Brewcrew82

With all of the major top 100 lists now published, the Score has put together a nice little composite ranking. Chourio actually moved up a spot to #3 with the release of Fangraphs' list yesterday. Looks like he is indeed set to become the #1 prospect in baseball in just a few short months. Incredible. Hoping for a strong start to the year for him to validate that status, whether in A+ or AA. Frelick at #32 and Quero at #89. Brewers tied for 8th in MLB with 6 prospects named across each of the lists. This is the best way to evaluate prospects imo, as opposed to relying on one list and then running with it. https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/2563230

I want Mayer so bad. He’s the clear top TE in the draft imo and a top 10 player overall. All of the upper echelon teams in the NFL right now have a top tight end (Kelce, Kittle, Goedert, etc). It’s well past time for the Packers to join the list, as the position has basically been ignored since Finley.

Yeah, I can't find anything saying that Lauer had surgery, only that his "impingement" turned out to be a tear to the capsule in his left shoulder. But he suffered the injury in March and was able to pitch in the summer camp and the shortened season. https://www.mlb.com/news/eric-lauer-back-to-health-for-first-spring-start

Chourio has by far more trade value than Mitchell... https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/teams/461/

Interesting. I don't remember hearing anything about Lauer having surgery. You have a link?

And then we’ll be adding the eventual Burnes return on top of that. Hopefully this winter after he’s won his 2nd Cy Young and carried us deep into the postseason….

I’m higher on it than most. Devin is a top 5/3 reliever in the game. Bush, Strzelecki, and Cousins all bring great stuff and big strikeout ability. Payamps has been solid. Guerra throws 100 MPH and will hopefully have ditched his horrible 2 seamer. Then, you have up and comers like Abner Uribe, who has the ability to become the next Hader/Williams, and Cam Robinson, who really shined in the minors last year. And Ashby will (hopefully)help solve the LHP shortage once he returns, as I think he’ll be mainly featured out of the bullpen. The one concern I have is Milner repeating last season, but there are worse options out there (hello Alex Claudio). Is the bullpen less proven than we’ve become accustomed to over the last few years? No doubt. But I think the talent is definitely there and commend Arnold for some of his transactions in that department this off-season.

Yeah. I went back and forth on Wilson and Cousins. I wouldn’t be shocked at all if thats the direction they went in, and it would definitely go with their preserving depth strategy. However, I just don’t see it with Wilson, particularly when we already have Junk, and I think Cousins is Ottavino 2.0. If we still had Hader or Rogers, then I’d probably go with Wilson, but I think we’ll need Cousins and his huge SO ability starting right away in high leverage. As for Varland, I just don’t see us playing the Rule 5 game, unless he shows something major in spring training. This team doesn’t need another Wei-Chung Wang situation, where you pretty much waste a roster spot while you’re trying to contend.

Hopefully Barry is finally canned after this year. I’d hate to see Leonhard end up in the NFC North or in the BIG.

These are all steps in the right direction. The overall experience has really fallen off the past few years, largely as a result of COVID but also not entirely. The reduced concessions prices are the most exciting thing to me. It got to the point where I’d just bring all my food and beverages to the ballpark. $8 for a bottle of water? Absolutely criminal. Also hopeful about the revamped restaurant. The Restaurant to be Named Later was a disaster and a huge step down from Fridays. A working brewery and restaurant is a perfect idea. Now hopefully they can execute it. Like you all, I am surprised that they were graded so highly for quality of food. As Wisconsinites, ballpark food is something we should be leading the pack in. Right now, it’s the definition of “meh”.

I don’t think it’s accurate to call a consensus top 10 prospect in baseball a “lottery ticket”. Chourio could flame out or fail to live up to expectations, for sure, but the fact that he’s ranked as high as he is means scouts and analysts are fairly certain that he will be a productive major league player. How productive is where it becomes debatable, but by nature, the vast majority of lottery tickets don’t end up making the majors, let alone become productive players. Freddy Peralta is the rare exception.

What does everyone think the OD roster will look like? Obviously, spring training will tell us a lot, but it's never too early to start thinking about how things will end up shaking out. The Naquin and Voit acquisitions in particular got me tossing around various scenarios in my head throughout the day. In the end, I think it can be broken down as such: Locks: P: Burnes, Woodruff, Peralta, Lauer, Miley, Houser, Williams, Bush, Milner (9) H: Contreras, Caratini, Tellez, Urias, Adames, Anderson, Yelich, Taylor, Winker (9) So, that leaves 8 open spots, with the following legitimately in the mix: P: Cousins, Strzelecki, Guerra, Junk, Miller, Payamps, Peguero, Wilson, Varland, Uribe, Robinson, Mejia? Claudio? H: Hiura, Brosseau, Miller, Toro, Turang, Mitchell, Frelick, Wiemer, Perkins, Voit, Naquin. Harrison? Lots of different options. But if I had to guess right now, this is probably what I would go with, before any Spring Training games have been played: C: Contreras, Caratini IF: Tellez, Urias, Adames, Anderson, Toro, Voit OF: Yelich, Winker, Mitchell, Taylor, Naquin SP: Burnes, Woodruff, Peralta, Lauer, Miley, Houser RP: Williams, Bush, Strzelecki, Cousins, Milner, Payamps, Guerra Thoughts? Obviously, I could have gone with Brosseau instead of Toro, but he has options and Toro would give us an infielder (other than Rowdy) who can hit from the left side. Turang is another option, but I think the Anderson acquisition, plus the fact that he's not eligible for draft pick compensation, has pretty much sealed his fate as someone who's going to be held down till May/June. I've got Voit and Naquin making the team as NRIs. Naquin to be the left-handed side of a platoon with Taylor and Voit to be the right-handed side of a platoon with Rowdy and Winker. I'm assuming Hiura is destined to be traded at some point during spring training. Probably for something similar to Arcia, unfortunately. I really think Frelick has a chance to win the starting CF job over Mitchell, but the fact that he'll be away at the WBC and that he's currently not on the 40-man keep me from penciling him in. And while I wouldn't be shocked whatsoever if Wiemer (who's also eligible for draft pick compensation) tears it up in the spring, I have a hard time seeing him make the final cut. Starting rotation is obviously pretty much set following Ashby's injury. I don't think they'll go with a pure 6 man rotation, but I do think they'll use it at times, with Houser staying stretched out as a multi-inning bullpen option during periods when he's not starting. Bullpen is somewhat difficult to make out after Williams and Bush. Strzelecki seems as good a bet as anyone to take over the 7th inning role from Boxberger. Cousins likewise figures to be in the late inning mix, and I think he's too good to stash in AAA at this point. Milner is obviously a lock as our only real lefty option. Meanwhile, you have a litany of competitors for the final two spots. I wouldn't be shocked if Abner Uribe, coming off a dominating AFL performance, ends up making life difficult for the Brewers. In the end, though, the Brewers are going to want to maintain as best they can the depth they've accumulated this offseason, which means that guys with options remaining will give way to guys without remaining options. In this case, Payamps and Guerra are the specific beneficiaries.

