Ruben "Streak" Souffront and the Denver Brewers

[BirdWatcher]

Some thoughts/questions/speculations/context regarding these numbers just above for Harry Lyerly's rookie campaign.

I guess the main question to start with is how much can be extrapolated from 18 starts/141 IP's? Is that enough to begin to draw any solid conclusions from?
I think a strong case could be made that pitching being as context dependent as it is and pitching careers showing much more unpredictability and variation in real-life then position player careers, these numbers might bear no relation to what the future holds for Lyerly. This might be a fluke. It could be all downhill from here. That is, I admit, a very real possibility.
On the other hand, if 141 IP is a sufficient number to start to get some useful information from (and I suspect it is pretty close to being that), a look at some of the underlying stats here reveal some interesting data that offers some hope for the future for this young man.
For instance, his FIP is very much in line with his ERA and is great to excellent in the context of the league. His FIP- supports the validity of his numbers.
His BABIP, while a bit lower than historical league average (I would need to dig a bit further to find league average data for this season/this league), is not so low as to indicate an inordinate amount of luck on his part. In fact, the Brewers have the best BABIP in the league and Lyerly's is certainly higher than the team BABIP (though I don't have that exact figure in front of me right now). The Brewers also have a superior defensive team so that will help keep BABIP on the lower side and shouldn't be changing anytime soon.

The real question of course is whether he can maintain a HR/9 IP anywhere close to this current 1.0. With his Movement rating, which the latest development report seems to indicate is likely to remain at 2 (out of 10), and playing home games in a ballpark that favors HR hitters, it feels like he's been a bit lucky in this regard and that it could be expected that this number will rise. At what point would it become high enough that his other skills wouldn't counteract it enough to make him an effective starter?
At this point it seems clear that he is likely an outlier in terms of stuff. It appears that he might well be a once in a generation talent in that area. His K/9 rate is not only very impressive, but exceeds the best K/9 rate of starters who qualify for the ERA title in the WPK this season by nearly 2 K's per 9 inning pitched. His K to BB rate is very good and his BB/9 is quite acceptable. And given that all indications are that he still has likely development coming in that area and could end up with an excellent control rating, this is likely not a fluke and will only get better with time and experience.
So let's say he has been lucky in terms of HR's allowed and his HR/9 goes up quite a bit? Will the fact that he doesn't even allow contact for a high percentage of hitters in a game and likely won't walk many mean that a high percentage of the HR's he gives up are of the solo variety? And will this be significant enough for him to maintain effectiveness?
Also, will his world class stuff and ability to get hitters out without them ever making contact with the ball mean that many opportunities for HR's get cancelled out when the batter fails to connect bat to ball? (And given that many power hitters are also more prone to K's, will this help Lyerly keep HR levels at least within acceptable levels?)

Then there is that 3rd pitch, his recently developed knuckle curve. How much will it develop? Lyerly is still only 21 years old, so development is certainly possible. It is only a marginally effective pitch at this point but our scouting staff thinks that it could develop into an above average offering in time. Combined with his already world-class fastball and excellent sinker, what does this do to his already fantastic stuff? What is the limit for this talented young hurler?

I guess only time will tell. But for right now, at least, the future looks bright.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers take 2 of 3 from the Baltimore Lords to end the regular season with a 98-64 record.
They got an easy 7-1 victory in the first game behind the pitching of Daniel Torres who finishes the season with a 14-5 record and 2.59 ERA. Among the contributors on offense was young back-up catcher Kevin Curtis (.159/.250/.254) who had a rare good day with the bat, going 2 for 2 with 2 RBI, a walk, and his only HR of the season.
The Brewers were then shut-out in game 2 by the great veteran lefthander, Jose Santos (17-9, 2.47) who held them to just 3 hits while striking out 7 and walking 2. The Brewers lost 1-0 as captain Abel Pennington (10-11, 3.08) also pitched a gem, allowing just the 1 run on 4 hits and 1 walk, striking out 5 in 7 1/3rd innings pitched.
Young Adam Getchell, who along with Harry Lyerly is thought to be the future of the Brewers starting rotation, again pitched well in the final game of the regular season and the Brewers held on for a 4-2 victory. Getchell (3-0, 2.49 in his time with the Brewers) worked 7 2/3rds, allowing the 2 runs on only 3 hits while walking 3 and striking out 2.

