Jake McKibbin

If anyone has reddit, the Reds game thread last night is worth a look in... lots of grumbling about both Benson, and just shock at the power of Colin Rea The Brewers have definitely looked better against lefties recently, hopefully some power can come to the fore again this game, they've been kind of lacking in the home run department, but could be another tight affair as Abbott has been lights out against anyone not Milwaukee, going eight innings of one hit ball last time out. Corbin has shown signs of Cy Burnes since adjusting his pitch usage in various situations, leaning heavier on that wicked curveball. Can he stay scoreless post all star break? Also the Reds bullpen is heavily taxed as of late, and they could really use a long Abbott start. Same for the Brewers, though they'd love to build a lead and hope for JC Mejia and Uribe to close it down Reds might be happy at that, they've gone 0-39 with four walks to 23 strikeouts against Payamps and Williams

Welcome Dave! Jimenez has been on the injury list a lot in his career but he's a big big bat, and as such I can't see the Brewers getting him for this price unfortunately, given Hiura is up and down, Urias has really struggled this season, and Uribe is a potential quality reliever but I think Jimenez has team options through to 2026, making him a much longer shot. Would likely need someone like Jeferson Quero in there to even this up, or even Frelick! The Brewers FO would absolute jump at this offer mind

Brent Suter, LHP, RockiesSuter has had an outstanding season for the Rockies, posting a 2.62 ERA in 33 appearances. The 33-year-old is owed about $1 million as he enters free agency, ranking in the top three percent of the league in average exit velocity, hard-hit percentage and barrel percentage, repeatedly showing the ability to induce soft contact. Suter has actually been better against righties (.510 OPS) than lefties (.726 OPS), allowing one home run to each over 181 total batters faced.Potential fits: Blue Jays, Rays, Reds MLB's analysis of Suter @clancyphile

Also opened my phone to watch the game this morning, and a news article "Elly de la Cruz hits it out of the stadium" and wondered if I should tune in... Turns out it's like an Angels thing, EDlC does something awesome, Reds lose to Brewers again The Reds came in with a fairly taxed bullpen, Diaz now has pitched 3/4 days, and a lot of others pitched two straight days now with high pitch counts over the last three days. They'll be glad to have Abbott on the mound today, who went 8 innings last time out, but if the Brewers can get to him as they have recently, or we get more Cy Burnes tonight... Hell Yeah!

I have no idea how a guy with his swing his season managed to make such quality contact on a pitch that high, have to say that's a brilliant piece of hitting

The whiff rate of 18% is very very promising... We might also not see any walks if he keeps hitting as well as he has, it seems anything in zone is getting crushed, no chance for a deep count

Yeah even before this current hot patch he was striking out far less, but just making poor quality contact. The next stage seems to be knowing which pitches to take and which ones he's doing damage on to increase the regularity of AB's ending in quality contact. EDlC did this in a month, I don't think it'll take too long to refine his approach and his contact ability is way past Elly's. He's actually increased his floor massively with this, given that oppo power, can you imagine only striking out 15-16% of the time? Good lord

You want your 6/7 years of chourio I think to be when he's ready, and he's shown enough of a weakness with swinging outside the zone on pitches and making weak contact with the tacky balls (Which are similar to MLB levels of pitching movement) that he's not ready yet to contribute, but he's definitely definitely getting there

It's unlikely at this point that Chourio won't be playing sometime next year, he's clearly making big strides and even going slowly probably means July/August next year barring injury. I can't see Taylor being retained just to keep Chourio as a prospect for the sake of it

Yophery Rodriguez may be breaking his funk... wonder if they were tweaking his mechanics a little, but anyway just hit his 4th home run of the season What Rodriguez has provided is like a 20 year old play with kids in the DSL

Absolutely I do think there's the potential as well, say if Rowdy comes back with 6-7 weeks left, if he can produce like he did at the start of the season, where he hit 12 homers in a month and a half. It depends whether this forearm injury was a false flag or a real thing he's been struggling with, but I can't imagine he's ever gone two months without a home run without a justifiable reason before

I think Turang is maybe starting to get better... he's got such a smooth swing, and there have been signs of good contact coming through, with a few ripped foul balls etc, as well as some unfortunate liners straight at people. The key difference is his patience at the plate though, with 11 walks to 11 strikeouts since coming back up to the majors. The only way he'll really get a grip though is by facing major league pitchers, and he's showing signs. It's something to be revisited in a month or two, and he shouldn't start against any lefty whatsoever, but I think it's coming just a little

