Seth Stohs

We wanted to know more about the Brewers prospects in Double-A Biloxi, so we went to the guy who follows then and talks about them every day. Image courtesy of © Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports Javik Blake is really young, but he’s already had some great experiences in his brief sports broadcasting career. This is his second season as the voice of the Biloxi Shuckers, the Brewers Double-A affiliate. A quick note before you get started. This interview was conducted on Friday early afternoon, before the final four games of the series. We would love it if you could watch the entire interview, but if you have to split it up, the below will help you find out more about specific players. 1:44: What does his day-to-day look like, but also how does a rain-out and doubleheaders work? 5:00: What is your background? College, previous positions? 7:45: What would you tell 14-year-old you, or a teenager who reached out to you with interest in working in sports, or specifically? 10:40: The Shuckers have back-to-back six-game home series. We discuss what some of the promotions they have at the ballpark and a few players who will be coming to town. 1:00: Wes Clarke came back and mashed briefly before moving up. 14:10: Brock Wilken returns after being hit by a pitch in mid-April. 16:00: Mike Boeve was promoted to Double-A and continued to absolutely rake. 19:00: Eric Brown’s numbers don’t look great, but he’s been hitting the ball really hard and he’s playing great defense at shortstop. ‘ 22:00: Which Double-A hitter should be talked about more? 24:20: Bradley Blalock has been really good. 26:00: We talk about Jacob Misiorowski. What does he do really well? Incredible numbers to back the fact that opponents just don’t get hits off of him. 29:10: Left-hander Nate Peterson. 31:00: TJ Shook was signed by the Brewers as a non-drafted free agent after the Covid-shortened 2020 draft. See how his changeup has become a serious weapon for him. 32:30: Tyler Woessner was great in Biloxi and quickly moved up to Nashville and continued to pitch well. “80 grade mustache and a lot of strikeouts.” 33:40: Brett Wichrowski has flown up the organization since being drafted last year on Day 3. A fastball at 98 certainly helps. However, his seventh pro start was on Friday, at Double-A. 35:45: The Shane Smith story is great. He took a chance on himself, and he’s been fantastic. Now, he’s getting a chance in a new opportunity. Sam Carlson was drafted out of high school in Minnesota in 2017. He’s been hurt, but he’s been incredible this year, and he throws hard. Please feel free to discuss the players mentioned in the interview. Hopefully you will be able to watch the full interview at some point, or at least most of it. There really are a lot of discussion topics. Along with talking about View full article

Recently, Seth chatted with the voice of the Biloxi Shuckers. Javik Blake is in his second year in that role and has a very interesting team to cover this year. We talked about his background and what he done to prepare himself for this job. The Shuckers will be home the next two weeks. Wes Clarke returned from the IL, raked and has continued to do so in Triple-A. Brock Wilken returned to the Shuckers about a month after being hit by a pitch in the face. Fellow 2023 pick Mike Boeve has continued to crush the ball since joining the Double-A squad. Eric Brown's numbers don't really reflect the type of contact he is making. On the pitching side, you'll want to hear his thoughts on Jacob Misiorowski and his nearly unhittable stuff. There are other intriguing starters in the Shuckers rotation. Bradley Blalock has been very good to start this season. Nate Peterson has been very good and gives them a left-hander. TJ Shook continues to do well. Tyler Woessner was really good and quickly moved up to Nashville. And Brett Wichrowski has been nothing short of remarkable. The Day 3 draft pick in 2023 has flown through the system to Double-A with a huge fastball. A new role for Shane Smith? And minor-league free agent signing Sam Carlson has been tremendous! View full video

Chris Mehring has been the radio voice of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers since 2000. We caught up with him recently to discuss his job, but also to discuss the Midwest League West Division's leading team and some of its players. Image courtesy of Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin / USA TODAY NETWORK If you live anywhere in Wisconsin and have the chance to get to the Appleton/Grand Chute area, be sure to schedule a few days to watch a few Wisconsin Timber Rattlers games this year. The team is currently in first place, but more important, some really exciting and intriguing prospects are being developed on this roster. They have some very exciting pitching prospects, capable of missing bats and they have some young hitters who are capable of putting up some numbers and filling out a stat sheet. Today, we discuss several of those prospects with someone who has watched a lot of Timber Rattler baseball games over the past 24-25 years. Chris Mehring is the long-time radio voice and media relations director of the Rattlers. It's a lot of fun to pick his brain on this exciting team. Be sure to watch the entire video, but if you need to break it up, below is a checklist of sorts of the various topics that we covered. 1:00: Chris Mehring's background with the Timber Rattlers 2:30: Recommendations from Chris on going into a career in sports broadcastings. 4:45: What is a typical day for him as Director of Media Relations and Radio Voice? (and some unique situations!) 7:27: How things have changed since 2021 when MLB took over the minor leagues and re-aligned teams. 8:50: Were you expecting this year's team to be pretty good? 11:00: Success of the Timber Rattlers starting rotation. Good information on Alexander Cornielle, Edwin Jimenez, Patricio Aquino, Mark Manfredi, and Will Rudy. 14:00: What does Craig Yoho need to do to be promoted? 16:15: There are some young, very talented hitters on the roster including Dylan O'Rae, Gregory Barrios, Luke Adams, Luis Lara and more. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== 18:15: What is it like, getting to know all of these players and then watching them climb the organizational ladder, sometimes all the way to the big leagues? Mehring specifically mentioned Brice Turang, Joey Wiemer, Freddy Peralta, and Luke Barker. 22:00: Get out to the ballpark. A lot has been done to the stadium to make it a great place for fans of all ages. This week, they host Beloit, so get to a game or two if you are able. The hope is that we will be able to catch up with Chris Mehring every couple of weeks, and maybe sprinkle in some player interviews as well. Please discuss this interview in the comments below, but also let us know what you think and who else you might want to hear from. View full article

Chris Mehring is the Media Relations Director and Radio Voice of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Wisconsin finds themselves two games in front of the rest of the Midwest League West Division. We spent a little time getting to know Chris and the typical day in his in-season life. Then we talked about the team, especially some of the pitchers who have done a nice job so far this season. How have youngsters like Alexander Cornielle, Edwin Jimenez and Patricio Aquino done, and which starter has been most impressive to him. What does Craig Yoho need to do to move up? How have the really young hitters been performing? Gregory Barrios and Dylan O'Rae have both been very good. View full video

