The Brewers are bringing up one of their top prospects. Outfielder Joey Wiemer is getting his first major league call, reports Robert Murray of FanSided (Twitter link). The Brewers figure to finalize the move before tomorrow afternoon’s matchup with the Cubs.
Wiemer was Milwaukee’s fourth-round pick in 2020 out of the University of Cincinnati. Amateur scouts praised his power and athleticism but raised significant questions about his strikeouts and atypical swing mechanics. Wiemer’s .264/.379/.408 slash in college was hardly overwhelming, particularly outside a Power Five conference.
Milwaukee rolled the dice on his physical upside in hopes he could iron things out in pro ball. They have to be thrilled with how that decision has played out over the past couple seasons. Wiemer hit .296/.403/.556 during his first professional season, positioning him as one of the better prospects in the Milwaukee farm system. He took that to another level with continued production against upper level pitching last year.
Wiemer spent the bulk of the 2022 season with Double-A Biloxi, where he put up a roughly average .243/.321/.440 line over 374 plate appearances. Wiemer punched out 30% of the time but connected on 15 home runs and stole 25 bases while getting caught just once. The Brewers bumped him to Triple-A Nashville in August, and he caught fire at the top minor league level. In 174 trips to the plate, he mashed at a .287/.368/.520 clip with six longballs. Wiemer cut his strikeouts to a solid 19.5% rate in Triple-A while walking 12.1% of the time.
That firmly placed him among the sport’s most interesting outfield prospects headed into the winter. Both FanGraphs and Keith Law of the Athletic slotted him near the back of their offseason Top 100 prospect lists. Wiemer didn’t crack the Top 100 at Baseball America or ESPN but finished just outside that cutoff, ranking among the top three talents in the Milwaukee system at both outlets. Evaluators credit him with plus or better raw power, speed and arm strength. He’s regarded as a high-variance type but a potential impact player on the strength of those deafening physical tools.
The Brew Crew gave the 24-year-old an extended look this spring. He held his own, putting together a .262/.319/.429 line with two homers, four walks and ten strikeouts in 42 at-bats. General manager Matt Arnold indicated towards the end of Spring Training that both Wiemer and fellow top prospect Sal Frelick were being considered for season-opening roster spots. Neither ended up grabbing a job out of camp, as both were ticketed for Nashville to start the season.
Plans changed yesterday, as starting third baseman Luis Urías hurt his left hamstring in the ninth inning of an Opening Day loss. Urías was noticeably hobbled after the game, and Adam McCalvy of MLB.com reports that Urías is headed to the 10-day injured list. Brian Anderson, who’d opened the season as the right fielder, has a long track record as an MLB third baseman. He’ll now slide to the hot corner, with Wiemer stepping into the right field job.
That’ll presumably be the plan at least until a veteran is ready to return from injury. It’s unknown how long Urías will be out. Tyrone Taylor, who might’ve gotten the Opening Day right field nod, is expected to be sidelined into May with an elbow sprain. Wiemer should have at least a couple weeks to try to establish himself against big league pitching.
While one day of the schedule has already elapsed, players are credited with a full year of major league service if they’re in the majors for 172+ days of the 186-day season. Wiemer would still get to that mark if he’s up for good, which would put him on track to first reach arbitration after the 2025 season and qualify for free agency over the 2028-29 offseason.
Wiemer hadn’t been on the 40-man roster. Milwaukee will need to select his contract tomorrow. That’ll require a corresponding 40-man move, though players like Aaron Ashby (shoulder strain) and Justin Wilson (recovering from Tommy John surgery) are 60-day injured list candidates.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Wow!
Brew crew waiting for the first..Wiemer whack….a wiemer whack, a wiemer whack
Frelick is the best of the bunch and clearly the most ready… but they know that, so… manipulation..
Stop. That manipulation argument is so 2016.
Frelick, Mitchell, Turing, Wiemer – all good prospects.
Lol no it is not…they have made rules that will help with manipulation but don’t think that teams won’t still manipulate…especially this year when the likes of Carroll and Walker have been promoted already…makes it harder to get those draft picks so why not take the sure bet and manipulate
Naive
No opinion on their motive.
