Milwaukee Journal Sentinel beat reporters Curt Hogg and Todd Rosiak join host JR Radcliffe to discuss the Milwaukee Brewers, Major League Baseball and life on the Brewers beat.
Tyler Black and Brandon Lockridge with big springs, and the health of Brandon Woodruff (03.02.2026)
Mar 02, 2026
Show notes
Brewers reporter Todd Rosiak and host JR Radcliffe take a look at the wildly healthy landscape of the Brewers in spring training, with even minor injury question marks like Brandon Woodruff and Trevor Megill seemingly on track. What about prospect Jett Williams? Tyler Black and Brandon Lockridge are the breakout stars of spring so far. How does Luis Rengifo look at third? Could Aaron Ashby still be a starting pitcher? How has the ball/strike challenge system impacted the game? Who else is jumping out?
Then, Todd and JR provide the first Three Up, Three Down of the season (31:30), spinning through some intriguing spring highlights including homers robbed by weird ground rules, a viral Jacob Misiorowski video, a three-run single, a dinged-up food truck, Joey Ortiz with the bases loaded and young prospects who have impressed.
A deep dive into the Milwaukee Brewers minor-league system (02.26.2026)
Feb 26, 2026
Show notes
Surprise! It's a mid-week episode of Microbrew, where host JR Radcliffe is joined by Spencer Michaelis of Brewer Fanatic to get a full deep dive on the state of the Brewers highly regarded minor-league system. That includes several players in spring training this year and players who will contribute mightily over the next two years.
They discuss what traits allow the Brewers to shine, the shift from a pitching haven to a hitters paradise, the reasons we should be stoked for Jesús Made and Luis Peña, a trio of future (or present?) third-base options, the players most likely to impact the team in 2026, the best pitchers in the organization now that Jacob Misiorowski and Logan Henderson are with the big-league team, the breakout stars in waiting, whom we're likely to see if we visit High A in Appleton and a few guys still below your radar. For now.
We'll be back Monday morning with our usual episode focusing on the big-league team.
Why does one major projection system have a low opinion of the Brewers? (02.23.2026)
Feb 23, 2026
Show notes
The Baseball Prospectus PECOTA rankings believe the Brewers will finish around .500 and well behind the Cubs. Even though the Brewers won 97 games last year and bring back a ton of the same players. So why does the projection system have such a relatively low opinion of the Brewers (and not for the first time)? Jonathan Judge, the modeling guru of the PECOTA rankings, stops by (31:30) to discuss what his projection system looks for, why it prefers the Cubs so much more than the Brewers, which players are poised for a surprising year (good and bad) and why the Brewers have been able to overperform these rankings in the past. But also, perhaps there's some reason for concern?
Before that, Brewers reporter Todd Rosiak discusses the extension for manager Pat Murphy, the status of Trevor Megill in the context of the Milwaukee bullpen and what he's seen - if anything - through the first couple days of actual games. We also get an update on the Maryvale Cat, plus uniform takes!
Spring training has begun! What's up with Rengifo, Woodruff, Ortiz, Jesús Made and more (02.16.2026)
Feb 16, 2026
Show notes
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Todd Rosiak, now embedded in Phoenix with the start of spring training, and host JR Radcliffe discuss the early story lines in Brewers camp, including the clarifying picture at third base and catcher, Brandon Woodruff's immediate outlook and how the crowded starting rotation might look. It's been a relatively quiet start to camp, and that's a good thing given the lack of injury news. Who benefits when the World Baseball Classic starts? Who's next in line at third base if Luis Rengifo is indeed the starter? What's the best giveaway on the Brewers promotional calendar? And most importantly, do we have a Hank The Ballpark Pup sequel in our midst? And it's a cat?
The preseason predictions episode, plus Gary Sánchez is back (02.12.2026)
Feb 12, 2026
Show notes
Spring training has begun, and our annual predictions episode is here. Curt and JR make their picks from "likely" to "spicy" to "controversial" to "insane," trying to imagine how the 2026 season will play out. Topics include Jacob Misiorowski, relief pitching, William Contreras, Joey Ortiz and Jake Bauers. They also discuss the return of catcher Gary Sánchez on a free-agent (!) deal and the gap that still remains at third base.
Emergency episode: Brewers trade Caleb Durbin and infielders for pitching (02.09.2026)
Feb 09, 2026
Show notes
Didn't see that coming, did you? The Milwaukee Brewers made a surprise trade Feb. 9, sending breakout third baseman Caleb Durbin to the Boston Red Sox along with his primary backups (Anthony Seigler and Andruw Monasterio) for pitchers Kyle Harrison, Shane Drohan and infielder David Hamilton. What in the world is going on? The Brewers don't have any third basemen!
Brewers reporter Curt Hogg and host JR Radcliffe re-convened for an emergency look at the motivation behind the move, the players Milwaukee is getting in return and what options remain at the hot corner.
Get set for spring training with the Microbrew Brewers Bingo Card (02.05.2026)
Feb 05, 2026
Show notes
The Milwaukee Brewers are a week away from spring training, and we're celebrating by forecasting the weirdest possible outcomes. Brewers beat reporter Curt Hogg and host JR Radcliffe create their bingo card of highly unlikely -- but not impossible -- outcomes for the Brewers during the 2026 season. It's ridiculous, honestly. You can hear the winter weather taking a toll on their souls.
More reflection on the Freddy Peralta trade, plus Hall of Fame chatter and an exciting crew of non-roster invites (01.28.2026)
Jan 28, 2026
Show notes
Brewers reporter Todd Rosiak and host JR Radcliffe discuss the Freddy Peralta deal in greater depth, including the perception of a salary dump, the loss of Tobias Myers and more. Todd also discusses his Hall of Fame vote and how he weighs the "character clause." Who's the next Brewers Hall of Famer? Is it somebody ... already on the ballot? Plus a look at a prospect-heavy group of non-roster invitees ... could any of them make the team out of camp?
Brewers trade Freddy Peralta to New York Mets for Brandon Sproat, Jett Williams (01.21.2026)
Jan 22, 2026
Show notes
The Milwaukee Brewers finally made an offseason splash, trading ace starter Freddy Peralta and Tobias Myers to the New York Mets for two young players likely to help the Brewers in 2026. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Curt Hogg and host JR Radcliffe dissect the deal in this emergency podcast, discussing the newcomers and where they fit with the team. Plus: The consternation that comes with trading a top player; can the Brewers ever operate without moving a star before he hits free agency? What's the rotation picture now? What's Freddy's legacy in Milwaukee? Is Joey Ortiz's job in jeopardy?
Ten players who might make sense for the Brewers and are we sure a work stoppage wouldn't help the Brewers? (01.20.2026)
Jan 20, 2026
Show notes
It's Hot Stove season, not that the Brewers are standing anywhere near the flame. Brewers reporter Curt Hogg and host JR Radcliffe, both of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, each offer five names who might interest the Brewers, but don't expect any exciting names. In fact, one of the rules of their draft: The player can't be obviously exciting. Before that, they discuss the Los Angeles Dodgers signing of Kyle Tucker for an absurd four years and $240 million. Sure, a lockout would be bad for baseball, but they break down at length whether or not it would be bad for the Milwaukee Brewers, if such an action results in an MLB salary cap.
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