caulfield12 Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-2024-rule-5-draft-scouting-reports/ As a starter last year, Smith’s fastball dipped backed into the 93-95 mph range, and even when Milwaukee returned the 24-year-old to the bullpen at the end of the year, it still hung there. Smith should at least have adequate big league reliever velocity, and perhaps more than that if his arm strength rebounds. He began re-incorporating sliders and cutters into his pitch mix in 2024 after he was mostly fastball/curveball in 2023. His curveball did not perform as well in 2024 as it did in 2023, and it’s plausible that his repertoire will be pared down if Smith ends up in Chicago’s bullpen right away. Milwaukee’s experimentation with Smith as a starter was a worthy endeavor but, realistically, he’s going to be a fairly standard middle reliever with two plus pitches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted March 1 Author Share Posted March 1 Four seem FBs at 97-100 98.5 98.5 (98.5 99.4 99.6 to Cal Raleigh) Four sinkers 92-94, 90 Two CB 82 84.1 Cutter 91.5 pitches to Garver 98 98.4 97.9 98 Crawford 97.8 97.1 98.7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted March 1 Author Share Posted March 1 Grant Taylor comparatively 97 100 88 cutter 101 mph for K 93 sinker 100 89 cutter 100.3 ground out botched 99.1 87.8 cutter 88.2 cutter 98.3 fb 100.3 95.5 cutter 100.6 99.7 in play Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteSox2023 Posted March 1 Share Posted March 1 Could be. Obviously worth trying him as a starter first. If he doesn’t have the control for 5+ innings, try him as a reliever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mac9001 Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 He had a lot of success as a starter in AA. There's no reason why you wouldn't at least give him an opportunity to make a few starts. He starts the year in the pen and mid year you work him up to 4-5 innings and let him start. I feel like you can do that with a lot of our AAA guys, give them a chance to have some success out of an MLB pen and give them the chance to start if they've earned it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 I mean...we are holding onto Jesse Scholtens for the time being, but it seems he's going to get more opportunities in various roles if he keeps throwing the ball like today. Granted, his first Spring Training outing wasn't all that memorable...but even M's announcers had Smith throwing BB's right out of the gate as their player of the game today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 (edited) "Instead, after much deep thought and conversations with his parents and others, he decided to bet on himself. Using the Communications degree classes he had already taken (at Wake Forest), he went about contacting MLB organization after organization. It paid off. In early July, the Milwaukee Brewers gave him a chance. He continued to rehab that summer as well as into the 2022 summer. He was able to end that year with three innings over three games for one of the Brewers Arizona Complex League teams. That gave him confidence heading into the 2023 season that he could do it again. The Brewers worked on a plan with him.... He was able to end that season with two games for Double-A Biloxi where he tossed two scoreless innings. He never worked in back-to-back games all season, and if he worked two innings, he would get three days between outings." https://brewerfanatic.com/news-rumors/brewers-minor-league/brewers-prospect-spotlight-rhp-shane-smith-r2776/ Edited March 2 by caulfield12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caulfield12 Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 (edited) On this Brewers Spotlight, we shine the light on Brewers relief pitcher prospect Shane Smith. He was the Brewer Fanatic 2023 Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. His story is interesting and one can't help but wish him health and success. After a solid high school career, he went to Wake Forest. Unfortunately, over three seasons there, he pitched a total of just 10 1/3 innings. He had a shoulder injury and redshirted his first season. He had taken over the role of closer for the Demon Deacons and was pitching well when Covid shut down the season. He began the following season as a starter but hurt his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery. https://brewerfanatic.com/videos/milwaukee-brewers-minor-leagues/brewers-spotlight-rhp-shane-smith-r134/ On 8/17/2024 at 6:26 PM, CheeseheadInQC said: This is close to mine, except I would flop 2-3 and 4-5. I know some scouting reports were fairly high on Shane Smith’s profile as a reliever before he moved to the rotation, and I think that would enhance his chances of getting taken in the Rule 5 draft. Expand "Yeah, this is spot on imho. The only absolute locks, by my eyes, are RHP Logan Henderson and RHP Shane Smith. Too much high end stuff in both these young men's toolkits to leave exposed - no brainers." From Four page discussion on who to protect for MIL on Rule 5 draft On 8/17/2024 at 6:26 PM, CheeseheadInQC said: https://brewerfanatic.com/forums/topic/43240-farmhands-eligible-for-rule-5-40-man-roster-protection-update-shane-smith-to-chisox-with-1st-pick/page/2/ Expand Edited March 2 by caulfield12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmags Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 I preferred trying him as a starter but it would be a big help if he was a plus RP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 On 3/2/2025 at 3:37 PM, bmags said: I preferred trying him as a starter but it would be a big help if he was a plus RP Expand This. Ideally he starts, but if you buy a solid reliever for 100k, that's a big win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicago White Sox Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 On 3/1/2025 at 11:55 PM, WhiteSox2023 said: Could be. Obviously worth trying him as a starter first. If he doesn’t have the control for 5+ innings, try him as a reliever. Expand He didn’t have a single called strike yesterday. Obviously it’s just one start, but if command is going to be a near-term issue for him then maybe start him off in the bullpen and reconsider things down the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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