Scooter Gennett gets called up to MLB

[Warning Track Power]

The absolute best case scenario in my eyes...Scooter turns into Mark Loretta.

[Funketown]

I think this has less to do with Scooter than it does Weeks' option that the Brewers simply will not allow to vest.

 

Gotta imagine that's the case. Weeks isn't quite on pace for 600 PA's this season and he was starting from day one. It's probably not too tough to find enough scheduled off days and days off for minor injuries to get them out of that vesting option without getting a mouthful from the PA, even if they played him like a starter.

 

Honestly though I hope they keep starting Weeks and finish him around 550 PA's this season. I like Gennett and he seems like a player everybody should root for, but right now I can't help but see a player who has posted a 88 wRC+ this season in AAA and a sub .100 ISO being a contributor. Obviously I hope he'll succeed in the majors, but I'd rather he spend the entire season at AAA.

[torts]

The absolute best case scenario in my eyes...Scooter turns into Mark Loretta.

 

the absolute best case scenario in my eyes...Scooter turns into Joe Morgan.

[Funketown]

The absolute best case scenario in my eyes...Scooter turns into Mark Loretta.

 

the absolute best case scenario in my eyes...Scooter turns into Joe Morgan.

 

The absolute best case scenario in my eyes...Scooter turns into Sandy Koufax.

[thebruce44]

segura and scooter in each of their last two MiLB seasons

 

This is irrelevant as Segura provides plus defense at SS.

[torts]

segura and scooter in each of their last two MiLB seasons

 

This is irrelevant as Segura provides plus defense at SS.

 

its not irrelevant when everyone is discussing Scooters ability at the plate far more than his ability on the field.

[Warning Track Power]

The absolute best case REALISTIC scenario in my eyes...Scooter turns into Mark Loretta.

 

the absolute best case scenario in my eyes...Scooter turns into Joe Morgan.

 

Corrected

[ReverendBrewmeister]

the absolute best case scenario in my eyes...Scooter turns into Joe Morgan.

 

Tim McCarver's leaving the Fox broadcasting booth, which is a good thing. Why would we want Scooter to turn into a terrible color analyst for national baseball broadcasts?

[rluzinski]

I don't want my money at that bank because Weeks is done as an everyday player.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if you said the same thing around this time last year. As we all know, Weeks rebounded nicely from a terrible start and ended up hitting .260/.344/.445/.789 from June 1 on. While I don't expect him to repeat that kind of performance again this year, I certainly am expecting a significant rebound. Everyone should.

 

Weeks has a rest of season ZiPS projection of .238/.332/.410, which sounds pretty reasonable if you ask me. So far, Gennett has proven that if he bats .300 he can match that line.... in the minors. Gennett is young and I won't pretend to know what he will develop into. That said, anyone who's convinced themselves that Gennett represents a clear offensive upgrade over Weeks for this season is fooling themselves. It's possible but not likely.

[crossface21]

If they bring Scooter up to just ride the pine and get a spot start every couple of weeks, I'll have lost all confidence in this Brewer regime. But, they wouldn't do that, would they????

[rluzinski]

I think the difference in k-rate between Gennett and Weeks could be enough of a positive... even if gennett just grounds out every time instead. i'd rather see a guy make contact and get out than someone swing and miss the pitch by a mile

 

I'll take a groundball with a chance over a strikeout any day. But if we are comparing a groundout to a K, the difference in terms of expected production doesn't make it worth caring about. I want Brewer wins, not pretty outs.

[monty57]

It would be nice to think that bringing up Gennett right now is to allow him to get over the initial jitters of being in the MLB for a short period before Weeks is traded. Unfortunately, the only way I see anyone taking Weeks is if we pay nearly all of his contract. Even then, I don't see us getting anything of value back in trade. If this is the case, then is it worth it to pay Weeks not to play for Milwaukee simply so that we can have Gennett play everyday?

 

It would also be nice if they were bringing Gennett up because his play is forcing their hands, but it's not. Anything can happen in a small sample, but I think we should expect him to be around replacement level.

 

TheCrew07's point that this move is being done to make sure Weeks' option doesn't vest makes some sense, but I'd prefer they just continue to give Bianchi starts at 2B while Gennett plays at AAA. I guess if this is really about Weeks' option, their best bet would be to cut him now, because if he gets hot, it'd be hard to justify sitting him just so he doesn't hit 600 PAs.

