Ruben "Streak" Souffront and the Denver Brewers

[BirdWatcher]

A few interesting lefthanded relievers in the Brewers farm system:
Mark Amundson, at age 25, is overdue to develop into a major league reliever. Our scouting staff has always been a bit more reserved in their praise for his potential than the OSA, who rave about his potential stuff especially, but who also see him as having better movement potential than our scouting team thinks is reasonable to expect. Perhaps most importantly, Amundson is a severe injury risk in the eyes of our scouts even though up to this point he has only suffered two minor injuries in his professional career. Amundson may get a chance to try to prove himself at the major league level this coming season. But he could just as likely be packaged in a trade soon.
Jeremy Walker, on the other hand, is considered a durable pitcher. His movement is already very good, but while his stuff projects as potentially quite excellent, it still has to develop a bit more before being WPK-ready. And his control at this point is horrible and our scouting staff doesn't ever expect it to be any better than just passable. The scouting staff still thinks he has potential for late-inning high-leverage WPK duty. But at this stage it looks nearly as likely that he won't make it.

Another pair of lefties- Cole Loomis and Brian Hall- look like they could eventually develop into useful bullpen pieces- nothing special, but good enough to fill out a 'pen. If they weren't lefthanded they might not even get any attention from leadership. But as it is, they might come in handy someday.

[BirdWatcher]

With a growing surplus of pitchers and with the struggles of Diego Ramirez to remain healthy, the Brewers today shipped him to Pittsburgh in exchange for 30-year old catcher Carlos Rivera. Rivera has limited offensive skills but is an extremely gifted defensive catcher who has won 4 straight Gold Gloves. Rivera is under contract through the 1973 season and management felt that he will provide a nice bridge and mentor to the younger catcher coming up through the system, including Kevin Curtis, who will likely be his back-up during the 1970 season.
Perhaps even more importantly, the Brewers get 19-year old Zacarias Martell who has the potential to become a star catcher himself in a few years. Martell projects to possibly become as fine a defensive catcher as Rivera, but with potentially quite a bit more offensive upside.
The move also opens up a bit more salary space should the Brewers decide to sign a front-line free agent this off-season.

[BirdWatcher]

Rumor has it that the Denver Brewers, having carefully considered all of the front-line free agents who have recently hit the market, have decided to go all in, somewhat surprisingly, to strengthen the area where they are perhaps already strongest- starting pitching.
Cheol-Han Lee, at age 28, is already a 4-time All-Star and 2-time Pitcher-of-the-Year award winner. Lee has led the league in WAR among pitchers for 4 of the last 5 years, and in fewest HR's allowed (a weakness for the Brewers staff) in 2 of the last 5. Lee is a durable innings eater who has also led the league in games started 3 times and in innings pitched the last 3 seasons.

It might make for a crowded staff in Denver and might mean prospect Adam Getchell spends more time in AAA this coming season getting seasoning, but the thought is that Lee, with his propensity to induce groundballs and his stinginess in terms of giving up HR's, could be a perfect fit with the Brewers.
The inside whispers are that he is looking for a contract that takes him through his age 35 season with yearly salaries north of $400,000.
But if he can help the Brewers get over the hump next year and take a championship, management would consider it money well spent.

[BirdWatcher]

Catching is a position that has been in great flux for the Brewers these past few years. Since trading their former team captain Sam Rogers in May of 1968, they have seen two other veterans, Brett Wood and most recently Matt Webb, who recently filed for free agency, come and go. In the past two seasons Joey Townsend has spent a good deal of time on the major league roster as the backup. And while Townsend isn't a bad defender and had his moments of heroics with the bat, he is not thought to be anything other than a stop-gap option at this point. There are also serious reservations about Townsend's work ethic and baseball smarts.
Another youngster who has seen some action with the Brewers the past 2 seasons is Kevin Curtis. Curtis is a very strong defensive catcher who in spite of having poor contact skills at the plate does show a very good eye and some gap power. The scouting staff has recently become even more bullish on Curtis and he will likely supplant Townsend as the primary backup during the 1970 season.
With the recent trade of Diego Ramirez and the acquisition of gold glover Carlos Rivera, likely for this coming season if not for several after that Curtis and Rivera will be the Brewers catching tandem.

