Brewers Farm Update

Relief Riser: Miguel Sanchez

If you take a look at raw stats for Brewers pitching prospects this season, one name stands tall above the rest. After Saturday, forty innings, he’s struck out 55 batters for a pace of 12.4 per nine innings. That’s almost four times his walk rate (3.2 free BB/9). His worst DRA- at any stop this season […]

Brewers Farm Update

Carbon Copies in the Outfield

Coming into the 2018 minor league season, expectations were down for former first-round pick Corey Ray. Ray had just wrapped up his first full season in the minors, spending the year at Class-A Advanced Carolina and scuffling to a .238/.311/.367 batting average (AVG) / on base percentage (OBP) / slugging percentage (SLG) line despite a […]

Brewers Farm Update

Danny Reynolds’s Long Road

The MLB Draft is a time of optimism. Ask an average fan, and their team’s first five or so picks are guaranteed to be future stars. Even in the later rounds, most selected players offer something to dream on: 70-grade raw power in spite of a nonexistent hit tool, say, or a promising fastball that […]

Brewers Farm Update

Braulio Ortiz and the Curse of One Great Tool

Quick, think of the loudest tools in the Brewers system. Hit tool? Keston Hiura. Throwing arm? That’s Brett Phillips. (Laugh also belongs to Phillips.) Curveball? I’ll take Adrian Houser here. What about the fastball? There are some fun arguments to be had. Taylor Williams is pretty electric. Brandon Woodruff can touch 98. How about a […]

Brewers Farm Update

Pitching Rich: Zack Brown’s Ascent

The name of the game for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018 has been pitching. While what was supposed to be a vaunted offense has lagged a bit in the season’s first two months, the pitching staff has allowed the Brewers to pile up an NL-leading 26 wins and has the team just a half-game back […]

Brewers Farm Update

The Call Up: Freddy Peralta

When Brewers GM David Stearns took over the reins of the club, his first move established a particular type of rebuilding approach: he traded reliever Francisco Rodriguez to Detroit for infield prospect Javier Betancourt and a player to be named later (catcher Manny Pina). This was a relatively solid trade for an established-but-not-necessarily-impact veteran reliever, […]

Brewers Farm Update

2018 MILB Context I: Batters

It’s early in the minor league season, which causes one particular issue in prospect coverage: thus far, the scouting report and prospect list coverage is in the works, so there is an information asymmetry in terms of statistics versus scouting information. This is problematic because, in the first place, minor league statistics do not have […]

Brewers Farm Update

The Big Jump: Thomas Jankins

The jump from Class-A Advanced to to Double-A is considered to be one of the most difficult steps in a player’s minor league development. As Alex Skillin wrote for The Hardball Times in 2015, “Double-A, the thinking goes, is where a minor leaguer’s true ability is tested for the first time against competition that can […]

Brewers Farm Update

Ray and Stokes: Top of the Order Leaders

The depth that Milwaukee currently possesses in their outfield has been oft discussed since at least late January, when Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich joined the fray in the Cream City. With those two in the fold, the franchise can boast about having six MLB-quality outfielders at the upper crust of their system. Outfielders Yelich […]

Brewers Farm Update

Minor League Stories to Watch

Minor League baseball is underway, and the Brewers brought a strong system into 2018 in spite of recent trades and graduations. Expect plenty more graduations this year, and maybe some trades, too. What stands out about this Milwaukee system is its depth. There are plenty of talented players waiting to rise up and claim their […]