Nottingham to miss early spring games
Jacob Nottingham's quest to distinguish himself in the Milwaukee Brewers' deep catching group has been detoured for the time being.
Manager Craig Counsell said Friday that Nottingham's recovery from lateDecember surgery on his left thumb has been slowed to the point that he's not participating in workouts and instead being limited to "small baseball activities."
"We're going to be behind with Jacob," Counsell said. "He's not going to be on the field early in the Cactus League season. I don't really have an exact timetable. We're kind of day by day in terms of getting him into baseball activities."
Nottingham, who turns 26 on April 3, is one of five catchers on the 40-man roster. With Omar Narváez and Manny Piña on top of the depth chart, Nottingham and Luke Maile figure to be jockeying for the No. 3 spot.
Mario Feliciano – profiling as the team's catcher of the future – is the fifth catcher on the 40-man but has played only 298 games in the minors leagues and just three at Class AA Biloxi.
Nottingham got his first extended opportunity behind the plate last season, thanks in large part to a knee injury that knocked Piña out for the final month.
In 20 games, he hit just .188 but displayed some pop with four home runs while also driving in 13 runs. More impressive was the progress Nottingham made defensively; his game calling, arm strength and general presence behind the plate earned strong reviews from not only Counsell but also Corbin Burnes and Brandon Woodruff.
Nottingham injured his thumb in Game 2 of the Brewers' NL wild-card series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
While the Brewers open Cactus League play on Sunday, Nottingham will try to improve and progress to the point he can join them with enough time left in the spring to build a solid foundation for 2021.
Getting some at-bats under his belt will be important, but gaining familiarity with the new pitchers in camp might be even more so.
"There are things that he can do," Counsell said. "He can throw, things like that. It's just the catching thing we're going to be slow with because that's where the problem occurred and that's the chance where he could reaggravate it, frankly.
"So, we've got to be slow with the catching. Even the hitting, we'll go a little faster with, but we have to be slow with the catching part of it.”
Nottingham's absence opens the door for Luke Maile to make an impression in his first camp with the Brewers.
Signed as a free agent in early December, the 24-year-old has 215 games of major-league experience since 2015. He missed last season – which he spent with the Pittsburgh Pirates – with a broken right index finger.
Maile is a career .198 hitter with 10 homers and 60 RBI in 605 at-bats. But it's Maile's glove that is his strong suit; he accrued an impressive 21 defensive runs saved during his time with the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays.
“Luke, he's known for his defense, he's known for his receiving," Counsell said. "He's a player that has been on our radar for a couple of years for his receiving skills. He's a very good receiver.
"That's what we're getting."
Second time around
Drew Rasmussen and Justin Topa both turned heads by regularly threatening the 100-mph mark with their fastballs in 2020.
Each right-hander traveled a similar path to the major leagues as well in bouncing back from not one but two Tommy John surgeries, although Rasmussen was a much more highly touted prospect coming out of Oregon State and a first-round pick of Tampa Bay in 2017.
Rasmussen, 25, debuted first for Milwaukee last Aug. 19. While he struck out 21 in 151⁄3 innings over 12 appearances and registered his first major-league victory, his 5.87 earned run average and WHIP of 1.70 were indicative of his struggles commanding his secondary pitches.
Topa, 29, quite literally came out of nowhere – he was a late invite to Milwaukee's alternate training site in Appleton – to debut Sept. 1. Throwing mostly a heavy sinker along with a slider, he posted a 2.35 ERA and WHIP of 0.91 in 72⁄3 innings over six appearances.
Both have minor-league options remaining and are likely to ride the Class AAA Nashville shuttle back and forth a few times along with several other relievers. But at the very least, Rasmussen and Topa have shown they can pitch in the big leagues and can be counted on to get big outs in what should be a talented bullpen.
"I think it's just a certain degree of familiarity you get," Counsell said. "Both guys I've told they've got to earn their spots on the team. Obviously, we know they're going to play a part for us this year but I think we want to make them earn their spots.
"They're both kind of in similar situations – contributors last year and hopefully be contributors again."
Missing Braunie
No player was closer in the clubhouse to fellow Southern Californian Ryan Braun than Christian Yelich. Braun hasn't decided if he'll try to continue his career and is missing from the Brewers' clubhouse this spring, which Yelich admitted was “a little different.”
“It's a thing that happens in the game,” Yelich said. “Guys retire, guys move on, guys get traded, guys aren't around. But him having been a staple of this place for a really long time, definitely some adjusting to.
“But other than the added responsibility of that, I think we're doing well. It's something that we as a group are going to have to deal with because, you know, as of right now, he's retired and living life."
So, does that mean an added leadership role for Yelich? Counsell said his star player doesn't have to be anyone but himself.
“I think Christian has always recognized his place on the team, his spot on the team,” Counsell said. “Every year you lose voices in the clubhouse, voices change. Ryan was definitely a consistent voice for us for 13, 14 years.
“That's going to change the dynamic for multiple players. But Christian is going to be himself. He's taken on leadership responsibility in previous years. He'll do the same now.”
Asked about Yelich's disappointing 2020 season, Counsell said he detected a strong vibe from Yelich even before he reported to camp.
“I think we're going to see a very motivated player,” Counsell said. “He was disappointed in the results last year, disappointed in his performance. He wants to be better, and he's going to be better.”
As for his plans this spring for Yelich, Counsell said, “We'll definitely get started earlier with Christian this spring and then take it from there. The goal would be to get him going early, kind of get him feeling good and ease off toward the middle of spring then kind of ramp him back up later in the spring.”