Long-time Brewers prospect Monte Harrison has hung up his baseball spikes and is heading back to school. Harrison has reportedly committed to playing football for the University of Arkansas. Image courtesy of Jason Getz, USA Today Richard Davenport (ARRecruitingGuy on X/Twitter) of Whole Hog Sports is reporting that former Brewers draft pick Monte Harrison has committed to playing football for the Arkansas Razorbacks starting this fall. Harrison was a tremendous athlete at Lee's Summit West High School in Lee's Summit, Missouri. On the gridiron, he has all kinds of options. He was deemed a four-star wide receiver recruit and committed to playing at the University of Nebraska starting in the fall of 2014. He also intended to play baseball for Darin Erstad and the Huskers. Did you know that former big-leaguer Carl Crawford had signed to play quarterback at Nebraska out of high school, but he became a first-round pick and had a fairly long and lucrative career in the big leagues for the Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Dodgers. However, in June of 2014, the Milwaukee Brewers used their second-round draft pick to select the talented outfielder. The Brewers offered Harrison $1.8 million dollars (about $700,000 over slot value) to sign and turn to baseball full time. Instead of heading to summer school, the Brewers brought Harrison to Arizona where he spent his first pro season. For the Arizona League Brewers, he hit .261/.402/.339 (.741) with seven doubles, two triples, a homer and 20 RBI. A speedster, he had 32 steals in 34 attempts. The Brewers challenged him in 2015, sending him to Low-A Wisconsin to start the season. In 46 games, he hit .148/.246/.247 (.493) with six doubles, two triples and two homers. When the rookie leagues started, Harrison was sent to Helena to play in the Advanced Rookie Pioneer League. In 28 games there, he hit .299/.410/.474 (.885) with four doubles, two triples and three home runs. He also had 14 stolen bases in 16 attempts. It was back to Wisconsin in 2016. In 75 games, he hit .221/.294/.337 (.631) with 11 doubles and six home runs. He was 8-for-11 in stolen base opportunities. In 323 plate appearances, he had just 24 walks and struck out 101 times. So, in 2017, it was back to Appleton where he started showing more of his talent and promise. In 63 games, he hit .265/.359/.475 (.834) with 12 doubles and 11 triples. He also was 11-for-14 in steal attempts. He was promoted to Carolina. He ended the season with 59 games for the Mudcats. he hit .278/.341/.487/.828) with 16 doubles and 10 homers. He was also 16-for-17 on the bases. Combined, that's an .832 OPS with 28 doubles, 21 homers and 27 stolen bases. He ended that season with 13 games in the Arizona Fall league where he hit .283 with two doubles and five home runs. He had certainly become a prospect to watch. However, that offseason, the Brewers were able to acquire Christian Yelich from the Marlins. Harrison was included in a package with OF Lewis Brinson, IF Isan Diaz and RHP Jordan Yamamoto sent to the Marlins. After continuing to rise through the Marlins system, Harrison was promoted to the big-league club and made his debut in August of 2020, during the Covid-shortened season. He was just five days shy of his 25th birthday. In 32 games, he received just 51 plate appearances. He hit .170/.235/.255 (.491) with a double and a homer. he was six-for-six in stolen base attempts. The issue was his plate discipline. In those 51 plate appearances, he had just four walks and 26 strikeouts. In 2021, he went 2-for-10 with a double over nine games. Before the 2022 season, he was released by the Marlins. He signed with the Angels in April. He played in nine games in 2022 and went 2-for-11 with a home run. He was released at the end of the season. The Brewers brought him back in 2023. He played in 88 games in Nashville where he hit .208/.277/.316 (.593) with 12 doubles, a triple, and five home runs. He also had 18 steals. However, he had 123 strikeouts in 296 plate appearances (41.5%). With no job offers in baseball in 2024, Harrison made the decision to commit to the Razorbacks. He never used any college eligibility, so he cold play four years if he wants to. As a senior in high school - a decade ago - he had 60 catches for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also has 12 rushing touchdowns and threw a touchdown pass as well. Congratulations to Mr. Harrison and best wishes in his football career. View full article

I'm always in awe of @Smichaelis9's minor league reports and knowledge. Obviously his pitching knowledge is beyond like 99% of us, but he's able to transfer those thoughts into words to make it understandable. GREAT JOB, Spencer!

Uggh! I hate injuries to prospects. Have they given any timelines for return on Wilken or Pratt? We know Quero's out for the year.

I'd keep Mitchell over Megill... and Turang too, unless they plan for him to be the SS after Adames leaves.