The Brewers now find themselves energetically preparing for a first in franchise history: a trip to the WPK World Series!

[BirdWatcher]

And this is where I admit that we have our work cut out for us here. This Columbus team, well, they aren't half bad. (Huge understatement.) They are the reigning WPK champs after all, and they did win 104 games this season. And they scored the second most runs in the SJL while allowing the fewest. In Jake Harris they have a lights out ace and their second starter, Decheng Lei, isn't too shabby either. In fact, since they picked up Lei in a trade with Washington mid-season, he's put up pretty phenomenal numbers. They have a closer who combines amazing stuff with incredible movement, and just enough control to be mostly unhittable.
And while that lineup might not have a true superstar (though leadoff man Leo Gavila is headed in that direction and is the team captain), it is potent 1-7 and even has a bit of pop at number 8 in catcher Joaquin Mendez, who is solid behind the dish. (Okay, let me give centerfielder Brad Tesh his due. He might not create as much stir as some of the other superstars in the WPK (see Andy Wilson, see Travis Johnson, see Nate Bennett) but he was the 1965 SJL ROY, 1968 MVP, is a 5-time All-Star, 3-time Silver Slugger, and did hit .294/.360/.489 with 21 doubles, 10 triples, 28 HR's, and 32 stolen bases (only caught 8 times), so, you know, that pretty much makes him a superstar.)
The Whalers swept Portland in last year's World Series.
Of course, the Brewers want to think, want to believe, they can win it all this year. But realistically, not getting swept would be some sort of victory.

[BirdWatcher]

Final Standings for 1969 season, in case anyone is interested in that sort of thing.
And just for the sake of comparison, a peek again at the preseason predictions for this season.

[BirdWatcher]

A few notes about the Brewers roster for the post-season before the World Series commences:
Starting pitcher Diego Ramirez ended the regular season on the disabled list but our training staff let us know that he was available to pitch again prior to the World Series beginning. It was decided though, with Ramirez having missed several weeks at the end of the season and with his propensity for injury as well as his inconsistent performance when healthy this year, to leave him off the WS roster.
The four-man rotation for the series will consist of veterans Daniel Torres, Steve Alonso, and the captain, Abel Pennington, along with rookie Harry Lyerly.
Starter Will Smart will be in the bullpen for the series, available for any needed long relief work or as an emergency starter in case of injury.
The biggest surprise in the bullpen is that the team decided to leave power arm Kyle Green off the roster in favor of rookie Adam Getchell. Green struggled down the stretch and Getchell has pitched quite well and also gives the bullpen another starting pitcher arm that can throw extended innings if needed.
No big surprises in terms of position players. In addition to the starters from the regular season, the infield backup defensive specialists- Juan Lujan and Oscar Vargas- are there, as well as outfielder James Jackson and Pat Rondeau, and OF/1B Andrew Kennedy, who was showing some real signs of life at the plate late in the season.
The team brings just 2 catchers to the WS- veteran righthander Matt Webb and young back-up lefty Joey Townsend.

[BirdWatcher]

In spite of a shaky start by Harry Lyerly, the Brewers head into the bottom of the 9th in game 1 of the World Series with a very good chance for a win, leading 7-5.
But they blow it, allowing the Whalers to score 2 in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game and then win it on a walk-off in the bottom of the 11th (one batter after James Jackson threw out a runner at home to temporarily preserve the tie) and the Whalers draw first blood.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers jump out to an early 3-0 lead in Game 2.
Which, of course, they cannot hold.
They lose, embarrassingly, by a final score of 8-3.
You can see it in the eyes of the Brewers players now: the realization that in the Whalers they are facing a vastly superior team, one the likes of which they did not encounter in the MGL this season.
Publicly, with the series now shifting to Brewers Field, the team states confidence that they can climb back into the series and take the crown. Privately, there is a sense that if they can just escape the series without being completely humiliated that will be an accomplishment, and that they can only hope to get back to the Series next season with a bit of experience under their belts and a better chance of victory.

