Rickie Weeks 2014

[logan82]

So at this point it looks like it was best for the Brewers to not play Weeks in LF and take PA away from Davis. Hopefully that continues to be true.

 

 

Wait... you mean that players will have ups and downs throughout the season and we shouldn't go butt nutty when a player is playing above or below his true talent level for a short period of time?

 

I'm not sure exactly what we have in Davis, but he's probably a high-.700's-to-low-.800's OPS guy. Not a star, but a decent MLB LF, especially when he's cheap. I thought he might need some PAs in AAA to straighten things out, but he is clearly better than he was playing. Good to see he's back on track.

 

As to Weeks, I have no idea where his "true talent level" is at this point in his career. I don't like that he wouldn't do what the team asked of him, as that's just part of being a "team player." That said, I've never liked having two 2B-only guys on the team, so it may make sense to let him play everyday (assuming he won't be able to hit the automatic vesting option) and send Gennett down to AAA just to get a more versatile/helpful player on the roster for a while. It's business, and that could let the Brewers get the most out of Weeks (now) and Gennett (in the future).

I don't think the team should have asked him to move in the first place. I am not a huge fan of Davis but jumping ship on him a little over a month into the season for a guy who we really have no idea if he is just having a hot month or actually figured something out seemed a little knee jerk to me.

 

Let Weeks stay playing as the right handed half of the platoon and be subbed for on defense late in games.

[Thurston Fluff]

Weeks hasn't played this well in years. We do not have many good offensive bench players. We do not need any more light hitting bench players who play multiple positions. Given all that why not leave Weeks remain in the role he is in? It fills a need that would not be filled with any other player we have in house.

 

Weeks is 2 for 22 with 10 K's since he peaked at .365 on May 15. I wouldn't get too carried away by his 3 week hot spell earlier. He's probably still no better than a .230/.310/.400 high strike out hitter when all is said and done.

 

Which is exactly why I am for keeping him in his current role. He has always taken walks and has some power. Two things you want in a pinch hitter. He seems to do as well, if not better, in limited pa's as he does playing regularly. He is by far the best offensive option we have amongst the bench players. Why change his role when it seems to be working and we don't have anyone for that role was my only point.

[KCBrewerfan34]

I think there is a clause in Weeks contract which states he needs to get 400 pa's for the Brewers to void the contract for 2015, checkout cots contracts, please tell me I'm reading that wrong

[Outlander]

I don't think so. I believe it is stating that the Brewers have to pay him $1 million if they decline the option and he was able to obtain 400 plate appearances in 2014. If he doesn't obtain 400 plate appearances the Brewers can decline the option and be done with him at no additional cost.

[monty57]

I don't think so. I believe it is stating that the Brewers have to pay him $1 million if they decline the option and he was able to obtain 400 plate appearances in 2014. If he doesn't obtain 400 plate appearances the Brewers can decline the option and be done with him at no additional cost.

 

Didn't know that. If that's the case, then I definitely want to see him remain in a limited role. If he helps us make the playoffs this year, then it's worth the $1MM. If not, then it'd be nice to keep him under 400 PA. $1MM may not seem like a lot in today's baseball world, but it could help us get an extra "piece" for next season, and it's never good to pay someone who's not playing for you.

 

As of right now, we're about a third of the way into the season, and he has 84 PA, so he's only on pace for around 250 or so.

[liveforoctober]

As long as Scooter remains competent at the plate and off of the DL... There is little chance Rickie gets to 400 PAs.

[HiAndTight]

Weeks hasn't played this well in years. We do not have many good offensive bench players. We do not need any more light hitting bench players who play multiple positions. Given all that why not leave Weeks remain in the role he is in? It fills a need that would not be filled with any other player we have in house.

 

Weeks is 2 for 22 with 10 K's since he peaked at .365 on May 15. I wouldn't get too carried away by his 3 week hot spell earlier. He's probably still no better than a .230/.310/.400 high strike out hitter when all is said and done.

 

 

Weeks is now 4-6 with 5 runs and a walk since you posted this on May 28th.

