When will Sal Frelick be called up?

[Shin Wook Lee]

I'm a BrewCrew living in South Korea, rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers since 2000. 
I've always wanted to be active, but my lack of English skills prevented me from doing so. I'm glad that I have the help of various translators now.

 

When will Sal Frelick be called up?
He's already proven everything in the minors, and he's more than capable of playing in the majors.
But we have Yelich,Taylor,Winker,Mitchell in the majors, and Brian Anderson can play the outfield too.
I think Frelick would be a great addition to the team and should be a starter.
What do you think?

[Robocaller]

He might be up on opening day, he might be held out for a couple of weeks to ensure he doesn't have a full year of service time, he might be held out until mid-june to avoid super-2, or he might not get called up until much later.

I'd vote for being on the roster on opening day.

I don't think Winker will be playing much in the OF. Anderson might.

 

[Jake McKibbin]

4 minutes ago, Robocaller said:

He might be up on opening day, he might be held out for a couple of weeks to ensure he doesn't have a full year of service time, he might be held out until mid-june to avoid super-2, or he might not get called up until much later.

I'd vote for being on the roster on opening day.

I don't think Winker will be playing much in the OF. Anderson might.

 

I fully agreed about Winker though I am now wondering...

 

He spoke about the surgeries on his neck in particular , and how it made it difficult to look up and to the one side (can't remember if he said right or left) and curious if this allows him to be passable in the field. He's never been above average, but even a -0.5 rating WAR wise is workable, whereas last season it was -2.4 (per Baseball reference)

So he may see more time in the field than I expected, but I think by mid season Frelick will be up and involved barring injury

The other thing I'd say is Frelick didn't get a ton of game time at Boston college for a myriad of reasons, and has a year and a half in the minors through which he's shown considerable growth defensively and offensively. I think a little time to continue working on his defensive reads/routes and identifying pitches to attack (he has show a propensity to rip the ball hard on occasion, unlike the likes of Kwan), and maybe mid season wouldn't be so bad if it gave us a better player in the long run

[Shin Wook Lee]

2 hours ago, Jake McKibbin said:

I fully agreed about Winker though I am now wondering...

 

He spoke about the surgeries on his neck in particular , and how it made it difficult to look up and to the one side (can't remember if he said right or left) and curious if this allows him to be passable in the field. He's never been above average, but even a -0.5 rating WAR wise is workable, whereas last season it was -2.4 (per Baseball reference)

So he may see more time in the field than I expected, but I think by mid season Frelick will be up and involved barring injury

The other thing I'd say is Frelick didn't get a ton of game time at Boston college for a myriad of reasons, and has a year and a half in the minors through which he's shown considerable growth defensively and offensively. I think a little time to continue working on his defensive reads/routes and identifying pitches to attack (he has show a propensity to rip the ball hard on occasion, unlike the likes of Kwan), and maybe mid season wouldn't be so bad if it gave us a better player in the long run

Do you still think Frelick needs to be improved?

[Brock Beauchamp]

3 hours ago, Shin Wook Lee said:

I'm a BrewCrew living in South Korea, rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers since 2000. 
I've always wanted to be active, but my lack of English skills prevented me from doing so. I'm glad that I have the help of various translators now.

When will Sal Frelick be called up?
He's already proven everything in the minors, and he's more than capable of playing in the majors.
But we have Yelich,Taylor,Winker,Mitchell in the majors, and Brian Anderson can play the outfield too.
I think Frelick would be a great addition to the team and should be a starter.
What do you think?

That’s so cool! Welcome to the site!

If you don’t mind a personal question, how’d you become a fan of the Brewers?

[Brock Beauchamp]

54 minutes ago, Shin Wook Lee said:

Do you still think Frelick needs to be improved?

Most prospects struggle during their first call ups, it’s more likely than not Frelick will as well. Which is part of the reason the Brewers are relying on as few rookies as possible to open the season. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

As for the question itself, I don’t have a lot of faith in Mitchell but believe he’ll get the first shot at the roster.

But given that I don’t have much faith in Mitchell, I think we’ll see Frelick anywhere from late April to early June. 

[wibadgers23]

Sometime in May would be my bet.

[sveumrules]

March 30th.

[Jake McKibbin]

1 hour ago, Shin Wook Lee said:

Do you still think Frelick needs to be improved?

Welcome to the site bud! Great to have you here! I have to say your English seems great

I think he definitely will improve wherever he plays, but it's easier to do so in the minors. I've done a bit of a dive into him recently, looking at scouting reviews etc

The fact he didn't play a lot in college before coming suggests that his skills have a little development left in them, he does have power, most of his home runs last season were absolute hard hit lasers! But he can maybe pick certain pitches to increase his damage on, make him a 12-15 home run threat in the majors, which would be huge

Defensively he's given a lot of rave reviews for his speed but his defensive reads and routes have some work to do for him to be premium in centre field, though he has the natural tools to do it

He also can do a little bit of work on the base paths to make use of his speed a little more, he's really damn fast, but he didn't steal as many as he probably could/should have in the minors last season, especially with how often he was on base

So more refining his skill set for a few months I think, but every game he plays I think he'll get better and better

His strikeout rate dropped consistently throughout last season, even moving up levels and to walk more than strike out at AAA is a very good sign

He probably could be a good player for the Brewers right now, but I think Mitchell's defense and energy will give him the spot in centre for a little bit and let the prospects really force their way into the team

[Shin Wook Lee]

41 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

That’s so cool! Welcome to the site!