[BirdWatcher]

The Whalers jump out to an early lead in Game 3.
Unlike the Brewers, the Whalers have no problem expanding upon and preserving their lead and are now 1 win away from their second straight WPK championship.
Unless the Brewers can muster a win in Game 4 it will also be the second year in a row that the Whalers swept an inferior MGL team to claim the title.
One positive note in the game is that the Brewers, looking very defeated at this point, did manage to gather enough grit and determination to score 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning, though it was, of course, too little too late.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers jump off to an early lead in Game 4....and, well, you know the rest.
Mercifully the series is over and the Brewers can go lick their wounds.
The best team definitely prevailed.
As for the Brewers, well, as they say, wait 'til next year.

[BirdWatcher]

With reliever Armando Cruz among a small batch of arbitration eligible Brewers as we enter the off-season, and given that we have such a surplus of talent in that area while Cruz continues to struggle with control to the extent that he is not a trusted arm and spent much of the second half of the season down at AAA Chester, I decided to look into the idea of trading him.
And I was shocked at the number of aging stars I was offered in return. It seems a lot of teams around the WPK are looking to unload some salaries before the new batch of free agents hit the market.

Among the players offered are a former Pitcher-of-the-Year award winner, Juan Soto, who in spite of being 37 now was still a valuable pitcher this season (13-10, 2.68, 5.4 WAR). Also on offer, 3-time All-Star and power-hitting rightfielder Josh Ackland. At age 35, Ackland can still mash with the best, but he's a liability in the field, other than his cannon arm, and on the base paths. San Francisco dangled 33-year old centerfielder Antonio Sosa. He's a fine hitter, with a decent amount of power, and a very gifted fielder. But he's a few years older than Ryan Rodgers, so what would be the point? With the continued offensive struggles of Antonio Puente, we could possibly move one of these veterans to left and trade Puente, but it doesn't really fit in with the Brewers organizational philosophy to unload younger players for players heading towards their declining years.
Ultimately, probably the most appealing offer is another player S.F. has suggested- reliever Eric Singer. Singer is not only a very gifted reliever but at age 31 he should have a few good years left and he's a less expensive option than any of these others. Perhaps just as importantly, he's a very popular player both nationally and locally (he's a fan favorite in S.F.) and our owner wants us to make it a priority to put more fannies in the seats. Getting Singer wouldn't do anything to unclutter our bullpen but with the Brewers trying to get back to the World Series in 1970 he could certainly help in the short-run. It might push the team to try to move a few other younger relievers but with some even better prospects coming up through the system, that might not be such a bad thing.
No decision has been made yet. Stay tuned.

[BirdWatcher]

After fairly lengthy negotiations, we work out a multi-player deal with San Francisco that sends Cruz and three minor leaguers to the Velocity in return for Singer and minor league starting pitcher Jimmy Daniels who shows some promise, with his 5-pitch repertoire and durability, to develop into a decent back-end of the rotation starter. At the very least, even if he never becomes valuable at the major league level, Daniels is a great leader, the type who is often considered a captain among his teammates. (The Brewers also were able to get some cash compensation as part of the deal, to help keep some wiggle room in the budget for 1970.)
The toughest part of this decision was agreeing to part with outfielder George Alexander. Alexander, a first round draft pick in the 1965 draft (3rd overall) has great natural talent and solid character traits. The Brewers were hoping that he might regain some of his earlier luster as a prospect when they traded for him nearly two years ago. But at age 23 there are few signs that Alexander is likely to ever be more than a bench player in the WPK and the Brewers have such a crowded outfield picture that Alexander was pretty much stuck at AAA. And miserable. So perhaps a change of scenery will do him good.

