Rough start for our $95M super hero

[D-train]

Yeah, he doesn't seem particularly close to the Majors. Interesting too the Brewers number one and two prospects are both SSs that are younger than Pratt

He is in AAA

[D-train]

The Cooper Pratt contract doesn't make any sense at all. He's likely an above average defensive shortstop that projects to a below average major league bat. I mean, these are the guys you sign as minor league free agents or pick up on waivers. He isn't even Milwaukee's top prospect.

Totally agree. Dude hit the lottery from a poverty franchise.

Colt's start is still SSS but the irony is that his calling card is plate discipline and it has been horrid

Well, AAA is an advanced assignment. The pitchers at that level, on average, have loads more experience than the pitchers he would normally be facing at AA. Many of them have significant time in the major leagues and are doing their best to get back there. It isn't spring training where nobody gives a shit what happens.

To me, his numbers so far show a guy that's challenged by the level, but holding his own. He probably should spend most of the season down there.

Sure but we should reach out to Locklear to ask him about the difference between 'AAA and MLB pitching.

Guys rake in the PCL and come up and SUCK every season.

[Donn Beach]

Fangraphs on the Pratt signing. I don't think they see it as pressure to make the ML roster but more of a carrot to sign the contract that they get the opportunity. That was the deal with Kelenic wasn't it? He felt they were punishing him for not signing it. That's what I meant about Pratt not seeming particularly close.

While extensions for prospects who have yet to debut are becoming more common, Pratt’s is a little unusual. These tend to either be large deals to consensus top prospects, often with the carrot of a ticket to the Opening Day roster as a sort of signing bonus, or smaller sums for enticing but flawed farmhands. The eight-year, $82 million extension Milwaukee inked with Jackson Chourio prior to the 2024 season is a good example of the former (as is the eight-year, $95 million pact the Mariners reportedly just struck with Colt Emerson), while the six-year, $25 million pacts Seattle signed with Evan White and Philadelphia with Scott Kingery cover the latter. Pratt’s deal doesn’t fit cleanly in either category. It’s a pretty good chunk of change for a player who evaluators generally don’t see as a future star, and it’s also not a pay-for-play deal, as Pratt will likely remain at Triple-A after signing.

The opportunity cost seems strange to me. What would have been the cost of going season to season with him?
Here maybe is some logic to it. It speaks to their evaluations of their other SS prospects. Pratt is the one that actually projects to stick there

Perhaps the Brewers were reading the writing on the wall a bit. If, internally, they don’t buy any of those three as long-term shortstops, Pratt is suddenly the only upper-level player who projects there long term. Ebell is too far away and the current option, Joey Ortiz, just had a miserable season at the plate in 2025. Nailing down the position for the long haul could have been a tertiary motivation for Milwaukee.

As is usually the case, you can see the logic for both player and club here. The Brewers extend a player they see as a future regular at a premium position, making a significant but manageable financial commitment in exchange for cost certainty and the chance at a fair bit of surplus value. Pratt, for his part, has secured the financial component of the American Dream at the ripe age of 21.

[GL_Storm]

Totally agree. Dude hit the lottery from a poverty franchise.

Colt's start is still SSS but the irony is that his calling card is plate discipline and it has been horrid

Well, AAA is an advanced assignment. The pitchers at that level, on average, have loads more experience than the pitchers he would normally be facing at AA. Many of them have significant time in the major leagues and are doing their best to get back there. It isn't spring training where nobody gives a shit what happens.

To me, his numbers so far show a guy that's challenged by the level, but holding his own. He probably should spend most of the season down there.

Sure but we should reach out to Locklear to ask him about the difference between 'AAA and MLB pitching.

Guys rake in the PCL and come up and SUCK every season.

Sure, that happens. It was fairly predictable with Locklear. He obviously needed a swing change.

[GL_Storm]

Fangraphs on the Pratt signing. I don't think they see it as pressure to make the ML roster but more of a carrot to sign the contract that they get the opportunity. That was the deal with Kelenic wasn't it? He felt they were punishing him for not signing it. That's what I meant about Pratt not seeming particularly close.

While extensions for prospects who have yet to debut are becoming more common, Pratt’s is a little unusual. These tend to either be large deals to consensus top prospects, often with the carrot of a ticket to the Opening Day roster as a sort of signing bonus, or smaller sums for enticing but flawed farmhands. The eight-year, $82 million extension Milwaukee inked with Jackson Chourio prior to the 2024 season is a good example of the former (as is the eight-year, $95 million pact the Mariners reportedly just struck with Colt Emerson), while the six-year, $25 million pacts Seattle signed with Evan White and Philadelphia with Scott Kingery cover the latter. Pratt’s deal doesn’t fit cleanly in either category. It’s a pretty good chunk of change for a player who evaluators generally don’t see as a future star, and it’s also not a pay-for-play deal, as Pratt will likely remain at Triple-A after signing.

The opportunity cost seems strange to me. What would have been the cost of going season to season with him?
Here maybe is some logic to it. It speaks to their evaluations of their other SS prospects. Pratt is the one that actually projects to stick there

Perhaps the Brewers were reading the writing on the wall a bit. If, internally, they don’t buy any of those three as long-term shortstops, Pratt is suddenly the only upper-level player who projects there long term. Ebell is too far away and the current option, Joey Ortiz, just had a miserable season at the plate in 2025. Nailing down the position for the long haul could have been a tertiary motivation for Milwaukee.

As is usually the case, you can see the logic for both player and club here. The Brewers extend a player they see as a future regular at a premium position, making a significant but manageable financial commitment in exchange for cost certainty and the chance at a fair bit of surplus value. Pratt, for his part, has secured the financial component of the American Dream at the ripe age of 21.