 

I don't know that using one small sample to say that another small sample is invalid makes a lot of sense. Weeks has been playing very well this year. He's also hit some rockets even during that 2-22 stretch that were right at players in the 4 starts he got over those 22 at bats(and he also has a very high BABIP)

 

I have no idea what he's going to be when all is said and done, but right now, he's playing very well. For a team like the Brewers to get to the playoffs, they're going to need some unexpected contributions. I'm hopeful that Weeks has one of those types of years this season.

[reillymcshane]

At this point our 2B platoon is working out pretty well (6th highest OPS in baseball). That's pretty solid, even if I hate having two guys who solely play the position. But Scooter requires a platoon partner, so dealing Weeks doesn't make a lot of sense (unless you have someone who can replace him - which we really don't).

 

With the team contending, Weeks is still a valuable player, even in the limited role.

[Funketown]

Weeks needs to average 3.05 PA's per game the rest of the season to reach his 400 PA's on the season. So it likely won't happen unless the wheels fall off with Gennett. Weeks is sporting a nice .404 BABIP this season, so going forward there's really not much reason to think he's anything more than the .230/.310/.400 type of hitter as Briggs suggested, although probably a bit better as the right hand in the platoon.

[JohnBriggs12]

Weeks hasn't played this well in years. We do not have many good offensive bench players. We do not need any more light hitting bench players who play multiple positions. Given all that why not leave Weeks remain in the role he is in? It fills a need that would not be filled with any other player we have in house.

 

Weeks is 2 for 22 with 10 K's since he peaked at .365 on May 15. I wouldn't get too carried away by his 3 week hot spell earlier. He's probably still no better than a .230/.310/.400 high strike out hitter when all is said and done.

 

 

Weeks is now 4-6 with 5 runs and a walk since you posted this on May 28th.

 

I don't know that using one small sample to say that another small sample is invalid makes a lot of sense. Weeks has been playing very well this year. He's also hit some rockets even during that 2-22 stretch that were right at players in the 4 starts he got over those 22 at bats(and he also has a very high BABIP)

 

I have no idea what he's going to be when all is said and done, but right now, he's playing very well. For a team like the Brewers to get to the playoffs, they're going to need some unexpected contributions. I'm hopeful that Weeks has one of those types of years this season.

 

Since May 19 (1 calendar month), Weeks is hitting .178/.260/.244 with no HR and 6 RBI. He's hitting .125 in June. He's looking every bit the guy I expected we'd see this year. Yes he showed he's capable of producing for a few weeks, but when he's not in one of those stretches which are increasingly rare, he's a liability both offensively and defensively.

[gregmag]

You see what you want to see and stack whatever numbers you need to feed your Weeks bias; you always have. Scooter has been outstanding; I'm thrilled and impressed at his development. Weeks' overall season numbers remain decent, and he remains a better percentage bat against lefties.

[danzig6767]

You see what you want to see and stack whatever numbers you need to feed your Weeks bias; you always have. Scooter has been outstanding; I'm thrilled and impressed at his development. Weeks' overall season numbers remain decent, and he remains a better percentage bat against lefties.

I'm ok with how he's hit, especially given how bad Scooter is vs lefties, but Rickie is a train wreck defensively. That was never a strength of his, but now he's so bad in the field.

[3and2Fastball]

Scooter has a OPS below .400 vs LHP. We absolutely need Rickie Weeks

[SoupTown]

Scooter has a OPS below .400 vs LHP. We absolutely need Rickie Weeks

 

This gives more weight to the argument for a considerable stronger bench. From next year we do need that platoon guy for Scooter. But a platoon guy that can play elsewhere as well. So, it seems a high priority is the 2nd base / 3rd base or 2nd base / outfield right hand bat guy. That guy (especially with niggly Braun injuries) will surely get 50 starts over the course of the year.

[ELCABALLO45]

Scooter's OPS currently sits at .820. Good for 23rd in the NL overall and 3rd among qualified 2nd baseman.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Scooter's OPS currently sits at .820. Good for 23rd in the NL overall and 3rd among qualified 2nd baseman.

 

As I pointed out in the game thread....that's somewhat deceptive because he gets the platoon advantage of being hid from his weakness. 87% of his PA's are against righties. He only has 31 PA's against lefties.

