Article: Overlooked Brewers Prospects: The Bullpen

[clancyphile]

Even throughout the down years, the Brewers always seemed to find excellent pitchers who could close out the rare games when they had a lead in the late innings. These days, while many Brewers fans celebrated the rotation and closer Josh Hader, the real unsung heroes were other bullpen pitchers who got the ball to Hader to slam the door.

Many of these pitchers the Brewers turned to come from free agency. But some come through the system and are not necessarily conventionally acquired. Who might be the next great Brewers reliever from out of nowhere?

Right-handed Relievers

Michele Vassalotti, Carolina (A)
9-2, 2.64 ERA, 7 saves, 47.2 IP, 24 BB, 56 K in 33 appearances
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Age: 21

Vassalotti was snake-bitten by some defensive issues (8 of 22 runs were unearned), but otherwise, he did very well. He only allowed one home run all season and a 1.112 WHIP. He went two or more innings in nine of his 33 appearances.

James Meeker, Wisconsin (A+)/Biloxi (AA)
4-4, 2.38 ERA, 17 saves, 64.1 IP, 17 BB, 57 K in 44 appearances
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Age: 27

Meeker is older, a find who pitched in independent leagues for a few seasons before the Crew signed him. But in this case, the Brewers could have someone who could step into a late-inning role. If he continues to pitch like he has  - including a dominating stretch in Brisbane – he could be a very cheap late-inning option that could help the Crew keep one or more of Burnes, Woodruff, and Adames in Milwaukee.

Lucas Erceg, Biloxi (AA)/Nashville (AAA)
3-4, 4.55 ERA, 2 saves, 61.1 IP, 37 BB, 69 K in 49 appearances
Bats: Left, Throws: Right
Age: 26 

2022 was Erceg’s first full year as a pitcher after he took the two-way player approach in 2021. He stepped it up in Nashville (3.43 ERA in 33 appearances) and, at the very least, offers the Crew someone to take an inning or two from the back end of the bullpen.

Jeison Pena, ACL Brewers Gold (R)/Carolina (A)/Wisconsin (A+)
3-1, 3.30 ERA, 2 saves, 46.1 IP, 32 BB, 64 K in 24 appearances
Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Age: 19

Pena strikes batters out, but he also tends to walk a lot. He’s also not very charitable with the long ball, giving up only one homer in the 46.1 innings. To reach A+ Wisconsin at 19 says a lot. He went two or more innings in 14 of his 24 appearances.

Quinton Low, ACL Brewers Blue (R)
0-0, 0.82 ERA, 2 saves, 11 IP, 5 BB, 16 K in 10 appearances
Bats: Left, Throws: Right
Age: 19

The Brewers could have their own Shohei Otani in Low, who not only put up some dominant numbers reminiscent of Hader at his best but also posted a decent .756 OPS while playing first base and designated hitter.

Left-handed Relievers

Clayton Andrews, ACL Brewers Blue (R)/Biloxi (AA)
0-2, 7.84 ERA, 0 saves, 10.1 IP, 7 BB, 19 K in 7 appearances
Bats: Left, Throws: Left
Age: 25

Since the pandemic, Andrews, a 17th-round pick in 2018, has been derailed by injuries. Before that, in 2019, he was showing signs of being not just a poor man’s Hader, but he also flashed the ability to play center field, giving the Brewers a slap-hitting two-way player (.772 OPS in 16 games as a CF). In his return, though, he averaged 16.5 K per 9 IP.

Pablo Garabitos, Carolina (A)/Nashville AAA
6-1, 1.83 ERA, 0 saves, 59 IP, 19 BB, 62 K in 25 appearances
Bats: Left, Throws: Left
Age: 21

Garabitos, a converted corner outfielder drafted in the 25th round in 2018, moved to the mound in 2019 and has been getting good results since. He averaged over two innings an appearance in 2022 and was briefly at AAA at 21 years old. He only gave up two homers all year, one at Nashville.

Karlos Morales, Carolina (A)/Wisconsin (A+)
3-4, 2.35 ERA, 6 saves, 46 IP, 22 BB, 55 K in 32 appearances
Bats: Left, Throws: Left
Age: 23

Morales did not surrender a single home run while also posting excellent numbers, improving after his promotion to Wisconsin. The walk rate was a little high, but Morales, a 25th-round pick in 2017, could be a steal simply by becoming a valuable contributor out of the major league pen.

Overview
These relievers are all over the place. The fact is, if the Brewers are to have success over the long term, they need to find a lot of their bullpen contributors from the farm system to maintain a cost-controlled bullpen, allowing Milwaukee to use financial resources elsewhere on the roster. Some of the older pitchers had a position-playing background, and some could still contribute both at the plate and on the mound.

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[Joseph Zarr]

Other than Erceg (who is still quite early in his transition to a late inning flame thrower - tho early results are quite favorable), I would opine the next closest 'under the radar' arm is RHP Ryan Middendorf. 