Gradually, we have been discussing and ranking the Top 20 Brewers player assets in the organization heading into 2024. Today, the players chosen as the Top 5 Most Valuable Assets are discussed. With Thursday night's trades, we may need to adjust the list when we summarize, but it's been fun digging into these players numbers, contracts, years of team control, etc. Hopefully you have enjoyed the series and can discuss our rankings in the Comments. And, what would be great is for you to come up with your Top 20 (or even Top 10) rankings. Image courtesy of © Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports For a more thorough explanation on these rankings and how they are developed, check out Sunday's Part 1 introduction post. The short version: Which players currently in the Brewers organization are most crucial toward developing a championship-caliber team? To rank the Brewers players and prospects, we consider things like age, contract status, years of control, ceiling/potential, and more. To catch you up, here are the first three installment of this year's top 20 player assets lists. If you missed either of the first two parts, you can click into Part 1 (16-20), Part 2 (11-15), and Part 3 (6-10): 20. Brice Turang, 2B 19. Luis Lara, OF 18. Wade Miley, LHP 17. Garrett Mitchell, OF 16. Brock Wilken, 3B 15. Joey Wiemer, OF 14. Jeferson Quero , C 13. Carlos F. Rodriguez, RHP 12. Robert Gasser, LHP 11. Abner Uribe, RH RP 10. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP 9. Christian Yelich, OF 8. Tyler Black, IF 7. Willy Adames, SS 6. Devin Williams, RH RP With that reminder, let’s see who we have ranked as the Top 5 Most Valuable Player Assets in Milwaukee Brewers history: 5. RHP Corbin Burnes (30) I guess I should have posted this a couple of days sooner, but we knew all along that it was highly likely that the Brewers would trade the former All-Star. And the reason that I had him ranked this far down really came to fruition. Burnes had just one more year left before he can become a free agent. In the arbitration process, he was set to make over $15 million. So, we found that his value to the organization was two prospects at the backend of many Top 100 lists, and potentially a Competitive Balance pick. Initially when creating this ranking, I thought I should have Corbin Burnes ranked lower, but now it appears this was about right. The front office was able to turn Burnes into two prospects with six years of team control each. The other option, of course, was to play out the season with Burnes and then offer him the Qualifying Offer at season’s end. He would turn that down and the Brewers would get a draft pick after the first round. That is, if Burnes stayed healthy. 4. OF Sal Frelick (23) Sal Frelick was the first-round pick of the Brewers in 2021 out of Boston College. He was the 15th overall pick. In his first full season of pro ball (2022), he started at High-A Wisconsin and ended the year at Triple-A Nashville. That’s where he began the 2023 season, but a thumb injury cost him a couple of months early. He returned to the Nashville lineup and in mid-July, he was called up to the Brewers. If first impressions are important, Frelick’s debut was one of the best MLB debuts by any player in Brewers history. Overall, he hit .246/.341/.351 (.692) with nine doubles and three homers. Certainly not the difference-making level of play that many hoped, but there’s no reason to believe that he can’t be a solid all-around player for the Brewers for years to come. A consensus Top 50 global prospect coming into the season, he got his feet wet in 2023. Frelick will be under team control for six more seasons, at least. 3. RHP Freddy Peralta (27) No Burnes. No Brandon Woodruff. The remaining of the Brewers’ Big Three starters is Freddy Peralta. It seems as though he has been around forever, and I guess 2018 is a long time ago. In parts of six seasons in the big leagues, he is 42-27 with a 3.83 ERA. He also has 749 strikeouts in 580 2/3 innings (11.6 K/9). Peralta was an All Star in 2021. That season, he went 10-5 with a 2.81 ERA. He had 195 strikeouts in 144 1/3 innings (12.2 K/9). He was limited to 17 starts and 78 innings after some arm issues early that season. Those concerns should be alleviated because he made 30 starts in 2023. He posted a 3.86 ERA, and in 165 2/3 innings, he had 210 strikeouts (11.4 K/9). Before the 2020 season, Peralta signed a five-year, $15.5 million that included two option seasons which keep him under team control through the 2026 season. He is owed $5.5 million for the 2024 season. After the season, the front office will need to decide whether to pay Peralta $8 million in 2025 or pay him a $1.5 million buyout. Seems like an incredibly easy decision as long as Peralta stays healthy. Then after the 2026 season, the Brewers will have the option of paying Peralta $8 million. There is no buyout. But again, the Brewers essentially have Peralta signed for three years and $21.5 million. For how well he has pitched, those decisions would seem easy. And, frankly, if the Brewers want to be competitive the next couple of seasons, Peralta will be a big part of that. 2. C William Contreras (26) The Brewers were the beneficiary of one of the strangest trades in recent history. The Brewers received Contreras and minor-league reliever Justin Yeager from Atlanta, and reliever Joel Payamps came to Milwaukee from the A’s. What did it cost the Brewers? They sent outfielder Esteury Ruiz to the A’s. Sure, Ruiz led the American League in Stolen Bases. Contreras had been an All Star in 2022 with the Braves. He had posted an OPS of .860 and drilled 20 home runs in 97 games. In 2023, Craig Counsell put him in the lineup as the catcher 108 times and 33 times as the DH. He responded by hitting .289/.367/.457 (.825) with 38 doubles and 17 home runs. He will spend the entire 2024 season at age 26. It will be his final pre-arbitration season. He will then have three years of arbitration. It can be so difficult to find catchers that can hit. While Contreras isn’t a great defensive backstop, he is adequate. However, if in the relatively near future, Jeferson Quero is deemed ready, he can cover more of the innings behind the plate with Contreras getting more at bats as the DH. While that might drop him a few spots down this list as his salary increases, he still will provide the team with value. The big question is, at what point will Willson Contreras be known as William’s older brother instead of vice versa. 1. OF Jackson Chourio (19) Jackson Holliday is currently the consensus top prospect in baseball, but Jackson Chourio typically ranks second. The 19-year-old from Venezuela signed on January 15, 2021, for $1.9 million. He spent that summer in the Dominican Summer League. In 2022, he came to the States and just a week into the season, he was promoted to Low-A Carolina. He crushed the ball for 62 games and earned a promotion to High-A Wisconsin. In 31 games, he posted an .805 OPS. He ended the season with six games at Double-A. That’s where he began the 2023 season. After a slow start, he hit .280/.336/.467 (.805) with 23 doubles, 22 home runs and 89 RBI. In addition, he went 43-for-52 in stolen base attempts. He ended the season with six games at Triple-A Nashville. After the season, he played in 17 games in the Venezuelan Winter League. He hit .379/.453/.530 (.984) with five doubles, a triple, and a home run. Chourio has all of the tools. He should hit and get on base. He has immense power. Signed as a shortstop, Chourio has primarily played center field as a professional. He has great range due to great speed, and he’s got a very strong arm. And, I think that we can assume that Chourio is blessed with several of the intangibles that made the organization comfortable enough to hand out an eight-year, $82 million contract to someone who won’t turn 20 until mid-March. The contract includes a $2 million signing bonus and runs through the 2031 season. It also includes a club option for 2032 for $25 million with a $2 million buyout. If that is accepted, then the club will have a $25 million option for the 2033 season with a $2 million buyout. With a couple of awards and escalators and incentives, the deal could be worth as much as $142.5 million over 10 years. Unfortunately, the contract puts a lot of extra pressure on Chourio to succeed. It is a long-term commitment to a young player. But he is the kind of player who has the potential to be a Hall of Famer, and to bring championships to the city. And that’s what this series and these player rankings are all about. Which players provide the most value toward achieving a championship. Is there any question that the player is Jackson Chourio? Thank you for taking time to read all four parts of this series. Here are the full rankings. They do still include Corbin Burnes, so discuss how this list is altered with news of Thursday night’s trade. Do either Joey Ortiz or DL Hall fit into the Top 20? Do they have to produce because they were the players acquired for the All-Star starter. Please discuss in the Comments. To recap, here is the complete list of this year's top 20 Brewers player assets lists. (Click the links to find more Brewer Fanatic content on each of these players.) 20. Brice Turang, 2B 19. Luis Lara, OF 18. Wade Miley, LHP 17. Garrett Mitchell, OF 16. Brock Wilken, 3B 15. Joey Wiemer, OF 14. Jeferson Quero, C 13. Carlos F. Rodriguez, RHP 12. Robert Gasser, LHP 11. Abner Uribe, RH RP 10. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP 9. Christian Yelich, OF 8. Tyler Black, 3B/2B 7. Willy Adames, SS 6. Devin Williams, RH RP 5. Corbin Burnes, RHP 4. Sal Frelick, OF 3. Freddy Peralta, RHP 2. William Contreras, C 1. Jackson Chourio, OF View full article