[BirdWatcher]

Looking down the line a bit further, the recently acquired 19-year old Zacarias Martell may indeed be the catcher of the future for the Brewers.
But a little bit ahead of him in the organization are a few other young men who could claim their stake on that position as well.
Spencer Wilson was considered the heir apparent until the Martell entered the picture. Wilson is a very strong defensive backstop with one of the stronger arms in the system and has some decent offensive potential as well, particularly with his patient, selective approach at the plate.
Perhaps the best all-around defensive catcher in the organization is 22-year old Jim Taylor, who was chosen in round 12 of the most recent amateur draft. Taylor likely has limited upside with the bat, but with his great baseball IQ and his advanced defensive skills, he could certainly prove to be a very valuable back-up eventually.
Jeff Darden is another solid defender with somewhat limited offensive potential who could eventually make the team in at least a back-up role. Darden is considered a very hard worker and profiles as very durable and will be given every opportunity to earn promotion.

[BirdWatcher]

Bobby Erbakan.
That's pretty much the story at this position. The 22-year old had a fine sophomore season and is looking more and more like a future star in the league. He won his first, of what will likely be many, gold glove award and led the team in doubles with 34, tied for 3rd in triples with 7 and was sixth among position players in WAR at 2.8. He may never hit for a great deal of power, but he looks to be just getting started as a premium defender, top-notch contact hitter, and plus runner. He is under team control through the 1973 season and the team will likely be looking to lock him up long-term well before that.

Should something happen and Erbakan does not remain entrenched as the Brewers firstbaseman, the best minor league prospect at the position at this time is Steve Hobza. Hobza does not have the star potential of Erbakan, but he has put up fine numbers in the minors the past 2 seasons, has plus gap power potential and a well above average eye at the plate, would be an adequate defender and could be a league average contact hitter. He has even less power than Erbakan, but in a pinch the scouting staff considers him a solid future WPK starter.
Another youngster who could still develop into a useful major leaguer is Adam Hall. Hall is a much better defensive player than Hobza but with a bit less upside with the bat. He is considered a natural leader and could certainly find himself playing an important bench role in a Brewers uniform in a few years.

In the meantime, likely the primary back-up for Erbakan will be lefthanded contact hitter Andrew Kennedy. Kennedy is naturally a leftfielder (much as Erbakan himself once was) but is getting experience at first where he is thought to be an adequate defender.

[BirdWatcher]

Tanner Yurek, at age 28, has been the Brewers starting secondbaseman for the past 5 seasons. After suffering through a miserable 1968 campaign, Yurek bounced back nicely in 1969, though not to the level of his breakthrough 1967 season, when he put up 6.0 WAR. The team would like to see him put up extra-base hits numbers more like his first three seasons, when he hit over 20 doubles 3 times and over 20 HR's twice (with 16 the other season) but management was very glad to see him basically even out his walks and strikeouts numbers this season. Yurek remains one of the better OBP guys in the lineup. He also seems to have a knack for the dramatic, having hit many of the most memorable walk-off-HR's in Brewers history as well as being the only man in WPK history to have a 4-HR game. (He also has a 3-HR game- the only player in league history to have 2 games of 3 or more HR's in his career.) This might also help explain why Yurek is the favorite of Brewer's fans. Yurek is signed through the 1973 season and pretty much owns this position for the foreseeable future.
In 1969 he was backed-up by defensive whiz Juan Lujan, who also showed a little skill with the bat. Yurek is not a bad defender, but in the Brewers infield he is the weakest link, and having Lujan around for late-inning defense is a real strength for the team. (Lujan also gives shortstop Chad Brown breathers with very little drop off in defense.)