There are a lot of needs for the Milwaukee Brewers offensively, but what should be an offensive first position has struggled, with both first base and the designated hitter slots providing the worst production in MLB by WRC+. However, an issue is that the only reliable fills-in are big names like Paul Goldschmidt, and then there is a big drop off to less effective bats like Carlos Santana, Andrew Vaughn, or even (I hope not) Bobby Dalbec. Image courtesy of Brewer Fanatic One thing we have seen this year is the way in which young, prospect-filled teams have taken the bull by the horns and run with it in the form of the Diamondbacks, Orioles, and even the Reds. There’s a definite bounce after Sal Frelick’s promotion, and could there be more of this on the way? First base expects an average production of 114 WRC+ going by the league-wide production value, so it should be the home of a big bat. Recently, the Brewers have been experimenting with Owen Miller, who, despite the eye test, has been a very solid defensive glove due to his added range and seems to be getting better each day. However, his production dropped further in July, hitting .194 with a 26% strikeout rate and just three extra-base hits. It’s clear that the Brewers need more from this spot, but if there aren’t options here, where else could they escape Jesse Winker’s shadow? Victor Caratini Caratini showed last year he has a relatively decent offensive profile until overplaying at the catcher spot caused his stats at the plate to tumble after June, struggling in the second half of the season (understandably so) due to Omar Narvaez’s injury. Over the last month, he has a .788 OPS, looked both more mobile than Tellez and better at picking balls than Owen Miller when he filled in, and is a switch hitter, something Counsell loves. So far this season, Caratini has a .746 OPS against right-handers, albeit struggling a lot more against lefties, and could be part of a platoon with Owen Miller, who's been one of the better hitters against left-handers and has at least shown glimpses of the quality contact hitter he was in May over the last couple of weeks. In all likelihood, this solution is being saved for the next few weeks until the trade deadline passes or until Tellez returns, hoping he finds his power-hitting form for a couple of months. Keston Hiura Hiura currently has a 12-game on-base streak going down in AAA Nashville. Still, he hasn’t looked the same player pre-injury yet, with a noticeable lack of the quality contact and exit velocities he was putting up earlier in the season and much of the streak being fueled by a propensity to be hit by pitches. As much as I’m a fan of Hiura’s bat, particularly at DH, it feels unfair to bring him up when he’s not ready. His injury earlier in the season came at the most unfortunate time, given his regular dropping of his strikeout rate and home runs almost every other night at AAA. Hiura, at his best, has high slugging numbers. Although he’s demonstrated just a 23% strikeout rate in July, with a .449 OBP, he’s still just slightly off, producing a .864 OPS in that time which sounds decent but is the minimum you'd expect from a MLB hitter in Triple-A this year. He's not far off, and it could be something similar to Frelick, where it just clicks, and in a week, he's up with the the big boys again. Another thing, although a small sample size, is he’s hitting left-handers better than right-handers so far this season with a 1.034 OPS against southpaws. His total elimination of a leg kick seems to have addressed his swing and miss at the top of the strike zone. Should the Brewers give him a shot? Even one hot month of Keston Hiura could make a huge difference to the Brewers, who are struggling for power numbers of late. Abraham Toro Toro has been filling in at first base as of late, and after a rough debut, he’s shown a lot of range, a nice glove over there, and his bat has been HOT. After another double on Sunday night, he’s hitting .385/.446/.708 in July for the Nashville Sounds with three home runs and a double. He’s absolutely raked in the minors before, notably before his call-up with Astros in 2019, as he destroyed AA and AAA before forcing a promotion and slumping. He’s not a power bat by any means, but he can clear the fence and provides good regular contact quality, with an 18% strikeout rate in his last month. Incredibly unfortunate BABIPs have fueled his major league efforts to date, and it could be that he’s first in line for a chance given how often he’s been playing at first base compared to Keston Hiura, who’s more often seen manning left field. As mentioned before, Counsell loves platoon matchups and therefore switch hitters. Toro's versatility to fill in almost anywhere in the infield would give him an edge over some of his rivals. Unless Luis Urias kicks off, he may also be in line should there be more problems at the hot corner. Could Toro provide something above and beyond what the Brewers are currently getting, even if it’s just until Rowdy returns? Tyler Black Black has been the best bat in the Brewers system across the first half of the season, even with the sticky balls used in AA early in the season. With a fantastic eye at the plate, solid bat-to-ball skills, and the injection of more power in his game, the question is, could he play against major league stuff and produce similar results? On top of this, Black currently has 45 stolen bases this season, an incredible number, and his lowest on-base percentage for a month was .394 in May. His control of the strike zone would seem very ready for the majors, and on top of this, he’s slugging even more in the last two months, with seven home runs, five triples, and ten doubles since the start of June. He could be a huge spark, but are the Brewers willing to take the risk? The Brewers seem intent on Black developing as a third baseman, and he has shown dramatic progress in this area over the season, making both routine and more difficult plays now, whereas he was a total liability earlier in the season. They could cut this short and simply DH him (given he’s never played first base), but it could cut short his development and potential at the hot corner. It’s also important to note that two very high-profile prospects were brought up to start the year from Double-A in Anthony Volpe and Jordan Walker, who struggled massively initially (Walker has performed better since his demotion). The Brewers can’t afford to mess with Black this way or give him a lot of time to work things out at this level. Do any of these options appeal to the Brewer Fanatics? What do you think the Brewers' deadline approach will be? View full article

Since July the Brewers despite the offense at times, have looked a far more consistent, potent team Facing probably the best team in baseball, with hat lineup, and neither team has the top two aces going, you have to say each game could've gone either way. The Brewers have had a chance to win both (loads of men on yesterday) as have the Braves, albeit helped by the ridiculous Austin Riley, dear god I hope Brock Wilken is like this. But what a series so far, supreme quality and well worthy of a playoff matchup

Recorded a 2.81 ERA in triple A this season with 7.8 strikeouts per nine, so likely lots of balls in play Key detail: hes not a lefty Likely a starter with minimal trust (if he gets in trouble he could be pulled early) Other than that I've got not a single stat to give

Conor Joe is a great shout... Hadn't heard his name anywhere, but he's been fantastic for the pirates, especially against lefties and plays quality outfield defense. A good fit for RF?