After an incredibly productive regular season run saw him go from Indy Ball -> ACL - > Low-A -> High-A  -> Double-A in the span of 3 months, he was given the nod as the bullpen Starter for Glendale in the AFL Championship game and absolutely smoked through a very talented Surprise Saguaros squad. So much so, he was recognized as a standout in the game:

Quote

5. Ryan Middendorf, RHP, Brewers
He had pitched solely in relief since the Brewers signed him out of the independent Frontier League in June, but Middendorf acquitted himself well as an opener for the Desert Dogs. The sidearmer recorded six of his seven outs on strikeouts, thanks to a lively low-90s fastball and a tight slider, and pounded the zone with 32 strikes in 45 pitches.

(Full article HERE)

His stuff plays because it is unorthodox - in arm slot and leg action - with serious movement and spin and he can still touch 95-96mph from time-to-time. By season's end his slider had become a serious weapon and I was seeing quite a bit more movement on his heater(s). 2023 is a very big year for Middendorf. I personally think he is one of the better relief arms in the system and he was a real find by the personnel staff.

[wallus]

Thank you for this. Have never heard of Middendorf and we will need guys like him to contribute.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I find it really interesting how many two-way players and converted position players are mentioned in this piece.

[Smichaelis9]

29 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

I find it really interesting how many two-way players and converted position players are mentioned in this piece.

Along with the Brewers trading for Matt Bush (converted SS) last year and Javy Guerra (converted SS/2B) this offseason, I honestly think it's something the Brewers see as a market inefficiency. My guess is they even drafted someone like Wiemer knowing that if they couldn't figure out the swing, they could move him to the mound where he'd be near triple digits with the fastball.

[Joseph Zarr]

36 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

I find it really interesting how many two-way players and converted position players are mentioned in this piece.

It's a real thing in the org and it's fun to watch each season in the lower ranks. Quinton Low was a constant topic of casual convo between @damuelle, @CheeseheadInQC and I during the ACL season. He pitched what seemed like every 5-7 days - shortened bullpen stints - but the Box Scores were always piquing our interests. We are all pondering if they'll let him continue two-way work on Carolina. I sure hope so as it will be another reason to tune into their early start times on the daily on MiLB.tv.

Edit to Add: Great points @Smichaelis9

[Joseph Zarr]

3 minutes ago, Smichaelis9 said:

Along with the Brewers trading for Matt Bush (converted SS) last year and Javy Guerra (converted SS/2B) this offseason, I honestly think it's something the Brewers see as a market inefficiency. My guess is they even drafted someone like Wiemer knowing that if they couldn't figure out the swing, they could move him to the mound where he'd be near triple digits with the fastball.

Man, does Wiemer have an absolute cannon eh? He has to hit 100-102 on the regular with some of those darts to 2B.

[Smichaelis9]

9 minutes ago, Joseph Zarr said:

Man, does Wiemer have an absolute cannon eh? He has to hit 100-102 on the regular with some of those darts to 2B.

It's one of the most impressive arms I've ever seen on a minor league outfielder. Pretty accurate too, which is even more impressive.

[Joseph Zarr]

Just now, Smichaelis9 said:

It's one of the most impressive arms I've ever seen on a minor league outfielder. Pretty accurate too, which is even more impressive.

Couple that with his range and overall athleticism (he is given spot starts in CF for crying out loud - obviously not as comfortable but he certainly doesn't hurt you there in the limited exposure I had to those games), it was kind of why I took Chourio's Golden Glove with a grain of salt. By my geezer eyes, it certainly appeared Chourio has nowhere near the overall explosiveness, agility, or ability to gun runners down. I saw a game in Biloxi where Wiemer scaled the wall 3x (!!) to bring HR balls back. He's a crazy athlete. 

Anywho, this is a pitching article but I am always good for a Wiemer fanboy fun fest. Carry on.?

[Joseph Zarr]

Back to the pitching topic:

I'll also be keeping a close eye on Lefty Leoni de la Cruz in the early going of 2023. He was stride-for-stride with Middendorf for significant parts of the ACL season. He was promoted a tad later (if I recall accurately) and remained in Carolina to end his season. He certainly wasn't as dominant as Middendorf but managed to really maintain a continued low BAA, solid WHIP, and workable K:BB peripherals (tho, not eye-popping).

Can he add some more muscle mass on his frame? Can he get a little uptick in Velo? Will he start the season in Carolina or Wisconsin? This is probably a player we'll know more about in two seasons but he is one I'll be keeping an eye on.

[Robocaller]

It's really hard to  parse what "overlooked" means in this context. If someone wasn't mentioned, does that mean the player wasn't considered overlooked, or was overlooked twice?

[Brock Beauchamp]

3 hours ago, Robocaller said:

It's really hard to  parse what "overlooked" means in this context. If someone wasn't mentioned, does that mean the player wasn't considered overlooked, or was overlooked twice?

Yes.

[CheeseheadInQC]

Given the amount of time they have been in the system, I wonder if Vassalotti, Garabitos or Morales start in AA.

[damuelle]

6 hours ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

Given the amount of time they have been in the system, I wonder if Vassalotti, Garabitos or Morales start in AA.

I guess it would most likely be Morales, since he's entering his 7th season in the system (like Vassalotti) and has seen at least a little action in High-A (10.1 IP vs. zero for Vassalotti). He's also the oldest (23) of the three players (Vassalotti and Garabitos are 22).