Arizona Fall League

[JohnBriggs12]

I think it will be a pretty safe bet that Olczak will be in the last bullpen arm rotation of 3-4 guys that rotate between minors and Milwaukee with the bulk of his innings coming at AAA.

[clancyphile]

If the goal is to develop young players, wouldn't that make it odd that Wilkerson is there to begin with? The only thing I can figure is that they want to get his innings up so he can be one of the pitchers on the San Antonio Shuttle next year.

 

They may have had a player # requirement and didn't have any younger/truer prospects that they felt needed more innings and were ready to face quality competition, too. It's great using the AFL to develop youngsters, but it needs to fit withing individual player needs. There's actually a good chunk of AFL players who are what I would consider to be some combo of "expiring prospects" that likely profile as AAAA roster filler. Wilkerson's profile is very similar to 1-2 Brewer pitchers sent to the AFL on a consistent basis each year, so it's not really a surprise. He could be pitching to try and get himself a contract overseas for all we know, because he sits pretty low on the depth chart for Brewer arms moving forward.

 

Or, perhaps to make Wilkinson a more attractive trade target? He's pitched well in some MLB exposure and the AFL might give teams enough of a look to say, "OK, we'll take a shot at him in the back end of the rotation - and here's a couple of Rookie ball prospects in return." Or, maybe Miami takes him in a Realmuto deal.

 

Probably more the former than the latter.

[markedman5]

Beat goes on for Hiura

 

[OnaBadger58]

Wouldn't be surprised to see him be a preseason top 15-20 prospect.

[reillymcshane]

Vlad Jr. has struck out 3 times in 61 ABs in the AFL. That's pretty amazing. The kid is going to be something special.

[homer]

Vlad Jr. has struck out 3 times in 61 ABs in the AFL. That's pretty amazing. The kid is going to be something special.

 

Yeah he's borderline unicorn.

[PlayerHader]

Wouldn't be surprised to see him be a preseason top 15-20 prospect.

 

I would be surprised if he wasn’t top 15.

[TURBO]

Vlad Jr. has struck out 3 times in 61 ABs in the AFL. That's pretty amazing. The kid is going to be something special.

 

Yeah he's borderline unicorn.

 

I am considering keeping him as a keeper in a fantasy league before he ever sees a MLB at bat.

[mattyo]

Wouldn't be surprised to see him be a preseason top 15-20 prospect.

 

I would be surprised if he wasn’t top 15.

 

I'd say guaranteed top 15, and potentially in the single digits.

[Madhawk23]

Weston Wilson with a 2-5 game today with a triple and a home run. Now hitting a cool .364 and OPS of 1.098. I realize it is a small sample size, but also pretty impressive when that small sample size just happens to occur in the AZ Fall League. Sorry if he's already been discussed at length in this thread, but does this guy have any "prospect" status in him? I see that he just turned 24 a couple of months ago, so not a young kid by any stretch, but he's hit pretty well at every level thus far.

[Smichaelis9]

Weston Wilson with a 2-5 game today with a triple and a home run. Now hitting a cool .364 and OPS of 1.098. I realize it is a small sample size, but also pretty impressive when that small sample size just happens to occur in the AZ Fall League. Sorry if he's already been discussed at length in this thread, but does this guy have any "prospect" status in him? I see that he just turned 24 a couple of months ago, so not a young kid by any stretch, but he's hit pretty well at every level thus far.

 

If by "prospect" status you mean, does he have a chance to reach the bigs and have some sort of staying power, I would say yes. Likely tops out at a bench role on any good team, but he definitely has a chance to make it at some point in my opinion. He has a good enough approach and enough power to do it.

[And That]

Wilson has at least plus raw power, long limbs, and at times shows above average plate discipline. He’s a decent defender at third and the outfield corners. His swing does get long and he doesn’t often get to that plus power in game.

 

He’s been one of my under the radar guys since he was drafted and absolutely has a shot at making it to Milwaukee at some point. I don’t know that it would be in anything more than a utility role at this point, but we’ll see what kind of adjustments he makes in Biloxi next year.

[igor67]

Random derail, given that strikeout stat for Vlad Jr. anybody willing to give chances he is better than his dad?

[sveumrules]

Hard to project even the best prospect to be better than a Hall of Famer, but when Vlad Senior was Vlad Junior's age he was still in rookie ball.

 

I'd say Vlad Junior looks like a generational hitter, but after what Acuña & Soto did this year there is some serious competition.

 

One advantage Vlad Senior had was that his defense was judged by reputation moreso than results. Vlad Junior will not have that same luxury. He is already a very large man & it will be interesting to see how his defense looks/grades out once he gets to MLB.

[Madhawk23]

Thanks for the feedback on W. Wilson. I certainly didn't think he'd ever reach that Top 100 prospect status, but it's good to know that he at least has the ability to potentially turn into a solid MLB utility guy if he continues to progress over the next couple of years here. At least an interesting guy to keep your eye on.

[And That]

Random derail, given that strikeout stat for Vlad Jr. anybody willing to give chances he is better than his dad?

At least by WAR, I think there's a pretty decent chance. By HoF standards, Vlad's career WAR was a relatively pedestrian 55-65 depending on the source. Mike Trout passed that this year. And like sveumrules said, Vlad Jr. is going to be getting a head start over his dad in terms of getting to the bigs at a younger age.

 

My worry for Jr. would be how his body holds up. It's certainly not a rule, but big guys tend to age poorly. I could see him surpass his dad based on a ton of early on success though.

