2025 Brewers Minors/Prospects thread - Andrew Fischer - FRP

[MickeyDavis]

Stearns will trade him to his next team, the Mets. I'm only half joking.

[ReasonablySober]

Drew Gilbert is still on the board with the Brewers picking soon. He'd fit their up the middle track record.

[ReasonablySober]

Brewers take SS Eric Brown Jr. out of Coastal Carolina.

Law:

50. Eric Brown, SS, Coastal Carolina

Brown is a toolsy shortstop with running speed and quick wrists, producing in college and on the Cape despite a very unusual, noisy approach that makes it hard for him to get his bat to the zone on time. He starts with his hands in front of his face, waggling the bat, so he never really comes set, succeeding because his hands are fast, but with enough extraneous movement that scouts question how well he’ll hit with this same approach once he’s in pro ball. Part of his success is very strong ball-strike recognition – he doesn’t chase out of the zone much at all, and almost never does so on fastballs. He’s a plus runner with the footwork and arm to stay at shortstop, so he has a fairly high floor – and even with the noisy approach, he has hit, .330/.460/.544 this year for Coastal with more walks than strikeouts. I don’t love how he does it, but he gets it done.

MLB.com

Brown has an unusual setup at the plate, holding his hands high and pointing his bat toward the mound before starting his load, but it doesn't prevent him from making consistent contact. Factor in his ability to stay at shortstop and his high baseball IQ, and he could match Mickey Brantley, Kirt Manwaring and Mike Costanzo as the highest-drafted position players in Coastal Carolina history (second round). He earned Cape Cod League all-star honors last summer while playing for Cotuit manager Mike Roberts, who said Brown reminded him of his son -- two-time All-Star Brian. An offensive catalyst, Brown has tremendous hand-eye coordination that allows him to barrel balls regularly even though there's a lot going on in his right-handed stroke. He has a quick bat and some sneaky pop that should translate into 15-20 homers per season, and he controls the strike zone well. He's an aggressive baserunner with a knack for stealing bases despite his average speed. Brown's instincts also allow him to cover ground in the field. He's one of the better defensive shortstops in college baseball despite playing second base alongside Kentucky's Ryan Ritter on the Cape. With quick hands and feet, at least solid arm strength and a good internal clock, he can play anywhere in the infield if needed.

[ReasonablySober]

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Sounds like he could be a fast mover in the system. I like that we got a guy to push Turang, because he hasn't lit the world on fire.

[ReasonablySober]

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96. Jacob Misiorowski, RHP, Crowder College

Misiorowski is 6-7 and has been up to 100 mph in his first full year pitching for two-year Crowder, making just two appearances for the school in 2021 before a knee injury ended his season. His fastball has good carry and his slider is a wipeout pitch, while he gets great extension out front from his size. The LSU commit was walking a man an inning earlier this season, but brought his walk rate down the more he pitched, although he still has 40 control. He doesn’t have a third pitch, and lefties had a .374 OBP against him this year, while his arm swing is long with a high elbow in back, not a great sign for command or durability. He’d be a great target for a team like the Rays or Dodgers, who have strong track records with mechanical adjustments and might see him as a future first-rounder if he were to go to LSU and have success there.

[ReasonablySober]

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Moore likely would have gone in the first five rounds of the 2020 Draft had he not graduated early from a Kansas high school and enrolled early at Arkansas, where he became an immediate starter at second base. He homered 16 times in his first full season in 2021, helping the Razorbacks rank atop the college polls for much of the season and becoming known as "Big Game Bob" for his propensity for clutch hits. Scouts rave about his makeup and instincts the way they did about Bobby Witt Jr. as an amateur, but he batted just .232 with eight homers this spring. A switch-hitter listed at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, Moore derives power from his bat speed and aggressive approach at the plate -- though almost all of his pop comes from the left side. While he looks to drive the ball, he doesn't chase pitches or swing and miss excessively. He draws a healthy amount of walks and plays quicker than his fringy speed on the bases. The son of Royals president of baseball operations Dayton Moore, he's a quality defender at second base with quick hands and an outstanding internal clock. Though he has fringy arm strength, some scouts believe his instincts would allow him to get the job done at shortstop, but he didn't get the chance to do so at Arkansas after Jalen Battles returned for his senior season. With his relentless hustle and feel for the game, Moore comes with a high floor.

Fangraphs liked him.

Moore matriculated to Arkansas early and at just 20.3 years old, and will be the youngest three-year college player in the draft as a result. He's a twitchy, compact-framed middle infield prospect with sneaky power, adept at ambushing hittable fastballs on the inner half of the plate. As a 19-year-old in the SEC, he yanked out 16 homers in 2021, then had a strangely bad '22 season and only hit .232, though it's tough to discern why and it may just be that he's due for a BABIP regression. Moore has played second base in deference to Razorbacks shortstop Jalen Battles, but he probably deserves a shot to play short upon his initial entry to pro ball. He's a cleaner fit at second because of arm strength limitations, but he's rangy and athletic enough to be plus there. Because he didn't perform on paper and will be just 21.3 a year from today, Moore may end up going back to school in the hopes that he'll rebound and go in the top half of the first round in 2023. I'm not inclined to move his FV grade down from where I had it last fall and still love this switch-hitting middle infield profile in a mid-to-late first round capacity.

