Brewers 2025 Discussion - Frelick Activated, Black Sent Down

[Brewster]

So when are they going to sign that Scott Boras' starting free agent pitcher?

[Turk Nowitzki]

This is getting circulated around Twitter like its legit. Don't know anything about Priester but I don't expect the people who follow our prospects closely to be thrilled with this one. Rodriguez is young and very highly regarded. Giving up a high draft pick also seems pretty awful for an organization in our position.

Read on Twitter

[ReasonablySober]

That better not be true.

[Turk Nowitzki]

Everything else seems to be citing this Hunter Noll guy as the origin of it so we'll see I guess.

[ReasonablySober]

Oh god it's true.

[Turk Nowitzki]

Seems insane that we have to include a top 10 prospect and then also a comp A pick here, that's a pick in the 30's right? A trade made out of desperation?

Read on Twitter

[Thunder Muscle]

Man thats like a borderline 1st round pick isn’t it? They must really like this guy.

[ReasonablySober]

Even if you think Yophery is a good/not great prospect (where I landed) that's still an insane amount to give up.

[Turk Nowitzki]

I look forward to reading some Priester write ups because on the surface his time in the big leagues has been a failure and even his minor league numbers are more solid than anything really impressive. Surely Rodriguez on his own would've been more than a fair price.

[Thunder Muscle]

I have to really believe in the pitch lab on this one. Also wonder if this an indication that some of these injuries may linger a bit.

Peralta, Patrick, Alexander about only sure things. I can’t imagine Rodriguez gets many more opportunities if gets lit up again. Assume Priester jumps right in. Hopefully Quintana can go soon.

[jute2003]

I know nothing about him and I'm usually wrong when I have an opinion about MLB trades so TBD I guess.

[Thunder Muscle]

Looks like Boston gave up Nick Yorke for him who is currently a top 5 prospect for Pittsburgh. Rodriguez is #7 for us. So it seems like we definitely gave up more factoring in the pick.

I’m just going to go with they must see high potential to give that up. He certainly seems to at least have a higher ceiling than some of these guys.

[ReasonablySober]

I look forward to reading some Priester write ups because on the surface his time in the big leagues has been a failure and even his minor league numbers are more solid than anything really impressive. Surely Rodriguez on his own would've been more than a fair price.

The last time he was on a Pipeline list was 2023 when he was a top five prospect in the Pirates system:

Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 60 | Slider: 50 | Changeup: 50 | Control: 50 | Overall: 55

Priester was one of the best high school pitchers in the 2019 Draft, one who played multiple sports at his Illinois school, but the Pirates liked his upside and feel for pitching enough to take him in the first round of the 2019 Draft. After a brief summer debut, he had to wait until 2021 to really get going and he led his league in ERA and went to the Futures Game in that first full season. He was slowed in 2022 by an oblique injury and didn’t make his debut until June, but he still managed to pitch his way to Triple-A and then made up for lost innings in the Arizona Fall League.

While the projectable Priester hasn’t quite taken the big steps forward stuff-wise some might have expected, he’s shown that his legitimate four-pitch mix can get hitters out in a number of ways. The right-hander, who will be just 22 for nearly all of the 2023 season, has plenty of time for more velocity to come. His fastball touched 97 mph in 2022 and averaged just over 93. His two-seamer features plenty of sink and has led to a ton of ground-ball outs and he also has a four-seamer he can throw up in the zone to change eye levels. His curve is still his best pitch, a high-spin upper-70s breaker that misses a ton of bats, and he also has a low-to-mid 80s slider as he continues to fold in a mid-80s changeup.

Priester is super-athletic on the mound and at times has shown he can be a very efficient strike-thrower, something that will only improve with more reps at the upper levels. Even with his missed development time, he’s knocking on the big league door at a very young age.

He hasn't reached that level in MLB ball over the last three seasons, though he barely pitched for Boston last season. Here was their scouting report:

Physical Description: Tall, sturdy pitcher's frame. Has filled out since he entered pro ball and has minimal remaining projection.

Mechanics: Throws from a three-quarters arm slot. Some effort in delivery. Slightly below-average extension. Longer arm action with a slight stab behind. Average arm speed. Hitters get a pretty good look at him.

Fastball: 90-94 mph. Tops out at 97 mph. Primarily relies on a sinking fastball, but will also utilize a four-seam fastball. Sinker will show arm-side run, while four-seam is very straight. Potential above-average offering.