 

I'm not making the argument that Scooter isn't valuable, just that the numbers that he puts up don't paint an entirely accurate picture of his abilities.

[DuWayne Steurer]

The bigger problem here is Weeks defense has been horrificly bad this year. The question we have to ask is this. Is Gennett's hitting vs. lefties worse than Weeks' defense? Weeks is a -.9 DWAR in only 19 starts in the field. That's not bad, that's horrendously bad. Scoot is just about average (actually just slightly below, per BR) but there's a huge difference between he and Weeks on D.

 

Is it actually doing the team any good by platooning Gennett with Weeks?

[Thurston Fluff]

Scooter's OPS currently sits at .820. Good for 23rd in the NL overall and 3rd among qualified 2nd baseman.

 

As I pointed out in the game thread....that's somewhat deceptive because he gets the platoon advantage of being hid from his weakness. 87% of his PA's are against righties. He only has 31 PA's against lefties.

 

I'm not making the argument that Scooter isn't valuable, just that the numbers that he puts up don't paint an entirely accurate picture of his abilities.

 

Considering the majority of pitchers are right handed I think that is less of a problem. A problem for sure but even if he totally sucks against them it won't affect his stats as much as if it were reversed.

[endaround]

The bigger problem here is Weeks defense has been horrificly bad this year. The question we have to ask is this. Is Gennett's hitting vs. lefties worse than Weeks' defense? Weeks is a -.9 DWAR in only 19 starts in the field. That's not bad, that's horrendously bad. Scoot is just about average (actually just slightly below, per BR) but there's a huge difference between he and Weeks on D.

 

Is it actually doing the team any good by platooning Gennett with Weeks?

 

Over a full season the difference in defense is likely 5-7 runs. Weeks has 7.9 runs created vs LHers so far compared to -0.4 for Gennett. So yes its worth it.

[DuWayne Steurer]

The bigger problem here is Weeks defense has been horrificly bad this year. The question we have to ask is this. Is Gennett's hitting vs. lefties worse than Weeks' defense? Weeks is a -.9 DWAR in only 19 starts in the field. That's not bad, that's horrendously bad. Scoot is just about average (actually just slightly below, per BR) but there's a huge difference between he and Weeks on D.

 

Is it actually doing the team any good by platooning Gennett with Weeks?

 

Over a full season the difference in defense is likely 5-7 runs. Weeks has 7.9 runs created vs LHers so far compared to -0.4 for Gennett. So yes its worth it.

 

Both Fangraphs and BR have Rickie as being way below that for defensive runs. I'd argue that the difference between Weeks and Gennett defensively is more than 5 to 7 runs over 162 games.

[endaround]

UZR has Weeks at -2.6 runs, Gennett at 1.5 but that is far above where he was last year.

 

And keep in mind we aren't talking 162 games, we are talking 60 or so.

[logan82]

Scooter's OPS currently sits at .820. Good for 23rd in the NL overall and 3rd among qualified 2nd baseman.

 

As I pointed out in the game thread....that's somewhat deceptive because he gets the platoon advantage of being hid from his weakness. 87% of his PA's are against righties. He only has 31 PA's against lefties.

 

I'm not making the argument that Scooter isn't valuable, just that the numbers that he puts up don't paint an entirely accurate picture of his abilities.

 

Considering the majority of pitchers are right handed I think that is less of a problem. A problem for sure but even if he totally sucks against them it won't affect his stats as much as if it were reversed.

The real question is does the manager understand that and will he make the appropriate lineup changes on a nightly basis. If Scooter would play full time he should be in the bottom of the lineup against LHP.

[Funketown]

Career splits for Gennett are pretty incredible.

 

RHP 405 PA .349/.384/.532/.916

LHP 72 PA .147/.171/.162/.333

 

It just seems like long term the club would be better off with some type of utility IF who could play Weeks' side of the platoon and play a bit around the infield too. I can't imagine Gennett is truly this bad vs. LHP but this is a cut and dry case of a player who needs a platoon partner.

[logan82]

I think we were kind of hoping Bianchi would fill in in that capacity but he kind of fell on his face.