Frelick with four (from memory) balls hit over 90 mph, just not falling for him tonight but his quality of contact has massively improved, don't look too much into his box score here!

It's essentially highlighted his issue. He's not great at laying off pitches, and these baseball's seem to create more wild command either center cut or off the plate, as well as the pronounced movement (I remember an article talking about another minor league pitcher gaining 3-4 inches of induced vertical break on his fastball with them) So chourio swung at too many poor pitches, but it's also important to note those movements are similar to MLB level pitchers but with less control, so still a ways to go. He's just so damn good recently at putting bat to ball though, his last month's strikeout rate is absurd

The Brewers had 4.5 million before signing their two college drafters in 11-20 range, the 7-10 picks (all of whom are likely very cheap) That by my count leaves ~ $1.4 million among the cheapest picks and for some of the HS guys in later round! May have ability to spend one million or so on on the 11-20 risky picks

That's way cheaper than I expected. Much much cheaper

Our next ten games are three against the Reds and seven against the Braves, so absolutely! A big big effort leading up to the trade deadline, series against the Reds may again be crucial. Also Fried's start got pushed back, but he may be coming back in the second series vs MKE

Freddy Peralta has been an enigma so far this season, with glimpses of his best form, and more than enough of his worst. However, like Corbin Burnes, he's showed that he could be firing on all cylinders after the All-Star break, making some significant strides along the way. Some seeds of success began to take root earlier in July, and blossomed into a one-hit effort against the sizzling Cincinnati Reds offense. How did he do it? Image courtesy of © Albert Cesare / The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK By this point, we know what Freddy Peralta has in his locker, and it’s enough to mesmerize and overpower any offense in the league when he’s got some semblance of command. The lack of control, however, brings about an inconsistency from game to game, and even a slight improvement in this area will bring marked improvements in his performance. So far this season, Peralta has shown with a healthy shoulder the type of velocity we used to see from him only as a reliever, but it hasn’t shown much in the way of added value, in part because of how poorly he has located either it, or his secondary pitches. It has become a regular thing for Peralta to get ahead 0-2 and throw multiple uncompetitive pitches in the at-bat, leading to excessively deep counts, high pitch counts, and a lot more pressure in games wherein he should have the stuff to wipe out opposing hitters. He has 22 2/3 innings pitched in 0-2 counts this season, and 28 innings pitched with a 2-2 count. Contrast this with Corbin Burnes, who has 29 2/3 innings in an 0-2 count and just 26 innings in a 2-2 count, because hitters are forced into making decisions behind in the count, and generating much more swing-and-miss. Typically, in an 0-2 count, a pitcher will try to reset the hitter's eye, and throw an uncompetitive pitch--something to set up the following sequence. Then, the 1-2 pitch will be used to generate a chase off of that. So let’s compare Burnes and Peralta in this way: As you may notice, Burnes has three pitches (the changeup, curveball and slider) all with chase rates around 50% in this count. Peralta has just one pitch (his curveball) with a chase rate above 30%. It’s a big reason why he struggles to go late in games, and also why he gets forced into the zone more than he would like, when hitters are doing damage. In 3-2 counts, hitters have a .300/.539/.540 slash line against him, which just can’t happen when you get into these situations as often as he does. During his career-best 2021 season, Peralta ignored walks for the most part, and tried to stay nibbling around the zone, getting a lot of strikeouts and limiting the number of hits against him to the point where he had a .179 batting average against him. In fact, Peralta has had three straight seasons of BAA being under .200. That’s changed this year, and is a large part of why he hasn’t been as effective. So what has changed in July that’s made him so good, so far? It’s really simple: He’s landing his breaking pitches on the edges of the strike zone, in particular the curveball. There are slight increases in the changeup and the slider, but he’s landed his curveball around the edge of the zone 50% of the time across his three starts this month, a significant improvement on the 35.5% mark he had in June, and landing it in the strike zone 57.1% of the time overall. However, interestingly, opponents' in-zone swing rate has dropped from 68% in June down to 37.5% in July, meaning he’s stealing strikes. In doing so, Peralta is forcing batters to chase significantly more on his slider and his changeup, and more on all four of his pitches in two-strike counts in July. Hitters will eventually adjust, and he’ll have to keep tweaking his pitch mix as he goes along, but landing these pitches is so crucial to his success. Hopefully, we'll see more of it in his next start. View full article

He could play either realistically, I think with Yelich performance in left this season, it's more likely they'll option Perkins or DFA Tapia. I'd maybe play Frelick CF and Joey in right but either would cover a lot of ground, some great outfield defense there