Brewers’ bats bring winter league heat
Fully stocked at both the major league and minor league levels after a flurry of transactions throughout the year, the Milwaukee Brewers will have some interesting decisions to make this spring — at every tier.
The organization currently has over 30 players participating in various winter leagues from South America to Australia. Many are still years from poking their heads onto the major league roster, while others may just be on the brink.
Here’s a look at three players who are using their bats to make a statement this winter.
Although fellow catchers Andrew Susac and Jett Bandy have both seen over double the number of major league plate appearances as Pina, with 262 and 233 respectively, Pina has actually found the most amount of major league success offensively, despite the small sample size.
After the departure of Jonathan Lucroy during the regular season, Pina started seeing more playing time behind Martin Maldonado, who recently departed to the Los Angeles Angels in exchange for Bandy. Over the course of 33 games (81 PA), Pina slashed .254/.346/.394 with a pair of home runs and 12 runs batted in – all close to his career minor league numbers (.262/.330/.385), which bodes well for his chances of sustaining that type of offensive production.
He’s continued his progress in the Venezuelan Winter League as well. So far over 30 games, he’s slashing well for a catcher, posting an impressive .309/.333/.457 with two home runs and 18 RBI. He may not have the power upside of Bandy, who has hit double-digit home runs in each of his last three seasons, but he’s arguably more consistent at the plate and offers similarly good defense.
Although each catcher brings a slightly different skill set to the table, the Brewers have seen more of Pina than either of the other two, and he may be at an advantage as the only one of the trio actively taking reps in a competitive league this winter.
Collymore is still a bit unknown within the organization, outside of being the return in the Jonathan Broxton trade in 2015. He’s not only never been profiled as a top talent, but spent his first three years as a professional in rookie ball. But that’s not to say he doesn’t have talent. In fact, outside of a rough 2016 season in which he hit only .167/.227/.208 (0 HR, 4 RBI, 9 SB, 208 PA), he’s shown quite a bit of upside, even if only in the early stages of development.
Although he’s only shown modest career numbers in his first four years, slashing .254/.323/.362, you’d never know it by the way he’s playing with the Australian Baseball League’s Sydney Blue Sox. In his first 21 games, he’s slashing .304/.402/.494 with three home runs, 16 RBI and eight stolen bases. The performance has him ranked 12th in the ABL in both on-base and slugging percentage, third in RBI, tied for third in stolen bases and fifth in doubles.
Collymore is currently slated to start back in Advanced-A where he struggled last year but will be representing the Brewers’ new affiliate, the Carolina Mudcats. His poor performance may have been influenced by organizational factors, as the entire Brevard County Manatees team was near the bottom of the league in nearly every offensive category. With any luck, his new team should provide him a fresh opportunity to get back on track in the regular season. If he’s able to continue the upswing he’s been on down under, there’s a chance he may be making the jump to Double-A as soon as next year. At only 22 years old next season, he’s still ahead of league average and has more than enough potential to make an impact in the future if he continues on his current trajectory.
Art Charles 1B
Previously abandoned by the Philadelphia Phillies after a down year in 2015, Charles continued his baseball journey in the Canadian-American Association’s Independent League and massively impressed in 2016. In his first year outside of MiLB, Charles took home a Triple Crown and earned himself the title of the league’s Player of the Year, slashing .352/.461/.699 with 29 home runs, 101 RBI and a trio of stolen bases.
In the Mexican Winter League, Charles is continuing to produce at an impressive rate. Although he’s still prone to strikeouts (37 in 27 G), which is reflected in his .204 average, he’s also drawing a considerable amount of walks (19) resulting in a decent .336 on-base percentage for a power hitter. What’s more, is that Charles is still producing runs at a similar rate as last year, collecting four home runs and 14 RBI in that same span.
Although he still needs to refine certain elements of his game, he’s surely shown enough offensive potential over the last few years to justify the minor league contract he was offered. In 2017, the Rule 5 Triple-A phase acquisition will be in an even more advantageous position, starting the year within the hitter-friendly walls of Colorado Springs’ Security Service Field.
Despite his setbacks in 2015, Charles is still on a league-average pace entering Triple-A at 26 years old next season. Given that the Brewers have very little depth at the position anywhere in the organization, he has the chance to be a difference-maker in the near future if he’s able to harness the undoubted talent he’s already established.
Jonathan Powell is the Managing Editor of Outside Pitch MLB and the Milwaukee Brewers writer. Follow him on Twitter @jonathannashhh.
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