[BirdWatcher]

As I felt confident he would eventually, firstbaseman Bobby Erbakan has won his first Gold Glove award.
At 22 years of age, Erbakan looks to be developing into a star in the league, and as a superior defender this is likely to be just the first of several Gold Glove awards in his career.

[BirdWatcher]

The only other Brewer to win an award for this season is, well, me, for MGL Manager of the Year.
However, Miguel Solis and Josh McEwen finished 2nd and 3rd in the MGL Reliever of the Year award voting. For Solis this is not unexpected but McEwen's season was surprisingly wonderful and might well prove to be hard to repeat in 1970.

[BirdWatcher]

The WPK calendar now finds us into that portion of the off-season where all of the 1969 Awards have been passed out, arbitration hearings will be completed soon, and shortly thereafter free agency filings will be completed and teams will have a better sense of what talent might be available for the 1970 season.
This is a time when I consciously try to slow myself down as my impulse is to race towards spring training and get the new season started.
One activity that helps slow me down is updating the various lists/reports that I keep for this league, both in analog form and in excel spreadsheets. I will admit I'm a sucker for old fashioned record keeping, and have a shelf full of 3-ring binders related to this league. (This is not to mention the fairly large white board I use mostly to track progress of prospects during the season.) This includes a binder where I keep track of yearly (basic) statistics for any player who ever puts on a Brewers uniform and has at least one plate appearance or faces at least one batter from the mound. There is the binder for my created relative players process, which I use to store the rules of the process by which I identify players who will enter the WPK universe who are related to current WPK players, as well as the ongoing list of these players, their names, dates of birth, year they will enter the WPK, etc.
I also keep a binder for the WPK player deaths process- a process in which former WPK players dates and causes of death are identified. In conjunction with this process is an excel spreadsheet with the names, dates of birth, etc. of all retired WPK players sorted by age ranges.

A binder I particularly wish to focus on right now, just to paint a more complete picture of my methodology and approach to this save, is my current Brewer prospect binder. This is where I keep prospect reports with accompanying minor league statistics for all of the minor league prospects in the Brewers organization I have chosen to monitor and somewhat control. (And yes, there is a separate binder where these reports go when these players either move up to the big league club, are traded to another team or released, or decide to retire having never made it to the big leagues.)
Having previously played mostly historical leagues with OOTP, where I didn't really pay that much attention to the minors or player development at that level, with this fictional save I wanted to dedicate myself far more to that side of things. So I have a pretty liberal view of prospect in terms of which players I shortlist, follow, and control. It's not just my top prospects- players like Joe McPhillips, Steve Green, Jonathan Koch- but pretty much anyone who at some point shows the potential to be a useful piece, even a minor one, at the WPK level. As time goes on I update these reports and sort the binder-broken up by general positions (Pitcher, Catcher, Middle Infielder, Corner Infielders, Outfielders)-in order of players (within positional category) current order of value, based upon my own interpretation of what I am seeing in terms of performance, ratings changes, scouting reports.
Once a player is in the binder they stay in the binder until they either make it or are sent packing one way or another. Which means that some players who previously were seen as decent prospects but have now essentially turned into organizational filler at best remain in the book but just keep dropping down lower and lower in the pile for their positional category. But live near the bottom of your category for long and you are likely to be gone soon and moved to another binder. And of course, players who have been in the system for awhile can sometimes emerge as prospects and get added to the binder for the first time after several minor league seasons. Those are usually the most fun. (A recent example is starting pitcher Justin Peacock, who was a 10th round draft pick by Detroit in the 1965 draft, came to the Brewers in a trade (off the top of my head I can't remember when now) and this year jumped up into the WPK top 100 Prospects list.)

In the next few days I will provide some wrap-up of the 1969 Brewers season, position by position, to give some updates about what went right and what went wrong with the season, what players might have under-achieved and which ones might have be due for a reversion to the mean in 1970. But also, within this context, I will take a look at what each position might look like in 3-5 years and this is where the Brewers prospect binder will play a role.