The Milwaukee Brewers and their minor league affiliates announced their 2024 coaching and player development staff on Thursday. There are some new names, but the managers at the four levels will remain the same. Player Development is so important to any and all organizations, but it’s especially strong for a mid-market team like the Brewers. We have seen that with the Brewers. A quick look around the diamond and you can see how many homegrown players are important pieces of the roster. It's important to hire well, but then work with and train your employees in a way that helps them become the best version of themselves, whatever that might mean. The Brewers minor league affiliates announced their coaching staff Thursday and later the Brewers announced their entire player development staff in a press release. Here are the 2024 Twins Minor League Coaching Staffs. Nashville Sounds Manager Rick Sweet returns for his fifth season at the helm of the Sounds. The 71-year-old became the all-time winningest manager in Sounds history. This will be his 11th season in the Brewers organization and his 34th season as a coach in minor league baseball. That came after a nine-year playing career that included a little big-league time with the Padres, Mets, and Mariners. Sweet’s bench coach will be David Tufo, and Ned Yost IV will serve as a coach. Tufo is 37 and joined the Brewers organization in 2020. He managed the Arizona Complex League team for a couple of seasons. Last year, he was the bench coach at Wisconsin. Yost is 41 and this will be his fourth season with the Sounds and 17th season in the Brewers organization. Sweet will be joined in the dugout by two hitting coaches, Al LeBoeuf and Eric Theisen. The 63-year-old LeBoeuf is back for his fourth straight season in this role. This marks his 37th season as a coach in professional baseball. Theisen is a youngster at just 39 years old. He is in his fourth season with the Brewers organization but his first as a hitting coach in Nashville. In addition, he is also the assistant hitting coordinator, a role he’s held the past two years. Jeremy Accardo will serve as the team’s pitching coach. The 42-year-old is back for his third straight season with the Sounds. You may remember him as a big-league pitcher. He spent parts of eight seasons in the big leagues, spending time with the Giants, Blue Jays, Orioles, Cleveland team that currently goes by Guardians, and the Oakland A’s. Patrick McGuff is the youngster of the coaching staff. The 29-year-old returns for his second season in this role for Nashville and third in the organization. He was the Twins 36th round pick in the 2016 draft. Biloxi Shuckers The Shuckers will be managed by Joe Ayrault. He has been a coach in the organization for 16 seasons including 13 at High-A. He was the Wisconsin manager the past two seasons. He played in seven games for the Braves in 1996. He went 1-for-5, a single off of lefty Chris Hammond. Ayrault’s bench coach will be Fidel Pena. He has been the manager in the Dominican Summer League the past four seasons. It’s his eighth season in the organization and first at Double-A. Will Schierholz will be the Shuckers’ pitching coach with Paul Moeller working as the bullpen coach. This is Schierholz’s second season with the Shuckers and third year in the organization. Moeller joined the Shuckers coaching staff midway through the 2023 season. Before that, he had been in the Arizona Complex League. He’s also coached in the Dominican. JJ Reimer is the team’s hitting coach. He was coaching in Carolina a year ago and then had the opportunity to coach in the Arizona Fall League. Finally, Danny Larson will be the team’s Development Coach. This is Larson’s first season in the Brewers organization but also his first season in professional baseball. He was the hitting coach at Iowa Central Community College last spring. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Victor Estevez will take over as the manager of the Rattlers after leading the Carolina Mudcats last year. He will likely work with many of the same players. He has held a number of roles with the organization over his dozen seasons. Ken Joyce returns for his second season as the team’s hitting coach. It is his third season in the Brewers organization, but he is a baseball lifer. He has been coaching for a variety of organizations since 1994. Josh Spence took over as the Rattlers’ pitching coach last June. The Australian spent a little time with the Padres as a player. He pitched for Brewers manager Pat Murphy at Arizona State. He started his coaching career in 2016 and joined the Brewers in 2022. Andre Ruche and Eric Bunnell are new to the Brewers organization. They have both been assigned the role of “development coach” for Wisconsin. Bunnell joins the Brewers organization from the college ranks where he had coached for 19 seasons. He came directly from Youngstown State. Ruche joins the Brewers organization from Driveline. Carolina Mudcats 36-year-old Nick Stanley is in his seventh season in the Brewers organization, but 2024 will be his first season as a manager. He was the bench coach at Biloxi in 2023 and a hitting coach for two years with Wisconsin. The pitching coach will be Michael O’Neal. He held the same role in 2023. This is his fifth season in the organization, but he had been coaching for several years before that in multiple independent leagues. The hitting coach will be Austin Turner. The 28-year-old is in his first season with the Mudcats. For two years before that, he coached in the Dominican Summer League. He came to the Brewers after a year in the indy leagues. Before that, he had some roles in small colleges after his own playing days. Liu Rodriguez and Marcelo Alfonsin are also coaches for the Mudcats. Rodriguez is 47 and had several roles in the organization including coaching at Nashville and for Wisconsin. He had a long playing career that included 39 games in the big leagues with the White Sox. He continued to play in Mexico and Venezuela and in independent leagues. Alfonsin’s background is in pitching. He joins the Brewers organization this year from the Astros where he coached in the DSL the past couple of seasons. Arizona Complex The Brewers will have one team in the Arizona Complex League (ACL) this year Rafael Neda will be the Manager. Blake Nation and Jesus Hernandez will be the team’s pitching coaches. Luisa Gauci and Evan Berliner are the two hitting coaches. (Read more about Gauci here) Ricky Carvajal will be the development coach. DSL/Dominican Complex The Brewers will again have two teams in the Dominican Summer League. Brewers 1 will be managed by Victor Rey. Jorge Ortega is the pitching coach with Joan Abreu as the hitting coach. Robinzon Diaz is listed as just a “Coach,,” but the former catcher will work with the backstops and hitters. Aritz Garcia Goni is the Development Coach. Natanael Mejia will be the manager of Brewers 2. The hitting coach is Jose Garcia. Carlos Pimentel is the team’s pitching coach. The “coach” for the team is Jose Pena. Player Development Staff Tom Flanagan: VP of Player Operations and Baseball Administration Cam Castro: VP, Player Development Carlos Villanueva: Special Assistant to GM/Baseball Ops/Player Development Spencer Allen: Director - Player Development Mark Mueller: Sr. Manager - Baseball Administration Adela Marquez: Manager - Education Manuel Vargas: Director - Latin America Operations Juan De Leon: Coordinator - Latin America Operations August Fagerstrom: Director - Player Information Ben Harris: Sr. Coordinator - Player Information Zack Sorensen: Sr. Coordinator - Player Personnel Matt Ducondi: Coordinator - Player Information Pedro Alvarez: Special Assistant - Mental Performance Coordinators Victor Rey: Dominican Republic Field Coordinator Rafael Neda: Assistant Field Coordinator Nick Childs: Pitching Coordinator Bryan Leslie: Lead Strategist - Pitching Development Juan Sandoval: Assistant Pitching Coordinator Brenton Del Chiaro: Hitting Coordinator Eric Theisen: Assistant Hitting Coordinator Dallas Correa: Catching Coordinator Matt Erickson: Infield Coordinator Mike Guerrero: Roving Infield Instructor Josh Lindblom: Assistant - Player Development View full article