 

I also think SoCal Brew Crew made a very valid point. This looks like a PR move to try to spur some excitement in the fan base, in hopes of keeping more fans in the stands. Attendance is dropping, and they have a lot of guaranteed payroll to come up with. If fans lose interest, the Brewers could be seriously in the red for a couple of years.

 

When the reasoning for bringing up one of your top prospects is probably more about finances (keep Weeks' option from vesting) and public relations (keeping fans in the seats) than it is about baseball, then the franchise has some problems. Of course, when there are questions as to whether the guy who is arguably your top position prospect is going to be able to hit for a .700 OPS and whether he's going to be able to play adequate defense, there are some problems.

[torts]

I think the difference in k-rate between Gennett and Weeks could be enough of a positive... even if gennett just grounds out every time instead. i'd rather see a guy make contact and get out than someone swing and miss the pitch by a mile

 

I'll take a groundball with a chance over a strikeout any day. But if we are comparing a groundout to a K, the difference in terms of expected production doesn't make it worth caring about. I want Brewer wins, not pretty outs.

 

at this point, I dont care about wins, I want pretty outs

[rluzinski]

I've demonstrated this before but it is pretty damn easy to make sure Weeks' option doesn't vest. There is absolutely no need to bring up anyone to insure that it doesn't.

[Invader3K]

As I noted on Twitter just a bit ago, Doug Melvin just said roughly two weeks ago that Scooter would stay in AAA the entire season. I think either Attanasio got on him to make some moves, or the team has just completely become disillusioned with Weeks.

[brewcrewdue80]

I don't want my money at that bank because Weeks is done as an everyday player.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if you said the same thing around this time last year. As we all know, Weeks rebounded nicely from a terrible start and ended up hitting .260/.344/.445/.789 from June 1 on. While I don't expect him to repeat that kind of performance again this year, I certainly am expecting a significant rebound. Everyone should.

 

Weeks has a rest of season ZiPS projection of .238/.332/.410, which sounds pretty reasonable if you ask me. So far, Gennett has proven that if he bats .300 he can match that line.... in the minors. Gennett is young and I won't pretend to know what he will develop into. That said, anyone who's convinced themselves that Gennett represents a clear offensive upgrade over Weeks for this season is fooling themselves. It's possible but not likely.

 

 

.238/.332/.410 to dropping .025pts from AAA numbers.. .272/.317/.352.

 

Okay, for bottom of the order numbers. The slugging isn't as important to me as the BA/OB is. Weeks has shown for 1+ season now almost next to nothing in Clutch situations. Your OPS gains in Weeks is in power 3HRs thus far and his Walks. The walks mean something more atop the order. At the bottom, I'll take a BA guy who can supply those occasional clutch hits. Weeks not batting atop the order and showing less ability at the plate, those Power numbers with chances aren't guaranteed. 10RBI in 205PAs. 1 the Entire Month of May on his Only HR!

He really provides nothing near what ZiPS projects. I'll bet today that Scooter has more RBI than Weeks for June. The bats ahead of Scooter give him ample opportunities and a .270-.300 hitter will more than likely drive the likes of ARam/Lucroy/Gomez in more often than the I hope I can bat .220 Weeks.

0-23 3bbs 2out RISP 4-46 11bbs RISP overall. I'm thinking if Scooter gets enough opportunities he will suppass Weeks in number of RISP hits by the end of this month alone.

[3and2Fastball]

As I noted on Twitter just a bit ago, Doug Melvin just said roughly two weeks ago that Scooter would stay in AAA the entire season. I think either Attanasio got on him to make some moves, or the team has just completely become disillusioned with Weeks.

 

Or we should take what Melvin says in public or the media about anyone in the Brewers organization with a grain of salt

 

Personally I'm a big Scooter Gennett fan, so I'm excited to see his debut. No idea if it is the "right" move at this time. I suppose it depends on how they use him, how much they use him and any other corresponding moves

 

Does seem weird that on a team full of middle infielders we got rid of one infielder and added 2 more while getting rid of a pitcher

 

Must be more moves coming. Maybe someone is willing to overpay for Ramirez & Weeks

[brewcrewdue80]

Looking deeper at the numbers. No longer a Leadoff hitter this stat matters more now.