But I would rank them Chourio, Frelick, Mitchell, Wiemer for dynasty rotisserie.
Wiemer is RH and has stronger arm to play him at either corner. Frelick would need CF or LF.
Wiemer is a righty, Frelick is a lefty, Frelick is a better athlete but right now Wiemer is a better fit
These fools should have waited a few weeks like the Cubs did with Kris Bryant. Or, they could have just had him on Opening Day. I don’t get the in between stuff. He will get a full year of service time with 1 fewer game.
Ergo, it’s not a service time thing.
So what is it?
Urias hurt his hamstring so I imagine Anderson is moving back to 3B and they needed a RF. All of their other OF are LH so they want the RH bat. The fact the Brewers now have 2 of their 3 prospects that were thought to be ready in the big leagues on the 2nd day of the season and they let Naquin walk makes any argument that this is somehow manipulation completely wrong.
bruh, Urias got hurt, they needed a player. Didn’t you read the piece. Stop talking, try reading, it’ll turn you smart.
The article gets updated as you go. That information wasn’t there. That’s why I was curious about the timing here, as it didn’t mention an injury.
He has to remain in the majors ALL season. They can send him down later and it still works the same as calling them up late.
Milwaukee has four wicked OF prospects (Chourio, Wiemer, Frelick)/ young players (Mitchell). Mitchell is an awesome player…could end up being the best player from that 2020 draft.
Certainly looks promising to build a generational homegrown outfield,
I am grumpy as a Cards fan that there are fewer Brewers games on my schedule. Grumpier looking at NL Central divisional matchups late in the season.
Urias must be hurt a little worse than they thought..
I’m betting someone’s going to come up IL.
Whose a better fantasy guy him or turang?
Turang more playing time with Urias down. IMO a .270/10HR/25SB first season. Wiemer likely to be streaky. Unless he catches on fire, Tyrone Talylor coming back in May might force him back down.
Dynasty? Wiemer. This season? Turang if you’re looking for games played this season. Wiemer likely is optioned back to AAA before the end of May.
I feel like much of it will depend on his success. If he’s productive enough, it’ll make it hard to send him back down. If he hits like .200, then yeah, likely back down as soon as someone’s healthy
Great article explaining why our best hitter for average, Frelick, was passed on. reviewingthebrew.com/posts/brewers-news-milwaukee-… His time can’t come fast enough! Another year of everyone, except Turang, swinging for fences or K. Luis…take all the time you need to get back, buddy.
Cards are another team full of quality young outfielders. I’d give up a finger for my Tigers to grab Nolan Gorman from St Louis and Garrett Mitchell from Milwaukee.
How do you feel about Riley Greene now and going forward?
Remember the hype over Juan Encamacion… I think Riley Greene is a bit overrated by Tigers fans. I think he will hit but not like a superstar and he will eventually move to a corner OF. He’s not a bad defender but he’s not that good either. Web gems don’t necessarily mean good defensive play. He certainly looks good among the worst OF in MLB (You can’t name one worse) Austin Meadows and Kerry Carpenter at the corners can not only hurt a pitchers’ line but lose games.
Thanks buddy!
I 100% agree that Meadows and Carpenters defense sucks, but worse they also strike out a ton and are one dimensional offensively. They are both future DHs and there is only one DH spot. For those reasons alone I think Baddoo should have stayed not Carpenter. He has better defebse and good speed on the bases. I think Greene will be a lot better than Encarnacion and will do a bit of everything (HR, steals, RBI). I agree he will likely move to a corner eventually where his good defense will help him.
Actually, Akil Badoo is the perfect example of a player who turns a routine play into a web gem. He might be a better defender than Meadows but he is not a good defensive OF.
Meadows is playing in hope to be traded.
Greene is going to be the face of the team for some time to come. He’s a keeper!
Thanks for the input!
Brew Crew can add him as a 4th contestant in the processed meat race. The sharp money is on Oscar Mayer
His little brother johnny Frankfurter is waiting to dign