2K24: Milwaukee Brewers

[chancellor]

First pitch strike rate is up over 5%, too. Limited data set and all, but for a guy without dominant stuff, I think that's significant too.

[pitbull]

Nelson is off to a good start too. 13 K to 2 BB. For sure only 2 games so far but if he can turn the corner on walking hitters he could be a nice surprise.

[Ken]

He's throwing his cutter a lot more (http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx...on=P#pitchtype) but that's all I can see. Velocity looks about the same.

Remind me, are the velocity readings on fangraphs increased due to Statcast vs PitchFx, or can we compare 2017 to 2016 data on fangraphs directly?

[mjl]

Remind me, are the velocity readings on fangraphs increased due to Statcast vs PitchFx, or can we compare 2017 to 2016 data on fangraphs directly?

I don't know. I doubt they have the conversions certain enough yet; I remember someone (Cameron or Sullivan I think) talking about having worked out that the conversion factor was something like .991 but it was also correlated with release point and they didn't have it solved yet. I'm assuming that we can't compare directly on the site yet.

[Judge Jude]

Nelson is off to a good start too. 13 K to 2 BB. For sure only 2 games so far but if he can turn the corner on walking hitters he could be a nice surprise.

I picked him up today after terminating Buchholz. He has a new pitch, which gives me mild, mild hope. has gotten dinged for a pair of 2-run HRs vs Cubs tonight, but has the lead and allowed 6 H and 1 BB thru 5 after beating Cubs in first try. worth a mull in NL-only.
unless the 4 more ER he allowed in the 6th give you pause.

it's the Cubs. if no one has him yet, his now 4.42 ERA means they won't look. let's see his next start.

[Pauly]

Last I read Brinson was tearing up the minors - so Braun gets hurts and we get...Eric Sogard? seriously?

[revo]

Last I read Brinson was tearing up the minors - so Braun gets hurts and we get...Eric Sogard? seriously?

Doesn't it suck that some teams are far more concerned with keeping players cheap than winning?

[Pogues]

Doesn't it suck that some teams are far more concerned with keeping players cheap than winning?

Yeah, but it's the Brewers. No one cares about them anyway.

[Gregg]

Last I read Brinson was tearing up the minors - so Braun gets hurts and we get...Eric Sogard? seriously?

Moving Thames to OF and Aguilar (who was a beast in spring training) gets more playing time. This makes more sense to a rebuilding team than burning up control time.

[overkill94]

Moving Thames to OF and Aguilar (who was a beast in spring training) gets more playing time. This makes more sense to a rebuilding team than burning up control time.

Plus, they've been trying to find PT for Hernan Perez all year and this is a good way for him to get it.

[Pauly]

Moving Thames to OF and Aguilar (who was a beast in spring training) gets more playing time. This makes more sense to a rebuilding team than burning up control time.

The Brewers are like 5 games over .500 - that's not rebuilding.

[Hornsby]

The Brewers are like 5 games over .500 - that's not rebuilding.

The Twins are 4 games over .500, and leading their division. Trust me, they're rebuilding, as well as the Brewers.

[chancellor]

Last I read Brinson was tearing up the minors - so Braun gets hurts and we get...Eric Sogard? seriously?

And the mighty Eric Sogard continues to dominate the NL.

For those keeping track of teams likely to dump/rebuild, I'd say recent events point to the Brewers becoming less likely to do so. Support:

- Had the Brewers wanted to start the rebuild, I think they'd have brought up Brinson to see how close he really was. The loss of control time versus knowing if he was ready or really close would have tilited to knowing if he was ready/really close, given Braun is going 10/5.
- Quietly, Braun has pretty much come off the market.
- The move of Knebel to closer. Had the Brewers still been committed to rebuilding this year, they'd have left Feliz in the role longer and see if he could work out his issues. Feliz will still carry some value as a MR on the market, but it's notably less.
- Sitting Villar down for a couple days. This has been easily covered by keeping the white-hot Sogard in the lineup, but they're sending him a message.

Now, all this could change if the Brewers suck in the next month and fall out of contention. But if they keep playing well, I'd not be surprised if they're buyers (esp. for SP) instead of sellers.

[Gregg]

And the mighty Eric Sogard continues to dominate the NL.

For those keeping track of teams likely to dump/rebuild, I'd say recent events point to the Brewers becoming less likely to do so. Support:

- Had the Brewers wanted to start the rebuild, I think they'd have brought up Brinson to see how close he really was. The loss of control time versus knowing if he was ready or really close would have tilited to knowing if he was ready/really close, given Braun is going 10/5.
- Quietly, Braun has pretty much come off the market.
- The move of Knebel to closer. Had the Brewers still been committed to rebuilding this year, they'd have left Feliz in the role longer and see if he could work out his issues. Feliz will still carry some value as a MR on the market, but it's notably less.
- Sitting Villar down for a couple days. This has been easily covered by keeping the white-hot Sogard in the lineup, but they're sending him a message.

Now, all this could change if the Brewers suck in the next month and fall out of contention. But if they keep playing well, I'd not be surprised if they're buyers (esp. for SP) instead of sellers.

All this may be true, but that is not the way to build a franchise. It is a recipe for staying stuck in the middle. They need to stay on the rebuild path to success.

Cubs homerism aside do you really think they are better than St.Louis?

They have some nice pieces but they are still pretty far away from winning anything.

It is going to be an interesting weekend series with the Cubs.

[joncarlos]

The NL is a freaking wasteland this year. I think the Brewers can absolutely hang on for the wild card, especially if they deal one of their minor league bats for a controllable arm. Assuming the Dodgers get their act together, and so do the Cubs, then you've got the expected trio of division winners and then what? I'd bet on AZ at this point. If the humidor doesn't wreck their offense, they should walk into the playoffs - they could have an elite rotation when it gets humidified.

Pirates are done. Mets are probably done. Giants are probably done. Marlins and Braves and Phillies - ain't happening. Padres were out in February. Reds ain't happening either. So you've got the Rockies, Cards and Brewers.