This exercise also helps me to focus my mind on what actions should be taken in the off-season: what trades should probably be pursued, whether the Brewers should be active in the Free Agent market and if so what should we be targeting, etc.

[BirdWatcher]

So let's start at an appropriate place, perhaps the strongest area on the team- the starting rotation.
First, more generally, Brewers pitching was the best in the WPK in terms of runs allowed, batting average against, BABIP, strikeouts, and tied for best in OBP. The team ERA was just slightly higher than that of the Baltimore Lords staff, who pitch their home games in the best pitcher's park in the league. On the other hand, the Brewers pitchers gave up the most HR's in the WPK. Though it should be noted that Brewers Field is the best park for HR hitters in the MGL and second best in all of the WPK. Brewers pitchers were pretty much middle of the pack in terms of walks allowed.
The bullpen was solid, and we'll get to that soon, but it was the deep starting staff that led the way.
The ace of the staff, once again, was 34-year old veteran lefthander Daniel Torres. For Torres the biggest challenge is always control, and he saw his numbers in that area get much worse during the 1969 season. And for a pitcher with great movement who led the league in HR/9 in 1968 at 0.1, his 12 HRA and 0.6 HR/9 was definitely on the high end for him. Though to be fair, offensive numbers were way up across the board in 1969 from the pitching dominant 1968 WPK environment. Still, Torres is still a pitcher who gets a good number of strikeouts and as someone who induces a great deal of groundballs (with a great defensive infield behind him) he can often work his way out of self-inflicted jams. He led the league in BABIP, which might indicate a bit of luckiness in 1969, but this number wasn't significantly lower than his career average in this area, so this might just be part of his profile.
(It might be good to note at this point that the Brewers pitching coach, Blake Martin, who has a great reputation, specializes in working with groundballers.)
Torres is signed through the 1971 season (with a team option for '71) and at this point, in spite of his advancing age, there are no indications that he can't continue to be a valuable member of the rotation for at least that long. He is also considered one of the leaders of the team in the clubhouse, so that enhances his overall value.

After Torres, Steve Alonso has generally been considered the other front-line starter on the team for the past several years. Alonso's fatal flaw is the long ball, and in 1969 he allowed a league high 32 of them. Still, in spite of that and the fact that his walks allowed also reached a career high for him, he remained a solid starter and tied Torres for the team lead in wins with 14. At age 32, Alonso is signed through the 1973 season (for which there is a team option.) Indications from the scouting staff at this point are that Alonso remains a useful member of the rotation but likely is no longer a top-of-the-rotation talent. Whether his skills will fall off the table prior to his contract being completed is an open question.

The middle of the rotation should be anchored by the talented Cuban righty, Diego Ramirez. And sometimes it is. But Ramirez has proven to be very injury prone and due to this he was able to start just 22 games this season, several of which he had to leave early due to nagging issues with his back, a few bouts of dead arm, a calf strain mid-season that saw him lose 3 weeks, and finally, at the end of the season, inflammation in his throwing arm (elbow.) As a result, he ended up with fewer innings pitched than any Brewers starter who appeared in more than a few games. When he was healthy, he was solid. But not spectacular. Ramirez is signed through 1972 but also could opt out after the 1970 season. Rumor is that the Brewers are likely to shop him prior to the '70 season starting, what with several young arms coming up to supplant him in the rotation.

[BirdWatcher]

Somewhere in the middle of the rotation lies the captain, Abel Pennington. Pennington is Mr. Solid. He will likely never rise to the level of ace, but at age 27 our scouting staff seems to think that his best years might actually be just ahead of him. He doesn't do anything particularly well, but he doesn't do anything particularly poorly either. He is a groundball pitcher on a team where that is considered an advantage. And he is our fearless leader. Pennington is still under team control for the next 3 seasons and has already inked a contract for 1970, at terms quite favorable to the team. How steady his skills remain in the next few years will dictate how long he is with the team but the chances are he might spend most of the rest of his career in Brewers purple.