[BUCKnation]

I'm pro unique stances

[leroyjw10]

I'm really excited for a potential Mitchell-Frelick-Wiemer outfield in the very near future. Speed, defense and hitting across the outfield. Really hope they can continue to progress and push Yelich to full-time DH duty, because that dude brings nothing on defense.

[ReasonablySober]

I'm really excited for a potential Mitchell-Frelick-Wiemer outfield in the very near future. Speed, defense and hitting across the outfield. Really hope they can continue to progress and push Yelich to full-time DH duty, because that dude brings nothing on defense.

If Chourio is the kind of prospect scouts think he is, he'll be up as a 20 year old somewhere in the OF. I could see Wiemer as a DH.

[ReasonablySober]

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Another small IF with elite pitch recognition. Walks a bunch and never strikes out. Plus speed, little to no power. Only 17 years old.

[ReasonablySober]

4th Round is Matthew Wood, C, PSU.

Penn State hasn’t had a position player taken in the first two days of the Draft since catcher Ben Heath was a fifth-rounder back in 2010. Thanks to a big 2022 season in which Wood finished among the Big 10 leaders in several offensive categories, the fellow backstop has the chance to break that schneid. Wood finished the season with a 1.147 OPS thanks to a strong approach from the left side of the plate -- he walked more than he struck out -- and an ability to tap into his raw power more consistently. He’s more strength than bat speed but tapped into his pop this spring to reach double digits in home runs, more to the pull side. The backstop has decent defensive tools, with solid arm strength and the ability to stay behind the plate long-term. Those who believe in him see a lefty-hitting catcher, always a commodity, with tremendous on-base skills and some pop. Doubters see a guy who had a good year in a bad conference. Either way, he should join Heath on that list of Nittany Lions hitters taken on Day 2, giving him the chance to be the first Penn State player to reach the big leagues since 1998 first-rounder Nate Bump spent parts of three seasons in the Marlins bullpen.

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[Ryan5UW]

I'm really excited for a potential Mitchell-Frelick-Wiemer outfield in the very near future. Speed, defense and hitting across the outfield. Really hope they can continue to progress and push Yelich to full-time DH duty, because that dude brings nothing on defense.

I think DH on a different team would be ideal long term.

[Brewster]

Why are the Brewers so in love with SS and CF? Past few drafts and international signings they been targeting just those positions.

[humanrefutation]

Why are the Brewers so in love with SS and CF? Past few drafts and international signings they been targeting just those positions.

Well, it's probably a couple things. Usually, on lower levels (esp high school), a team's best position player will play at SS or CF because of how athletic you need to be to play those positions well. Also, if you can cut it at SS or CF, the Brewers know you'll be able to play any other position on the field (bar catcher and pitcher, of course).

[leroyjw10]

Why are the Brewers so in love with SS and CF? Past few drafts and international signings they been targeting just those positions.

Well, it's probably a couple things. Usually, on lower levels (esp high school), a team's best position player will play at SS or CF because of how athletic you need to be to play those positions well. Also, if you can cut it at SS or CF, the Brewers know you'll be able to play any other position on the field (bar catcher and pitcher, of course).

I get this rationale, but these players also tend to be on the smaller side. I'd love to see them, every once in a while, draft a big burly power-hitting corner infielder. Maybe that's an antiquated thought process, I don't know.

[ReasonablySober]

If your CF or SS prospect works out and you've got a backlog, you can always trade either for a corner bat or pitching help.

[ReasonablySober]

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Ha, I remember watching clips of this kid at the combine last month. He would have been a fun one to have in the system.

[DrWood]

I'm really excited for a potential Mitchell-Frelick-Wiemer outfield in the very near future. Speed, defense and hitting across the outfield. Really hope they can continue to progress and push Yelich to full-time DH duty, because that dude brings nothing on defense.

If Chourio is the kind of prospect scouts think he is, he'll be up as a 20 year old somewhere in the OF. I could see Wiemer as a DH.

If he's up at age 21, it means he never stumbled and went up more than a level a year. That's the best case scenario, IMO. He still SOs a lot, and he might get exposed against better pitching.

[DrWood]

I'm really excited for a potential Mitchell-Frelick-Wiemer outfield in the very near future. Speed, defense and hitting across the outfield. Really hope they can continue to progress and push Yelich to full-time DH duty, because that dude brings nothing on defense.

I think DH on a different team would be ideal long term.

Ideal would be that whatever he broke gets fixed. I'm just hoping he continues to do as well as he has since he started batting leadoff.

[DrWood]

Why are the Brewers so in love with SS and CF? Past few drafts and international signings they been targeting just those positions.

Because if they don't stick at SS or CF they can move to 2B or LF (or 3B or RF). The best athletes play SS and CF. Athleticism helps you be a better baseball player.