2025 Brewers Minors/Prospects thread - Andrew Fischer - FRP

[M-C-G]

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How big is that dude, or is everyone else a midget out there?

[ReasonablySober]

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How big is that dude, or is everyone else a midget out there?

TBH I'm shocked they're still playing him at 3B everyday.

[M-C-G]

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How big is that dude, or is everyone else a midget out there?

TBH I'm shocked they're still playing him at 3B everyday.

That’s one of our top picks from the last draft, right?

[ReasonablySober]

How big is that dude, or is everyone else a midget out there?

TBH I'm shocked they're still playing him at 3B everyday.

That’s one of our top picks from the last draft, right?

Yup, #18 overall. Top ten projected pick and he fell. Unfortunately he's had some bad luck injuries as a pro and it's stalled his career a bit. I thought could be in Milwaukee this season but that's probably not going to happen now.

[ReasonablySober]

Fangraphs with their mock 1.0.

17. Milwaukee Brewers
Pick: Seaver King, SS, Wake Forest
The Brewers aren’t scared off by a lack of prototypical size (Eric Brown Jr., Robert Moore, Dylan O’Rae, etc.), which is the only thing King lacks. Milwaukee has also been more open to letting guys try to move up the defensive spectrum, which would ideally happen for King, who played mostly third base at Wake. This is the first spot Kaelen Culpepper’s name has surfaced. Carson Benge has also been mentioned here and at the next two picks.

Benge feels more like a Brewers pick than others I've seen mocked to them.

And like clockwork, in ESPN's mock draft this morning:

17. Milwaukee Brewers
Carson Benge, RF, Oklahoma State

The Brewers are all over Benge and he'll go in the next four picks or so if he doesn't go here. Gillen, Waldschmidt and Cijntje have also been mentioned.

[ReasonablySober]

Thought this was interesting in Passan's article about a kid with a chance to go 1/1 in Sunday's draft:

That still wasn't enough for Bazzana. To become the best version of himself, Bazzana knew he needed more power (he hit 11 home runs as a sophomore). He pored over video of Mookie Betts, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman, Ramirez -- all 5-foot-9 or shorter, all with proven track records of hitting for power at the major league level. As he had in his studies of the mental game, Bazzana came to a clear conclusion: All of the most powerful small players in the major leagues did the majority of their damage by punishing balls to the pull side. Though Bazzana prided himself on an ability to hit to all fields, doing so was hindering his full potential.

"There's guys that hardly hit the ball over 105 miles an hour that hit 30 home runs," Bazzana said. "I mean, you see Mookie go out and do it all the time and Altuve and Bregman. Jose Ramirez. Not comparing myself to those guys, but I knew there was more than just being a 6-7 behemoth hitting balls 119 miles an hour to produce slug. And all I wanted to do is figure out how, in my frame, can I get myself the best opportunity to produce slug?"

Bazzana would hop into his Nissan Rogue and truck four hours to Kent, Washington, the location of Driveline Baseball, the game's foremost independent player development operation. He would hit for 90 minutes, making small tweaks, all to groove his swing for more pull-side power. By the time the season rolled around, he was a positively modern player: almost fully optimized, at the intersection where relentless work and data-driven insight meet.

He homered in his third at-bat of the season and hit two more in the third game. In mid-March, he hammered leadoff home runs in four consecutive games and hit eight tanks in a five-game stretch. Half his batted balls went 100-plus miles per hour. His 90th percentile exit velocity was 108.9 mph. While the adjustment to wood bats will take some juice out of that number, the fact that he's in the vicinity of Boston Red Sox star Rafael Devers (108.9), Baltimore Orioles star Gunnar Henderson (109.0) and San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. (108.8) speaks to the sort of company he's capable of keeping.

By the end of the season, Bazzana's numbers were otherworldly: .407/.568/.911 with 28 home runs, 76 walks and just 37 strikeouts in 296 plate appearances.

[ReasonablySober]

Baseball America's latest.

