Jim Goulart

Saturday 3/1 Gameday vs. TEX: MINOR DETAILS: Over from Minor League camp: INF Daniel Guilarte (0), C Edgardo Ordoñez (95), OF Braylon Payne (94), OF Yophery Rodríguez (92), RHP Blake Holub (66), LHP Josh Maciejewski (57), RHP Sam McWilliams (84), RHP Zach Peek (58) and RHP Garrett Stallings (68). Payne walked in his lone plate appearance. Although neither played, this was the first game that Ordonez and Peek were on hand for a big-league game this spring.

OF Je’Von Ward is entering his 2nd season in the Blue Jays system after signing out of Indy ball last June. Here is a lengthy article plus Q&A.

Friday 2/28: Via Dom Cotroneo's "WTMJ Brewers Weekly": - Dom's two-hour show (80 minutes with the ads cut out, nice) includes an extended interview with Matt Arnold, which can be accessed as a stand-alone here Locked on Brewers with Chuck Freimund - "Woodruff Continues to Make Strides in Comeback for the Brewers"

Tell us the date. I have the MLB.TV package and will sift through the archive for you. There is not going to be a standalone link available for posting, but I could transcribe the comments related to Black and then also link with a time stamp to the archived game for those with access. One would think that Murph's "hatred for Black" would have been quite the talking point among the entire Brewers webisphere last season, but apparently the entire fandom has erased the manager's comments from their memories while you somehow retained them.

Clarke K's in lone at-bat; Brown, Jr. pinch-ran, and Merkel could not strand Bryan Hudson's two baserunners. Light day.

Friday 2/28 Gameday at SF: MINOR DETAILS: Over from Minor League camp today: INF Eric Brown Jr. (88), INF Wes Clarke (75), C Blayberg Díaz (98), OF Bladimir Restituyo (97), RHP Will Childers (99), LHP Mark Manfredi (68), RHP Evan McKendry (66), RHP Nick Merkel (61) and RHP Tyler Woessner (58). *** We'll update tonight with results.

Via "Foul Territory" audio: "Baseball America's JJ Cooper and Geoff Pontes size up the top prospects for each team in the NL Central - Brewers at the 20:10 minute mark."

Thursday 2/27: Via "The Bill Michaels Show" (Hour Two): Chuck Freimund (go to the 28:20 minute mark) Via the "Wisconsin Sports Daily Show" with Steve "Sparky" Fifer: "Dan Plesac of MLB Network talks his expectations for the Brewers in 2025, and why he is picking the Cubs or Reds to steal the NL Central from Milwaukee this year." Via the Fan Milwaukee's "Mason Crosby Show": Andrew Wagner of Forbes Via "Foul Territory" audio: "Baseball America's JJ Cooper and Geoff Pontes size up the top prospects for each team in the NL Central - Brewers at the 20:10 minute mark."

Thursday 2/27: Home vs. Royals (Gameday) MINOR DETAILS: Over from Minor League camp today: INF Josh Adamczewski (88), INF Juan Baez (95), INF Daniel Guilarte (0), C Nick Kahle (94), OF Hedbert Perez (96), OF Yophery Rodríguez (92), INF Zavier Warren (97), RHP Tyler Bryant (66), RHP Chase Costello (98), LHP Mark Manfredi (68), RHP Evan McKendry (58) and RHP Abdiel Mendoza (57). Adamczewski singled in his other at-bat. Catcher Nick Kahle did not see action. Today was the first day this spring he was on the bench for the big-league game. Nice birthday eve present (turns 27 today - Friday).

Particularly if you are viewing in a Chrome browser, I'm hopeful a translate to English prompt is just a click away. 2025 Timber Rattlers Coach Marcelo Alfonsín, entering his second season in the organization, is profiled in a lengthy feature and Q&A about his background in Argentina, not a country we consider as a baseball hotbed. It's a fine read if you're able to convert. Marcelo Alfonsín: The Argentine coach who is making his way in the Minor Leagues

Again, via Jake: I'll group these two together as they featured in back-to-back at bats facing former closer Giovany Gallegos. Payne was slightly too early on a slider, pulling it about 10 feet foul and 40 feet over the right field fence. Payne came into the draft under the radar of most publications due to his slappy swing, low exit velocities and ground ball tendencies. So far with the Brewers Payne has shown EV' up to 110 mph and if we can see signs of pulling the ball in the air with more regularity it bodes incredibly well for the young speedster. Payne produces a fielder's choice on a ground ball to second in an 0-2 count but to his testament the speed (and a random pirouette) did help him stay out of a double play. Bitonti has the opposite problem but did showcase his capabilities nicely. One of the best swing decision makers in the Brewers organization per Baseball America, Bitonti can swing and miss more than you would like while producing booming contact. He demonstrated as much against Gallegos, sitting on two changeups down and out of the zone before turning on one down and in for a rocket through the infield. The fact these 18-year-olds are performing like this against MLB caliber stuff is the most impressive feat for two of the most intriguing high upside hitters in the Brewers farm system.

