gaps can also be attributed to good defense behind him. Uribe’s raw talent is undeniable. With a full offseason of work in the Milwaukee pitching system, fans should be confident that he’ll return better than ever, barring injury...