Latest news with #LuisPeña
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Milwaukee Brewers first-rounder Andrew Fischer has smashing debut with Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
Milwaukee Brewers 2025 first-round draft choice Andrew Fischer made his professional debut with the Advanced Class A Wisconsin Timber Rattlers on Aug. 14 and made it count, finishing with three hits and the winning RBIs in the bottom of the eighth inning as Wisconsin defeated the Great Lakes Loons, 8-6. The No. 20 overall draft pick out of Tennessee started at third base and batted third in the suddenly star-studded top of the Timber Rattlers lineup, and he made an impact immediately with a single in his first at-bat, following up singles from fellow top prospects Jesús Made and Luis Peña. That made it 1-0, and Marco Dinges — himself a highly regarded prospect — followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. According to MLB Pipeline, all four players are in the top 10 among prospects in the Brewers organization. But the Timber Rattlers were down in the eighth, 6-3, before mounting a five-run rally capped when Fischer legged out an infield single with two outs. When the throw was wide, Made and Peña had scored again to give the Rattlers an 8-6 lead over the Loons, a Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate. Made finished 3-for-5 with two runs and has four multiple-hit games in less than two weeks with the Rattlers. Peña, who doubled in the tying run during the winning rally, finished 2-for-4 with two runs. Fischer, meanwhile, went 3-for-4 with a walk, two stolen bases and three RBIs. Fischer also made a key play in the top of the ninth when the Loons had two on and nobody out, recovering to gather a bounder down the third-base line, stepping on third for what was ruled an out and then firing to second for another. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brewers first-rounder Andrew Fischer shines in pro debut in Appleton
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Brewers' top two prospects make their debut in Grand Chute
GRAND CHUTE, Wis. (WFRV) – The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers welcomed the top two prospects in the Brewers organization, Jesús Made and Luis Peña, to Neuroscience Group Field on Tuesday evening for their home debuts. Made, who batted lead-off for the Rattlers, is ranked as the Brewers' No. 1 prospect, and No. 5 prospect in the MLB. Peña is the No. 2 prospect. He batted second, and in just his second at bat he sent one into the stands in left field. His second career home run as a Timber Rattler. Made is a switch-hitting shortstop and was a Dominican Summer League All-Star, after batting .331 with six homers and 28 stolen bases in 51 games. He said Peña has helped him throughout his baseball journey. 'We're a good team together and we work together on the field, but also off the field,' Made said. Peña, an infielder, won the DSL batting title with a .393 average through 44 games. He also had 39 stolen bases, which was tied for the second most in the DSL. He said he has known Made since they were kids. 'No matter what happens. I'm grateful to have him as a great person next to me,' Peña said. Made and Peña, two 18-year-olds from the Dominican Republic, were promoted to the Brewers High-A affiliate a week ago, when the Timber Rattlers were on the road against the Peoria Chiefs in Illinois. When Timber Rattlers manager Victor Estevez was asked how he felt that the two have handled the pressure of being called up to High-A, at such a young age, he said he was impressed. 'Being 18 years old, and having to deal with a lot of media, they still have the ability to come to the field, prepare and perform out there,' Estevez said. The two first met when they were 12 years old at a tryout for the Milwaukee Brewers, and they've been teammates ever since. Tonight's top of the order offered a glimpse of the Brewers' future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
New York Times
27-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Scouting Jesús Made, Luis Peña, and more Brewers and Orioles prospects; plus Trey Yesavage notes
Jesús Made just turned 18 in early May, but he's off to an outstanding start as one of the youngest players anywhere in full-season ball, particularly in making contact despite facing pitchers who are often several years his senior. The whole Carolina Mudcats (Milwaukee's Low-A affiliate) lineup had a huge April thanks to some weak competition, yet since that month ended, he's still hitting .260/.373/.379 with just a 20.4 percent strikeout rate. Advertisement I caught Carolina at Delmarva (Baltimore's Low-A affiliate) on Tuesday night, and saw some of Made's defensive prowess along with his incredible bat speed. Made made three plays at shortstop that the average shortstop doesn't make, including two plays that involved him ranging to his right and grabbing a ball that was headed for left field, then making an accurate throw to first. (He got the first runner, but the second was too fast.) He