The most promising second base prospect in the minors is Jonathon Koch, who was #48 on the WPK Top 100 Prospects list for 1969. Koch profiles as a fine defender with great range and knack for turning the dp as well as a good contact hitter with plus gap power. He does need to work on his plate discipline a bit in terms of drawing walks, but he is already pretty hard to strike out and it is thought he might develop into an impossible man to K eventually.

[BirdWatcher]

Like firstbase, the present and the future should all include one man for some time- Chad Brown. Brown is the anchor of the Brewer infield. He might never be a superstar, but Brown is a gifted defensive shortstop, a fine hitter, and increasingly a fanstastic base-runner and base-stealer. He won't draw a lot of walks or hit many homeruns, but he also rarely strikes out and he will consistently be among the team leaders in doubles and triples. With experience, he has also become one the finest base-stealers on the team, just behind Ruben Souffront.
Brown will likely win some gold gloves in the future and at just 23 years of age his best years should still be ahead of him. He is signed through 1972 but likely the team will prioritize getting him extended well beyond that in the next few years.
At this point there isn't a lot to talk about in terms of minor league prospects at this position, so we will leave it there.

[BirdWatcher]

Jared Stephenson ended up being one of the most valuable Brewers in 1969 and was our best power hitter (with the continued power outage for Antonio Puente). Stephenson, who was acquired in a trade just before the trading dealine in 1968, is a solid defender with a rifle of an arm. He doesn't draw many walks but he makes consistent contact, drives balls into the gaps, and hits his fair share out of the park also. He is a slow runner but a smart one and he can steal a base now and then and runs the base paths with skill and smarts. He is signed through the next 2 seasons and depending upon how things go it is very conceivable the team will try to keep him beyond that. (He turned 26 during this past season.)

The Brewers best thirdbase prospect, Jose Careaga, had a fine season at AAA Chester but at this point his path his blocked and the scouting staff see him as most likely having the ceiling of WPK bench player at this point.
There are few other prospects waiting in the wings, though Mike Tomlin could still develop to have some major league role, albeit likely a small one.

[BirdWatcher]

And it's official- the Brewers have their Ace!
Cheol-Han Lee is now a Brewer, though it took a pretty penny to sign him. (He passes up Ryan Rodgers, by quite a bit, as the best paid Brewer. But more than that- he and Rodgers are the 2 highest paid players in the WPK. Though superstar free agent leftfielder Travis Johnson will likely be changing that soon- likely eclipsing at least Rodgers on the highest salaries list.)

Brewers fans are elated with the signing, which they see as a solid commitment from team leadership to bring a championship to Denver. All reports are that fan interest is at an all time high in the Mile High City.

[BirdWatcher]

With the signing of a big money free agent, and approaching a new year, it is not a bad time to take a bit of a closer look at Denver Brewers finances, at least in terms of current contracts and potential future salaries.

As mentioned above, Cheol-Han Lee is not only the highest paid Brewer, he is the highest paid player currently in the WPK. Lee will be making just a bit less than $446K per year for the next 7 seasons. The team does have an option to buy out the last year of his contract (1976) when he will be 35 years old. Given Lee's age and durability as well as his established record of consistency and the fact that with the yearly salary remaining static over the course of the contract, the thought is that even though it might be an extravagant contract, it will likely work out well enough for the team in the long run.
Next after Lee in terms of expensive contracts is Ryan Rodgers. Rodgers makes $390K per year and his contract runs through the 1977 season. Like Lee, Rodgers contract is spread out evenly, so other than potential incentive bonuses, he will continue to make 390 throughout. He does have the opportunity to opt out at the end of the 1973 season, though it seems unlikely at this point that he would choose to do so. More importantly, the team has buyout options for his last 2 seasons (1976, 1977) when he will be in his late 30's and it is certainly possible they may use one of these escape hatches.

The third highest paid Brewer currently is starting pitcher Steve Alonso. Alonso gets $250K per year and is under contract through the 1973 season. At this point, in his mid-30's, Alonso is starting to show some signs of possible decline even though he still had a mostly quite successful 1969 season (tied for team lead in wins). This might prove to be a problematic contract for the team, though they do at least have the option to buyout his final season.