17. Brewers — Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Kentucky
In recent years, the Brewers have targeted college hitters who make strong swing decisions in the first round, and Waldschmidt certainly checks that box. He’s a polarizing player in the industry, though many analytically-inclined teams who are picking in the 15-25 range seem quite high on him, and he keeps getting more and more buzz higher up the board.

I wonder if Honeycutt would be an option here because the Brewers have also taken some shots on riskier profiles with tools (Garrett Mitchell in 2020)). That said, none of their recent first-round hitters had the same contact questions that Honeycutt does. This could be one of the higher landing spots for Caleb Lomavita, as well, and potentially a fit for Malcolm Moore.

[MickeyDavis]

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[ReasonablySober]

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Made (17 years old):
24 G
99 PA
84 AB
5 BB
3 3B
5 HR
9 SB
2 CS
15 BB
13 SO
.398/.495 /.711

SS: 14 starts
3B: 6
2B: 4
DH: 1

Can't wait to see him stateside next year.

[ReasonablySober]

BA's updated morning mock.

17. Brewers — Ryan Waldschmidt, OF, Kentucky
Waldschmidt is one of the most polarizing players in the industry. He is getting a ton of first-round noise and is linked with many teams, mostly in the middle of the first round and with any team that has an analytical-bent in the draft room. There’s some Kellon Lindsey buzz to the Brewers as well.

The literal last position the Brewers need in the lower minors is SS, but I would like Lindsey here. He's been compared to younger Trea Turner.

[Brewster]

Hoping we have another wonderful draft this year. I really love the draft last year.

[MVP2110]

I haven't studied the draft nearly to the degree that I do with the NFL or NBA Draft but Carson Benge is who I'm hoping to snag tonight I think

[Matches Malone]

I miss the draft in the studio with the diamond and the prospects in the dugout.

[Turk Nowitzki]

Had no idea the draft started today. They've been doing a really great job these past couple years so I'm excited to see who they add.

Also we'll formally complete the return of the Burnes trade since we got the 34th pick as part of that deal.

[ReasonablySober]

The rare draft that starts at pick #11.

[trwi7]

Give me Caminiti or Yesavage.

[ReasonablySober]

Benge, Waldschmidt, Lindsey, and Schmidt all availavle.

ETA: I see Schmidt decided to pull out of the draft.

[ReasonablySober]

Brewers are taking OF Braylon Payne.

[Turk Nowitzki]

That is not a name I was seeing thrown around at all.

[ReasonablySober]

Fangraphs:

Premier athlete with wide receiver's build at a strapping 6-foot-2. Plus-plus runner, reaches top speed in just a couple of strides. Downward cutting swing looks awkward a lot of the time, makes slash-and-dash contact in games. Has more power potential than that but his top hand needs to be more involved in his swing to get to it. Power/speed developmental prospect whose wheels are a fit in center field.

Pipeline

Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 45 | Run: 70 | Arm: 45 | Field: 60 | Overall: 50

Because he comes from the southern half of Texas and is one of the fastest players in his Draft, Payne elicits comparisons to Kendall George, the Dodgers' top pick (supplemental first round) in 2023. While he can't quite match George's top-of-the-scale speed, Payne is more aggressive on the bases and should provide more impact at the plate. He won't turn 18 until a month after the Draft, making him one of the youngest players in the high school class and enhancing his appeal to teams that put an emphasis on age.

With a compact, flat left-handed swing, Payne likes to use his quick hands to smack grounders to the left side of the infield and his plus-plus speed to beat them out. He opens up early at the plate in an attempt to get down the line as fast as possible, yet he still manages to make repeated contact. Though he'll never be a slugger, he has enough bat speed and projectable strength to hit 15 or more homers per season once he learns to look for pitches he can drive.

Payne focuses on getting on base and creating havoc with his speed. The Houston recruit has good instincts on the bases and in center field, where he has the ingredients to become a plus defender. He has fringy-to-average arm strength that's playable in center.