was 1 for 5 at the plate with two strikeouts, but both were caught looking, and he showed elite bat speed and great hand-eye even though his only hit was a hard groundball single to center. I still haven't seen a great game from Made across four looks — although I assume I'll see him again in the Futures Game All-Star weekend — but I can at least see the superstar upside on both sides of the ball. Second baseman Luis Peña is also 18, just six months older than Made. The Orioles prospect is hitting .316/.374/.500 with 32 stolen bases in 39 attempts for Carolina, and while he doesn't have Made's upside on either side of the ball, he's got the better present hit tool. Mudcats on the board off the bat of Luis Pena‼️ — Carolina Mudcats (@CarolinaMudcats) June 26, 2025 Peña hit the ball hard five times, just missing a homer as he got out in front of a breaking ball in his first time up and still drove it to the left field warning track, smoking a single to center by keeping his hands inside the ball on a 94-mph pitch middle-in, and doubling off the left field wall in Carolina's rally in the ninth by staying on a slider away. Even his two groundballs were well hit, including a high chop that I thought he beat out but the umpire apparently had plans to go get some crab cakes. (To be fair, it was already a blowout at that point. I wasn't mad. Please don't put in The Daily Times that I got mad.) Advertisement He has a see-ball, hit-ball approach; he's only seen about ∏ pitches per plate appearance (3.139, but humor me), so he may never be much of an on-base guy. Or he may just hit .320 and it won't matter. I'm not saying this is who he'll be, but if you wanted to build another Luis Arráez at the plate, you'd probably want to start with something like Peña. The Brewers took shortstop/right-handed pitcher Eric Bitonti in the third round in 2023 and paid him second-round money to buy him out of a commitment to Oregon, and they've now moved him from shortstop to third to first, where he played on Tuesday. His swing is really long, and I don't think he's picking up pitch types as well as he should be for someone in his second full season. He completely missed a bad 3-1 changeup at 89 mph from a right-hander (so with the platoon advantage) and didn't hit anything hard despite facing a lot of average or worse stuff. I don't think this is some great insight — he's struck out 34.2 percent of the time this year, even though he spent a month in Low A last year, too — but now that he's a first baseman his path to major-league value is narrowing. Center fielder José Anderson raked in 10 games in the Arizona Complex League, so the Brewers promoted the 18-year-old to Low A, where he has been overmatched so far — and looked it on Tuesday. He's at .164/.256/.318 with a 32 percent strikeout rate so far, although it didn't look quite that bad in person. His swing is fine and he has bat speed, but he really expands the zone with two strikes and whiffed badly in two of his five trips to the plate in this game. The two times he put the ball in play were both on the first pitch, including a single on a 93-mph fastball and a pop-up off the end of his bat on a slider. I don't think he's ready to be here, at least not yet, but I'm also not going to write him off if he struggles all year. He showed some above-average range in center and nearly made a highlight-reel catch in left-center, getting to the ball but dropping it as he came down. Carolina right-hander Bryce Meccage didn't have his best stuff, to put it mildly; he was mostly 92-93, touching 96 once, with a below-average slider and maybe an average curveball. He couldn't finish the slider at all, and Delmarva hitters were all over it. He threw harder and with better quality to the stuff in high school. It does look like he's throwing a two- and four-seamer now, and the two-seamer had some sink, but the slider just wasn't there. Orioles scout Ryan Carlson signed Illinois high schooler Nate George in the 16th round last year, and all George has done so far in 2025 is hit: .383/.451/.556 in 23 games in the Florida Complex League, and .340/.392/.532 through his first 18 games in Low A. He's an 80 runner and plays like his hair is on fire — no, actually, he plays like there is someone right behind him who is on fire, and he is running for his life at all times. I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone run that hard on the bases all the time, and I mean that as a compliment. He's not the fastest runner I've seen, to be clear, but he runs with purpose. Advertisement He gets his hands a little too deep at the plate, not quite barring out, making up for it with quick hands and what seems like solid pitch recognition so far, keeping his hands in well on stuff inside and driving the ball the other way when he's pitched away. He's also at least an average defender in center. He's good; my gut reaction was that he might be really good. Delmarva catcher Yasmil Bucce had a couple of doubles, one where he smoked a 3-0 breaking ball, and a single, and more importantly he showed a