Do people seriously think that they’re going to reinvent the wheel here re: taxpayer funding for stadiums? The whole idea of it all sucks, of course, but this unfortunately how the world works, and if we don’t pony up, some other city and taxpayer base inevitably will, while we will end up having to pay anyways to clean up the resulting mess. I’m okay with it if that’s the price I have to pay to keep my favorite baseball team in the state. And it’s not like this is being funded through a brand new tax either. It’s but $300 million of a $7 billion annual surplus…Not to mention the government will almost certainly find something even more foolish to spend that money on if we demur. Am Fam and the Brewers actually bring real, tangible economic benefits to the state….

If we want to feel any semblance of safety on Selection Sunday at this point, we’d be well-served to win 3 of the next 4 games. That would put us at .500 in the BIG, which is usually the benchmark in a top 2 conference like the BIG currently is. Then, the BIG tourney would become a chance to bolster our resume and seed, as opposed to becoming a last-ditch effort. We could maybe afford a split if the two wins are Purdue and at Minnesota. Now, can this team actually pull this off? I am skeptical. That Rutgers loss was absolutely devastating…

The fact that these two guys will likely open in AAA is a testament to the depth that Arnold and co. have built this winter. You figure between them, the rookie OFs, and now Voit and Naquin, someone is bound to step up and insert themselves into an everyday role.

I think this will be a year where Ashby primarily works out of the bullpen. With our lack of LHP relief options other than Milner, that’s a good thing. It could also be good for his development as he can focus on one role and dominate there. Not to mention his numbers as a reliever are really nice. Miley signing could prove to be our best acquisition this off-season. He can fill the role that Brett Anderson did in 2021, when our rotation was dominant and propelled us to 95 wins. As opposed to last year, where we were forced to rely on scrap heap options like Chi Chi and Alexander.

Naquin's slash-line against RHP in 2021: .283/.339/.514. I'd take that in a heartbeat. But he should never see an at-bat against a LHP at this point.

Also worth noting that the Brewers will receive draft pick compensation if Frelick is on the OD roster, and finishes in the top 3 of the ROY vote (which he is more than capable of doing as a top 30 prospect with a 70 grade hit tool).

I'm not convinced Voit is an upgrade from Hiura. Not only does Voit have reverse splits just like Hiura, but he also is terrible on defense and strikes out more than 30% of the time. If anything, Hiura has more of an advantage in that he's younger and more versatile defensively. I'm sure spring training will sort this out, but I wouldn't write Voit onto the OD roster just yet.

I guess. Though, every scouting report I've seen, with the exception of Longenhagen on Fangraphs, rates him as a plus CF. Not as good as Mitchell, obviously, but his bat is way more advanced. I would say Mitchell has more developing to do at this point.

Curious what you think he has to work on still at AAA? His numbers at AAA last year combined with his 70-grade hit tool tell me he's as ready as it gets from a prospect....I think Mitchell has much more to work on and he's going to be our OD CF...

Stop getting me excited...Wiemer puts up a rookie season like Judge and Frelick puts up a rookie season like Kwan and we're World Series bound with our pitching...

But, who's put up the most fWAR by a pitcher in MLB during that overall timeframe, and is number 1 in virtually every major pitching category? That's what I mean when I say he's already the most DOMINANT pitcher in franchise history. Last year, he tailed off in the second half, likely due to going significantly over his career high in innings. But, over this three year stretch since the pandemic and his development of his cutter, he's simply been the best pitcher in baseball, including putting up the second best season by FIP in the modern era. Sheets and Higuera never had a stretch as dominant as that, let alone picked up a Cy Young Award (though Higuera did finish 2nd behind Clemens in 1986 and Sheets should have finished higher in 2004).

I think it’s fair to say that he’s already the most DOMINANT pitcher in franchise history. Since 2020, he’s been the best pitcher in baseball by fWAR. And then, during his CY season of 2021, he put up the second lowest FIP of the modern era, after Pedro’s 1999 season (aka the greatest single season by a pitcher in MLB history). Neither Sheets nor Higuera can replicate that….