Today, we jump into the Top 10 of our Brewers Player Assets rankings heading into the 2024 season. Today's group might be called Dollars and Sense. There are some more veteran players under interesting contracts that may or may not affect their value to the organization in your opinion. And there are a couple of really exciting prospects as well. Click into the article to see which players are among the most vital to the team's future fortunes. Image courtesy of Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports (Yelich), Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK (Adames), Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports (Williams) For a more thorough explanation on these rankings and how they are developed, check out Sunday's Part 1 introduction post. The short version: Which players currently in the Brewers organization are most crucial toward developing a championship-caliber team? To rank the Brewers players and prospects, we consider things like age, contract status, years of control, ceiling/potential, and more. To catch you up, here are the first two installment of this year's top 20 player assets lists. If you missed either of the first two parts, you can click into Part 1 (16-20) and Part 2 (11-15): 20. Brice Turang, 2B 19. Luis Lara, OF 18. Wade Miley, LHP 17. Garrett Mitchell, OF 16. Brock Wilken, 3B 15. Joey Wiemer, OF 14. Jeferson Quero , C 13. Carlos F. Rodriguez, RHP 12. Robert Gasser, LHP 11. Abner Uribe, RH RP With that reminder, let’s see who we have in the sixth through tenth spots: 10. RHP Jacob Misiorowski, RHP Jacob Misiorowski grew up in Blue Springs, Missouri, a small city just east of Kansas City on Highway 70. He became a star at Grain Valley High School. He wanted to mature and grow somewhere close to home, so he headed south down highway 49 to Neosho, Missouri, where he went to Crowder College. He was immediately being recruited by most of the top college baseball programs, hoping to have him join their team for the next two years. Ultimately, Misiorowski committed to LSU. However, plans change. With their second-round pick in the 2022 draft, the Brewers selected the 6-7, lanky righty from the junior college. That summer, he pitched in just two games for Carolina. The Brewers were remarkably patient with Misiorowski early in the season. Obviously they want to protect such a huge arm, but he also has a big-time history of issuing a lot of walks. He made nine starts for Carolina to start the 2023 season and managed just 26 2/3 innings. He gave up just 10 hits, walked 12 and struck out 46 batters. He moved up to High-A Wisconsin where he made six starts and posted a 1.90 ERA. In 23 2/3 innings, he gave up 15 hits, walked 14 and struck out 28 batters. He was then pushed up to Double-A Biloxi for five more starts. In 21 innings, he gave up 17 hits, walked 16 (hit 11!) and struck out 36. Overall, he had a remarkable 110 strikeouts in 71 1/3 innings (13.9%), but he also walked 42 batters (5.3 BB/9). However, from level-to-level, his walk rate jumped from 4.1 to 5.3 to 6.9. Based solely on his arm and his youth and those strikeout numbers, Misiorowski should be much higher on this list. But there remain several questions. First and foremost, can he gain enough control and command of the strike zone to be effective? Can he gain enough strength and stamina to consistently provide five or six innings most times out? That doesn’t have to happen right away, not even in 2024, but probably by 2025. Misiorowski throws gas, frequently hitting triple digits. He’s got a slider and a curveball that can be wipe out pitches with more consistency. If he’s able to develop those things, and a more consistent changeup too, he could eventually be a top-of-rotation starter. If not, he can still be a very valuable and potentially dominant bullpen arm, but even those guys can’t issue a ton of walks. One year from now, there is a chance that Misiorowski sits in the top three on this list, or he could fall 10 or more spots. 9. OF Christian Yelich (32) Christian Yelich joined the Brewers after a massive trade six years ago in a trade that sent four minor-leaguers to the Marlins. In 2018, Yelich hit .326/.402/.598 (1.000) with 35 doubles, seven triples, 36 home runs, 110 RBI, and 22 stolen bases. He made his first All-Star team, won a Silver Slugger, and was named the National League MVP. The next season, he was even better. He hit .329/.429/.671 (1.100) with 29 doubles, three triples, 44 homers, 97 RBI, and 30 stolen bases. He was an All Star, won his third total Silver Slugger and finished second (to Cody Bellinger) in MVP voting. He signed a nine-year, $215 million contract with an option for 2029. Since then, things just have not gone well for Yelich. He had somewhat of a comeback season in 2023. He hit .278/.370/.447 (.818) with 34 doubles, 19 homers, 76 RBI and 28 stolen bases. It was the first time his OPS was over .790 for the first time since 2019. That’s not to say that he’s not valuable. He plays solid defense in left field. He takes a ton of walks. He really no longer is a middle-of-the-lineup hitter, but he can be a good guy at the top of the lineup, setting up those thumpers. He won’t turn 33 until December. And he had some extended stretches of really strong play in 2023. Yelich has five years and $136.5 million remaining on the contract. Yes, there is a no-trade clause, but it’s hard to imagine that the Brewers could get a team to take on that contract, much less get any prospect capital for him. 8. IF Tyler Black (23) Is it just me, or does it seem that there are more and more Canadians in the upper levels of the minor leagues and reaching the big leagues. In 2024, Tyler Black is likely to make his debut with the Brewers, maybe as early as Opening Day. Black grew up in Aurora, Ontario, a city about 49 km north of Toronto. After high school, Black went to Wright State University in Ohio, a small Division I school. In his two non-Covid seasons there, he posted OPS over 1.070. In 2021, the Brewers had the 15th overall pick and selected Sal Frelick out of Boston College. With a Competitive Balance A selection, Milwaukee drafted Tyler Black. He finished that season with 23 games in Low-A Carolina. In 2022, he played 64 games for Wisconsin and hit .281/.406/.424 (.831) with 13 doubles, four triples, and four home runs. He missed half the season with injury, so he was sent to the Arizona Fall League where he got 76 more plate appearances. That brings us to 2023. He began the year with 84 games at Double-A Biloxi. He hit .273/.412/.513 (.925) with 16 doubles, eight triples, and 14 home runs. He ended the season with 39 games at Triple-A Nashville where he hit .310/.428/.514 (.942) with nine doubles, four triples, and four home runs. He filled the stat line! 25 doubles, 12 triples. 18 home runs. He had started to show some power, and many believe there is more potential. Sure, he struck out 100 times (17.9%), but he also walked 88 times (15.8%). A new skill? He had 55 stolen bases in 67 attempts. There are varying reports on his defense. In 2023, he made 97 starts at third base with just 16 at first base. He had a .938 fielding percentage, which isn’t great, but he isn’t a butcher. Black is a Top 5 third base prospect, easily in all Top 100 prospect rankings. He’s got patience and power and speed, so if the defense can be just adequate, he could become a star. He is not on the team’s 40-man roster yet, but he will head to spring training with an opportunity to win a starting job. 7. SS Willy Adames (28) After spending three-plus seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays, Willy Adames was traded to the Brewers in 2021 and then put up the best stretch of his career. Over the final 99 games of that season, he hit .285/.366/.521 (.886) with 26 doubles and 20 home runs and was instrumental in leading the Brewers to the playoffs. His numbers have declined the last two seasons. Still, in 2022, he hit .238/.298/.458 (.756) with 31 doubles, 31 home runs and 98 RBI. 2023 was rough. In 149 games, he hit .217/.310/.407 (.717) with 29 doubles and 24 homers. Adames remains valuable for several reasons. First, even with his disappointing numbers, he provided good power numbers and drove in a lot of runs. Second, he is also a very good defensive shortstop, and he is a leader in the infield and in the clubhouse. His 2024 contract is reasonable enough that most teams would be willing to trade for him before the deadline. That said, earlier in the offseason, there were a lot of Corbin Burnes trade rumors. Have we heard any rumors about the Brewers looking to move Adames? If not, is it because the Brewers hope he gets off to a great start so they can deal him, or is it because they just really want to keep him around and potentially sign him to a long term deal? 6. RH RP Devin Williams (29) Devin Williams, aka The Airbender, has been as dominant as any late-inning reliever going back to 2020 when he won the NL Rookie of the Year award. Looking back at his numbers, he was 4-1 with a 0.33 ERA and a 0.63 WHIP. He also had 53 strikeouts in 27 innings! However, it took a long journey for Williams to become an overnight success. He was the Brewers second-round pick in 2013 out of high school in Hazelwood, Missouri, a northwest suburb of St. Louis. Williams made his first All Star game in 2022, and soon after, Josh Hader was traded. Williams became the team’s closer and kept getting better. He ended the season with a 1.93 ERA. He was an All Star again in 2023 and went 8-3 with 36 saves and a 1.53 ERA. I am sorry for so many numbers, but what Williams has done in parts of five seasons is astonishing. In 219 games, he is 26-10 with 54 saves, an ERA of 1.89 and a WHIP of 1.03. He keeps the ball in the ballpark. Now, how long will he be with the organization? There was some concern earlier in the offseason that maybe he could be traded. He is in his second arbitration and recently signed a one year, $7.25 million contract with an option for 2025. He will make $7 million in 2024. After the season, he has an option for 2025 worth $10.5 million with just a $250,000 buyout. For one of the best relievers in all of baseball, those are very reasonable numbers, and could actually increase his trade value. That’s all for today’s installment of five players. In the coming days, I will return and continue the countdown with our picks for the top five Brewers player assets heading into the 2024 season. For now, let me know what you think of the choices for 6-20. Would you rearrange any of them? Do any of them jump out to you? To recap, here is the first installment of this year's top 20 player assets lists: 20. Brice Turang, 2B 19. Luis Lara, OF 18. Wade Miley, LHP 17. Garrett Mitchell, OF 16. Brock Wilken, 3B 15. Joey Wiemer, OF 14. Jeferson Quero, C 13. Carlos F. Rodriguez, RHP 12. Robert Gasser, LHP 11. Abner Uribe, RH RP 10. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP 9. Christian Yelich, OF 8. Tyler Black, 3B/1B 7. Willy Adames, SS 6. Devin Williams, RH RP View full article