plus arm and at least enough in the receiving department to keep him alive as a catcher. I also liked his swing — I feel like I've gone soft here, liking so many swings in one game — and he seemed to have better pitch-type recognition than most of the other prospects in the game. His throws were hard and accurate. Delmarva had a couple of wild pitches while he was back there and he could definitely tighten up some of his blocking, but also none of these jokers could throw strikes, so I'm inclined to cut him a little slack. The only Delmarva pitcher of note was right-hander Yeiber Cartaya, who was 92-94 from a low slot with a 40 slider and 45 changeup. He walked four in four innings and struck out 2. Toronto promoted their 2024 first-rounder, right-handed pitcher Trey Yesavage, to Double A about three weeks ago, and I caught his debut at that level at Reading. It wasn't the outing he was hoping for as he walked the first three batters and struggled with command throughout his four innings. Yesavage wasn't the same guy I saw at East Carolina 14 months earlier. He was 93-95 with 40 command this time, and only the splitter was as good as it was in college. He only threw a slider in college; the Jays have had him add a cutter, which has a similar look but comes in about 5 mph harder and may help him reduce the size of his reverse platoon split. He was spraying the ball for two innings in this outing, then settled into more ordinary wildness in the third and fourth, coming out of the game after 68 pitches even though his stuff hadn't dipped at all. His next outing was worse, and then he dominated Hartford in his most recent outing with eight strikeouts and just one walk in five innings. (Top photo of Made: Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Stock Watch: Trey Yesavage, Luis Peña, Gage Jump headline latest risers
With just over one quarter of the 2025 season in the books the most challenging question facing dynasty managers is how to value Roki Sasaki from a ranking standpoint. The 23-year-old sensation arrived in Los Angeles earlier this year as one of the most ballyhooed international prospects in a generation and checked in at 24th overall in Rotoworld's Opening Day dynasty rankings update. His stateside debut didn't exactly go to plan as he struggled to a calamitous 4.72 ERA and 15.6 percent strikeout rate across 34 1/3 innings (eight starts) before hitting the injured list last week with a shoulder impingement after experiencing diminished velocity in his final start. It's fair to wonder how much the lingering issue impacted his performance since he told reporters that he's been pitching through the issue for a while. He remains one of the most intriguing talents in the fantasy landscape from a long-term standpoint, but it's impossible to overlook his early struggles. He'll use the extended layoff to recover physically and work on his mechanics. It feels like a classic buy-low opportunity for dynasty managers, but he's going to drop roughly 50 spots into the top-75 range in Rotoworld's next dynasty rankings update. Advertisement This week's Dynasty Stock Watch column takes a look at five mostly unheralded prospects in the lower minors — Trey Yesavage, Luis Peña, Gage Jump, Asbel Gonzalez and Payton Tolle — that are making the jump from unranked a couple months ago to cracking Rotoworld's next dynasty rankings installment. Trey Yesavage, SP, Blue Jays Has rapidly emerged as one of the premier pitching prospects in the dynasty landscape this season as he continues to put together an extremely impressive professional debut in the lower minors. The hard-throwing 21-year-old righty didn't skip a beat in his High-A Vancouver debut on Tuesday evening, piling up 10 strikeouts over four innings. He compiled a stellar 2.43 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 55/8 K/BB ratio across 33 1/3 innings (seven starts) for Low-A Dunedin to earn a lightning-quick promotion. He slipped to the 20th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft due to medical concerns during his collegiate career, but there's zero question regarding his ability to miss bats. His strikeout upside and realistic mid-rotation floor make him extremely intriguing for fantasy purposes, even though he lacks the front-of-the-rotation potential of top prospect arms like Andrew Painter, Bubba Chandler, Chase Burns or Noah Schultz. Luis Peña, SS, Brewers We've touched on some early season rising hitting prospects like Aroon Escobar, Arjun Nimmala, Eduardo Tait, Slade Caldwell and Bryce Rainer in recent weeks, but somehow Peña has eluded mention in this space. It would be unfair to compare his present trajectory to franchise cornerstone Jackson Chourio, or even fellow top prospect Jesús Made, but his meteoric rise this season hasn't gone unnoticed by dynasty managers. The 18-year-old prodigy, who is currently in concussion protocol following an ugly on-field collision at first base last weekend, has torn the cover off the ball this season at Low-A Carolina to the tune of a stratospheric .327/.400/.505 triple-slash line