Slider: 84-89 mph. Short, horizontal break. Added to his arsenal relatively recently, but has developed into one of his more reliable secondaries. Does not consistently get over it and snap it off. Average spin rate. Potential above-average offering.

Curveball: 79-82 mph. Long, 12-to-6 action with depth with he snaps it off. Has generated swinging strikes in the minors, but has not translated as well to the major league level. Potential average offering.

Changeup: 88-91 mph. Pitch shows some sink and fade. Lacks feel and is inconsistent within outings. Primarily thrown to left-handed hitters. Potential fringe-average offering.

Career Notes: Two-sport athlete in high school, also starring in football. Was named Illinois Player of the Year his senior year of high school. 18th overall pick by the Pirates in 2019, signing for slightly under slot. Was a consensus top 100 prospect entering the 2021 and 2022 seasons, appearing on MLB Pipeline's 2023 list as well. Participated in the 2021 Futures Game. Struggled a bit in first exposure to the majors in 2023 and 2024, but also dealt with a lat strain in the first half of 2024. Traded to Boston for Nick Yorke at the 2024 trade deadline. Showed a willingness to work with the organization to tweak his pitches and mix after trade. Earned call-up to start the season finale for Boston in 2024.

Summation: Potential back-end starter. Ceiling of a mid-rotation starter. Intriguing project for the pitching development staff to try to get the most out of a player with raw talent and strong pedigree. Once a highly regarded prospect, he has struggled to make the jump to the majors. At worst, he looks like an emergency depth starter, but he flashes MLB starter potential. Needs to find more consistency with his secondary offerings and refine his fastball command to reach his potential.

They've got him for five more seasons. If he becomes a middle of the rotation starter the trade will probably end up fine. But they're really banking on the lab here and the Brewers coaches.

[LUKE23]

That is one awful **** trade.

[ReasonablySober]

I didn't see star upside with Yophery. He's solid at a lot of things but none of his traits really pop. Still, he's so young that moving him now seems like a mistake.

As for the Comp A pick, it's mitigated a little because they already have another Comp A pick.

But when you look at the package as a whole I think that's an awful lot to give up for a guy who hasn't shown much at the MLB level.

[Matches Malone]

A trade only a Horst could love. I guess we'll see what the pitching lab has up its sleeve.

[Thunder Muscle]

His peripherals were better on Savant last year than 2023. Looks like he struggles striking guys out but had good Chase, BB, Barrell, and GB% numbers. Looks like mostly an off speed type guy, alot of sinkers and sliders. May be a good fit with an above average defense behind him if keeps ball on the ground.

[ReasonablySober]

Looking at the Pipeline list, they have Yophery at #7. In August I had him at #13, below Gassser, Payne, Areinamo, Adams, Hunt, and Wilken. Today I'd add Pena, Bitonti, Henderson, Yoho, and Letson. So he's more of a late-teens kind of prospect IMO with no specific skills to hang his hat on.

It's the Comp A pick that hurts.

[Kerb Hohl]

I have not looked into how he is doing right now, but Priester was a pretty big prospect coming up, more on draft pedigree/potential vs. minor league production.

I will always trust the process in these. They have something ready to cook up in the lab to make him at worst a depth guy (we need it).

This is basically the Jake Bauers deal for a pitcher, though Priester has slightly more upside given his age.

Take a guy that was once a huge prospect, star has faded but he has marketable MLB skill you can work with. At worst you have a AAAA guy right now, maybe more. Trade away 2 lotto tickets to get him. Could look incredibly stupid if one of those lotto tickets turns into a star, but I trust that they expect neither will in both trades (can't comment on comp A draft pick yet).

[Thunder Muscle]

Looking at the Pipeline list, they have Yophery at #7. In August I had him at #13, below Gassser, Payne, Areinamo, Adams, Hunt, and Wilken. Today I'd add Pena, Bitonti, Henderson, Yoho, and Letson. So he's more of a late-teens kind of prospect IMO with no specific skills to hang his hat on.

It's the Comp A pick that hurts.

Same. Hate giving up the pick, but if he ends up being a solid 3-4 starter think its probably worth it. Plus team controlled for a while if is solid.

Realistically Cortes, Quintana and Civale are probably gone after this year. Woodruff could go either way. Who does that leave…Peralta, Myers, Priester, Patrick? At this point can’t trust DL Hall or Ashby staying in the field.