Via our own Jake McKibbin: Made replaced Jorge Alfaro in the bottom of the eighth inning at DH, facing off against Jose E Hernandez, who saw time in the majors last season for the Pittsburgh Pirates (to a 3.38 ERA in a small sample size). Made took a fastball on the outer third before laying off a changeup that tunnelled beautifully with his first pitch before tailing outside the zone. A swing and a miss on the slider (Hernandez's best offering with a 41.5% whiff rate in the majors in 2024) should have slowed Made's bat down but he was right on time, if a little early, on the low heater that followed resulting in some solid contact to third base. Jesus Made didn't look overmatched by big league stuff despite his mere 17 years of age and hopefully we can see more of the young man in spurts during the early days of spring training.

Wednesday 2/26: Via Jay Glazer's "Unbreakable" Podcast: "Welcome to Unbreakable! A mental wealth podcast hosted by Fox NFL Insider Jay Glazer. On today’s episode, with MLB Spring Training in full swing Jay welcomes in the podcasts first ever baseball player as he rounds the bases with Milwaukee Brewers superstar Christian Yelich. The NL MVP shares amazing stories about his incredible journey to greatness and when he realized he was different. Yelich takes you through a day in the life of a big leaguer and shares what it was like being traded by his childhood hero, Derek Jeter. Plus, Christian’s Unbreakable Moment!" Via the "ESPN Baseball Tonight Podcast with Buster Olney": Sophia Minnaert (51:30 minute mark) Via WTMJ's Morning News (download link): Dom Cotroneo Via 97.3's "The Steve Czaban Show" (Hour Two): Jeff Levering (go to the 34:00 minute mark) Via 97.3's Mike Heller Show (Hour Two), Tim Allen hosts: "Bruce Levine of The Score in Chicago, talking about the Cubs Via Dom Cotroneo's "WTMJ Brewers Weekly": - Dom's two-hour show (80 minutes with the ads cut out, nice) includes extended interviews with Aaron Ashby and Rhys Hoskins, which can be accessed as stand-alone's at the respective links Locked on Brewers with Chuck Freimund - "Who is this Man (Vinny Capra) that is Turning Heads for the Brewers?"

Wednesday 2/26: Home vs. Dodgers (Gameday) MINOR DETAILS: Joining the team from Minor League camp: INF Juan Baez (95), INF Eric Bitonti (98), INF Eduardo García (0), OF Adam Hall (96), INF Jesús Made (91), INF Dylan O'Rae (93), OF Braylon Payne (94), OF Yophery Rodríguez (92), OF Zavier Warren (97), RHP Kaleb Bowman (58), RHP Tyler Bryant (66), RHP Melvin Hernández (88), LHP Tate Kuehner (75), RHP Abdiel Mendoza (57), RHP Ryan Middendorf (99), RHP Garrett Stallings (68) and RHP Brett Wichrowski (84). Three-up, three-down innings for Bowman and Middendorf - Middendorf has retired all six men he's faced this spring. Wichrowski walked one in his otherwise clean 9th inning. Payne doubled and Bitonti singled as part of their two-AB games. Made had his spring debut at 17 years old, grounding out. FYI: Big-league camp non-roster member Anthony Seigler, who did not play catcher at all in 2024, focusing on his conversion to second base (118 games exclusively), came in for William Contreras in this game. *** At Diamondbacks (Gameday) MINOR DETAILS: Joining the team from Minor League camp: INF Josh Adamczewski (88), INF Luke Adams (96), INF Jadher Areinamo (94), INF Eric Brown Jr. (92), OF Luis Castillo (66), INF Wes Clarke (75), INF Daniel Guilarte (0), OF Hedbert Pérez (95), OF Bladimir Restituyo (97), RHP Ryan Birchard (61), RHP Chase Costello (98), RHP Blake Holub (58), RHP Josh Maciejewski (57), LHP Mark Manfredi (68), RHP Sam McWilliams (84) and RHP Manuel Rodríguez (60). McWilliams (two IP) and Holub (one IP) finished up with scoreless efforts. Areinamo and Restituyo did not have plate appearances.

