2022-2023 Offseason Brewers Prospect Rankings and Podcasts

[Mass Haas]

This thread will collect all the various rankings and podcasts discussing Brewer prospects this offseason -

Latest Milwaukee Tailgate Podcast - Special Episode | Minor League Extra 54

The guys decided to take the week off after a long and trying season, so instead of a regular episode this week we've opted to bring you a peek at what you can expect from the Minor League Extra should you decide to support us at that level. We'll be back with a regular episode next week. Support the podcast on Patreon and receive the Monthly Minor League Extra and Weekly Packers Preview.

[Mass Haas]

Via Prospects361.com: Top 15 Write-Ups

Podcast:

Apple / Spreaker 

[Joseph Zarr]

On 10/13/2022 at 3:01 AM, Mass Haas said:

This thread will collect all the various rankings and podcasts discussing Brewer prospects this offseason -

Latest Milwaukee Tailgate Podcast - Special Episode | Minor League Extra 54

The guys decided to take the week off after a long and trying season, so instead of a regular episode this week we've opted to bring you a peek at what you can expect from the Minor League Extra should you decide to support us at that level. We'll be back with a regular episode next week. Support the podcast on Patreon and receive the Monthly Minor League Extra and Weekly Packers Preview.

Fun podcast, Jim. Thanks for sharing.

Their combined takes on Joey Wiemer, in particular, appear to be extremely uninformed (entirely imho). They focus on his Double-A number with literally zero mention of his injury absence and/or his hand/wrist ongoing issue (something we have discussed previously from the Fall of 2021 as a possible lingering injury concern). This is what happens when people speak on Minor League prospects using strictly numbers and data sets. Those truly only go so far. Anyone who watches the games on a regular basis would understand: the first month or two of Joey's Double-A season were entirely on par and building from his 2021 season as a whole. Post-hand injury? He just didn't resemble anything of the past year and a half. His swing was a mess. As he was further removed from the lingering injury and in a new environment, lo and behold, he was even better than he had been at every lower level. 

In general, I found the RotoWire guy mostly a classic stat head. I question if he's really ever seen some of these prospects play? Maybe I'm a crumudgeon (Ok, I'm a crumudgeon). Case and point, his comments on Brice Turang and Esteury Ruiz. Anyone worried about Sal Frelick's power numbers as opposed to contemplating what type of lead-off weapon he could become given his overall hit tool (which is clearly contact based with mild episodes of really good contact) is...well there's a phrase about not seeing a forest for the trees.

Anywho, fun listen even if I disagree with certain emphases placed in areas that are generally baseball group think. I feel like I'm becoming a baseball grandpa in this regard.? 

This being said, I don't want to be a 'Debbie Downer' whatsoever: very good  two-way discourse on Mitchell, Quero, Misiorowski, Eric Brown Jr., Hedbert Perez, and Ethan Small (of all players). 

No mention of hearth throb Stiven Cruz hurt BUT that late mention of tantalizing Hedbert Perez really atoned! 

Thanks again, Jim. Appreciate this thread.

[Mass Haas]

Via RazzBall - Brewers Top 10 Prospects for 2023 Fantasy Baseball

[damuelle]

In addition to OF Jackson Chourio being named the MVP of the Carolina League's 2022 season, OF Jace Avina collected the 2022 MVP award for the Arizona Complex League. That's quite an achievement in the 18-team league. Congrats Jace!!

 

[Mass Haas]

 

[SF70]

Nice to read an evaluator think he’s the most “slept on prospect in baseball”, and a future “all-star”. The Will Smith comp was cool to see as well.

[Soupy]

What is his timeframe to reach Milwaukee?

[sveumrules]

5 minutes ago, Soupy said:

What is his timeframe to reach Milwaukee?

Welcome to the board.

With his success at Appleton and in the AFL to close out the season, I’d guess Quero starts in Biloxi next year which would probably give him an MLB ETA around 2025.

[Robocaller]

18 hours ago, SF70 said:

Nice to read an evaluator think he’s the most “slept on prospect in baseball”, and a future “all-star”. The Will Smith comp was cool to see as well.

I don't get the Will Smith comp at all. I don't think Quero will ever have that power.

 

[SF70]

4 hours ago, Robocaller said:

I don't get the Will Smith comp at all. I don't think Quero will ever have that power.

 

This particular evaluator gave Quero a 55 power grade, with 60 grade raw power, so he disagrees with you.

[Robocaller]

7 hours ago, SF70 said:

This particular evaluator gave Quero a 55 power grade, with 60 grade raw power, so he disagrees with you.

He might be putting too much weight on the 106 exit velocity Quero put on a ball this fall. Like Mitchell, he'd have to redo his entire approach at the plate to hit 25 HRs like Smith has done.

[Smichaelis9]

1 hour ago, Robocaller said:

He might be putting too much weight on the 106 exit velocity Quero put on a ball this fall. Like Mitchell, he'd have to redo his entire approach at the plate to hit 25 HRs like Smith has done.

I do think putting a 55 on his current game power is a bit much, though I'd probably have it at like 50, so that's sort of splitting hairs. I'm not sure I agree with the approach part though. Quero doesn't have an absurd ground ball rate like Mitchell does, and he pulls the ball more often than Mitchell as well. The GB% is more in line with what Smith put up as a minor leaguer (Quero is higher but not by a ton).

Keep in mind that when Smith was Quero's age he was a freshman in college. He had 80 PA's that season and hit zero homers. He ended up hitting 9 total homers combined in his sophomore and junior years at Louisville in 400 total PA's at 20 and 21 years old. Quero hit 10 HR in 400 PA's in the minors this year and he was 19 for the entire season. 