Will Smart, last year's offseason free agency acquisition, is next at $192K for 1970 and $191K for 1971. These are probably excessive numbers for essentially a back-end of the rotation starter, but at least it is a short contract period, Smart is still young and likely to maintain his present level of performance, and he's a good clubhouse influence. We can live with this one.

The recently acquired Eric Singer is next at $180K per year for the next 2 years. At 31 Singer is still a very solid late-inning reliever and a fan favorite. Totally worth it.

Daniel Torres is next at $150K for the next 2 seasons. Torres has been our ace, is a team leader, and even though he is now in his mid-30's, there are no alarming signs of decline. The team has an opt-out for 1971 but unless something goes very wrong in 1970 he will likely be with the team through this contract. This has been a great contract for the team!

Antonio Puente was the first young homegrown talent that the Brewers signed to a long-term contract. In 1970 Puente will make $120K and then for the 4 years after that $140K per. Puente has disappointed at the plate the last few years and is no longer good for around 30 HR's per season. The team hopes he can recapture some of his earlier power. On the other hand, he is a gifted fielder, a good runner, and drew over 100 walks this past season. This might not be an ideal contract, but it isn't a bad one either necessarily, especially as Puente will only be 30 years old in the final year of the deal.

Thirdbaseman Jared Stephenson is next at $119K for 1970 and $120K for 1971. Stephenson will be turning 27 mid-way through the '70 season and was one of the most valuable members of the team in 1969. We inherited this contract when we picked him up in a trade during the 1968 season, but this one is very team friendly. The real question will be whether the team will find a way to extend him beyond 1971.

Closer Miguel Solis is next at $118K for 1970 and $120K each for the following 2 seasons (with a team option for 1972.) Solis will be turning 30 in early January and remains one of the best closers in the game, as well as the clubhouse prankster. Good deal.

Chad Brown is signed through 1972 at $98K per year. Brown is 23 years old and already one of the best shortstops in the league. All indications are that he is a player less motivated by financial reward than most and there should be a good chance of the team extending his contract when the time comes. This is a steal.

Secondbaseman Tanner Yurek will make $95K this coming season and then gradually see incremental rises in his pay through the 1973 season when he is scheduled to make $130K. If he maintains roughly his current production he should be worth it. Plus, the team has a buy-out option on that final season. Yurek is a fan favorite and one of the better OBP guys on the team as well as providing some decent power from a non-power position. Worth it, probably.

Veteran lefty reliever David Brown is next at $80K for 1970. Then is eligible for free agency at the end of the season. Brown has been a stabilizing force in the 'pen and has been worth every penny. But this will likely be his final season in a Brewers uniform.

Recently acquired veteran catcher Carlos Rivera will make $79K in 1970 and then a little over $100K in '71 and $124K each in '72 and '73. He has a player option for the 1973 season. We inherited this contract when we traded for him. It's not horrible. It's not great. Hopefully with the gold glove defense he provides behind the plate he will be mostly worth it.

Rightfielder Ruben Souffront will make $71K in 1970. He then has his last year of arbitration eligibility for the 1971 season and can be a free agent thereafter. It is estimated at this point that he would likely garner about $80K in arbitration for the '71 season. Almost surely the team will be trying to extend him for several years before it comes to that.

Backup outfielder James Jackson was recently awarded $33K in arbitration for the 1970 season (this was the team offer.) He will be arbitration eligible again at the end of this coming season and then could be a free agent at the end of 1971. Jackson gives the team a little flexibility and some righthanded pop off the bench. Hard to say how much longer he will be a Brewer. But for now, this isn't a bad contract.

The other backup outfielder, Pat Rondeau, will make $28K in 1970 and has two more years of arbitration eligibility after that. Rondeau will be 27 during the 1970 season and looks very much like a 4th outfielder at this stage of his career. At his current rate, with his great defense and speed and a very decent bat, he is a real asset at this dollar amount.