These were the players who were in big league camp for the day for the first time Wednesday: 02/26/25 1B Zavier Warren assigned to Milwaukee Brewers. 02/26/25 LHP Tate Kuehner assigned to Milwaukee Brewers. 02/26/25 CF Dylan O'Rae assigned to Milwaukee Brewers. 02/26/25 RHP Brett Wichrowski assigned to Milwaukee Brewers. 02/26/25 LF Hedbert Perez assigned to Milwaukee Brewers. 02/26/25 LHP Mark Manfredi assigned to Milwaukee Brewers. 02/26/25 RHP Ryan Birchard assigned to Milwaukee Brewers. 02/26/25 2B Josh Adamczewski assigned to Milwaukee Brewers. 02/26/25 LHP Josh Maciejewski assigned to Milwaukee Brewers. 02/26/25 RHP Manuel Rodriguez assigned to Milwaukee Brewers. 02/26/25 C Wes Clarke assigned to Milwaukee Brewers. 02/26/25 SS Eric Brown Jr. assigned to Milwaukee Brewers. 02/26/25 OF Bladimir Restituyo assigned to Milwaukee Brewers.

Now that would spoil the fun and risk the updates...

Wednesday 2/26: Home vs. Dodgers (Gameday) MINOR DETAILS: Joining the team from Minor League camp: INF Juan Baez (95), INF Eric Bitonti (98), INF Eduardo García (0), OF Adam Hall (96), INF Jesús Made (91), INF Dylan O'Rae (93), OF Braylon Payne (94), OF Yophery Rodríguez (92), OF Zavier Warren (97), RHP Kaleb Bowman (58), RHP Tyler Bryant (66), RHP Melvin Hernández (88), LHP Tate Kuehner (75), RHP Abdiel Mendoza (57), RHP Ryan Middendorf (99), RHP Garrett Stallings (68) and RHP Brett Wichrowski (84). *** At Diamondbacks (Gameday) MINOR DETAILS: Joining the team from Minor League camp: INF Josh Adamczewski (88), INF Luke Adams (96), INF Jadher Areinamo (94), INF Eric Brown Jr. (92), OF Luis Castillo (66), INF Wes Clarke (75), INF Daniel Guilarte (0), OF Hedbert Pérez (95), OF Bladimir Restituyo (97), RHP Ryan Birchard (61), RHP Chase Costello (98), RHP Blake Holub (58), RHP Josh Maciejewski (57), LHP Mark Manfredi (68), RHP Sam McWilliams (84) and RHP Manuel Rodríguez (60).

Tuesday 2/25: Via WTMJ's Midday News (download link): Dom Cotroneo from Arizona Via 97.3's Mike Heller Show (Hour One), Tim Allen hosts: "Matt Pauley of KMOX in St. Louis talks Cardinals at the 14:20 minute mark" Via the "Wisconsin Sports Daily Show" with Steve "Sparky" Fifer: "Brewer Fanatic's Jack Stern discusses some hot starts from prospective corner infield options for the Brewers, and which standouts are proving why they deserve a chance at the MLB roster." Via the "Cold Brew Podcast": "Dave Gasper and Matt Carroll break down all the big news from Brewers spring training as Cactus League play has begun and we have actual games to watch again. There's big news on DL Hall, Blake Perkins, Vinny Capra, Craig Yoho, Mark Canha, Manuel Margot and a bunch more. Also, Mark Attanasio's comments last week about if his job is to win a World Series, are they as bad as they were made out to be?" Locked on Brewers with Chuck Freimund - "Chuck and JD Hafron from Locked on Cardinals talk about their respective teams in this combined podcast"

MINOR DETAILS: Joining the team this afternoon from Minor League camp: INF Luke Adams (96), INF Juan Baez (95), INF Blake Burke (61), OF Luis Castillo (66), C Marco Dinges (98), INF Eduardo Garcia (0), OF Braylon Payne (92), RHP Will Childers (99), RHP Daniel Corniel (94), RHP Alex Cornielle (91), RHP Melvin Hernández (88), RHP Jack Hostetler (57), RHP Sam McWilliams (84), RHP Ryan Middendorf (60), RHP Nick Merkel (75), RHP Ryan Sandberg (58), RHP Garrett Stallings (68), RHP Tyler Woessner (97). Box Score / GameDay For Hostetler and Sandberg, this was an official yet unofficial professional debut. Hostetler needed only six pitches to get three ground ball outs. Sandberg walked three before being pulled after registering two outs (the MLB Network feed, on one-hour delay, bypassed Sandberg's frame). Merkel's lone batter faced (K) was impressive. Burke's double to the left-field wall was an easy-swinging poke.

Thank you Adam for the story, way to go, Joe!