If you don’t mind a personal question, how’d you become a fan of the Brewers?

I was born in 1987.
I don't know if you know this, but Chan-Ho Park, a Korean hero, played in the major leagues starting in 1997, and that's when the major leagues started to become famous in Korea. Then in 1998, I went to a friend's house and played Hard Ball 6, and I got totally into the major leagues.
To be honest, I was a fan of the Oakland Athletics at first (Hudson-Mulder-Zito), but I switched to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2000, and I was mesmerized by Ben Sheets, who was a rookie at the time. Ben Sheets is MY FOREVER HERO.  I've even taken his name as my internet nickname. You know, Milwaukee Brewers hasn't been a good team for a long time, but I never changed and have been following them ever since.
Currently, I moderate a Milwaukee Brewers support chat in Korea and write a blog.

[Shin Wook Lee]

10 minutes ago, Jake McKibbin said:

Welcome to the site bud! Great to have you here! I have to say your English seems great

I think he definitely will improve wherever he plays, but it's easier to do so in the minors. I've done a bit of a dive into him recently, looking at scouting reviews etc

The fact he didn't play a lot in college before coming suggests that his skills have a little development left in them, he does have power, most of his home runs last season were absolute hard hit lasers! But he can maybe pick certain pitches to increase his damage on, make him a 12-15 home run threat in the majors, which would be huge

Defensively he's given a lot of rave reviews for his speed but his defensive reads and routes have some work to do for him to be premium in centre field, though he has the natural tools to do it

He also can do a little bit of work on the base paths to make use of his speed a little more, he's really damn fast, but he didn't steal as many as he probably could/should have in the minors last season, especially with how often he was on base

So more refining his skill set for a few months I think, but every game he plays I think he'll get better and better

His strikeout rate dropped consistently throughout last season, even moving up levels and to walk more than strike out at AAA is a very good sign

He probably could be a good player for the Brewers right now, but I think Mitchell's defense and energy will give him the spot in centre for a little bit and let the prospects really force their way into the team

No, it only looks that way because I'm using a translator right now. :)

Obviously Sal Frelick is rated higher than Garrett Mitchell, which I agree with.  

[Jake McKibbin]

2 minutes ago, Shin Wook Lee said:

No, it only looks that way because I'm using a translator right now. :)

Obviously Sal Frelick is rated higher than Garrett Mitchell, which I agree with.  

I would agree too, though I think Mitchell's defense and speed with occasional power actually give him a high floor, whereas Frelick's hit tool needs to hold up if he end up in left field for instance. I'm excited to see him play this year though, hopefully he arrives with a bang!

[brewcrewdue80]

Since Frelick is playing WBC, I think his timeline has the cutoff 2 weeks in to the season to gain the year control making him a Super 2 that the team will look to buy out with extension sooner than later.

Making it 2 weeks without an injury will be tough to expect. The #1 thing that hurts him is not being on the 40man roster.  If there's an injury to an OF during Spring Training I expect him to start Opening day.

[Thurston Fluff]

3 hours ago, Shin Wook Lee said:

I was born in 1987.
I don't know if you know this, but Chan-Ho Park, a Korean hero, played in the major leagues starting in 1997, and that's when the major leagues started to become famous in Korea. Then in 1998, I went to a friend's house and played Hard Ball 6, and I got totally into the major leagues.
To be honest, I was a fan of the Oakland Athletics at first (Hudson-Mulder-Zito), but I switched to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2000, and I was mesmerized by Ben Sheets, who was a rookie at the time. Ben Sheets is MY FOREVER HERO.  I've even taken his name as my internet nickname. You know, Milwaukee Brewers hasn't been a good team for a long time, but I never changed and have been following them ever since.
Currently, I moderate a Milwaukee Brewers support chat in Korea and write a blog.

You could not have a better hero than Ben Sheets. Major respect for you becoming a fan during the dark years. Nobody can accuse you of being a bandwagon fan.🙂

I'm probably in the minority on this but I think Frelick is going to spend at least half the season in AAA. As has been mentioned he has some things to work on and he isn't yet on the 40 man roster. I think they'd rather keep him on an everyday schedule than have him use a 40 man roster spot to share time. I think they'll want him to be ready to play every day when he gets up here.

[Brewcrew82]

34 minutes ago, Thurston Fluff said:

You could not have a better hero than Ben Sheets. Major respect for you becoming a fan during the dark years. Nobody can accuse you of being a bandwagon fan.🙂

I'm probably in the minority on this but I think Frelick is going to spend at least half the season in AAA. As has been mentioned he has some things to work on and he isn't yet on the 40 man roster. I think they'd rather keep him on an everyday schedule than have him use a 40 man roster spot to share time. I think they'll want him to be ready to play every day when he gets up here.