Captain Abel Pennington will make $28K in 1970 and also has 2 more years of arbitration eligibility. Pennington will turn 28 early in the 1970 season and seems to be coming into his own as a mid-rotation starter. Likely we will try to extend him for a least a few more seasons beyond his current team control but at the very least he should be a steal for the next few years.

Relievers Josh McEwen and Kyle Green will both make $27K this coming season. McEwen is a team leader and had a tremendous 1969 season. He has 2 more years of arbitration eligibility. He should be around at least that long. Green was mediocre in 1969 and is mostly bullpen filler in spite of his wicked velocity. Green has 3 more years of arbitration eligibility but might well be gone long before that.

After that are a large number of Brewers on the 40-man roster who will earn the league minimum in 1970. This includes important members of the team like Bobby Erbakan, Harry Lyerly, Liann-Wei Hua, and Juan Lujan as well as young prospects trying to make the team like Adam Getchell and Jaden Francis. But it also includes some players whose time in the organization might be drawing to a close like Bobby Arends and Joey Townsend as well as some who will need to prove their worth soon like Dave Harder and even perhaps Andrew Kennedy.

Erbakan will be arbitration eligible for 3 years after the 1970 season and at this point is projected to see some sharp increases in his salary during that time. Likely the team will be looking to sign him long-term before too long.
Lyerly will play for the minimum for the next 2 seasons, which will be a total steal if his rookie season doesn't prove to have been a compete fluke. He will then be under team control and arbitration eligible through the 1975 season. The thinking at this time is that he will command some nice raises and is another candidate for a long-term extension before his team control comes to an end.
Hua will be arbitration eligible at the end of the 1970 season and for 3 years beyond that. Hua looks like a possible future dominant closer and should be around for awhile.
Of the rest of the minimum salary bunch, they are all under team control at least through 1974, with a few through 1975.

While the Brewers are somewhat top-heavy in terms of player salaries, the large number of talented youngsters on the team making reasonable salaries balances that out well and leaves the team in good fiscal shape at this stage of things. A few high-priced veterans will be coming off the books in the next few seasons and several youngsters are signed to mostly team favorable contracts for 3 to 5 seasons into the future.

No real red flag warnings at this time.

[BirdWatcher]

I realized earlier today that I left out our other current defensive specialist backup- Oscar Vargas.
Vargas is an elite level fielder who is considered a mediocre hitter at best. As it turned out, he got off to a great start with the bat in 1969 although he did cool off considerably in the second half. Still, his OBP was quite respectable and with his above average gap power he produced 8 doubles in just 83 plate appearances. Vargas also has a bit of HR pop which he has displayed somewhat in the minors though he has yet to hit one out at the big league level. Regardless of his offense though, Vargas is mainly on the team for his late innings defensive prowess. And there are few better.

[BirdWatcher]

Moving from left to right:
Leftfielder Antonio Puente had another disappointing season with the bat- particularly in terms of his power hitting. Puente, for the first several years of his career was the Brewers primary power threat, as he belted 31 homers apiece in his first two seasons- at the ages of 21 and 22- and another 26 his third season. In 1968, his fourth major league season, his offensive numbers tanked and he hit just 10 HR's. Preseason predictions this year had him bouncing back, at least in terms of HR power, and hitting 37 HR's. He did bounce back, a little, but only managed 18 HR's in the 1969 season. On the other hand, he upped his walk total to 110, by far the best of his career. While he does strike out a ton also, his 100 strikeouts in 1969 were his lowest season total yet and his .393 OBP, particularly coming off a .241 batting average, was quite impressive. He is a well above average defensive outfielder and has good speed. Although he would have been better off not trying to steal bases this past season as his 11 successful steals were more than offset by his 19 times caught trying. Puente is signed through the 1974 season. He will only be 26 years old this coming season and the team hopes he can still produce again at the level he did in his early 20's.