Towards the back-end of the rotation we find last year's free agent signing, Will Smart. Smart was pretty much what you ask for in a number 5 guy. He won't wow you, but he's rarely horrible either. He's a smart guy, a good influence in the clubhouse, only 28 years of age, and a decent bridge for the next few seasons (signed through 1971) while the young arms develop.

Speaking of young arms, the most significant development for the 1969 rotation was the emergence of Harry Lyerly. I won't go into too much detail about him now as you can read plenty of that above and see his stats for the season. But obviously going into the 1970 season he is a big part of the plan and if all goes well he could anchor the rotation for years to come.

Next up: more about the possible future for the Brewers rotation.

[BirdWatcher]

Any dream of the future for the Brewers rotation starts with Harry Lyerly and Adam Getchell.
Lyerly, as mentioned above, has already had a pretty good first test at the WPK level, and mostly passed with flying colors.
Getchell, who was picked up mid-season in the trade that sent Arturo Baca to Pittsburgh, only pitched in a small handful of games for the Brewers, but acquitted himself quite well in those appearances. While he still has some development needed at age 24, our scouting staff still believes him capable of being a staff ace. One encouraging thing with Getchell that is the opposite of the case with Lyerly: Getchell is expected to be stingy with the long ball.

Also not far behind these two is 22-year old righty Steve Green. Green is pretty well developed at this point and expected to join the team next September, at the latest. At this stage, the scouting team sees him as being a solid mid-rotation starter in the WPK.

With these 3 all having a decent chance of headlining the Brewers rotation in the next 3-5 years, and with Pennington likely sticking around for that long as well, providing steady veteran leadership, things look potentially quite good for the Brewers rotation for the foreseeable future.

There are a few other prospects in the minors also who could end up having mid-to-back-end of the rotation roles in a few years.
Primary among them is Justin Peacock, who is 22-year old with great character traits and 5 pitches that can all project to be average to above average, even if none look elite. His ceiling is probably a solid #3 but at this point his floor might well be a decent #5.
A few other potential back-end of the rotation guys are the recently acquired Jimmy Daniels, who at age 22 has a 5-pitch repertoire, 4 of them quite usable at the WPK level, and is considered a leader, the kind of player who could well take over as team captain from Abel Pennington when Abel eventually leaves the team.
Then there is Eric Johnson, who had a great season at Bainbridge (single A) this season and took Pitcher-of-the-Year honors. Johnson is another guy with a great reputation for his character, especially baseball smarts and overall intelligence, in his case. Johnson has what could be a solid 4-pitch repertoire but will need to make quite a bit of overall development before he is likely to have any big league success. Still, with his smarts, nobody is counting him out yet.

[BirdWatcher]

(See Eric Johnson below.)

There is also still an outside chance that Steve LaCoste, who finished 3rd in the single A Pitcher-of-the-Year award voting behind his teammate Johnson and a Baltimore Lords prospect who was #35 on the top 100 prospects list at the beginning of the season, could develop into a back-end or swing-man role at the WPK level. Again, his multi-pitch repertoire and strong character qualities give him a fighting chance at least.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers bullpen was also mostly very good in 1969, finishing 3rd in the MGL in ERA.
As mentioned above, Miguel Solis and Josh McEwen finished 2nd and 3rd in the voting for Reliever-of-the-Year in the MGL. Solis continues to be the anchor of the 'pen and is now has been to 4 straight All-Star games. He led the league in saves with 27, though he also blew 5 save opportunities.
At age 29, and signed through the 1972 season (team option for that year) he is likely to remain a key player in the Brewers bullpen for at least the next 3 seasons.
McEwen, who is considered one of the team leaders, might well have over-achieved a bit in '69 and it wouldn't be a surprise if his numbers weren't quite as good in 1970, but his propensity to get groundball outs might help him maintain success and he does possess a wicked slider and a fine fastball with the stuff needed to get strikeouts at crucial moments. McEwen remains under team control through the 1972 season and should maintain an important role, especially given his ability to work multiple innings, for that long at least.