with three homers and 21 steals through 25 games. He's walked more than he's struck out in 115 plate appearances as one of the youngest players in the entire Carolina League. The combination of near-elite speed and above-average plate skills buoy his realistic batting average floor and give him a chance to arrive in the majors as a true five-category impact fantasy contributor in a couple years. The future looks extremely bright for Milwaukee with the trio of 18-year-old top prospects -- Made, Peña and last year's first-round pick Braylon Payne -- excelling in the lower minors. It's theoretically possible that Peña is a top-40 range dynasty prospect by midseason. Advertisement Gage Jump, SP, Athletics Jump made a serious statement in his second start for Double-A Midland earlier this week, recording eight strikeouts over six shutout innings. The 22-year-old southpaw has reeled off 12 consecutive scoreless frames with a 14/3 K/BB ratio since being promoted earlier this month to the upper minors as he continues to cement his status as one of this season's fastest-rising pitching prospects. The 22-year-old lefty, who was a second-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, compiled a sparkling 2.32 ERA and 45/5 K/BB ratio across 31 innings (six appearances, five starts) at High-A Lansing to open the year. He lacks the top-of-the-rotation upside projection of organization mate Luis Morales, but his three-pitch mix, and deceptive delivery give him a chance to reach the majors as an impactful fantasy contributor relatively soon. He's a name dynasty managers should already know, but he's going to be a household name among casual fantasy enthusiasts by the end of the year if he keeps this up. Asbel Gonzalez, OF, Royals The classic better for fantasy than real-life prospect, Gonzalez has been one of this season's dynasty standouts in the lower minors with his 36 stolen bases through 38 games at Low-A Columbia. The 19-year-old speedster remains a work in progress, but he's shown some serious growth in the hit tool department this season, hitting .319 (45-for-141) and striking out just a shade over 12 percent of the time in 172 plate appearances. The over-the-fence power is purely projection at this point based on his exit velocity data and physical frame, but he's putting together a strong foundation to build upon. Gonzalez is the type of prospect that dynasty managers should closely monitor as he continues to develop and climb the rungs of Kansas City's system. He's the type of speculative prospect worth stashing in deeper dynasty formats. Advertisement Payton Tolle, SP, Red Sox Boston has struggled to develop pitching talent in recent years, with Hunter Dobbins standing out as the lone homegrown impact contributor at the highest level at present, but they've got a pair of true breakout southpaw prospects on their hands this season in Brandon Clarke and Tolle. The 22-year-old lefty has absolutely dominated at High-A Greenville in his professional debut, striking out nearly 40 percent of the hitters he's faced, compiling a 4.56 ERA (3.55 FIP) and 40/7 K/BB ratio across 23 2/3 innings (six starts). He doesn't throw extremely hard, but his 6-foot-6 frame enables him to get some extra extension and allow his stuff to play up. He'll face a stiffer challenge once he reaches Double-A, but he's clearly a pitching prospect on the rise that dynasty managers need to monitor.
NBC Sports
22-05-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Fantasy Baseball Dynasty Stock Watch: Trey Yesavage, Luis Peña, Gage Jump headline latest risers
With just over one quarter of the 2025 season in the books the most challenging question facing dynasty managers is how to value Roki Sasaki from a ranking standpoint. The 23-year-old sensation arrived in Los Angeles earlier this year as one of the most ballyhooed international prospects in a generation and checked in at 24th overall in Rotoworld's Opening Day dynasty rankings update. His stateside debut didn't exactly go to plan as he struggled to a calamitous 4.72 ERA and 15.6 percent strikeout rate across 34 1/3 innings (eight starts) before hitting the injured list last week with a shoulder impingement after experiencing diminished velocity in his final start. It's fair to wonder how much the lingering issue impacted his performance since he told reporters that he's been pitching through the issue for a while. He remains one of the most intriguing talents in the fantasy landscape from a long-term standpoint, but it's impossible to overlook his early struggles. He'll use the extended layoff to recover physically and work on his mechanics. It feels like a classic buy-low opportunity for dynasty managers, but he's going to drop roughly 50 spots into the top-75 range in Rotoworld's next dynasty rankings update. This week's Dynasty Stock Watch column takes a look at five mostly unheralded prospects in the lower minors — Trey Yesavage, Luis Peña, Gage Jump, Asbel Gonzalez and Payton Tolle — that are making the jump from unranked a couple months ago to cracking Rotoworld's next