Centerfielder Ryan Rodgers got off to a slow start in 1969 but with some robust hitting towards the end of the season he finished with batting totals well within his norm. He drew 109 walks and for the 3rd season in a row led the league in OBP. His WAR was the lowest of his career, but still elite level. At age 30 during the 1969 season, he remained a well above average defensive centerfielder. Rodgers is signed through 1977 and will likely eventually need a position change. Depending upon how Puente does in the next few years, Rodgers could always move to leftfield as one of best prospects in the Brewers organization- Joe McPhillips- is a natural centerfielder.

Then again, if the Brewers don't manage to sign Ruben Souffront to a long-term contract extension and he decides to leave through free agency (or, heaven forbid, is traded), Puente could always move over to rightfield, and Rodgers shift to left. Souffront put up solid numbers in 1969, although a late-season slump dropped his batting average well below .300. Ruben did give some indications of growing power as he belted a career high 15 HR's and he led the team in RBI's with 98. Ruben also remains the best runner on the team and stole 38 bases while being caught just 8 times. His defense is largely solid if unspectacular, though he is still prone to the occasional gaffe. Ruben is never going to be a superstar but he is a solid contributor and a great clubhouse influence.

The Brewers primary outfield back-up is 26-year old Pat Rondeau. Rondeau continues to be pretty much everything you would want in a 4th outfielder (minus HR power), as he is a consistently good hitter who sprays the ball around and shoots plenty of hits into the gaps and down the lines for extra bases, has tremendous speed and is a gifted base-runner and base stealer, and he is about a solid an outfielder as you will find. Rondeau may never be a starter, but he brings tremendous value to a team off the bench.

The other back-up outfielder, who was picked up near the trading deadline this past season, is James Jackson. Jackson is a right-handed complement to the left-handed Rondeau and possesses the power that Rondeau lacks, while still being a decent fielder and fine runner. In spite of his lack of natural speed, Jackson has the knack for stealing bases when the opportunity arises and runs the bases better than his lack of speed would suggest.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers top position player prospect is centerfielder Joe McPhillips. McPhillips, who was the 5th player overall taken in the 1967 amateur draft, has pretty much dominated in the minor leagues since getting off to a sluggish start his first season in the Rookie league.
McPhillips is a premiere fielder who is likely to win gold glove awards eventually, has great gap power and potentially above average HR power- he showed signs of blossoming in that area this season at single A Bainbridge where he hit 17 HR's in 129 games- and is projected to draw a high number of walks while striking out a near average amount of the time. It is this last area that he particularly needs to make progress as he is still much too prone to being struck out. But if he does develop a bit more plate discipline he should be an above average hitter at least. With near top of the scale speed he has the potential to be five-tools impact player in the WPK.

A lesser prospect, but one who has also put up great minor league numbers, is Jordan Gallardo. Gallardo was just added to the 40-man roster this off-season to protect him from the Rule 5 draft and is near major league ready as a bench player. He is a gifted fielder and baserunner and should be an adequate big league hitter with good plate discipline. At this point our scouting team projects him as an average big league outfielder, though with well-above average players ahead of him that isn't going to earn him a starting job in a Brewers uniform. Still, management loves his self-effacing and hard-working attitude as well as his readily apparent baseball smarts. Gallardo will likely be in a Brewers uniform before the end of the 1970 season.
Another minor leaguer with some major league potential is Ramon Lopez, who was picked up in a trade in the 1968 season. Lopez has mostly played leftfield but with his cannon arm and above average range, he profiles as a potentially solid rightfielder. He is unlikely to hit for much power and is perhaps just an average contact hitter but he does display good plate discipline, has plus plus speed, and is a very hard worker (one of those guys who provides spark to a lineup and a clubhouse). Lopez is still at least a few years away from the bigs.

The scouting staff has been a bit conflicted about the 19-year old Aruba native Joost Poot. On the one hand, Poot is an incredibly gifted defensive outfielder with top-of-the-line speed. On the other hand, almost every hitting tool he has projects out as average. Poot is likely a role player at best. But with his raw talents, and at his young age, anything could happen still.