What does that deal look like, and what does it mean for William Contreras?

In the second installment of this countdown of the top 20 Brewers player assets, we will dive into the choices for 11 through 15. If the Brewers want a championship-caliber roster, how might these players fit into the equation? Image courtesy of Anna Caton, Nashville Sounds (Gasser), Mike Krebs, Biloxi Shuckers (Quero), Jeff Hanisch, USA Today (Uribe) For a more through explanation on these rankings and how they are developed, check out Sunday's Part 1 introduction post. The short version: Which players currently in the Brewers organization are most crucial toward developing a championship-caliber team? To rank the Brewers players and prospects, we consider things like age, contract status, years of control, ceiling/potential, and more. Here is who ranked 16-20 in Part 1: 20. Brice Turang, 2B 19. Luis Lara, OF 18. Wade Miley, LHP 17. Garrett Mitchell, OF 16. Brock Wilken, 3B Now, let's get to our choices for numbers 11 through 15 on this year's list. 15. OF Joey Wiemer (24) Joey Wiemer has been a top prospect for the Brewers for the past couple of years and has been in the second half of the Top 100 prospect rankings. He was the Brewers fourth-round pick in 2020 out of the University of Cincinnati. The 6-4, 220-pound outfielder has big-time power potential, has plus speed, and plays tremendous defense wherever he is placed in the outfield. His best tool might be his powerful arm. Through his years in the minor leagues, his stats support his tools. He hit a ton of doubles and had over 20 homers in 2021 and 2022. He had 30 or more steals in both of those seasons. The one tool that Wiemer struggled with the most is the “Hit” tool, and that has been a more significant issue as he has moved up the ladder. In two levels of A-ball in 2021, he struck out 22%. In 2022, he played 84 games at Double-A and 43 at Triple-A. He struck out 27% of the time. In 132 games with the Brewers in 2023, he struck out 28% of the time. The big difference is in his walk rate. He walked well over 10% of the time in the minor leagues. He walked 8.8% of his plate appearances with the Brewers, but many of his at-bats were quick and lacked strike-zone control. It was a rough first season in the big leagues, but now Wiemer has a chance to work through it. Don’t forget, he still has power. He still has speed. He still plays excellent defense and has a strong arm. There is value in all of that. However, based on his minor-league track record, there is no reason to believe he can’t at least push his on-base percentage above .320 or even higher. 14. C Jeferson Quero (21) In the summer of 2019, the Milwaukee Brewers signed Venezuelan catching prospect Jeferson Quero to a $200,000 signing bonus. With the lost 2020 season, he didn’t make his professional debut until 2021, when he played 23 games in the Arizona Complex League. In 2022, he started the season by playing 75 games at Low-A Carolina and ended with 20 strong games at High-A Wisconsin. He added 15 more games in the Arizona Fall League. As a 20-year-old, in 2023, he hit .262/.339/.441 (.779) with 12 doubles and 16 home runs. After the season, he was added to the Brewers 40-man roster. Since then, the Brewers added Eric Haase to a major-league contract and veteran Austin Nola to a minor-league deal. Quero has been a Top 100 prospect the past couple of offseasons and is a consensus Top 50 prospect. As we know, catching is such an important position and can certainly be a position of attrition. So, having depth at the position is good. William Contreras is the starter and a perennial All-Star and team MVP candidate. Quero should get the bulk of playing time at Triple-A Nashville this season. Signing the veterans allows the front office to be patient with a very young backstop with a bright future. Quero is currently the #2 prospect per Brewer Fanatic. 13. RHP Carlos F. Rodriguez (22) Carlos Rodriguez, the pitcher, was the Brewers sixth-round draft pick in 2021 after a season of junior college at Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers. In 2022, he posted a 3.53 ERA in 19 games (13 starts) for Carolina. In 71 1/3 innings, he walked 27 and struck out 84 batters. He moved to High-A Wisconsin, where he made seven starts and went 3-1 with a 1.98 ERA. In 36 1/3 innings, he walked 13 and struck out 45 batters. The Brewers named him their Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2022. In 2023, he began the season early and was the #1 starter for Team Nicaragua in the WBC. Rodriguez was born in Nicaragua, but his family moved to Miami when he was eight. He went to Miami Christian High School. When the regular season began, Rodriguez went to Double-A Biloxi, where he went 9-6 in 25 starts. He had a 2.77 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and 152 strikeouts in 123 2/3 innings despite being more than three years younger than the average player in the Southern League. He ended the season with one start in Triple-A. He was named the Brewer Fanatic Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year for the second year in a row, and again the Brewers choice for minor-league co-pitcher of the year with #12 on this list, Robert Gasser. Rodriguez is an interesting pitcher. He generally sits in the low 90s with his fastball, but he has hit 96 mph at times as well. He also throws a sinker and a cutter. He mixes and matches well with different speeds and movements on his pitches. Rodriguez is Brewer Fanatic's #7-ranked prospect. 12. LHP Robert Gasser (24) After a strong 2021 season at the University of Houston in which he posted a 2.63 ERA and had 105 strikeouts in 85 2/3 innings, Gasser was the Padres second-round pick. He began the 2022 season at High-A Fort Wayne and was 4-9 with a 4.18 ERA in 18 starts. However, he had 115 strikeouts in 90 1/3 innings. At that time, the Brewers traded Josh Hader to the Padres, and Gasser was a big piece in the return. Milwaukee has been very aggressive with him. They sent him to Double-A Biloxi, where he made four starts. His season ended with five starts for Triple-A Nashville. In 2023, he made 25 starts and one relief appearance, all for Nashville. He went 9-1 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. And with those numbers, he was named the Brewers co-Minor League Pitcher of the Year. The southpaw throws a four-seam fastball in the low 90s and a two-seamer from a lower angle. He’s got a good cutter and has a sweeper and a changeup. He certainly profiles well as a starter. He will head to spring training with an opportunity to be in the starting rotation on Opening Day. We all know how important pitching is. Brewers fans have seen how valuable strong starting pitching can be in carrying a team. With Brandon Woodruff a free agent and no resolution to the Corbin Burnes situation, pitchers like Carlos Rodriguez and Robert Gasser are very important to the organization’s future. Gasser is Brewer Fanatic's #5-ranked prospect right now. 11. RH RP Abner Uribe (23) The Brewers signed Abner Uribe out of the Dominican Republic in July 2018 for a signing bonus of just $85,000. Blessed with a big arm, the Brewers have often been cautious with him. He pitched in just 12 games in 2018 and seven games in 2019. After the lost 2020 season, he worked in 17 games for Carolina in 2021. In 33 2/3 innings, he had 52 strikeouts but 25 walks. He then pitched in eight games in Arizona. In 2022, he pitched in just two games before injuring his knee. He had a torn meniscus and had surgery, which cost him the rest of his season. He did pitch in nine games in the Fall League and then was added to the 40-man roster. In 2023, he began at Biloxi. In 15 games, he was 1-0 with seven saves and a 1.80 ERA. In 15 innings, he struck out 28 and walked nine batters. In mid-June, he was moved to Triple-A Nashville and worked eight innings over seven games. He had 13 strikeouts and seven walks. Three weeks later, Uribe was called up to the Brewers. He worked in 32 games for the Brewers and had a 1.76 ERA. In 30 2/3 innings, he gave up just 16 hits, walked 20 batters, and struck out 39 batters. He gave up runs in just three of his first 30 appearances. Blessed with a fastball that touches 102-103, Uribe has some of the most electric stuff in baseball. His sinker averaged 99.5 mph in the big leagues. He also has a devastating slider. As you can see, he can rack up strikeouts in a hurry. However, he also can put guys on base via walk quite often. He doesn't give up many hits, so he can be very effective. Indeed, he will need to throw more strikes. If that can happen, he has the potential to be among the best closers in the league. Until then, he can set up Devin Williams. That’s all for today’s installment of five players. In the coming days, I will return and continue the countdown with our picks for numbers 6 to 10. For now, let me know what you think of the choices for 11-20. Would you rearrange any of them? Do any of them jump out to you? To recap, here is the first installment of this year's top 20 player assets lists: 20. Brice Turang, 2B 19. Luis Lara, OF 18. Wade Miley, LHP 17. Garrett Mitchell, OF 16. Brock Wilken, 3B 15. Joey Wiemer, OF 14. Jeferson Quero, C 13. Carlos F. Rodriguez, RHP 12. Robert Gasser, LHP 11. Abner Uribe, RH RP View full article