[KeithStone53151]

A lot of baseball people/writers seem concerned about his size. Prince Fielder posted his last all-star caliber season at age 28. After that, he never was over 2 WAR. Pablo Sandoval was never overly good, but he certainly seemed to dive down from career numbers at age 28. That could be at least in part related to his move to Boston, and contract security leading him to care less and eat more. I struggle using guys that played in the 2000s as comps because they could very well be juicers. Ortiz, Howard, Migeul Cabrera, Carlos Lee...no proof but I'd rather avoid them as comps, especially Ortiz. Point being though, it will be pretty critical for Jr's longevity to watch his weight.

 

On a side regarding weight, some of those drastic tail-offs make you wonder if we should look to trade Aguilar sooner than later before his value plummets.

[And That]

Scouting report on Bubba Derby from Jason Pennini:

 

https://twitter.com/jasonpennini/status/1060351009896026112?s=21

[monkeyman343434]

A lot of baseball people/writers seem concerned about his size. Prince Fielder posted his last all-star caliber season at age 28. After that, he never was over 2 WAR. Pablo Sandoval was never overly good, but he certainly seemed to dive down from career numbers at age 28. That could be at least in part related to his move to Boston, and contract security leading him to care less and eat more. I struggle using guys that played in the 2000s as comps because they could very well be juicers. Ortiz, Howard, Migeul Cabrera, Carlos Lee...no proof but I'd rather avoid them as comps, especially Ortiz. Point being though, it will be pretty critical for Jr's longevity to watch his weight.

 

On a side regarding weight, some of those drastic tail-offs make you wonder if we should look to trade Aguilar sooner than later before his value plummets.

 

I agree with everything you're saying about the age-28 drop off for larger players, but that still gives Vlad Jr a solid 9-10 years, which is pretty crazy to think about. For baseball fans' sake, I hope he's able to keep in shape and that he becomes a decent LF/3B/1B, wherever the Jays decide to stick him.

[TigerUppercut]

Scouting report on Bubba Derby from Jason Pennini:

 

https://twitter.com/jasonpennini/status/1060351009896026112?s=21

 

Seems like a fringe guy. Given the lack of regard many here have for Zach Davies (who's stuff is better), I don't see this guy with his stuff being a prospect most would embrace.

[KeithStone53151]

Scouting report on Bubba Derby from Jason Pennini:

 

https://twitter.com/jasonpennini/status/1060351009896026112?s=21

 

Seems like a fringe guy. Given the lack of regard many here have for Zach Davies (who's stuff is better), I don't see this guy with his stuff being a prospect most would embrace.

 

Agreed. Plus command and fringy stuff simply doesn't cut it at the MLB level.

[Humans Need Water]

Scouting report on Bubba Derby from Jason Pennini:

 

https://twitter.com/jasonpennini/status/1060351009896026112?s=21

 

Seems like a fringe guy. Given the lack of regard many here have for Zach Davies (who's stuff is better), I don't see this guy with his stuff being a prospect most would embrace.

Regardless of this report in November, his fastball is typically 88-91 as a starter but in a strict pen role he'll sit 93 consistently with some movement. His change is above average and seems to be his second best offering followed by his curve, which seems to be decent and usable as a 3rd pitch. He's always had really good control and can pitch multiple innings. Whether it's here or elsewhere he's a MLB pen arm

[Mass Haas]

Friday 11/9:

 

"Right-hander Miguel Sanchez lowered his ERA to 1.29 and earned his first AFL win after tossing two scoreless frames out of the bullpen. He surrendered two hits, walked one batter and struck out a pair."

 

Reminder daily winter league season-to-date numbers for all Brewers, across all leagues, are here, bookmark this page.

[clancyphile]

Scouting report on Bubba Derby from Jason Pennini:

 

https://twitter.com/jasonpennini/status/1060351009896026112?s=21

 

Seems like a fringe guy. Given the lack of regard many here have for Zach Davies (who's stuff is better), I don't see this guy with his stuff being a prospect most would embrace.

Regardless of this report in November, his fastball is typically 88-91 as a starter but in a strict pen role he'll sit 93 consistently with some movement. His change is above average and seems to be his second best offering followed by his curve, which seems to be decent and usable as a 3rd pitch. He's always had really good control and can pitch multiple innings. Whether it's here or elsewhere he's a MLB pen arm

 

In other words, a middle-relief role - a bridge to the back end of Jeffress/Knebel?

[Mass Haas]

Latest box score captures AFL season in a nutshell -- Keston Hiura still raking (video evidence), Wes Wilson putting himself squarely in a future Hernan Perez replacement role, and Trent Grisham with a very long fall campaign, now 6-for-50 (all singles) with 19 K's (11 walks).

 

Hiura now 7-for-9 in SB attempts after going only 15-for-26 in attempts during the 2018 regular season.

 

Rare run allowed by RHP Jon Olzcak, who has been stellar --

 

Surprise Bottom of the 9th

 

Pitching Change: Jon Olczak replaces Matt Walker.

Santiago Espinal walks.

Yanio Perez flies out to center fielder Ian Miller. Santiago Espinal to 2nd.

Bryan Reynolds grounds out, shortstop Ray-Patrick Didder to first baseman Braxton Davidson. Santiago Espinal to 3rd.

Will Craig singles on a sharp ground ball to center fielder Ian Miller, deflected by shortstop Ray-Patrick Didder. Santiago Espinal scores.

Khalil Lee flies out to center fielder Ian Miller.