21-year old rightfielder Josh Schaeffer is another player the scouting staff isn't quite sure what to make of. Schaeffer has displayed a potent bat in the minors thus far and evidences a rather advanced eye. He is solid in the field with a plus arm. He has plus speed though he is just an average base-runner. His power game- both gap and HR- profile out as just average but he has the potential to be an above average contact hitter. The biggest question mark with Schaeffer is his character and desire to compete. The scouting staff sees him as likely an effective contributor eventually even if well short of being a star player. Time will tell if he wants it enough.

[BirdWatcher]

I'm not sure, but I think getting drunk at a bar and starting a fight, leading to a broken kneecap that keeps you out of action for 4-5 months might qualify as making waves.
Well, they did say "rarely" makes waves. I guess this is just one of those exceptions.

[BirdWatcher]

The 1970 Spring Training exhibition season has started and in the Brewers very first game one of their minor league starting pitching prospects- Justin Peacock- who projects to eventually be a decent middle-to-back-end starter, had to leave the game with what was later diagnosed as a strained forearm. Peacock was placed on the 60-day DL and is expected to be out for about 3 months.

In other news, it has become apparent that the team is considering a shift in the outfield, moving 31-year old centerfielder Ryan Rodgers to leftfield while shifting Antonio Puente to center. There is a belief among Denver scouts that Rodgers may have lost a step (his CF rating dropped from 8 to 7) while Puente should have the ability to translate his great defensive skills to center with a little more time spent there in the spring.

Also of note, Harry Lyerly seemed to mostly pick up where he left off last season in his first spring start- although he did give up 2 runs in the 4th inning after being masterful for the first 3, he did not allow a HR, while striking out 8 and walking just 1 in 4 innings pitched. He also hit a big 2-out, 2-run single in the bottom of the 1st inning.

[BirdWatcher]

The San Antonio Keys of the SJL suffer a pretty big loss as their 4-time All-Star starting catcher Tommy Talley is out for a good chunk of the season with post-concussion syndrome (was that a known thing in 1970?). Talley, at age 39, isn't very good behind the plate but at a position that is short on offensive stars, he has been a consistently valuable producer over the years.

[BirdWatcher]

A pair of young pitchers announced today that their careers are over after suffering significant arm injuries.
First, former Brewer Chris Montefusco, who at one time was a decent prospect (#79 on the WPK Top 100 Prospects list of 1965) but who has suffered a series of injuries over his career, bows out of the game at age 26 after having sustained a torn rotator cuff.

On the same day 21-year old Damian Cantu, who just a few years ago was named the 17th best prospect in the WPK, having already returned from an earlier torn labrum during the 1968 season and torn flexor tendon at the beginning of the 1969 season, suffers his second torn labrum and this time it precipitates the end of his young and prematurely interrupted career.

[BirdWatcher]

With Kyle Green being out of minor league options and management not seeing a place for him in the Brewers bullpen this season, he has been traded to Pittsburgh for minor league rightfielder Jim Decker.
Decker is not likely to ever crack the big league club, but he is a very solid minor league hitter who should be able to contribute to a Brewers farm club and could still conceivably earn a cup-of-coffee to the bigs at some point to provide a bit of pop off the bench.
This trade also frees up just a bit more salary space for the Brewers to use to extend players who are crucial for the team's future.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers finish the 1970 Spring Training Exhibition Season with the best record in the MGL, tied for the best record in the SJL with Jacksonville.
I wish this was the sort of thing I could simply dismiss as irrelevant (which it is.) But unfortunately I harbor a bit of a superstition when it comes to pre-season win-loss records. My superstition is this: I irrationally believe that a very good pre-season record will inevitably be followed by a bad start to the regular season, and maybe just a bad regular season completely.

I hope this is completely irrational (and I assure myself it has to be.) Unfortunately, the recent development reports provided by our scouting department didn't make me feel any better as there was not a great deal of good news and certainly some concerning news.