Veteran lefthander David Brown once again provided steady late-inning relief and finished 2nd on the team in saves with 14. With his great ability to get batters to hit into ground outs and his solid control, he rarely has a bad outing even if he doesn't often dominate the opposition. He is known for having excellent movement on his pitches and generally does not give up many HR's, but he did unexpectedly struggle a bit in this area in 1969, putting up by far the highest HR/9 number of his career. The team decided to exercise the option on his contract for 1970 so he will return for at least one last year and provide veteran stability in the bullpen.

With Brown likely heading into the twilight of his career, and the even older lefty Chris Healy- who had a fine swan song season- having announced earlier in the year that '69 was his final season- the Brewers picked up 24-year old lefthander Liann-Wei Hua in a trade with Washington mid-season. Although Hua got off to a rough start with the Brewers in his first 5 appearances or so, he soon settled down and ended up putting up very fine numbers for the season. With premium stuff and very fine control, combined with adequate movement, Hua is projected to become a very fine late-inning, high-leverage reliever and could well prove to be a lefthanded complement to righthanded closer Solis.

Rounding out the 1969 bullpen was 26-year old power pitching righty Kyle Green. Green throws a fastball that can regularly touch double digits and a decent slider. But while his stuff is above average, everything else about his pitching profile is quite average. He wasn't horrible, but he was the weak link in the '69 'pen and with several promising young relievers at the top rungs of the minor league system there are doubts about Green being part of the picture for the 1970 season.

[BirdWatcher]

As mentioned above, Miguel Solis is likely a fixture in the Brewers 'pen for at least the next several seasons.
Liann-Wei Hua is under team control through 1973 and is likely to remain for at least that long.
Josh McEwen is still young enough that if he remains relatively effective he too should last awhile.

So beyond that there are a good number of prospects in the system who will try to stake a claim in the Brewers future plans.
Probably foremost among them, in terms of immediate readiness anyway, is Jaden Francis, who has had small stints with the club in both of the past two seasons. Things have probably reached the point where the club either needs to keep Jaden on the major league roster or trade him. As a groundball pitcher who also should get plenty of swings and misses and shouldn't be too terribly prone to allowing HR's, Jaden should be a good fit with the Brewers. The main question still is whether he will be able to harness his control enough to be as truly effective as many believe he is capable of being. 1970 will probably be the year he is given the opportunity to prove he is ready to be a Brewer for a full season.
A bit more problematic is the 23-year old Denver native Dave Harder. For the past several years the scouting department has been assuring leadership that Harder is destined to be a premium late-inning relief artist in the WPK. He is known to have great movement and should rarely cough up a long ball. And the belief is that when he is fully developed he will have superior stuff and get plenty of outs via the K. But his control will likely always be sub-par. And at this stage, with his slider still not having developed beyond being a weak second pitch, his stuff is not major league ready either. His ceiling remains high, but the chances of him never becoming more than a AAA pitcher might be just as high. He will need to develop fast and dramatically.

Meanwhile, 22-year old Sam Pruiett has just been patiently awaiting his turn at AAA Chester. While Pruiett does not have the potential upside of Harder, he is already mostly developed and it is thought that he could be a very consistent, reliable middle relief presence for the Brewers. Likely Pruiett will get some opportunities in 1970 to start to show if he is ready for the bigs.

Justin Bismark, another 22-year old righty, is also another Brewers prospect with a big arm but control issues. He might be a year away from getting a chance in the WPK. But it also wouldn't be surprising if he saw some time in a Brewers uniform this coming season.

Slightly lower in the system but perhaps more developed than most of the pitchers mentioned above, 23-year old Ali Pressley, has pitched very well and is moving up the system rapidly. Pressley, with a 4-pitch repertoire, great intelligence and leadership ability, and both potentially great stuff and movement and at least somewhat above average control, could end up outshining all of them in the long run. His strong propensity to induce groundballs fits well in the Brewers pitching scheme and if his curveball develops to the point it is thought it could to combine with his already very good cutter and potentially great forkball, he might even be able to provide occasional starting stints. (If only his stamina were a bit higher, he would have real potential to fill a role in the starting rotation.)