Brewers pitchers and GB%

[NievesNoNO]

Maybe it's a coincidence but does anybody know if there's a change in or a more recent emphasis on ground ball rate in the organization?

 

Peralta, Nelson and Jungmann are all fairly well above average ground ball pitchers. Supposedly their new acquisition Davies also generates a good number of ground balls.

 

I definitely like the trend. I don't know much about the batted ball tendencies of our minor league guys but are they also trending in that direction?

[brewmann04]

in this park would be a smart idea

[jerichoholicninja]

in this park would be a smart idea

 

With this organization's approach to defense, I don't see how this is a good idea.

[LouisEly]

There was about 4/5 years ago, and that's not a coincidence. I recall DM saying two things back then regarding pitching: 1) according to their analysis, bigger bodied pitchers had a lower incidence of major injuries than smaller pitchers (or better recovery rate), and 2) they recognized that Miller Park was a HR-friendly ballpark and needed pitchers who were more ground-ball pitchers than flyball pitchers. I don't recall the medium, but I do recall him saying those things.

 

This explains the 2011 draft very well. They didn't draft Jungmann and Bradley because they were high-floor, quick-to-the-majors guys. They drafted them - over Sonny Gray and others - because of their size (Jungmann - 6'6", Bradley - 6'4") and because they induced a lot of ground balls in college (Jungmann gave up 4 HRs in over 500 PA's; Bradley gave up one HR in 400 PA's). Jungmann had to make a lot of adjustments, and the Brewers knew that, so any notion that he was a quick-to-the-majors pick is simply not true. May also help explain the picks of Arnett (6'5", 225) and Heckathorn (6'6", 225). Obviously recent picks like Medieros and Kirby show they don't necessarily think that anymore.

 

I also seem to recall the Brewers emphasizing teaching the 2-seam fastball in the minors. I seem to recall a couple of guys who threw harder in college, but then threw their fastball 2-3 MPH slower in the minors because the Brewers had them switch to a 2-seam from a 4-seam. Can't remember specifics, but it seems to ring a bell.

[tmwiese55]

I recall the same, I think it's definitely been a point of emphasis and they want to emphasize D more going forward to accomodate.

[Thundercat32]

They need to find better infielders than Segura/Gennett/Lind to make it an effective strategy.

[pogokat]

Arcia is MUCH better than segura...