dynasty rankings installment. Trey Yesavage, SP, Blue Jays Has rapidly emerged as one of the premier pitching prospects in the dynasty landscape this season as he continues to put together an extremely impressive professional debut in the lower minors. The hard-throwing 21-year-old righty didn't skip a beat in his High-A Vancouver debut on Tuesday evening, piling up 10 strikeouts over four innings. He compiled a stellar 2.43 ERA, 0.81 WHIP and 55/8 K/BB ratio across 33 1/3 innings (seven starts) for Low-A Dunedin to earn a lightning-quick promotion. He slipped to the 20th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft due to medical concerns during his collegiate career, but there's zero question regarding his ability to miss bats. His strikeout upside and realistic mid-rotation floor make him extremely intriguing for fantasy purposes, even though he lacks the front-of-the-rotation potential of top prospect arms like Andrew Painter, Bubba Chandler, Chase Burns or Noah Schultz. Luis Peña, SS, Brewers We've touched on some early season rising hitting prospects like Aroon Escobar, Arjun Nimmala, Eduardo Tait, Slade Caldwell and Bryce Rainer in recent weeks, but somehow Peña has eluded mention in this space. It would be unfair to compare his present trajectory to franchise cornerstone Jackson Chourio, or even fellow top prospect Jesús Made, but his meteoric rise this season hasn't gone unnoticed by dynasty managers. The 18-year-old prodigy, who is currently in concussion protocol following an ugly on-field collision at first base last weekend, has torn the cover off the ball this season at Low-A Carolina to the tune of a stratospheric .327/.400/.505 triple-slash line with three homers and 21 steals through 25 games. He's walked more than he's struck out in 115 plate appearances as one of the youngest players in the entire Carolina League. The combination of near-elite speed and above-average plate skills buoy his realistic batting average floor and give him a chance to arrive in the majors as a true five-category impact fantasy contributor in a couple years. The future looks extremely bright for Milwaukee with the trio of 18-year-old top prospects -- Made, Peña and last year's first-round pick Braylon Payne -- excelling in the lower minors. It's theoretically possible that Peña is a top-40 range dynasty prospect by midseason. Gage Jump, SP, Athletics Jump made a serious statement in his second start for Double-A Midland earlier this week, recording eight strikeouts over six shutout innings. The 22-year-old southpaw has reeled off 12 consecutive scoreless frames with a 14/3 K/BB ratio since being promoted earlier this month to the upper minors as he continues to cement his status as one of this season's fastest-rising pitching prospects. The 22-year-old lefty, who was a second-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, compiled a sparkling 2.32 ERA and 45/5 K/BB ratio across 31 innings (six appearances, five starts) at High-A Lansing to open the year. He lacks the top-of-the-rotation upside projection of organization mate Luis Morales, but his three-pitch mix, and deceptive delivery give him a chance to reach the majors as an impactful fantasy contributor relatively soon. He's a name dynasty managers should already know, but he's going to be a household name among casual fantasy enthusiasts by the end of the year if he keeps this up. Asbel Gonzalez, OF, Royals The classic better for fantasy than real-life prospect, Gonzalez has been one of this season's dynasty standouts in the lower minors with his 36 stolen bases through 38 games at Low-A Columbia. The 19-year-old speedster remains a work in progress, but he's shown some serious growth in the hit tool department this season, hitting .319 (45-for-141) and striking out just a shade over 12 percent of the time in 172 plate appearances. The over-the-fence power is purely projection at this point based on his exit velocity data and physical frame, but he's putting together a strong foundation to build upon. Gonzalez is the type of prospect that dynasty managers should closely monitor as he continues to develop and climb the rungs of Kansas City's system. He's the type of speculative prospect worth stashing in deeper dynasty formats. Payton Tolle, SP, Red Sox Boston has struggled to develop pitching talent in recent years, with Hunter Dobbins standing out as the lone homegrown impact contributor at the highest level at present, but they've got a pair of true breakout southpaw prospects on their hands this season in Brandon Clarke and Tolle. The 22-year-old lefty has absolutely dominated at High-A Greenville in his professional debut, striking out nearly 40 percent of the hitters he's faced, compiling a 4.56 ERA (3.55 FIP) and 40/7 K/BB ratio across 23 2/3 innings (six starts). He doesn't throw extremely hard, but his 6-foot-6 frame enables him to get some extra extension and allow his stuff to play up. He'll face a stiffer challenge once he reaches Double-A, but he's clearly a pitching prospect on the rise that dynasty managers need to monitor.