On this Brewers Spotlight, we shine the light on Brewers relief pitcher prospect Shane Smith. He was the Brewer Fanatic 2023 Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. His story is interesting and one can't help but wish him health and success. After a solid high school career, he went to Wake Forest. Unfortunately, over three seasons there, he pitched a total of just 10 1/3 innings. He had a shoulder injury and redshirted his first season. He had taken over the role of closer for the Demon Deacons and was pitching well when Covid shut down the season. He began the following season as a starter but hurt his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery. Then he and his family made an interesting decision, and based on a strong return in 2023, it's looking like the right one! View full video

On an all-new Brewers Spotlight show, I was joined by Brewers minor-league reliever Shane Smith. Prospect status and player development are not linear, and it sure hasn’t been for Smith. But he had a breakout season in 2023, spending time between the Carolina Mudcats and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and ending the year at Double-A with the Biloxi Shuckers. Image courtesy of Neal Hock, Carolina Mudcats Shane Smith grew up in Danvers, Massachusetts, and he attended The Governor’s Academy in Byfield. In his school, he was successful on the football field and the basketball court, but he really stood out on the baseball diamond. While he had some offers to play football in college, he decided early to attend Wake Forest University. Interestingly, his dad played baseball at George Washington, where his coach was Tom Walter. That same Tom Walter is now beginning his 15th season as the head coach at Wake Forest. Unfortunately, as a freshman in 2019, he hurt his shoulder, had surgery, and had to use a redshirt season. As a redshirt freshman in 2020, he became the team’s closer early in the season. Unfortunately, that season was cut short due to Covid. In 2021, he moved to the starting rotation. He made two starts before an elbow injury, and Tommy John surgery ended that season. What was their sales pitch? “Take a chance. You could say my arm is low mileage because of the innings,” Smith said with a chuckle. At that point, Smith and his family had a choice. Stay at Wake Forest, rehab the elbow, and hope to play in 2023. Or, he could make it known to teams that he wanted to turn pro, rehab with professional coaches, and see how it goes. Well, that’s what he did, and with just 10 1/3 innings of work in college over the three previous seasons, it was a lot of work. What was his sales pitch? On July 20, 2021, just a week after the draft's conclusion, the Milwaukee Brewers offered him a contract, and Smith happily signed. He continued to work very hard in rehab and recovery, but in late 2022, he pitched in three innings (over three games) in the Arizona Complex League. It may seem minor, but it was important for him to know that he could pitch again before heading to an offseason. When he went to Arizona for spring training in 2023, he was excited to get on the mound again and join a team. The season, frankly, couldn’t have gone any better for him. Regardless of the numbers, he was able to stay healthy. There were certainly restrictions. For instance, not once did he pitch on back-to-back days, but that’s just smart with a 23-year-old with a strong arm and a 6-4 frame. He began the season with 19 games at Low-A Carolina, where he went 4-3 with four saves, a 2.59 ERA, and a 1.05 WHIP. In 31 1/3 innings, he walked 10 and struck out 50 batters. That earned him a promotion to High-A Wisconsin, where he was even better. He went 3-1 with six saves. He posted a 1.37 ERA with a 0.84 WHIP. In 26 1/3 innings, he had 10 walks to go with 34 strikeouts. Finally, he ended the season with two scoreless innings at Double-A Biloxi. Not a bad run at all. He tossed a total of 59 2/3 innings. He had 86 strikeouts (13.0 K/9) with just 21 walks (3.2 BB/9). He kept the ball in the ballpark (0.8 HR/9) and didn’t allow many hits (5.4 H/9). It's fair to say he was the easy call as the Brewer Fanatic Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. For more articles on this site that Shane Smith has been tagged in, click here. Smith ended the year with a couple of outings in the Arizona Fall League. Chatting with and getting to know minor leaguers and their stories and backgrounds is always fun. It’s also obvious when talking to someone who truly loves the game and knows it because he’s had to miss so much time. Join me in the comments below to wish him good health and success in 2024! Here is a quick look at the timeline of our Brewers Spotlight conversation. This interview is just over an hour, so be sure to come back and listen to more of it as you have time. Check out this and other videos here. 1:45: Earliest memories on the baseball diamond. 4:10: Did you play other sports in high school? 6:35: How good were your high school baseball teams? Did you play in the regional or national types of events? Did you play other positions? 11:10: When did you commit to Wake Forest, and what was your recruitment process? What made Wake Forest the right choice for you? 15:00: What was your major or area of study going into college? 17:50: What was the transition between high school and college, especially after missing that 2019 season with an injury? 20:40: Coaching staff at Wake Forest as well as their pitching lab? 24:30: The emotions of blowing out his elbow for him and his family. 26:00: The process of rehabbing, signing with the Brewers, and finding an interested team. What were the conversations like? What were the selling points? 28:00: The story of hearing from the Brewers about signing and more emotions. 34:00: Going into the 2023 season, what were the goals and limitations, and what was it like to get out of Arizona and to the full-season leagues? 36:20: Dominated in Wisconsin. 38:45: Ended in Biloxi. He is now where he likely would have been (most likely) had he just been drafted and healthy in 2021. Was that a goal or even a stretch goal heading into the season? 41:15: Setting Goals vs. compartmentalizing the goals and the season. 43:30: What numbers or stats do you look at? How do you use any analytics from the team? 45:50: I asked Shane to bring a baseball, and we discussed his variety of pitches, looking at the grips and what goes into the development of those pitches and new pitches. (For real, he wasn’t flipping me off.) 53:45: What was your Arizona Fall League experience? 54:50: Who are the key people in your support system and others who have helped you get to this point in your career? 57:15: How do you get away from the game, in-season or off-season? 59:20: What do you listen to, music or podcasts? 1:01:35: You grew up a Red Sox fan. Who were your favorite players and teams? Thank you so much to Shane Smith for answering our questions so thoroughly and thoughtfully. View full article