Curious what you think he has to work on still at AAA? His numbers at AAA last year combined with his 70-grade hit tool tell me he's as ready as it gets from a prospect....I think Mitchell has much more to work on and he's going to be our OD CF...

[Jastro]

Am I mishearing it but does Sal say he's on the 40-man? When asked if he had to run him playing in the WBC by management around the 1:10 mark. If he does, somewhat breaking news that he was added since it hasn't been officially announced yet.

[brewcrewdue80]

He's not listed as on it and there are 40 that are.  Maybe it was closer to since Im not on the 40man roster but wasn't clearly saying the word not.  Or sorta that want you want something to be true and don't say the word that makes it not true.  I can see they put Alexander on the 60day IL probably to clear space for Wilson.  Maybe they informed him he was so close to being on the 40man that he should treat everything moving forward as if he actually were. 

[ClosetBrewerFan]

15 hours ago, Shin Wook Lee said:

I'm a BrewCrew living in South Korea, rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers since 2000. 
I've always wanted to be active, but my lack of English skills prevented me from doing so. I'm glad that I have the help of various translators now.

Welcome to the site!  I visited Seoul and Changwon about a year ago.  Everyone I met was extremely friendly and I really enjoyed my visit.  I hope to return this year.

I am hoping that Sal makes the opening day roster.  I truly feel he is ready and is most likely to succeed as a starter.  Though a little more time in the minors won't hurt.  Looking forward to spring training to see how he does.

[CheeseheadInQC]

7 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

Curious what you think he has to work on still at AAA? His numbers at AAA last year combined with his 70-grade hit tool tell me he's as ready as it gets from a prospect....I think Mitchell has much more to work on and he's going to be our OD CF...

A lot of the more optimistic views on Frelick’s defense involve the fact he has only been a center fielder for two years and should still be improving.

[rickh150]

16 hours ago, Shin Wook Lee said:

I'm a BrewCrew living in South Korea, rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers since 2000. 
I've always wanted to be active, but my lack of English skills prevented me from doing so. I'm glad that I have the help of various translators now.

 

When will Sal Frelick be called up?
He's already proven everything in the minors, and he's more than capable of playing in the majors.
But we have Yelich,Taylor,Winker,Mitchell in the majors, and Brian Anderson can play the outfield too.
I think Frelick would be a great addition to the team and should be a starter.
What do you think?

So awesome…. Keep the faith alive and go Brewers!

I question openly why he wasn’t brought up last year! Pennant drive. Cutch was awful…. Should have joined Cain at home in September. And I think he is better or will be better than Mitchell. Could he alone have made the difference down the stretch last year? Probably not, but maybe. Letting Cutch hit almost daily against righties was not producing positive results.

[Brewcrew82]

1 hour ago, CheeseheadInQC said:

A lot of the more optimistic views on Frelick’s defense involve the fact he has only been a center fielder for two years and should still be improving.

I guess. Though, every scouting report I've seen, with the exception of Longenhagen on Fangraphs, rates him as a plus CF. Not as good as Mitchell, obviously, but his bat is way more advanced. I would say Mitchell has more developing to do at this point. 

[Jake McKibbin]

7 hours ago, Brewcrew82 said:

I guess. Though, every scouting report I've seen, with the exception of Longenhagen on Fangraphs, rates him as a plus CF. Not as good as Mitchell, obviously, but his bat is way more advanced. I would say Mitchell has more developing to do at this point. 

I do think his base running and routes will improve with everyday play in the minors. He has 60 grade speed but nowhere near the base stealing exploits of someone like Wiemer for instance, and he just needs a little more regular game time, plus maybe finding a way to tap into the power (he does actually have some) when he gets his pitch. It's more fine tuning, but I think it's more to do with making sure when he arrives in the big leagues, he's there to stay

Mitchell is a placeholder at the moment, if Frelick's defense makes him a plus centre fielder then Mitchell will struggle to find regular play I think as his bat doesn't profile in left or right field. 

I think Frelick is a better hitter but he's not ready just yet to man CF in the majors

Frelick is a better player with his hit tool, but I also think Mitchel is going to struggle to develop his bat any more , regardless of where he plays? Then again, time will tell!

[SF70]

Frelick is my #1 Brewers prospect and in my opinion, a future batting champion and perennial 5+ WAR player that will also hit 20 HR’s annually.

But unless he’s otherworldly this spring he’s likely starting the year with Nashville, his words. The team has enough OF options to keep him in Nashville past April and maybe even S2. 

Frelick is the prospect I’m zeroing in on to get extended before others, with his incredibly high floor mitigating risk. It’s going to likely need to be an early extension offer with his $4M signing bonus a potential hindrance.

[Playing Catch]

I thought the Steamer 600 projections for the Brewers were really, really interesting. IF the Brewers have similar projections, and IF they view him as an "every day" player (as much as they view anyone as an every day player), I believe he'll start on opening day, because they would feel that he is their best option.

In my opinion, we tend to over-emphasize service-time manipulation. It absolutely happens, and the Brewers have certainly done it, but they've also clearly made decisions based on winning, as well.