RISP Weeks has batted .213/.200/and this season's .087. This is a span of near 1500 PAs in his 4220 career. Easily more than the last 1/3rd of his career. If he costs you runs defensively, costs you runs offensively, then what is the point playing him or keeping him? All signs point to worse not better. Age/previous seasons results. And the end result is Yes Monty, I would pay another team to take him off our 40Man Roster. Even if it cost 10mil. The 500k Scooter next season. That is 1mil gain in payroll. I don't care what the return is in trade as the return with that 1mil spent may make it worth it.

[monty57]

As I noted on Twitter just a bit ago, Doug Melvin just said roughly two weeks ago that Scooter would stay in AAA the entire season. I think either Attanasio got on him to make some moves, or the team has just completely become disillusioned with Weeks.

 

The "Attanasio got on him to make some moves" is fuel for the belief that this move is about getting butts in the seats, which I'm sure is a very, very big concern for the owners group when they look at the guaranteed obligations they're on the hook to pay.

 

The "Melvin just said... Scooter would stay in AAA the entire season" is fuel for the belief that there is very little planning going on in this organization. I honestly don't know if I should be upset with Melvin for not planning or if I should feel sorry for him as he tries to put a plan together and Attanasio blows it up.

[Invader3K]

Must be more moves coming. Maybe someone is willing to overpay for Ramirez & Weeks

 

Jon Morosi from Fox Sports has been saying that Ramirez will probably draw interest quite a bit towards the trade deadline. I don't think that means a trade is imminent (or necessarily even will happen), but we'll see.

[LouisEly]

I've demonstrated this before but it is pretty damn easy to make sure Weeks' option doesn't vest. There is absolutely no need to bring up anyone to insure that it doesn't.

Not without the players union suing you or accusing you of something. Weeks playing poorly on a team playing poorly and bringing up a LH bat to platoon with Weeks is pretty easily justifiable. If the Brewers start playing well, Weeks starts playing well, or sitting Weeks for another RH bat it becomes not so easy to justify.

[MJLiverock]

I have a hard time believing calling up Scooter is to put butts in the seats. He isn't Prince Fielder or Ryan Braun, most fans have no idea who he is and I have yet to hear of anyone avoiding a game because Weeks might be playing. I can't imagine casual fans getting excited enough to make plans to go out and see a middling middle infield call up. Claiming Attanasio forced Melvin to do it for attendance is ridiculous in my opinion.

[PrinceEatMeat]

I think there is a distinct possibility that some teams have actually called Melvin about Weeks, so they called up Scooter to see how he responds. If he plays well then maybe they'll pull the trigger and deal Weeks and go with Scooter. Not saying this is the case, just that it could be. I think it's a bad idea to sell low on Weeks, but you never know how other teams value him.

[trwi7]

If someone made an offer for Weeks I just can't imagine Melvin saying let us call up this guy and see how he does. If he does well we'll do the trade, if not, no deal. That goes for any player, not just Weeks. You either think the deal benefits you or it doesn't.

[danzig6767]

I don't want my money at that bank because Weeks is done as an everyday player.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if you said the same thing around this time last year. As we all know, Weeks rebounded nicely from a terrible start and ended up hitting .260/.344/.445/.789 from June 1 on. While I don't expect him to repeat that kind of performance again this year, I certainly am expecting a significant rebound. Everyone should.

 

Weeks has a rest of season ZiPS projection of .238/.332/.410, which sounds pretty reasonable if you ask me. So far, Gennett has proven that if he bats .300 he can match that line.... in the minors. Gennett is young and I won't pretend to know what he will develop into. That said, anyone who's convinced themselves that Gennett represents a clear offensive upgrade over Weeks for this season is fooling themselves. It's possible but not likely.

 

Did ZiPS predict Weeks would have an amazingly bad .550 OPS after two months?

 

I'm not expecting anything great from Scooter, but how much i'd keep playing Weeks would have nothing to do with what his ZiPS projection is for the rest of the season.

 

I try not to ever use hyperbole when it comes to struggling athletes, but i can't recall seeing a hitter in awhile looking as lost at the plate as Weeks has these two months outside of his ability to still draw walks. He reminds me of one of those players who lose confidence and can't make simple throws to first base or a basketball player who gets the yips and suddenly can't make free throws anymore.

 

I feel bad for him because Rickie clearly cares, his a good teammate, and has a lot of pride. This has to be eating him up, regardless of him saying it doesn't.