Jake McKibbin

Image courtesy of © Angela Peterson / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images In recent seasons, the Milwaukee Brewers have tinkered around the margins, without ever really pushing their chips in. A part of that is down to the farm system, where Milwaukee needs to have a steady stream of talent coming through to remain competitive with the bigger-market teams in baseball. Although they've had a highly ranked system in recent seasons, one thing they lacked was strong depth in the upper minors. A lot of that strength came from the upper end of their system, with Jackson Chourio, Jacob Misiorowski and Jeferson Quero carrying the rankings. In 2025, that's all changed. From top to bottom, the Brewers have a plethora of options to trade from: young, controllable pitching that's ready to impact the big leagues, as well as a logjam's worth of bats capable of playing both corner infield spots. In some ways, they would be suppressing the talent they have not to trade some of their higher-value chips at the deadline. The Depth of Corner Infield Assets Is Staggering The logjam at third base presents three high-upside bats, all of whom possess trade intrigue. Between Luke Adams and Brock Wilken, the Brewers have two players in the difficult offensive environment of the Southern League with a weighted runs created plus (WRC+) at 170 or higher, where 100 is average and higher is better. Wilken has garnered the bulk of playing time at third base, and has shown enough improvement in mobility to be a fringe defender there, while Adams showcases better athleticism but more inconsistent actions. Both have prodigious raw power and approaches bordering on passive, with high walk rates (and in the case of Adams, hit-by-pitch rates). Adams swings and misses less than Wilken, but also taps into the long ball less often (Wilken leads the Southern league with 18 home runs by a full five homers, despite missing the last few weeks). Adams has perhaps the greater upside of the two, but if not for injuries, Wilken would be the closer to the big leagues. While both are currently on the injured list, they would both have a chance to make an impact in 2026 in the major leagues, and both would be prized assets in a trade. As an even higher-upside player (although one with considerably higher variance), Eric Bitonti could flow into the conversation, as well. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone with more raw power anywhere in the minor leagues, and Bitonti is still just 19 years old. He entered the system as a shortstop, before moving over to third and then (predominantly) first base amidst the other athletic infield options on the Carolina Mudcats roster. There are swing-and-miss concerns, and his stock has come down because of them, but it's too early to write off the chance that his hit tool progresses and everything takes off. Whether he can find more consistent plate coverage and adjustability in the strike zone remains to be seen as Bitonti matures and develops, and if not, he'd rate as much less valuable than Adams or Wilken, but the giant first baseman fields his position well and would create some serious intrigue around the league, were he on the table. The reason the Brewers can afford to trade from these positions is the volume of depth they possess. Retaining one of Wilken, Bitonti or Adams alongside Blake Burke should be enough, with Jesus Made and Luis Peña looking to progress to High A Wisconsin on the left side of the infield, while they also have a plethora of first-base options in Triple A. The system is chock-full of talent, to the point where Wilken and Adams were unable to force promotions earlier in the season, and they can use that logjam to their advantage come the deadline. In fact, in a sense, they need to. Room must be made for their incoming draft class. Who Doesn't Love MLB-Ready Starting Pitching? The other area of surplus from which they can make a splash is their starting pitching depth, most of which is ready to make an impact at the major-league level. The rotation of Jacob Misiorowski, Brandon Woodruff, Jose Quintana, Freddy Peralta and Quinn Priester looks well-poised to perform going into the dog days of summer, but the return of Nestor Cortes after the All-Star break (alongside the controllable contracts of Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson and Tobias Myers) ensures there's room for movement. The Brewers will look at this from the (cue groans) bites-of-the-apple angle, seeing what their rotation depth looks like in future seasons as well as this one. With Peralta under control on an affordable club option for one more season and pre-arbitration team control in effect for Misiorowski, Priester, Henderson, Patrick and Myers (on top of some burgeoning depth in Triple A in the form of Coleman Crow and (potentially) Tyson Hardin), the Brewers could enter next season with as many as eight players they would feel comfortable pitching big-league innings as a starter. Even then, we're excluding the opportunities for DL Hall and Aaron Ashby to move back into starting roles, something both pitchers were expected to do in 2025 before injury setbacks pushed them into long relief. With those two stretched out, you could have a double-digit number of arms capable of starting games in 2026. Priester and Henderson are expected to stay, but Myers has begun to showcase some improvements lately, including a 97.8 mph fastball and a returning feel for his changeup—culminating in winning the International League Pitcher of the Week last week. Patrick's cutter is one of the best in baseball. His slider actually grades out favorably in stuff models. If he can gain some command for it, or even feel for a changeup (as a supinator, is he a prime kick-change candidate?), then his profile goes from back-end starter to a mid-rotation arm. Even Hall, whose fastball appears to be slowly returning after working to clean up the mechanical deficiencies caused by his knee issues in 2024, may be attractive to other teams in a starting role. If that fastball shape continues to showcase in July, his value will grow. In short, the Brewers could use one of their controllable arms to make a big move, as well. Teams like the Diamondbacks (with Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez on the block), the Texas Rangers (Adolís García) and the Boston Red Sox (Alex Bregman) all have high-value assets, and all of them would enjoy some controllable, effective starting pitching. Were the Brewers to package Adams, Wilken or Bitonti with an MLB-proven arm with years of team control remaining, they could provide a hefty offer for any of the assets named above. It leaves them with options without compromising their future and that is exactly where the Milwaukee Brewers need to be. The team is firing. They have a strong rotation and a lights-out bullpen. They have guts and grit and bat-to-ball skills coming out of their oxsters. When you have a stack of "chips" as large as the Brewers', you can certainly afford to take a risk. The time to move is now. What would you think of the Brewers trading the above assets to get a big trade deadline boost in the form of a bat with thump? Would you consider it fair, even if the bat was a rental (or rental plus one for Garcia)? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! View full article

