SF70

Definitely worth the wait!

Speaking of your teen prospect series, when are you releasing part 3?

D. Bizarre offseason imo. Something is going on financially with this club for the OD payroll to be this low. Don’t understand why they couldn’t spend $5-6M and add a veteran 3B to raise the IF floor and allow them to finally jettison Monestario from the big-league roster. Agree with wiguy that this team is unbearably thin in IF depth.

And another reason this team’s domestic draft department is firing on all cylinders. From a 2023 draft-class most saw as superior right after the last signing to a 2024 draft-class panned by most that now is looking like one of the most underrated classes with Payne’s explosion, Dinges’s potential to catch with his hitting ability and a stable of pitching set to make their debut professionally after being worked with by the team’s PDS the last 6 months.

Not sure, but he said it’s a 6 month recovery time so I’d imagine he’d be playing games again April/May.

Boeve had labrum surgery in October and he likely will need more time before he’s 100%.

I’ll take the 2 years of Peralta’s performance plus the draft-pick over Kjerstad. We need his veteran experienced, #3 starter arm in our rotation the next 2 years to help us contend until 2027, when we have some of the pitching drafted over the last couple of years developed down below and ready to help the big-league rotation.

How can Made not be ranked so highly? We have a respected prospect-site (BA) say he’s a future potential #1 prospect, and 2 of their staff say he’d be the #1 pick in this July’s draft if he was eligible. Sometimes the talent is so overwhelming you just know. Different FO/International department that scouted & signed Gilbert Lara. Also, the current international department has evolved into maybe the best prospect-procurement department in all of baseball in the 5+ years since they signed Hedbert.

No. This team is focused on adding picks, not giving them up, especially for a #4ish starter.

My guess is the Brewers own internal projections show many more wins than PECOTA’s does for MKE. 81 wins would be a non-contending season and the team would definitely not tolerate that. I’m confident in 3 things: Firstly, that the team is not done improving the roster before OD. Secondly, the team is confident they can improve the roster in-season if needed. thirdly, this team will be serious contenders for another Central title when all is said and done.

Why would we criticize the best small-market team in the game? If you would just listen to the posters that have dived deep into the team’s system, or educate yourself by digging deep you wouldn’t be supposedly feeling the way you do about the team. One more time — Mark Attanasio has hired an award winning FO that has rostered winning seasons every full season since their fantastic one (1) year rebuild (with an assist from Doug Melvin) in 2016. They amazingly have done this WHILE AT THE SAME TIME completely rebuilding their infrastructure. That infrastructure has now been completed which has DIRECTLY LEAD to having one of the best prospect-procurement systems in the game, IF NOT THE BEST. They had the best draft in baseball (According to ‘Down on the farm’ a prospect site) in 2023. They had a top IFA class in 2024 (According to Baseball America). A vastly underrated class (According to me) in 2024. And a top 5 exciting IFA class in 2025 (BA). This has lead to the top “young” farm system in baseball and a year or so away from having the best system in the game. This system will be used to make the teams of 2027 and beyond as talented as any team outside of the Dodgers in the NL, this according to ‘Just Baseball’, and many of us “DEEP DIVE” Brewers fans. The current core is playoff worthy but more than a couple of upgrades from approaching the talent-level of more than a few teams, so trading away prospects now vs letting them develop is NOT WISE. My advice is to listen to the deep divers on this site who have knowledge of what’s happening “under the hood” with this organization OR dive in yourself. You will have a much more informed understanding of why our best in baseball FO is doing what they are doing.

You wish.

EMJ bats left-handed.

Why change what’s working? Internationally, go heavy $ positionally with some pitching sprinkled-in. Domestically, Heavy on the HS pitching, add some college pitching, some upside HS hitters, and a college hitter, two or three. The result is a system with as much young talent as there is in the game, that also fits the strategic upgrading replacement of the team’s current core over the next 2-5 years.

They also get the 68th pick for not signing Levonas.

Ernesto Martinez Jr. His otherworldly hitting the second-half of last season (200+ wRC+) with Biloxi and well above average defense at 1B has me wanting to see him play meaningful innings in ST and show the team he’s a legit 1B option for the big-club at some point this season or at worst next year.

May would be a great upside play and with a good, healthy season, we could slap a QO on him to get most or even all our SV back. Id prefer Sheehan over Miller. Coming off TJ with ‘25 likely a lost year I’m guessing he’d be cheaper to acquire with just as much upside as Miller.

“Blind faith”? We have an award-winning front office that has had the best initial 8 year run of any small-market team, maybe ever. They started off rebuilding in record time (1 year), and have won every full season since, and done so while completely rebuilding their infrastructure. They have completely earned my trust and faith in what they are doing. To think otherwise is illogical and makes zero (0) sense. They have a plan and are not winging it. Relax and enjoy this next decade-long run of winning. They are focused on accumulating impact prospects and building the best & deepest farm system in baseball and for an extended period of time. Extentions to some of the best of this prospect talent will give Chourio a chance to play with this impact talent thru his and their prime. Arnold & co are building a small-market dynasty before our very eyes.

Great job again. Cleveland vs LAD vs MKE. I know who I like, I think I know who you like, can’t wait for your final conclusion.

Agree with your conclusion of Cleveland having the best teenage prospect system in the AL. A quick, cursory look at the NL has the Dodgers as the only NL team, imo, that can challenge MKE. Looking forward to the rest of your in-depth study and final conclusions.

I think we’ll find out in ST. If he comes to camp 10-15 lbs lighter and in great shape, then yeah, i think we see a resurgent Hoskins.

Outstanding podcasts gentlemen! Incredible amount of information on the system as a whole. Didn’t think I could get more excited about this systems talent-level, but after listening to the both of you for 13+ hours, or whatever it was, I actually am. And Joseph, I couldn’t agree more with your years-old statement of us fans being in the golden age of Brewers fandom. We are so fortunate to have an owner sharp enough to hire the best FO talent in the game, and smart enough to listen to that FO talent with investing in infrastructure. Each season that goes by it becomes more and more apparent we have the best small-market FO in the game and among the best in all of baseball. This next decade of being a Brewers fan is really going to be something special.

Consistently winning WITHOUT an elite infrastructure — Our infrastructure rebuild was completed, I would argue, when we opened our state of the art Dominican Academy in 2023. We need to maintain financial-flexibility while we accumulate impact prospect talent thru our elite prospect-procurement systems. Steady as she goes and later this decade we will have as much talent as any team in baseball not named the Dodgers. In the meantime we can still win division titles and possibly get hot and lucky one year and still win it all.

$10-15M less in local TV revenue matters. When all is said and done, imo, the OD payroll will be close to where it was last year on OD, with money set aside to be used at the trade-deadline, just like last year when they added payroll.

With regards to your last paragraph — some of us that think we can win without spending are convinced our FO has figured out a way to win without spending a bottom-half or even bottom third payroll. They’ve won without a strong infrastructure and now that they have that, the future looks brighter than ever, as Aram & Jack of ‘Just Baseball’ confirmed by ranking MKE 3rd in all of baseball in the best 5 year future category. Behind large-markets LAD & Boston, and ahead of the Yankees & Mets. Just think about that ranking for a minute. Selfishly I don’t want a hard cap or fundamental changes to the game’s financial structure, at least not while we have the best SM FO & infrastructure currently in the MLB.