I don't think there's any understanding it. He projects as a fringe major leaguer. I'll be shocked if he has any kind of significant career in the majors. And I don't buy the positional scarcity argument. Major league front offices can find shortstops. Guys become available.

[Donn Beach]

Fangraphs on the Pratt signing. I don't think they see it as pressure to make the ML roster but more of a carrot to sign the contract that they get the opportunity. That was the deal with Kelenic wasn't it? He felt they were punishing him for not signing it. That's what I meant about Pratt not seeming particularly close.

While extensions for prospects who have yet to debut are becoming more common, Pratt’s is a little unusual. These tend to either be large deals to consensus top prospects, often with the carrot of a ticket to the Opening Day roster as a sort of signing bonus, or smaller sums for enticing but flawed farmhands. The eight-year, $82 million extension Milwaukee inked with Jackson Chourio prior to the 2024 season is a good example of the former (as is the eight-year, $95 million pact the Mariners reportedly just struck with Colt Emerson), while the six-year, $25 million pacts Seattle signed with Evan White and Philadelphia with Scott Kingery cover the latter. Pratt’s deal doesn’t fit cleanly in either category. It’s a pretty good chunk of change for a player who evaluators generally don’t see as a future star, and it’s also not a pay-for-play deal, as Pratt will likely remain at Triple-A after signing.

The opportunity cost seems strange to me. What would have been the cost of going season to season with him?
Here maybe is some logic to it. It speaks to their evaluations of their other SS prospects. Pratt is the one that actually projects to stick there

Perhaps the Brewers were reading the writing on the wall a bit. If, internally, they don’t buy any of those three as long-term shortstops, Pratt is suddenly the only upper-level player who projects there long term. Ebell is too far away and the current option, Joey Ortiz, just had a miserable season at the plate in 2025. Nailing down the position for the long haul could have been a tertiary motivation for Milwaukee.

As is usually the case, you can see the logic for both player and club here. The Brewers extend a player they see as a future regular at a premium position, making a significant but manageable financial commitment in exchange for cost certainty and the chance at a fair bit of surplus value. Pratt, for his part, has secured the financial component of the American Dream at the ripe age of 21.

I don't think there's any understanding it. He projects as a fringe major leaguer. I'll be shocked if he has any kind of significant career in the majors. And I don't buy the positional scarcity argument. Major league front offices can find shortstops. Guys become available.

Okay, the deal is, at least as how I look at it, the guys running mlb organizations aren't stupid. There was a time when some of them might be characterized that way but those days are passed. Just like the players they deal with these guys are at the very pinnacle of their profession. The competition between FOs is fierce. We are long past some sort of Moneyball advantages these days. And in my mind the Brewer organization might be the sharpest, it's certainly near the top. So when I do read about something like this I try to understand it as opposed to just writing it off as being stupid

What's interesting about the Brewers, David Sterns gets poached by Mets, they promote Matt Arnold from within to take his place in 2022 and don't miss a frigging beat. Arnold wins executive of the year both 2024 and 2025.

[GL_Storm]

Fangraphs on the Pratt signing. I don't think they see it as pressure to make the ML roster but more of a carrot to sign the contract that they get the opportunity. That was the deal with Kelenic wasn't it? He felt they were punishing him for not signing it. That's what I meant about Pratt not seeming particularly close.



The opportunity cost seems strange to me. What would have been the cost of going season to season with him?
Here maybe is some logic to it. It speaks to their evaluations of their other SS prospects. Pratt is the one that actually projects to stick there

I don't think there's any understanding it. He projects as a fringe major leaguer. I'll be shocked if he has any kind of significant career in the majors. And I don't buy the positional scarcity argument. Major league front offices can find shortstops. Guys become available.

Okay, the deal is, at least as how I look at it, the guys running mlb organizations aren't stupid. There was a time when some of them might be characterized that way but those days are passed. Just like the players they deal with these guys are at the very pinnacle of their profession. The competition between FOs is fierce. We are long past some sort of Moneyball advantages these days. And in my mind the Brewer organization might be the sharpest, it's certainly near the top. So when I do read about something like this I try to understand it as opposed to just writing it off as being stupid

What's interesting about the Brewers, David Sterns gets poached by Mets, they promote Matt Arnold from within to take his place in 2022 and don't miss a frigging beat. Arnold wins executive of the year both 2024 and 2025.

And the Mets are a disaster under Sterns.

Look, I agree with you completely. Your chain of reasoning is sound. But that's also why it doesn't make sense.

[Donn Beach]

And the Mets are a disaster under Sterns.

Look, I agree with you completely. Your chain of reasoning is sound. But that's also why it doesn't make sense

That's whats interesting. The magic didnt travel well with Sterns. It's the Brewers that continued to win. That it's something about the organization itself rather than who was running it. The Rays are like that, it's more than the hot shot president. I could see the mariners being like that. It's the value of allowing dipoto to build the organization. Dipoto could get hired away and have less success than the organization he leaves behind. He'd be back to building the thing again

[D-train]

I actually don't have a big issue with Colt's contract..It is the completely unnecessary pronouncement by Jerry that he will have a significant impact this season. That seems far more like a May promotion than an August promotion.

And that would require moving at least 3 vets that are playing well around to accommodate a 20 kid that is currently struggling in AAA.

[desbcoach]

Guess he doesn't have much cause to put out and try to get better now that he is guaranteed to be on the major league team at some point this season.

Some people have their own drive that money doesn’t satisfy