I don't know why, but Tobias Myers was scheduled to start today and has now been replaced by Garrett Stallings. One to watch

Come to Northern Ireland Joseph! Our weather is pretty bleh, we get three weeks of sunshine a year, but no fires, no hurricanes and we LOVE some farmers down here We can create an irish Brewers fanbase for the ages

Adolis Garcia has a .657 OPS in 2025. Let's face it, he wasn't that great in 2024 either. That being said, he's showing some real signs of progress under the hood that suggest a big breakout with the type of power the Brewers are desperate for. If I showed you the two baseball savant pages below and asked which one you would prefer, I think the one on the left would likely win out. That would be Garcia, while the one on the right is Eugenio Suarez, one of the most in-demand trade targets expected to be available at the deadline in 2025. Suarez has the advantage of playing in a hitters' paradise within Chase Field, and his actual numbers more closely resemble his expected production than Garcia's, but both are streaky and have the potential to carry an offense As a bonus, Garcia is also under team control through 2026. There's solid range in the outfield, a cannon of a throwing arm, and a monstrous bat. He's coming into form, reducing his whiff rate to just 19% in July (down from 30%+ in recent months) while having an expected batting average of .377 and expected slugging mark of .684. He provides just the type of danger the Brewers' lineup is currently lacking. We're also beginning to see some rumours pointing towards a connection between Garcia and the Brewers. With his history of postseason performance, the passion with which he plays, would you like to see Adolis Garcia in a Brewers uniform come August? What would you be willing to give up for him? View full rumor

Depending on the level, I'd agree. In some ways, its probably similar in value to the Carlos Santana trade for Jhonny Severino from the Pirates. Capable, dependable option to pencil in, but I do hope that Preller can be pushed to a more desperate return

At the start of the season, absolutely. However all metrics have their weaknesses and Quintana's profile is an outlier. His goal is to generate chase, and keep you just off balance enough that when you do, he'll miss barrels and get ground balls. He nibbles consistently and isn't concerned with walking hitters because of the ground ball threat. t has its limitations, but it also means his strengths aren't taken into account in his FIP with its model focusing on infield fly balls, strikeouts and home runs. Also there is increased desperation at the halfway mark than at the start of the season. Injury lists pile up and teams who have no option but to compete in the playoffs due to their fanbase/spending will be desperate. The Yankees certainly fir this mould as well