Smith's MLB high in exit velo is only 109 MPH. Quero hitting one 106 MPH, in one of the few games the Glendale team played on a Statcast field, makes me think he likely has hit the ball harder than 106 at some point. 

That's not to say Quero will absolutely become Will Smith or that he's going to hit 25 homers in MLB, but I don't think it's nearly as outlandish as you seem to ?. 

[markedman5]

 

[MadThinker88]

Just adding this system report from Sept 2022 in case it wasn't seen earlier...

https://www.justbaseball.com/prospects/milwaukee-brewers-top-prospects/

[sveumrules]

Saw in Eric Longenhagen's FanGraphs chat today that the Brewers list should be out sometime next week. Always one of my favorite days of the winter.

[sveumrules]

As a lead up to prospect season FanGraphs published an article on the 2023 International Class with the Brewers connected to Venezuelan shortstop Kevin Ereu…

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/board-update-2023-international-amateur-prospects/#comments

Here is Ereu’s scouting report from the board - “One of the more polished all-around players in the class, Ereu has plus infield footwork and actions, and is physical enough to threaten the gaps on offense. He looks like a third round West Coast college infielder in his skills and build, and is perceived to have a high floor.”

[Luke99]

Fangraphs just posted the Brewers prospect list.  

Interesting tidbits for me

1) Cam Devannany - no mention at all

2) Lots of solid arms 

3) Very high on Luis Lara

4) Hedbert basically in Tristan Lutz territory now

 

 

 

 

[sveumrules]

Here’s the System Overview from the FanGraphs list…

”The Brewers ended the 2022 season as the 16th-ranked farm system in baseball, with 15 players in the 40+ FV tier or above and three Top 100 guys. After moving Sal Frelick up from the 45+ FV tier (part of me thinks he still belongs there, as the possibility that he isn’t a center field is very real), they now have four in the Top 100. With that bump, the system would have ranked 12th at the end of the year, so that’s roughly where it fits across the game, plus or minus a few spots.

The Brewers have clear patterns of acquisition on the amateur side. Measurable hitting skill is pervasive through all of their drafts. They take low-strikeout, short-levered, up-the-middle hitters, and often ignore size and physical projection in pursuit of it. Milwaukee’s attraction to junior college and Indy ball pitchers indicates the org is looking for developmental meat on the bone rather than targeting pitchers who are more likely to be maxed out, or closer to it, from a pitch design standpoint. They’re more active in Venezuela than most other clubs and (these things are somewhat related) tend to have several leather wizard shortstops in the org, a group that is especially deep right now. The Brewers showcased three of them across their two ACL teams in 2022. Virtually all of their pitchers in the DSL have shallow-angle fastballs, another common theme in the system as a whole.

Like Arizona, it’s possible the Brewers consider their young outfield group deep enough to trade from, but they’re all more divisive than the D-backs group, especially Wiemer and Mitchell.”

 

[damuelle]

Well, now he’s got me excited about some of the lesser-known prospects: Kaylan Nicasia, Will Rudy, Manuel Rodriguez, Aidan Maldonado, Shane Smith. I’m also happy to see Matthew Wood ranked as high as 26 after an injury limited his 2022 experience with the Brewers.

[Matt]

Baseball America released their top ten Brewers prospects today:

1 Jackson Chourio OF
2 Sal Frelick OF
3 Joey Wiemer OF
4 Brice Turang SS
5 Garrett Mitchell OF
6 Jeferson Quero C
7 Jacob Misiorowski RHP
8 Tyler Black 2B/OF
9 Eric Brown SS
10 Robert Gasser LHP

Chourio is their #2 prospect in all of baseball and they think he's up by 2024 at the latest with a shot to play in Milwaukee as a 19 year old this season.

High on Frelick and Wiemer and think both should be up in 2023.

Misiorowski has electric front line stuff but below average control.

They're not high on Black or Brown for both positional and bat reasons.

Gasser they think could be a back end starter in 2023.

[CheeseheadInQC]

Not having anything on Cruz and Cornielle seems weird, but among the most interesting things about Fangraphs’ rankings are always the notes from instructs.

Also, nice to see someone else ranking Areinamo that highly.

[TheeAirbender]

The concerns about Frelick's defense in the fangraphs article was something I hadn't seen before. Very interesting, and if he does have to play in a COF spot, it would be really disappointing I think. The bat to ball skills seem like they are sure to play, but really wish it would come from CF. Chourio might end up making this point obsolete anyway. 

[ougiqbxy]

As I read fangraphs I have no idea how Frelick is rated that low.  So what if CF is not his position? How do you want to rate someone that much lower because of the perceived lack of power?  

 

He is only getting better.  He now has more ABs in the minors than in college.  He is learning and doing so extremely quickly.  His floor is a Darryl Hamilton type,  His ceiling approaches Molitor with his bat skills.  

 

Chourio might have massive skills, but I see Frelick as a sure thing and cannot wait for him to be with the Major League club.

[sveumrules]

19 minutes ago, ougiqbxy said:

As I read fangraphs I have no idea how Frelick is rated that low.  So what if CF is not his position? How do you want to rate someone that much lower because of the perceived lack of power?  

It’s a lot easier to provide value as a speedy contact hitting CF than it is to do the same thing in LF where the offensive bar is much higher.

If the Brewers wanted to deal Frelick, but other teams view him as more of a LF, that will lower his valuation vs being a legit no doubt CF.

As it relates to the Brewers it’s not really that big of a deal. Even on the slim chance all of the OF prospects turn out & none are dealt, somebody’s gotta play LF.

That something like (LF) Frelick (CF) Chourio (RF) Wiemer (4OF) Mitchell (DH/5OF) Yelich is even a remote possibility for OD of 2024 is pretty fun to think about.