Image courtesy of © Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images ESPN recently wrote an article that covered some of the wilder trade deadline stories among current GM's, within which there was an unsurprising quote regarding Preller. Preller is a known overpayer. He's an all-in guy who has made a slew of trades in recent years, including six of their top 12 prospects in 2024, and he's likely to do so again in 2025. Outside of their high-level international talents in Leo De Vries and Ethan Salas, almost anyone else is on the table. What Would the San Diego Padres Want From the Milwaukee Brewers? Preller's team doesn't have a lefthander in their active rotation or on the injured list. Kyle Hart is their only left-handed starter on the 40-man roster, and he's sitting in Triple A having thrown 29 1/3 innings to begin the season. Hw owns a 5.83 ERA and just 19 strikeouts. Jose Quintana may fit their needs perfectly, as a proven starter with an ERA below 4.00 in every season since 2022. He's a proven performer in the postseason and a reliable arm, nibbling around the zone and taking advantage of poor swing decisions to occasionally go deep into ball games. Usually, he can be relied upon for a solid five innings of work every five days. He fits what the Padres need to a "T", as they struggle for depth in their rotation—even as Yu Darvish made his return from the injured list this week. Now, the Padres like to trade for major-league players under control for more than one year, but they aren't averse to deviating from that principle. This is a team that traded their second-, fourth-, fifth- and 24th-ranked prospects for Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoenig at last year's trade deadline. Quintana may not have that back-end reliever, shutdown closer status, but arguably, he can provide comparable value in terms of WAR given the additional volume of innings he would cover. The Trade Packages The Brewers could really go only one way in terms of a return here, with the Padres system heavily favoring arms (and young arms, at that). They also do not have anyone that they could do a roster swap with who fits the Brewers' needs (though I'm sure Pat Murphy would love Luis Arraez), so any deal would likely be predicated on prospect capital. The Padres farm system is heavily based on potential, rather than proven results, after the top two in their system. That means that almost any but those top players could be on the table. One thing the Brewers may really enjoy is the plethora of high-upside teenage arms in the Padres farm, led by Kash Mayfield, Humberto Cruz and Boston Bateman. Brewers Trade Jose Quintana (LHP) for Boston Bateman (RHP, A) and Bradgley Rodriguez (RHP, AA) Boston Bateman is a high-stuff, fringy-command pitcher with an excellent fastball. Despite lower life on the pitch, he's been up to 98 mph with deceptive action and a low three-quarters release that also helps him generate good horizontal movement on his slider. Bateman has some development to go to polish his stuff and get the most out of it, but at 6-foot-7 and 245 pounds, his frame is mostly maxed out even at 19 years old. Bateman has 68 strikeouts and a 3.41 ERA at Low A in 60 2/3 innings pitched. Bradgley Rodriguez is a filthy right-handed reliever with a devastating one-two punch between his fastball and changeup. With 34 strikeouts to seven walks in 27 2/3 innings at Double A in 2025, Rodriguez has been showcasing his potential wonderfully. In 2024, he managed to touch 101 mph with his fastball, while the changeup has dastardly tumbling action that led to a 58% whiff rate. He's working on a hard slider/cutter with some potential, too, to round out the arsenal—though he is expected to remain in a relief role. Rodriguez may be a push in this deal, but his relief-only profile limits his value somewhat. Bateman is the headliner, with stuff that could land him in a major-league rotation one day (albeit a day a few years removed from this one). Quintana is unlikely to be enough to pry Cruz away from them, with San Diego having traded an over-slot fourth-rounder in 2023 just to get enough bonus pool money to sign Cruz in 2024. Mayfield, meanwhile, is more of a command merchant, with lower velocity on his fastball but a low arm slot and potential velocity gains to come that might make him a viable alternative to Bateman. For two months of Quintana, this would certainly be a deal in favor of the Brewers, with long-term upside in both the rotation and the bullpen. Both prospects would likely fall into the 11-25 range in the Brewers system at present. What would you think of trading Quintana? Do you think the Brewers could get Preller to bite on even higher demands? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! View full article

It may have been, or it may have been a little time while they worked on his swing behind closed doors. Spencer wrote an excellent piece today on how the swing is different from the start of the season which might explain it. I got it from TJstats! I think he has some free models and this is one of them, but he's also worth the subscription if you can afford it for the data he can provide

vs There's certainly a change here. The foot's down earlier, there's a lot less "sink" in the knees and the weight seems further back. I think the stance might be a little closer together too, which if anything, may allow him to impact the baseball even more. Awesome spot Spencer!

I can't tell for sure, as it's based on a graph, but I think Braylon Payne's whiff rate was around 15% last week, maybe even lower. A stark difference compared to what it's been like over the last two months, even accounting for the variability of a 10 swing sample (had to go low to isolate it to a week-ish)

Same, it just looks like he's found some rhythm and timing, and a little bit of confidence again. I wonder if it was less an injury he was off for, and more just some time off on an unofficial development list placement

Is it just me or does Braylon Payne look a LOT more consistent in the box since his return?

I'm not denying he played a role but I did have a look into this after Matt Truebloods article the other day on Turang. The Brewers are averaging.3 feet less, but actually an extra .1 feet from the base on stolen base attempts, so it's not the leads that are really a difference. I do wonder if he picked the pitch coming better than most, but I can't get data on that unfortunately. He's also the Cubs third base coach so even that "pitch selection" piece wouldn't have an impact. Perhaps it's game planning on what to look for but the Cubs do also have big speed in their ranks especially. In short you could be right but I can't find any data to back that up

Image courtesy of © Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Jacob Misiorowski's workload is becoming increasingly concerning, given what he's been able to get through in previous seasons. As a general rule of thumb, teams don't like their pitchers to throw half again as many innings in one season as in the previous one, especially if the hurler in question is young and throws hard. After throwing 97 1/3 innings in 2024, Misiorowski already has 83 frames on his arm this season, and there might be 15 more turns through the rotation. Assuming a moderate five innings in each, that would push him past the 150-inning mark—before even considering what happens if the Brewers make the playoffs. Taking a different approach, it's important to factor in that Misiorowski was far less efficient with his pitches in 2024, meaning that when he only threw four or five innings in a start, he was potentially in the 90-100 pitch range. In other words, although he's eating more innings in 2025, that doesn't necessarily translate to him throwing more pitches (although that will happen by the season's end, and comfortably so). We also have to take into account the additional strain and mental fatigue of pitching in the big leagues, compared to toiling for the Biloxi Shuckers. It adds tension, and thus adds to the drain placed on his arm from start to start. With an arm moving as fast as Misiorwoski's, health is an absolute priority for the Brewers and there may be one way they can manage that pitch load even if it does present some additional risks. With the upcoming All-Star break (and Misiorowski penciled in to start July 8 against the Dodgers), they could give him an extended break of up to 15 days to refresh himself and reset somewhat. The Brewers have an upcoming crunch of returns from the injured list, in Brandon Woodruff (this weekend) and hopefully Nestor Cortes after the break. They may need to resolve that logjam by the trade deadline, but in the interim, they can use their wealth of options to give Misiorowski time to reset in the middle of the season and slowly ramp up again. With multiple long relievers on their roster, they could build up again from a 2-3 inning pace toward a stretched-out five innings as you come into August. In theory, this could save Misiorowski from around 20 innings of pitching this year while keeping his arm fresh during the dog days, but it does present its own risks. There's a reason we see the majority of long-term elbow injuries happen in the first month of the season. Stress on the elbow is heightened when the arm isn't accustomed to that stress. The question is, medically, whether a two- or three-week layoff for Misiorowski would completely unwind his arm, or whether he would still be considered "hot", for want of a better term. The All-Star break presents the Brewers with the perfect opportunity to give Misiorowski a rest during what could be a career year. The questions are whether they feel they can afford that, and whether it's truly necessary. With Misiorowski looking so good, the other option is to simply let him pitch and be ready to take proactive action if and when he shows signs of wearing down. View full article

I kind of like the swing. I think, to my untrained eye, it's a very flat bat path but the hand speed is electric. Really fast barrel movement

Eri Bitonti, over the last 30 days, still has an egregious 31.3% strikeout rate but he is slashing .274/.384/4.93 and making the type of contact we hoped to see from the get go in 2025. The other good news (and we'll see if this holds) is that his whiff rate is on the decline and his current 50-swing average is around 50th percentile. He has reached that at other points of the season but with tangible changes in his impact on the ball I wonder if it sticks this time

Absolutely! It's a small sample but a healthy, confident Joel Payamps is a good bullpen arm and he looks to be approaching some form. You do NOT want me to share Elvis Peguero's numbers mind. nasty stuff

Joel Payamps in Triple A, based on these metrics, looks... outstanding. Tons of whiffs, tons of chases, an xWOBA of .112. All contact is aerial but outside of that, this looks like a regular in big league bullpen. Not a single barrel as of yet

Remi has done a phenomenal dive I to similarities between Priester and Burnes including arm slot, supination bias and more, well worth checking out

With the double header I wouldn't now be surprised to see Chad Patrick stay in the rotation for one more start over the weekend as well as Woodruff. You can't ask Peralta to throw Wednesday and Sunday on three days rest

It's probably a lot to term anyone as a left handed Jacob Misiorowski given his recent starts, but there is upside there. Schoolcraft has a big frame and a big fastball but Misiorowski is more than just that. A unqiue release point, feel for spin and outrageous arm speed are borderline impossible to replicate Schoolcraft has the velocity but doesn't have much feel to create that rising effect and I think personally that's a red flag. Apparently the slider has good bite so there's maybe a chance he can work on that fastball shape but it won't be linear and is a risky and, likely, costly first pick. Certainly not a no-brainer for me, but the upside is there and if the Brewers took him you know they'd have a plan ready and waiting. It seems that the 15-30 list is really up in the air with a lot of preference built in. I think we might see more than a couple of currently projected teen ranked players available at the 20th pick Also Fien's bat is pretty highly rated but the high hands MLB.com mentioned worries me just a tad on how that will profile against higher velocities. Given the plethora of corner IF bats the Brewers have I wonder if they'll look to athleticism and to work on the bat from there in t draft. Daniel Pierce/Steele Hall could be interesting and in play on that note